Dungeons Of Death. That's one of the coolest names for a deck. We're all guilty of giving our decks quirky little identifiers but this one really hit it out of the park. The dungeon mechanic suffered like most new mechanics from a limited card pool in the initial run. Whenever that happens it just seems to me like Wizards doesn't trust their design to make something balanced and/or they don't want to over commit in case it doesn't land with audiences. I think going in half cocked is just as much of a hindrance to a mechanic being accepted or people getting excited about it. You also have to watch out for card prices when the mechanic returns as the few role players spike in value in response. I don't buy precons so I've picked up some of the dungeon cards I find most relevant here and there. In doing so I put together a unique take on the marquee commander for the mechanic. Sefris Of The Hidden Way. Sefris rewards creatures going to the graveyard with venture and brings one back when a dungeon is completed. There is no shortage of creatures dying in a commander game. I don't need to turbo charge that plan but that doesn't mean I can't nudge it along. In the mean time I notice a couple similarity in the existing venture triggers. A lot trigger when a creature attacks, deals damage, or enters the battlefield. Esper is a good color combination to take advantage of enabling those effects.
My first focus was picking solid venture cards. There are not a lot between the Dungeons and Dragons sets and the Dungeons of Death commander deck. There were easy adds like Barrowin of Clan Unduur, who ETBs and recurs creatures on attack. Hama Pashar, Ruin Seeker doubles my room abilities, a potent effect even if I'm only doubling up a scry. Triumphant Adventurer, Nadaar, Selfless Paladin and Delver's Torch all trigger on attack while Yuan-Ti Malison, Yuan-Ti Fang-Blade, and a creature enchanted by Fly all trigger on damage. Do I really want to risk my board by turning everything sideways every combat? A little, but I can do better. What if I was to pick the most beneficial creature to attack and super charge it? How do I enable the possibility of an ever shifting voltron strategy without the use of counters, or auras, or equipment? Exalted.
The general fear with Exalted is having to commit so many fragile creatures to the board. A board wipe would certainly set that back for turns. But not nearly as much with Sefris. I want to venture anyway. So I'm just going to pull exalted cards out of the graveyard when it suits me and venture cards the turn before I want to be attacking. That's a synergy win. I can also throw in recursion spells to bolster that strategy. Revivify may put the cards right back onto the field but more likely back to my hand. Either way I'm a little less worried about overextending myself. Normally I steer away from the dice rolling gimmick but this is too strong a card to just dismiss out of hand. Fate's Reversal many only nab one card but I also get a venture out of it too.
Back to the creatures, but let's shift the focus onto Exalted. Bant was the original home for the mechanic and cards from 2 of Sefris' 3 colors are represented there. That was it for a while. Until Core Set 2013 came along and reinvigorated the mechanic by extending the mechanic into black and providing more white cards to the pool. Those should not be the only 2 homes for the mechanic. It would be easy to design a couple utility creatures in a supplemental set that happen to have the mechanic. I would rather see a more options and cycles that take advantage of underused mechanics in commander sets than some of the super pushed bombs that have come out in the last few years. Credit where credit is due, the Samurai from Kamigawa Neon Dynasty did a pseudo exalted, rewarding attacking with a lone Samurai or Warrior. The only one I really considered was Norika Yamazaki, The Poet. She lets me recur an unassuming enchantment like Fly or a removal magnet like Thorough Investigation.
Knight Of Infamy and Knight Of Glory may never be able to fight each other but they can certainly sneak in enough damage to finish off an opponent at the right moment. Sublime Archangel doubles up the keyword or extends it to my D&D creatures to further supercharge my lone attacker. Battlegrace Angel keeps me in the game longer by letting me profit off my damage dealt thanks to lifelink. Regenerate makes Duty-Bound Dead that much more resilient. On a side note I think this is the most hyphens I've ever had in a deck.
I can further protect my plan from a board wipe by with non creature permanents that tend to be a little harder to remove. Angelic Benediction has Exalted and taps a potential blocker. The aforementioned Delver's Torch and Dungeon Map keep the venture dream alive. The map is even a poor mana rock for when you just need that one extra mana. Thorough Investigation adds an intermediate step to the venture, but drawing a card off a clue is profitable in its own right.
With any creature heavy deck I know I will lose them at some point. So I need ways to recur them. That's a no brainer. Aside from Revivify I like Rescue From The Underworld here. Sacrificing a creature triggers Sefris then I can net the sacrificed creature's ETB and whatever else from my graveyard. If I do it right I can net 3 venture triggers from one spell, but even two are worth it. I also have SunTitan. I'm not running a lot of creatures without venture or exalted so the ones I do must be high impact. Let it get recurred from Sefris' ability and he brings along another permanent. It would work even better if it triggers from Rescue From The Underworld but I haven't been that lucky yet.
There area couple additional cards worth noting. Midnight Pathlighter plays the the venture equivalent of exalted. What do I mean by that? He shares the venture ability with an attacking creature where more often the creatures with venture stipulate they must attack or deal damage. Bar the Gate is a good answer to an opposing Commander or creature combo piece. There are a couple lands that play into my strategy too. Dungeon Descent is slow but I like the opportunity venture on a protected permanent type offers. Cathedral Of War provides a similarly safe instance of Exalted. That's a benefit when I invariably have to rebuild my board after a wrath. You Find The Villain's Lair is flavorful but more importantly flexible. If I discard a creature this way I may be able to put something better right into play. Sinister Sabotage also acts like a Cancel that can trigger Sefris if I surveil the right card into my graveyard. Burnished Hart is marginal ramp if you just use it once. So don't be afraid to recur it and sacrifice it again for profit. Solemn Similacrum works similarly with both draw and ramp. Dire Undercurrents is a little less known but shouldn't stay that way. It nets me cards and can punish an opponent's hand. Every so often its worth it to discard myself so I can venture and recur something. Timing is key and there's always a balance with holding a card back in hand to use with a trigger. I have been burned more than once trying to gain max value only to have the whole plan crumble.
With all this focus on Sefris and her ability I need to protect her aggressively. I have a couple favorites like Eerie Interlude and Unbreakable Formation. Both have the added bonus of keeping all my creatures safe. A couple extra ETBs never hurts in a game, nor some +1/+1 counters even if only 1 creature truly takes advantage of that counter at a time.
In all this talk about the mechanics and and how to fire off by venturing I needed to refocus on the dungeons themselves. Having only three is very manageable. I'm not a big fan of Tomb of Annihilation. Oubliette (room name not the card) can net me a venture trigger off of Sefris so I'll immediately get The Atropal, but a single 4/4 Deathtoucher is a little lackluster when staring down 3 opponents. I've found it to be high cost for less reward. I need to try it when staring down a board wipe. I'm going to lose everything anyway so maybe? Probably not.
7 steps to complete is a big ask, especially early on. Accordingly it has the best payoff, drawing three and getting to cast one free. Nadaar and Barrowin both have conditions that require a dungeon be completed. I still wouldn't go for Tomb Of Annihilation to make that happen though. My go to is Lost Mine of Phandelver. In row 2 I almost always take the treasure. If so I really limit myself to Dark Pool on the next trigger. Not very impactful but often more practical than a debuff. I'll start with the mine then asses if I need a quick win and do it again. If I have more breathing room and potential for triggers I'll go down the left side of Mad Mage.
The deck is fun. Combining two disparate mechanics like this is a balancing act. Too much support for one takes away from the other. Figuring your line of attack is more nuanced this way as well. Is it better to get a venture trigger from only one super charged attacker? Or is it better to spread out and get multiple triggers but deal less damage? Figure it out! And there's always the threat of a surprise attack from Sefris herself to mark a ton of commander damage on one surprise swing.
Here's the final list.
Sefirs of The Hidden Ways
Angelic Benediction Hama Pashar, Ruin Seeker Accererack The Archlich
Aven Squire Duelist's Heritage Barrowin Of Clan Unduur
Ardent Plea Strionic Resonator Delver's Torch
Battlegrace Angel Lithoform Engine Displacer Beast
Knight Of Glory Ephemerate Dungeon Map
Knight Of Infamy Momentary Blink Eccentric Apprentice
Nefarox, Overlord Of Grixis Eerie Interlude Fate's Reversal
Sighted-Caste Sorcerer Loxodon Warhammer Fly
Sublime Archangel Chariot Of Victory Nadaar, Selfless Paladin
Angelic Exaltation Promise Of Loyalty Midnight Pathlighter
Sigil Of Valor Time Wipe Radiant Solar
Norika Yamazaki, The Poet Austere Command Thorough Investigation
Duty Bound Dead Crush Contraband Triumphant Adventurer
Sun Titan Heliod's Intervention Yuan-Ti Malison
Price Of Fame Rescue From The Underworld Yuan-Ti Fang Blade
Revivify Mind Stone Bar The Gate
Cauldron Haze Liquimetal Torque Sphinx's Revelation
Marshal's Anthem Burnished Hart You Find The Villain's Lair
Unbreakable Formation Solemn Simulacrum Tragic Lesson
Valorous Stance Sinister Sabotage Notion Rain
Batwing Brume Connive//Concoct Dire Undercurrents
Plains X8 Island X8 Swamp X8
Command Tower Exotic Orchard Obscura Storefront
Evolving Wilds Terramorphic Expanse Glasspool Mimic/Shore
Temple Of Enlightenment Temple Of Deceit Temple Of Silence
Cathedral Of War Dungeon Descent Rogue's Passage
I'm looking forward to more venture cards in a future D&D focused set. If we get another one. I hope too many more dungeons don't come out in that set. Too many options are more likely to hurt the mechanic than keep it healthy and viable long term.
Comments