Let's Break Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper

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Ephraim

Guest
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper

I think that the secret to breaking this card lies in being able to consistently sacrifice one or more creatures every turn. The best way to do this, I think, is with Recurring Nightmare and several creatures either with haste or useful comes-into-play or leaves-play effects.

Something like Spark Elemental appears tempting and it might be worthwhile to include it, but I think that most of the creatures in the deck need to actually stay in play so that they can be cycled in and out of play with Recurring Nightmare. Anger and Brawn, on the other hand, seem like good options to me. Being able to swap a pair of Imperiosaurs in and out of play as 5/5 hasty tramplers, getting 3/1 tokens from Sek'Kuar each time is probably a good goal for this deck.

The colour selection is good for a deck of this sort. Black gives access to Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Intent, and Buried Alive. Green gives access to Worldly Tutor. Red will probably be the minor colour here.
 
S

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Hmmm... I was actually thinking this could combo with Lifeline and Goblin Bombardment... or depending on how "cheesy" or "combo-ish" you want to go, sac the creatures to Ashnod's Altar to build up mana for a big X spell...
 
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Ephraim

Guest
I like your suggestion to use Lifeline. I already have a B/G reanimator deck based on Oversold Cemetery and I was afraid that this deck was going to start looking like that one. Lifeline provides a distinctly different flavour. I don't know how much I'd enjoy playing with Goblin Bombardment, but it definitely adds a control aspect to the game. I can sacrifice my little creatures to create 3/1 Graveborn while picking off the most relevant blockers.

Lifeline is rather expensive, so I think that I am going to need some mana acceleration. Orcish Lumberjack may be worthwhile and Tinder Wall definitely seems like a good fit. I may even tinker with Verdant Eidolon.

With this build in mind, I'm really not sure what the most effective package of creatures would be. Should I go with cheap and expendable or with more of a mix of cheap and midrange creatures? Something like the foundation of a Gruul deck seems reasonable. Skarrgan Pit-Skulk, Scab-Clan Mauler, Silhana Ledgewalker, and Dryad Sophisticate should be good for softening my opponent up.

In this build, it looks like black will be the minor colour in the deck. So far, Sek'Kuar himself is the only black card. I'll probably also use Strangling Soot and Dark Banishing. (Whatever those miss, Krosan Grip will catch.) Even with Goblin Bombardment as the primary sacrifice outlet, Nantuko Husk would probably not be a waste of space.
 
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Ephraim

Guest
DarthFerret said:
Could this also be a call out for a Rebel deck?
Click to expand...
That is unlikely. Sek'Kuar dictates that the deck be red, green, and black. Adding white does not seem like a sound idea.
 
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Ephraim

Guest
Here's the skeleton that I am currently considering:

3 Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper
3 Lifeline
2 Brainspoil
3 Goblin Bombardment
4 Carrion Feeder
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Intent
4 Scab-Clan Mauler

I am still not sure whether I am going to go with an ultra-aggressive build like I mentioned above or a build with lots of comes-into-play effects. I am also considering the possibility that Zuberas could be really good for this deck. 2 Ashen-Skin Zubera, 2 Dripping-Tongue Zuberra, and 4 Burning-Eye Zubera could mean a world of hurt for my opponents if I'm recurring three or more of them every turn.
 
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train

Guest
Run echo creatures with the lifeline also... pay for them only once...
Avalanche riders, ghitu slingers, etc...
If Anger is in your gy - they can all have haste also...

You might also want something to filter your gy in order to prevent the "bouncing" from getting out of hand...
 
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Ephraim

Guest
Ugh. I did not realize prior to playing a couple of games with this deck that Lifeline also affects my opponent's creatures. That means I need to stay ahead of them for the shenanigans with the Zuberas to keep the board clear. The idea is solid, though. I just need to make sure that my opponent never has enough creatures to benefit from Lifeline. Here is the deck list with which I am currently working:

Creatures (17)
3 Sek'Kuar Deathkeeper
4 Scab-Clan Mauler
4 Ember-Fist Zubera
2 Dripping-Tongue Zubera
2 Ashen-Skin Zubera
2 Carrion Feeder

Spells (20)
3 Goblin Bombardment
3 Lifeline
4 Shock
3 Wrecking Ball
2 Krosan Grip
2 Brainspoil
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Gruul Signet
1 Golgari Signet

Land (23)
3 Darigaaz's Caldera
3 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Forest
6 Mountain
6 Swamp
 
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train

Guest
Why not just make sure that your opponent's creatures are not in the gy when lifeline triggers...

(Tormod's crypt, other removal, etc.?)
 
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Ephraim

Guest
train said:
Why not just make sure that your opponent's creatures are not in the gy when lifeline triggers...

(Tormod's crypt, other removal, etc.?)
Click to expand...
I have no idea what to take out to make room for it, but this sounds like a job for Night Soil.
 
T

train

Guest
Night Soil isn't bad either... just something to make sure your opponent gains "no benefit" from lifeline...

Especially if you can handle anything they play...
 
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Ephraim

Guest
Night Soil actually turns out to be really good. I played a couple of games with this deck last night and people would go to great lengths to avoid letting me use Lifeline. Wrath of God and Damnation, in particular, spoil that plan. With Night Soil, however, I can begin to rebuild quickly.

So far, my testing has shown Goblin Bombardment to be kind of iffy. I don't usually have enough creatures on the table at any one time to let me sacrifice three or more Zubera all at once. I've been considering replacing it with Blood Rites. I can search that up with Brainspoil if I want and even though I have to pay to activate it, the extra point of damage should be pretty useful. I guess that Goblin Bombardment feels more like a combo card while Blood Rites is more of a control card. The deck doesn't play fast enough to be a combo deck, so I have an inkling that it would do better with Blood Rites. Opinions?
 
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train

Guest
My understanding with Wrath and Damnation, was that lifeline would still kick in...

has this changed?...

Was I not right to begin with?...

I remember it having to do with triggers, and the way the abilities "looked back" to check the previous state...

Found this from crystalkeep...

If more than one creature is in play and all the creatures in play go to the graveyard at once (such as with Wrath of God), then all of them are returned at end of turn. [WotC Rules Team 1998/10/18] This is because all "leaves play" triggers that check the state of the game check the game state at the time right before the card left play. [D'Angelo 1998/11/17]
 
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Ephraim

Guest
Train, you're right. I also gleaned this tidbit from Gatherer:
It checks to see if there are any creatures in play controlled by any player at the time the creature is put into the graveyard. If there are, it will put the creature back even if there are no creatures in play at the end of turn.
Click to expand...
That's useful information. It means that Night Soil is even more important for dealing with my opponent's creatures, but that my creatures have a lot more survivability. I may just need to run one copy of Gravedigger, though, just so that I can get creatures back that died before I got Lifeline into play.
 
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train

Guest
I hadn't looked back at the list - but false prophet isn't a bad friend to have at times either...
 
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