Deck # 2: The 13th House (EDH / Commander) [Revision 117]

"Astrology has no thirteenth house back home in England, Mother Pharika. It stops at twelve. So I turned to the tarot, and the thirteenth card of the tarot is Death."

I simply decided to just collect only the cards I actually wanted to play. The cards that I felt were the spirit of this deck. Though I had to reduce my anti-artifact spells and creatures, I believe I've managed to hit most of what I was going for. Vraska, Pestilence Demon, Rite of Passage, Defiant Bloodlord, and Exquisite Blood are in this deck again, and staying in it. This is their home.

Dr. Kylie Moriarty intercedes when her clone of Avacyn is attacked by a vengeful Vraska. Vraska kidnaps Kylie and brings her to Theros, planning to destroy her in her clone of Avacyn's stead. To both of their surprise, Vivien, who has been following, intervenes and stops the battle. Once the fight is over, Kylie begins treating Vraska's wounds and reveals her discoveries about the ecological damage the planeswalkers are doing, and that planeswalkers are too dangerous to be free. Kylie's treatment of Vraska is soon discovered by Pharika, God of Affliction.

Kylie's medical knowledge outstrips even Pharika's, and so she invites the Brit to teach her all her surgical secrets, in return for being granted all of Pharika's knowledge of Theros medicine. The exchange of knowledge goes quite well, to the point where Pharika becomes the only deity Kylie considers to be real and worthy of worship.

 Pharika has a prophecy that an attack is coming.  Vraska challenges the two healers that all their medical mastery won't be of any use against an attacker. 

 Kylie and Pharika begin crafting clones, which attracts the attention of Erebos and Nylea.  They come intending to challenge, only to find they willingly allow Kylie to clone them and send their clones in to help.  She also produced clones of Bontu the Glorified, Rhonas the Indomitable, Nylea Keen-Eyed, and Erebos the Bleak-Hearted.  These god clones were to distract and control the coming invader until the work was finished.  

 Kylie's medical mastery brings forth powerful healing, complete with a clone of Defiant Bloodlord and several ways to bring the whole graveyard back.  With Vivien's help, she also creates a Helix Pinnacle.  Pharika, with help from Vraska, prepares a squadron of demon clones who provide knowledge in exchange for service.  Qasali Slingers loves this, because draw from the demons means cat tokens from Jolrael.  And at last, Kylie tells the lot that they should just prepare for a sneaky defense, making ready with anti-artifact creatures and spells.  Thus making good use of Liquimetal Coating, a clone of Qasali Slingers and Jolrael, and creatures and spells to work against newly metal-coated creatures in an emergency:  Kylie realized Skullwinder would allow her to regain access to any of the cards that suited her.  Revel in Riches is Vraska's idea, though it is truly a contract between Kylie and Pharika.    

It is Mirrorpool and Selesnya Eulogist that prove to be this deck's real power.  While Mirrorpool sacrifices itself to make clones of any creature I have, from Farhaven Elf to Verdant Sun's Avatar, from Acidic Slime to Skullwinder, the real fun is when I make a clone of Rune-Scarred Demon or the production of even one cat token.  Once I have one clone, populate means I can have whatever amount I need at the time, which can erase an army that's attacking me (or at least erase the threats my gods can't block away) or let me go looking, first for the Archetype, then for whatever else is most helpful in the moment.  Making clones of creatures that I can populate isn't a problem thanks to Nightmare Shepherd.  

Lifecraft Awakening works with Liquimetal Coating to turn an enchantment into a creature, allowing instant protection for Rite of Passage, Revel in Riches, Whip of Erebos, Death's Presence, or any of the artifacts (Helix Pinnacle does not need such protection). Mind you, it only works when the Archetype is in play.

Vraska calls this deck home and have a right to belong in it. She counts as her own win condition, especially if aided by Nylea.

Pestilence Demon and Rite of Passage only work when they're together. Using his powers to harm all players and creatures one point at a time instead of all at once, Dr. Moriarty can effectively destroy her enemies' army, while slowly bolstering her own. It's slow, but effective. Urban Daggertooth add to the counters everyone can get with its proliferate ability. And anyone who doesn't survive the initial blast, such as a harpy token, can allow someone else to survive by giving their life to someone else with Death's Presence. This can strengthen anyone who survives it, especially the secret weapon creatures. The proliferate effect also made it illogical to play without the Darksteel Reactor, restoring this deck's reputation as the deck that had all the win conditions among my decks.

And finally, I have air control with tokens. Angels, Insets with infect, and Harpies wait to serve as guards - or if need be, a swarm of attackers. The cat tokens compliment Qasali Slinger.

This deck doesn't specialize in poison, but it dabbles in it, with Phyresis for Pharika and a Phyrexian Swarmlord for more creature token protection. Ichor Rats was added to provide infect counters for everyone, while Kylie and Pharika draw essence from Melira, Sylvok Outcast, to render poison counters meaningless to themselves and their army. Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, was also cloned on Pharika's command. Karn's Bastion and Contagion Clasp were added because they were the only proliferate cards I had that wouldn't break the green/black balance. Urban Daggertooth was added, but at the sacrifice of Cadaver Imp for Phage.

 Let the 13th House rise.  This will be the final revision.