Yawgmoth, Thran Physician - Control with Reanimator/Proliferate Subtheme

[noSnip]

Hi everyone,

New to the MTG Nexus forums, posting here in hope of receiving feedback on my Yawgmoth deck. Originally the deck was built as an aristocrat deck, but after playing it for a while I want to change the direction of the deck into more of a value-oriented control deck with reanimation and proliferate subthemes, as these two go very well hand in hand.

I haven't tried out the exact configuration below - it is made from my original list combined with components from benjameenbear's list (viewtopic.php?t=820#p_decklist) and darrenhabib's list (viewtopic.php?t=1116).

My worry right now is that I might want too many things at once with the deck and thus risking it to be too inconsistent - e.g. having infinity combos, reanimation themes, planeswalkers, and the "usual" Yawgmoth value package with recurring creatures and token generators. I really enjoy playing consistent decks, so this is definitely one of the things I would love your input on.

The budget for changes is unlimited in the sense that I am willing to pay for the deck to be configured right. My playgroup is playing at a power level of 7-8, I would say, on a scale from 1-10.

I am open to more radical changes to the deck, e.g. an even heavier reanimator oriented theme or heavy mana oriented with several X spells as win condition.

Really appreciate any help or suggestions and look forward to hearing them all. Thanks a lot in advance.

Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander

1 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

Tokens/Fodder (14)

1 Abhorrent Overlord

1 Bitterblossom

1 Butcher Ghoul

1 Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder

1 Genesis Chamber

1 Geralf's Messenger

1 Nest of Scarabs

1 Nether Traitor

1 Ophiomancer

1 Pawn of Ulamog

1 Reassembling Skeleton

1 Sengir Autocrat

1 Weaponcraft Enthusiast

1 Wurmcoil Engine

Combo (6)

1 Aetherflux Reservoir

1 Bolas's Citadel

1 Dross Harvester

1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

1 Nim Deathmantle

1 Triskelion

Reanimation (4)

1 Animate Dead

1 Dread Return

1 Living Death

1 Victimize

Ramp (15)

1 Arcane Signet

1 Ashnod's Altar

1 Bubbling Muck

1 Burnished Hart

1 Crypt Ghast

1 Expedition Map

1 Jet Medallion

1 Nirkana Revenant

1 Phyrexian Altar

1 Priest of Gix

1 Sol Ring

1 Solemn Simulacrum

1 Thought Vessel

1 Thran Dynamo

1 Wayfarer's Bauble

Drain and Gain (3)

1 Bastion of Remembrance

1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel

1 Kokusho, the Evening Star

Removal (8)

1 Black Sun's Zenith

1 Cavalier of Night

1 Dictate of Erebos

1 Grave Pact

1 Massacre Wurm

1 Noxious Gearhulk

1 Overseer of the Damned

1 Phyrexian Scriptures

Land (35)

1 Blast Zone

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Cabal Coffers

1 Cabal Stronghold

1 Crypt of Agadeem

1 Myriad Landscape

1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

1 Phyrexian Tower

1 Reliquary Tower

24 Swamp

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Westvale Abbey // Ormendahl, Profane Prince

Card Advantage (4)

1 Bone Miser

1 Phyrexian Arena

1 Sensei's Divining Top

1 Skullclamp

Tutor (5)

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Diabolic Intent

1 Entomb

1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded

1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier

Planeswalker (4)

1 Karn, the Great Creator

1 Liliana of the Dark Realms

1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General

1 Ugin, the Ineffable

Protection (1)

1 Lightning Greaves

Approximate Total Cost:

[Outcryqq]

Karn and Ugin seem out of place in this deck. Maybe some mix of Reanimate, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose (you could add Exquisite Blood), and Dreadhorde Invasion?

[noSnip]

Karn and Ugin seem out of place in this deck. Maybe some mix of Reanimate, Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose (you could add Exquisite Blood), and Dreadhorde Invasion?

Karn is for controlling artifacts and Ugin is for removal of permanents, as black does not have many ways to do this.

Reanimate is definitely an option, I have considered this but am unsure how many reanimation effects I should have. Dreadhorde Invasion was in my original list, but I think it is too slow for the deck. The same actually applies to Bitterblossom, so i've been thinking about taking it out as well.

[benjameenbear]

Great to see another Yawgmoth list floating around. May the compleated grow to fill the ranks of Commander players everywhere.

As a first post, I think you're in a great spot. Sadly, Karn, the Great Creator never performed as well as I hoped it would in my original list and it got cut recently. Unless you play in a meta where mana-rocks are all the rage, of course. He's great as a one-sided Null Rod.

Honestly, it seems like the Proliferate theme that you're going for is very sparse relative to the Value and Reanimator themes going on. Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer is a great value option that reinforces the Planeswalker pacakge in the deck, so maybe cutting one of the value dudes here would be good. Additionally, when she flips, she can help you get Reanimator targets into the 'yard more easily.

The lack of Phyrexian Delver is, well, an omission of an uncompleated player.

Bitterblossom can definitely be cut. It is WAY too slow for Yawgmoth to really take advantage of.

If you're looking for additional Reanimator targets (although I think you've got a great selection as is), you could consider Vilis, Broker of Blood and Void Winnower. Vilis is one of THE BEST Reanimator targets printed for Commander in years. and Void Winnower makes an immediate impact on the texture of a game and impacts your opponents quickly.

Hope this helps!

[noSnip]

Thanks for a comprehensive answer, benjameen, it's very helpful. Yawgmoth has definitely become my favourite commander very fast, as there are so many ways you can build him while staying mono-black.

Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer is definitely a great suggestion. I will try her out. When you refer to value dude, I guess you refer to token producers? I have thought about exchanging Bone Miser for Liliana, but at the same time I haven't tried out Bone Miser yet and the card seems really cool for a Yawgmoth Reanimator theme so kinda wanna try it out too.

My thoughts about straying further away from the Proliferate theme is that I would potentially end up missing a discard outlet and have to rely on graveyard tutors in order for the yard to get filled. At the same time, I haven't actually tried using his second ability in this deck setup yet, so maybe I overestimate its power. Maybe relying more on Yawgmoth as a value engine is more effective than as a yard filler, and then have traditional graveyard tutors for filling the yard. I guess I have to test out what works best before I can conclude anything.

I have replaced Bitterblossom with Phyrexian Delver because I can see the value and flexibility in having a card like Delver that creates a Reanimation chain, but maybe you could elaborate a bit on why it is such a strong card? For me a 5 mana Reanimation effect seems a little expensive? Lastly, I will also somehow make room for Vilis, Broker of Blood, this card is simply too cool not to be included in a Reanimator Yawgmoth deck.

[benjameenbear]

Thanks for a comprehensive answer, benjameen, it's very helpful. Yawgmoth has definitely become my favourite commander very fast, as there are so many ways you can build him while staying mono-black.

Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer is definitely a great suggestion. I will try her out. When you refer to value dude, I guess you refer to token producers? I have thought about exchanging Bone Miser for Liliana, but at the same time I haven't tried out Bone Miser yet and the card seems really cool for a Yawgmoth Reanimator theme so kinda wanna try it out too.

My thoughts about straying further away from the Proliferate theme is that I would potentially end up missing a discard outlet and have to rely on graveyard tutors in order for the yard to get filled. At the same time, I haven't actually tried using his second ability in this deck setup yet, so maybe I overestimate its power. Maybe relying more on Yawgmoth as a value engine is more effective than as a yard filler, and then have traditional graveyard tutors for filling the yard. I guess I have to test out what works best before I can conclude anything.

I have replaced Bitterblossom with Phyrexian Delver because I can see the value and flexibility in having a card like Delver that creates a Reanimation chain, but maybe you could elaborate a bit on why it is such a strong card? For me a 5 mana Reanimation effect seems a little expensive? Lastly, I will also somehow make room for Vilis, Broker of Blood, this card is simply too cool not to be included in a Reanimator Yawgmoth deck.

My feelings about Phyrexian Delver stem from my strong flavor adherence. I have the Primer on Yawgmoth here on Nexus and it's a super Vorthos deck where the Phyrexian theme is the primary point of the decklist, not necessarily the individual cards. That said, the list is VERY strong as is so I'm happily not sacrificing functionality or efficacy to push my love of theme in my Primer!

Delver is a great card simply because it's another body for Yawgmoth to sacrifice that has the ability to rez another dude. Anything that performs the function that you want (token production, Reanimation, card draw, etc.) that you can staple to a body will give you tons of options for activating Yawgmoth's ability and accrue superior Card Advantage over your opponents. This is the definition of synergy with your Commander. Sure, you can find a more CMC friendly Reanimation effect but you do so at the expense of synergy with your Commander. I've done enough chains with the Delver where I can Reanimate it several times with other Reanimation spells and sacrifice it to Yawgmoth's ability to replenish my Board State and hand.

When I say Value dude, in context of your list, yes I'm referring to cheap (CMC-wise) creatures that perform a incremental value. Token producers don't necessarily generate overpowering Board presence but they do create opportunities of value when you resolve your Commander and his draw ability.

I would pop on over to darrenhabib's Yawgmoth thread and try and discuss the Proliferate ability of Yawgmoth. I think I've legitimately activated him only 5-ish times in the whole time I've played him and it's always in conjunction with Phyrexian Scriptures to wrath the board. I have a low opinion of his Proliferate ability accordingly and have built my Primer and playstyle around his first ability.