As we edge towards the end of the year, I've been taking the opportunity to tie up a few loose ends from 2024. This has come in the form of building decks that I had meant to put together months ago, but just never got around to brewing. Back in early September I wrote a column around a Flubs, the Fool list, but I only managed to get a Flubs deck built this past week. I've played it once and I'm looking forward to playing it again, but today I'm going to be diving into another Bloomburrow commander that has been on my to-do list for a while.

In August Mark Wischkaemper wrote up a deck for Gev, Scaled Scorch that took a different and decidedly more casual approach to that scaly little guy. You can read that article here (https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/markwischkaemper-08292024-commanding-bloomburrow-gev-scaled-scorch). I've long been a fan of persist combo decks, so I've had my eye on Gev and last week I finally got around to throwing together my own list.

Gev is a 3/2 Lizard Mercenary in Rakdos colors with a casting cost of two. His Ward ability requires anyone targeting him to pay 2 life, but that's unlikely to be a problem in EDH, where we have a starting life total of 40.

With Gev in play, other creatures I control will enter with an additional +1/+1 counter on them for each opponent who lost life this turn. That's a big deal.

Whenever I cast a Lizard spell, Gev, Scaled Scorch will deal 1 damage to target opponent. That's not a big deal. Even if I were to build around Lizards, I'm probably not going to play enough of them to kill even a single player, much less the table.

Persist Combo

For a few years I've had a Grumgully, the Generous deck that uses creatures with persist to combo off and kill the table. It's in Gruul colors and the deck isn't fast enough for cEDH, but can hold its own at mid and high powered tables. I wrote about that brew back in 2019 and you can check that column out here (https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/stephenjohnson-09232019-grumgully-the-generous).

Persist and undying are keyworded abilities that allow a creature to come back into play automatically when it dies. The creature still goes to the graveyard, but a trigger gets put onto the stack. For persist, it will check to see if the creature died with a -1/-1 counter on it, and for Undying, it checks for a +1/+1 counter. If the creature did not have the specified counter when it died, it gets returned to the battlefield and that counter gets placed on it.

If a creature with persist dies and you have a way to put +1/+1 counters on it when it enters the battlefield, you can have it die any number of times and it can just keep coming back. If you can pair that loop with a payoff of some sort, you can usually combo off and win the game.

A game-winning payoff for Grumgully might be cards like Impact Tremors or Purphoros, God of the Forge, so the loop pushes damage out to your opponents as the persist creature keeps entering and leaving play. What I like most about my Grumgully deck is that it has redundancy across all parts of the combo.

Gev, Scaled Scorch is in Black and Red. That alone puts Gev ahead of Grumgully, as we now have access to all of the best tutors in the game. It also gives me access to a wide range of different payoffs that can't be run in a Gruul deck. Lastly, the color change rules out other cards that I can no longer run. Melira, Sylvok Outcast, Renata, Called to the Hunt, and The Great Henge aren't available as +1/+1 counter sources. Aerie Ouphes, Scuzzback Marauders, and Woodfall Primus are no longer in my suite of creatures with Persist.

Fortunately, being in Rakdos gives me other new toys to play with.

Rakdos Persist Creatures

I'm still able to run both Furystoke Giant and Thunderblust, though I only had a spare copy of the latter when I built today's list. Both are five-mana creatures with persist, and if I enjoy playing Gev I may pick up a copy of Furystoke to have that added redundancy.

There are a handful of options in Black to throw into the list, starting with Putrid Goblin, a two-mana 2/2 Zombie Goblin with persist. Moving up to the four-mana slot, Lingering Tormentor is a 2/2 Spirit with Fear and Persist. For one more mana, Persistent Constrictor is a 5/3 Zombie Snake who will have each of your opponents lose 1 life and you put a -1/-1 counter on up to one of their target creatures on their upkeep.

The best persist creature in this deck is a familiar face to anyone who has played Magic in Rakdos colors.

Murderous Redcap costs four mana and is a 2/2 Goblin Assassin with a great enter the battlefield trigger. When Redcap enters play, it will deal damage equal to its power to any target. That means that not only can you kill the table, you can even pick off any utility creatures that might be in the way of you winning the game. Having a single card satisfy two parts of your combo is a big deal. Murderous Redcap can loop and it also pushes out damage so it covers the "payoff" part of your combo quite nicely.

Combo Payoffs

I decided I wanted to have other payoffs beyond just Murderous Redcap. In cEDH that might not matter, as you're looking for as efficient a path to victory as possible, but I'm building for a slightly lower power level. This deck is in red so I'm able to use some of the damage sources I used in Grumgully. I didn't have a spare copy of Purphoros, God of the Forge, but Impact Tremors, Outpost Siege and Warstorm Surge are all in my list, and I've added some Black payoffs into the mix.

I'm building for redundancy, with enough payoffs that if I play one and it gets removed, I have a reasonable chance of drawing into another before too long. I'm not building for cEDH so I'm not fixated on winning as quickly as possible, but I do want the deck to be reliable.

Syr Konrad, the Grim, headlines this list and hardly needs an introduction. For five mana this Human Knight will push 1 damage out to each opponent whenever another creature dies, a creature card is put into a graveyard from anywhere other than the battlefield, or when a creature card leaves my graveyard. He also lets me pay one and a Black to have each player mill a card.

I'm also running Blood Artist, and Falkenrath Noble, each of which will let me have target player lose 1 life and I gain 1 life whenever it or another creature dies. They're both Vampires, but the latter is also a Noble, costs two more mana and has flying. Zulaport Cutthroat is in the list and has a similar ability, except that instead of targeting it will have each opponent lose 1 life.

Mayhem Devil is a three-mana 3/3 Devil in Rakdos colors who will let me push out 1 damage to any target whenever a player sacrifices a permanent. In a game where all manner of tokens get sacrificed, this card can bring real value even if I'm not ready to combo off. If I am able to start a persist loop, I should just be able to clear the table.

Beyond those payoffs I'm running a few sacrifice outlets that also provide a payoff or benefit. Altar of Dementia will let me mill my opponents for cards equal to the sacrificed creature's power. Ashnod's Altar will give me two colorless mana. I would have a Phyrexian Altar in this list if I had a spare copy, but I don't proxy and I didn't have an extra one lying around.

Sacrifice Outlets

If there's one thing that's easy to find in Black, it's sacrifice outlets. I'm running Thermopod, a Red five-mana Slug that lets me sacrifice a creature to add one red mana to my mana pool, but beyond that my outlets are colorless or are in Black.

Viscera Seer is a familiar face to anyone who plays Aristocrats decks. This 1/1 Vampire Wizard will let me sacrifice a creature to scry 1. Most of my Black creature sacrifice outlets are vampires, though few are as cheap or as helpful as Viscera Seer. Bloodthrone Vampire costs one more mana and will get +2/+2 until end of turn when I use it to sacrifice a creature. Nantuko Husk is a 3 mana Vampire Aristocrat, but in Zombie Insect form. Bloodflow Connoisseur costs three mana and will get a +1/+1 counter when it's used to sac a creature.

Most of these extra outlets are just for redundancy, and will probably never see combat even if they are big enough to be lethal threats. The exception to this is Flesh-Eater Imp. This four-mana Imp has Infect, but more importantly it has flying. That means even if my combo isn't able to kill someone, if I did it in my first main phase and a surviving opponent doesn't have a flying or reach blocker, they might just get a visit from a now-lethal Flesh-Eater Imp and die the death of a thousand poison counters.

Gev's Counters

The last piece of this puzzle is that I need to find a way to make sure my creatures enter play with a +1/+1 counter on them. That will negate any -1/-1 counter and will allow me to loop them and actually execute the combo.

With Grumgully it was easy. With Gev, I have to jump through a very minor hoop. I have to make sure that at least one opponent lost life this turn in order to use Gev's +1/+1 counter ability. That can happen in any way, but I leaned towards cards that push out damage to each opponent. If nothing else, that might let me have some decent blockers as I try to last long enough to draw or tutor into my full combo.

I pulled apart my Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls list to build Gev, and I kept a bunch of the damage sources from that list. Fanatical Firebrand, Prodigal Sorcerer, Kindlespark Duo, and Spear Spewer can all tap to push out damage. I prefer pingers that hit each opponent, but even one opponent taking damage is enough to turn Gev on and let me combo off.

Vampire Neonate can tap for two mana to make each opponent lose 1 life and I'll gain 1 life. That seems like more mana than it's worth, but having my creatures enter with three +1/+1 counters can really help with blocking in the early and mid game.

I'm running a few single use creatures that will have my opponents lose life when they enter. Gray Merchant of Asphodel will drain my tablemates equal to my devotion to Black and I'll gain life equal to the life lost this way. That could amount to a lot, and it will definitely set Gev up to start putting counters on my creatures. I'm also running Massacre Wurm, a Phyrexian Wurm that gives my opponent's creatures -2/-2 when it enters. Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies with Massacre Wurm in play, that player will lose 2 life.

Gev Combo

Building this list out of the bones of my Rakdos Valgavoth deck gave me access to some pretty fun cards. Kardur, Doomscourge, a new Radkos staple that goads creatures my opponents control, is in the list, alongside Valgavoth, Xantcha, Mogis, God of Slaughter, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Running an assortment of fun Rakdos stuff will give me something to try to do if I'm not able to pull into my deck's main plan, and should make the deck more interesting to play.

I've got a modest slot of removal, including Chaos Warp, Deadly Rollick, and Withering Torment, but if someone is able to lock Gev down with an enchantment it's quite likely that will screw up my chances of winning through combo. Grumgully, the Generous has a ton of redundancy for what he brings to the game, but a lot of that was in Green and Gev simply doesn't have the same kind of flexibility.

Gev, Scaled Scorch | Commander | Stephen Johnson

• Commander (1)
• 1 Gev, Scaled Scorch

• Creatures (39)
• 1 Blood Artist
• 1 Bloodflow Connoisseur
• 1 Bloodthrone Vampire
• 1 Crypt Rats
• 1 Falkenrath Noble
• 1 Fanatical Firebrand
• 1 Flesh-Eater Imp
• 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1 Grim Haruspex
• 1 Kaervek the Merciless
• 1 Kardur, Doomscourge
• 1 Kindlespark Duo
• 1 Lampad of Death's Vigil
• 1 Lingering Tormentor
• 1 Massacre Girl
• 1 Massacre Wurm
• 1 Mayhem Devil
• 1 Mogis, God of Slaughter
• 1 Morbid Opportunist
• 1 Murderous Redcap
• 1 Nantuko Husk
• 1 Persistent Constrictor
• 1 Phyrexian Ghoul
• 1 Priest of Forgotten Gods
• 1 Prodigal Pyromancer
• 1 Putrid Goblin
• 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Spear Spewer
• 1 Sunspine Lynx
• 1 Syr Konrad, the Grim
• 1 Thermopod
• 1 Thunderblust
• 1 Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
• 1 Vampire Aristocrat
• 1 Vampire Neonate
• 1 Viscera Seer
• 1 Xantcha, Sleeper Agentfoil
• 1 Zulaport Cutthroat

• Instants (5)
• 1 Bedevil
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Deadly Rollick
• 1 Vampiric Tutor
• 1 Withering Torment

• Sorceries (3)
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Chandra's Ignition
• 1 Demonic Tutor

• Enchantments (4)
• 1 Impact Tremors
• 1 Outpost Siege
• 1 The Meathook Massacre
• 1 Warstorm Surge

• Artifacts (9)
• 1 Altar of Dementia
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Ashnod's Altar
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Rakdos Signet
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Indulgence
• 1 The One Ring

• Lands (39)
• 13 Mountain
• 13 Swamp
• 1 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 1 Blazemire Verge
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Foreboding Ruins
• 1 Graven Cairns
• 1 Leechridden Swamp
• 1 Shivan Gorge
• 1 Smoldering Marsh
• 1 Spinerock Knoll
• 1 Sulfurous Springs
• 1 Tainted Peak

Buy This Deck Export text

What Gev, Scaled Scorch does bring to the game is all the best tutors. If this deck were to be built for cEDH, I imagine it would have a lot less redundancy, a lot more interaction, and every tutor I could get my hands on. Even with a tighter mana base and a lower mana curve, I don't see Gev being a top tier EDH deck, but it would be playable and fun. This isn't a cEDH list, but you can find those online easily enough.

If this high-powered list seems like a bit too much for your playgroup, I personally wouldn't build Mark's voltron list. I'd lean into playing lizards. I'm not saying it would be good, but I might be able to find a wincon involving infinite mana and infinite lizard cast triggers. I have no idea how easy that would be to pull off, but it would be significantly harder than nailing down a persist combo win.

Stopping Persist Combo

One of the important things to understand if you're playing a persist combo deck is how it gets stopped. You don't ever want to just assume you have the win, and if someone tries to stop you it's good if you know how that can be done.

When a creature with persist goes into the graveyard, a trigger gets put on the stack. That trigger has to resolve in order to put the creature back into play. During that time, priority gets passed and everyone has a chance to react. If someone removes Gev, removes your sacrifice outlet, removes your payoff, or just exiles the creature card out of the graveyard, that will stop the combo in its tracks.

If the persist trigger attempts to resolve but the persist creature is gone, it won't be able to put it back onto the battlefield.

If it succeeds in putting the creature back onto the battlefield but any of the other parts of your combo have been removed, you'll be unable to win. If Gev or your sacrifice outlet is gone, you won't be able to continue looping the creature with persist. If your payoff is gone, you can keep looping it, but it won't do anything.

Trying to stop a persist combo win attempt at the wrong time isn't usually going to work. If someone tries to hit your Putrid Goblin with a Path to Exile, you can just sacrifice it in response and start your loop. If they try to hit your Ashnod's Altar with a Disenchant, you can again just start your loop in response. Because you aren't casting a spell, you can hold priority and do your persist loop but you absolutely have to allow that persist trigger to resolve. That's why that step is so important, and why it's the place where you are most likely to get stopped.

Early Results

I was able to get this deck into a game before writing this column and the results were interesting. I had come off of several games where I felt like I was a bit underpowered for the table, but when I switched to Gev I felt like I might have been overpowered. I might also have just gotten lucky.

I was able to start out the game with an early Putrid Goblin and Vampire Neonate. That solved two of my problems, and before long I was able to play out Gev, draw into Zulaport Cutthroat and tutor up an Ashnod's Altar, I happened to catch the table without interaction.

I've played persist combo before, so while it was nice to have my deck just happen to give me everything I needed, I know full well that the real fun comes when you have to deal with adversity.

With my Grumgully list, that usually comes in the form of having to recover multiple times from losing key combo pieces before I am able to get everything in place and win the game.

I wasn't sure how Gev would play, and my one game sample size probably didn't give me a great feel for how the deck will really perform. It shouldn't always be that easy, though I honestly could have gone for the win a turn or two earlier if I had wanted to. If I had, I might have run into removal that got used before I went for the win. Timing is everything when you're playing combo.

Final Thoughts

Before you assume I'm an unrepentant pubstomper, I'd like to assure you that I very much got my butt whooped in the games leading up to that Gev win. I try to focus on the overall session and balance everything out over the course of multiple games. I also really wanted to get a game in with Gev and I was up front about it being a persist combo deck. It's possible my Gev list is more powerful than I think, but hopefully I'll get a better feel for it after a few more games.

It's worth noting that while I love my Grumgully, the Generous deck, I don't play it a lot. I like combo, but I'm acutely aware that some players don't enjoy playing against combo. I also like playing decks that give me a variety of play patterns, and Grumgully tends to want to do the same thing every game to try to win. There's nothing wrong with a deck that knows what it wants to do and is good at doing it, and I compensate for that by having a lot of decks and rotating through them constantly.

I expect I may have a 2024 retrospective column coming up, but I also have a silly, fun list for next week that I hope I'll be able to share with you. It's a whimsical idea I came upon recently and I should even get a game in with the deck before I write it up.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!