Introduction: Why We Choose Thraximundar
Dear Readers,
In this primer, I will be showing you my highly successful Thraximundar deck, explaining my card choices, and hopefully giving a guiding hand to everyone who wants to build their own Thraximundar EDH deck. This deck is designed with multi-player in mind, but it still works terrifically single player.
Thraximundar, He Who Paints the Earth Red Thraximundar is easily the most versatile Grixis commander available to us right now. He outclasses Nicol Bolas easily, and our friend, Sedris, the Traitor King, is good for a reanimator style deck, but Thraximundar is a perfect finisher for a cruel, Grixis control, edh deck. He is a basically a 7/7 hasty brute that acts as removal as well. Whenever he hits the field, our opponents are literally afraid of him.
You Will Like Thraximundar If:
You want to play a heavy control deck, with lots of counters and removal.
You don't mind waiting until late game to play your general.
UB are your favorite colors and you think R is useful in some decks.
You think a zombie assassin riding a dreg reaver is pretty awesome.
Avoid Thraimundar If:
You want a super-aggressive deck where you throw down many creatures.
You believe G is necessary for high cmc commanders. (Lord of Tresserhorn will be a better Grixis general if you want a low drop general)
The Main Strategy
Essentially, your first few turns will be playing lands, small drop creatures, and countering vital cards for opponents strategies. You want to make sure that your opponents have no more than one creature for when Thraximundar enters the battlefield. If an opponents has one creature out and your general swings, its a pretty good chance that they won't recover easily, spending their resources in defense. You have ways of removing creatures if they get problematic, but Thraximundar becomes a 3 turn count-down for the most threatening enemy.
If Thraximundar gets tucked, you have other ways of winning. Cruel Ultimatum is a great way of setting one opponent backward and yourself above the rest, and Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed, brings it back every turn. Crosis, the Purger, and Rakdos's Return help ruin an opponent, and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker, will turn everyone against you and still give you a great advantage over opponents, and many will fold if in 1v1.
What I Need To Cover:
Some of these choices are self evident, like some of the staple counter and removal. However, a lot are not obvious why they are here, so I am going to go through by card type and explain them. If you disagree, let me know and tell me why.
Creatures:
Baleful Strix: Native to Esper. Seems small, but in reality, it cantrips and grabs either removal or a creature with it. Most cases, you 2 for 1 an opponents in your favor.
Crosis, the Purger: As ancient and as evil as Thraximundar himself. Thrax can get tucked, and in that case, Crosis will stand as his First Mate and finish the job. With Thrax, he hits hands pretty hard, and he's a dragon of blightning and madness, which is pretty cool.
Hypersonic Dragon: Little Niv-Mizzet turns all of our sorceries into instants, which is much better than one would think initially. What happens a lot is deciding whether to play Cruel Ultimatum now, or hold mana for a counterspell. This little guy lets you cast Ultimatum at an opponents end step, letting you play it safe.
Mercurial Chemister: Izzet science lets us draw tons of cards for a very small mana investment. The same science lets us ditch cards we don't really need now into removal. In short, he is very versatile.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind/Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius: Niv-Mizzet is titled the greatest mind in Ravnica for no small reason. He can shred opponents to ribbons while netting us insane card advantage. Plus both copies can exists on the field at the same time.
Phantasmal Image/Phyrexian Metamorph: Mimics are more useful than you could imagine. They gut legends, including pesky commanders, and they can get you some finishers outside of UBR.
Rakdos, Lord of Riots: Do you know what is better than Thraximundar? The answer is turn 5 Thraximundar, and the King of the Carnival makes that possibility an easy reality.
Venser, Shaper Savant: Don't like that permanant? Bounce it! How about that spell? Set it back a turn. Venser is a wonderful utility spell on a 2/2 body.
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed: The legendary horseman is perfect for our deck, grabbing any answers we need again, and can let you play Cruel Ultimatum once a turn, which ends games rather quickly.
Enchantment:
Rooftop Storm: Thraximundar is the only zombie, yes, but this makes him come out a turn earlier and makes the extra mana requirement a non-issue. This is really more of a personal choice card, but I enjoy it quite a bit.
Instants:
Auger Spree: You wouldn't believe how incredible this card is until you try it. It really does kill a ton of creatures, it can help me get a surprise kill quite easily. For 1BR, it is easily one of the best instants in this deck.
Cyclonic Rift: 1U for a bounce, but its hilarious when you pay 6U and empty all opponents boards. Really worth running.
Crosis's Charm: One card, three options. Kill a creep, bounce an enchantment, or burst an artifact, all of which are incredibly relevant.
Grixis Charm: Can kill a weak creature, bounce a pesky permanent, or an alpha strike, the choice is yours, my liege.
Izzet Charm: Pinch removal, pinch counter, or a good way to dig through the deck. Not the greatest for edh, but can still save your ass from time to time.
Rakdos Charm: Perhaps the funniest charm in the deck. Exiling a graveyard is relevant and the opponent's scream "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" is quite amusing. Dealing one damage to controller is funnier because it turns infinite token combos into a lose, and when an opponents ultimates Vraska, this makes them lose. Sometimes an artifact needs to go as well.
Sorceries:
Ashes to Ashes: This card is an automatic 2 for 1 EXILE! They're gone, never again to trouble your dark plans. As for the life loss, we are playing Grixis in edh, who cares.
Mizzium Motars: This is basically a one-sided board wipe in this deck. Many relevant creatures are 4 or below toughness and Thraximundar eats the rest.
Sever the Bloodline: Exiling is relevant, even at 4 mana, and this can stop infinite tokens, or even just a pesky strand of tokens.
Vandalblast: I honestly run this cause there is a Sharuum the Hegemon deck in my play group, but I figured I'd mention it because there are a ton of artifact decks to hate out that this card can be helpful for.
How to Play the Deck:
Early Stages:
So to start, you should have a hand full of removals, counters, and utility creatures like Snapcaster Mage in your hand. Opponents will be playing creatures and spells that ramp, and normally, let them resolve. The only thing you get rid of are things that put the opponents at a big advantage and things that other players would appreciate didn't exist. Countering small things not only drains your hand of answers you may need later, but it causes everyone to attack you, and that isn't cool. When there is an opponent with exactly one creature, that is the absolute best time to play him, you remove their board presence and basically get 1/3 of the way to killing them.
Thraximundar has Entered the Field
Thrax is on the field causing hell, and this is usually the time people will start to gang up on you. ALWAYS attack a person with one creature if possible, if there are two, attack the player with the better creature. If you didn't use answers early game, use counters to protect Thrax and removal to make it so opponents only have 1 creature left. I cannot tell you how many indestructible creatures I have killed with Thrax by removing the other creatures. I can even cause mass sacrifice and use Thrax to kill Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
Really like the way you explain thing in detail, but there are some correction in your post, hope you don't mind I pointed it out so that it won't confuse others.
Rakdos Charm: Perhaps the funniest charm in the deck. Exiling a graveyard is relevant and the opponent's scream "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" is quite amusing. Dealing one damage to controller is funnier because it turns infinite token combos into a lose, and when an opponents ultimates Vraska, this makes them lose. Sometimes an artifact needs to go as well.
Vraska the Unseen third ability required the token creature to deal combat damage, so Rakdos Charm doesn't make them lose with this trick.
Rooftop Storm: Thraximundar is the only zombie, yes, but this makes him come out a turn earlier and makes the extra mana requirement a non-issue. This is really more of a personal choice card, but I enjoy it quite a bit.
Maybe it is worth to mention that the Rooftop Storm doesn't reduce the additional {2} cost that required to cast that commander from the command zone for each previous time they cast the commander from the command zone.
One more reason to play Thraximundar, the cool flavor text!
You should run Fact or Fiction somewhere. I personally think its better then Promise of Power. I like your deck alot though. Its very similar to mine but I run a Living Death end game. Cruel Ultimatum with XHD is pretty sweet though. It makes me wish I had an extra for mine.
BGWKarador, Night of the Wood God
UBRMarchesa, The Black Rose
BRGProssh, Suicide Crew
Vraska the Unseen third ability required the token creature to deal combat damage, so Rakdos Charm doesn't make them lose with this trick.
Maybe it is worth to mention that the Rooftop Storm doesn't reduce the additional {2} cost that required to cast that commander from the command zone for each previous time they cast the commander from the command zone.
One more reason to play Thraximundar, the cool flavor text!
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG