Bear with me guys, as this is both my first post on MTGSalvation after months of lurking and my first "finished" EDH deck. Before I get into the deck, allow me to give a little background on my background and why I chose the deck.
Background
I am very new to Magic. Gatecrash was my first set and I am a huge fan of Limited. My first ever non-kitchen table match was a triple GTC draft in which I drafted Dimir (not knowing that the reason it was so open is that it was the worst guild in the format). My first ever pick was Lazav, Dimir Mastermind and I have been a huge fan of U/B mill ever since. I even once lived the dream of taking down a draft with a mill deck built around Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker, Mind Grind, Duskmantle Guildmage and 3 Sage's Row Denizen. Sadly, Lazav watched those matches from the sidelines. When the drafting format moved to the RTR block, I fell in love with BUG and I have never looked back.
At the same time, I started noticed people playing EDH and having a blast. I wanted in. After doing about half a dozen drafts I had enough cards to put together an EDH deck (which was little more than the remains of about 10 GTC/RTR block drafts). Needless to say, my results were disastrous. However, I saw what cards worked in the format, and little by little I acquired better components for the deck. It also helped that my cousin had a bunch of stuff from way back when and gave me the opportunity to snag a few singles from his collection. Over about 2 months, I've shaped this deck to be what I think is fairly competitive despite being very "budget friendly," mainly from seeing what was good against me. Before I talk strategies, here is the decklist:
Wait, Vorosh...?
Yes! Let's be honest, Lazav is really the commander of this deck and everyone except Vorosh, the Hunter knows it. However, even all the wiles of House Dimir cannot bring green mana to the deck. And so, in typical mastermind fashion, Lazav buries himself amongst the rest and let's Vorosh lead the the battle while Lazav plays puppetmaster.
But why not the Mimeoplasm?
Good question. I originally had The Mimeoplasm as the deck's centerpiece and commander. Simply put, people just do not like you when you play him. He thrives in a graveyard centered deck, and this deck is a mill/combo deck that uses the graveyard, but can exist without it. Sure, cards like Sewer Nemesis and Consuming Aberration want cards in our opponents' graveyards, but that is truly and completely a sub-theme. As I stated before, I am playing Vorosh for his colors, not his card text. Additionally, sometimes you need a 6/6 flier to hold off attackers, and Vorosh is much more consistent at doing this than the Ooze.
Why not Damia? She seems better, too!
I have never tried her as a commander, and I probably will someday soon. However, she does not have flying, costs 1 more mana than Vorosh, and is generally a bigger threat (therefore drawing removal more readily) due to her card draw. Her upside is obviously amazing, but for now I'm sticking with my big, dumb dragon. One other consideration is that he is that much more helpful at activating Mosswort Bridge in only one swing.
Strategy:
Ideally, I want to drop Duskmantle Guildmage and Mindcrank on the same turn with 1UB open so that anyone planning on killing the guildmage, or even playing a nonpermanent spell, is committing suicide. If I can untap and play Windfall, Whispering Madness, or Mind Grind for 1, I can kill everyone on the spot unless someone has instant speed artifact removal. Consuming Aberration and sweepers like Barter in Blood and Life's Finale also work as a game win-condition, though they are not as certain as the discard effects. However, just resolving my two combo cards are generally enough to win most games.
Well, a two-three card combo is all well and good, but getting there is the difficulty. The ideal situation described above involves having at least 7 mana, and it needs to contain at least UBUB. If we're being really greedy, we'd like 10 mana so we can also Mind Grind or Windfall and win on the turn which we play these cards. That adds the further restriction of needing UBUBU or UBUBUB. This is where the ramp comes into play, basically the only reason for G being in the deck at all. Not only does it ramp us, but it also fixes, making sure that the land we play fits our color requirements as well. The only nonramp green creature is Winged Coatl, which essentially functions as a removal spell. Until I can trade for a Baleful Strix, this will have to do. The only nonramp green spells are Deadbridge Chant for card advantage and some synergy with Sheoldred, Whispering One and The Mimeoplasm, and Time of Need to tutor Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, Sheoldred, Whispering One, or in some rare cases Azusa, Lost but Seeking with a land-heavy draw or Erebos, God of the Dead to combat the Oloro, Ageless Ascetic fad going around my store.
The other half of the strategy is actually getting the cards in hand. For this I use tutors, though my tutor budget is pretty minimal and I am making do with Diabolic Tutor, Diabolic Revelations (which can grab everything needed in one fell swoop), the transmute abilities of Dimir Infiltrator which can grab either part of the combo and Perplex which hits 3 of our ramp spells in case we are lacking those, and Tezzeret the Seeker who can put our Mindcrank into play. Also, should you be stuck with cards that don't do much in hand, Windfall and Whispering Madness can dig pretty deep.
Synergies
I've noted some neat synergies that are not the fairly well-known Duskmantle Guildmage/Mindcrank combo and the others listed above. Most (if not all) of these are also known, of course, but it may explain certain deck choices.
- Tezzeret the Seeker and artifact lands. In a pinch, I can tutor up lands or use them to ramp. This is obviously best when Mindcrank is already in hand.
- Jace Beleren and Notion Thief. The first and second activation of Jace's +2 seem like a hug...until I draw 4 cards off it.
- Grisly Spectacle and every card that benefits from mill. Side note: Killing a Kalonian Hydra to mill someone out feels amazing (after it deals lethal to an opponent, of course).
Primary uses of certain cards Deathrite Shaman - Swiss army knife. All 3 abilities relevant, though not essential, to the deck's function.
(I've seen this in other threads...I have no idea why I'd need this...)
Background
I am very new to Magic. Gatecrash was my first set and I am a huge fan of Limited. My first ever non-kitchen table match was a triple GTC draft in which I drafted Dimir (not knowing that the reason it was so open is that it was the worst guild in the format). My first ever pick was Lazav, Dimir Mastermind and I have been a huge fan of U/B mill ever since. I even once lived the dream of taking down a draft with a mill deck built around Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker, Mind Grind, Duskmantle Guildmage and 3 Sage's Row Denizen. Sadly, Lazav watched those matches from the sidelines. When the drafting format moved to the RTR block, I fell in love with BUG and I have never looked back.
At the same time, I started noticed people playing EDH and having a blast. I wanted in. After doing about half a dozen drafts I had enough cards to put together an EDH deck (which was little more than the remains of about 10 GTC/RTR block drafts). Needless to say, my results were disastrous. However, I saw what cards worked in the format, and little by little I acquired better components for the deck. It also helped that my cousin had a bunch of stuff from way back when and gave me the opportunity to snag a few singles from his collection. Over about 2 months, I've shaped this deck to be what I think is fairly competitive despite being very "budget friendly," mainly from seeing what was good against me. Before I talk strategies, here is the decklist:
1 Vorosh, the Hunter
Creatures
1 Acidic Slime
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Consuming Aberration
1 Damia, Sage of Stone
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Dimir Infiltrator
1 Duskmantle Guildmage
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Evil Twin
1 Extractor Demon
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
1 Lord of the Void
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Notion Thief
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae
1 Sewer Nemesis
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sylvan Primordial
1 The Mimeoplasm
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Winged Coatl
Instants
1 Counterspell
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Far / Away
1 Go for the Throat
1 Grisly Spectacle
1 Hinder
1 Perplex
1 Psychic Strike
1 Rewind
1 Tragic Slip
1 Barter in Blood
1 Cultivate
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Journey of Discovery
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Life's Finale
1 Mind Grind
1 Praetor's Grasp
1 Ranger's Path
1 Rise from the Grave
1 Rite of Replication
1 Time of Need
1 Whispering Madness
1 Windfall
Enchantments
1 Awakening Zone
1 Deadbridge Chant
1 Soul Ransom
Artifact
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Mesmeric Orb
1 Mindcrank
Planeswalkers
1 Jace Beleren
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Vraska the Unseen
Land
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Command Tower
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Drowned Catacomb
6 Forest
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Golgari Rot Farm
6 Island
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Salt Marsh
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Simic Guildgate
8 Swamp
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Tree of Tales
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Waterveil Cavern
Wait, Vorosh...?
Yes! Let's be honest, Lazav is really the commander of this deck and everyone except Vorosh, the Hunter knows it. However, even all the wiles of House Dimir cannot bring green mana to the deck. And so, in typical mastermind fashion, Lazav buries himself amongst the rest and let's Vorosh lead the the battle while Lazav plays puppetmaster.
But why not the Mimeoplasm?
Good question. I originally had The Mimeoplasm as the deck's centerpiece and commander. Simply put, people just do not like you when you play him. He thrives in a graveyard centered deck, and this deck is a mill/combo deck that uses the graveyard, but can exist without it. Sure, cards like Sewer Nemesis and Consuming Aberration want cards in our opponents' graveyards, but that is truly and completely a sub-theme. As I stated before, I am playing Vorosh for his colors, not his card text. Additionally, sometimes you need a 6/6 flier to hold off attackers, and Vorosh is much more consistent at doing this than the Ooze.
Why not Damia? She seems better, too!
I have never tried her as a commander, and I probably will someday soon. However, she does not have flying, costs 1 more mana than Vorosh, and is generally a bigger threat (therefore drawing removal more readily) due to her card draw. Her upside is obviously amazing, but for now I'm sticking with my big, dumb dragon. One other consideration is that he is that much more helpful at activating Mosswort Bridge in only one swing.
Strategy:
Ideally, I want to drop Duskmantle Guildmage and Mindcrank on the same turn with 1UB open so that anyone planning on killing the guildmage, or even playing a nonpermanent spell, is committing suicide. If I can untap and play Windfall, Whispering Madness, or Mind Grind for 1, I can kill everyone on the spot unless someone has instant speed artifact removal. Consuming Aberration and sweepers like Barter in Blood and Life's Finale also work as a game win-condition, though they are not as certain as the discard effects. However, just resolving my two combo cards are generally enough to win most games.
Well, a two-three card combo is all well and good, but getting there is the difficulty. The ideal situation described above involves having at least 7 mana, and it needs to contain at least UBUB. If we're being really greedy, we'd like 10 mana so we can also Mind Grind or Windfall and win on the turn which we play these cards. That adds the further restriction of needing UBUBU or UBUBUB. This is where the ramp comes into play, basically the only reason for G being in the deck at all. Not only does it ramp us, but it also fixes, making sure that the land we play fits our color requirements as well. The only nonramp green creature is Winged Coatl, which essentially functions as a removal spell. Until I can trade for a Baleful Strix, this will have to do. The only nonramp green spells are Deadbridge Chant for card advantage and some synergy with Sheoldred, Whispering One and The Mimeoplasm, and Time of Need to tutor Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, Sheoldred, Whispering One, or in some rare cases Azusa, Lost but Seeking with a land-heavy draw or Erebos, God of the Dead to combat the Oloro, Ageless Ascetic fad going around my store.
The other half of the strategy is actually getting the cards in hand. For this I use tutors, though my tutor budget is pretty minimal and I am making do with Diabolic Tutor, Diabolic Revelations (which can grab everything needed in one fell swoop), the transmute abilities of Dimir Infiltrator which can grab either part of the combo and Perplex which hits 3 of our ramp spells in case we are lacking those, and Tezzeret the Seeker who can put our Mindcrank into play. Also, should you be stuck with cards that don't do much in hand, Windfall and Whispering Madness can dig pretty deep.
If things don't go well...
Sometimes people destroy your Mindcrank. Sometimes you mill it with Mesmeric Orb or Deadbridge Chant. The good news is that this deck has other answers and options. Oona, Queen of the Fae, Lord of the Void, The Mimeoplasm, Vraska the Unseen, and, of course, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind can all do nasty things. And if all else fails, you have a 6/6 flier who grows huge sitting in the command zone.
Synergies
I've noted some neat synergies that are not the fairly well-known Duskmantle Guildmage/Mindcrank combo and the others listed above. Most (if not all) of these are also known, of course, but it may explain certain deck choices.
- Tezzeret the Seeker and artifact lands. In a pinch, I can tutor up lands or use them to ramp. This is obviously best when Mindcrank is already in hand.
- Jace Beleren and Notion Thief. The first and second activation of Jace's +2 seem like a hug...until I draw 4 cards off it.
- Grisly Spectacle and every card that benefits from mill. Side note: Killing a Kalonian Hydra to mill someone out feels amazing (after it deals lethal to an opponent, of course).
Primary uses of certain cards
Deathrite Shaman - Swiss army knife. All 3 abilities relevant, though not essential, to the deck's function.
Erebos, God of the Dead - Anti-life gain strategies and card draw engine.
Evil Twin - Removal or beatdown. One Lord of the Void is pretty nasty. Two are brutal.
Vampire Nighthawk - Attack deterrent and target for Whispering Madness.
Winged Coatl - Pseudo-removal at instant speed.
Far / Away, Tragic Slip, Curse of the Swine, and Barter in Blood - Gets around Indestructible nonsense like Avacyn, Angel of Hope and Tajic, Blade of the Legion.
Soul Ransom - Card advantage.
Mesmeric Orb - Disruption and a red herring to draw out artifact removal.
Vraska the Unseen - Putrefy (but better!) on a stick and an alternate (though never attempted) win-con.
Cards I want to find room for...
Golgari Charm The abilities are too good to not have in the deck. Hard to cut something at the moment, though.
Baleful Strix Great card. Too expensive and no one wants to trade.
Any suggestions, recommendations, and comments appreciated!