{"ops":[{"insert":"~~ Recommended to view deck with \"Group By\" set as \"Categories (multiple)\" to be able to see all categories.\n\nRantings of a mad man...\n\nThis whole deck started simple, with just two cards and a one sentence premise: Make a power level 7 combo deck using "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cormela, Glamour Thief"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Saw in Half"}},{"insert":" .\n\nUnfortunately this idea had/has issues. Pretty much all the combos using these cards listed online at the time were three card combos, with potential for T3 wins being enabled pretty easily. I tinkered around using "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Victimize"}},{"insert":" and some permanent based mana-for creature sac outlets("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Phyrexian Altar"}},{"insert":" etc), and even built my first successful prototype using a Rube-Goldberg combo with those cards and some more creatures.\n\nGot my first win with the deck, but then while reviewing it later, I learned that Victimize causes the reanimated creatures to enter tapped, and I had cheated for my win and the \"combo\" I was trying for wasn't even mana positive after all. "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://commanderspellbook.com/search/?variant=500-654-3125-4050-4867&groupByCombo=false"},"insert":"Commander Spellbook"},{"insert":", since then, has improved it, by adding either an "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Amulet of Vigor"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archelos, Lagoon Mystic"}},{"insert":" , turning it into a 5 card combo, but I gave up on the line at the time.\n\nAnd so there the deck and idea sat, for about a year...\n\nThen the Commander RC disbanded and handed over authority of commander to WotC, and WotC started talking about releasing what we would come to know as \"Brackets\", and I was once again inspired to return to this concept. Aiming for \"middle of the brackets\", whatever that would mean, I started searching once more, and invented the following combo line:\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cormela, Glamour Thief"}},{"insert":" +"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Saw in Half"}},{"insert":" +"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sacrifice"}},{"insert":" +"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feign Death"}},{"insert":" +"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rapacious Dragon"}},{"insert":" \n\nThank you to Demo and the other friends I made on his Discord server during the time he was active on YT as "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.youtube.com/@edhdeckbuilding"},"insert":"EDH Deckbuilding"},{"insert":", as I would never have even heard of Sacrifice or Burnt Offering if I had not seen them mentioned by other friends (thanks bigdawg and Cainhegis!) when talking about this idea.\n\nSo, how does this new 5 card combo actually work? Well, it's pretty simple, when broken into two parts. First, Cormela+Saw eventually, after enough uses, leaves you with a 1/1 untapped Cormela token on board and can be shortcut to the following: \"{1}: Return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand.\"\n\nThe other half then is to sacrifice a creature and recur it, using two instants, with a net mana profit. For this, I start with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rapacious Dragon"}},{"insert":" on the field. Target it with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feign Death"}},{"insert":" or similar, then "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sacrifice"}},{"insert":" the dragon for 5 black mana. The dragon is returned to the battlefield, and when it does, it comes with 2 treasures.\n\nNow then, we have Saw in hand, Cormela (or Cormela token) and dragon on board, two vital instants in graveyard, and 7 mana to play with. It only cost 4 mana to start the loop again (2 to grab the instants back from GY, 2 to recast them), which means that the treasures are pure profit, along with one of the Sacrifice mana. This alone won't kill the table, but combined with one of a few other cards, and it could be a \"complete\" game ending combo.\n\nSo I built a deck around this. Brackets had come out now, and so I aimed for B2. No gamechangers, and a combo that will take a while to come out. The decklist actually still "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/5825102/magic_show"},"insert":"exists"},{"insert":", I haven't updated it in quite a while. I played it a few times, then realized the idea was probably better for B3, and did an \"update\" for B3. The deck already performed okay at B3, so I didn't add any gamechangers until "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Gifts Ungiven"}},{"insert":" was unbanned. Such a perfect fit for a deck that doesn't care about instants/sorceries being put in graveyard, I couldn't resist. And so, the deck existed in this "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/11076371/magic_show_20"},"insert":"new B3 state"},{"insert":" for quite a while.\n\nI loved this deck. Some people liked it, some people didn't and quite vocally complained that it wasn't actually B3. But even after they came out with the T6 estimated game length for B3 games, I still think it fit well, as it wasn't regularly winning till T6-T8, and almost never before. I really enjoyed that most of the cards in the combo were generic pieces, and could be one of many options. Only the Saw was unique, the other three categories (Mana Sacrifice, Reanimation, and The Sacrifice) were very resilient to parts being removed, since each had multiple replacements in deck ready to replace them in an emergency. It did have some issues though. The interaction suite was kinda wack, the finishers list was a whole host of pet cards, and if I played vs anyone who could potentially threaten to remove/exile the Saw, I had to hard counter them or risk being eliminated by luck when the Saw is exiled and the whole combo collapses around it.\n\nThus, eventually, the deck would need a further upgrade. But for the longest time, I didn't know how to approach it. The Saw was so essential, and I couldn't find any similar card that could replace it. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Season of Weaving"}},{"insert":" was probably the closest I came at finding a replacement, as it can be shortcut to \"{3}{U}: Return target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard to your hand and draw a card.\" Unfortunately, the extra mana cost to recur this was too much to fit into the combo directly.\n\nFaby and Dicegolem, enter scene left. They saw my struggles, and offered to help one day, and suggested the following cards as \"alt\" lines, to replace the Saw as essential for the combo: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Molten Echoes"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Orvar, the All-Form"}},{"insert":". Individually, either of these cards can replace the Saw and the entire \"The Sacrifice\" category, but in exchange the combo requires 2 cards from the \"Mana Sacrifice\" category. It works like this:\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cormela, Glamour Thief"}},{"insert":" card (non-token) on battlefield\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Molten Echoes"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Orvar, the All-Form"}},{"insert":" on battlefield\n2 cards from \"Mana Sacrifice\" category available, at least one in hand, other can be hand or graveyard\nAt least 1 card from the \"Reanimation\" category in hand\n\n~~ With Molten Echoes\n1) Cast Feign Death or similar for {B}, targetting Cormela.\n2) Cast Sacrifice for {B}, sacrificing the original card Cormela as an additional cost. With Sacrifice on the bottom of the stack, Cormela's death trigger and floating reanimation effect are both added on top and resolve first.\n3) Return the \"Reanimation\" spell to hand using Cormela's death trigger.\n4) Cormela is returned to battlefield by floating effect trigger.\n5) Molten Echoes triggers and creates a Cormela token.\n6) As a state based action choose the Cormela token to send to graveyard. Return the secondary \"Mana Sacrifice\" spell from graveyard to hand.\n7) Resolve Sacrifice, gaining {B}{B}{B}{B}.\n8) Repeat from step 1, swapping the use of Sacrifice and the secondary \"Mana Sacrifice\" spell.\n\n~~ With Orvar\n1) Cast Feign Death or similar for {B}, targetting Cormela.\n2) Orvar triggers and creates a Cormela token.\n3) As a state based action choose the Cormela token to send to graveyard. Return the secondary \"Mana Sacrifice\" spell from graveyard to hand.\n4) Cast Sacrifice for {B}, sacrificing the original card Cormela as an additional cost. With Sacrifice on the bottom of the stack, Cormela's death trigger and floating reanimation effect are both added on top and resolve first.\n5) Return the \"Reanimation\" spell to hand using Cormela's death trigger.\n6) Cormela is returned to battlefield by floating effect trigger.\n7) Resolve Sacrifice, gaining {B}{B}{B}{B}.\n8) Repeat from step 1, swapping the use of Sacrifice and the secondary \"Mana Sacrifice\" spell.\n\nWith these now, I have a backup plan, or alternative route, that uses most of the same pieces and can still accomplish the goal (infinite mana and triggers). Add in anything from the \"Finisher\" category (Molten Echoes only counts if not core part of combo), and the deck can win on the spot, mostly by life loss with either Not Dead After All or The Meathook Massacre. Since the new combo doesn't automatically enable infinite recursion of all instants/sorceries from graveyard, I've trimmed down many of the instants/sorceries and bumped up the permanent count, to allow more of an early board presence. I added some more gamechangers, cleaned up the interaction, draw, and ramp suites, and now think that the deck is in a pretty good place.\n\nFor alterations, some things to consider:\n\nAny card that is a typical ritual spell ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dark Ritual"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rite of Flame"}},{"insert":") or can make mana for every spell cast ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Storm-Kiln Artist"}},{"insert":") is an instant 3 card infinite combo with other cards in the deck.\n"}]}