Ever since I first tested out Dictate of Erebos for a deck, I've been in love with the card. It seems to be an absolute nightmare for monsters decks, and it makes Desecration Demon look silly. Lately, I've been experimenting with a number of decks using the card, but the most promising list is one built around Bogbrew Witch—or, more accurately, built around Bubbling Cauldron.

Bogbrew Dictate ? Journey into Nyx Standard | Mike Cannon

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Voyaging Satyr
• 3 Ogre Slumlord
• 4 Bogbrew Witch
• 4 Desecration Demon
• 4 Elvish Mystic
• 4 Festering Newt
• 4 Manaweft Sliver
• 4 Sylvan Caryatid

• Spells (10)
• 3 Dark Prophecy
• 4 Dictate of Erebos
• 3 Bubbling Cauldron

• Lands (22)
• 10 Forest
• 8 Swamp
• 4 Golgari Guildgate

Buy This Deck

The Creatures

Sylvan Caryatid makes a pretty good blocker against aggressive decks, and your opponent can't kill it to try to keep you from generating the mana you need. Manaweft Sliver and Voyaging Satyr lose both of these upsides, but they add the ability to trade with small creatures if necessary. In addition, they still produce the extra mana you need.

Desecration Demon is the primary win condition for the deck. Although the Demon is terrible when facing down a Dictate of Erebos, it's pretty great on the same side. With Dictate already clearing away your opponent's creature, keeping the Demon tapped is going to be a tall order. I haven't seen any other deck playing both mana dorks and Desecration Demon, but the ability to reliably cast the Demon on turn three seems pretty great.

Festering Newt is also great against many of the faster aggro decks that rely on 2/1s to get the job done. Soldier of the Pantheon and Daring Skyjek start looking a lot worse when facing down the Newt, and you can even trade with larger creatures like Pain Seer. The Newt can also do some more interesting tricks, such as blocking a Precinct Captain, dying to first strike, and killing a Daring Skyjek before damage.

When facing decks built around ground creatures, Ogre Slumlord is pretty similar to Dictate of Erebos in function, and with both out, things become almost impossible for your opponent. Note that you make a Rat whenever any nontoken creature dies, so when your opponent sacrifices a creature to Dictate, you'll make another one.

The Spells

Bubbling Cauldron lets you trigger Dictate of Erebos whenever you want, which can be important when facing down creatures like Stormbreath Dragon. It also gives you a fair bit of life, which can help you survive against aggressive decks, and it makes the card an absolute nightmare for Boros Burn.

Dark Prophecy keeps the deck going in longer games, especially against control. Although it can cost you some life, as the trigger is not optional, you can usually gain that back and more with Bubbling Cauldron. The triple-black cost usually isn't too hard to manage with Sylvan Caryatid and Manaweft Sliver producing whatever color you need, and once you start sacrificing creatures, the Prophecy can keep a stream of cards flowing that few decks can deal with.

Playtesting

Jund Monsters – Game 1

I cast Voyaging Satyr and ended my turn, and my opponent played a Sylvan Caryatid.

I cast Desecration Demon and passed the turn. My opponent killed the Demon with Dreadbore and passed back.

I cast Elvish Mystic, Manaweft Sliver, and Festering Newt before ending my turn. My opponent cast Polukranos, World Eater and passed.

I passed back with no play. My opponent used Polukranos's monstrosity ability for 2, targeting Elvish Mystic and Manaweft Sliver. I cast Dictate of Erebos in response, and when my creatures died, so did his. He ended his turn.

I cast Dark Prophecy and attacked for 2 with my creatures before passing the turn. My opponent cast Xenagos, the Reveler and made a Satyr token. He ended his turn.

I cast Ogre Slumlord and passed back. My opponent cast Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix, and he then made a token with Xenagos and attacked with Ghor-Clan Rampager. I sacrificed Voyaging Satyr to Bubbling Cauldron for a net gain of 3 life, a card, and a Rat token. My opponent sacrificed a Satyr to the Dictate trigger, and I blocked the Rampager with my deathtouch Rat. I took 3 trample damage and lost another life and drew a card. My opponent sacrificed his other Satyr to the Dictate trigger and passed the turn.

I cast Bogbrew Witch and Festering Newt. I sacrificed the Newt to Bubbling Cauldron. The Newt's -4/-4 killed Courser of Kruphix, my opponent activated Mutavault and sacrificed it to the Dictate trigger, and I made a total of three Rat tokens, lost 1 life and drew a card, and then drained my opponent for 4. Ogre Slumlord attacked Xenagos, and Sylvan Caryatid blocked, giving me another Rat. I passed the turn, and my opponent drew his card and conceded.

Game 2

He cast Courser of Kruphix and passed the turn. I played a Sylvan Caryatid and passed back.

My opponent cast a second Courser and played a Temple, gaining 2 life. I cast Festering Newt and Bubbling Cauldron, sacrificing the Newt to drain my opponent for 4 and using the trigger to kill Elvish Mystic. I ended my turn.

My opponent played a Temple to go back to 20, and he attacked my with both Coursers to put me back to 20 as well. I cast Dark Prophecy and Elvish Mystic before ending my turn.

My opponent played a Stomping Ground, paying 2 life and gaining 2. He cast Stormbreath Dragon and attacked with everything. I dropped to 12, and he passed the turn. I cast Ogre Slumlord and passed back.

My opponent played a Temple to gain 2 life and cast a second Dragon. He attacked with everything, and I blocked a Courser with Ogre Slumlord, going to 2 life. He ended his turn. I cast a second Bubbling Cauldron, but I couldn't gain enough life to avoid dying to Dragons next turn.

Game 3

I played a land and passed. The Ooze hit me for 2, and my opponent cast a second one before ending his turn.

I played a land and cast Ogre Slumlord before passing the turn. My opponent paid 2 life for an untapped Stomping Ground and cast Polukranos, World Eater. He passed the turn.

I played a land and passed back. He cast Stormbreath Dragon and attacked with it as well as Polukranos. I flashed in Dictate of Erebos and blocked Polukranos with Voyaging Satyr. My opponent sacrificed Scavenging Ooze, and Ogre Slumlord made two Rats. The Dragon hit me for 4, and my opponent ended his turn.

I attacked for 3 with Ogre Slumlord, and my opponent took the damage. I ended my turn. My opponent cast Courser of Kruphix, played a Mutavault from the top, and cast an Elvish Mystic. He attacked for 4 with the Dragon and ended his turn. I flashed in a second Dictate during his end step.

I attacked with everything, and my opponent took the damage, dropping to 4. I sacrificed Manaweft Sliver to the Cauldron, and my opponent sacrificed Courser and Polukranos, giving me a total of three more Rats. I gained 4 life and ended my turn. My opponent dropped me to 3 with Stormbreath Dragon, and he cast Scavenging Ooze before passing the turn.

I attacked with everything. My opponent exiled three creatures with Scavenging Ooze, gaining 3 life. He activated Mutavault and used it to block Ogre Slumlord, dropping to 1. I sacrificed a Rat to get rid of his last two creatures, and he drew his card and conceded.

Wrap-Up

The deck may benefit from some actual removal spells in the sideboard to deal with Stormbreath Dragon, but it might not be necessary. I'm not sure what you'd need to do against control decks, but a full play set of Golgari Charms is definitely part of it.

If you're interested in playing an unusual deck that can build up a massive card-advantage engine and wreck your opponent's board state, give this one a try at your next Friday Night Magic.