<p style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist" href="#" target="_blank">Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/michalivan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michal Ivan</a></span></i></p>
<p>Hello hello! With <em>Edge of Eternities</em> hype in full swing, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite cards for the set. This week's deck tech will be centered on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist" href="#" target="_blank">Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a cool new reanimator commander coming to us straight from the Blind Eternities.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist"></div></div>
<p>While this commander may not be the strongest reanimation piece that Commander players have access to, it is certainly unique. The ability to strip negative abilities away from our creatures provides interesting deckbuilding opportunities, so I'm excited to talk about what Xu can do for you!</p>
<h2>What Does Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist Do?</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Xu-Ifit is a 2/3 Human Wizard. That's not exactly impressive, but it's also not what we're here for. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When we <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> our commander, we can reanimate a creature from our graveyard as a Skeleton with no abilities. This is interesting, as Xu-Ifit takes away <em>all</em> abilities, both positive and negative. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, whether we reanimate something with positive abilities like an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archon of Cruelty" href="#" target="_blank">Archon of Cruelty</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or something with negative abilities like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yawgmoth Demon" href="#" target="_blank">Yawgmoth Demon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we'll be left with a vanilla 6/6 Skeleton.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archon of Cruelty"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yawgmoth Demon"></div></div>
<p>While Xu-Ifit's abilities are pretty unique, the card is still reminiscent of some previously printed commanders.</p>
<p>I'm reminded first and foremost of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zul Ashur, Lich Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Zul Ashur, Lich Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from <em>Foundations</em>. Both cards let us get creatures from our graveyard back into the fray, and both cards also care about undead creatures. Their art is even similar!</p>
<p>I'm also reminded of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ruxa, Patient Professor" href="#" target="_blank">Ruxa, Patient Professor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, another commander that brings cards back from our graveyard and will build board states full of big vanilla creatures.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zul Ashur, Lich Lord"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ruxa, Patient Professor"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, let's get back to business. What sort of cards will fill out the 99 of this deck? </span></p>
<h2>Key Cards for Xu-Ifit</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We'll fill out Xu-Ifit's supporting cast with ways to dump our library into the graveyard, big creatures that we can cheat back onto the battlefield, and ways to benefit from the previous two points. <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> is the color of reanimation, so we've got no shortage of cards to put in our decklist.</span></p>
<p>First, let's talk about what we're all here for: big creatures. I've included a full 14 reanimation targets here, three of which have drawbacks and 11 of which are just too expensive to reasonably cast in most games.</p>
<p>While it's possible to eventually cast an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emrakul, the Promised End" href="#" target="_blank">Emrakul, the Promised End</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in a super long game, we'll most often be using it as a vanilla 13/13 Skeleton. Among the largest creatures we've got available to us in this deck are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Dreadnought" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Dreadnought</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Death&#039;s Shadow" href="#" target="_blank">Death&#039;s Shadow</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancient Stone Idol" href="#" target="_blank">Ancient Stone Idol</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emrakul, the Promised End"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Dreadnought"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Death&#039;s Shadow"></div></div>
<p>There's a few other creatures that are at our commander's disposal, but their abilities aren't the focus of this deck; their power and toughness boxes are.</p>
<h3>Self-Mill</h3>
<p>I'd also like to showcase a few of the best self-mill engines that have found a slot here.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Altar of the Wretched" href="#" target="_blank">Altar of the Wretched</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might seem like just a bulk rare from <em>Lost Caverns Commander</em>, but it's actually a perfect fit in this deck. On its front face, we can sacrifice the largest creature we've got on hand to see a huge amount of cards from our deck. And, after we activate its craft ability, it can become an absolutely gigantic, game-ending threat. As a little bonus, it can even bring itself back to our hand from the graveyard if we've milled it over.</p>
<p>Although <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Altar of Dementia" href="#" target="_blank">Altar of Dementia</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> may be a less exciting pick for this same effect, it's certainly extremely powerful. I've also become a big fan of mill rocks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Millikin" href="#" target="_blank">Millikin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card can hit the battlefield before our commander, and provide a steady stream of mana advantage and mill over the course of a game. It's easy to replace a card like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mind Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Mind Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with Millikin in any graveyard-centric deck, and I've been doing so quite frequently.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Altar of the Wretched"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Millikin"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Palantír of Orthanc"></div></div>
<p>Lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Palantír of Orthanc" href="#" target="_blank">Palantír of Orthanc</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also works quite well in this Xu-Ifit list. Most players will let us get away with drawing a card each turn, but any foolish opponents that don't risk being hit for huge amounts of mana if we flip an Eldrazi or two into our bin.</p>
<h3>Graveyard Synergy</h3>
<p>Between our commander's ability and cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Victimize" href="#" target="_blank">Victimize</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we'll be moving cards in and out of our 'yard quite frequently. Let's take advantage of that, shall we?</p>
<p>There's a trio of enchantments that work perfectly with our game plan, first among them being <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpses of the Lost" href="#" target="_blank">Corpses of the Lost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This three-mana enchantment will serve as a repeatable source of creature tokens and haste for our reanimated creatures. It's admittedly a slow value engine, requiring us to pay <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> turn after turn to generate a good board state, but this fits right into the deck's Bracket 2 standing.</p>
<p>Speaking of enchantments that cost <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teval&#039;s Judgment" href="#" target="_blank">Teval&#039;s Judgment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works quite similarly. We can choose between card draw, mana creation, and creature token creation whenever a card leaves our graveyard, and that flexibility is key to this card's strength.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Corpses of the Lost"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teval&#039;s Judgment"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Defiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab"></div></div>
<p>Lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Defiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab" href="#" target="_blank">Defiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a nice little value engine just like Corpses of the Lost. It lets us make 2/2s when we reanimate creatures, and can bring a creature back to our hand for just one mana too.</p>
<p>There's a few other cards worth mentioning that fit into this aspect of the deck's game plan, including <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skeleton Crew" href="#" target="_blank">Skeleton Crew</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormod, the Desecrator" href="#" target="_blank">Tormod, the Desecrator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Syr Konrad, the Grim" href="#" target="_blank">Syr Konrad, the Grim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skeleton Crew"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tormod, the Desecrator"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Syr Konrad, the Grim"></div></div>
<h2>How Does This Xu-Ifit Commander Deck Win?</h2>
<p>So, after we've had our fun and made a 13/13 creature on turn four, what do we do now? Well, this deck's primary win condition is combat. We'll try to beat our opponents down with big, vanilla creatures. Anthems like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon Throne of Tarkir" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon Throne of Tarkir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gisa, the Hellraiser" href="#" target="_blank">Gisa, the Hellraiser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can make that process a bit easier, providing nice buffs that should allow our creatures to get in for damage more easily.</p>
<p>The aforementioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpses of the Lost" href="#" target="_blank">Corpses of the Lost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also works well here, letting us surprise our opponents with a big, hasty creature to close out games.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dragon Throne of Tarkir"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gisa, the Hellraiser"></div></div>
<p>But, failing that, there are a few other ways that we can win the game.</p>
<p>We've got: relatively one-sided board wipes, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mandate of Abaddon" href="#" target="_blank">Mandate of Abaddon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (if we choose a large creature we control, there's a good chance that a few of our other creatures will be big enough to survive the wipe); the ability to turn one big creature into a game-ending board of tokens with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghoulcaller Gisa" href="#" target="_blank">Ghoulcaller Gisa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (turning a 10/10 into 10 2/2s will usually make quick work of even the most clogged-up board states); and even a few ways to give our creatures lifelink, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whip of Erebos" href="#" target="_blank">Whip of Erebos</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (we'll be able to gain enough life to put the game entirely out of reach for our opponents).</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mandate of Abaddon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghoulcaller Gisa"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whip of Erebos"></div></div>
<h2>Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Building a Reanimator Deck with Xu-Ifit" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Ancient Stone Idol
*1 Angel of Suffering
*1 Artisan of Kozilek
*1 Arvinox, the Mind Flail
*1 Barrowgoyf
*1 Colossus of Akros
*1 Death Baron
*1 Death&#039;s Shadow
*1 Disciple of Bolas
*1 Emrakul, the Promised End
*1 Emrakul, the World Anew
*1 Ghoulcaller Gisa
*1 Gisa, the Hellraiser
*1 It That Betrays
*1 Leveler
*1 Millikin
*1 Overlord of the Balemurk
*1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
*1 Phyrexian Triniform
*1 Priest of Forgotten Gods
*1 Qarsi Revenant
*1 Rankle, Master of Pranks
*1 Ruthless Technomancer
*1 Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar
*1 Skeleton Crew
*1 Stitcher&#039;s Supplier
*1 Syr Konrad, the Grim
*1 Tormod, the Desecrator
*1 Ulamog&#039;s Dreadsire
*1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
*1 Vile Entomber
*1 Void Winnower
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Corpses of the Lost
*1 Defiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab
*1 Ripples of Undeath
*1 Teval&#039;s Judgment
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Breach the Multiverse
*1 Dark Deal
*1 Feed the Swarm
*1 Gix&#039;s Command
*1 Incarnation Technique
*1 Mandate of Abaddon
*1 Reanimate
*1 Stargaze
*1 Unmarked Grave
*1 Victimize
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Altar of Dementia
*1 Altar of the Wretched // Wretched Bonemass
*1 Codex Shredder
*1 Conjurer&#039;s Closet
*1 Dragon Throne of Tarkir
*1 Magewright&#039;s Stone
*1 Mask of Griselbrand
*1 Palantír of Orthanc
*1 The Grim Captain&#039;s Locker
*1 Thousand-Year Elixir
*1 Whip of Erebos
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Bitter Triumph
*1 Entomb
*1 Lethal Scheme
*1 Not of This World
*1 Pile On
*1 Price of Fame
*1 Reckoner&#039;s Bargain
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*1 Accursed Duneyard
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*32 Swamp
*1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Thanks very much for reading! Before you go, I wanted to chat about a few more cards that work particularly well in the deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Not of This World" href="#" target="_blank">Not of This World</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will usually act as a free protection spell for our biggest reanimated creature, which will feel great against the Bracket 2 competition this deck should be facing.</p>
<p>I also really like the inclusion of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conjurer&#039;s Closet" href="#" target="_blank">Conjurer&#039;s Closet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can blink a reanimated creature to give its abilities back. We've got a full 11 reanimation targets with beneficial rules text on them, so this artifact can turn a vanilla creature back into a menacing threat.</p>
<p>I also chose the removal spells for this deck carefully, with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lethal Scheme" href="#" target="_blank">Lethal Scheme</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pile On" href="#" target="_blank">Pile On</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Price of Fame" href="#" target="_blank">Price of Fame</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> all letting us fill up the graveyard as we clear the board.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Not of This World"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Conjurer&#039;s Closet"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lethal Scheme"></div></div>
<p>That's all for now, so I'll see you all next week for another deck tech!</p>


mono black commander

Building a Reanimator Deck with Xu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist

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