So I am currently running a version of @TheGildedGoose's Erebos, God of the Dead MBC to see if this flavor of MBC is right for me. Here's the current list:
Erebos, God of the Dead
Approximate Total Cost:
So the main idea of the deck is that since I now have a near-unkillable draw engine that I can pretty consistently ramp out on 3 in the command zone, I get to spend some of the slots that I normally would have to dedicate to draw spells on doubling down on board and hand control effects to clear the way for when I go for the table kill with one of the X-spells or drain effects. Erebos being indestructible means we get to run a bunch of symmetrical board control effects as well as play sweepers more aggressively, while running discard effects (some of which are symmetrical but we stay ahead in card parity) to keep from hoarding cards in hand as well as limit interaction during our "go for it" turn(s).
As expected, the deck draws a lot of heat at the table. Having a near-uninteractible draw engine and an abundance of removals means my opponents feel compelled to focus me down and realistically, politicking doesn't work all that well.
I understand that I do have other tools available to help combat that heat but a lot of them, I am not willing to use. The deck is already mean enough as is and while going full stax (like TheGildedGoose's latest version) can be a solution, it's just going to result in a miserable time for both the pilot and their opponents and that is not I am looking for.
My playgroup's power level is medium-high (I feel numbers can be misleading). There's a good mix of archetypes and strategies that include but are not limited to creature combat-based, combo, noncreature permanents, graveyard, etc. Players are competent in skills and threat assessment and we try our best to win without sacrificing too much of the fun social aspect of the game. We usually meet in person once a week (with spelltable games occasionally throughout the week) so game quality is highly valued.
I've always been an MBC player and am the resident monoblack player in the group. My very first EDH deck was Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief and she's gone through numerous revisions and I've always kept her as the commander until recently when I switched to Erebos as an experiment since she's becoming dated as a commander choice. Don't get me wrong, a removal on a beatstick that can commander damage people is still not terrible. Just not amazing. She is still my pride and joy.
With all that said, I am in the market for a new commander as well as an overhaul of the deck in order to make the deck both less miserable to play/play against while still being able to do the classic MBC things I want to do. Here are some of my must-haves I got off the top of my head:
- Either plan A or plan B must be via X-spells and table drain effects such as Exsanguinate, Torment of Hailfire, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, etc. and supported via big black mana package (Cabal Coffers, Thespian's Stage, Deserted Temple, other similar effects). This has always been my comfort food and I feel right at home playing this strategy.
- I choose not to run any of the "traditional" fast mana like Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Chrome Mox, etc. We collectively choose not to run them in our non-cEDH decks. I understand that running them does not turn a deck into cEDH, but the pace running them creates is not a good match for what we are looking for.
- Some of the commanders I do not want are the usual groan-inducing and more powerful ones like K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth, Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. However, running any of these guys in the 99 is fair game if they're a right fit.
- I am willing to run pretty much any and all of the tutors/card selection/card advantage cards available in the black color (as you may have already noticed on Erebos's list). I feel a lot of the things black are bad at or can't do altogether justifies doubling down on the things they are strong at. I've gotten much better over time at using my tutors properly so that they both don't slow the game down and get me the most value.
- I want there to be a theme or subtheme that goes in front of or behind the aforementioned big mana X spell gameplan. This could be discard, reanimator, lifegain, etc. Just something that gives the deck an identity alongside big black mana while still being able to take advantage of having a lot of mana.
- I want to stay away from traditional Aristocrats style deck. It hasn't grown on me yet so I am not a huge fan of it.
- The deck should still be a control deck at heart. Tons of removal, sweepers, and just accumulate cards and value and keep the table under control until you feel like you can safely go for the win.
- I want to stay away from Grave Pact effects since those aren't the most fun to play against, but I am not completely opposed to having it if it's the solution to the puzzle. However, I feel that by relying on this, we're slowly moving closer to aristocrats style which is not what I am looking for.
- Braids, Arisen Nightmare - This is inspired by @cheonice's thread. It'll be similar to TheGildedGoose's version where you maximize the chance of a great Turn 2-3 Braids trigger to get a surge of cards early to power the trigger later on to draw through the deck and eventually assemble the pieces while keeping the board under control using the numerous edict effects. I think the strategy can be run without going full Aristocrats and rely on some other ways to get chip damage in (like those recurring creatures) to make your drains cheaper to cast later on.
- Sheoldred // The True Scriptures - The card is interesting enough as a commander since at baseline it's a 5 mana 4/5 menace with a better edict on etb. I wonder if I need to run either a mill or discard package to help meet that flip requirement at my own pace, which shouldn't be too difficult in the right build. Probably should run some amount of powerful reanimator targets so I don't have to rely on just my opponents' graveyards. Her getting removed in response to paying the activation is just going to be a risk I have to live with but at least the upfront cost isn't as bad as Elesh Norn's. She does almost everything you want except generate card advantage.
- Tinybones, Trinket Thief - Your classic go-to little discard boy. This will let me lean little harder into the discard strategy.
- Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead - Another possible pick for a discard strategy. He himself is a decent beater and you can still make bats off of other discard effects.
- Chainer, Dementia Master - Another classic MBC commander. This guy will let me lean closer to reanimator strategy. Life loss will need to be offset with some lifegain, probably through reanimating Gary and Cocoa Puffs (Kokusho, the Evening Star).
- Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose - Lifegain and lifeloss to take advantage of the lifegain? Also opens us up to the Sanguine Bond combo without having the pieces feeling too out of place on the list.
- Gonti, Lord of Luxury - Just generic value engine but could be too slow for my group to really abuse.
- Yawgmoth, Thran Physician - Very strong abilities that checks all the boxes but I am not sure if he's any good in a non-aristocrat shell?
- Ayara, First of Locthwain - Another pick similar to Yawgmoth but again, not sure if she's any good in a non-aristocrats shell.
- Erebos, God of the Dead - Keep the commander the same but shift the plan away from complete control of the board and head in a different direction. He does afford me to not have to run as many dedicated draw spells and frees up slots for other things and he makes a good attacker/blocker when alive, which can be easy to do with the right combination of permanents. Problem with this is that I feel most of the heat didn't come from the cards I run but just from having this guy in the zone in general so it may be a problem with no solutions.
- Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief - I can always just go back to her I guess. She's still a 5 mv 4/4 flying that's repeatable removal on a stick, just not the most efficient but has the commander damage upside. I wouldn't want to invest too many slots into the commander damage plan. She doesn't need additional tools to hit hard and I already have a voltron deck so I don't want to overlap.
