Deckbuilding Contest - January 2025 (Locked)

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://archidekt.com/decks/9611984/counter_i_hardly_know_er\n\nCaptain Xavier Sal requires you to remove counters from your permanents in order to populate, which is normally a downside as most of the time counters are a good thing, but this deck is full of cards that actively don't want their counters. Stuff like Unstoppable Slasher, the Duskmourn Overlords, Chronozoa, Devoted Druid, Arixmethes and Garruk Relentless, as well as several sagas and battles. Add to that a bunch of big tokens to populate, like those from Octomancer, Urza's Saga, Idol of Oblivion, or any number of clone spells, and you've got a winning formula.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":{"card-link":"Kuon, Ogre Ascendant // Kuon's Essence"}},{"insert":" is a Commander that does nothing truly exciting while he is in his creature form; but once he is in his enchantment form, things get interesting. In order to flip Kuon, three creatures must be put into the graveyard from play in a single turn. Some may think this is rather easy to do; but believe me when I say that the amount of times only two creatures have died in a turn rather than three -thereby resetting the amount needed- is more common. Board-wipes don't help you as Kuon will die as well, and Mono Black doesn't have many offerings to keep Kuon from dying by means of a removal spell. \n\nOnce you reach that magical sweet spot however, Kuon flipping now means each player must sacrifice a creature at their upkeep. Including you. Luckily, Kuon doesn't count as a creature at this point, so he's safe; but maybe your Blood Artist or Massacre Wurm you used to get those creature kills has to bite the dust. Sure, Mono Back has plenty of graveyard recursion, but graveyard hate is very common in EDH.\n\nLuckily, we're in Mono Black, so let's turn our creatures dying into the ultimate benefit for us.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Key Cards"},{"insert":"\nLiliana, Dreadhorde General"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Skullclamp"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Nine-Lives Familiar"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ophiomancer (Mainly for the 1/1 Black Snake Creature Token)"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Soul-Shatter"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Rise of the Dark Realms"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"The Deck:"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10459802/graveyard_shift"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10459802/graveyard_shift"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"(Cards Listed are My Personal Deck's Variants)"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Playing the Deck"},{"insert":"\nThe deck is admittedly a slow start, but what you truly want to have happen is get at least one card that either causes an opponent to sacrifice a creature or one that effects a creature's power and toughness; such as "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mutilate"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Stab"},{"insert":", or "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Massacre Wurm"},{"insert":". This will allow you to be able to get creatures brought in early on in the game to be snuffed out easily. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Consuming Corruption"},{"insert":" is another good card as for targeted creature removal in the early stages around rounds 3 and 4 as it relies on your Swamp count.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Liliana, Dreadhorde General"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Skullclamp"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Nine-Lives Familiar"},{"insert":" are going to be cards you want to get in the mid game in order to get exceedingly high card draw as you will be able to draw up to 28 cards if you use all instances of "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Nine-Lives Familiar"},{"insert":". If you want to get it back for later casting, use the second chapter of "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Braid's Frightful Return"},{"insert":" to bring it to your hand. If you have "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Vengeful Bloodwitch"},{"insert":" and; or, "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Blood Artist"},{"insert":" out at this time, you will be pinging your opponents quite frequently. If you have "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Bloodthirsty Conqueror"},{"insert":" out as well, you'll be getting some juicy life gain. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"(Do note that there is no infinite in this deck as I do not think it is fun.)"},{"insert":"\n\nYour main goal is to fill up graveyards and cast "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Rise of the Dark Realms"},{"insert":" or even have "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Gisa, Glorious Resurrector"},{"insert":" bring them all back for them to only die again to overwhelm your opponents with their own creatures. If you cannot do that, you will have heavy hitters, some creatures with evasion, creatures with the ability to destroy any possible blockers, and keep us alive with lifelink from "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Whip of Erebos"},{"insert":".\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Possible Card Swap-Out Recommendations"},{"insert":"\nArmy of the Damned"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Accursed Marauder"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Defile"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Bitterblossom"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Grave Pact"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/8392374/russian_roulette \n\nPHAGE! This card's drawback is plain in it's first line of text. It's also a game-loser, literally, if you don't have the proper board-state. My approach was to use one of the 4 or 5 combinations to get her out without dying and swing with her for lethal. Or, at least, some sort of shitty way of handing her directly to someone else to let her end them. Not my favorite or most flavorful build, but definitely tries to maximize on its unique drawback. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Mortal Combat has never been easier! I make it nice and easy for you to put your legendary creatures on the board only for me to force them to fight mine. May the greatest fighter win!\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10702151/put_them_on_the_board_i_dare_you"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10702151/put_them_on_the_board_i_dare_you"},{"insert":"\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"I'm having fun with my deck led by "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed"}},{"insert":" that presents a fun twist on graveyard recursion strategies. This is a pretty funky commander -- he has an awesome ability that returns any black card from your graveyard to your hand. However, the downsides are that he sacrifices himself to do it and you can only activate that ability at sorcery speed. \n\nFlipping this into our benefit -- we can make Xiahou Dun immortal using some clever death-flicker spells like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Feign Death"}},{"insert":", and there is a lot you can do with recurred ETB or death triggers! It's scammy, aristocraty, comboey, and just plain weird but it's a unique strategy you can take to a few different goal posts, i.e.:\nGravestorm with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bitter Ordeal"}},{"insert":" , or"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Storm with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tendrils of Agony"}},{"insert":" , or"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Drain everyone's life with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Syr Konrad, the Grim"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zulaport Cutthroat"}},{"insert":" effects, or"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Extra Turns (or probably the big time life drain instead) with repeated casts of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Temporal Extortion"}},{"insert":" , or"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Zombie army with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rise of the Dread Marn"}},{"insert":" ,"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"and more!"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nDecklist: "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8796745/immortal_oneeye"},"insert":"https://archidekt.com/decks/8796745/immortal_oneeye"},{"insert":" (More info in deckpage's description section!)\n\nThere are certainly routes to take this deck in a very aggressive or mean direction (like adding Dictate of Erebos) but I don't think this deck needs it to work, so I'd rather not. Also, while the deck can definitely go infinite, depending on your strategy or the game state it really doesn't need to.\n\nAs a bonus, many people will never have heard of or seen this commander before, which is fun for people who like janky old cards!\n\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"I had a hard time finding a commander with a downside, lol, but I built around the first one I found and I think it ended up being pretty cool. \n\nhttps://www.archidekt.com/decks/10699735/i_want_the_bad_counters\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10699735/i_want_the_bad_counters"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10699735/i_want_the_bad_counters"},{"insert":"\n\nThe description for the deck is with the list through the link\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"In the best \"spirit\" of the prompt, I took this opportunity to finish a commander I flagged when it was released as being super interesting and never ended up building, King of the Oathbreakers. Deck list: "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/4967433/dead_men_of_dunharrow"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/4967433/dead_men_of_dunharrow"},{"insert":"\n\nKing of the Oathbreakers can make a really powerful hoard of spirits to overrun opponents, but in order to do it, you need to maximize his downside of phasing out whenever targeted, and phasing out any of your spirit army if they are targeted (by spells). This means if you attack in, or are going to block, it might be pretty easy for your opponent to phase your folx out. Luckily for us, the spirit army grows when the spirits phase back in! This is a spirit-typal deck that aims to make a ton of tokens. We're utilizing a ton of cards that can cause our spirits to phase out when we want them to, and also could be used to deal with an attacking opponent if need be. The best win condition is Moonshaker Cavalry, for when your army is so large it can't be dealt with. Our board is going to become unmanageable as our Grey Host swells!\n\nAs I like to build on-theme, I tried to keep as many LOTR cards that were useful in the deck as well.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/10787444/mono_black_spirit_tribal"},"insert":"https://archidekt.com/decks/10787444/mono_black_spirit_tribal"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"strike":true},"insert":"My commander's weakness is being a creature from the Kamigawa block"},{"insert":"\n\nThe deck focuses around capitalizing off of spirits ETB and dying. This bad boy is chop full of rescue effects, recursion, on death effects, and generally just tries to maximize the effectiveness of these amazing "},{"attributes":{"strike":true},"insert":"awful"},{"insert":" creatures.\n\n#deathmaxing #spiritsarecool #wizardspleasewhywontyougivekamigawasomelove\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10750934/250_rubinia_tapper_pro"},"insert":"$250 Rubinia, Tapper Pro Aristocrats"},{"insert":" is my entry for January's Archidekt Deck Building Contest which is helmed by the oft-overlooked and inexpensive "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rubinia Soulsinger"}},{"insert":" (who has not received a reprint since "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/cma/191/rubinia-soulsinger"},"insert":"2017"},{"insert":").\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rubinia Soulsinger"}},{"insert":" is an undervalued theft commander because of the requirement for her to tap and remained tapped in order to keep control of the commander which makes her inefficient as a "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"traditional"},{"insert":" blue-style-theft commander.\n\nTraditionally Rubinia comes with a pesky choice that results in one of two downsides. You can either:\nA) Choose to not untap Rubinia in order to maintain control over a singular creature (meaning you can't keep stealing other creatures) OR\nB) Choose to untap Rubinia to steal something new (thus losing control over the previously stolen creature).\nThis is a difficult choice that keeps Rubinia away from the tops of the popularity charts and the reason why all of her modern printings are less than 50 cents.\n\nThis deck turns both downsides of Rubinia into potential upsides by adding clones and sacrifice outlets, which inverts both of Rubinia's potential weaknesses into strengths. You can:\nA: Clone the stolen creature before returning it (meaning you lose no value by returning it to its owner) AND\nB: Sacrifice the stolen creature for value (thus profiting on the exchange and providing your opponents with no returning value).\n\nIn simpler terms, we are boosting her productivity playing her more like a Rakdos (BR) theft-to-sacrifice aristocrats deck while thinking of her as something similar to a repeatable "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hijack"}},{"insert":" which we can feed into our sac outlets to get value from her victims. Meanwhile anything we want to permanently \"steal\", we can clone and then choose to sacrifice by using the aforementioned strategy (or simply don't untap her until something better comes around). The important thing is that our sac outlets allow us to choose to never let our opponents get their creatures back.\n\nStill, aristocrats is not nearly as well pioneered in Bant as it is in other color wedges, so I leveraged Scryfall heavily to find a handful of interesting cards that work with Rubinia aristocrats. Some cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Phyrexian Altar"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Altar of Dementia"}},{"insert":" are sac-outlet mainstays in any color wedge, but cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Martyr's Cause"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Food Chain"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Evolutionary Leap"}},{"insert":" put in some work great here too by providing some excellent upsides for removing our stolen creatures.\n\nIn terms of death triggers (and other LTBs) I had to get a bit more creative, as most of the best frequently used LTBs are on black cards (think "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zulaport Cutthroat"}},{"insert":"). Still, I think I came up with a solid rotation of options. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fecundity"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spinner of Souls"}},{"insert":" give us card advantage while "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Gutter Grime"}},{"insert":" and the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"criminally"},{"insert":" overlooked "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Genku, Future Shaper"}},{"insert":" give us extra bodies when we sacrifice. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Proper Burial"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Martyr's Bond"}},{"insert":" (one of my pet cards) put in some good work by protecting us a bit (in the case of Martyr's Bond through removal). Possibly the best card in this deck is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Brenard, Ginger Sculptor"}},{"insert":" because he absolutely covers any potential negative to Rubinia's combos. Brenard allows you to create a copy of any of the nontoken creatures you steal and sacrifice while simultaneously exiling the original. This is unbelievably good because it allows you to retain a body and any value that is usually lost when you sacrifice. Furthermore, he allows you to use any ETBs your opponents have as well when the token copy enters. If that isn't enough, due to the fact that he exiles the original, your opponent probably loses out on the ability to recur it later!\n\nWith the correct setup Rubinia's ability can even be leveraged as a one-sided board wipe by stealing and subsequently sacrificing every creature you wish, so long as you can untap Rubinia each time.\nThis is accomplished with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ioreth of the Healing House"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Marvin, Murderous Mimic"}},{"insert":" in tandem with Rubinia's own ability, sacrificing to any sacrifice outlet such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ashnod's Altar"}},{"insert":" as you go. This combo is especially good in the context of this deck because each individual piece synergizes with Rubinia even if the full combo is not on the board, but that being said "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Defense of the Heart"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fabricate"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Eladamri's Call"}},{"insert":" give us a few budget friendly ways to try to find this combo. You can also pull this off by using "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Phyrexian Altar"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Freed from the Real"}},{"insert":" (or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Pemmin's Aura"}},{"insert":") by capturing a creature, sacrificing it to the altar for one blue mana and then untapping Rubinia using the activated ability of Freed from the Real.\n\nAdditionally, this deck utilizes a myriad of means to untap Rubinia even more frequently thus providing more good opportunities to repeat her gimmick. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Drumbellower"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Seedborn Muse"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Quest for Renewal"}},{"insert":" let Rubinia untap on everyone's turn, making her an even bigger threat in fuller pods. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant"}},{"insert":" is like a match made in heaven for Rubinia aristocrats because it untaps Rubinia on our end step provided a permanent we controlled has left the battlefield, which is basically an automatic once Rubinia gets going. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Patriar's Seal"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Kiora's Follower"}},{"insert":" give us a couple more value options to untap Rubinia in a one-off fashion as well.\n\nIt's high time to circle back to the other stars of the show — the clones. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spark Double"}},{"insert":" gets its usual role of star of the show, given that it can alternatively be used as a second Rubinia by neatly avoiding the legends rule. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Malleable Impostor"}},{"insert":" can only target our opponent's creatures directly, but that's okay because whatever we clone gets to be a faerie meaning it can be protected by "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scion of Oona"}},{"insert":" like Rubinia. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mirror Image"}},{"insert":" helps us by being a slightly cheaper option that can only clone stuff we already control. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mirrorhall Mimic // Ghastly Mimicry"}},{"insert":" is a typical clone but gives us a second chance at building an army by casting it from the graveyard. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Copycrook"}},{"insert":" can ideally filter our hand, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Stunt Double"}},{"insert":" has flash, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Undercover Operative"}},{"insert":" protects itself, and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Clever Impersonator"}},{"insert":" can clone any permanent we need it to. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Faerie Artisans"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Oko, the Ringleader"}},{"insert":" give us a couple of ways to produce copies that can supplement the clones. Faerie Artisans gives us a copy of any nontoken creature that has entered the battlefield under our opponents control, but we have to exile it when it makes a new copy, which really isn't a downside given that we can just sac the old copy to one of our outlets for value. Oko can become a copy of anything we control for a turn which means we can steal something gnarly, exploit it in combat as Oko, and then continue whatever other tricks we have planned. Oko also has a couple other ways to provide value such as filtering, token gen, and duping your creatures (not to mention putting Oko in a faerie trickery deck was a flavor win).\n\nA few other tricks that feel worth highlighting are "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hokori, Dust Drinker"}},{"insert":", the haste subtheme, and the single survivor sacrifice board wipes. Hokori can buy some time if Rubinia's setup falls behind by creating an environment with fewer creatures entering, hopefully giving Rubinia a chance to catch-up. There are a few options to give Rubinia (and others) haste which allows her gimmicks to work more quickly and more likely that you can extort your captives for combat before saccing them. The sac-oriented board wipes ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Promise of Loyalty"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Single Combat"}},{"insert":") create a favorable environment for Rubinia where she and your opponents most valuable creatures survive. Ideally she can then steal one or more of them (saccing if needed), putting you ahead in the rebuild.\n\nThe preferred way for this deck to win is to hijack your opponent's decks while building value with your sac engines and swing out with a good-stuff clone army. A great way to get the army through is with the versatile "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Glaring Spotlight"}},{"insert":", which can put in some work by giving all of your creatures hexproof and unblockable for a gnarly swing out (but also ensures that none of your opponents creatures can utilize hexproof as protection).\n\nThere are a few more cards that are in here, but mostly they are ramp, removal, or simply similar to stuff I already highlighted.\n\nI budgeted this deck around $250 (TCGPlayer) in order keep the price "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"somewhat"},{"insert":" accessible while still giving me ample wiggle-room to showcase its gimmicks in a meaningful way (and incidentally to mirror the maximum possible prize). That being said, I believe this deck could be easily altered to work at either a lower or higher budget and I have put potential cards into labelled \"maybeboards\" to guide that process.\n\nThank you for viewing my submission for this month's contest. I hope you enjoyed it.\n- Volcanic Winter \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Presenting: "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/4831613/rasputin"},"insert":"Rasputin Soul Sisters. "},{"insert":"\n\nThis deck looks to maximize individual life gain triggers from cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Soul's Attendant"}},{"insert":" using Rasputin's ability to give each player in the game a creature. One "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rasputin, the Oneiromancer"}},{"insert":" will trigger your soul sisters four times... normally. Add something like a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Panharmonicon"}},{"insert":" to the mix and all of a sudden you've created 14 life gain triggers with only one soul sister in play. With an "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archangel of Thune"}},{"insert":" in play your whole board just got 14 +1/+1 counters, and even some of the weaker payoffs like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Voice of the Blessed"}},{"insert":" are going to be quite the threat with stats that large.\n\nWe can also take advantage of the fact that we've flooded our opponents' boards with a bunch of pesky goblins. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Honorable Scout"}},{"insert":" is a fun card that works splendidly in this deck, netting you two life for every goblin you've given your opponent's for only one mana. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Call the Coppercoats"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Riot Control"}},{"insert":" work similarly, taking advantage of your foes unnaturally large board state. My favorite way to spin the downside on Rasputin is a well played "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Suture Priest"}},{"insert":", which allows for some hilarious combos with the plethora of flicker effects and trigger doublers available in the deck (shoutout dagger burn).\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/7621557/heliod_buyback\n\nMy submission is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Heliod, the Radiant Dawn // Heliod, the Warped Eclipse"}},{"insert":". I know Heliod is a fairly popular commander, with most people building it around giant colorless creatures or X spells. I went in a different direction: buyback. The idea is to reduce the spell costs as much as possible, either with Heliod or other cost reducers. casting as many spells as possible each turn and building up your board with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Talrand, Sky Summoner"}},{"insert":" type effects. With a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Displacer Kitten"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hullbreaker Horror"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tidespout Tyrant"}},{"insert":" and mana rock that provides mana of any color in play, you can even go infinite. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/10729617/discard_burn"},"insert":"No Hands"},{"insert":"\n\nIn my years of playing magic it has evolved drastically, but one thing has remained constant in commander. Players always want to draw cards and have a full hand.\n\nSo with this month's deck building contest I thought "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Amber Gristle O'Maul"}},{"insert":" would be the perfect commander. What could possibly be worse than having virtually no hand at all, and dumping it each turn?\n\nBut with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Passionate Archaeologist"}},{"insert":" as the background we can lean into discarding our hand each turn and use it to win!\n\nWhile Amber does not let you exile the cards you discard, by filling the deck with madness cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Reckless Wurm"}},{"insert":" that want to be discarded it becomes easy to take advantage of the drawback and use it as damage to point against you enemies (or friends)!\n\nThen to make sure we can take home the win there are some cards to up the damage from the commander background combo like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Solphim, Mayhem Dominus"}},{"insert":".\n\nMix in some myriad creatures and evasion to ensure the commander triggers and you'll be dangerous while having no hand at least once a turn!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Here is my submission: A New Liesa on Life\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10788269/a_new_liesa_on_life"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10788269/a_new_liesa_on_life"},{"insert":"\n\nCasting Liesa, Shroud of Dusk hurts you (after the first time). When Liesa's on the field, casting other spells also hurts you. The goal of the deck is simple: rather than try to avoid or counteract the life loss, just make your opponent lose life "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"more. "},{"insert":"The deck does this by constantly bouncing and exiling your opponent's permanents, forcing them to cast those permanents again, draining their life in the process. The deck also constantly makes your opponent sacrifice their permanents, forcing them to cast still more spells to replace them. Meanwhile, you're beating them with angels and it will cost your opponent life and precious time to kill them. If they kill Liesa, she always comes back, the price is always worth it. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Tivadar of Thorn is known for one thing only. "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/6404773/gawblins"},"insert":"Killing GAAWBLINNNS!! "},{"insert":" This deck is designed to counter all their evil GOBLIN TACTICS! From life gain to taxing attacks and wiping out huge swaths of grubby little GOBLIN TOKENS, even delving into the dungeons where they make their sinister GOBLIN NESTS! Will it work on non-GOBLIN decks? Maybe! Probably! Definitely yes! But not as well. It's designed to kill GOBLINS and that's what it does best!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This is my "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Khârn the Betrayer"}},{"insert":" storm deck. I hope you enjoy!!\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10801587/khrn_embrace_betrayal"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10801587/khrn_embrace_betrayal"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"The Fundamentals of Betrayal"},{"insert":"\n\n\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Khârn the Betrayer is a unique card, to say the least. Upon first glance he reads like a worse "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Slicer, Hired Muscle // Slicer, High-Speed Antagonist"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" with more of a political angle instead of pure aggro. This is how I initially built Khârn, filling the deck with ways to buff him up so that he will swing in for huge amounts of damage not just on your turns, but your opponents’ as well. This is the major trap of Khârn. Khârn is NOT Slicer. Khârn, unlike Slicer, gives your opponents unrestricted control of what to do with Khârn; they can give it to whoever they want and swing at whoever they want. And more often than not Khârn is going to come at you. If you have a 7 power Khârn and pass him to the next opponent in turn order, the table could just focus you down and kill you outright. This means that you now have to build your deck in order to protect yourself from your own commander. Goad may seem decently strong; the issue is that Khârn is going to draw your opponents answers to deal with the threat of a goaded Khârn while also catapulting themselves ahead. "},{"insert":"\n\n \n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Khârn The Free Agent"},{"insert":"\n\n\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Drawing your opponents cards is fundamentally the riskiest part of Khârn; whenever he takes any damage, the player that currently controls him draws two cards and passes him to a new player. However, there is no text on Khârn that means he has to be given back to you. It is very common for Khârn to get stolen away by your opponents and for him to not be given back for the majority of the game. In this scenario, your opponents will draw a significantly larger amount of cards from your commander than you do. You are however guaranteed a minimum of 2 cards upon resolving Khârn. "},{"insert":"\n\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Expecting, Accepting, and Embracing, Betrayal"},{"insert":"\n\n\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"So this all seems pretty bad. We have a commander that will draw our opponents cards and often be swung at us for large amounts of damage. So how can we take advantage of Khârn? Khârn has the ability to turn 1 damage into 2 cards. Those cards won’t necessarily be yours, but this is an insane rate. This means that otherwise unpopular cards like Shock have far more utility; being able to proc Khârn at instant speed provides protection from Khârn as well as either card advantage or political influence. For this deck, I tried to maximize the amount Khârn gets passed around while also making sure to make him an unlikely target for removal. This means no voltron buffs at all. So what is the advantage of our opponents having all the cards they need? Most importantly, they forget about you, and become terrified of each other. I have found that players have very little restraint with Khârn and will begin to feed each other in a way that they wouldnt do with any other card. Eventually people stop wanting to pass Khârn to each other and they start giving you a little taste. All this time they are using most of their interaction dealing with each other. Now is the time for the second major advantage to our opponents having full hands: "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Jeska's Will"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" effects. This is an amazing Jeska’s Will deck that ensures your opponents will always have full hands. Players who have dropped a reliquary tower or memory vessel can often net you north of 15 mana with a Jeska’s will, which is more than enough to get a storm turn started."},{"insert":"\n\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Khârn: Advantage Piece, Combo Piece"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\tWhat to do with all this red mana? Why, storm off, of course. Lay low then explode with mana. This deck aims for around 100 mana to win the game; we achieve this through "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Storm King's Thunder"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":". The basic idea is to cast a large ritual (15-20 mana; Jeska’s will, "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Mana Geyser"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", etc.) Then, recur that ritual with "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Past in Flames"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", copy it multiple times with Storm King's Thunder, Then recur Storm King's Thunder and a card that will finish out the game. The two main options are "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Wheel of Fortune"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", which will mill out the whole table (we will be safe due to our trusty friend "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"), or "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Season of the Bold"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"'s third ability, allowing us to deck everyone with Khârn triggers (As long as we draw "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Firestorm"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" and Ulamog, we can bin him as necessary to avoid a mill out.)"},{"insert":"\n\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Cool Interactions, Notes"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Chain of Plasma"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": This card functions as a "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Trade Secrets"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" in conjunction with Khârn, allowing two players to draw their entire deck. There is no way to guarantee that you are a part of this exchange."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Fractured Loyalty"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": This card is the most powerful piece in our deck. When enchanting Khârn, it ensures that every ping sent at him is a guaranteed draw 2 for you and 2 for an opponent of your choice. This generates a lot of cards and feeds Jeska’s Will."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Grapeshot"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": This is not a wincon in the deck, but rather a way to trigger Khârn a large number of times in a single cast."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Fervent Mastery"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": Tutoring up Past in Flames or other cards with flashback costs is a very reliable line, as it guarantees you can use the cards you tutored for, regardless of which cards are discarded."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Homeward Path"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": By far one of the most powerful cards in the deck. Allows for far more control over where Khârn goes and consistent card advantage from your commander. This is frequently a Gamble target early game."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Banefire"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": Alt wincon if you need to push through a player holding up counter magic."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Path of the Pyromancer"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": An excellent target to copy with Storm King's Thunder allowing you to draw your whole deck while generating an absurd amount of mana."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"\t"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Orcish Bowmasters"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":": If an opponent in black plays this card while Khârn is on the board, chaos will ensue. Be wary of anyone with black mana available!"},{"insert":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"}]}