(Coram, the UndertakerCoram, the Undertaker | Art by Zara H)

The Shadows Betray You Because They Belong to Me

Greetings and salutations, from the depths of my desk where I despair in dismay (not). I'm Arnaud, and I'm thrilled to take you on a journey of smashy faces, graveyard shenanigans and ultimate budget mills.

Last time, we parted ways with our usual poll, which yielded... interesting results. Third place went, and by far, to Kaza, Roil ChaserKaza, Roil Chaser, with a puny tiny 21 votes (16%).

It's been a while since a commander received so little interest. Second spot was awarded to The Lady of OtariaThe Lady of Otaria, with 48 votes (36%).

More than twice the last spot, but still not enough. Guess Dwarves ain't your thing. Which leaves first place to Coram, the UndertakerCoram, the Undertaker, with 64 votes (48%). Not much to add here, let's take a look at our winner.

This should be an interesting challenge. Coram was the runner-up commander in the Modern Horizons 3 precon led by Disa the RestlessDisa the Restless and her slew of Goyfs.

While enjoying some popularity – 4,691 decks at the time of writing – I can't help but wonder if these figures truly reflect reality, and how many are derived from the "Precon effect".

Aside from these considerations, Coram still remains an interesting commander to build around. Don't be fooled by the 0 power.

This ersatz of Bane begs for ripe graveyards, while helping you to fill them up and providing major value all around. Which should lead to some interesting tactical decisions in the build to come.

After plopping in all the data from the regular and budget options on Coram's pageCoram's page, we reach a total of 359 cards. Decent. Let's start cutting.

First Trim - The Cardboard Chainsaw Massacre

To those of you discovering this series for the first time, a warm and heartfelt welcome. Here, we're all about budget. Which means that no card worth more than $1.10 shall live.

After giving the axe to all of the major staples in the format and then some, we're left with 245 cards worth at most $2, of which 37 totter between $1.10 and $2.

That's an unusually high count, so let's have a look at some of the gems we'll need to leave behind:

• Chthonian NightmareChthonian Nightmare: While not as good as the infamous Recurring NightmareRecurring Nightmare, I've still seen this card do some insane tricks. Difficult to play, but very rewarding if you're savvy enough.
• Revitalizing RepastRevitalizing Repast: I stand by my initial statement, these MDFCs will eventually rise in price. Not sky-high, but I wouldn't be surprised seeing them hit the $5 mark in a near-future.
• Death's ShadowDeath's Shadow: $1.19. So close, yet so far. This would have been an instant include and a ridiculous buff for our commander.
• Doom WhispererDoom Whisperer: Another major value engine on a hefty body.
• Disciple of FreyaliseDisciple of Freyalise: While the cost is daunting in a three-color deck, I still believe having an extra Disciple of BolasDisciple of Bolas can't hurt, especially with big bodies.
• World ShaperWorld Shaper: Lands galore anyone?
• Rishkar's ExpertiseRishkar's Expertise: Still one of the best card draw outlets for big creatures decks.
• Skull ProphetSkull Prophet: A staple in self-mill decks, and one we'll sorely miss.
• Hedge ShredderHedge Shredder: I had completely missed this one, and the sheer value it promises is filling me with regrets.
• Life's LegacyLife's Legacy: Draw 7-13 cards for a puny two mana ? Don't mind if I do!

Which leaves us with the cards in the $1-$1.10 bracket:

• Beast WithinBeast Within: A classic among classics, and one of the few legitimate ways to get rid of an annoying land without having the table accusing you of lacking fair play.
• The Gitrog MonsterThe Gitrog Monster: Yes, yes and triple yes. With the prospective mill, this should yield a ton of draw.
• Return of the WildspeakerReturn of the Wildspeaker: Do not wail, RishkarRishkar, for your little brother's here
• Dragonskull SummitDragonskull Summit: I'll never scoff at a dual likely to come into play untapped.
• Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots: This is typically the kind of card that keeps hopping on and off our threshold.

After this initial trimming, we're down to 209 cards. It's time to get to the more interesting stuff.

Second Trim - Cardward Scissorhands

Before we dive into the core strategy, let's get the vegetables out of the way. Remember friends, you can't get your deck running if you're out of gas!

As the list stands, we have the following:

I can't help but notice there are some hefty mana values out there, so I suppose we need a beefy count of ramp spells, probably around 13-15.

Draw on the other hand shouldn't be that much of an issue with the help provided by our commander. So let's keep it around 12.

We'll keep spot removal to a low count, probably around 5-6 tops, with some additional

Let's do it.

After balancing the land base, we're down to 143 cards. 32 lands may seem a bit low, but don't forget we have plenty of MDFCs!

And it's time to get our hands dirty.

Third Trim - Cutting Off the Rough Edges

Now that the boring part is out of the way, let's see what we're actually dealing with.

I'll be honest, I have a bit of trouble figuring out what this list wants to do. There's a half-a-billion mill spells, a massive recursion package, a few tutors, some big boys, some Goyfs...

The more I'm looking at this list, the more I get the feeling that there are basically two strategies at odds here:

• Fill your graveyard with value to reanimate some hefty beaters, and maybe fling them away;
• Try reaping each ounce of benefits from actively milling yourself (and maybe other players)

This feels a bit weird, as I get the impression this is as much about going for a beatdown strategy as it is playing with graveyard shenanigans. The feeling is not unlike my very first deck in this series, Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder.

I also can't shake the feeling that Coram's ability to play cards from other graveyards is somehow hindered by the color restriction.

With all that considered, this is the path we're going to take: let's go to Fling'o'Beat town. I'll try keeping as much mill as possible without undermining the heavy beaters package.

I think we'll need around 12 of those to make sure we can tinker with at least one or two early on.

And to keep the spice up and not suffer from repetitive play patterns, I'm going to off all tutors.

This is uncharted territory, friends, and I'm playing it by ear, so if I'm doing something wrong I'm counting on you to point out some blatant omissions or any grievous mistake.

This is what I would cut:

And with that, we're down to our final 10. And once more, as is customary in these builds, it's going to be a pain.

Final Trim - Heart-Wrenching Choices

I'm not looking forward to these final cuts. I've had a hard time getting here already, and things will just get worse, as I'd really like to keep the list as is.

Sadly, our format does not permit this, so let's get to work. As usual, note that no cards that ultimately end up being removed are bad, it's more a matter of personal choice.

Let's get rid of a bit of everything.

• CultivateCultivate: The only ramp spell I'll cut. I'll probably regret it eventually.
• Big ScoreBig Score and Malevolent RumbleMalevolent Rumble: I'm counting on our commander to provide the value we need.
• Sawhorn NemesisSawhorn Nemesis: it's a cute effect, and repeatable since it's on a creature you can reanimate. But it's also targeting a single player and easy to remove.
• Demolisher SpawnDemolisher Spawn: probably a huge beater if it hits the field, but it also costs 7 mana...
• MulchMulch, Unseal the NecropolisUnseal the Necropolis and Stitcher's SupplierStitcher's Supplier: These are all great in this build, but I'd rather rely on repeatable mill effects.
• The Grim Captain's LockerThe Grim Captain's Locker: On principle I like this a lot. But Surveil 1 is just too slow, and I'm unsure about escaping our creatures and therefore weakening our graveyard.
• Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots: Because YOLO (and I'm running out of ideas).

There. Done.

Additional Trim - A Look Into the Past

To conclude it all, let's have a look at one of my favourite Trims, let's see how Delina, Wild Mage fared.

Turns out there are 5 cards that all went above the $1.10 mark:

• Sol RingSol Ring: $1.28
• Goblin BombardmentGoblin Bombardment: $1.84
• Component PouchComponent Pouch: $1.92
• Flameshadow ConjuringFlameshadow Conjuring: $2.02
• Trailblazer's BootsTrailblazer's Boots: $2.60

Let's make some adjustments:

• Cursed MirrorCursed Mirror: We lost a rock, let's put one back in
• Port RazerPort Razer: There's nothing Delina likes more than multiple opportunities to attack
• Dragon TrainerDragon Trainer: A new and fun addition from Foundations that seems right at home
• Fear of Burning AliveFear of Burning Alive: With Delina, that fear will become a harsh reality.
• Combat CelebrantCombat Celebrant: This could potentially turn ugly very quickly

There. Done (bis).

You can find the updated list here.

Conclusion

This is one of the rare cases where I'm not quite sure about the list I managed to assemble. I'm really relying onto you people to point out my mistakes.

See you in two weeks!

Arnaud Gompertz

Arnaud Gompertz has been playing Magic since 4th Edition, back in 1995. He's been an assiduous EDH enthusiast since 2012, with a soft spot for unusual and casual Commanders. He'll always favour spectacular plays against a boring path to victory. Aside from mistreating cardboard, he's a dedicated board games player, loves a challenging video game and occasionally tries to sing with his choir.