Yawgmoth, Father of Machines: Suicide (AKA Blood-Storm) Mono-Black Control

[Ruiner]

Not sure if you are opposed to "Un" cards but I was super impressed with Saw in Half in my own Yawgmoth deck. Our decks are a bit different but I think you still have a good amount of targets. The gruesome nature doesn't feel that far off from a flavor standpoint either.

[plaganegra]

After looking at my curve, I think it's time for Phyrexian Gargantua to go. This makes me sad, since it's one of the original cards that made me want to play mono-Black and explore the vorthos of who Yawgmoth was as a character. But, it's unwieldy, bumps the curve up just a bit too high, and will probably be outperformed by Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor.

So, I'll be updating the list with this change (to be completed officially once all spoilers are complete): -1 Phyrexian Gargantua +1 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor

In other news, the reprinted art for Diabolic Intent is another auto-include in the deck. I'm already running it in the list, so this will be an easy swap for me as well.

But what's SUPER COOL is the Portal to Phyrexia! This card is hella expensive and isn't a card I'll be playing in the 99, but DAMN IT'S SO COOL. The art is beautiful and if you can have it stick around for a while it could be a powerful source of board advantage. Sadly, it costs 9 mana which is prohibitive in this deck with very, very few ways to scale it out quickly. It'll be better in more artifact-focused decks and it's probably going to be AMAZING in Sharuum decks (if any of those still exist).

I cannot wait to see what you come up with with the next couple of set releases having so many phyrexians. I'll be watching closely!

[benjameenbear]

I think I've forgotten to do a formal set review for Dominaria United as well as The Brothers' War. So, here we go!

Dominaria United

• The Cruelty of Gix - an interesting Saga card centered around the OG Invader of Dominaria. It's ok, but a little expensive for it's combined effects. I could definitely support running it in a budget, more casual version of the deck. But not this one. So, I'm passing on it for now.
• Defiler of Flesh - very cool Phyrexian card that OOZES with flavor. Being able to turn your colored mana costs into life costs is SUPER cool. I'm not sure how it would act in a real game, though. Getting a mini-K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth in the 99 may not be as powerful as actually having K'rrick, and I cut him because of CMC.
• Evolved Sleeper - well, Sleeper Agent got a major artwork overhaul on top of some better long-game abilities. Sadly, this deck is more concerned about VOLUME of small bodies rather than SIZE of bodies. But, the artwork and this card as a plot device are almost too good to pass up. But, pass on it we shall.
• Phyrexian Rager - cool reprint art that probably looks very cool in foil. I'm partial to the Return to Mirrodin 2.0 art myself, so that's what I'll stick with!
• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse - I'm usually loathe to say certain cards are auto-includes for any decklist. But this one is probably the closest one for this deck I think I've ever seen. She recoups the life cost for sac-ing a dude to Yawgmoth's ability. And she puts a surprising amount of pressure on your opponents' life totals. There was one game I was playing against a Nekusar recently. If Sheoldred had lived (she died almost immediately), she would have created a 18 point life swing in my favor (6 life per opponent) while also completing negating Nekusar's damage ability. Sheoldred has proven extremely valuable to the deck and I wouldn't think of leaving home without her in the 99.
• Weatherlight Compleated - this is a cool way to add an additional Yawgmoth effect to the deck while also adding a potential Flyer into the 99. The art is hella cool, too! I just don't think I have the space in the deck, especially since it doesn't start out as a creature so I can sac it to Yawgmoth if I'm desperate.

The Brothers' War

• Diabolic Intent - the art is actually kind of... off, for me. Like, I know it's Gix. But all I can see is a Pinocchio-like nose that I just really can't get past. It's definitely on flavor and a welcome reprint. But I'll be sticking with my Invasion art, since that one's WAY more recognizable with Phyrexian legends.
• Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor - FINALLY. They printed the OG Praetor himself. And his abilities are VERY cool. He'd actually be very interesting as the Commander of his own deck since he'd act as a mono-Black Edric, Spymaster of Trest without the countermagic or combo potential. I'm obviously grabbing a copy for myself and I've already made the space in my decklist for it.
• Gixian Puppeteer - both triggered abilities are relevant to the deck and trivially easy to take advantage of with Yawgmoth as the Commander. I'm grabbing a copy for my own collection, but it's definitely not a mandatory pick-up for anyone.
• Painful Quandary - very powerful card that can quickly empty your opponents of cards or of their life total if not handled fast. The new art is also HELLA cool as well. Grabbing a copy and if you wanted a slower, more control-like build of Yawgmoth, I could see adding this card in.
• Phyrexian Fleshgorger - VERY cool card that increases the amount of lifelink that's present in the deck. Haven't decided if it'll be in the 99, but it's mana-to-power ratio is very nice and it has some very good keyword abilities for punching in damage.
• Portal to Phyrexia - this is what's actually hidden in the Caves of Koilos! The art is super cool and the effect is ok. But the mana value is very expensive to justify and it doesn't help to truly equalize the battlefield when you're behind. I like it, but not for this decklist.

I've already updated the OP with my primary decklist changes. And as the new Phyrexia set comes out, we'll see what else pops up as possible includes. I can already tell you that Archfiend of the Dross and Black Sun's Twilight look to be great potential additions to the deck as does Zenith Chronicler as another fast body that can draw cards. I know spoiler season has just begun, so we'll see!

[benjameenbear]

Another AWESOME Phyrexia set, another Set Review! LET'S GOOO.

But first, I need to acknowledge the sheer amount of Vorthos-based cards in this set. You can easily make a flavorful, lower-power deck with the cards that have been spoiled. So, take my set review with this grain of salt in mind as to what I am going to review as being important for this specific list!

Phyrexia: All Will Be One

• Atraxa, Grand Unifier - ok, I know I can't fit this card in the deck. But I remember pre-ordering her at $22 knowing that she would spike in price. I told all my MTG friends to get her. None did... LOL. She's absurdly powerful and is GOING to change the format. It's one of the best blink triggers EVER and she still retained her keyword soup. Yup. She's going to dominate. Anyways...
• Bilious Skulldweller - if you want to go for a Posion-counter theme, this is a pretty solid 1-drop to include for your list. It could be a fast way to get poison counters on each opponent while they're still developing their boards so you can use Yawgmoth's Proliferate ability to eventually kill them. It's also a cheap body to sac to Yawgmoth's ability to draw cards, so I think it's a decent card.
• Archfiend of the Dross - such a COOl card with such a BIG BODY at such a LOW MANA VALUE/CMC. I think this is actually a pretty cool card and it's worth including in your list to drain your opponents out even faster. I currently like my suite of creatures better, but I'll grab a copy before this spikes in price.
• Black Sun's Twilight - this is a pretty solid 2-for-1 spell. I like the instant-speed factor of it a lot. The flavor is there and the art is pretty cool, so I'd definitely grab a copy for my collection.
• Drivnod, Carnage Dominus - we don't have a ton of dying triggers effects in this list, but this card is REALLY cool for a more Aristocrats-themed build of Yawgmoth. The art is creepy and the P/T distribution is super funky. I like it.
• Geth, Thane of Contracts - I specifically want to mention this as NOT a good card for the deck since it gives a static -1/-1 to all our creatures. That means a lot of our tokens die to state-based effects, which is a BIG no-no for Yawgmoth. This deck cares about VOLUME of creatures, whereas this Geth cares about QUALITY of creature. I'd pass on this, personally.
• Phyrexian Arena - this is a welcome reprint for this list. But I do NOT like the art. It focuses more on Vraska and Jace than it does on Phyrexia as a concept, so I'll stick with my From the Vault one. But if you haven't grabbed your copy yet, this is a GREAT time to do so!
• Phyrexian Obliterator - I like the old art WAY better. But the fact that they reprinted it is REALLY nice. So if you haven't grabbed your copy yet, this is a great time to do so! I'll be sticking with my foil-y New Phyrexia art!
• Vat of Rebirth - this is a GREAT card that will be EASY to abuse in this deck. I highly recommend getting a copy of it for your list since you can probably get it oil-ed up every turn cycle at least. Easy include that helps with the recursion element of the deck!
• Vraska, Betrayal's Sting - ah, poor Vraska. From getting your romance KILLEd by WOTC creative to getting Phyrexianized, you've had a tough string of luck. She's a decent planeswalker for the deck as a card draw source and removal source. You can easily include her in your deck and she'll probably do just fine. I like other cards more, so I'll pass on her for now.
• Vraan, Executioner Thane - the fact that they restricted it to just once per turn is LAME. It's still a decent Aristocrat effect for the list, so I recommend grabbing a copy (even if it is neutered to hell...) if you decide to take your list in a more Aristocrat way.
• Monument to Perfection - this would require a change in your mana base, but it's pretty cool and a nice way to ensure you have consistent land drops. This could be a sleeper pick for EDH since it's innocuous enough to go unnoticed but decent enough to ensure you draw better cards and hit your land drops. I'll likely grab a copy just because it's Phyrexia and test it a few times to see how it does.
• Staff of Compleation - nope. This list is already VERY loose with its life total, so adding in another way to chunk out a bunch of life in one-go is NOT needed. Cool art, but not what this list is aiming to do.
• Tablet of Compleation - disappointing miss to not have a quote from the Phyrexian Scriptures as the flavor text. But it's a cool card. A little slow for me given the other options available, but I think it's worth grabbing for flavor.
• The Mycosynth Gardens - I'm having trouble correctly evaluating this card. It can turn into a mana rock, a Batterskull, or another cool Artifact piece. But is it worth the loss of a land? This deck is extremely mana-hungry, so potentially losing a mana source to create another board advantage piece is hard to measure. I think it's worth testing out at the very least.

[benjameenbear]

Well, I can't describe how disappointed I was in how they handled the Phyrexia story arc. It actually impacted my enjoyment of the game knowing that the Vorthos element I so admired and loved about Phyrexia as a villain concept had been handled so poorly (in my humble opinion, of course).

So, I let this Primer fall by the wayside. But no more! I shall return and do an extensive update with set reviews and card evaluations. I'm not sure if I'll be making any substantial changes to the decklist, since maintaining a Phyrexia-ness is so important to the list, but I'll note good cards that can fit into the decklist and actually synergize with the core strategy of the deck.

So, be prepared for words. Lots, and lots of words.

[benjameenbear]

March of the Machine Set Review

• Blight Titan - this card should have been so much better than it was. It could have been a different version of Grave Titan. Or something. But it isn't. So… it doesn't make the cut.
• Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus - this is actually pretty good. It comes with an easily sac-able body that provides ramp. I think it's worth including in the list for variety.
• Nettlecyst - this can be a pretty big creature when cast and it makes a creature pretty beefy when equipped. I think it's a solid inclusion since it's easy to have 4-5 artifacts/enchantments in play at any given time.
• Breach the Multiverse - this card is awesome. I love it. I think I want to find room for it just for the flavor of it… but it may be excessive to the deck's core gameplan. I've never seen anyone play it, so I don't even have a good feel for it.
• Sheoldred - this is an awesome card, especially with Yawgmoth being able to proliferate the chapters. An excellent card that will make it into the decklist for sure because the final chapter IS back-breaking. Highly recommend grabbing a copy and adding it to your list.

Wilds of Eldraine Set Review

• Beseech the Mirror - this is a pretty solid tutor since it takes advantage of what this deck is trying to do. The fact that it can potentially put the card into play is excellent. Highly recommended for the deck.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction Set Review

• Gisa, the Hellraiser - this card is almost perfect for Yawgmoth because his ability commits a crime. So, every turn, you can sac one of the tokens Gisa makes to trigger her ability again. Solid, solid card for Yawgmoth. I won't personally include it because it's not quite on flavor, but it's such a great card.
• Kaervek, the Punisher - again, a very good card that is easily triggered with Yawgmoth's ability. It can easily help recur non-creature permanents and spells that wouldn't ordinarily be available.
• Forsaken Miner - note that pretty much any Black card that has a crime trigger is good for this deck. It's absurdly easy to turn on with Yawgmoth's ability. Miner is especially powerful because it basically says "b, Pay 1 life: Draw a card and put a -1/-1 counter on a thing.". That's a PHENOMENAL rate for card draw that doesn't require any other creatures.

Lord of the Rings Set Review

• The One Ring - this is one of the best cards they've printed in years. It has zero flavor with my particular philosophy, but it's amazing.
• Orcish Bowmasters - if you have Yawgmoth in play, you can sacrifice the token in response to another Bowmasters trigger. So, yeah, it's absurd with Yawgmoth. Again, no flavor with my list and philosophy, so I won't include it in this Primer, but it's absolutely excellent for this list.

Modern Horizons Set Review

• Phyrexian Tower - a very welcome reprint for the deck with AWESOME art. I'm probably going to exchange my copy for the new one. Super cool.
• Toxic Deluge - another nice reprint to help push this down. I have the Secret Lair art with Yawgmoth's flavor text, so I'm good. But grab a copy if you can.
• Marionette Apprentice - another Aristocrat effect that triggers off of tokens is really nice. Another good addition to the deck if you're on an Aristocrats theme.
• Wurmcoil Larva - a baby Wurmcoil Engine! It spawns tokens, has the lifeline keyword, and is definitely Phyrexian. I think I'll swap it in... somewhere. Maybe cut Tevesh Szat since he's technically not Phyrexian? Not sure. Tough choice...
• Chthonian Nightmare - we have a good distribution of creatures with 3 CMC or under that can easily be recurred with this new Nightmare. I HIGHLY recommend getting a copy since you can slowly stack up energy counters over time if you recur things that cost less than 3 CMC. Great card and I'm going to laugh when WOTC has to ban it.

Ok, here's the primary Primer changes I'm making to the list.

• -Phyrexian Gargantua, +Sheoldred // The True Scriptures
• -Massacre Girl, +Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor