Shadowborn Taborax (EDH / Commander)

Intro:

• This deck wins the game by sacrificing Shadowborn Apostles with drainers in play (Relic Vial, The Meathook Massacre and Ayara, First of Locthwain).

• It has two game ending combo lines sponsored by the three demons in the deck (Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Rune-Scarred Demon and Vilis, Broker of Blood), and a back-up demon-less combo line.

• It can mass fetch Shadowborn Apostles (Secret Salvage and Thrumming Stone).

• It has mass graveyard recursion (Patriarch’s Bidding, Living death and Echoing Return).

• It can generate enormous amounts of mana to combo off (Crypt Ghast, Extraplanar Lens, Dark Ritual, Culling the Weak, Songs of the Damned, Crypt of Agadeem and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx).

• It has a powerful draw engine with Taborax, Hope’s Demise and a sacrifice outlet (Relic Vial, Ayara, First of Locthwain, Skullclamp. Corrupted Conviction, Village Rites, Phyrexian Altar and Phyrexian Tower).

• It contains many tutors to get what we need (Beseech the Queen, Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Intent, Grim Tutor, Imperial Seal, Vampiric Tutor, Shadow-Rite Priest and Urza's Saga).

Mulligan and early game guide:

Ideally, you want to have at least 2 cheap mana sources (lands or rocks) and a way to get Skullclamp (via a tutor). Worst case a hand with another sacrifice outlet can also work. Early game, your goal is to sacrifice as many shadowborn apostles as possible to draw cards, dropping Taborax, Hope's Demise early on to fuel the draw engine. Your goal is to assemble one of the win conditions by drawing into the combo pieces and ramp to cast them. If you draw into demons, most of the time, it is better to discard them during the endstep, specifically if you draw into Razaketh, the Foulblooded. Then, you can shift your strategy to tutoring and casting Living Death.

Thrumming Stone win con - Razaketh line: (Thrumming Stone + Shadowborn Apostle + 5BB)

• 1) Pay 5 mana to cast Thrumming Stone.

• 2) Pay B to cast Shadowborn Apostle, and put all the Shadowborn Apostles from the deck into play (at most 32).

• 3) Pay B to sacrifice 6 Shadowborn Apostle and put Razaketh, the Foulblooded into play. Decline Taborax, Hope’s Demise draw trigger to avoid drawing into demons.

• 4) Pay 2 life and sacrifice a Shadowborn Apostle to tutor for a 0 cost mana rock (Chrome Mox, Mox Amber or Mana Crypt+ any rock that taps for B).

• 5) Pay 2 life and sacrifice a Shadowborn Apostle to tutor for a ritual (Dark Ritual, Culling the Weak or Songs of the Damned).

• 6) Pay 2 life and sacrifice a Shadowborn Apostle to tutor for a mana generator (Phyrexian Altar or Pitiless Plunderer).

• 7) Pay B with the free mana rock to play the ritual.

• 8) Use the mana from the ritual to play the mana generator.

• 9) Now you can tutor and generate mana by sacrificing Shadowborn Apostle.

• 10) Tutor and play drainers (Relic Vial, The Meathook Massacre and Ayara, First of Locthwain) to kill the table.

• 11) If needed tutor and play recurring spells to keep the draining going (Patriarch’s Bidding, Living death and Echoing Return).

Secret Salvage win con - Razaketh line: ( Secret Salvage + Patriarch’s Bidding or Living death + 3BBB)

• 1) Pay 3BB to cast Secret Salvage and put all the Shadowborn Apostles from your deck into your hand.

• 2) Pass the turn, move to discard putting most of them in the graveyard.

• 3) Next turn, pay 3BB to revive all the Shadowborn Apostles from the graveyard.

• 4) Follow steps 3-11 from the Thrumming Stone win con.

Mass reanimation win con - Razaketh line: ( 6-9 Shadowborn Apostle in the graveyard + Patriarch’s Bidding or Living Death + 3BBB)

The critical mass of Shadowborn Apostles in the graveyard varies depending on you having an extra B, and extra creatures already in play.

• 1) “Manually” put as many Shadowborn Apostle as possible into the graveyard (using sacrifice outlets).

• 2) Pay 3BB to cast Patriarch’s Bidding or Living death to revive all the Shadowborn Apostle from the graveyard.

• 3) Pay B to sacrifice 6 Shadowborn Apostle and put Razaketh, the Foulblooded into play. Accept Taborax, Hope’s Demise draw trigger until you have at least one Shadowborn Apostle in hand.

• 4) Pay 6 life and sacrifice 3 creatures to tutor for Songs of the Damned, Thrumming Stone and a 0 cost mana rock.

• 5) Play the 0 mana rock to generate B.

• 6) Pay B to cast Songs of the Damned generating at least BBBBBBBB.

• 7) Follow steps 1-11 from the Thrumming Stone win con.

Shadow-Rite Priest win con - Razaketh line: ( Shadow-Rite Priest + 1 cleric in play, 1 Shadowborn Apostle in hand + 3BBB)

• 1) At the end-step right before your turn, sacrifice a cleric and pay 3BB to put Razaketh, the Foulblooded into play.

• 2) On your turn, pay 2 life and sacrifice Shadow-Rite Priest to tutor for Thrumming Stone.

• 3) Follow steps 1-11 from the Thrumming Stone win con.

Thrumming Stone win con 2 - Vilis line: (Taborax, Hope’s Demise in play, Thrumming Stone + Shadowborn Apostle + 5BBB)

Use this line if you are unable to do the Razaketh line.

• 1) Pay 5 mana to cast Thrumming Stone.

• 2) Pay B to cast Shadowborn Apostle, and put all the Shadowborn Apostles from the deck into play (at most 32).

• 3) Pay B to sacrifice 6 Shadowborn Apostle and put Rune-Scarred Demon into play, tutor for Songs of the Damned. Decline Taborax, Hope’s Demise draw trigger to avoid drawing into demons.

• 4) Pay B to cast Songs of the Damned and gain at least BBBBBB.

• 5) Pay B to sacrifice 6 Shadowborn Apostle and put Vilis, Broker of Blood into play. Decline Taborax, Hope’s Demise draw trigger to avoid drawing into demons.

• 6) Pay B to sacrifice 6 Shadowborn Apostle, fail to find. Draw 12 cards with the combined Taborax, Hope’s Demise and Vilis, Broker of Blood draw triggers.

• 7) Repeat step 6 until you draw into a mana generator (Phyrexian Altar or Pitiless Plunderer) or a tutor. Cast it with mana sources you have drawn in the process.

• 8) Repeat step 6 while generating mana until you find a recurring spell (Patriarch’s Bidding, Living death and Echoing Return).

• 9) Cast the recurring spell and return all the Shadowborn Apostles from the graveyard

• 10) Repeat step 6 this time playing drainers as you draw into them (Relic Vial, The Meathook Massacre and Ayara, First of Locthwain) to kill the table.

Secret Salvage win con 2 - Vilis line: (Taborax, Hope’s Demise in play, Secret Salvage + Patriarch’s Bidding or Living death + 3BBBB)

Use this line if you are unable to do the Razaketh line.

• 1) Pay 3BB to cast Secret Salvage and put all the Shadowborn Apostles from your deck into your hand.

• 2) Pass the turn, move to discard putting most of them in the graveyard.

• 3) Next turn, pay 3BB to revive all the Shadowborn Apostles from the graveyard.

• 4) Follow steps 3-11 from the Thrumming Stone win con 2.

Demon-less win con: (components listed bellow)

Use this line if you are unable to do the Razaketh line or the Vilis lines. If you still have Rune-Scarred Demon in your deck, it can help you assemble the combo.

• 1) Have Phyrexian Altar and a drainer in play (Relic Vial, The Meathook Massacre and Ayara, First of Locthwain).

• 2 a) If you have Thrumming Stone.in hand, play it. Put all the Shadowborn Apostle from your deck into play. Sacrifice them to Phyrexian Altar to kill the table.

• 2 b) If you have Secret Salvage.in hand, play it. Pay B to cast a Shadowborn Apostle, sacrifice it to Phyrexian Altar to generate B. Repeat this process to kill the table.

Winning without...:

• 1) Drainers. If you lost all your drainers (Relic Vial, The Meathook Massacre and Ayara, First of Locthwain) you may still attempt to win via commander damage with an extra large Taborax, Hope’s Demise.

• 2) Mana generators. If you lost both of your mana generators (Phyrexian Altar and Pitiless Plunderer), you may be able to use a well timed activation of Crypt of Agadeem, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Songs of the Damned to generate 30+mana and win the game.

• 3) Graveyard recursion. If you lost all your reanimation cards (Patriarch’s Bidding, Living death and Echoing Return), you need to time the placement of your drainers as efficiently as possible to attempt to win before you run out of Shadowborn Apostles.

• 4) Thrumming Stone and Secret Salvage. Without these cards you will need to “manually” put a lot of Shadowborn Apostles into the graveyard, via sacrifice outlets (7+). Then cast Patriarch’s Bidding or Living Death. A critical mass of Shadowborn Apostles along with tutors and card draw via Razaketh, the Foulblooded and Taborax, Hope’s Demise can give you enough fuel to end the game.