Essentially, my list looks to leverage Supernatural Stamina and its ilk (Spend 1 mana to target Xiahou, sac him to bring it back to hand, returning him to the field. Essentially a mana sink to generate death triggers.)
This are useful in the midgame when you have payoffs like Grim Haruspex, and turn into the win condition once you solve for mana and damage.
By itself does Painter's Servant enable any combo's in this deck? I get that it lets you recur your artifacts and lands but we already have Yawgmoth's Will/Buried Ruin for that (I don't know if the primer list is up to date but you've even got Shrouded Lore in there). Additionally, those cards are usually the ones you would want to recur the least, unless I need a combo piece back (why not just go for a different combo?) I usually want to recur tutors and draw spells the most.
Not saying it's not worth a slot, just trying to think about where it fits in the deck.
Edit: It's probably also worth considering that if you name black to improve Xiahou value then you blank your Snuff Out and Slaughter Pact.
Regarding Ransack vs Whisper:
Eh, it depends on what you want to do with it, if you're primarily a combo deck then digging deeper is a big advantage. If you're playing the long game then you want the draw. Note that I haven't removed, nights whisper, I found another cut for Ransack (I think it was Ugin, the Ineffable). Two mana draw is a great early recursion target for Xiahou and it or a tutor is always something I look for in opening hands. Ransack is another great option.
I think you're actually right about sad bot, obviously it being recurrable land ramp is potent, BUT it is very slow. I think I remember entombing it to Reanimate it one game but that's the last time I remember actively searching it up. I think he'll be the cut for Vilis.
I'm surprised to see no mention of Ransack the Lab. Just comparing it to nights whisper convinced me to at least give it a shot. It digs deeper at the cost of giving you one less card BUT it fills your graveyard with other cards that you can then access earlier than you would otherwise with Xiahou. Also, it's not technically "Draw" which gets around Chains in a slower build.
Also, Vilis, Broker of Blood is going to find a home in my build as my 1 reanimation target. The deck already runs Entomb and Reanimate so having a good target is worth it and this one draws you 8 cards straight away when you Reanimate him.
By itself it might not be good enough but with Necro and Top already in the deck it's insane (you can shift lands off the top). Obvious synergies with it would be Aetherflux Reservoir and Tendrils of Agony. I'm thinking of shifting my deck a bit to include it, but I'm not sure what to cut...
You're right that it's expensive but with rituals it won't be that hard to get there. It might also need some support in the form of grim monolith and mana vault.
Thanks for the primer anyway, I've been playing Xiahou for a year or so now and used your primer a lot when I was first doing research. A lot of useful thoughts and information
Dear god, can we have some discussion about Bolas's Citadel? This card is nuts, sure it's 6 mana but you probably don't need much more than this and a vampiric tutor/imperial seal/top to be able to win.
https://archidekt.com/decks/53194#Xiahou_Dun_|_Gravestorm
Essentially, my list looks to leverage Supernatural Stamina and its ilk (Spend 1 mana to target Xiahou, sac him to bring it back to hand, returning him to the field. Essentially a mana sink to generate death triggers.)
This are useful in the midgame when you have payoffs like Grim Haruspex, and turn into the win condition once you solve for mana and damage.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this!
Not saying it's not worth a slot, just trying to think about where it fits in the deck.
Edit: It's probably also worth considering that if you name black to improve Xiahou value then you blank your Snuff Out and Slaughter Pact.
Eh, it depends on what you want to do with it, if you're primarily a combo deck then digging deeper is a big advantage. If you're playing the long game then you want the draw. Note that I haven't removed, nights whisper, I found another cut for Ransack (I think it was Ugin, the Ineffable). Two mana draw is a great early recursion target for Xiahou and it or a tutor is always something I look for in opening hands. Ransack is another great option.
I think you're actually right about sad bot, obviously it being recurrable land ramp is potent, BUT it is very slow. I think I remember entombing it to Reanimate it one game but that's the last time I remember actively searching it up. I think he'll be the cut for Vilis.
Also, Vilis, Broker of Blood is going to find a home in my build as my 1 reanimation target. The deck already runs Entomb and Reanimate so having a good target is worth it and this one draws you 8 cards straight away when you Reanimate him.
Here is my list for reference: https://archidekt.com/decks/53194#Xiahou_Dun,_The_One-Eyed
You're right that it's expensive but with rituals it won't be that hard to get there. It might also need some support in the form of grim monolith and mana vault.
Thanks for the primer anyway, I've been playing Xiahou for a year or so now and used your primer a lot when I was first doing research. A lot of useful thoughts and information