No pain no gain by user2014117

Format: Commander

Commander: Betor, Ancestor's Voice

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 58

Deck overview

This Abzan deck is an optimized aristocrats and reanimator strategy piloted by Betor, Ancestor's Voice. The deck uses an efficient suite of 1-2 CMC ramp spells and premier tutors such as Buried Alive, Survival of the Fittest, and Entomb to place combo pieces into the graveyard quickly. Its primary route to victory is looping Karmic Guide and Reveillark with a sacrifice outlet like Phyrexian Altar and a drain payoff like Blood Artist, instantly eliminating all opponents in a single turn. Commander Betor, Ancestor's Voice provides consistent incremental card advantage and board presence by reanimating utility creatures on each end step using the life lost from fetchlands, shocklands, and pain spells. Alternate win conditions include the two-card combo of Exquisite Blood and Sanguine Bond, as well as value chains through Academy Rector and Bolas's Citadel. While the deck lacks countermagic protection, its high redundancy and resilience allow it to recover rapidly from board wipes and removal.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Abzan Charm
  • 1 Academy Rector
  • 1 Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Arid Mesa
  • 1 Ashnod's Altar
  • 1 Assassin's Trophy
  • 1 Bayou
  • 1 Betor, Ancestor's Voice
  • 1 Birds of Paradise
  • 1 Birthing Pod
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Bloodstained Mire
  • 1 Bloodthirsty Conqueror
  • 1 Boggart Trawler // Boggart Bog
  • 1 Bolas's Citadel
  • 1 Bridgeworks Battle // Tanglespan Bridgeworks
  • 1 Brushland
  • 1 Buried Alive
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 City of Brass
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Damn
  • 1 Damnation
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Despark
  • 1 Disciple of Freyalise // Garden of Freyalise
  • 1 Eldritch Evolution
  • 1 Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave
  • 1 Entomb
  • 1 Essence Warden
  • 1 Eternal Witness
  • 1 Exquisite Blood
  • 1 False Prophet
  • 1 Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Flooded Strand
  • 1 Forest
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Greater Good
  • 1 Horizon Canopy
  • 1 Journey to Eternity // Atzal, Cave of Eternity
  • 1 Karmic Guide
  • 1 Llanowar Wastes
  • 1 Loyal Retainers
  • 1 Mana Confluence
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Mindslicer
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Nature's Lore
  • 1 Necropotence
  • 1 Night's Whisper
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Overgrown Tomb
  • 1 Pattern of Rebirth
  • 1 Pernicious Deed
  • 1 Phyrexian Altar
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Plains
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Protean Hulk
  • 1 Razorgrass Ambush // Razorgrass Field
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Reveillark
  • 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
  • 1 Sanguine Bond
  • 1 Savannah
  • 1 Saw in Half
  • 1 Scrubland
  • 1 Serra Ascendant
  • 1 Snuff Out
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Soul Warden
  • 1 Soul's Attendant
  • 1 Spike Weaver
  • 1 Spore Frog
  • 1 Starscape Cleric
  • 1 Sun Titan
  • 1 Survival of the Fittest
  • 1 Swamp
  • 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
  • 1 Talisman of Resilience
  • 1 Talisman of Unity
  • 1 Temple Garden
  • 1 Three Visits
  • 1 Tom, Bert, and William
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Vampiric Tutor
  • 1 Verdant Catacombs
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Witch Enchanter // Witch-Blessed Meadow
  • 1 Wood Elves
  • 1 Wooded Foothills
  • 1 Wrath of God
  • 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth