Dralnu, Lich Lord - Control Reanimator

[toctheyounger]

Very minor change:

In

• Castle Vantress

Out

• Underground River

I freed up the Castle from another deck, and thought it'd probably fit better here. On looking at the list here, I hadn't realised that the landbase here is fairly pedestrian. There's not much I desperately want to add other than maybe Watery Grave, Tolaria West and some other bits. No immediate rush though.

[toctheyounger]

I've had a bugger of a time getting any play time in recently, and my lists have suffered somewhat. Dralnu is no exception, especially considering most of what I'd need to improve the list at this point is very expensive. That being said, I've been mulling over some places for cards I've recently grabbed, and Dralnu gets a new pal from Theros.

In

• Gravebreaker Lamia

Out

• Sower of Temptation

I'm not sure if Lamia is stunningly amazing, but there's three things stapled to one card, all of which can be beneficial for me. Lifelink is nothing to sniff at, especially with a creature short list. Entomb on a card is nice too, and the cost reduction is really quite handy; that last makes it actually a little more enticing to risk casting Dralnu and getting things rolling rather than waiting for a sure thing.

[toctheyounger]

It's only been a few months, but I got to take Dralnu out for a stroll today. Ended up playing a 4-way against Tuvasa, the Sunlit, Niv-Mizzet, Parun and Zur the Enchanter. I was less than sanguine about my chances with Zur in the mix.

Despite ultimately winning it ended up being a relatively timid showing from Dralnu. I did well for mana, resolved an early Fact or Fiction that showed up Swamp, Consecrated Sphinx, Toxic Deluge, Reins of Power and Clever Impersonator. Niv gave me a Sphinx & Swamp/everything else split, and I took everything else because answers are nice. In terms of draw I should've taken the Sphinx, but I didn't want to hardcast it, and later on Tuvasa admitted that if I'd kept it he would've Path to Exiled it instead of using it on Niv like he did.

Tuvasa ended up having a romping game, landed a crap ton of value and Zur failed to fire, so Tuvasa became the archenemy more or less. I was holding on to Cyclonic Rift as well, but didn't want to land Dralnu as I had nothing to protect him from direct damage or combat, let alone haste. So for most of the game I didn't commit to the board, aside from dropping Clever Impersonator to copy Mirari's Wake. Tuvasa spent most of the game chipping away at everyone, and managed to land a few Theros Gods, built himself up a stupidly large board state, and swung in to everyone for an alpha strike win with everyone at around 25 life. He had it, but he also tapped out. So I Rifted, and with more or less everyone else languishing I was thanked for the effort.

The very next turn I cast Torment of Hailfire for x=15, which ended the game for Niv and Zur. Tuvasa dropped to 3 life, and a couple of turns later I used Reins of Power to grab his Eidolon of Blossoms to knock him to 1. I also dropped Mystic Sanctuary untapped to pull Torment to top of library. He gave a good chase, Enlightened Tutoring for Nylea's Colossus and using the constellation trigger to bolster his Eidolon to 24/24, but on moving to attack I Reality Shifted it and he once again didn't have an answer, and so scooped.

It was frankly a bit of a weird game that I didn't expect to win, but I'm nonetheless pleased with the boss play of Tormenting under a Wake in Dimir colours. The lack of draw was relatively surprising, but I guess I had everything I needed to win anyway, so it wasn't entirely necessary as is. I was a little disappointed not to draw into reanimation, as I had Consecrated Sphinx, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and Void Winnower in the yard ripe for the picking, but obviously it worked out just fine.

[toctheyounger]

A quick update:

In

• Doom Whisperer
• Vilis, Broker of Blood

Out

• Kagemaro, First to Suffer
• Tidespout Tyrant

I've been meaning to give Doom Whisperer a try for a long time, purely for the ability to manipulate the topdeck and fill the yard at the same time, but the other stats are nice too - 3bb for a flying trampler is decent, to the point where I'd be fine to hard cast this if needed. Kagemaro, First to Suffer didn't really get a good shake, but I'd prefer this for being more proactive anyway.

Vilis, Broker of Blood is kind of a paired add. I remember @benjameenbear recommending it and me not being overly sold, but I've since come around. If there's a deck that wants to literally draw stacks of cards this is it, and it pairs nicely with Doom Whisperer as well as Glacial Chasm and Toxic Deluge. Being a decent beater and giving removal on tap is great too, so it should be good value. Tidespout Tyrant unfortunately suffers these days from a severe lack of Paradox Engine. People used to just scoop when those two cards were in play, but these days it is quite a bit harder to get good, reliable, consistent value from Tyrant, so the swap is an easy one.

Looking forward, I'm going to be making at least one super easy addition to the deck in Fierce Guardianship from Commander 2020. I've got a set of the 5 coming as an early birthday present, and this seems the perfect place for it. I haven't done a really deep dive as of yet to see if there's anything else fitting for Dralnu, Lich Lord, but all in good time.

[toctheyounger]

So, I've been thinking about this list over the last week or so and what to do with it.

Since the banning of Paradox Engine it's taken a lot of power out of the deck. Turns are less explosive and I really struggle for the obscene level of resource that I had with the Engine here. Under that build I could play out cantrips with ease knowing that I had more or less endless resource to keep going until I found an answer. I can't say that now. So, I've been looking at options to rejuvenate the deck somewhat. Here's what I'm mulling over (what follows is as much for posterity for myself as for anyone else btw):

A new engine of sorts:

• Dream Halls - I have a spare of this card in my folder, and I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but this is sort of the perfect deck for it. This deck wants cards in the yard. Hard casting a beater from my hand is woefully inefficient, so I'm happy to toss it to cast something else for free. A cantrip late in the game is less valuable than the Cyclonic Rift in my hand as well. Sure, it gives to my opponents too, but I can make better use of the effect because I can cast the things I pass off to the yard in this way, too. It's like casting stuff for free so you can cast other stuff for free.
• Bolas's Citadel - I'm a tad less sold on this one, but that doesn't diminish the fact that it's a remarkably strong card. I think it would be worth trying out, and in the worst case it at least fuels Vilis, Broker of Blood which is nice. Adding this would really make it worth leaning into Mystic Sanctuary as an option for recursion, too. In that respect, Dimir Aqueduct becomes a little more useful, then there's things like Trade Routes, Cryptic Command, Temporal Fissure and Tidespout Tyrant (which I recently removed....).

Untap effects - In order to get the most I can from my commander, I need reliable ways to get more than one use from him per turn, or the ability to be able to use him on my turn and still have him available outside of my turn.

• Chakram Retriever - This is probably the best available effect to achieve a big splashy turn, even if it is only on my turn. Also, the partner with ability isn't without uses here; obviously I can't run Chakram Slinger, but if I have Bolas's Citadel in play and don't fancy my topdeck I can drop this, fail to find the partner and hopefully bring up something a little more favourable.
• Fatestitcher - Unearth makes things pretty cheap, which is nice.
• Disciple of the Ring - It's diminishing returns, obviously. Not the worst thing in the world, but probably low on the list of options.
• Retreat to Coralhelm - Without an ability to get multiple lands into play (fetches, I guess) this is a once per turn. That being said it's not awful, and it doesn't cost me any more than it's initial cast cost. It probably makes it worth adding a few things to make this a little easier to trigger. That shouldn't be hard, and it shouldn't cost much either. Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse cost zero, Drownyard Temple is hella cheap, and Fabled Passage is getting a reprint very shortly. I'd love to say I could afford a Polluted Delta but that's not really a possibility unfortunately.
• Minamo, School at Water's Edge - I've wanted this for a little while anyway, and Mystery Booster has dropped it's price a little. It's a once per turn cycle, but on a land it's still a very low opportunity cost.
• Freed from the Real/Pemmin's Aura - A little vulnerable in that when my commander goes, they go too. They also cost to use, which isn't the end of the world, but it's not ideal either.
• Dramatic Reversal +/- Isochron Scepter - I'm not really interested in Scepter combo, it would be a complete rejig of the deck, sacrificing something I really enjoy just to win, and that's not me. Dramatic Reversal could be great here, but it is also quite dependent on being able to generate a massive amount of mana, because I'm not likely to be able to recur it more than once or twice.

Of these, I like the land, the Retriever, and the Retreat most, purely for ease of use and minimal finagling, as well as being the most abusable.

Utility considerations:

• Whir of Invention is a card I ought to have grabbed for this deck a while ago, now. When I can't find Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots I generally just don't cast my commander, and that slows me right down. Whir gets them right away, or finds me Bolas's Citadel or another rock. It reduces in cost if I have other rocks in play, too.
• Fierce Guardianship - I have a copy of this ready to put in here, it's just waiting for me to actually pick my cards up and sleeve it.
• Peer into the Abyss - Core Set 2021 is looking crazy good. This card is just pure insanity (literally) and would play just crazy with Dream Halls or Chakram Retriever in play. With Dream Halls in the deck, burst draw is going to be super important, as my hand will disappear quick. I'm very much open to looking at what else I can do to add this. It means things like Notion Rain and Frantic Search are probably less useful, but that's not the end of the world.
• Massacre Wurm - It's a finisher and it has a reprint now. I'm not foolish enough to think it would be dirt cheap, but it's worth attempting to grab a copy for the deck.

I intend to continue mulling some of this over as time goes on. Most of this seems like reasonably solid upgrade, so it's worth taking my time to make sure it all sits well before I leap into the deck and make sweeping changes.

[benjameenbear]

Any competitive iteration of Dralnu is probably going to have to go with a full Storm route a la Bolas's Citadel. The card is quite good in conjunction with Top and Reservoir to replenish your life total and Reservoir + Citadel does a decent enough impression of Paradox Engine to get the explosive turn feeling that the Engine used to give. Good Lord, I miss playing with Engine SO MUCH... Otherwise, I agree that Dralnu got muzzled big time with Engine banning. I don't fight it (because Engine WAS incredibly strong) but I sure do miss it.

My Breya list is probably the closest analogue to Dralnu I will come to in how it plays out since I love artifacts, Urza, and Yawgmoth too much. And Underworld Breach is a hell of a card as well. Definitely another Engine-like card in application.

[toctheyounger]

Any competitive iteration of Dralnu is probably going to have to go with a full Storm route a la Bolas's Citadel. The card is quite good in conjunction with Top and Reservoir to replenish your life total and Reservoir + Citadel does a decent enough impression of Paradox Engine to get the explosive turn feeling that the Engine used to give. Good Lord, I miss playing with Engine SO MUCH... Otherwise, I agree that Dralnu got muzzled big time with Engine banning. I don't fight it (because Engine WAS incredibly strong) but I sure do miss it.

My Breya list is probably the closest analogue to Dralnu I will come to in how it plays out since I love artifacts, Urza, and Yawgmoth too much. And Underworld Breach is a hell of a card as well. Definitely another Engine-like card in application.

For sure. I miss the Engine too, but nobody else does and that was the point I guess. Dralnu has suffered as a result, but you know me, I'm not super interested in competitive. I want the deck to game at like an edgy 8, and I'm probably not as interested in pure combo as I could be. It'd be insanely easy to drop Laboratory Maniac et al in here as well as Doomsday, Thassa's Oracle and tune the deck to shred through games but it just isn't me.

I've got the Citadel on order, but honestly, I can't bring myself to add Aetherflux Reservoir. It might be irrational, but I hate the card. It's just so non-interactive. Cast death star, blast out, win. I know it protects my life total, but if this deck has to be a suicide build or run the reservoir I'll take the former over the latter. There's a couple of life siphon effects in the deck as is anyway, so hopefully that's enough to make it a non-issue.

In a way though, I'm kind of glad that Engine is gone because it has forced me to rethink the deck in terms of ways I can diversify the threats it has. So now with Bolas's Citadel, Dream Halls, Mystic Sanctuary and its interaction with God-Eternal Kefnet, Tidespout Tyrant and the aforementioned citadel, as well as a few 'focused untap' options, I at least have a few different avenues to follow, whereas before it really did start to seem like the game was 'hold on until the Engine crops up'. And to be fair that's a good sign the ban was justified.

[toctheyounger]

So, I've made a few changes and had a wee playtest. Not gonna lie, the changes are pretty vast. And probably a move towards the jank from a more cutthroat build. That's fine by me, it does mean more games will likely backfire, but I really don't mind overly.

That being said, I just had a hilarious game-ending play with Dralnu, Lich Lord and Chakram Retriever in play. 6 lands in play, one Swamp, one Command Tower, 4 Islands. I cast High Tide from the yard, interrupt it with Narset's Reversal, cast it again from hand, Narset's Reversal it again from the yard, cast it again from hand and once more from library, to end up with my islands producing uuuuu and all of them tapped, uu floating (it actually could've been more, I just lost count and mathing got difficult). I tap my Sol Ring and cast Turnabout to untap my lands, play a Swamp for the turn and Exsanguinate for 20 to win.

I guess I could've floated more by flashbacking Turnabout, but 20 was enough to win the game and I had Fierce Guardianship in hand to lock in the play.

I'll report on changes in the next few days once I have them properly collated.

[toctheyounger]

Well, I finally got around to giving the list a gussy-up - just new curtains and upholstery, make it all feel a bit fresh and such - both the decklist and the OP. The list has been performing really well - I've absolutely stomped through a couple of games, and had some pretty ridiculous plays come through. It's been a lot of fun to play.

There's definitely still the potential here for combo inclusion, but I feel like at present the deck is fine without. It does what I want it to do for now, and I'm generally happy with inclusions.

I do still have a shortlist of bits and pieces that potentially could see inclusion, but for now I'll just get myself used to the new architecture and see what performs and what doesn't.

Here's the new and improved:

Dralnu, Lich Lord

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander

1 Dralnu, Lich Lord

Artifacts

1 Sol Ring

1 Arcane Signet

1 Dimir Signet

1 Fellwar Stone

1 Lightning Greaves

1 Swiftfoot Boots

1 Talisman of Dominance

1 Thought Vessel

1 Twinning Staff

1 Primal Amulet

1 Gilded Lotus

1 Bolas's Citadel

Enchantments

1 Animate Dead

1 Ominous Seas

1 Search for Azcanta

1 Necromancy

1 Retreat to Coralhelm

1 Leyline of Anticipation

Creatures

1 Baral, Chief of Compliance

1 Clever Impersonator

1 Fatestitcher

1 God-Eternal Kefnet

1 Notion Thief

1 Phyrexian Metamorph

1 Archfiend of Ifnir

1 Bone Miser

1 Psychosis Crawler

1 Consecrated Sphinx

1 Massacre Wurm

1 Vilis, Broker of Blood

1 Void Winnower

1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur

Instants

1 Entomb

1 Swan Song

1 Counterspell

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Lim-Dul's Vault

1 Narset's Reversal

1 Disallow

1 Dismember

1 Fierce Guardianship

1 Hero's Downfall

1 Whir of Invention

1 Ancient Excavation

1 Fact or Fiction

1 Turnabout

1 Mystic Confluence

1 Dig Through Time

Sorceries

1 Reanimate

1 Exsanguinate

1 Torment of Hailfire

1 Curse of the Swine

1 Stitch Together

1 Dark Deal

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Windfall

1 Rite of Replication

1 Whispering Madness

1 Beacon of Unrest

1 Dark Petition

1 All is Dust

1 Peer into the Abyss

Lands

16 Island

10 Swamp

1 Riptide Laboratory

1 Castle Vantress

1 Mystic Sanctuary

1 Command Tower

1 Underground River

1 Reliquary Tower

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Phyrexian Tower

1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge

1 Geier Reach Sanitarium

1 High Market

Approximate Total Cost:

[benjameenbear]

I like the additions to the Primer page. It looks pretty good, if a bit large in dimensions. +1 from this guy.

How has God-Eternal Kefnet been for you? I remember looking at him once upon a time and being really impressed with him and wanting to give him a shot in my Bolas deck (which is extremely similar to this one) but fell by the wayside for me.

Also, have you considered Illusionist's Bracers? I'm sure you have but I don't recall your thoughts on it.

[toctheyounger]

I like the additions to the Primer page. It looks pretty good, if a bit large in dimensions. +1 from this guy.

How has God-Eternal Kefnet been for you? I remember looking at him once upon a time and being really impressed with him and wanting to give him a shot in my Bolas deck (which is extremely similar to this one) but fell by the wayside for me.

Also, have you considered Illusionist's Bracers? I'm sure you have but I don't recall your thoughts on it.

I'll have a look into it - the coding bits and pieces always end up being a pain for me. I'm not sure I'll end up making it official, I just thought I ought to make it a little cleaner than it was.

God-Eternal Kefnet has been pretty good. Without things like Propaganda and Aetherize he's bare minimum a solid defense. I think in terms of it's spell reduction/copy ability I'm not sure your deck has the density of instants/sorceries with more than 2 to justify the inclusion. I've only had a cursory look so I could be wrong. I guess though with enough topdeck tutors and such it could be worth trialling though.

Illusionist's Bracers is fine, but probably suffers from the 'only fits on my commander' curse. There's a couple of other creatures that have activated abilities to copy, but none really significant enough for me to really want them copied desperately. It's just a case of only fitting one card really well, and my commander isn't one that's out the whole game, so it becomes a bit of a questionable add.

[toctheyounger]

Finally got to make some changes!!!

In

• Tolaria West
• Muddle the Mixture
• Ravenform
• Staff of Domination
• Hullbreacher
• Perplexing Chimera
• Sphinx of the Second Sun

Out

• Island
• Swan Song
• Lim-Dul's Vault
• Retreat to Coralhelm
• Clever Impersonator
• Phyrexian Metamorph
• God-Eternal Kefnet

I feel like these are mostly positive upgrades. It's a bit of a shame to lose Swan Song but another deck needed it more and I like Muddle the Mixture for flexibility. It can pick up a variety of rocks and spells and still be used from the yard, so that's nice value. Hullbreacher I guess is a little controversial given how many wheels are in here, but it's the best place I have to put it. I'm otherwise happy with the creatures added, they should be pretty strong. God-Eternal Kefnet was fine but a little slow, and the clones are really placeholders for otherwise bomb creatures, so they've achieved what they needed to. Lim-Dûl's Vault was commented on a couple of times in terms of how painful it is while it plays out, so in the interest of more streamlined play I'm pulling it. And Staff of Domination is clearly superior to Retreat to Coralhelm for untapping shenanigans in a deck that doesn't ramp well. I'm aware it can combo, and honestly I haven't looked over the list to see if there's any clear cut paths to that here, but my primary reason for using it here is to make more use of Dralnu, Lich Lord, which I think by it's very nature is highly unlikely to combo. And honestly, I shouldn't really need to.

I still want a couple of other additions here. Archmage Emeritus is born to be in here, and Professor Onyx is a possibility too (no, I won't be picking up Chain of Smog). I'm not fully sold on Onyx, it costs a lot to cast, but it is pretty vicious with copying synergies and spellslinging.

[toctheyounger]

A couple more minor changes:

In

• Archmage Emeritus
• Hero's Downfall

Out

• Gilded Lotus
• Ravenform

Pretty easy changes. Lotus is a little slow and somewhat unnecessary, and Ravenform just kinda sucked. The Archmage should be very, very good, and Downfall is an easy slot back in.

[TheGildedGoose]

Hey toc, I revisited my old Dralnu list with the intention of turning it into a budget deck to play with newer players and/or other budget decks. Right now I'm trying to keep it under $150 or so and less than $10 a card (why is Talisman of Dominance ten bucks lol) to avoid blowing the budget on something like Cyclonic Rift. It seems good on paper, definitely powered down compared to my older Dramatic Scepter list, but I wanted to get a second set of eyes on it.

I may be a teensy bit light on win conditions, the counterspell suite is questionable, and I wish there were better duals in that price range (why is Underground River ten bucks lol) but hey, whatcha gonna do.

Dralnu's Crusade

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander:

1 Dralnu, Lich Lord

Lands: 38

1 Ash Barrens

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Choked Estuary

1 Clearwater Pathway

1 Command Tower

1 Drowned Catacomb

1 Fetid Pools

1 Glacial Chasm

1 High Market

17 Island

1 Nephalia Drownyard

1 Riptide Laboratory

1 Sunken Hollow

7 Swamp

1 Tainted Isle

1 Temple of Deceit

Removal: 20

1 Aetherize

1 Aetherspouts

1 Baleful Mastery

1 Blink of an Eye

1 Blood on the Snow

1 Capsize

1 Crux of Fate

1 Decree of Pain

1 Evacuation

1 Feed the Swarm

1 Heartless Act

1 Hero's Downfall

1 Into the Roil

1 Necrotic Hex

1 Nevinyrral's Disk

1 Oblivion Stone

1 Pongify

1 Rapid Hybridization

1 Reality Shift

1 Recoil

Counterspells: 9

1 Counterspell

1 Disallow

1 Dissolve

1 Forbid

1 Mystic Confluence

1 Negate

1 Sinister Sabotage

1 Stoic Rebuttal

1 Supreme Will

Tutors: 5

1 Dark Petition

1 Diabolic Tutor

1 Increasing Ambition

1 Mystical Teachings

1 Solve the Equation

Card Draw: 12

1 Brainstorm

1 Fact or Fiction

1 Forbidden Alchemy

1 Frantic Search

1 Impulse

1 Night's Whisper

1 Notion Rain

1 Ponder

1 Preordain

1 Pull from Tomorrow

1 Read the Bones

1 Thirst for Knowledge

ZAMBIES etc: 5

1 Army of the Damned

1 Metallurgic Summonings

1 Rise from the Tides

1 Rise of the Dread Marn

1 Shark Typhoon

Ramp: 10

1 Arcane Signet

1 Dimir Signet

1 Fellwar Stone

1 Gilded Lotus

1 Mind Stone

1 Sol Ring

1 Talisman of Dominance

1 Thought Vessel

1 Thran Dynamo

1 Worn Powerstone!

Approximate Total Cost:

[toctheyounger]

(why is Talisman of Dominance ten bucks lol)

(why is Underground River ten bucks lol)

The answer to both is lack of reprints, sadly. I've almost traded my Talisman for store credit recently it's that overpriced. So stupid.

Your list looks pretty good anyway; there's a couple of things you could do to tighten things up though.

I think with your budget impositions it's pretty cool to see some stuff outside of what you'd usually run in a high end Dimir control suite, but it does mean some of your CMC's are pretty high. I'm looking at like Decree of Pain and such. I actually really like Decree, it's a fantastic effect, but that cost is pretty rough. Have you considered some cost reduction stuff? Baral, Chief of Compliance has been pretty nice for me (I'm not sure what he costs these days though). Otherwise, I've run Jace's Sanctum in the past, and there's Cloud Key, Semblance Anvil or similar.

You've also got a couple of removal pieces in O-Stone and Larry's Disk that could seriously benefit from some untapping shenanigans, not to mention your commander itself. There's no real need to go all in with Dramatic Scepter, I think once you commit to that line you've got yourself a fait accompli with all games ending the same way (Paradox Engine got that way for me, so in a way I don't really miss it too much). But there's plenty of other stuff you could use to get these online quicker or string some flashbacks together. The classic is Fatestitcher, but recently Kelpie Guide was printed too. If you wanna get more from your rocks you could go with Clock of Omens and such, although that might be pigeonholing a little bit. Retreat to Coralhelm has been really good for me too, and comes with the added benefit of fixing my topdeck for Bolas's Citadel shenanigans (I know that doesn't matter for your build). It's worth considering making room for.

Lastly, what's your win-con here? I see a few big token producers which can give you a pretty insurmountable boardstate. Are you winning with combat? Even as I write this I feel like it's hard not to make that sound like a highbrow sneer at the common folk attacking to win. No shade at all, combat can work fine, but it is slow with no haste enablers, and gives your opponents a pretty large window to close out your opportunity. There's a few pretty cool options you could go for without going for the basic %$#% Torment/Exsanguinate win-cons I'm running. Something like a mill finish could be cool, Psychic Spiral style, or Lab Man/ Oracle, aristocrats with Blood Artist/Zulaport Cutthroat. With that many tokens coming into play you could turn them into neat stuff with Sakashima's Will, Mystic Reflection, Masterful Replication and such. I'm not sure for certain, but my gut tells me even with an enormous pile of zombies, sharks and constructs combat might struggle to get you over the line. Bare minimum I think it's worth packing something else as a contingency plan.

Hope this helps somewhat! It's all pretty vague advice, I think there's a few areas Dralnu enables you to move towards, it just depends where you want the deck to go.

[TheGildedGoose]

The answer to both is lack of reprints, sadly. I've almost traded my Talisman for store credit recently it's that overpriced. So stupid.

elmofire.gif

I think with your budget impositions it's pretty cool to see some stuff outside of what you'd usually run in a high end Dimir control suite, but it does mean some of your CMC's are pretty high. I'm looking at like Decree of Pain and such. I actually really like Decree, it's a fantastic effect, but that cost is pretty rough. Have you considered some cost reduction stuff? Baral, Chief of Compliance has been pretty nice for me (I'm not sure what he costs these days though). Otherwise, I've run Jace's Sanctum in the past, and there's Cloud Key, Semblance Anvil or similar.

Decree of Pain is so, so good, though. 8mv is sky high but it's a game winning card. If it resolves in the late game and everyone is out of gas, everyone else goes to the Stone Age while you draw a ton of cards. On the other hand, I mostly play it in MBC, where mana production is absurd. I could see cutting it for a less expensive wipe, or maybe some more win conditions.

I didn't post about it in the RCOTD thread but I've never been impressed with Jace's Sanctum. 4cmc isn't where I want to be for ramp unless it can produce more than 2 mana a round on average, and it's unlikely I'll be generating that much mana with it. The scry does put it on the cusp of playable, but it's just a tough sell to tap out for this early on and the later the game goes on the less it matters. Baral is spicy, though. I always forget he exists because I tend to go creatureless in these builds for the aesthetic as well as for blanking removal and making my wipes asymmetrical. However, given the mild transformation you inspired me to make (more on that later), I think he's fine. Synergistic in every way. But what to cut? He's ramp and draw, so probably Mind Stone, because honestly I can't remember the last time I sacced a Mind Stone to draw a card.

Lastly, what's your win-con here? I see a few big token producers which can give you a pretty insurmountable boardstate. Are you winning with combat? Even as I write this I feel like it's hard not to make that sound like a highbrow sneer at the common folk attacking to win. No shade at all, combat can work fine, but it is slow with no haste enablers, and gives your opponents a pretty large window to close out your opportunity. There's a few pretty cool options you could go for without going for the basic %$#% Torment/Exsanguinate win-cons I'm running. Something like a mill finish could be cool, Psychic Spiral style, or Lab Man/ Oracle, aristocrats with Blood Artist/Zulaport Cutthroat. With that many tokens coming into play you could turn them into neat stuff with Sakashima's Will, Mystic Reflection, Masterful Replication and such. I'm not sure for certain, but my gut tells me even with an enormous pile of zombies, sharks and constructs combat might struggle to get you over the line. Bare minimum I think it's worth packing something else as a contingency plan.

Hey, I'm well aware. Combat is for peasants. That's part of why I chose that direction, to be as fair as possible. In more competitive circles, combat ain't great, but beatdown still works at lower power level tables, and that's what I'm trying to build here. I want to avoid combo (I would feel terrible dunking on modified precons with Oracle/Consultation), but you mentioned a word that sent me spiraling down memory lane: mill! I never really got a mill deck out of the infant stages, so this gives me the opportunity to do so as well as differentiate it from my Phelddagrif list. Combining high interaction with the two worst tactics in the format is going to be interesting!

So, how do we mill? We mill efficiently. We mill with a compact package: Mind Grind, Consuming Aberration, Maddening Cacophony, Tasha's Hideous Laughter. We can make room for this strategy by taking out the sharks, constructs, and Rise of the Dread Marn. Those three aren't win conditions in a can like Rise from the Tides or Army of the Damned, and Worn Powerstone is a little superfluous, so they can go for our mill package.

Hope this helps somewhat! It's all pretty vague advice, I think there's a few areas Dralnu enables you to move towards, it just depends where you want the deck to go.

I think I'm liking the mill plan with zambie back up. Thanks!

[toctheyounger]

Decree of Pain is so, so good, though. 8mv is sky high but it's a game winning card. If it resolves in the late game and everyone is out of gas, everyone else goes to the Stone Age while you draw a ton of cards

Oh for sure, and that's why it's so good. To be fair none of the cost reducers I mentioned would hold a candle to 8 CMC anyway, so there's probably no major reason to lean heavily into them. Expect for Baral, Chief of Compliance, he is actually very good. I totally agree regarding Jace's Sanctum too. It's fine, but nothing spectacular, and it's at a place in the curve where the amount of cost reduction you actually get doesn't match up to its cost.

I like a good 'against the odds' deck, so mill could be decent. It actually probably plays into a really nice payoff with Rise from the Tides too, and that thing really can payoff well. You could always add in Altar of Dementia for a nice way to close people out after Rise from the Tides too. It doubles as a way to manage any targeted damage at Dralnu, Lich Lord which is nice as well, and if you're ever in the situation to sacrifice Consuming Aberration to it, chances are someone is out of the game.

[duduprec]

Hey! Just passing by to say this is an awesome primer! Thanks for releasing it, having a blast reading through it!

Any recent updates on the decklist?

Thoughts on the new commander from DMU, Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator ?

Thought of Dralnu at the momment I saw his spoiler.

[toctheyounger]

Hey! Just passing by to say this is an awesome primer! Thanks for releasing it, having a blast reading through it!

Any recent updates on the decklist?

Thoughts on the new commander from DMU, Vohar, Vodalian Desecrator ?

Thought of Dralnu at the momment I saw his spoiler.

Thanks heaps!

Sadly I don't have this deck compiled any longer. Moreso because it was proving too hard to maintain as many decks as I had than any boredom with the deck, its a blast to play still. I still have Dralnu in my binder though, I'll probably hold onto him just in case.

As far as updates go I think there's a few bits of cool tech you could add in. The new Jin seems like a brutal reanimation target, and connive is a great mechanic. Ledger Shredder is probably crazy good here. Vohar seems deece too, no reason you couldn't try it out. Oh and Displacer Kitten does a great Paradox Engine copy here. It'd easily slot in.