Whether heads-up or multiplayer, competitive or casual, one of the most common themes discussed among Magic players who are actually interested in winning the game is value. "The player who spends the most mana wins" is a common one - because that player is pulling as much value out of their deck as possible. Two-for-one cards where we spend a card and they lose two (or we gain two, like making two creatures for one card) mean we've used our resources more wisely. (A Wrath of God style effect is the same but at a larger scale.) We paint over the top with a fantasy brush, we play with fun ideas and clever interactions, but ultimately, we're looking to generate more value per card or mana cost than our opponents in order to win.

Enter today's commander. In the right - ahem - shell, this can be a value machine.

A 4/4 with Deathtouch for eight mana isn't great, no doubt. But when we realize we can get that 4/4 for we start to see the value. Add to that our ability to get our stuff back and we have an engine. Let's take a look at one example of what could be put together, then we'll talk through the choices and some potential other routes.

Gorex, the Tombshell | Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commander (1)
• 1 Gorex, the Tombshell

• Creatures (34)
• 1 Ayara, First of Locthwain
• 1 Big Game Hunter
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Callous Bloodmage
• 1 Cavalier of Night
• 1 Corpse Augur
• 1 Crypt Ghast
• 1 Cryptbreaker
• 1 Disciple of Bolas
• 1 Doomed Necromancer
• 1 Dread Presence
• 1 Fleshbag Marauder
• 1 Golgari Thug
• 1 Gorging Vulture
• 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1 Merciless Executioner
• 1 Midnight Reaper
• 1 Mindwrack Harpy
• 1 Mire Triton
• 1 Murderous Rider // Swift End
• 1 Necrogoyf
• 1 Necrotic Ooze
• 1 Plaguecrafter
• 1 Ravenous Chupacabra
• 1 Razormane Masticore
• 1 Scion of Darkness
• 1 Shriekmaw
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Stinkweed Imp
• 1 Stitcher's Supplier
• 1 Syr Konrad, the Grim
• 1 Tormod, the Desecrator
• 1 Vile Entomber
• 1 Void Beckoner

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Liliana, Death's Majesty

• Instants (6)
• 1 Deadly Dispute
• 1 Infernal Grasp
• 1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
• 1 Stinging Study
• 1 Tragic Slip
• 1 Village Rites

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Buried Alive
• 1 Decree of Pain
• 1 Feed the Swarm
• 1 Life's Finale
• 1 Read the Bones

• Enchantments (2)
• 1 The Meathook Massacre
• 1 Zombie Infestation

• Artifacts (12)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Bontu's Monument
• 1 Caged Sun
• 1 Charcoal Diamond
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Crowded Crypt
• 1 Desecrated Tomb
• 1 Grimoire of the Dead
• 1 Heirloom Mirror // Inherited Fiend
• 1 Key to the City
• 1 Mask of Memory
• 1 Sol Ring

• Lands (39)
• 17 Swamp
• 1 Ash Barrens
• 1 Barren Moor
• 1 Blast Zone
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Cabal Coffers
• 1 Cabal Stronghold
• 1 Crypt of Agadeem
• 1 Dakmor Salvage
• 1 Desert of the Glorified
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 High Market
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1 Phyrexian Tower
• 1 Polluted Mire
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1 War Room
• 1 Witch's Cottage

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We're going to function as a light Mono-Black control deck here. We're not going to grind the game to a halt the way an Azorius deck might, with its endless counters and board wipes, but we're going to throw enough roadblocks into the pathway to slow the game down, and we're going to get our engine humming along, casting and recasting our value creatures, pulling slightly ahead with each move we make.

The first thing we'll want is a ton of mana, and fortunately for us, Mono-Black excels at that. We've got 40 lands, so we should hit our drops even if we're doing some self-milling (which we will). We are running the Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Cabal Coffers/Cabal Stronghold combo, which generates a lot of extra mana once it gets going. Crypt of Agadeem can also make a lot in a deck with a ton of creatures in the 'yard. High Market is good if we need another creature to eat with Gorex, and Rogue's Passage will keep the Turtle attacking and bringing things back. Shizo, Death's Storehouse is surprisingly good at that, too!

We've also got some rocks, since extra mana will never be a problem with this deck. Most are pretty normal, but Crowded Crypt is particularly notable because it can be turned into a bunch of tokens later, when we no longer need the mana. Caged Sun is great in any mono-color deck with lots of creatures. And Burnished Hart and Solemn Simulacrum are excellent in decks where they can be sacrificed and brought back repeatedly.

One of the neat things about a deck like this is it constantly generates card advantage by recycling what's in the graveyard. We still want to draw some cards, and we do, with creatures like Callous Bloodmage and Disciple of Bolas, and spells like Village Rites and Read the Bones. But much of the time we'll be playing out creatures, sending them to the Graveyard, exiling them to cast Gorex, then getting them back randomly as Gorex starts lumbering into attack mode. Rather than drawing new cards, we'll be recycling old ones and gaining some value each time. Gray Merchant of Asphodel gets more valuable each time we cast him; with this deck, we can cast him several times.

Do keep in mind the card you get back is random, so don't count on a specific effect. Keep your mind open and attempt to gain value at every step, so no matter what comes along you'll be able to use it to your advantage.

There are a few ways this deck can win the game. The most likely is incidental damage; Gray Merchant, for example, cast a few times with enough Devotion to Black, will often win a game, and something like Ayara, First of Locthwain constantly being activated can really add up. A Gorex with an active Rogue's Passage might do it, and a Cavalier of Night can get pretty out of hand. Necrogoyf can be pretty huge, and Razormane Masticore is one of the coolest creatures in the game and capable of a lot of damage. Also, Grimoire of the Dead, in addition to being a discard outlet for creatures we want to bin to power out Gorex, can win us the game handily by simply stealing all the creatures from everywhere and putting them on our team.

We have a mix of spells and creatures to keep the board relatively clear of opposing threats. Things like Fleshbag Marauder and Big Game Hunter, when cast and recast, do a good job of killing off threats, and Life's Finale (make sure to target yourself with the second part!), Decree of Pain, Tragic Slip, and Feed the Swarm will help us solve even more problems. The Meathook Massacre is a particularly neat one, because we not only clear the board but continue to generate value through life gain and loss. (Also: Feed the Swarm? Enchantment removal in Mono-Black? Auto-include in every Mono-Black deck from now till forever.)

We have ways to discard and ways to sacrifice. We have ways to make our Commander unblockable and ways to kill opposing creatures. We'll do some self-mill, and we'll make some tokens with Zombie Infestation and Desecrated Tomb. We can even return creatures from our 'yard to the battlefield with something like Doomed Necromancer.

We will always have something to do with a deck like this. Is it the most efficient or fastest way to do graveyard deck? Probably not. But the random nature of Gorex will make this fun and challenging to play. You'll have to make decisions, let the fates decide some things, and see if you can make it work. It should be a good time, and should keep the table interested in what you're up to.

There are some other things one could do. One could go much harder into self-mill to dump a lot of cards into the 'yard and power out an early Gorex. One could do a more classic Reanimator shell (tee hee) and run Victimize and Reanimate and the like. There's probably an all creature/land build, though it would likely be very slow. There's even probably a Zombie tribal version, with Zombies popping in and out of Exile.

How would you play with Gorex? Should the turtle be in another deck you already have? Or is there a way you'd want to build it? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for reading.