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

[plaganegra]

@benjameenbear it is funny you mentioned that because I did the exact same thing rofl. Bought a Kormus Bell having never heard of the card before @pokken 's Toxrill Thread...

I see it as a viable combo in the deck for sure. As an enthusiastic mono black player I grabbed one regardless to add it to my deckbuilding supplies.

I do love the meathook massacre. It is like a black sun's zenith but you trade counters for the aristocrat effect. In yawgmoth that is a board wipe with a built in win condition which is hard to overlook. I think of it as a staple in the deck TBH and I don't see it as off-flavor in any way when I look at the card alone. It looks like what would be happening in the room next to Phyrexian Altar lol.

[plaganegra]

Ever Consider Diabolic Servitude? Seems flavorful and pretty good for Yawgmoth. His sac ability makes it better than it would be otherwise...

[benjameenbear]

@plaganegra I have looked at Servitude but never liked the fact that it exiled the creature it resurrected. So while Yawgmoth's instant speed sac ability will preserve the Servitude itself, this deck has a pretty high tendency of getting multiple uses out of its creatures and I didn't want to cut that off with this particular resurrector enchantment. That said, I do see some sweet value out of it from a flavor perspective and could totally understand if you wanted to roll with it!

[plaganegra]

@benjameenbear how often do you reanimate the same creature twice in a game?

[benjameenbear]

Decently frequently, if I had to subjectively guess. So, while it's not every game that I loop a creature (or two) 2+ times, I have experienced looping a creature multiple times in a game via Phyrexian Delver and Cavalier of Night particularly. One of my absolute favorite targets to loop is Weaponcraft Enthusiast because of its CMC and the volume of bodies it puts out. Oh, and the foil is absolutely gorgeous.

And when I compare Servitude against Yawgmoth's Vile Offering or Living Death, it's either outclassed in flavor or raw power.

What's really sad to consider, actually, is how infrequently I use, tutor, or activate Geth, Lord of the Vault. I'm going to keep him in the deck, because I have a foil one, the flavor is amazing, and he can easily take over games with enough mana, but I haven't really found myself going for him too much. I think the next time I play my deck, I'll actively look for him and see how he performs. My copy of Kaldra Compleat or Blightsteel Colossus is beckoning to get some time in the list, lol.

[benjameenbear]

I've totally glossed over the inclusion of Pawn of Ulamog in the deck and I've decided to cut it because it's not a Phyrexian card in any real sense of the flavor. So, I'm curious to open feedback between these 3 cards:

• Dross Harvester - it recoups life whenever ANy creature dies and the flavor is just WAY too good to include. I also like its CMC and the art is absolutely amazing in foil. Of these three cards, this is the one I'm leaning to the most.
• K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth - I had it in the list before, and he sadly didn't pull its weight too often, but I feel like it's a sin not to include K'rrick in the deck
• Kormus Bell - I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but this card + Urborg is my own build-an-Armaggedon that I can strategically use to set my opponents back. It might be a little too cruel and expose my own landbase to a dangerous weakness, so I'm hesitant to include it for that potential backfire effect. But, the upside is PRETTY damn good...

Anyways, I'd love some feedback!

[kirkusjones]

I've totally glossed over the inclusion of Pawn of Ulamog in the deck and I've decided to cut it because it's not a Phyrexian card in any real sense of the flavor. So, I'm curious to open feedback between these 3 cards:

• Dross Harvester - it recoups life whenever ANy creature dies and the flavor is just WAY too good to include. I also like its CMC and the art is absolutely amazing in foil. Of these three cards, this is the one I'm leaning to the most.
• K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth - I had it in the list before, and he sadly didn't pull its weight too often, but I feel like it's a sin not to include K'rrick in the deck
• Kormus Bell - I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but this card + Urborg is my own build-an-Armaggedon that I can strategically use to set my opponents back. It might be a little too cruel and expose my own landbase to a dangerous weakness, so I'm hesitant to include it for that potential backfire effect. But, the upside is PRETTY damn good...

Anyways, I'd love some feedback!

Oooh Dross Harvester! I might give this a whirl in my Vilis, Broker of Blood suicide deck!

[toctheyounger]

Decently frequently, if I had to subjectively guess. So, while it's not every game that I loop a creature (or two) 2+ times, I have experienced looping a creature multiple times in a game via Phyrexian Delver and Cavalier of Night particularly. One of my absolute favorite targets to loop is Weaponcraft Enthusiast because of its CMC and the volume of bodies it puts out. Oh, and the foil is absolutely gorgeous.

And when I compare Servitude against Yawgmoth's Vile Offering or Living Death, it's either outclassed in flavor or raw power.

What's really sad to consider, actually, is how infrequently I use, tutor, or activate Geth, Lord of the Vault. I'm going to keep him in the deck, because I have a foil one, the flavor is amazing, and he can easily take over games with enough mana, but I haven't really found myself going for him too much. I think the next time I play my deck, I'll actively look for him and see how he performs. My copy of Kaldra Compleat or Blightsteel Colossus is beckoning to get some time in the list, lol.

I feel like I'd go for the harvester myself. Flavor on point and it does something the deck needs. Krrik seems very good, but I just don't see the benefit of having him in what is essentially a turbo aristocrat blood storm deck (tm). All going well you're not really casting a ton of spells, you're reanimating a fair amount and using token fodder more than anything. Its probably a teensy but sacrilegious for the son of the father not to be here, but at the same time the father of machines would brook no other personality drawing attention from his exquisite dominion anyway.

The Bell could be good too, thats pretty darn brutal. I'd almost include it just to consider it as an alternative win con.

[Exares]

First, I must say this primer is amazing. Congrats and thank you, because seeing your list and reading every section gave me a lot of ideas on how to improve mine. I built a Yawgmoth deck like a year ago, trying to build something good but favoring flavor before usefulness. Your primer is inspiring! Your criteria and card selection is helping me cut a lot of cards and adding some I didn't even think about.

I was wondering if you have problems removing enchantments. You run Gate to Phyrexia for artifacts (I'd need to look for an alternative to that), but my friends tend to play many different and annoying enchantments and something like Feed the Swarm became a must.

I also see you cut all kind of fetch lands, never regretted that? I never really liked the idea of running classic fetches in a mono-color deck, but I still run Prismatic Vista (or Fabled Passage, depending on which one I have available). Old habits, I guess.

[benjameenbear]

First, I must say this primer is amazing. Congrats and thank you, because seeing your list and reading every section gave me a lot of ideas on how to improve mine. I built a Yawgmoth deck like a year ago, trying to build something good but favoring flavor before usefulness. Your primer is inspiring! Your criteria and card selection is helping me cut a lot of cards and adding some I didn't even think about.

I was wondering if you have problems removing enchantments. You run Gate to Phyrexia for artifacts (I'd need to look for an alternative to that), but my friends tend to play many different and annoying enchantments and something like Feed the Swarm became a must.

I also see you cut all kind of fetch lands, never regretted that? I never really liked the idea of running classic fetches in a mono-color deck, but I still run Prismatic Vista (or Fabled Passage, depending on which one I have available). Old habits, I guess.

I'm glad you liked the Primer! Always good to read some positive feedback. Writing it was a ton of fun and I still go back and read through parts of it.

Yeah, enchantments are a pretty big weakness for mono-Black. In the case that I'm facing a dedicated Enchantress deck, I try to actively go for an Undying combo line since they're playing along an axis that I can't really interact with.. Either that, or I'm going for my stonecharger (AKA Oblivion Stone) and find the right time to activate that bad boy to clear the board. If you regularly play against enchantments, then including Feed the Swarm seems like a good idea. While the Primer is meant to be as definitive as possible, it can't ever account for the needs of each metagame across the world, lol. Run what you need to in your list to make it effective!

Nope, I haven't missed fetch-lands in this list. The only mono-color list I run fetch-lands in is mono-Blue, and that's because Future Sight and Sensei's Divining Top are worth the minimal opportunity cost in the list. It makes the deck simpler to run too, since I'm not shuffling as much lol.

@toctheyounger I like the phrase Aristocrats Blood-Storm list. Can I borrow that?

Yeah, I decided to go with Dross Harvester in the list so I can get more life back over the course of a game. I've been missing it and feel like I depend on Kokusho and Gray Merchant too much in order to keep my life at reasonable levels.

[toctheyounger]

Hey man, its all yours!

[benjameenbear]

Taken and Thread title updated! Thanks @toctheyounger

[Exares]

Thanks for your input!

I have been able to test my deck with many of your additions, and I must say it works really well! The build is very synergistic and our dear Lord of the Wastes controls the board in a surprising way.

My big problem seems to be artifacts, as I don't have a Gate to Phyrexia and Oblivion Stone is kind of slow. But well, it's a Black weakness, so I'll have to live with it as less optimal options like Introduction to Annihilation or Scour from Existence don't seem flavorful nor good enough.

[benjameenbear]

Thanks for your input!

I have been able to test my deck with many of your additions, and I must say it works really well! The build is very synergistic and our dear Lord of the Wastes controls the board in a surprising way.

My big problem seems to be artifacts, as I don't have a Gate to Phyrexia and Oblivion Stone is kind of slow. But well, it's a Black weakness, so I'll have to live with it as less optimal options like Introduction to Annihilation or Scour from Existence don't seem flavorful nor good enough.

Are there specific artifacts that seem to plague you? If so, share them and let's see how we can tackle the problem. While dealing with artifacts is definitely NOT black's primary strength, there are ways that you can proactively handle them. Cards like Sadistic Hypnotist or Thoughtseize or Praetor's Grasp can help get rid of the problem cards before they come down. Otherwise, I usually just try to overwhelm my opponents with a card advantage engine of some form.

Once the full Kamigawa set is spoiled, I'll do a set review. Nothing seems to really jump out at me for Yawgmoth, but Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant has me buzzing to build a new list for what feels like the first time in a long time.

[Exares]

Hey, sorry, I was sure I had replied here! I don't recall which artifact made me write that message, but I'm thinking on Grafdigger's Cage or Mimic Vat, for example, two cards that see some play in my LGS.

Any new cards in NEO o SNC that look interesting? I've been quite off lately. I'm very excited about Dominaria United and The Brother's War, as we should get some Phyrexian-flavored cards that could be worth including.

[benjameenbear]

Dang, sorry I missed this post! Let me do a quick set review for Neo and Capenna.

Overdue Set Review

• Undercity Scrounger - this is actually a decent ramp piece for this deck's strategy, but it would be better if it were repeatable in some way.
• Junji, the Midnight Sky - probably the only card I'd really consider for the deck from this set because this deck does a decent job of looping creatures. But, I'm already running Koko Puff, and his LTB ability is much more relevant. So I'll pass.
• Takenuma, Abandoned Mire - it's a decent effect that doesn't take up a card slot. But the flavor is decidedly NOT Phyrexian, so I won't be running it.
• Body Launderer - this could be pretty good. The connive ETB is a great way to put a body in the yard and with Yawgmoth in the Command Zone it's trivial to trigger his LTB ability. I think it's decent value and an acceptable inclusion... but it's not Phyrexian enough for me lol.

[Exares]

I agree with you on these. Nothing really worthy of inclusion for now.

I was reviewing my monocolored decks lately and realized I was usually using the Diamonds instead of Arcane Signet, which I always thought of a card for multicolored decks. It's of course less in theme for Yawgmoth, but I guess we could say it's strictly better.

Well, we'll soon see what Dominaria United can provide.

[benjameenbear]

Yeah, Arcane Signet is strictly better but not as flavorful (from the picture alone). But the Secret Lair, old-school border reprint would definitely fit the theme and flavor better (but it costs $40 to get, so...).

I'm both excited and nervous about the Dominaria United set. Like, how will the WOTC writing crew screw up the greatest plotline in MTG history this time? But what awesome Phyrexian cards will be printed in this set? Eh. I think they won't do too much damage to the Phyrexia storyline for this set (because it'll eventually have to go back to New Phyrexia for a climactic end-scene battle), but I still worry about how they'll handle it.

I am STILL upset every time I think about what they did to Nicol Bolas. Like, you took one of MTG's greatest villains and... banished him? With literally a sleight of hand? &%##%)*^&$ you, WOTC.

[benjameenbear]

Well, the storyline was disappointing as I expected, but there are some super awesome Phyrexian cards. I'll do a set review now!

Dominaria 3.0

• Sheoldred, the Apocalypse - WOW. This is an AWESOME card. It turns Yawgmoth's activated ability into a net positive effect and Shocks our opponents everytime they draw a card. This is a phenomenally flavored card with a very powerful effect that this deck loves to see. There's multiple ways to draw cards outside of Yawgmoth's ability, and this replenishes one of the most valuable resources we have. Slam dunk include, no questions asked.
• The Cruelty of Gix - another solid flavor inclusion, I imagine I'd probably trigger it straight to Chapter 2 to get a Wrath effect and then cast said Wrath effect to take advantage of its Chapter 3. Solid card, cool art, but a bit overcosted for what it does.
• Defiler of Flesh - pretty cool card that can pump up some of our heavy hitters for heavier damage and for relative unblockability. Being able to shortcut colored mana costs could also be very powerful, but it's not quite on curve as I want it to be. I'm grabbing a copy to add to my Phyrexia collection, but I don't know if I'll have space for it in my list with the inclusion of Sheoldred at the coveted 4 CMC spot.
• Evolved Sleeper - AWESOME art, AWESOME flavor, sadly underpowered for EDH. Will I still grab a copy? Yes, yes I will. It's ability to repeatable draw is appealing but it needed some sort of static ability to help push it through for damage.
• Weatherlight Compleated - this deck actually has a pretty significant weakness of not having a ton of Flyers. So being able to easily turn on Weatherlight into a 5/5 Flyer could be very valuable. Also acts as another pseudo-Yawgmoth effect for whenever a creature dies. It fits a nice spot on the curve and the art is super cool. I'm grabbing a copy for my list.

Alright, so that's most of the deckist worthy cards that I'd recommend grabbing. But if you're a flavor enthusiast who has a passion for the lore of Phyrexia... well, there's a ton of cards here that are worth collecting!

Time to agonize over which cards I have to cut to fit in Sheoldred and Weatherlight...

[Exares]

I hadn't consider the new Weatherlight and it looks really interesting in the deck. Sheoldred is indeed an auto-include, and looking at my list the only thing I see cutting is Phyrexian Obliterator, which I played more for sentimental reasons than results.

[benjameenbear]

I can definitely respect that, but I actually went full-tilt for flavor and actually cut Kokusho, the Evening Star for the new Sheoldred. They both serve the same basic purpose of lifegain, but I think Sheoldred is more flavorful and can actually be more impactful for overall lifegain too! I'll be editing the main decklist to reflect the actual in-paper list I'm running at the moment.

[benjameenbear]

A few excellent additions to the deck based on the Dominaria 2.0 set. The overall goal is to continue to increase the flavor of the deck while also balancing the overall power of the deck. Here's the changes:

• - Kokusho, the Evening Star + Sheoldred, the Apocalypse - Sheoldred is a flavor win that mostly serves the same function of lifegain. Sheoldred might also be perceived less oppressively than Kokusho, so it might help diminish the amount of attention this deck gets at the table? Unlikely, but worth a shot I guess lol.
• - Oblivion Stone + The Meathook Massacre - I wanted to increase the number of ways I can gain life in this deck and this card is a very flexible dual-use card. It gains life whenever opponent's creatures die and it also has a Wrath effect baked in. I might miss the clean all-permanent destruction that the O-Stone gives, but we'll see.
• - Dross Harvester + Bridge from Below - Yawgmoth can get the Bridge into the 'yard via his Proliferate ability and this deck prioritizes token production over lifegain. Additionally, with the inclusion of Meathook, I think there's a significant density of lifegain effects to safely cut the Harvester. I expect the Bridge to overperform in games.
• - Traxos, Scourge of Kroog +Phyrexian Obliterator - simple heavy-hitter swap. And, the flavor on the Obliterator is a little more obvious, so it slightly edges out the Dragon Engine in the main decklist.

I also added an updated section for the new Sheoldred because I think she's an EXCELLENT mono-Black Commander and updated the changelog as well.

I'm hoping to get a playgroup together more regularly soon so I can play this list more frequently, but time will tell!

[benjameenbear]

Hah! I was able to get a game in with Yawgmoth! I didn't win, but it was also one of the more ridiculous game states I've ever seen.

So I was playing against Yarok, the Desecrated combo, Anhelo, the Painter Big Spells.dec, and Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded. It was an interesting table and I knew that Yarok was going to be heavily focusing on his Spellseeker combo line to try and go infinite. I've also played against the Purphoros deck and its pilot LOVES to target me when I'm playing Yawgmoth. So I knew I was in for an uphill battle.

I opened with Swamp, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Westvale Abbey // Ormendahl, Profane Prince, Thran Dynamo, Phyrexian Arena, Treacherous Pit-Dweller, and Massacre Girl. Definitely not the best hand, but it would get the job done. We all did land-go except for the Yarok player who had a Gemstone Caverns pre-game action and a mana dork plus tutor combo to start his T1, but then he missed a few land drops so stall out. I play my Pit-Dweller on T2 with a plan of Arena for T3, but I drew into Worn Powerstone and Bridge from Below. I decided to develop my cards instead of my mana and did the Arena T3. Yarok needed 2 more turns to assemble his combo line, so I knew I had at least one more turn of development before I needed to worry about interacting. But then he cast a Deathrite Shaman along with his tutor. So I cast Yawgmoth T4 and sac'ed the Pit-Dweller to kill Yarok's mana dork and shrink the Deathrite before its exile ability blanked my Pit-Dweller. Anhelo was starting to really ramp up their mana and cast an Anhelo. Purphoros was looking to cast their Commander on my T4 with no mana up, so that's why I went for a T4 Yawgmoth. Yarok finally plays his Commander and Anhelo plays a Watcher for Tomorrow and another bounce land. Purphoros gets cast and I know it's going to come at me, whatever his Sneak Attack creature is. So I choose that turn to be my mana development turn. I cast the Dynamo into the Powerstone into a Plague Myr so I could recover in case he killed Yawgmoth. Yarok spent another tutor looking for the last combo piece. Anhelo plays an Extract from Darkness and doesn't find a whole lot of targets from it except his own Watcher, which he returns. Purphoros comes at me and his Sneak'ed creature is Hellkite Tyrant. Dammit. I sac the Myr to draw a card and he takes my mana rocks. I draw into a Phyrexian Obliterator and cast that as protection for Purphoros as well as Yarok. Yarok untaps, misses the mana he needs to go off, and passes. Anhelo then fires off a copied spell that gained him a bunch of life. Purph hard casts an Etali, Primal Storm and attacks me. I Dismember it and block with Obliterator, watching as a land gets exiled. I untap, draw Phyrexian Rager with mana open to discard my Bridge from Below with Yawgmoth's proliferate ability. Yarok draws the land they need and attempts to go off. In response, I discard my Bridge, sac my Rager and its token, the Obliterator and its token and another creature token that I somehow got to kill his Yarok. Fizzled, he lets Yarok go to his 'yard since he doesn't have enough mana to recast it and he'd previously tutored for a Reanimate. This is when Anhelo decides to go off. He casts a casualt-ied Blatant Thievery and steals my stolen mana rocks from Purph and a whole bunch of lands from me and the Yarok player. Becoming public enemy and shifting all pain away from him, Purph sends something at the Anhelo player. I try to rebuild after having my lands stolen, Yarok is out of the game basically, and Purph is pretty mad. Anhelo comes back to his turn and recasts his Blatant Thievery, only this time with a Twinning Staff and another casualty trigger. We each lose another 3 permanents. So, with his huge board of creatures and lands (he stole my Yawgmoth and Obliterator), they all look to me to see if I can do anything. I play my 5th land and cast Massacre Girl to wipe the board. This completely resets Anhelo's creature board to nothing, but I've got his attention. I'm at 10-ish life at this time. So, Anhelo attacks me with a dude to put me at 8 life and then casualty-ies my face with Prophetic Bolt. Purph is next with a gigantic X spell and Yarok eventually scoops because he literally has no permanents in play.

Either way, I think I played as well as I could and had multiple flavor wins that made me happy! I had multiple points of interaction and played a presence in the game, which is all I'm really asking for when I sit down with this deck. I was very pleased and the Obliterator acted as an effective rattlensake card for the Purph player, so I think it's going to stay in.

[benjameenbear]

Well, I love how much Phyrexia stuff is coming out right now. It's a lot to consume, I guess, but I'll take it!

The newest card to catch my attention, of course, is Yawgmoth's right-hand, the First of the Compleated: Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor.

It's a powerful card in its own right in the sheer amount of card draw he opens up. Turning creatures sideways results in cards, and the number of powerful creatures available in this deck should always make sure you have a good board state to attack. Interestingly, Gix doesn't care if it's a token attacking OR a real creature, so you can build up a huge swarm and turn it sideways for big chunks of card advantage.

His second ability is what's particularly exciting to me, however. Being able to convert cards in hand into new resources from your OPPONENT'S decks seems REALLY cool and could lead to some interesting plays. Then, his first ability helps to feed into his second ability, especially as you put creatures from your opponent's decks into play on your side of the battlefield.

A mono-Black Tymna the Weaver that isn't restricted seems AWESOME and I'm happy to include it in the deck. Now, I need to find yet ANOTHER cut for him.

Also, Phyrexian Fleshgorger also looks to be particularly promising. I'm grabbing a copy of it for my Phyrexia collection, but it looks like it'll actually be a pretty decent attacker with lifeline, which this deck always craves more of.

[benjameenbear]

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).