Pursuit of Knowledge - Dimir

Uncommonders - A Bark from War of the Spark!

Mechanically Minded - Epic

<h2 style="text-align: center;">I see a red door and I want it painted black</h2>
Welcome to Superior Numbers, where I try to do numerical analysis on cards and deckbuilding trends using slightly more math and slightly less snark than in my usual column.
Slightly.
Let's take a look back at Magic's earliest days, a distant time when it seemed like a good idea to design cards that functioned based on the colors your opponent chose to play. Hey, it was a long time ago. We were young in those simpler times, lining up at the theater to watch Keanu Reeves blast random dudes with hand cannons. Times have changed, and we've grown beyond that. Now when we line up at the theater to watch Keanu Reeves blast random dudes with hand cannons he does so with a beard. Clearly we've learned from those past mistakes.
Still, those cards are Commander legal even if it's a design space the game no longer visits, and by virtue of EDH being a multiplayer format, it's way less likely you'll get burned by an opponent's color choice. You have three, four, or sometimes even five times more opponents, which means five times greater likelihood that one of your opponents will be playing a color that boosts the strength of your cards.
For the next few Superior Numbers articles, I'll be taking a look at some of these more popular cards that hate on or care about other colors. For this first installment, we'll be starting with the color black.
Note: All statistics presented are as of 03/17/2019.
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">No colors any more, I want them to turn black</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Absolute Grace"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elephant Grass"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Light of Day"></div></div>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Absolute Grace" href="#" target="_blank">Absolute Grace</a> gives all creatures protection from black, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elephant Grass" href="#" target="_blank">Elephant Grass</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Light of Day" href="#" target="_blank">Light of Day</a> alter combat for black creatures. If you're not playing black, that isn't much of a downside for you, but what's the upside?
<ul>
<li>Commanders
<ul>
<li>7 of the top 10 and 13 of the top 20 commanders of <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">all time</a> are black</li>
<li>4 of the top 5 and 15 of the top 20 commanders in the last month are black</li>
<li>4 of the top 5 and 16 of the top 20 commanders in the last week are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Creatures
<ul>
<li>2 of the top 20 are black</li>
<li>27 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/creatures">top 100</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
One note that is relevant here is that the top 20 creatures list tends to be dominated by broadly useful utility creatures and mana dorks. In other words, creatures that don't really present combat threats. When we pull up a level and look at the top 100 creatures, the numbers are less dominated by those types of utility creatures. We also see that black, which represents 20% of the color pie (or less, if you count colorless) takes up 27% of the creature slots.
These stats are also useful for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cleanse" href="#" target="_blank">Cleanse</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reclamation" href="#" target="_blank">Reclamation</a>.
The following numbers are also important for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Absolute Grace" href="#" target="_blank">Absolute Grace</a>:
<ul>
<li>Instants
<ul>
<li>3 of the top 5 targeted instant removal spells are black</li>
<li>7 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/instants">top 15</a> targeted instant removal spells are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Sorceries
<ul>
<li>2 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/sorceries">top 5</a> targeted sorcery removal spells are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
I should also note these things are somewhat meta-dependent as well. If you're playing in a small, tight group with predictable color matches, the value of these cards is fairly easy to gauge. If, however, you are playing in a much more volatile environment, hopefully these stats will help you better judge just how game viable these cards may be. In general, I'm not sure these particular cards warrant the cut for their specific color-hosing potential. Let's look at a few more, though.
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">I see a line of cars and they're all painted black</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Compost"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lifeforce"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reap"></div></div>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Compost" href="#" target="_blank">Compost</a> cares out cards being put into graveyards. Unlike <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Absolute Grace" href="#" target="_blank">Absolute Grace</a>, where we only counted targeted spells, here we primarily want to look at the flat amount of instant and sorcery spells that are black, as they're the type of spells mostly likely to wind up in a graveyard without any added interaction.
<ul>
<li>Instants
<ul>
<li>3 of the top 10 instants are black</li>
<li>29 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/instants">top 100 instants</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Sorceries
<ul>
<li>3 of the top 10 sorceries are black</li>
<li>36 of the top <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/sorceries">100 sorceries</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lifeforce" href="#" target="_blank">Lifeforce</a> just cares about black spells, period, regardless of type, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reap" href="#" target="_blank">Reap</a> cares about black permanents in play:
<ul>
<li>Commanders
<ul>
<li>The top 7 <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">most popular commanders of all time</a> are all black</li>
<li>13 of the top 20 commanders of all time are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Creatures
<ul>
<li>28 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/creatures">top 100 creatures spells</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Instants
<ul>
<li>29 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/instants">top 100 instants</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Sorceries
<ul>
<li>36 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/sorceries">top 100 sorceries</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Artifacts
<ul>
<li>8 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/artifacts">top 100 artifacts</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Enchantments
<ul>
<li>23 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/enchantments">top 100 enchantments</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Planeswalkers
<ul>
<li>28 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/planeswalkers">top 100 planeswalkers</a> are black</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
These cards look much better than the ones above; they count for any spell, and a whole lot of the categories here are dominated by an over-representation of black cards (black is just one-fifth of the color pie, for example, but takes up one-third of the most popular sorceries). We have a well-above-average chance to encounter one if not two opponents playing black in their decks, and for a large number of their spells in those decks to be black, too, which makes the cards here definitely worth consideration.
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">I look inside myself and see my heart is black</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Greater Realm of Preservation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Righteous War"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Snake Pit"></div></div>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Greater Realm of Preservation" href="#" target="_blank">Greater Realm of Preservation</a> basically mashes together <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Circle of Protection: Black" href="#" target="_blank">Circle of Protection: Black</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Circle of Protection: Red" href="#" target="_blank">Circle of Protection: Red</a> into one enchantment that very few people run. Should more people run it? Well, let's look at how effective it might be:
<ul>
<li>Commanders
<ul>
<li>17 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">top 20 commanders of all time</a> are either black or red</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Creatures
<ul>
<li>40 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/creatures">top 100 creatures of all time</a> are either black or red</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Righteous War" href="#" target="_blank">Righteous War</a> is a pet card of mine. Almost any deck that can run it (save a few exceptions like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alesha, Who Smiles at Death" href="#" target="_blank">Alesha, Who Smiles at Death</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a>) feature commanders that are both black and white. This means Righteous War also gives that commander protection from both those colors, rendering it unblockable by black or white creatures, turn it into an indestructible blocker when blocking a black or white creature, and making it impervious to any black or white spell or ability. So how frequently is that important?
<ul>
<li>Commanders
<ul>
<li>The top 8 most popular commanders of all time are either black or white.</li>
<li>15 of <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">top 20 commanders of all time</a> are either black or white</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Creatures
<ul>
<li>39 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/creatures">top 100 creatures of all time</a> are black or white</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Targeted instant or sorcery spells
<ul>
<li>8 of the top 10 single-target <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/instants">instant</a> or <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/sorceries">sorcery</a> spells are white or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snake Pit" href="#" target="_blank">Snake Pit</a> makes a token every time one of your opponents casts a blue or black spell. It requires no input from you to do so, either.
<ul>
<li>Commanders
<ul>
<li>18 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders">top 20 commanders of all time</a> are either blue or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Creatures
<ul>
<li>51 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/creatures">top 100 creature spells</a> are either blue or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Instants
<ul>
<li>64 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/instants">top 100 instants</a> are either blue or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Sorceries
<ul>
<li>51 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/sorceries">top 100 sorceries</a> are either blue or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Artifacts
<ul>
<li>13 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/artifacts">top 100 artifacts</a> are either blue or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Enchantments
<ul>
<li>43 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/enchantments">top 100 enchantments</a> are either blue or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Planeswalkers
<ul>
<li>55 of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/planeswalkers">top 100 planeswalkers</a> are either blue or black</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
More than half of the most commonly cast spells create a Snake. Even if your opponents in a four player game each only cast one spell per turn, you will on average create 1.5 snakes per trip around the board, at least in looking at the most popular spells in each category.
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black</h2>
Thanks for reading! I’d like to leave off with a tentative decklist of mine actually running <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Compost" href="#" target="_blank">Compost</a>. This is an evolution of the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kess, Dissident Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Kess, Dissident Mage</a> Petitioners deck put together on the <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/edhrecast-ep46-brew-battle-persistent-petitioners/">EDHRECast episode #46</a>. Eventually I'll hit most of the color-hosing cards that see some EDH play, and perhaps take a look at the land hosers, too, but in the interim, if you have any suggestions for other topics to cover in a future Superior Numbers, leave a note in the comments below!
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Creatures]
*1 Murkfiend Liege
*25 Persistent Petitioners
*1 Seedborn Muse
[/creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Chromatic Lantern 
*1 Herald's Horn 
*1 Sapphire Medallion 
*1 Sol Ring
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Aggravated Assault 
*1 Awakening 
*1 Compost 
*1 Curse of Bounty 
*1 Intruder Alarm 
*1 Leyline of the Void 
*1 Quest for Renewal
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Benefactor's Draught 
*1 Chaos Warp 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Dramatic Reversal 
*1 Intellectual Offering 
*1 Pongify 
*1 Rapid Hybridization 
*1 Reality Shift 
*1 Savage Beating 
*1 Turnabout 
*1 Vitalize
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Breaking Wave 
*1 Doubling Chant 
*1 Farseek 
*1 Insurrection 
*1 Into the North 
*1 Mizzix's Mastery 
*1 Mob Rule 
*1 Mobilize 
*1 Nature's Lore 
*1 Pir's Whim 
*1 Rampant Growth 
*1 Traumatize
[/Sorceries]
[Land]
*1 Ancient Tomb 
*1 Ash Barrens 
*1 Breeding Pool 
*1 Cascade Bluffs 
*1 Cinder Glade 
*1 City of Brass 
*1 Command Tower 
*1 Exotic Orchard 
*1 Fire-Lit Thicket 
*1 Flooded Grove 
*1 Forbidden Orchard 
*1 Frontier Bivouac 
*1 Homeward Path 
*1 Karplusan Forest 
*1 Mana Confluence 
*1 Misty Rainforest 
*1 Mutavault 
*1 Scalding Tarn 
*1 Scavenger Grounds 
*1 Shivan Reef 
*4 Snow-Covered Forest 
*4 Snow-Covered Island 
*4 Snow-Covered Mountain 
*1 Steam Vents 
*1 Stomping Ground 
*1 Strip Mine 
*1 Tectonic Edge 
*1 Wooded Foothills 
*1 Yavimaya Coast
[/Land]
[/Deck]

Superior Numbers - Cards Caring about Colors: Black

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="War Horn" href="#" target="_blank">War Horn</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.larsgrantwest.com/">Lars Grant-West</a>)</h6>
<h1>We Did a Thing!</h1>
First, a note from Don, the founder of EDHREC:
<blockquote>A few months ago an EDHREC user, Greg Bateman, came up with an independent Chrome extension called <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/better-edhrec/bifcpdpibocmmchlbdlfblelnefojbmk?hl=en">"Better EDHREC"</a> and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/EDH/comments/a0qgnh/better_edhrec_chrome_extension/">shared it on Reddit</a>. The extension allowed users to keep track of cards they are considering in a clipboard panel while browsing EDHREC. I loved this idea, so we hired Greg to come over and implement his extension as a permanent fixture of the website and make several improvements over his original idea. It's finally here, and it's something I'm personally really excited about!</blockquote>
And Don's not the only one! I'm chomping at the bit to take this new feature for a spin. Whether you're making a shopping list of cards you need for several decks, making comparisons between functionally similar cards to determine the best one to use, or brewing a Commander deck from scratch, this new clipboard function is a fantastic way to keep track of cards while using the site.
What better way to test it out than to make a new brew? If you're familiar with my article series <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/author/kyle-keller/">Forgotten Harvest</a>, I typically focus on hyper-underplayed cards and get into some really weird synergies. Come on a journey with me while I use this new clipboard feature to build a new deck!
<hr />
<h2>Populating the Clipboard</h2>
I really like Izzet commanders, and can never decide on just one, so how about a deck that plays all of them? If I'm making UR legends, I can just go to the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes">Themes page</a> and find a UR commander under the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/legends">Legends Theme</a>.
What's that? There aren't any UR legendary creatures representing the Legends theme? Looks like I'll have to do this the hard way!<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-31788" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Untitled1.png" alt="" width="576" height="245" />
Time to put the clipboard to use. When you hover over a card, a white [+] appears in the upper-right corner of the card image. Clicking on this [+] adds the card to your clipboard. You'll see a black box like this one pop up in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31789" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Untitled2.png" alt="" width="623" height="40" />
Meanwhile, the card image of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Locust God" href="#" target="_blank">The Locust God</a> has changed. It now features a white check mark, signifying that the card is on your clipboard.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31792" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture3.png" alt="" width="220" height="300" />
I'll add some of my favorite legendary creatures, and then we'll take a look at my clipboard.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31793" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture4.png" alt="" width="684" height="151" />
Here we can see quite a bit. I've got 12 creatures added to my clipboard from the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/ur">Izzet Commanders</a> page. Clicking on each name brings up the card image on the right, the last card I clicked on being [[Nin, the Pain Artist]]. To remove a card from the clipboard, click on the red X for the desired line. To wipe the clipboard entirely in one fell swoop, use the 'Clear' button in the lower right corner. To link to a card's page from the clipboard, click the link icon in a given line (the icon to the left of the X).
We'll discuss the rest of the clipboard's functionality when I'm closer to having a completed deck. For now, it looks like the legendary creatures I added all have something in common: they're drawing cards! Time to hit up the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/wheels">Theme page for Wheel decks</a>, I guess, and add a bunch of those cards to my clipboard too!
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31795" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture5.png" alt="" width="679" height="149" />
Notice how, as I'm adding cards to this list, it's added more sections for the different card types (Instants, Sorceries, etc). Additionally, the values listed on the Card Kingdom and TCG Player buttons have gone up. These buttons can be used to shop for the deck on the respective sites! Looking for a budget-friendly boardwipe? You can throw some options into your clipboard, then shoot over to one of the sites and price them out. Want to figure out the price of a deck you're thinking of putting together? Use the links to those sites to find out! Plus, you'll be helping EDHREC in the process!
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31814" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture8.png" alt="" width="696" height="80" />
Now for one of the coolest parts about this feature: the Recs. Down at the bottom of the clipboard, EDHREC will help me with my deck by making some suggestions. How thoughtful! Based on the cards I've already added, it will make some recommendations about other cards that often see play with the things already in my list!
To add a recommendation, just click the green check mark next to the card. This will add it to the main list, and your Recs will begin recalculating.
Anyway, back to work. I wonder if the <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/ur#izzetstaples">Izzet Staples</a> page could help me round this out?
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31811" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture6.png" alt="" width="689" height="152" />
There! I've got the deck all set! (It may only say 83 cards in my clipboard, but don't forget that the basic lands each only count for one card.) I think I'm finally ready to make a decision on my commander for this UR legendary card draw machine. It's going to have to be <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain</a>.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31812" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture7.png" alt="" width="699" height="78" />
I can flag her as my commander by clicking the yellow crown next to her name. This will separate out the commander into its own special section at the top of the clipboard, as seen above.
Now that I'm ready to export my deck, I'll select the 'Copy' button in the bottom right corner to copy the list. It's now paste-able into Notepad or the deck builder website of your choice (perhaps <a href="https://archidekt.com/">Archidekt</a>, given the <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/archidekt-and-edhrec-announce-partnership/">article</a> earlier this week)!
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-31815" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture8.5.png" alt="" width="574" height="300" />
I decided to export to Notepad so I could format my decklist for this very article! Here you can see it pastes out in alphabetical order.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31818" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Capture10.png" alt="" width="290" height="393" />
<hr />
<h2>Win. <del>Lose.</del> DRAW!</h2>
Alright, now that we've successfully used the new clipboard function on EDHREC, how about we talk a little about this deck? The point of this deck is to draw cards for extra benefits. We've got <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chasm Skulker" href="#" target="_blank">Chasm Skulker</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychosis Crawler" href="#" target="_blank">Psychosis Crawler</a> along with all their draw-trigger friends. A wide assortment of Niv-Mizzets both fuels the draw and slings some damage, and Jhoira will draw us cards every time we play one of these awesome Izzet powerhouses. There're oodles of ways to pull off a win: combat, burn, life loss, decking out our opposition, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Laboratory Maniac" href="#" target="_blank">Laboratory Maniac</a>... this should just be some fun, raw power at the table. Here you go!
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Commander] 
*1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain 
[/Commander]
[Creatures] 
*1 Fblthp, the Lost 
*1 Jushi Apprentice 
*1 Kami of the Crescent Moon 
*1 Nin, the Pain Artist 
*1 Chasm Skulker 
*1 Jori En, Ruin Diver 
*1 Kefnet the Mindful 
*1 Laboratory Maniac 
*1 Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist 
*1 Braids, Conjurer Adept 
*1 Phyrexian Metamorph 
*1 Toothy, Imaginary Friend 
*1 Venser, Shaper Savant 
*1 Keranos, God of Storms 
*1 Kraum, Ludevic's Opus 
*1 Psychosis Crawler 
*1 Arcanis the Omnipotent 
*1 Arjun, the Shifting Flame 
*1 Consecrated Sphinx 
*1 Mindwrack Liege 
*1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius 
*1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun 
*1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind 
*1 The Locust God 
*1 Tomorrow, Azami's Familiar 
*1 Nezahal, Primal Tide 
*1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur 
[/Creatures]
[Instants] 
*1 Pongify 
*1 Rapid Hybridization 
*1 Swan Song 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Electrodominance 
*1 Izzet Charm 
*1 Reality Shift 
*1 Chaos Warp 
*1 Ionize 
[/Instants]
[Sorceries] 
*1 Vandalblast 
*1 Reminisce 
*1 Blasphemous Act 
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments] 
*1 Propaganda 
*1 Rhystic Study 
*1 Sphinx's Tutelage 
*1 Mindmoil 
[/Enchantments]
[Artifacts] 
*1 Sensei's Divining Top 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Fire Diamond 
*1 Izzet Signet 
*1 Mind Stone 
*1 Ruby Medallion 
*1 Sapphire Medallion 
*1 Sky Diamond 
*1 Thought Vessel 
*1 Commander's Sphere 
*1 Izzet Locket 
*1 Quicksilver Amulet 
*1 Trading Post 
*1 Alhammarret's Archive 
*1 Gilded Lotus 
*1 Venser's Journal 
[/Artifacts]
[Lands] 
*1 Cascade Bluffs 
*1 Command Tower 
*1 Desert of the Fervent 
*1 Desert of the Mindful 
*1 Evolving Wilds 
*1 Forgotten Cave 
*11 Island 
*1 Izzet Boilerworks 
*1 Lonely Sandbar 
*1 Mana Confluence 
*8 Mountain 
*1 Reflecting Pool 
*1 Reliquary Tower 
*1 Remote Isle 
*1 Scalding Tarn 
*1 Shivan Reef 
*1 Smoldering Crater 
*1 Spirebluff Canal 
*1 Steam Vents 
*1 Sulfur Falls 
*1 Swiftwater Cliffs 
*1 Temple of Epiphany 
*1 Terramorphic Expanse 
[/Lands]
[/Deck]

<hr />
<h2>Tutorial Complete. Time to Play the Real Game!</h2>
I hope you've all enjoyed this walk through the new clipboard functionality. I know I'll be using this feature quite a bit as I continue to use EDHREC for deckbuilding. Any questions or comments about the new feature? Please let them loose in the comments section below. Snide remarks about my most recent brew are also graciously accepted.
Now go out and give the clipboard feature a spin. You won't regret it!

New EDHREC Feature! A Clipboard for Cards

The Knowledge Pool - Tasigur, the Golden Fang

The Toolbox - A Bitter Ordeal for Your Opponents

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis" href="#" target="_blank">Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/aleksi">Aleksi Briclot</a>)</h6>
<h1>Who Needs the Color Pie, Anyway?</h1>
Welcome back to Forgotten Harvest, where we give cards used in under 300 decks here on EDHREC their due. This time, I'm continuing the pattern of tackling mono-colored decks, and making good on a request from reader @WilliamLordSith for a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis" href="#" target="_blank">Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis</a> deck at the same time.
However, this isn't going to be your typical mono-black deck. No, we're going for something along the white/green persuasion. We're blowing away all expectations of what colors mean with an off-color enchantress deck.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31442" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/giphy-2.gif" alt="" width="600" height="300" />
Let's break it down into three sections:
<ol>
<li>What does black, and more specifically our commander, do well?</li>
<li>How can we leverage these strengths when using Auras?</li>
<li>What colorless cards can we use to help bolster the enchantress theme?</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<h2>What Nefarox and Black Do Well</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Homicidal Seclusion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Demonic Rising"></div></div>
There are two key features to Nefarox: Exalted and creature removal. Focusing on the former, black has a few cards that support keeping the creature count to a minimum. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Rising" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Rising</a> (176 decks) and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Homicidal Seclusion" href="#" target="_blank">Homicidal Seclusion</a> (169 decks) are two enchantments that can help out when we're rocking a solo Nefarox, the former providing a nice 5/5 Demon, and the latter buffing our lone creature and gaining us back some life. Given the heavy enchantment theme planned for in this deck, these are quite powerful.
Of course, any black deck isn't complete without some creature removal. Nefarox's attack trigger is a great way to eliminate troublesome attackers on the other side of the table. This deck includes a typical removal package for black, including <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnation" href="#" target="_blank">Damnation</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Go For the Throat" href="#" target="_blank">Go For the Throat</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Profane Command" href="#" target="_blank">Profane Command</a>. If you decide to give this deck a try, I highly recommend customizing this portion before doing further deck editing. I'm admittedly relying on my favorites for removal, but tinkering is required to find the absolute best cards for the job. You may prefer <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Decree of Pain" href="#" target="_blank">Decree of Pain</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shriekmaw" href="#" target="_blank">Shriekmaw</a>, and that's totally fine.
<hr />
<h2>Adding in Enchantments</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chime of Night"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Screams from Within"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Parallax Dementia"></div></div>
It's safe to assume, with Nefarox at the helm, that opponents will be losing a lot of creatures. Therefore I looked to add Auras that would provide some extra pain when their creatures hit the bin. Cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chime of Night" href="#" target="_blank">Chime of Night</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dying Wail" href="#" target="_blank">Dying Wail</a> from Urza's Destiny both fit that criteria, and see play in 47 and 18 decks, respectively.
Similar to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chime of Night" href="#" target="_blank">Chime of Night</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Funeral March" href="#" target="_blank">Funeral March</a> (30 decks) can help with a cascading creature loss. Speaking of cascades, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Screams from Within" href="#" target="_blank">Screams from Within</a> is king, frequently ripping through token decks like tissue paper, while only making it into the sleeves of 142 decks. When looking to cause some life loss, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Banewasp Affliction" href="#" target="_blank">Banewasp Affliction</a> (45 decks) gets the job done nicely. Finally, the highly political card <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Parallax Dementia" href="#" target="_blank">Parallax Dementia</a> can be a great bargaining chip when players A and B want to gang up on player C for a turn. This Nemesis common sees play in a whole 7 decks, which I think is far too low.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Necromancer&#039;s Magemark"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shade&#039;s Form"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sadistic Glee"></div></div>
Not all of our Auras have to be anti-creature. Some of them can help pump our Nefarox, get his commander damage through, or protect him from death. One of the best Auras to protect your whole enchanted team is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necromancer&#039;s Magemark" href="#" target="_blank">Necromancer&#039;s Magemark</a> from Guildpact (80 decks). While you'd lose any Auras attached to your creatures, getting those creatures back is just fantastic! Speaking of which, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shade&#039;s Form" href="#" target="_blank">Shade&#039;s Form</a> is an excellent <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="False Demise" href="#" target="_blank">False Demise</a> for black, allowing you to steal an opposing creature when it hits the bin. The buff on the creature only helps to add to the political benefits of the card. I'm shocked it's only played in 274 decks.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sadistic Glee" href="#" target="_blank">Sadistic Glee</a> (263 decks) and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ordeal of Erebos" href="#" target="_blank">Ordeal of Erebos</a> (188 decks) can give our creatures a more permanent boost after enchanting them. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inner Demon" href="#" target="_blank">Inner Demon</a>, played in 73 decks, provides a pump, some evasion, as well as a small board wipe. Also giving some evasion, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon Shadow</a> (295 decks) can make your creature fearsome over and over again. Assuming the creature can connect, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloak of Confusion" href="#" target="_blank">Cloak of Confusion</a> from Ice Age does some great "hand management" to disrupt our opponents, seeing play in just 16 decks. Lastly, another source of hand disruption, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Strands of Undeath" href="#" target="_blank">Strands of Undeath</a> (50 decks) provides a regenerative shield to protect the lucky creature it lands on.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dreadbringer Lampads"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blightcaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Xenic Poltergeist"></div></div>
Since we're playing so many Auras, it's probably a good idea to include the black Constellation creatures: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grim Guardian" href="#" target="_blank">Grim Guardian</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Agent of Erebos" href="#" target="_blank">Agent of Erebos</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thoughtrender Lamia" href="#" target="_blank">Thoughtrender Lamia</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomwake Giant" href="#" target="_blank">Doomwake Giant</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dreadbringer Lampads" href="#" target="_blank">Dreadbringer Lampads</a>. The Lampads get special mention, as they're only played in 298 decks. There's a suite of other powerful enchantment creatures also in the deck, along with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blightcaster" href="#" target="_blank">Blightcaster</a>, which has honorable Constellation and sees play in 274 decks. With all this enchantment-fall, you'll be happy to set off that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Screams from Within" href="#" target="_blank">Screams from Within</a> chain for sure!
One final creature that I should talk about, even though it's not enchantment-based, is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xenic Poltergeist" href="#" target="_blank">Xenic Poltergeist</a>. This Legends card has become a favorite of mine for black decks that have trouble handling artifacts. This can make a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Paradox Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Paradox Engine</a> into a 5/5 for one go around the table, making it susceptible to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damnation" href="#" target="_blank">Damnation</a> or any other mono-black creature removal. Right now, it only sees play in 161 decks, but I want to see that number creep higher.
<hr />
<h2>Colorless Support</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crown of the Ages"></div></div>
There are four colorless cards worth mentioning that add greatly to the black enchantress theme. First, we have the all-star <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skull of Orm" href="#" target="_blank">Skull of Orm</a>, capable of resurrecting our spent Auras for their reuse. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crystal Chimes" href="#" target="_blank">Crystal Chimes</a> fills a similar role, though it's only a one-shot.
Of note in the "under 300" club, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crown of the Ages" href="#" target="_blank">Crown of the Ages</a> helps to swap Auras among creatures. This will help you get the most of the enchantments, in case their host is about to say goodbye, or maybe it'll help get that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chime of Night" href="#" target="_blank">Chime of Night</a> on the creature that's about to bite it. Plus, with all these auras targeting your opponents' baddies, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcane Lighthouse" href="#" target="_blank">Arcane Lighthouse</a> can help make sure that hexproof and shroud won't get in the way.
Enough chatter! Let's check out a deck!
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div> 
[Commander] 
*1 Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis 
[/Commander] 
[Creatures] 
*1 Hex Parasite 
*1 Merrow Bonegnawer 
*1 Brain Maggot 
*1 Ashiok's Adept 
*1 Grim Guardian 
*1 Nighthowler 
*1 Plaguecrafter 
*1 Xenic Poltergeist 
*1 Agent of Erebos 
*1 Blightcaster 
*1 Crypt Ghast 
*1 Erebos, God of the Dead 
*1 Fate Unraveler 
*1 Doomwake Giant 
*1 Dreadbringer Lampads 
*1 Vengeful Pharaoh 
*1 Dread 
*1 Thoughtrender Lamia 
[/Creatures] 
[Instants] 
*1 Cast Down 
*1 Go for the Throat 
*1 Sudden Spoiling 
*1 Thrilling Encore 
*1 Scour from Existence 
[/Instants] 
[Sorceries] 
*1 Demonic Tutor 
*1 Profane Command 
*1 Torment of Hailfire 
*1 Damnation 
*1 Beseech the Queen 
[/Sorceries] 
[Artifacts] 
*1 Expedition Map 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Wayfarer's Bauble 
*1 Charcoal Diamond 
*1 Crown of the Ages 
*1 Jet Medallion 
*1 Mind Stone 
*1 Thaumatic Compass 
*1 Crystal Chimes 
*1 Skull of Orm 
*1 Unstable Obelisk 
[/Artifacts] 
[Enchantments] 
*1 Sadistic Glee 
*1 Vampiric Link 
*1 Animate Dead 
*1 Banewasp Affliction 
*1 Chime of Night 
*1 Cloak of Confusion 
*1 Dragon Shadow 
*1 Dying Wail 
*1 Ordeal of Erebos 
*1 Parallax Dementia 
*1 Funeral March 
*1 Necromancer's Magemark 
*1 Screams from Within 
*1 Shade's Form 
*1 Stab Wound 
*1 Vow of Malice 
*1 Inner Demon 
*1 Strands of Undeath 
*1 Demonic Rising 
*1 Homicidal Seclusion 
*1 Enslave 
[/Enchantments] 
[Lands] 
*1 Arcane Lighthouse 
*1 Barren Moor 
*1 Bojuka Bog 
*1 Cabal Coffers 
*1 Cabal Stronghold 
*1 Cathedral of War 
*1 Desert of the Glorified 
*1 Leechridden Swamp 
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx 
*1 Polluted Mire 
*1 Rogue's Passage 
*1 Spawning Pool 
*26 Swamp 
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 
[/Lands] 
[/Deck]

<hr />
<h2>In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night...</h2>
I hope you all enjoyed this attempt to throw the color pie out the window. I promise this won't be the last time I try to break things. Do you have any ideas for how you would like to mess with the color pie? How about any cards used in 300 decks or less on this site that you'd like to see featured? Leave me your thoughts on this and more in the comments. As this article proves, I love working off of reader suggestions and challenges, so let them fly! Next time, we'll continue the mono-color pattern with a preventative take on green!

Forgotten Harvest - Nefarox Enchantress

This was originally published at <a href="http://Archidekt https://archidekt.com/forum/thread/12288/1">Archidekt</a> on April 8th, 2019
The Archidekt team is excited to officially announce our partnership with EDHREC!
tl;dr
<ul>
<li>If this is your first time on Archidekt, hit up our <a href="https://archidekt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">home page</a> to view decks or try out our deck editor.</li>
<li>You can now view EDHRECs for your current deck directly in the left side panel.</li>
<li>We've partnered up with EDHREC to share data and work on more integrations in the future.</li>
</ul>
If you're an EDHREC user, you may have noticed that Archidekt has been a data source for a little while now: The recommendations you see on EDHREC already have Archidekt data flowing into them.
Today, we're pleased to finally unveil our in-editor integration with EDHREC, now available with any EDH deck open on Archidekt. If you open up the "Recs" tool on the left side panel, you will see a tab-- appropriately labeled "EDHREC"-- with a familiar icon. Clicking this will send off the cards in the current deck to EDHREC where card recommendations are compiled and sent back for you to browse and add to your deck. Take a look:
<img decoding="async" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/topdekt-user/images/edhrec_demo.gif" />
These are the first integrations of many more to come on both Archidekt and EDHREC. We can't share details right now of what those might look like, but we'll be sure to post some previews as they progress through development.
We'd like to thank the EDHREC team for being such a pleasure to work with. Throughout this whole process, they've consistently expressed a commitment to cultivating better MTG tools for the community. That's exactly what we strive for here at Archidekt, so we're excited to see what more we can make together moving forward!
Thanks for reading!
Andy
Archidekt Development Team Lead

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