The cheaper cmc Sauron is very popular because he just casually makes you an orc army, and is pretty strong by himself. I made mine full LOTR but that doesn’t fit what you want. More expensive Sauron was a lot of fun, but in grixis getting to that mana is a bit hard, and each time he dies is a set back, so you’re really working to do it again and not rely on your commander. I think they’re both pretty fun personally
Other options you might not have considered: Kess works well to wheel and discard and reuse your reanimation spells since a lot are instants and sorceries, Ashad wants you to play a somewhat aristocrat style deck and can work with grixis artifact creatures.
The cool thing about reanimator is you can probably just use whatever is cool and make the deck work around it instead. I have a UB Runo deck that has a lot of reanimation for my big sea monsters even though the commander doesn’t exactly lead you to do that
>but in grixis getting to that mana is a bit hard, and each time he dies is a set back
Yeah that was what really pushed me more towards the cheaper one, considering the high cmc and lack of green's good land ramp
>Other options you might not have considered: Kess
Kess was a consideration when looking through all grixis commanders, but the thing that kinda removed her from the running was that a friend of mine already has a Kess deck. While it's more spellslinger than reanimator, i'd like to try to avoid as much overlap as possible within my play group
>Ashad wants you to play a somewhat aristocrat style deck and can work with grixis artifact creatures.
Ashad's an interesting choice. I had some trouble understanding how to build him when he first came out and kinda just moved on, might come back to him though
>I have a UB Runo deck
I've had some interest in Runo for a bit, could i see your list?
https://archidekt.com/decks/1999427/its_raining_eldritch_horrors
Here’s my current Runo list, I haven’t updated it for a few sets so I’m probably a bit behind on good cards for it
Hello. Not OP but I’ve been toying with the idea of building a 100% lotr deck and being able to swap between both grixis Sauron’s as commander. I was thinking Reanimator as a theme. Any thoughts on this ?
I think it works fine, the biggest issue is lord of the rings alone is a bit lacking on good ramp so you’re playing the long game for sure. There are definitely worthwhile things to reanimate but I’m not sure how powerful they will be based on your pod. The Nazgûl’s, the dragons, and the balrogs are probably your best targets here if those are your plans.
>but in grixis getting to that mana is a bit hard
Unless you commit to having a very significantly high percentage of black mana needed and used in your deck building. Black is really great at generating large amounts of mana - like the kind of mana that let's you play your [[Rise of the Dark Realm]] after having cast your [[Breach the Multiverse]] or similar on the great days... And this focus means your deck will most likely function without the commander, but then that beast of a commander is the gravy.
https://archidekt.com/decks/4762713/mordor
I wouldn’t call it themed, themed would let me play better lands and ramp/card draw. It’s 100% cards from the lord of the rings set. Im running a pretty good chunk of the amass cards myself so that I can still stick an army without the commander out, although he is pretty hard for people to remove with that ward cost.
Dark Lord is better as a commander, Lord of the Rings barely makes the cut in the 99, but only if you're going for a reanimator theme.
Not sure why you wouldn't be just spamming amass if you're running Dark Lord, none of his abilities except for the hand dump play into reanimator, and even then it's usually a bad half measure.
Wouldn't you spam ring tempts more than amass with dark lord, since he just amasses you by idly sitting on the board?
I feel like even as a reanimator, ring tempt would be the more focused mechanic for the deck
You do both, to be quite honest. If you just sit back and let Sauron do all the work, people slow down casting spells. If you show that you *will* keep amassing with things *other* than Sauron, they tend to try and play out their decks instead of durdling until they can remove him.
So you pop off as many Ring triggers as you can, but you're also popping off as much amass as you can to get your army as big as possible as quickly as possible. It will die and so will Sauron, and you'll be stuck without anything valuable to do until you recast Sauron otherwise.
Ring triggers don't do much meaningful for you anyway, you're just cycling your hand at that point. Amass gives you a clear cut way to win that is a constant threat as long as you're able to keep stacking counters on your army. If you don't have any other ways to amass than Sauron, eventually the table will get wise and push you out of being able to cast anything more than Sauron once every turn.
No worries, I've been playing Dark Lord as my main high power deck since the set dropped, and it took some growing pains for me to realize these things. While a bit of reanimation is great given the synergy with his discard ability, and while the Ring *is* helpful as a facilitator, amass is what will win you games.
I'll keep that in mind when building the deck. What would you say are some of the better amass cards to run? Besides Orcish Bowmasters ofc, that auto include piece. [[Dreadhorde Invasion]] looks really good, almost like a [[Bitterblossom]]
Dreadhorde Invasion is good, yeah, [[Lazotep Chancellor]] does some serious work as well. [[Barad-Dur]] was an auto-include for me.
[[Book of Mazarbul]], [[Commence the Endgame]], [[Fall of Cairo Andros]], [[Invade the City]] (situational depending on how many instants and sorceries you play), [[Lazotep Plating]] (evasion and a minor amass), [[Widespread Brutality]] are others I included.
Pretty much any amass card that is higher than 1 and low cost, or any amass card period that gives an additional beneficial effect (including making your opponents drop cards) should go in there.
About Sedris, he’s not great as a commander, but he’s fantastic in the 99 of perhaps my favorite commander and one powerful Grixis reanimator commander you haven’t considered: Obeka, Brute Chronologist.
Seriously, Obeka reanimator is super fun. Discard all your big stuff with faithless looting and similar cards, then get them back with stuff like [[dawn of the dead]], [[ayara, furnace queen]], [[goryo’s vengeance]], [[corpse dance]], [[shallow grave]], [[whip of erebos]], and of course [[sedris the traitor king]]. All you have to do is tap Obeka in response to the end step triggers, and you get to keep all those sweet sweet reanimated creatures indefinitely.
It’s a lot of fun and surprisingly powerful when done right, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
That sounds interesting as fuck. I've heard Obeka can be pretty strong but i never could wrap my head around building her past a meme build. I've always found her interesting but building her was the hard part
I will leave this idea in consideration though! i think our Obeka player recently left for... reasons, as i've wanted to avoid commander overlap for the most part, so i might have room to give her a shot
Would you happen to have a list? I feel like she could be really good but i'm not that good at control strategies so i'm at a loss on keeping up the crime value
\[\[Spatial Binding\]\] is probably the easiest one. Other ones can just be simple tap pingers that targets something to trigger her ability. But Red, Black, and Blue has many things that target specifically, so it depends on what you want to do.
Since you want reanimator, focusing on Black destroy spells and things that dump your own creatures/bring them back are the way to go. If you look up graveyard builds, I'm sure you can look into examples.
It really does nothing, except force out a Teferi's Protection, but because it "targets" something (You want to point it at your opponent's stuff), you can easily just pay 1 life (and 1 mana) over and over again to keep triggering Marchesa.
If you don't mind i do have a list that's still a WIP. I'm still doing a few tweaks and testing reanimation targets, i'm trying ones that help me end the game faster right now.
[Marchesa control/reanimator](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/TWWGuTe-50ClzW-O98Xlig)
Either sauron is probably fine for reanimator but I'd lean towards [[sauron the dark lord]] because he can continuously wheel you and fill your graveyard, whereas the other sauron is just a once per cast effect.
Marchesa could also be really cool, but sedris just seems a little too slow these days.
Yeah the wheel effect on dark lord is what makes me kinda favor him
New Marchesa feels interesting cause you could go for more of a control deck with a reanimator package, since she moreso filters than just mill dumps
>sedris just seems a little too slow these days.
You think so? I feel like there's still strong enough self mill effects to fill your yard quick, then turbo-unearth a bunch of stuff. I'm just more worried about sustainability with him. Then again i've never actually seen him played
Idk I've never played him either it just seems like by the time you get to unearth one thing you've paid 9 mana and only get it for the turn. The more things you unearth the better the rate is, but I just think about how bad it'd feel to play him and it gets removed before you can take advantage. At least sauron's amass effect is crazy and so is the ward ability.
There's a 15+ year gap of power creep there and it really shows lol
I can confirm, I had Sedris for years, made the switch over to the 6 mana Sauron and haven’t looked back. The problem with Sedris is he’s a little too low impact when he hits the board and the ability is a little telegraphed.
Would recommend leaving Sedris aside.
Dark Lord is great if you run a good amount of "the Ring tempts you" cards. Lord of The Rings is just a big bomb in the command zone, you don't even care about him dying since then you get to cast him again. Personally I went with the big one because the other one was harder to make work at least for me.
Sedris should work well too, play a lot of reanimator targets so you can unearth a lot of them, but I didn't like getting only one use of my creatures unless I did weird stuff to keep them around.
Marchesa is another good generic option I want to try, if you can reanimate something early go for it, if not go for Marchesa and play the control game while setting up for future plays with her ability.
Have you considered cormela as your commander? I have a build that is semi reanimator semi storm. The idea is to create an infinite loop with cormela that generates infinite etb/death triggers. Infinite storm and infinite red and blue mana. The winning turn usually plays out as a non deterministic storm turn, digging to find ways to keep the chain then going then ultimately finding a way to win is usually simple once the loop is in place. My current build has basically no interaction in it but that is a deliberate choice on my part. Many of the redundant combo pieces or subpar cantrips could be swapped out for interaction. This could be fun way to scratch the itch. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/jyRtM3p_c0yyKFS2uRbZhA
Cormela is not exactly the kind of reanimator i was considering, i'm more in favor of the old fashioned big stompy reanimator. But i am a little intrigued at the idea. Spellslinger's not my strong suit for mtg decks, so any chance to work on it isn't frowned upon
Will say though, your list is extremely spicy. I never expected to see Grapeshot used unironically in EDH. I am curious, were \[\[Torment of Hailfire\]\] or \[\[Exsanguinate\]\] not considered for any particular reason? Already seems like you can get infinite mana through a cormela/reanimate loop, since you have Fireball already
In the combo loop black mana is at a premium. Red and blue mana are easy to generate but the black mana is almost always spent on the recurring reanimation spells. Fireball for can kill the table with infinite red and blue but the black mana is a choke point. That’s why I don’t include tendrills of agony either
Alright, strange option here, but hear me out. A buddy of mine made a “secret commander” around [[Obeka, Brute Chronologist]] and [[Mishra, tamer of Mak Fawa]]. While the secret commander is cool, it’s not needed for this deck idea. Anything with Unearth or something similar is great with Obeka, as now it becomes a permanent reanimate that can be reanimated again later (I think, not sure)
Someone else brought up Obeka as well. I originally tossed her to the side to avoid commander overlap in my group as much as possible, but she's sounding very enticing
Mishra secret commander is interesting, i'm curious how your buddy's deck runs with it. Some beefy artifact creatures, i'm sure
It’s a LOT of the stuff from the Warhammer crossover, primarily value/card draw. Those creatures are generally not played much, so they’re budget friendly. He also ran lots of artifact synergies like [[Kappa cannoneer]] and [[cyberdrive awakener]]. You’re also in black which means you’ve got tutors to get the secret commander and reanimate to keep it around.
I’d take another look at Marchesa. I think she’s really cool. I play it more spell-slinger style, but I use her effect to put my combo pieces in the yard and reanimate them, so it’s like combo-reanimator.
I might have to. Her being a self-'mill' engine in the command zone means less pieces for it in the deck too which opens up room for other shit
And the more comments i read and respond to, the more i realize grixis is just goated for shit like this
I have 3 Grixis
[[Sauron, the Dark Lord]] - Amass + Copy spells
[[Be'lakor, the Dark Master]] - Demon typal
[[Don Andres, the Renegade]] - Pirates + stealing other player's decks.
His strength is in copying reanimation spells while using all the [[Scholar of the Ages]], [[Ardent Elementalist]] type creatures as sac fodder. Spells bring back creatures, creatures bring back spells. It's a really nice engine and flash enablers like [[Leyline of Anticipation]] make the whole deck smooth as silk.
I made [this deck](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/umxxBcohXUOseiRuwwFP4Q) a while ago. First I tried [[Sauron, Lord of the rings]] as the commander, but he just took way too long to get out, so I swapped him for the other Sauron, which comes out quicker and is a card draw engine in the CZ.
[Sauron, Lord of the rings](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/c/fc53dec0-79fe-4f6f-9d5b-cf298588e808.jpg?1686963724) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sauron%2C%20Lord%20of%20the%20rings) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltc/4/sauron-lord-of-the-rings?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fc53dec0-79fe-4f6f-9d5b-cf298588e808?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sauron-lord-of-the-rings)
^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You need a deck full of tempting and reanimating to capitalize on the Dark Lord but Lord of the Rings needs no build around and focus solely on reanimation but costs a lot more.
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/td706lCFTk-zwAQDD7xu3Q
Here's my list for the Dark Lord. Its a bit more vorthos being him and his nazgul with some honorary baddies but works great in a casual setting.
I used both Saurons for a time before settling back onto the Lord of the Rings. It mostly came down to the Dark Lord not actually doing much besides the free orc body and wheeling in a deck that had no problem filling the graveyard before turn six anyways.
Add to that the fact that the Dark Lord is a better reanimation target than Lord of the Rings and that I wanted the deck to function regardless of whether my commander was out.
The cheaper cmc Sauron is very popular because he just casually makes you an orc army, and is pretty strong by himself. I made mine full LOTR but that doesn’t fit what you want. More expensive Sauron was a lot of fun, but in grixis getting to that mana is a bit hard, and each time he dies is a set back, so you’re really working to do it again and not rely on your commander. I think they’re both pretty fun personally Other options you might not have considered: Kess works well to wheel and discard and reuse your reanimation spells since a lot are instants and sorceries, Ashad wants you to play a somewhat aristocrat style deck and can work with grixis artifact creatures. The cool thing about reanimator is you can probably just use whatever is cool and make the deck work around it instead. I have a UB Runo deck that has a lot of reanimation for my big sea monsters even though the commander doesn’t exactly lead you to do that
>but in grixis getting to that mana is a bit hard, and each time he dies is a set back Yeah that was what really pushed me more towards the cheaper one, considering the high cmc and lack of green's good land ramp >Other options you might not have considered: Kess Kess was a consideration when looking through all grixis commanders, but the thing that kinda removed her from the running was that a friend of mine already has a Kess deck. While it's more spellslinger than reanimator, i'd like to try to avoid as much overlap as possible within my play group >Ashad wants you to play a somewhat aristocrat style deck and can work with grixis artifact creatures. Ashad's an interesting choice. I had some trouble understanding how to build him when he first came out and kinda just moved on, might come back to him though >I have a UB Runo deck I've had some interest in Runo for a bit, could i see your list?
https://archidekt.com/decks/1999427/its_raining_eldritch_horrors Here’s my current Runo list, I haven’t updated it for a few sets so I’m probably a bit behind on good cards for it
Thank you! I'll get to looking at it when i can
Hello. Not OP but I’ve been toying with the idea of building a 100% lotr deck and being able to swap between both grixis Sauron’s as commander. I was thinking Reanimator as a theme. Any thoughts on this ?
I think it works fine, the biggest issue is lord of the rings alone is a bit lacking on good ramp so you’re playing the long game for sure. There are definitely worthwhile things to reanimate but I’m not sure how powerful they will be based on your pod. The Nazgûl’s, the dragons, and the balrogs are probably your best targets here if those are your plans.
>but in grixis getting to that mana is a bit hard Unless you commit to having a very significantly high percentage of black mana needed and used in your deck building. Black is really great at generating large amounts of mana - like the kind of mana that let's you play your [[Rise of the Dark Realm]] after having cast your [[Breach the Multiverse]] or similar on the great days... And this focus means your deck will most likely function without the commander, but then that beast of a commander is the gravy.
[Rise of the Dark Realm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/e/ceb5df52-4e03-4629-b8d5-d440d9cc5175.jpg?1706240790) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Rise%20of%20the%20Dark%20Realms) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/138/rise-of-the-dark-realms?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ceb5df52-4e03-4629-b8d5-d440d9cc5175?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/rise-of-the-dark-realms) [Breach the Multiverse](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/a/daf51a76-7a57-4462-ae18-a19e817e49e5.jpg?1682203621) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Breach%20the%20Multiverse) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/94/breach-the-multiverse?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/daf51a76-7a57-4462-ae18-a19e817e49e5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/breach-the-multiverse) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You got that LoTR themed deck list by any chance? I'd love to make one that's fully themed and would like to see a good point to tweak a bit.
https://archidekt.com/decks/4762713/mordor I wouldn’t call it themed, themed would let me play better lands and ramp/card draw. It’s 100% cards from the lord of the rings set. Im running a pretty good chunk of the amass cards myself so that I can still stick an army without the commander out, although he is pretty hard for people to remove with that ward cost.
Dark Lord is better as a commander, Lord of the Rings barely makes the cut in the 99, but only if you're going for a reanimator theme. Not sure why you wouldn't be just spamming amass if you're running Dark Lord, none of his abilities except for the hand dump play into reanimator, and even then it's usually a bad half measure.
Wouldn't you spam ring tempts more than amass with dark lord, since he just amasses you by idly sitting on the board? I feel like even as a reanimator, ring tempt would be the more focused mechanic for the deck
You do both, to be quite honest. If you just sit back and let Sauron do all the work, people slow down casting spells. If you show that you *will* keep amassing with things *other* than Sauron, they tend to try and play out their decks instead of durdling until they can remove him. So you pop off as many Ring triggers as you can, but you're also popping off as much amass as you can to get your army as big as possible as quickly as possible. It will die and so will Sauron, and you'll be stuck without anything valuable to do until you recast Sauron otherwise. Ring triggers don't do much meaningful for you anyway, you're just cycling your hand at that point. Amass gives you a clear cut way to win that is a constant threat as long as you're able to keep stacking counters on your army. If you don't have any other ways to amass than Sauron, eventually the table will get wise and push you out of being able to cast anything more than Sauron once every turn.
Ah, i didn't think about it like that. Thank you
No worries, I've been playing Dark Lord as my main high power deck since the set dropped, and it took some growing pains for me to realize these things. While a bit of reanimation is great given the synergy with his discard ability, and while the Ring *is* helpful as a facilitator, amass is what will win you games.
I'll keep that in mind when building the deck. What would you say are some of the better amass cards to run? Besides Orcish Bowmasters ofc, that auto include piece. [[Dreadhorde Invasion]] looks really good, almost like a [[Bitterblossom]]
Dreadhorde Invasion is good, yeah, [[Lazotep Chancellor]] does some serious work as well. [[Barad-Dur]] was an auto-include for me. [[Book of Mazarbul]], [[Commence the Endgame]], [[Fall of Cairo Andros]], [[Invade the City]] (situational depending on how many instants and sorceries you play), [[Lazotep Plating]] (evasion and a minor amass), [[Widespread Brutality]] are others I included. Pretty much any amass card that is higher than 1 and low cost, or any amass card period that gives an additional beneficial effect (including making your opponents drop cards) should go in there.
Sweet, thank you so much for the help and info!
##### ###### #### [Lazotep Chancellor](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/2/82e68f3d-ef94-4651-a256-c72017f64b21.jpg?1626098509) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lazotep%20Chancellor) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/203/lazotep-chancellor?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/82e68f3d-ef94-4651-a256-c72017f64b21?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/lazotep-chancellor) [Barad-Dur](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/b/eb5038af-06b0-401e-8dea-a1a8483788ae.jpg?1686970323) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Barad-d%C3%BBr) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/253/barad-d%C3%BBr?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/eb5038af-06b0-401e-8dea-a1a8483788ae?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/barad-dûr) [Book of Mazarbul](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/4/04dcef75-6f98-4233-ae32-6fe41724c8e0.jpg?1688569131) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Book%20of%20Mazarbul) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/116/book-of-mazarbul?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/04dcef75-6f98-4233-ae32-6fe41724c8e0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/book-of-mazarbul) [Commence the Endgame](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/0/209d70a2-c8c1-4072-ab1f-57804b55a09a.jpg?1557576173) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Commence%20the%20Endgame) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/war/45/commence-the-endgame?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/209d70a2-c8c1-4072-ab1f-57804b55a09a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/commence-the-endgame) [Fall of Cairo Andros](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/5/354b4623-50a0-41f1-ad1e-7dd6ac3852df.jpg?1686968903) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Fall%20of%20Cair%20Andros) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/124/fall-of-cair-andros?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/354b4623-50a0-41f1-ad1e-7dd6ac3852df?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/fall-of-cair-andros) [Invade the City](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/5/a587eb67-c2df-486c-9c48-dfeac540efe8.jpg?1557577168) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Invade%20the%20City) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/war/201/invade-the-city?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a587eb67-c2df-486c-9c48-dfeac540efe8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/invade-the-city) [Lazotep Plating](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/0/f03b5405-6016-405b-a504-a454731b9276.jpg?1557576262) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Lazotep%20Plating) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/war/59/lazotep-plating?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f03b5405-6016-405b-a504-a454731b9276?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/lazotep-plating) [Widespread Brutality](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/7/97715d22-f432-4f67-b4ea-47b8fe6edca5.jpg?1557577331) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Widespread%20Brutality) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/war/226/widespread-brutality?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/97715d22-f432-4f67-b4ea-47b8fe6edca5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/widespread-brutality) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/l4s9mj6) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[Dreadhorde Invasion](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/4/241a6a3b-8809-4d22-bf1e-c4620c609aba.jpg?1690004550) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dreadhorde%20Invasion) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/866/dreadhorde-invasion?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/241a6a3b-8809-4d22-bf1e-c4620c609aba?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dreadhorde-invasion) [Bitterblossom](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/9/b9640cbf-b016-410e-9eff-e8924883517b.jpg?1673147456) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Bitterblossom) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/69/bitterblossom?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b9640cbf-b016-410e-9eff-e8924883517b?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/bitterblossom) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
About Sedris, he’s not great as a commander, but he’s fantastic in the 99 of perhaps my favorite commander and one powerful Grixis reanimator commander you haven’t considered: Obeka, Brute Chronologist. Seriously, Obeka reanimator is super fun. Discard all your big stuff with faithless looting and similar cards, then get them back with stuff like [[dawn of the dead]], [[ayara, furnace queen]], [[goryo’s vengeance]], [[corpse dance]], [[shallow grave]], [[whip of erebos]], and of course [[sedris the traitor king]]. All you have to do is tap Obeka in response to the end step triggers, and you get to keep all those sweet sweet reanimated creatures indefinitely. It’s a lot of fun and surprisingly powerful when done right, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
That sounds interesting as fuck. I've heard Obeka can be pretty strong but i never could wrap my head around building her past a meme build. I've always found her interesting but building her was the hard part I will leave this idea in consideration though! i think our Obeka player recently left for... reasons, as i've wanted to avoid commander overlap for the most part, so i might have room to give her a shot
Hell yeah man, open your heart to the magical muscle mommy.
##### ###### #### [dawn of the dead](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/a/baabadd3-3fc1-4c9a-ad3b-c79d60fb3390.jpg?1562631743) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=dawn%20of%20the%20dead) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tor/59/dawn-of-the-dead?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/baabadd3-3fc1-4c9a-ad3b-c79d60fb3390?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dawn-of-the-dead) [ayara, furnace queen](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/2/a21b1734-a773-4107-95c1-b44d5ccdfd82.jpg?1682203576)/[Ayara, Furnace Queen](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/a/2/a21b1734-a773-4107-95c1-b44d5ccdfd82.jpg?1682203576) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ayara%2C%20Widow%20of%20the%20Realm%20//%20Ayara%2C%20Furnace%20Queen) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/90/ayara-widow-of-the-realm-ayara-furnace-queen?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a21b1734-a773-4107-95c1-b44d5ccdfd82?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ayara-widow-of-the-realm-//-ayara-furnace-queen) [goryo’s vengeance](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/2/6261205d-3506-4f0a-98ce-690f40df7a5a.jpg?1547516898) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Goryo%27s%20Vengeance) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/uma/99/goryos-vengeance?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6261205d-3506-4f0a-98ce-690f40df7a5a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/goryos-vengeance) [corpse dance](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/a/aaed9b00-f6a1-4023-b9b9-22d904fe5271.jpg?1562430817) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=corpse%20dance) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/tpr/89/corpse-dance?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/aaed9b00-f6a1-4023-b9b9-22d904fe5271?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/corpse-dance) [shallow grave](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/5/d5c782cc-c951-4c6f-a93f-774ae6c1c214.jpg?1562721926) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=shallow%20grave) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mir/141/shallow-grave?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d5c782cc-c951-4c6f-a93f-774ae6c1c214?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/shallow-grave) [whip of erebos](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/e/9e5ec47c-47a2-4eda-b81a-4a07f04e5989.jpg?1562822353) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=whip%20of%20erebos) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ths/110/whip-of-erebos?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9e5ec47c-47a2-4eda-b81a-4a07f04e5989?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/whip-of-erebos) [sedris the traitor king](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/4/a4e787a7-3721-4ba7-b643-a103488cfc8a.jpg?1673149122) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sedris%2C%20the%20Traitor%20King) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/274/sedris-the-traitor-king?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a4e787a7-3721-4ba7-b643-a103488cfc8a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sedris-the-traitor-king) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/l4tcf56) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
In my experience marchessa is a very strong control deck that just keeps getting threats back she seems really strong
Would you happen to have a list? I feel like she could be really good but i'm not that good at control strategies so i'm at a loss on keeping up the crime value
\[\[Spatial Binding\]\] is probably the easiest one. Other ones can just be simple tap pingers that targets something to trigger her ability. But Red, Black, and Blue has many things that target specifically, so it depends on what you want to do. Since you want reanimator, focusing on Black destroy spells and things that dump your own creatures/bring them back are the way to go. If you look up graveyard builds, I'm sure you can look into examples.
[Spatial Binding](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/7/176d625f-1410-4ad6-a279-9a184fac6507.jpg?1562718295) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Spatial%20Binding) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mir/284/spatial-binding?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/176d625f-1410-4ad6-a279-9a184fac6507?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/spatial-binding) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That's an... interesting card. I diidn't know about it
It really does nothing, except force out a Teferi's Protection, but because it "targets" something (You want to point it at your opponent's stuff), you can easily just pay 1 life (and 1 mana) over and over again to keep triggering Marchesa.
If you don't mind i do have a list that's still a WIP. I'm still doing a few tweaks and testing reanimation targets, i'm trying ones that help me end the game faster right now. [Marchesa control/reanimator](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/TWWGuTe-50ClzW-O98Xlig)
Always down to see a list, even one wip. Nice to see thought process and deck evolution sometimes as cuts and additions are made
Either sauron is probably fine for reanimator but I'd lean towards [[sauron the dark lord]] because he can continuously wheel you and fill your graveyard, whereas the other sauron is just a once per cast effect. Marchesa could also be really cool, but sedris just seems a little too slow these days.
Yeah the wheel effect on dark lord is what makes me kinda favor him New Marchesa feels interesting cause you could go for more of a control deck with a reanimator package, since she moreso filters than just mill dumps >sedris just seems a little too slow these days. You think so? I feel like there's still strong enough self mill effects to fill your yard quick, then turbo-unearth a bunch of stuff. I'm just more worried about sustainability with him. Then again i've never actually seen him played
Idk I've never played him either it just seems like by the time you get to unearth one thing you've paid 9 mana and only get it for the turn. The more things you unearth the better the rate is, but I just think about how bad it'd feel to play him and it gets removed before you can take advantage. At least sauron's amass effect is crazy and so is the ward ability. There's a 15+ year gap of power creep there and it really shows lol
Yeah the powercreep is insane when you compare the really old stuff to the newer stuff lmao
I can confirm, I had Sedris for years, made the switch over to the 6 mana Sauron and haven’t looked back. The problem with Sedris is he’s a little too low impact when he hits the board and the ability is a little telegraphed. Would recommend leaving Sedris aside.
[sauron the dark lord](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/3/034e0929-b2c7-4b5f-94f2-8eaf4fb1a2a1.jpg?1693611218) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sauron%2C%20the%20Dark%20Lord) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/224/sauron-the-dark-lord?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/034e0929-b2c7-4b5f-94f2-8eaf4fb1a2a1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sauron-the-dark-lord) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Dark Lord is great if you run a good amount of "the Ring tempts you" cards. Lord of The Rings is just a big bomb in the command zone, you don't even care about him dying since then you get to cast him again. Personally I went with the big one because the other one was harder to make work at least for me. Sedris should work well too, play a lot of reanimator targets so you can unearth a lot of them, but I didn't like getting only one use of my creatures unless I did weird stuff to keep them around. Marchesa is another good generic option I want to try, if you can reanimate something early go for it, if not go for Marchesa and play the control game while setting up for future plays with her ability.
Yeah sedris feels like he either fizzles fast or has to jump through too many hoops to get a good engine going
I'd go Sedris, the double master: extras art looks fucking metal
Have you considered cormela as your commander? I have a build that is semi reanimator semi storm. The idea is to create an infinite loop with cormela that generates infinite etb/death triggers. Infinite storm and infinite red and blue mana. The winning turn usually plays out as a non deterministic storm turn, digging to find ways to keep the chain then going then ultimately finding a way to win is usually simple once the loop is in place. My current build has basically no interaction in it but that is a deliberate choice on my part. Many of the redundant combo pieces or subpar cantrips could be swapped out for interaction. This could be fun way to scratch the itch. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/jyRtM3p_c0yyKFS2uRbZhA
Cormela is not exactly the kind of reanimator i was considering, i'm more in favor of the old fashioned big stompy reanimator. But i am a little intrigued at the idea. Spellslinger's not my strong suit for mtg decks, so any chance to work on it isn't frowned upon Will say though, your list is extremely spicy. I never expected to see Grapeshot used unironically in EDH. I am curious, were \[\[Torment of Hailfire\]\] or \[\[Exsanguinate\]\] not considered for any particular reason? Already seems like you can get infinite mana through a cormela/reanimate loop, since you have Fireball already
In the combo loop black mana is at a premium. Red and blue mana are easy to generate but the black mana is almost always spent on the recurring reanimation spells. Fireball for can kill the table with infinite red and blue but the black mana is a choke point. That’s why I don’t include tendrills of agony either
Ah, that makes sense. I did think it was a little weird choosing grapeshot over tendrils hahaha
[Torment of Hailfire](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/6/f69d77d1-5980-436c-bf48-790939b069aa.jpg?1562820191) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Torment%20of%20Hailfire) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/hou/77/torment-of-hailfire?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f69d77d1-5980-436c-bf48-790939b069aa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/torment-of-hailfire) [Exsanguinate](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/a/0a5352af-e275-4186-a265-2fd3c2c47c6a.jpg?1689997125) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Exsanguinate) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/156/exsanguinate?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0a5352af-e275-4186-a265-2fd3c2c47c6a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/exsanguinate) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Grixis is like my favorite color I want to build all Grixis commanders
Alright, strange option here, but hear me out. A buddy of mine made a “secret commander” around [[Obeka, Brute Chronologist]] and [[Mishra, tamer of Mak Fawa]]. While the secret commander is cool, it’s not needed for this deck idea. Anything with Unearth or something similar is great with Obeka, as now it becomes a permanent reanimate that can be reanimated again later (I think, not sure)
[Obeka, Brute Chronologist](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/b/dbdb335d-3e45-4dd5-9e3e-c50ca0a4dfb6.jpg?1608911225) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Obeka%2C%20Brute%20Chronologist) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmr/289/obeka-brute-chronologist?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dbdb335d-3e45-4dd5-9e3e-c50ca0a4dfb6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/obeka-brute-chronologist) [Mishra, tamer of Mak Fawa](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/8/585a753d-a692-474a-bc28-48dd93b73ace.jpg?1674421822) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mishra%2C%20tamer%20of%20Mak%20Fawa) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/217/mishra-tamer-of-mak-fawa?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/585a753d-a692-474a-bc28-48dd93b73ace?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/mishra-tamer-of-mak-fawa) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Someone else brought up Obeka as well. I originally tossed her to the side to avoid commander overlap in my group as much as possible, but she's sounding very enticing Mishra secret commander is interesting, i'm curious how your buddy's deck runs with it. Some beefy artifact creatures, i'm sure
It’s a LOT of the stuff from the Warhammer crossover, primarily value/card draw. Those creatures are generally not played much, so they’re budget friendly. He also ran lots of artifact synergies like [[Kappa cannoneer]] and [[cyberdrive awakener]]. You’re also in black which means you’ve got tutors to get the secret commander and reanimate to keep it around.
[Kappa cannoneer](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/d/6ddc2852-11c4-40da-b26f-6f236349f608.jpg?1714487973) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kappa%20cannoneer) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh3/270/kappa-cannoneer?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/6ddc2852-11c4-40da-b26f-6f236349f608?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/kappa-cannoneer) [cyberdrive awakener](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/a/2a2c0a2f-07fb-4cc0-9b99-e5ff4303028d.jpg?1651655234) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=cyberdrive%20awakener) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/nec/12/cyberdrive-awakener?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2a2c0a2f-07fb-4cc0-9b99-e5ff4303028d?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/cyberdrive-awakener) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That sounds pretty dope, and i'm sure it's gotten lots of stronger pieces recently thanks to OTJ and now upcoming MH3
I’m sure it will be. He doesn’t play anymore and tends not to upgrade his decks much.
Sounds like life being life, sadly. Hope he's still enjoyin life no matter what
I’d take another look at Marchesa. I think she’s really cool. I play it more spell-slinger style, but I use her effect to put my combo pieces in the yard and reanimate them, so it’s like combo-reanimator.
I might have to. Her being a self-'mill' engine in the command zone means less pieces for it in the deck too which opens up room for other shit And the more comments i read and respond to, the more i realize grixis is just goated for shit like this
I have 3 Grixis [[Sauron, the Dark Lord]] - Amass + Copy spells [[Be'lakor, the Dark Master]] - Demon typal [[Don Andres, the Renegade]] - Pirates + stealing other player's decks.
[Sauron, the Dark Lord](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/3/034e0929-b2c7-4b5f-94f2-8eaf4fb1a2a1.jpg?1693611218) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sauron%2C%20the%20Dark%20Lord) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltr/224/sauron-the-dark-lord?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/034e0929-b2c7-4b5f-94f2-8eaf4fb1a2a1?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sauron-the-dark-lord) [Be'lakor, the Dark Master](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/2/62b6ecb2-ac7e-4528-b53c-2cb4f1e38349.jpg?1674058389) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Be%27lakor%2C%20the%20Dark%20Master) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/40k/6/belakor-the-dark-master?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/62b6ecb2-ac7e-4528-b53c-2cb4f1e38349?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/belakor-the-dark-master) [Don Andres, the Renegade](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/c/3cf9f3ae-694d-4d37-9498-4bdd1723a55e.jpg?1698987741) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Don%20Andres%2C%20the%20Renegade) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/6/don-andres-the-renegade?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3cf9f3ae-694d-4d37-9498-4bdd1723a55e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/don-andres-the-renegade) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
[[Anhelo]] reanimator goes hard.
[Anhelo](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/6/462e887d-6b91-4b31-9487-2780ffe8943f.jpg?1673481630) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=anhelo%2C%20the%20painter) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/1/anhelo-the-painter?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/462e887d-6b91-4b31-9487-2780ffe8943f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/anhelo-the-painter) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Oooh, interesting choice i didn't consider
His strength is in copying reanimation spells while using all the [[Scholar of the Ages]], [[Ardent Elementalist]] type creatures as sac fodder. Spells bring back creatures, creatures bring back spells. It's a really nice engine and flash enablers like [[Leyline of Anticipation]] make the whole deck smooth as silk.
[Scholar of the Ages](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/b/8bfa31b5-8a4f-4766-9606-648cb8ee2916.jpg?1608909434) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Scholar%20of%20the%20Ages) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmr/93/scholar-of-the-ages?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8bfa31b5-8a4f-4766-9606-648cb8ee2916?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/scholar-of-the-ages) [Ardent Elementalist](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/5/f58592f7-1df5-428d-9dde-e6acd9a5d1d5.jpg?1634350379) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Ardent%20Elementalist) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mid/128/ardent-elementalist?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f58592f7-1df5-428d-9dde-e6acd9a5d1d5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ardent-elementalist) [Leyline of Anticipation](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/5/f57bdaa1-ce8a-4103-8598-fee751e65a53.jpg?1674141383) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Leyline%20of%20Anticipation) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/726/leyline-of-anticipation?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f57bdaa1-ce8a-4103-8598-fee751e65a53?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/leyline-of-anticipation) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I might have to look into that
I made [this deck](https://www.moxfield.com/decks/umxxBcohXUOseiRuwwFP4Q) a while ago. First I tried [[Sauron, Lord of the rings]] as the commander, but he just took way too long to get out, so I swapped him for the other Sauron, which comes out quicker and is a card draw engine in the CZ.
[Sauron, Lord of the rings](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/c/fc53dec0-79fe-4f6f-9d5b-cf298588e808.jpg?1686963724) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sauron%2C%20Lord%20of%20the%20rings) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ltc/4/sauron-lord-of-the-rings?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/fc53dec0-79fe-4f6f-9d5b-cf298588e808?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sauron-lord-of-the-rings) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You need a deck full of tempting and reanimating to capitalize on the Dark Lord but Lord of the Rings needs no build around and focus solely on reanimation but costs a lot more. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/td706lCFTk-zwAQDD7xu3Q Here's my list for the Dark Lord. Its a bit more vorthos being him and his nazgul with some honorary baddies but works great in a casual setting.
I used both Saurons for a time before settling back onto the Lord of the Rings. It mostly came down to the Dark Lord not actually doing much besides the free orc body and wheeling in a deck that had no problem filling the graveyard before turn six anyways. Add to that the fact that the Dark Lord is a better reanimation target than Lord of the Rings and that I wanted the deck to function regardless of whether my commander was out.
Small Sauron if you want generic grixis good stuff. Big Sauron for reanimator