Myrkul, Lord of Bones | Upping the Average

[@lokumo13]

I was excited when Myrkul was revealed to build around it but then kinda forgot about him. This made me actually got to the work bench with him. I probably will keep the Devoted Druid and friends but just not super keen on combos so we’ll see what’ll happen. Thanks Joey!

[@TheWyzman69]

I saw this guy when he came out and thought nothing of it. Thanks for opening my eyes and making me regret overlooking this value engine. Tempo is my jam!

[@danielwoodling3386]

Haven't had a chance to check Myrkul out, but as a fan of Abzan, enchantments *and* aristocrats, the budget build is a fantastic option! Thanks for putting that together :D

[@enoeht]

This was a really well constructed & executed episode, great job.

[@Dragonmage28]

I have Myrkul built now as a grindy value engine deck, but after playing a few games with it, I’m gonna try out an additional build that focuses on Elf Tribal. Elves usually get blown after committing to the board, but Myrkul can help with that. Also we don’t have a too many options for Abzan Elves, so I’m excited to try it out. Thanks for the bid Joey & Co.

[@amarauk9687]

If you want to play abzan elfs, go for nethroi. It fixes the only problem elf decks have: recovering from boardwipes

[@MrEvan1932]

The problem with that is he turns them into enchantments that can’t attack

[@nacricissa]

Nice to see an abzan commander on this series. It's honestly surprising to me how many colour combos haven't been covered at all in the series so far.

[@nickstart2299]

Luminous Broodmoth is a excellent synergy/replacement for Myrkul before he comes out, and adds another life when he is out before he makes them enchantments

[@anstapa6118]

Always love this series! I don't prefer to build according to a standardized decklist, but getting to hear Joey's take and deck context is so useful!

[@jordansams6240]

Joey, keep up the great work. I absolutly love watching the videos in this series, not because im interested in the commander you are talking about. Tbh most commanders in this series i have no desire to ever play. What this series does though is help me learn to think differently and not just blindly using "the best" cards and find my own paths

[@hellNo116]

I like this one a lot joey. I have most of the cards needed so I can shuffle around my cards and make it. thanks for the awesome content

[@ckeiji]

haha I put this out into the universe and asked for this on discord! Awesome, I just built this commander! So stoked that you did an upping the average!

[@sicknor3230]

I'd love a Upping the Average with Elenda, the Dusk Rose. Pretty please :D

[@tanelorn6102]

Love seeing you expound on the other builds for Myrkul at the end. It explains why some cards pop up as you play with the filters and as we all know: Here at EDHrec we like to take all of that data and give you a bit more context.

[@craigpetersen6876]

turning scute swarm into an enchantment then playing a couple lands to make more copies of scute with constellation triggers gets pretty nutty

[@RobertoBlanco232]

After the Thieving Amalgam trick I looked into more Manifest (and even Morph, but that came up short) cards One really nice card is Whisperwood Elemental - it manifests the top card of your library at your end step. On top of that you can sacrifice it, giving every nontoken creature the effect "when this creature dies, manifest the top card of your library" Seems nuts if you've been going decently wide, suddenly slap Myrkul on the board and then use a free sac outlet; all the creatures come back as creatures, AND they'll all manifest!

[@brandonsonmor2069]

I want to give an honourable mention to Vivien, Monster's Advocate, she does work in this deck. Getting tokens with, most often reach, to protect yourself while all your real cards become token enchantments is super helpful (not too many flying tokens in abzan outside of that one pegasus Archon with constellation that fits the deck) , as well as the creature tutor for finishing the game with a combo (if you're going that route). Also, Pull From Eternity and Riftsweeper should be considered as good insurance policies for if a really crucial piece gets exiled, becomes a token, then gets removed again forever.

[@dibles420]

Gisa, Glorious Resurrector is super good in this deck too. Stealing your opponents creatures and giving them a built in sac outlet? Yes please.

[@sheahon1179]

I'll be honest, I saw Myrkul was seven mana and only protected itself when we were at 20 or less life and kinda glazed over it but just that Thieving Amalgam was enough to make me seriously consider building a deck for it

[@ViniciusFfreytag]

this video made me think about some small changes in my Mysrkul deck... it is already the strongest deck i've ever built.. but this small changes will make it ridiculously stronger... thank you, dude!

[@makenawatkins]

Joey cutting Kaya makes total sense with this deck. I do suggest keeping it in if you do not have/can’t afford a token doubler like anointed procession or doubling season. Kaya is also amazing in go wide token aggro decks. I recommend picking one up while it is cheap. :)

[@afspeellijstnaruto]

I am thinking of adding Chatterfang if I will get to building the deck.

[@joshuajordan6632]

just want to add, Mirage Mirror copying Myrkul lets you kill your original Myrkul then bring out a token enchantment copy.

[@No2hISwear]

Hey Joey! I'd love to see a redux of Tuvasa next, there has been a ton of great enchantress support since the episode on her! Keep up the amazing work!

[@jackrosen1]

WOAH scute swarm is sweet in this deck!

[@07dmacari1103]

I have been loving Rite of Harmony as a draw spell in Myrkul. Draw a card on ETB of creatures AND enchantments?? Goes absolutely ham if Myrkul and a sac outlet are online. And if you got the mana, why not cast and flashback on the same turn for two draws per ETB. Bonkers

[@MrGeebee1983]

I added quite some landfall cards in my Myrkul deck. This provides me tonnes of tokens to sac. Also an Avenger of Zendikar which enters the battlefield twice is just lovely.

[@Murilo5150]

After months of trying to find someone in my LGS trading a Myrkul, I finally got one this weekend and already build a first draft of it. Excited to play it!

[@tylermurdock8252]

the idea of having a myrkul hate bear strategy was something I hadn't thought of before... I may have a new plan for my deck and play group

[@supersalty_9459]

I got a spicy tech for you, the commander with the scute swarm as an enchantment. Whenever u play a land, the tokens become an enchantment as well due to the copy effect, the constellation will trigger so much for each copy token ETB!

[@xicarus8141]

When I built this I leaned super hard into his indestructibility text so I included more things like platinum angel and then repay in kind/axis of mortality effects. Pair that with cards like marshland bloodcaster and wall of blood and you can deal insane damage to win games!

[@NightyKnight09]

Katilda dawnhart martyr is really fun here. She has flying and lifelink and power/toughness equal to the number of enchantments and spirits you control. What gets really fun is when you cast her for her disturb cost, instead of turning her into an enchantment with Myrkul, she turns into an aura that puts the same effect on that creature. Myrkul as a 15/15 with flying lifelink and indestructible is very realistic here. Just make sure you play things that can drain a lot of life from you quickly like greed and carrion feeder to keep him indestructible

[@ShockedLogic]

i think a really strong addition from Unfinitity would be Saw In Half, cutting up your own creature, making two copies and still keeping the orignal as an enchantment. Saw your Eidolon of Blossoms, 3 of them enter, get 3 triggers.

[@Tremulantone]

May I recommend Magus of the Order? A lot of the nice creatures in this deck you may want to get out can be found by tap/sac Magus and a green token creature like a saproling to go tutor it onto the battlefield. If Myrkul is out you can make it an enchantment and do it all over again. Token doublers out? You're getting all your green faves. I often use this to bring out a Craterhoof with a ton of saproling tokens and ram in crazy damage. Swift Reconfiguration is also amazing in this deck(Cheap too, only 1.38 as of the comment). Provides protection for Myrkul in a pinch and allows Devoted Druid/Cinderhaze/Barrenton to go infinte without Myrkul on board, it's got flash, AND it's an enchantment so it triggers Constellation. (Vehicles have no power or toughness unless crewed.) You can also crew the vehicle once Myrkul is out to make it an enchantment token.

[@ziege5165]

I might suggest Viven on the Hunt & Birthing Pod. With so many creature's it's a good idea to kinda speed up to get to the big boys. Like Elesh Norn or even a Archon of Valor's reach. Might I also suggest some more hate bears. Aven Mindcesnor, Archon of Emeria ect. Saffi Eriksdotter/Karmic Guide/Reveillark combo does some interesting work with Myrkul. It's not budget friendly, but Humility does WONDERS with this deck.

[@no5028]

I fell in love with myrku because their resemblance with Hofri Ghostforge, another great commander that one day i would like to have his own video.

[@brenobarbosa3489]

I'm building it as a saproling/fungus tribal! Also either meren or baby lasagna works worderfully here

[@Ryadic]

I think stinging study should be added over harmonize. Or alongside. 5 mana instant to draw 7? Yes please

[@iManticore]

My Myrkul deck runs both Approach of the Second Sun as another wincon, but also Stinging Study. It's instant speed, 3BB but you lose 7 life (getting closer to half starting life) and draw 7, conveniently getting Approach right back into your hand to be casted for the second time.

[@afspeellijstnaruto]

I LOVE Myrkul and was super excited for building it (still am) although he is still in my binder. He feels fresh as in...he loves creatures, he screams constellation, and he synergyses with aristoctats without giving a damn about the graveyard at all (or +1 counters). Yes. I find him Fresh. I got most of the cards for him simply looking at the average deck lists but it would mean taking taking out cards from my other decks lol. The only cards i don't REALLY have are most of the aristocrat cards I think. I simply never liked that theme (and i got easily more then...... 60 commander decks by now.). Maybe I should just say 'screw it' build him and try it out. The thing that held me back is the fact that i am in love with my Kahtril Aspect Warper deck and also that Myrkul costs quite a bit of mana.

[@bladetb3934]

My version of this deck is all about becoming immortal. Cards like platinum angel and emperium, book of exalted deeds on a mutavault. All set up so when they die I get a harder version of it to kill. Back it all up with archangel avacyn so everything is indestructible and you're good to go

[@okgut2033]

There are some cards that act like a pestilence but are creatures and they wont "sac" themselfs as an enchantment. Just if you need something you can sink your black mana and be able to instantspeed clear the board x)

[@brandoncreek5709]

Surrak Dragonclaw I think needs some love. I'm itching to see a classic commander get upgraded!

[@cwynwyn2934]

It's a card that I love but probably isn't very good - I run Etrernal Scourge in my Myrkul deck because it's potentially infinite Constellation triggers which is a more fun kind of combo for me than the typical 'infinite mana then Walking Ballista/Torment of Hailfire'. Admittedly you have to have a sac outlet and a constellation card to get much out of it, but it's just one of my pet cards I can't let go of.

[@imaginepigeons792]

This looks really fun! I'm gonna build this asap as the budget but I have a couple of the pricy excludes that I'll keep in. Not many :( but some lol

[@coopmeister3000]

I have a Myrkul deck, but I found that since he costs 7 it's not great to lean too hard into reliably having him on the board. In my list I view him as a finisher rather than as an engine. I also think Prowling Geistcatcher does something similar (obviously not identical) to Myrkul in that if you have a sacrifice outlet he can let you re-use ETB effects or save your board from a wipe. Not an exact replacement for Myrkul but some nice redundancy since Myrkul is so expensive. Works with the Manifest trick as well. I found Thieving Amalgam to be a bit expensive, but I do run Scroll of Fate!

[@nickstart2299]

Luminous Broodmoth is a great add for this reason, and ets you double sac all your aristocrats for double value, as well as making fliers, a weakness of this deck besides our Pegasus tokens and Sellfless Spirit

[@eltonsu]

Two ways I wanted to build Myrkul is Fungus tribal or a planeswalker Luxior combo. I feel like those would be fun to brew

[@PokeJulyTCG]

Thanks for another great video! Will you be Upping the Warhammer 40K Commanders?

[@derekgunnels4856]

I would suggest adding riftsweeper and possibly journey to eternity. Chatterfang would also be very strong here.

[@Momoryuto]

I gave the deck a few runs! It's a pretty fun deck! However, I've been super unlucky with not drawing any of my card draw to be able to get started. I mostly been able to ramp out my commander super early, but then I get hellbent and just durdle around. Sure I can cast my commander 3 or 4 more times with all the mana I get, but I seriously need to get that card draw lol... Any other suggestions that might work? I was thinking of adding in Loran and Sylvan Library (though that latter one is less than budget friendly...) Edit: Also got a stinging study I would like to throw in, a full grip sounds pretty nice ya know?

[@the_names_rob]

Ive been meaning to make a Myrkul. Deck good thing I have a lot of these cards already

[@toastytcg1282]

I played this commander for awhile but it became unfun reallllllly fast with how easy it wins from having commander and seeing devoted druid That said though the self life loss theme is way less present than I expected, making your commander indestructible as fast as possible is super important since one removal spells gets you off the table most games but also indestructible Myrkul + packing the deck with board wipes is really nasty. I think Infernal Contract has a unique place in this deck and so would a Bolas Citadel (though much less unique)

[@TheChronoG]

You can use the infinite mana from Devoted Druid for a weird alternative win con: Helix Pinnacle!

[@aidanwoodside1561]

So this inclusion may be a bit overpriced mana-wise and a bit of an odd inclusion but I think it would be fun: Could you put Athreos, Shroud Veiled in here to steal other people's things and then turn them into enchantments for yourself when they die under your control?

[@nosleep6239]

Its come out more recently but the Anikthea, Hand of Erebos precon is perfect synergy if you replace the commander with Myrkul

[@johanandersson8252]

There’s the white/black enchantment that you can exile cards from graveyards.

[@Beev37]

Eternal Scourge is in my myrkul deck because you can infinitely cast it from exile making infinite enchantments/deaths/etb's. Definitely needs to be in this average deck

[@andrewsparkes6275]

I'd probably choose Wolverine Riders over Mitotic Slime; it's closer to Beledros' actual effect, and adds in a bit of life gain to boot! Don't get me wrong, it's pricier than the dime-or-two Slime is, but still only a $2 card.

[@iam9991000]

I'd like to see something on Hapatra, Vizier of poisons seeing as it's so unique.

[@Thimbrethil]

Myrcool Joe, I built it featuring old fungi. You kno, those with spore counters on them ^^

[@Fearthelettuce]

I really wanted to make a 'Do you believe in Myrkuls?' deck... But there really weren't enough Miracles and it felt like it lost the them when it became mostly 'sexy thing'

[@kyojitakenouchi9706]

Planner Void. It's a trigger graveyard hate that won't stop your cards from becoming enchantments.

[@Yesnomu]

Myrkul is so cool, thanks for the overview! Is there any value for cards that let you pay life, to get to the half threshold? Or will that just naturally take care of itself?

[@shysonolmos2916]

With all the Lands matter support were getting in brothers war I think its a great time for a windgrace redux!

[@haingis]

I started building this deck, but I realized everyone would hate me and target me from the start so I dropped it. didn't look at EDHrec or anything before I started building

[@Thalarion]

Myrkul was the first deck my SO built entirely on her own, in small part thanks to RDHrec

[@FightingForFinancialFreedom]

Off topic, any idea when will DMC Precon Upgrade section be available on edhrec? Warhammer 40K ones are already out.

[@WoundedDuckify]

I'm working on a list that's all creatures and primal surge. It's a work in progress.

[@andrewsparkes6275]

7:15 Do you not mean this the other way around? i.e. It DOESN'T care what they are in the graveyard (maybe a noncreature), it cares what it was as it left the battlefield as it died (a creature). If it cared about what it'd be in the graveyard itself (and said something more like "whenever a creature card would enter your graveyard from the battlefield"), it wouldn't work, as it can only reanimate creatures into enchantments, not other card types. Also Scute Swarm won't make enchantment copies of itself while it's an enchantment token; because of how layers work, copies are created of the original card without any type-based alterations it has. For example, if you Vesuva a creature that has a Song of the Dryads on it, you'll get a copy of the original creature card, not the Forest. Same for if you Cackling Counterpart or Delina a Kenrith's Transformationed creature; you'll get a token copy of the original creature, not the elk. The same is true for this...it does mean you'll keep getting loads of free chump blockers, though!

[@TraumaAlertZepplin]

still surprised no one puts Halsin, Emerald Archdruid in to be able to animate your enchantment back into 4/4 creatures.

[@WeasyMTG]

Wow 9 months later and we got shelob child of ungoliant as a counter yo this deck. Pretty wild. Cool deck nonetheless

[@khazexor7345]

Why would the enchantress staples not belong? you get them through a single piece of removal lol.

[@mus0u]

looks perfect for Doom Foretold

[@Doxicyclin]

no stinging study? it lets you draw sooooo much because myrkul is high cmc :)

[@benny7221]

Did I get this right? You win with a token army and some life drain?

[@ShadowKaras666]

No one speaks about murmuring bosk? 😱 It's a trial and that can be searched by many cards and even without a tree folk in hand it's better than citadel

[@patrickchula]

Hazezon? It’s so funny! 😂

[@imanujakku]

I don’t think the average list accounts for how motivated your opponents will be to never let you untap with myrkul lol. I’d borrow dark depths legacy tech like Sylvan safekeeper, not of this world and even crop rotation into sejiri steppe plus tamiyos safekeeping, blacksmiths skill etc cuz I want to fight like hell to keeping my 7 mana commander on the board. I’d even run cavern of souls and I hate how friggin expensive that card is just to stop the blue players greedily holding mana drain up in anticipation.

[@corneliusthemagnificent3933]

can you do one for Pako and Haldan

[@ryanchristenson1059]

I get muldrotha vibes in terms of play style

[@DrexSinister]

Myrkul in my experience is pure clunk, and needs so many things to go right, to not go very far. He's such a grindy commander and with being essentially a better luminous broodmoth in the command zone with some quirks, he's just disappointing.

[@benkrajcir2426]

Saw in Half is ridiculously good jn this deck

[@bashlindsay7618]

The Pod Version for this deck is ridiculous, but cool

[@TyranitarStudios]

tear asunder is awesome!

[@abrafo1891]

Everyone should add three blind mice to this deck

[@tylermoore6774]

Hehe, miracle/Myrkul

[@peggle09]

I built one and my play group said it was too op and full of salt.

[@ethanschulze557]

Would love to see some videos for the new Warhammer commanders. Their deck lists are kinda whack

[@afspeellijstnaruto]

Chatterfang is a nice budget swap as well (for doubling season or something)

[@christophknorr4635]

We already know that Brushland and the other three Painlands that were not in Dominaria United will be reprinted in Brother's War.

[@RazorDevil1]

bought this guy thinking he would be a fun commander, but his main gimmick is just comboing hard with 5 or 6 cards and getting a cheesy win through stax effects. not for me but good video!

[@chrishardy559]

in my opinion he would have been better in Esper. wish they took his histroy into account when making his color... he started life as a Human prince (NEXT IN LINE FOR THE THRONE OF HIS KINGDOM) wizard turned necromancer turned lich turned god...

[@Zeromus5555]

I think you didn't delve deep enough into the average lists problems. Ones that I've noticed from many, many games. The Elf that makes tokens tap for mana (Jaheira?) is really dead until you actually get Myrkul out and start making your creatures die, or if you have a token creating card. It's just too slow, especially in a deck that already has tons of ramp. And there in lies the issue with the deck. It's trying to go in too many directions without being particularly great at any one thing. Especially as an Aristocrat style deck, it really struggles to start the cogs turning. Taking out the win more cards like Jaheira or that Enchantment snake that copies an Enchantment trigger speeds the deck up significantly. There's definitely some fat here you could have removed. Missed opportunity.

[@rubenmerchan7093]

No populate inclusions? :D

[@EDHRECast]

Populate only copies creature tokens :]

[@jthrone7768]

I’m sorry Joey but the way you’re saying Myrkul is gonna give me a fucking aneurism. It’s [mɛɹkl̩] (like urkel).

[@stinkypoodog]

In my playgroup, people save their counterspells for myrkul now, so I put in prowling serpopard as an additional copy of destiny spinner to stop people from countering him and other creatures, and if you have the budget for it, grand abolisher also really helps...