Mana is for weaklings, real men use their life points, because only those who are willing to sacrifice something are able to gain something...

> Introduction

K´rrik is one of the strongest mono black commanders and his ability fits absolutely well in the black color pie. As you can use your life as a resource, he can finish the game very quickly with the right cards or just be grindy because of the reanimation spells. How do you get the right cards? Well, we are playing black, so we are going to tutor what we need because we don't need luck, we just need enough life.
This deck will use its commander as an enabler for each infinite combo and trying to finish in early-to-mid game. K'rrik is also a good attacker and blocker. He can be a one-man show if you have to block creatures and will bring back life, which is mana and his ability to get bigger and bigger just by playing black spells makes him fearsome.

>Strategy

This deck is completely based on its commander and can win the game very quickly on turn 2-3, but is also strong in midgame. The key cards are Aetherflux Reservoir, Tendrils of Agony Peer into the Abyss and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. We will use the ability of K'rrik to pay with life points instead of mana. We will try to get the four mana in turn one or two, so we can cast K'rrik with six life and four mana. After this, we are going to finish the game with an infinity combo of devotion dmg or Aetherflux reservoir. It is important to keep an eye on our life as a resource because if we don't have enough life we can't finish the game, so don't waste your life if it is not necessary.

As already mentioned, K'rrik has life steal and gets stronger for each black spell, so attack, if possible, to get life back or just keep him as a blocker if the enemies playing decks with combat dmg.

Use the recursion spells for K'rrik to get a comeback, for Vilis to draw a lot of cards for gary to get back life or for Chainer to finish the game.

>Win Cons

>Devotion

Gray Merchant of Asphodel (Gary) Devotion DMG:

For this we need the following creatures:

• Chainer, Dementia Master (Chainer)
• Gray Merchant of Asphodel (Gary)
• Dimir House Guard

Combo:

1. Sacrifice Gray Merchant of Asphodel with Dimir House Guard
2. bring Gray Merchant of Asphodel back again with the ability from Chainer, Dementia Master for 9 life
3. Sacrifice Gray Merchant of Asphodel with Dimir House Guard
4. bring Gray Merchant of Asphodel back again with the ability from Chainer, Dementia Master for 9 life till you win the game.

Notes
It is possible to use Chainers effect as an instant (with yawgmoth's will use Chainers ability before enemy draw step).
If someone tries to remove Chainer, you can pay 9 life again to bring back gray and start a new loop.
If Chainer is exiled - Corpse Dance and Blood Celebrant can do the same for 14 Life instead of 9

> Some easy ways to get the devotion win con:

• Peer into the abyss
  This card is actually the best way to get any of our win cons. Also in combination with Skirge Familair we don't even need K'rrik for mana.

• Amsodeus Engine
  With Asmodeus the Archfiend and Skirge Familiar in our graveyard and Necrotic Ooze on the battlefield we are able to draw our deck and have enough mana without K'rrik and go for any Combo.

• Fleshwrither Engine
  Cast Fleshwrither and use the Transfigure ability to tutor into play Necrotic Ooze, with Necrotic Ooze use Fleshwrither's transfigure ability to tutor into play Balthor the Defiled. Use Balthor's ability to put Necrotic Ooze and Fleshwrither from graveyard into play and transfigure Fleshwrither for Vile Entomber to entomb Asmodeus the Archfiend. Now we have Necrotic Ooze with Asmodeus in the graveyard so that we can use to draw the resources we need to finish.

• Buried Alive
  Using Buried Alive in combination with a reanimate, animate dead, exhume, necromancy, necrotic ooze or yawgmoth's will and K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth as an enabler is one of the easiest ways.
  Bring Chainer back to the battlefield with an reanimation spell and then use his ability to bring back house guard and Gary and start the loop or just play necrotic ooze and bring back Gary and start the loop as well.

• Final Parting
  Similar to buried alive, you can search for two combo pieces if you already have one. Or just go for Villis in graveyard and reanimate / Asmodeus in graveyard and Necrotic Ooze.

• Sidisi, Undead Vizier
  The Sidisi line requires K'rrik in play leads to assembling the Chainer-Gray Loop (assuming K'rrik is in play):

1. Cast Sidisi, Undead Vizier and use her exploit trigger on herself to tutor for Chainer, Dementia Master.
2. Cast Chainer, Dementia Master and use his ability to reanimate Sidisi.
3. Sidisi will enter and exploit herself again to either tutor for Gray Merchant of Asphodel (assuming you are able to hardcast him) OR tutor for Entomb and put Gray Merchant into the grave.
4. If you entombed Gary, use Chainer to bring him back and gain life back; Otherwise, cast Gary to gain life.
5. Use Chainer to bring back Sidisi, Undead Vizier and exploit Sidis and search for dimir house guard
6. cast dimir house guard or transumte him and bring him back with Chainer
7. sacrifice Gray Merchant of Asphodel with Dimir House Guard
8. You have now assembled the Chainer-Gray Loop and can proceed to win.
   Note: Depending on your life resources and mana available once you've reached the point where you have Chainer in play and Sidisi in yard, there are many options at your disposal as far as tutoring, just be conscious and what would be the most efficient use of your life, mana and tutors.

• Vile Entomber / Entomb
  Depends on life the Vile Entomber / Entomb line can also be an easy way to get the combo (assuming K'rrik is in play).
  We need Chainer, Dementia Master and Vile entomber / Entomb at least 2-6 mana and enough life (22-28) :

1. Play Chainer, Dementia Master and Vile Entomber / Entomb
2. Search for Sidisi, Undead Vizier
3. Use the ability of Chainer to bring back Sidisi and exploit Sidisi, Undead Vizier to either tutor for Gray Merchant of Asphodel (assuming you are able to hardcast him) OR tutor for Entomb and put Gray Merchant into the grave.
4. If you entombed Gary, use Chainer to bring him back and gain life back; Otherwise, cast Gray Merchant to gain life.
5. Use Chainer to bring back Sidisi, Undead Vizier and exploit Sidisi and search for Dimir House Guard
6. Cast Dimir House Guard or transmute him and bring him back with Chainer
7. Sacrifice Gray Merchant of Asphodel with Dimir House Guard
8. You have now assembled the Chainer-Gray Loop and can proceed to win.
   Note: Depending on your life resources and mana available once you've reached the point where you have Chainer in play and Sidisi in yard, there are many options at your disposal as far as tutoring, just be conscious and what would be the most efficient use of your life, mana and tutors.

• Necropotence + Emergence Zone / Chainer, Dementia Master / Shallow Grave / Necromancy / Corpse Dance
  Because Necropotence is a triggered effect that happens at end step, if we have an instant speed reanimation spell in hand, we are able to cast it in response to Necropotence’s exile trigger to attempt to do some end step shenanigans (such as reanimating a Vilis in an attempt to keep drawing and looking for more instant speed spells we can cast with the ultimate goal of assembling the Chainer line using our instant speed reanimation spells). This also allows us to get around Silence type effects which cease at end of turn (after discarding down to hand size). If we add in Emergence Zone to the mix, it enables us to potentailly attempt to assemble a win because we are able to cast spells during our end step before our opponent’s get an untap.

• Depends on what you already have and need, you can play actually any tutor to find any win con.

> Aetherflux

Using Aetherflux Reservoir with K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth to win the game.
Play Atherflux and then use a few options (depends on life and cards):

Combos:

1. Play Heartless Summoning, Necrotic Ooze and Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed. Now you can sac and play both cards till you have enough life.
2. Play Leshrac's Sigil - Bounce it and play it again for 8 life each time. Similiar to the Ooze/Xiahou combo.
3. Play Sensei's Divining Top and Bolas's Citadel - Draw with the ability of Sensei's Divining Top and play it again with Bolas's Citadel for 1 life each time. (K'rrik is not even needed if the cards are already in play)
4. Blood Celebrant with Corpse Dance - Corpse Dance doesn't target, so we can cast it with paying buyback cost without any creature in our graveyard. Do this as many times as possible to get enough life.
5. Vilis, Broker of Blood + Aetherflux Reservoir + Blood Celebrant / Skirge Familiar - With this setup on board, we are able to use Vilis to draw cards, use Blood Celebrant to pay life for the colorless costs or use Skirge to discard cards to make mana, and net back our life and then some off of Flux for everything we cast. We can simply proceed to drawing cards and casting cards and shoot the board with Flux.
6. Asmodeus the Archfiend + Aetherflux Reservoir + Blood Celebrant / Skirge Familiar - This setup is similar to the Vilis Engine, just more life intensive since we not only have to pay life to draw cards but we also lose life for each card drawn on top of having to pay life to cast spells. This line is still very much doable however. Alternatively, with Necrotic Ooze on board and Asmodeus in the graveyard, we are able to achieve the same effect for much much less life.
7. Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed + Aetherflux Reservoir + Reanimate - Sacrifice Xiahou to recur a card, Pay 2 life to cast Reanimate to put Xiahou back on the battlefield and gain life from Flux, adding to the Storm count, then lose 4 life from Reanimate. Sacrifice Xiahou to get Reanimate back to hand then recast Reanimate and repeat steps to gain enough life for Aetherflux.

Also attack with K'rrik to get some life back if needed. If Null rod or Stony Silence are in play, we can also play as many black spells as needed to make K'rrik big enough and kill the player with the stax piece with combat dmg.

> Some easy ways to get the Aetherflux win con:

• Peer into the abyss
  This card is actually the best way to get any of our win cons. Sometimes it’s possible to accumulate enough life off Aetherflux to kill off the board from casting all your spells. Also in combination with Skirge Familair we don't even need K'rrik for mana.

• Amsodeus Engine
  With Asmodeus the Archfiend and Skirge Familiar in our graveyard and Necrotic Ooze on the battlefield we are able to draw our deck and have enough mana without K'rrik and go for any Combo.

• Fleshwrither Engine
  Cast Fleshwrither and use the Transfigure ability to tutor into play Necrotic Ooze, with Necrotic Ooze use Fleshwrither's transfigure ability to tutor into play Balthor the Defiled. Use Balthor's ability to put Necrotic Ooze and Fleshwrither from graveyard into play and transfigure Fleshwrither for Vile Entomber to entomb Asmodeus the Archfiend. Now we have Necrotic Ooze with Asmodeus in the graveyard so that we can use to draw the resources we need to finish.

• Final Parting
  Search for Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed in hand and Leshrac's Sigil into the graveyard or any other combination. Or just go for Villis in graveyard and reanimate / Asmodeus in graveyard and Necrotic Ooze.

• Depends on what you already have and need, you can play actually any tutor to find any win con. Especially for the Leshrac's Sigil combo since you only need the Aetherflux reservoir, K'rrik and Leshrac's Sigil to win you can also use demonic consultation or tainted pact.

> Storm

Tendrils of Agony : A semi win con if we use it correctly.

In combination with Peer into the Abyss or one of the Atherflux lines (If a Stax piece don't allow us to use the Aetherflux), we are able to play plenty spells for the storm and still win without Gary or Aetherflux.
At the same time K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth will get +1/+1 for each black spell.
So, try to play as many as possible black spells and attack with K'rrik to get life back and start casting more black spells and cast tendrils of agony or play tendrils of agony, get life back and cast more spells to power up K'rrik untill he will be 21/21 and swing out an enemy.

Note: All the 0 mana rocks are also spells and with Yawgmoth's Will or Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed we can cast some of the spells and also tendrils of agony twice.

> Oracle

Need 2 Blue mana (Blood Celebrant, Lion's Eye Diamond, Mox Diamond, Lotus Petal or multicolored lands like Exotic Orchard) 1-3 generic mana and at least 6 life.

1. Use Praetor's Grasp or opposition agent to grab Thassas Oracle
2. Play tainted pact (Also possible with Vilis, Broker of Blood but this depends on what we are going to draw or with Asmodeus/Skirge engine)
3. Play Thassas Oracle
4. Win

Or

Praetor’s Grasp + Blood Celebrant + Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed – You can essentially steal any of your opponent’s 2 or 3 card wincon and win using their wincon instead (Think Thassa’s Oracle + Demonic Consultation / Tainted Pact or Brain Freeze or whatever floats your boat) Note: As long as your life total is high enough, you can attempt this win line as its own standalone combo.

> Starting Hand

We should try to hold a hand that generates four mana quickly and at least one part of our combo and a tutor. There are even hands that can win in the first turn, but you should aim at turn two or three to go infinite or try to play till midgame because of the grind potential.
Try to play K'rrik in turn one or two, so he can block and let you pay life for the spells. It is easily possible to finish in turn two or three if you have the right cards in hand, if not just try to hold a hand with some draw or ramp and get to the midgame. Prepare yourself to win in one turn with some protection cards if possible.
It is no problem if you keep a hand with just one land if you can produce four mana quickly and cast spells with K'rrik.

> Single Card Discussion

> Inclusions

• Asmodeus the Archfiend + Necrotic Ooze + Skirge Familiar: With this combo, we can draw our entire deck without K'rrik. Also, possible to draw a bunch of cards with K'rrik + Asmodeus and a sac outlet or K'rrik and Necrotic Oooze while Asmodeus is in the graveyard.
• Balthor the Defiled: Recursion which we can tutor with Fleshwrither and bring back a bunch of cards.
• blood celebrant: One of the best cards in this deck. You can use your life for colorless mana.
• bile blight: Great single target removal, also good against indestructible and token decks like krenko.
• Bolas's Citadel: Part of the combo and also a good way to go through the deck with necropotence and/or Sensei's Divining Top.
• Boseiju, who shelters all: Protect your spells like shallow grave, Yawgmoth's Will, corpse dance or Peer into the abyss.
• Cavern of Souls: Choose “minion” and don't let your enemies counter your K'rrik or Chainer.
• Command Beacon: Our commander is important, and commander taxes will hurt us, so try to avoid them.
• Conqueror's Flail & Defense grid: just to protect your turn to start your infinite combo.
• Dauthi Voidwalker: Can attack planeswalker with his shadow ability, block other creatures with shadow, has the same effect as leyline of the void and can generate value. Good against gitrog, mulldrotha or meren and all ltb trigger decks. And this all just for four life.
• Fleshwrither: One card combo chain and a on battlefield tutor.
• homeward path: For the gilded drakes and other stealing stuff, to bring back our enabler.
• Necrotic Ooze: Awesome utility card and usable for many combos.
• Peer into the Abyss: Can win the game with still 1 life left after resolve (trust me, it already happened a few times). Drawing the half of the library is equal to a win because of the 0 cmc mana rocks, zuran orb and K'rriks ability. One of the main cards in this deck.
• Tainted pact: Without any cards twice in this deck (only one swamp and one snow-covered swamp) you can go through your deck and find the missing card for your win. Also, a win condition with thassas oracle which you can grab with Praetor's Grasp or if Oracle is in the enemy graveyard use a reanimation spell and tainted pact to win.
• Skirge Familiar: This is one of our best utlility creatures as it functions as both a discard outlet and a source of mana production. This means that Skirge essentially functions as our second K'rrik and becomes a way to save life after resolving Peer into the Abyss, into Vilis storms or as a combo piece to the Asmodeus-Ooze line.
• Sidisi, Undead Vizier: A etb tutor which we can "cheat" into the battlefield with chainer or other reanimator spells.
• Urza's Saga: A land which can replace itself for a sol ring, Lion's Eye Diamond, mana vault, mana crypt or a senseis divining top.
• Vilis, Broker of Blood: Our yawgmoth's bargain, pay 4 life and draw 4 cards. As a bonus, you can kill some tiny creatures.With reanimate you will draw 8 cards!
• Vile Entomber: an etb entomb which we can "cheat" into the battlefield with chainer or other reanimator spells.
• Praetor's Grasp: Flexible usage to get a Doomsday or get rid of a combo piece from the enemy if needed. Also, a win condition with thassa's oracle and Tainted pact. Or just look for a tutor for yourself.
• Final Parting: Usually brings a reanimate into your hand, and Vilis, Broker of Blood, into your graveyard for a quick set-up. This can also put Chainer, Dementia Master in hand, and put Gray Merchant of Asphodel in the graveyard for a solid 2/3 combo pieces at the ready.
• Imp's Mischief: change the target of a counterspell or removal.

> Exclusions

• Ad Nauseam: Paying life to draw cards can be good, but this card is more a gambling in K'rrik. Paying too much life will inhibit the play, and the {3} generic mana are too expensive for such a gambling. The Instant speed doesn't make it better because winning with instant speed is very difficult in this deck.
• Dark Confidant / Phyrexian Arena: too slow.
• Doomsday: is not a wincon, it is just a way to get the win con but it needs too much card slots to be useful at all and it was only good in early game.
  It is better to use the "doomsday only" slots for more tutors, interaction and non tapped lands.
• Scheming Symmetry: Without a cantrip, a draw spell or an opposition agent you will let an enemy find an answer for you or even worse he will go infinite with this free tutor.
• Diabolic Intent: with only 16 creatures (one of them is K'rrik himself) I don't think that this tutor will be consistent in this deck.
• Slaughter pact: The nonblack requirement and the two mana in the upkeep makes this removal only good to interrupt someone to win the game with a nonblack creature combo piece. Deadly Rollick is better.
• Cruel Bargain: Only good for a doomsday pile, I prefer sign in blood.
• Dimir Machinations: Primary a tutor for Doomsday, Corpse Dance, Necropotence, Buried Alive, Necromancy or Yawgmoth's Will. Not as good as shred memory but can counter play the top deck manipulation from an enemy. Still not good enough to play
• Varragoth, Bloodsky sire: too slow for a top deck tutor.
• Overeager Apprentice: too slow to ramp.
• Contamination: Only good for one turn, because we don't run enough creatures to hold this card on the battlefield.
• Phyrexian obliterator: Not necessary in this deck, it will get removed or ignored.
• Phyrexian altar / ashnod's altar: carrion feeder costs 2 life to play, while phyrexian altar or ashnod's altar need 3 generic mana and can't be found with buried alive. Also, we don't need that many sac outlets and carrion feeder combos well with gravecrawler.
• Professor Onyx & Chain of Smog: A Win con where K'rrik is not even needed. Needs too much mana and there is not enough synergy for this cards.
• Stinging Study: Draw 7 cards for {4} Mana and 9 life with instant speed is really nice but like ad nauseam it is too expensive, and 9 life is like 22.5% of our starting life.
• Extort: It does not work as well as many people thought. For example, you will drain 3 opponents, you have to pay 2 life to get 3 life back, but you also need to pay mana for a spell which will trigger extort. So, in best case you have to pay 2 life for the spell and 2 life for the extort cost and will get back 3 life which means 2 instances of extort will bring back the life lost in this case. But what if the spell costs more than just one {b}? And every mana besides of black mana can't be replaced with life, which means you need to use blood celebrant to change out mana for life. This means that you need a lot of pieces to even get this loop started.
  Another problem is, that you usually need 3 opponents to stay alive while using the loop, so if one of them die because he had the lowest life, you can’t continue with the loop. In this case, you need to try to win another way if you haven’t gotten your other opponents low enough to kill them before you kill yourself by continue the loop in a life-negative situation.

> Strengths and Weaknesses

> Strengths

• This deck is extremely fast and can tutor all important combo pieces without mana just with life.
• It is just mono black, so in a cEDH group it shouldn't get the most attention, use this and finish the game out of the nowhere.
• High comeback potential (midgame) if you don't play too aggressive.
• Grind because of all the reanimator spells.
• Unpredictable because of the phyrexian mana, we can interact while outtapped.
• Lot of tutors, for each situation, just tutor the right card.
• Finally, our versatility in our wincons allows us to easily pivot towards a win line that can win through most board states.

> Weaknesses

• K'rrik as an important component and at the same time bottleneck of this deck.
• Late game, lack of lands and engines (and the life loss will bring us into a dangerous position).
• Countermagic can be a problem.
• Lack of artifact removal for cards like such as Torpor Orb or Cursed Totem, I know we could play gate to phyrexia or phyrexian tribute, but we don't run enough creatures.

> Budget alternatives

If you don't have the budget to buy all these cards, there are few budget cards which you can play instead

• Razaketh's Rite vs. Demonic Tutor
• Stitch together / Exhume vs. Shallow Grave or Corpse Dance
• Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire vs. Demonic Tutor or Vampiric Tutor
• Scheming Symmetry vs. Imperial Seal
• Jeweled Amulet vs. Lion's Eye Diamond or Jeweled Lotus
• slaughter pact / drag to the underworld vs. deadly rollick
• Mind Stone, Thought vessel, fellwar stone, everflowing chalice vs. expensive mana rock
• Brainspoil vs. expensive tutor
• Shred Memory vs. expensive tutor
• Specter's Shriek vs. Thoughtseize
• Helm of Awakening vs. Jet medallion
• Geier Reach Sanitarium / gemstone mine / Glimmervoid vs. Volrath's Stronghold / City of traitors / pirsmatic vista / ancient tomb
• Phyrexian Arena / Read the Bones / Underworld connections / stinging study / promise of power vs. Necropotence
• Lightning greaves vs. Conqueror's Flail

> Changelog

See revision: https://deckstats.net/decks/118014/1634363--primer-k-rrik-the-dark-prince#show__revisions