Building Modern Cosmogoyf in Commander

Reconstruct History — Laboratory Maniac (And Friends)

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> | Art by <a href="https://mtg.wtf/artist/adrian_smith">Adrian Smith</a>)</h6>
<h1>Doomsday's Doomsday?</h1>
Welcome to another installment of Reconstruct History, where we examine popularity trends of cards and archetypes over time.
This installment was recommended by reader Stephen Bahl months back when I asked the community about cards they'd like to see. This time, we'll be heading for the end times. Not the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_(DC_Comics)">apocalyptic aberration that gave Superman a temporary glimpse of afterlife</a>, nor the Bulletin of Atomic Scientist's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock">catastrophic clock</a> that attempts to predict humankind's self-destruction. Nope, we're looking at the classic combo enabler: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doomsday"></div></div>
Outside of your occasional Four Horseman of the Apocalypse eschatologically-themed (not ex-Legacy deck!) EDH deck, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> is often included for its combo potential. First printed in Weatherlight (1997), <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> has had a long history of enabling wild combos and synergies, whether that's playing a shell game with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shelldock Isle" href="#" target="_blank">Shelldock Isle</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emrakul, the Aeon&#039;s Torn" href="#" target="_blank">Emrakul, the Aeon&#039;s Torn</a>, or the ol' <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tendrils of Agony" href="#" target="_blank">Tendrils of Agony</a> Storm combo enabled by <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Lion&#039;s Eye Diamond</a>s and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a>. There just aren't many cards out there that singlehandedly require <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/emidln/doomsdaystacks">entire sites</a> dedicating thousands of words to explaining just how you can set up a win. <a href="https://www.commanderspellbook.com/search/?q=doomsday">The Commander Spellbook page</a> also has a number of entries, showing just how diverse <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> can be for enabling a win.
It's the kind of card you have to build around, and in the words of Louis Scott Vargas <a href="https://strategy.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/home/deck-highlight-legacy-doomsday/">explaining a Legacy Doomsday deck</a>, you:
<blockquote>"Cast <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>...or die trying...There's no backup plan, no alternate win conditions, nothing. In the game of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>, you win or you die."</blockquote>
How fitting for a card that invokes the end times. So what about EDH? <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> has long graced the halls of cEDH canon, but where does it stand nowadays?
<hr />
<h2>Criteria</h2>
Our criteria are as follows:
<ol>
<li>Metric: Rank (out of possible black cards)</li>
<li>Threshold: Must be at present at least once in the top 400 ranked black cards</li>
<li>Effect: ‘Draw’ one or more cards in exchange for life</li>
<li>Timeframe: Last two years (April/May 2019 – April/May 2021). I know it’s now August, but at time of writing, this is where we scraped!</li>
<li>Breaks: Monthly intervals</li>
</ol>
As is tradition, we’re focusing on rank rather than the number of decks (i.e., decklists), as this helps account for fluctuations in decklists scraped in any given timeframe, which helps us compare the results to other colorless cards. Remember that the lower the rank (closer to 1), the more popular a card is!
<hr />
<h2>Results</h2>
The results for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> can be seen here:
<a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Rank-Score-of-Doomsday-e1630951156599.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-70309 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Rank-Score-of-Doomsday-e1630951156599.png" alt="" width="650" height="520" /></a>
Well, it appears <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> has been trending downwards for the last couple of years. In fact, as of March 2021, it's completely fallen off our scrape threshold for this series, no longer in the top 400 black cards.
Notably, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> still features prominently in a number of higher-powered decks. In <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grenzo, Dungeon Warden" href="#" target="_blank">Grenzo, Dungeon Warden</a>, it still enables fascinating combos with the bottom of your now five-card library, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow</a> can start flipping cards off the top after getting in with Ninjas. As for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth</a>, turns out you can just cast it for six life rather than any mana. Plus, you're going to lose half of your life anyways — what's a little more? K'rrik can help circumvent some of the need for mana and rituals by just using life instead, which makes it a great home for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> fans.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grenzo, Dungeon Warden"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yuriko, the Tiger&#039;s Shadow"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth"></div></div>
Finally, one of the things we can look at is the popularity organized into bins, making sure we don’t double count any previous categories (i.e., not counting top 100 again in the top 150).
Black rank score of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> over last two years (May 2019 - May 2021):
<ul>
<li>Top 50: 0 times (0%)</li>
<li>Top 100: 0 times (0%)</li>
<li>Top 150: 0 times (0%)</li>
<li>Top 200: 1 time (5%)</li>
<li>Top 250: 4 times (18%)</li>
<li>Top 300: 9 times (41%)</li>
<li>Top 350: 4 times (18%)</li>
<li>Top 400: 4 times (18%)</li>
</ul>
The shift is slowly towards the lower end, and I for one am curious to see if <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> ends up seeing a resurgence in a few years time.
<hr />
<h2>Time to Reflect</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Time to Reflect"></div></div>
It's now <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Time to Reflect" href="#" target="_blank">Time to Reflect</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reconstruct History" href="#" target="_blank">Reconstruct some history</a>!
<hr />
<h3>Price</h3>
For the most part, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> has been a fairly price-accessible card, <a href="https://www.mtgstocks.com/prints/14390-doomsday">hovering below $5</a>. Only in March 2020 did it see a significant spike, nearly cresting $20, and it has remained in the ~$15 range ever since. <a href="https://www.mtgstocks.com/news/343-weekly-winners-2020-10">That spike</a>, as it happens, came shortly after the printing of a particular card: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a> (Theros: Beyond Death, released January 24, 2020).
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa&#039;s Oracle"></div></div>
No surprise that in both EDH and even Legacy, decks were elated to have their <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> piles buffed with a less-conditional, harder-to-interact-with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Laboratory Maniac" href="#" target="_blank">Laboratory Maniac</a>. With the Oracle, you don't have to draw an extra card as you would with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Laboratory Maniac" href="#" target="_blank">Laboratory Maniac</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jace, Wielder of Mysteries" href="#" target="_blank">Jace, Wielder of Mysteries</a>, which can be a big ask when your operating on such slim margins after <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> cuts your life total in half, your library down to five, and your paths to victory to a knife's edge.
But <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> wasn't the only card impacted by the printing of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">the fish with foresight</a>. In fact, I think a lot of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>'s decline in popularity seen above can be explained by its competitors.
<hr />
<h3>Competition for Calamity</h3>
What happens when the proverbial end times don't come as foreseen? Well, we've seen it before. Whether it's the 'Zorpies' changing the date in Parks in Recreation, or a bunch of Westerners in real life misinterpreting Mayan calendrics, many a sun has set on a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> only to have been followed by an <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Approach of the Second Sun" href="#" target="_blank">Approach of the Second Sun</a>.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter" src="https://i.redd.it/9wtsexws9ld61.jpg" alt="What Qanon reminds me of...: PandR" width="348" height="186" />
As it turns out, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> isn't the only black card with the potential to shrink one's library to a pile poised to win. I think two other cards are worth analyzing here to help contextualize <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>'s decline: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Pact</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Consultation" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Consultation</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tainted Pact"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Demonic Consultation"></div></div>
In one form or another, both of these cards will rip through your library, either by virtue of the singleton format in the case of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Pact</a>, or simply naming a card knowingly not included in your deck in the case of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Consultation" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Consultation</a>. Since they're other combo-enablers in black, I thought it would be good to get their data as well.
Here are the results below. Feel free to scroll to see the cards individually and compared to one another on the same plot.
<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/LipE5oV"><a href="https://imgur.com/a/LipE5oV">Rank score of black combo enablers over last two years (May 2019 - May 2021)</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Well, how about that! There is a pretty strong inverse relationship between <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> and these two enablers.
The case for these two options over <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> may vary, either by their lesser mana value, less fragility, or even time. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> piles are notoriously time-consuming to sort out, given the sheer complexity and contingencies when faced with cards already draw, in hand, played, in the graveyard, etc. If people want something more 'compact,' they may be incentivized to try one of these other two options over <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>.
<hr />
<h2>Not All Doom and Gloom</h2>
Despite the trend downwards (and perhaps despite its subtle phasing out as cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Pact</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Consultation" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Consultation</a> become ever more popular) <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> will always have a spot in some players' hearts. It's notoriously build-around, skill-demanding, and it embodies the old-school black notion of great power at great cost(s).
Heck, there're quite a few commanders out there that have been printed recently that may take advantage of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prosper, Tome Bound" href="#" target="_blank">Prosper, Tome Bound</a> to help mitigate the mana, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blex, Vexing Pest" href="#" target="_blank">Blex, Vexing Pest</a> (or, really, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Search for Blex" href="#" target="_blank">Search for Blex</a>) to filter your 'entire library,' and maybe even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Firja, Judge of Valor" href="#" target="_blank">Firja, Judge of Valor</a> to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ransack the Lab" href="#" target="_blank">Ransack the Lab</a> down to your requisite pieces.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prosper, Tome Bound"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blex, Vexing Pest"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Firja, Judge of Valor"></div></div>
What about you? Have you ever run <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>? Do you still? What decks do you run it in? What about the times where it flopped? Sign off in the comments below!
<script>var pd_tags = new Array;pd_tags["10925956-src"]="poll-oembed-simple";</script><script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="https://secure.polldaddy.com/p/10925956.js"></script><noscript><iframe title="What&#039;s your experience with Doomsday?" src="https://poll.fm/10925956/embed" frameborder="0" class="cs-iframe-embed"></iframe></noscript>
Once again, shoutout to Nate Burgess (<a href="https://twitter.com/MisterPlorg">@MisterPlorg</a>) for all the data scraping help!

Reconstruct History — Doomsday

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artpad.org/">Jaime Jones</a>)</h6>
<h1>Epic Preparations</h1>
Hello, EDHREC fans! I’m Bernardo Melibeu, and this is Epic Experiment, a series where we throw all common sense aside and experiment with some unusual strategies, changing how we normally build our deck. Is it going to work? Who knows?! We’re making science here. When you’re an Izzet mage, blowing things up is half the fun.
In this article we'll be building around the single most complex card in the game. After this card is cast, it's a whole new game. The card that I'm talking about is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doomsday"></div></div>
Search your library and graveyard for five cards and exile the rest. Put the chosen cards on top of your library in any order. You lose half your life, rounded up.
Observation 1:
There are two main reason why this card is only played mostly at competitive tables. The first one is the cutthroat nature of the card; this isn't a "let's be friends" card, this is an "I'm gonna win right now" card. The second is how difficult it is to play it even with a predefined pile; there are so many variables that it often leads into a lot of dead time for the rest of the table.
Observation 2:
Having a cheap way to get through all five cards is crucial for a good Doomsday pile. It doesn't matter if we spend a bunch of resources into making our deck a five-card pile if we have trouble accessing said pile.
Observation 3:
Mana is also an inevitable barrier that we need to overcome. For us to both cast Doomsday and win on the same turn, it means that we'll need three black mana just as a start. This is both color-intensive and expensive mana-wise.
Observation 4:
Doomsday's interaction with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hive Mind" href="#" target="_blank">Hive Mind</a> might be something worth exploring. Cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wound Reflection" href="#" target="_blank">Wound Reflection</a> and even having Symmetrical Mill effects (to get powered by Hive Mind) are basically auto-win.
<hr />
<h2>The Epic Ingredients</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Happily Ever After"></div></div>
It's often common to see ourselves as part of the "good guys"; after all, we understand our actions and can relate with our motivations. That being said, what if we're actually the baddies? What if, to us, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> is our happy ending? One might even say that we'll live... <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Happily Ever After" href="#" target="_blank">Happily Ever After</a>. Here in Epic Experiment, we usually choose function over form. However, winning the game with this combination of cards seems way too funny to pass on.
Let's talk about this interaction. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Happily Ever After" href="#" target="_blank">Happily Ever After</a> is a "You Win" card that needs some set-up in order to be effective (I wrote an article about it, here's the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/epic-experiment-happily-ever-after/">link</a>). Doomsday is the perfect set-up card for it, as it stacks our deck, allowing us to have easy access to all the support we need.
For commander choices, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Golos, Tireless Pilgrim" href="#" target="_blank">Golos, Tireless Pilgrim</a> is a perfect pick for this strategy. Its activated ability is really powerful on its own, and it allows us to dig through our Doomsday pile very fast. Golos's ETB trigger is also very helpful because it let us find high-value lands, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cabal Coffers" href="#" target="_blank">Cabal Coffers</a>.
<hr />
<h3>Doomsday Piles</h3>
From top to bottom:
<ul>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Happily Ever After" href="#" target="_blank">Happily Ever After</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Turnabout" href="#" target="_blank">Turnabout</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Planewide Celebration" href="#" target="_blank">Planewide Celebration</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beacon of Immortality" href="#" target="_blank">Beacon of Immortality</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nexus of Fate" href="#" target="_blank">Nexus of Fate</a></li>
</ul>
This is how this pile operates:
<ol>
<li>We cast Doomsday with Golos on the field and enough mana to activate it</li>
<li>Activate Golos</li>
<li>Cast Planewide Celebration (choosing 1 token and the rest life gain)</li>
<li>Cast Turnabout</li>
<li>Activate Golos</li>
<li>Cast Nexus of Fate</li>
<li>Cast Happily Ever After</li>
<li>Cast Beacon of Immortality</li>
</ol>
This pile allows us to start our extra turn with all the required pieces if we cast it with at least six life before casting Doomsday.
We have some backup for each piece other than Happily Ever After. They're easy to exchange, but some will often require some adaptation on our part.
<ul>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zacama, Primal Calamity" href="#" target="_blank">Zacama, Primal Calamity</a> substitutes Turnabout, but we need to replace Nexus of Fate with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Final Fortune" href="#" target="_blank">Final Fortune</a>.</li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heroes Remembered" href="#" target="_blank">Heroes Remembered</a> can cover Beacon of Immortality. We'll need at least 26 life before Doomsday, though</li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Progenitus</a> covers for Planewide Celebration, but we need to replace Beacon of Immortality with Heroes Remembered, and we'll need at least 30 life before Doomsday.</li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Final Fortune" href="#" target="_blank">Final Fortune</a> can cover for Nexus of Fate. However, we'll have to cast Beacon of Immortality before Happily ever After, so we need at least 12 life before Doomsday</li>
</ul>
As you can see, life is the one constant that we need to invest heavily in, and even then, we can't fully guarantee that we'll be successful. This means that life gain is crucial; that being said, investing heavily in our life total eases our burden on the combo turn. However, as important as life gain is to us, we're not including strictly life gain cards, as these effects tend to be nullified pretty quickly. Instead, we're using a wide array of strong life gain cards that pull double duty. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Courser of Kruphix" href="#" target="_blank">Courser of Kruphix</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tatyova, Benthic Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Tatyova, Benthic Druid</a> are constant sources of life gain. These might not seem much; however, during the course of a game they can add up. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudblazer" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudblazer</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elite Guardmage" href="#" target="_blank">Elite Guardmage</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Knight of Autumn" href="#" target="_blank">Knight of Autumn</a> are one-shot effects, but they are less vulnerable to removal. The extra life buffer, coupled with the bodies, are an essential part of how we can stay afloat against more aggressive decks.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biomancer&#039;s Familiar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zirda, the Dawnwaker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Training Grounds"></div></div>
We also have a dedicated cost-reducing suite for Golos's activate ability. These cards aren't here to help us combo; instead, their job is to help us grind better. When we start getting to the point of being able to activate Golos's ability twice a turn, we're pretty much set, and there's a noticeable difference between needing 14 mana and needing 10 mana.
<hr />
<h2>The Mixture</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Happily Ever After Doomsday" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*Golos, Tireless Pilgrim
[/Commander]
[Artifact]
*Sol Ring
*Arcane Signet
*Chromatic Lantern
*Heartstone
[/Artifact]
[Creature]
*Arboreal Grazer
*Birds of Paradise
*Baleful Strix
*Biomancer&#039;s Familiar
*Coiling Oracle
*Elvish Visionary
*Hydroid Krasis
*Courser of Kruphix
*Drift of Phantasms
*Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
*Knight of Autumn
*Murderous Rider
*Spellseeker
*Uro, Titan of Nature&#039;s Wrath
*Zirda, the Dawnwaker
*Crypt Ghast
*Elite Guardmage
*Cloudblazer
*Mulldrifter
*Tatyova, Benthic Druid
*Felidar Sovereign
*Zacama, Primal Calamity
*Progenitus
[/Creature]
[Enchantment]
*Authority of the Counculs
*Training Grounds
*Blind Obedience
*Ghostly Prison
*Happily Ever After
*Revenge of Ravens
[/Enchantment]
[Instant]
*Crop Rotation
*Mystical Tutor
*Nature&#039;s Claim
*Arcane Denial
*Cyclonic Rift
*Despark
*Dovin&#039;s Veto
*Final Fortune
*Growth Spiral
*Teferi&#039;s Protection
*Turnabout
*Beacon of Immortality
*Nexus of Fate
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*Farseek
*Nature&#039;s Lore
*Cultivate
*Doomsday
*Grim Tutor
*Kodama&#039;s Reach
*Damnation
*Debt to the Deathless
*Skyshroud Claim
*Hour of Promise
*Austere Command
*Planewide Celebration
*Heroes Remembered
[/Sorcery]
[Land]
*Blood Crypt
*Bojuka Bog
*Breeding Pool
*Cabal Coffers
*City of Brass
*Command Tower
*Exotic Orchard
*Field of the Dead
*Ghost Quarter
*Godless Shrine
*Hall of Heliod&#039;s Generosity
*Hallowed Fountain
*Indatha Triome
*Ketria Triome
*Mana Confluence
*Overgrown Tomb
*Raugrin Triome
*Sacred Foundry
*Savai Triome
*Steam Vents
*Stomping Ground
*Tectonic Edge
*Temple Garden
*Tolaria West
*Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
*Watery Grave
*Zagoth Triome
*2 Forest
*Island
*Mountain
*2 Plains
*Snow-Covered Forest
*Snow-Covered Island
*Snow-Covered Mountain
*Snow-Covered Plains
*Snow-Covered Swamp
*2 Swamp
[/Land]"></div>

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Golos's ETB is really powerful, especially in EDH where we have a huge pool of lands, but we are restricted to only one copy. This, together with Golos's activated ability, makes Golos tricky to deal with. Remove it, we get another powerful land; leave it alone, we start activating it. There's no escape.
Speaking of powerful lands, the iconic duo of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cabal Coffers" href="#" target="_blank">Cabal Coffers</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth</a> is a quick way to get to the mana threshold that we need to combo off. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bojuka Bog" href="#" target="_blank">Bojuka Bog</a> can be a great graveyard hate if timed right. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Field of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Field of the Dead</a> is the best land when we're looking to grind out on longer games. Outside of those, we can always grab rainbow lands like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Command Tower" href="#" target="_blank">Command Tower</a> just for the color fixing they provide.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Felidar Sovereign"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Debt to the Deathless"></div></div>
As far as back up win conditions we have a couple of decent options, both of which have their own dedicated Doomsday pile. It might not be as flavorful as Happily Ever After, but we should have some options just in case. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Felidar Sovereign" href="#" target="_blank">Felidar Sovereign</a> is a perfect fit for a deck that already has lots of life gain potential and also has easy access to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beacon of Immortality" href="#" target="_blank">Beacon of Immortality</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heroes Remembered" href="#" target="_blank">Heroes Remembered</a>, and extra turn effects. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Debt to the Deathless" href="#" target="_blank">Debt to the Deathless</a>'s first job is to net us life, but we can also use it as a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fireball" href="#" target="_blank">Fireball</a> effect, especially with our untap effects. The best part is that since Doomsday also takes cards from the graveyard we don't need to keep holding it until we can K.O. our opponents.
<hr />
<h2>Methodology</h2>
Our opening hands have a bit of variance into them: we're a five-color deck that has a lot of combo pieces that we DON'T want to find before going off. Luckily for us, we can recover them in the late game with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomsday" href="#" target="_blank">Doomsday</a> (as long as they haven't been exiled), so we get some of those benefits even though it's not optimal.
The early game should be dedicated to ramp and color-fixing and protecting ourselves. An explosive start isn't necessarily good for us, so by building a strong foundation we'll transition better into the mid game, which is by far more important than trying to goldfish.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Field of the Dead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cabal Coffers"></div></div>
In the mid game, we should start looking for opportunities to combo lines, and they'll usually start by getting our commander online. While we need our Golos to combo out, we don't mind that much if it dies; in fact, Golos's ETB makes it that much attractive to keep casting it. One important mid game decision point is which land to choose for our first Golos's trigger: do we have either of the Coffers/Urborg combo in our hand (or have access to tutors for one of them)? Then we should get the other piece. Are we going for a slower game? Then <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Field of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Field of the Dead</a> can provide useful chump blockers.
The late game is somewhat kind to us. Our commander is a really powerful draw engine, and it generates a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation to our opponents. We also have three ways to win the game, so it'll be pretty hard to get hated out of the game. That being said, the deck is vulnerable to being aggro'd out and relies on life points to win the game, so we can't be too reckless.
<hr />
<h2>Epic Results</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Propaganda"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kambal, Consul of Allocation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Retreat to Kazandu"></div></div>
If we're already being the baddies, why not go full villain and invest heavier in prison elements? <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Propaganda" href="#" target="_blank">Propaganda</a> and friends works similar to life gain cards (outside the combo, of course) by making our opponents have to choose between developing the board or attacking us. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thaumatic Compass" href="#" target="_blank">Thaumatic Compass</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Maze of Ith" href="#" target="_blank">Maze of Ith</a> each give us both political capital and make our attack taxes (attaxes?) that much more effective.
We could also invest in more life gain elements and rely on them to reach the late game. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Retreat to Kazandu" href="#" target="_blank">Retreat to Kazandu</a> is a good constant source of life gain, especially in a deck like ours that is constantly triggering Landfall. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul Warden" href="#" target="_blank">Soul Warden</a> effects are a great way to give us a lot of life very quickly; however, they tend to work more like a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fog" href="#" target="_blank">Fog</a> effect than most cards(that's if we don't pair it with other prison elements).
That’s it for this Epic Experiment! What do you think about this list? Do you have any questions about the deck? Which cards did you like? Which didn’t you? Was this Epic Experiment a success? Please let me know in the comments below!

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