Hello awesome folks! Today I want to build around a Mono-Black Commander that just debuted in Dominaria United. This is my second deck built around a creature from this set. I just built around Soul of Windgrace, a Jund Land Discard matters brew that uses things like Archfiend of Ifnir, Lord Windgrace, and Mina and Denn, Wildborn.

Who am I building around this time?

This four-mana 4/5 with deathtouch is way cheaper than her previous iteration, although not as powerful in a multiplayer game. As I draw cards, I gain two life. As my foes draw cards, they lose two life. Simple. This will punish my foes for all of their Opts, Brainstorms and Harmonizes. Many decks out there run 10-15 card draw powerhouses. This will really push them around. Do note that some "card draw" puts the cards from the top of your deck to your hand, like Fact or Fiction, which slips past this. Nice right? Luckily, New Sheoldred hasn't been added to EDHREC.com yet, so there is no established consensus cards for her yet.

The obvious home for this is with Wheel of Fortune effects, where every player discards their hand and draws 7 cards. The problem is those are mostly in Red and Blue, but one Wheel of Fortune effect would gain you 14 life and them lose 14 life. Nasty. Instead, we could run a Mono-Black Group Hug deck with things like Howling Mine that will force them to lose 4 life each draw step instead of two. Obviously, you let them draw answers to your Sheoldred the more cards they draw. Plus, there are only a handful of Group Hug cards in the colorless section, most are Blue, so that's not a very deep well either.

But... we could do both with a life gaining subtheme.

Fun Creatures

In my Mono-Black brews I like running a higher basic Swamp count than most mono-color brews in Commander for Cabal Coffers and Cabal Stronghold. Thus, I have included a number of Swamp matters dorks and effects in here. Dread Presence has a trigger when you drop a Swamp - draw a card and lose a life (and here that will net you a life) or drain two damage from a target for two damage. Either gains you life, and works nicely here. Nightmare is a flying 6-drop with power and toughness equal to your Swamp count, which should, again, be quite high. Flying is a win-con in dork form.

Synergies and Win-Cons

Check out these two synergies. The uncommon is a 3-drop that pings your foes a damage each time they draw a card. It's a faster win con for all of that card drawing they'll be doing. The rare is a 5-drop lifelink 4/4, on curve. When you have gained life on your turn (likely) you can spend the life gained and create an X/X Demon with flying token. A nice win con in creature form.

Two more Mono-Black dorks that share a type. The first Warlock is a 4/4 for five mana with deathtouch that says when you gain life, at the end of your turn can force your foes to sacrifice dorks and then Raise Dead. The second Warlock is a 3-drop 3/3 with menace that can spend a when you gain life to Raise Dead as well.

Check out this infinite combo that is heavily played Black decks to win the game. The Bond will force your foes to lose life equal to the life you gained. If you drew a card with Sheoldred in play and gained two life, you gain two and then they'll lose two. The Blood will force you to gain life as your foe's lose it, so if they drew a card and lose two life, you'll gain it. This will loop until you have killed everyone. I don't normally like this combo, as it's so easy to do, but each half is so synergetic that you cannot not run them.

Check out these two equipment named Lash. The first Lash is a 4-drop that equips for 3 life, easily paid, and then your equipped dork get's +1/+1 for each Swamp you control. I have 33 Swamps in the deck. The second Lash can equip for two Phyrexian Black mana, that'll normally be two mana, but it could be fewer, and it has living weapon, so it arrives equipped like Nightmare with power and toughness equal to your Swamp count. Nice pair, right?

Key Card Drawers of Note

Let's turn to some weird card flow. The Deal is a 3-drop sorcery that is the best "Wheel" effect in Black. Everyone discards and draws one fewer. Not what I am looking for, but I'll take it. Rankle is a 4-drop with haste and flying and a 3/3 body. When Rankle smashes face, you can make everyone discard, everyone sacrifice a dork, and/or everyone draw a card and ping for a life. That last one is why it's here, to basically shoot your foes for three life lost, and you gain a life.

This creature is a cool throwback from the first Kamigawa Block, and is a on curve 6/5 that lets everyone draw two in their upkeep and lose two life. That's 2 life gained for you and 6 life lost for your foe's when you control New-Sheoldred! Nasty right? The sorcery is a powerful 7-drop but it can force one player to draw half of their library (if a foe you'll kill him) and then lose half of their life. Then you can aim it at yourself and gain a ton of life and draw a ton of cards.

Check out this duo of enchantments. The uncommon is a 4-drop from one of the first expansion sets, and then you can spend a mana to pay two life and draw a card. Since you are gaining two life from your card draw, this just reads ", draw a card" when you control Sheoldred. The mythic is also a 4-drop enchantment, adds in the creature type, has a Greed payment for cards but costs another mana, and has indestructible and your foes cannot gain life. Don't run them both out there at the same time.

Removal of Note

Most of my removal is obvious (Noxious Gearhulk, Chainer's Edict) but a few are Swamp-based like this pair. The 1-drop is a common that can -1/-1 a dork for each Swamp I control. That removal skips past indestructible and regeneration. I am also running Mutilate which is this but for every creature on the battlefield. The six cost sorcery deals damage to any target equal to your Swamp count and you gain life. This will kill a player out of nowhere. I also am running the instant, only hitting creatures version called Tendrils of Corruption. Nice group, right?

I love to include a few graveyard removal answers in my decks for y'all since graveyard strategies are so common at the kitchen table. I have the obvious Bojuka Bog and then this instant. This will, at instant speed, pull out all creatures from a graveyard, and then gain three life for each one exiled. Hurting that Volrath's Stronghold engine or that Meren of Clan Nel Toth Golgari nasty machine is very strong, and you can gain that life for your stuff.

Mana Ramp and Lands

The Shade is a key 4-drop that rarely gets played in Mono-Black brews, but I love it here. It's a Solemn Simulacrum that can win the game. It grabs a Swamp (any Swamp, not just basic...) and puts it into your hand, so you still have to play the land, and then you can pump it up to a huge threat. I also am running Liliana here as a 4-drop 3-loyalty 'walker that can +1 to Lay of the Land for any Swamp, and then shuffle up. She can also -3 to Defile or pump based on your Swamp count, and then if you can emblem her? Nasty winning will commence.

Check out K'rrik! This (sometimes) 7-drop (with lifelink) will turn all of your Black mana costs into Phyrexian mana and you can spend two life, which means the Shade can kill in one hit. You can also drop your stuff much faster and the heavy Black in things is very easily paid here. Love it loads!

Ready for the deck list proper?

Giving Them the Answer with New-Sheoldred | Commander | Abe Sargent

• Commander (1)
• 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
• 1 Dread Presence
• 1 Epicure of Blood
• 1 Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1 Filth
• 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1 K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
• 1 Liliana's Shade
• 1 Murderous Rider
• 1 Nightmare
• 1 Nirkana Revenant
• 1 Noxious Gearhulk
• 1 Rankle, Master of Pranks
• 1 Reiver Demon
• 1 Seizan, Perverter of Truth
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Tivash, Gloom Summoner
• 1 Veinwitch Coven
• 1 Vilis, Broker of Blood
• 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose
• 1 Witch of the Moors

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Liliana of the Dark Realms

• Instants (5)
• 1 Crushing Disappointment
• 1 Crypt Incursion
• 1 Defile
• 1 Hagra Mauling // Hagra Broodpit
• 1 Tendrils of Corruption

• Sorceries (12)
• 1 Bad Deal
• 1 Chainer's Edict
• 1 Corrupt
• 1 Dark Deal
• 1 Demonic Tutor
• 1 Exsanguinate
• 1 Feed the Swarm
• 1 Infernal Offering
• 1 Mutilate
• 1 Nightmare Incursion
• 1 Peer into the Abyss
• 1 Syphon Mind

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Black Market Connections
• 1 Exquisite Blood
• 1 Greed
• 1 Sanguine Bond
• 1 Underworld Dreams

• Artifacts (13)
• 1 Caged Sun
• 1 Charcoal Diamond
• 1 Crowded Crypt
• 1 Font of Mythos
• 1 Howling Mine
• 1 Jet Medallion
• 1 Lashwrithe
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Nightmare Lash
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Temple Bell
• 1 Thought Vessel

• Lands (40)
• 33 Swamp
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Cabal Coffers
• 1 Cabal Stronghold
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1 Westvale Abbey

Buy This Deck Export text format

I have 59 non lands, one modal land, and then 40 normal lands here. What did you think? Anything in her that is missing? Just let me know and have an awesome day!