{"ops":[{"insert":"I’ve spent the past few seasons trying to get a Grixis (specifically Xander/Maestros) deck to really click, and I finally found one! Another deck-building restriction I set for all my decks is that it must be a deck I’m willing to buy in real-life (so keeping it light on major money cards like Sheoldred). I primarily play Bo1 because of horrible queue times, but I’ve played a handful of Bo3 games too.\n\nThis is a Grixis mid-range deck with some light mill and reanimation themes. There are three main stars that really keep the engine rolling.\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#ff9900"},"insert":"Corpse Appraiser"},{"insert":" is a 3/3 creature that exiles a creature in a graveyard to draw me one new card out of the top 3. I’ve loved this card for a while, but I struggled to find consistent targets for its ability, drastically lowering its value (an otherwise 3/3 vanilla body is pretty terrible). I fixed that issue by capitalizing on the next card . . ."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#0066cc"},"insert":"Invasion of Amonkhet"},{"insert":" mills each player for 3, then forces opponents to discard while drawing me a new one. Already it’s off to an okay start because it replaces my card, but the milling is *extremely* helpful in supplying targets for "},{"attributes":{"color":"#ff9900"},"insert":"Corpse Appraiser"},{"insert":". The two synergize very well. And of course once you defeat this battle, you can flip it for a 4/4 that copies any creature in a graveyard - this can mean high-value targets as expected, but I often find myself opting out of a high-value target for beefed-up cheaper creatures (an opponent’s "},{"attributes":{"color":"#9933ff"},"insert":"Deep-Cavern Bat"},{"insert":" for one is one I like a lot). Going further, I can target any "},{"attributes":{"color":"#ff9900"},"insert":"Corpse Appraiser"},{"insert":"s in my graveyard to get additional card draw!"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The final card that helped bring this together was "},{"attributes":{"color":"#9933ff"},"insert":"Restless Reef"},{"insert":" - a 4/4 Deathtouch land that mills on attack. Gives additional targets for "},{"attributes":{"color":"#ff9900"},"insert":"Corpse Appraiser"},{"insert":", can lead to a mill win-con, and conveniently has just enough power to defeat "},{"attributes":{"color":"#0066cc"},"insert":"Invasion of Amonkhet"},{"insert":". Plus with Deathtouch, the opponent tends to be very careful about blocking it. It avoids non-land removal, and while it is vulnerable to creature, that’s why I put in 4 copies."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nSome additional notes:\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#ff9900"},"insert":"Lord Xander, the Collector"},{"insert":" is a major component for mill win-cons, plus he has heavy discard and sacrifice penalties when entering and leaving the battlefield. I don’t cast him very often, but I like targetting him with "},{"attributes":{"color":"#0066cc"},"insert":"Invasion of Amonkhet."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I only have one copy of "},{"attributes":{"color":"#9933ff"},"insert":"Sheoldred, the Apocalypse"},{"insert":" and 2 of "},{"attributes":{"color":"#ff9900"},"insert":"Cavern of Souls"},{"insert":" due to budget reasons - in paper, I don’t know when I’ll get a full set of "},{"attributes":{"color":"#ff9900"},"insert":"Cavern of Souls"},{"insert":", and I’ll almost certainly never buy a second copy of "},{"attributes":{"color":"#9933ff"},"insert":"Sheoldred"},{"insert":". Also this isn’t a proper kindred deck, so I don’t want to stuff my hand with too many colorless lands for non-vampire spells."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nAnd that’s about it! Not pictured is my sideboard, but it’s basically\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#9933ff"},"insert":"Cut Down"},{"insert":" for Red Aggro and Human Kindred,"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#0066cc"},"insert":"Negate"},{"insert":" if I need more counterspells (Red Aggro, Haughty Djinn and Domain decks),"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#888888"},"insert":"Unlicensed Hearse"},{"insert":" if I face reanimation decks (I don’t need reanimation targets myself, it’s just a plus), and"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#888888"},"insert":"Stone Brain"},{"insert":" for decks with hyper-specific win-cons (Domain and Jace Mill)."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nHope you enjoyed this write-up; this deck has been a blast for me, I’ve really enjoyed playing it :)\n"}]}