Tevesh Szat, Doom of FoolsTevesh Szat, Doom of Fools | Art by Chris Rallis

Welcome to Technically Playable, where our mission statement is "Every commander is technically playable" (the best kind of playable). The way this works is every article will have a commander generated using EDHREC's random button, I'll talk through the card and then write about how we can build around it.

This week's random commander is: Tevesh Szat, Doom of FoolsTevesh Szat, Doom of Fools

As of the time of writing this article, I've spent a month sick, with the last few days really knocking me out. So it only makes sense that this week's commander benefits from sacrificing Yoshimaru, Ever FaithfulYoshimaru, Ever Faithful. Truly sickening behavior, Tevesh.

One Is the Loneliest Number (Of Commanders)

As a punishment for being able to benefit from the death of the bestest boy, the first deck I'm going to cover leaves Tevesh Szat all alone. As he deserves.

Excessive Mana

While it's considered a negative to play a mono-colored Tevesh deck, there are some benefits. The main one of these is access to a huge amount of mana. It might feel weird to say that since surely access to green is much better for generating tons of mana, but mono-black gives us almost as much by utilizing cards like Cabal CoffersCabal Coffers and Cabal StrongholdCabal Stronghold to stack as much black mana as the number of SwampSwamps in play.

Since the Coffers only says Swamp and not "basic" Swamp like the Stronghold, the deck can utilize Urborg, Tomb of YawgmothUrborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to turn any utility lands (including the two Cabal lands) into Swamps. The main issue is getting these lands into play.

While black is well known for its access to powerful tutors, using Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor to find a land almost always feels bad. To get around this, the deck can run a copy of Expedition MapExpedition Map to help grab whichever land is needed.

Mono-black also has a strange number of ways to get extra mana on creatures. Of course, there's Magus of the CoffersMagus of the Coffers, effectively a copy of Cabal Coffers, but with summoning sickness. There's also Crypt GhastCrypt Ghast, Nirkana RevenantNirkana Revenant, and Bubbling MuckBubbling Muck. Any combination of these can make a Torment of HailfireTorment of Hailfire or ExsanguinateExsanguinate game-ending.

Devotion Effects

The other big benefit of playing a single color is the ability to run devotion cards and cards that care about having a lot of a specific thing. Mono-black has been given a lot of these over the years.

The original was CorruptCorrupt all the way back in Urza's Saga. Back in ye olde times of 1998, this could have been a solid finisher in longer games. Since then, this effect has undergone a lot of improvements, mainly by reducing the cost and shifting the focus to making it into a removal spell. DefileDefile and Consuming CorruptionConsuming Corruption are both excellent spot removal spells in mono-black while MutilateMutilate does a pretty solid Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge impression (especially considering one of these cards is in 1.6% of all decks and the other is in 18.4% - I'll let you work out which is which).

But these aren't actual "devotion." Devotion cares specifically about the number of mana symbols on cards you control. Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel is definitely the most used and most powerful mono-black devotion card, but there are others. Grim ServantGrim Servant is a really good, recurrable tutor, while SanguimancySanguimancy is a powerful (if a little expensive) card draw spell.

If tokens are more your style, you can even use Abhorrent OverlordAbhorrent Overlord and Underworld HermitUnderworld Hermit to fill up your board and use Mogis's MarauderMogis's Marauder to break through your opponents' boards.

Mono-Black Partners

But you can't talk about a mono-black partner commander without talking about possible pairings. There are some non-black partners in the section below, but this section will focus on possible partners to keep that mono-black deck alive.

The first is Keskit, the Flesh SculptorKeskit, the Flesh Sculptor (75 decks). One of the issues with Tevesh is that his second ability is very powerful, but needs fuel to sacrifice, while his first ability makes some 0/1s and feels very underwhelming. Luckily, Keskit fixes that issue by allowing Tevesh to turn the Thrulls he makes into a mini version of Dig Through TimeDig Through Time.

By pairing with Keskit, Tevesh sets up for a great Aristocrats deck. By stacking the deck with Blood ArtistBlood Artists and Pitiless PlundererPitiless Plunderers, Keskit can take those 0/1s and turn them into cards, Treasure, and damage. And knowing Tevesh's sickening ways, a Grave PactGrave Pact wouldn't be too far of a stretch for the deck.

One thing has popped up in this article time and time again, and that's the importance of tokens in the deck. With this in mind, it just makes sense to have Tevesh partner up with Nadier, Agent of the DuskenelNadier, Agent of the Duskenel (143 decks). While Keskit gives us cards, Nadier turns dying tokens into counters, and then turns those counters into more tokens in the event of his untimely death. This gives the deck a way to close out games quickly with commander damage while also having a backup in case your opponents can remove that threat.

The commander damage line can even be a sneaky one in combination with something like Phyrexian AltarPhyrexian Altar or Warren SoultraderWarren Soultrader. By holding up enough tokens to sacrifice, Nadier can force opponents to make choices around whether they block the attack or not. This can allow the deck to only sacrifice the necessary number of tokens or use the potential lethal as leverage for political gain.

This version of the deck works particularly well with the devotion cards mentioned above. By stacking a ton of devotion and then slamming an Underworld HermitUnderworld Hermit, the deck can easily stack up enough tokens to make Nadier a real threat, paired with Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet or ReanimateReanimate-style spells, the deck gets out of hand really quickly.

Now, while the deck is mono-black, this next partner does allow the deck to remain "mono-black" while technically adding a second color. The thing that makes Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh (1,521 decks) so good is the cost. Being able to play Tevesh Szat on turn five and then play a free Ancestral RecallAncestral Recall is really powerful.

While most Tevesh/Rograkh decks are cEDH using cards like Culling the WeakCulling the Weak and Infernal PlungeInfernal Plunge to turn Rograkh into mana, you can play a more casual version as just a mono-black "good stuff" deck.

You can go down the route of big beaters like Grave TitanGrave Titan or K'rrik, Son of YawgmothK'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth, or you can go down the sacrifice route, looping BloodghastBloodghasts and GravecrawlerGravecrawlers to get benefits.

The deck that really resonates with me is a reanimation deck filled with Animate DeadAnimate Deads and Breach the MultiverseBreach the Multiverses alongside the biggest threats in black, like Valgavoth, Terror EaterValgavoth, Terror Eater and Sepulchral PrimordialSepulchral Primordial.

The main reason to run Rograkh is to get that powerful card draw. But be careful; if you overuse it, he quickly becomes a six-mana draw-three. And be wary that merely having this pairing in your command zone will make you a threat.

Two Is Almost as Bad as One

In the past, when I've looked at partner commanders, I'd look at the most popular pairings. In this case, Tevesh's more popular pairings have their roots in cEDH, which is not my area of expertise. Instead, I've grabbed a couple of less popular partners that have some interesting ways people have used them.

Numa, Joraga ChieftainNuma, Joraga Chieftain - 1 Deck

This is a proliferate deck that comes in two parts. Firstly, the proliferate angle. Secondly, the Elves that are added to the deck to maximize the benefit of Numa's ability.

In terms of the Elves that should be included, this is pretty simple: any Elves that benefit from having a bunch of counters or higher power or toughness. Haldir, Lórien LieutenantHaldir, Lórien Lieutenant, Joraga WarcallerJoraga Warcaller, and Arwen, Weaver of HopeArwen, Weaver of Hope are all excellent options that make the creature completely massive when they've been nuffed by Numa's ability. While they're very powerful in this deck, they take some time to wind up to that point.

In the early parts of the game, Cloakwood SwarmkeeperCloakwood Swarmkeeper and Woodland ChampionWoodland Champion make sure the Thrulls that Tevesh makes have some benefit. The biggest downside of Numa's ability is the cost, an X cost to put a counter onto each Elf in play can get very pricey. And since this deck doesn't really want to stack a million copies of Elvish MysticElvish Mystic, having the deck's counters work for it in this aspect is really important.

Gyre SageGyre Sage and Marwyn, the NurturerMarwyn, the Nurturer both work in tandem with Numa to generate tons of mana while cards like WorkhorseWorkhorse work well with the proliferation that'll be covered next.

Green and black have benefited a lot from revisiting Phyrexia, with a lot of the proliferation from that set being given to these colors to synergize with the toxic mechanic. Cards like Bloated ContaminatorBloated Contaminator and Contaminant GrafterContaminant Grafter allow the deck to play aggressively, chipping down life totals and doling out poison counters to get the wheels of the deck moving.

Alongside these, Blightbelly RatBlightbelly Rat and Core ProwlerCore Prowler present real threats and decisions for opponents. Do they let the creature through and risk losing to poison counters and proliferation, or do they block early and let you start building up counters elsewhere?

You can also run Vraska, Betrayal's StingVraska, Betrayal's Sting, another planeswalker, which has an incredibly powerful final ability and a second ability that has a lot of utility. Glistening SphereGlistening Sphere also offers a lot of mana with Evolution SageEvolution Sage, benefiting from the fact that the deck is running green and is bound to run some CultivateCultivate and Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach-esque cards.

This deck comes down to two key things: Spread out as many counters from Numa as widely as possible while proliferating, and present other threats until you can leverage your counters to win the game through tons of mana or with huge creatures.

Alena, Kessig TrapperAlena, Kessig Trapper - 3 Decks

This deck is all about Ball LightningBall Lightnings. Well, not entirely, since it can't use GroundbreakerGroundbreaker or Spark TrooperSpark Trooper. But the general idea is to use aggressive creatures that only last one turn, pairing them with cards that, with the correct stacking of triggers, give us some kind of benefit from these creatures before we're forced to remove them.

The first focus is the creatures mentioned above, anything that we're either forced to sacrifice at the end of our turn or that negatively benefits the deck's game plan by hanging around too long.

Lightning SkelementalLightning Skelemental is an obvious one, but the deck can also run Kroxa, Titan of Death's HungerKroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger and Phyrexian SoulgorgerPhyrexian Soulgorger. Both cards, which are sacrificed soon after being played, are very under-costed for their power and toughness.

Delving deeper into the history of Magic, the deck can also run a copy of Mijae DjinnMijae Djinn, a three-drop with six power, or SouldrinkerSouldrinker, a four-drop that gives opportunities to gamble on how close to zero life the deck's pilot is willing to go.

But creatures aren't the only way to stack power to the ceiling. Why not turn every creature into a Souldrinker with Unspeakable SymbolUnspeakable Symbol? Or use a personal favorite of mine, Altar of the WretchedAltar of the Wretched, to draw a million cards and make a huge creature (on a side note, this is hilarious in Coram, the UndertakerCoram, the Undertaker with Death's ShadowDeath's Shadow and Yargle and MultaniYargle and Multani).

But the deck can't just rely on making a bunch of massive creatures that die instantly (looking at you, Nova ChaserNova Chaser), there also have to be ways to get those benefits. While they're very good at this, Alena and Tevesh Szat are a given, what with them being the commanders of the deck, but there are plenty of other options, too.

Kethek, Crucible GoliathKethek, Crucible Goliath allows the deck to cycle through its creatures to get as many as possible into the graveyard for a late-game Rise of the Dark RealmsRise of the Dark Realms or Altar of the WretchedAltar of the Wretched, while Infantry ShieldInfantry Shield and CarrionCarrion turn our one-off massive creatures into an army of blockers or sacrifice fodder.

And then there are the FlingFlings. There are a lot of options in red/black for cards that work like FlingFling, and going through all of them would be a waste of time. But some of the less used ones include ThudThud and Callous Sell-SwordCallous Sell-Sword; these are particularly good in this deck since you want to be getting rid of your Ball LightningBall Lightnings the turn you play them, so being sorcery speed doesn't actually hurt it.

It wouldn't be a Technically Playable article if I didn't highlight a cool graveyard-focused card that has a criminally low inclusion rate (0.06% across all of EDHREC, in fact). Heart-Piercer ManticoreHeart-Piercer Manticore is my go-to in Fling decks with some kind of graveyard-matters element to them. The ability to play it, then reanimate it, and eventually embalm it when the deck runs out of ways to recur it in other ways gives a lot of flexibility.

Having cards that are playable from the graveyard also gives a level of "card advantage" that other decks can't always compete with, since it effectively means that when a card like Heart-Piercer ManticoreHeart-Piercer Manticore or Gravitic PunchGravitic Punch is put into the graveyard, you're "drawing" another copy of it.

There are tons of other options for both of these decks that I didn't cover, but that's because I want to see your take on them. Go and get those numbers up! Numa and Alena are great cards that deserve more of a spotlight, so go and make some decks with them on Archidekt so we can share their awesomeness with more people.

Doom of Fools

As with all Technically Playable articles, this was a very quick look at Tevesh Szat, Doom of FoolsTevesh Szat, Doom of Fools as a commander, and a few of the cards that can really make a deck with Tevesh tick.

Let me know in the comments below if you play Tevesh Szat, Doom of FoolsTevesh Szat, Doom of Fools, if you want to build a Tevesh Szat deck, or even if you just enjoyed this article!

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