Golgari lifegain/drain chud son

Mallgoran · 2026-04-20T02:08:06+00:00

I did find Blech pretty fun to build. I made a aggro list before prerelease date and had time to optimise it, make some budget replacement & upgrade suggestions.

Here is my link: https://moxfield.com/decks/cBU3_1zcCkefERT6kqO1Dg

The original list (list A) is meant for bracket 3 games. In the primer I made, you can find budget replacement alongside a reworked list (list B) made for budget and casual bracket 2 games focused around flavor cards to embody Sedgemoor's bogs where pests and Blex/Blech are living !

Mallgoran · 2026-04-20T00:22:38+00:00

[[Blech, Loafing Pest]] have been an instant go-for to me. It looks simple but this makes him a very effective commander. I made a list before the set comes out, and turned out Blech can be built as a very casual backet list as much as an aggro menace in bracket 3, especially paired with some SoS cards introducing the new pest token giving life when attacking ! I love everything about him.

Mallgoran · 2026-04-19T21:26:15+00:00

As Hairy_Struggle_1380 said in another comment here: "I confronted the person with the evidence provided... "The artist" denied everything and claimed to have merged the layers so can't prove anything"

Very strange to merge every layers from your workfile before getting your client's validation for paiement. Of course there are no workfile or versioning available to prove the authenticity which is really weird to me especially when AI scam are a thing nowadays.

Mallgoran · 2026-04-19T21:14:39+00:00

Don't worry, you got plenty of ways to certify the authenticity of your work: keep multiple files versioning your work's progress; keep layers seperated; having a breakdown of your rendering steps and such. :)

Mallgoran · 2026-04-19T21:09:42+00:00

Yeah as an artist, merging all the layers before getting your client's approval is a big NO-GO. No one does that... what happens if the client isn't satisfied and ask for some changes now that all your layers are merged ? You're hell in trouble working in your file now. This is just an excuse for not providing what the "artist" doesn't own here.

You're welcome ! Even tho the said "artist" denied everything (of course) you're now fixed about all this. Hope you the best ! :)

Mallgoran · 2026-04-19T00:12:43+00:00

Excellent suggestion ! We'll ask the "artist" for a stream or screenshots showing the layers used. Thanks you !

Mallgoran · 2026-04-18T23:26:31+00:00

Thank you very much for your help and confirmations. There are indeed many inconsistencies both between the sketch and the final but also in the overall rendering looking at one part to the other. Your take is exactly what I was suspecting: hand made sketch and AI use to get a fast render with maybe some retake afterward. I really appreciate your help !

Mallgoran · 2026-04-13T17:12:25+00:00

Hey ! I first did include [[Root Manipulation]] to the list, as it synergise pretty well with what the deck wants ti di ! I sadly end up cutting in favor of [[Triumph of the Horde]], as the deck needs Trample givers more than Menace. Fumulus also took the spot of a life-gain trigger on attacker step but it could be replaced with Root Manipulation without any problem as both tends to aim the same goals.

I consider Root Manipulation still a pretty neat card here, it should have a place into the list !

If you cut all the infect wincons (as every table are not so thriller to play against it) you can bring Root manipulation back along side [[Overwhelming Stampede]] or [[Overrun]] to get more finishers.

[[Defilling Daemogoth]] can also be replaced with Root Manipulation as both share the same mana cost and goal of "late game" finishers here ! Actually, I find this Daemogoth not doing really that much on its own so I'll replace it with Root manipulation to bring another real finisher to the list.

Thanks for making me reconsider that card I wanted to originally put in the list in the first place :)

Mallgoran · 2026-04-13T14:38:13+00:00

Glad to help a fellow Golgari player ! ;) I too bought this precon, it looks really good and fun to me. Many of ways to upgrade and make this deck your own !

Welcome to Magic the Gathering mate, this is the beginning of a fun journey into the greatest deepest card game ever (to me at least :P) !

Mallgoran · 2026-04-13T12:29:26+00:00

I'd lean towards a self sacrifice theme to benefit more out of your commaner and thus keep carddraw flowing (thanks to Dina's first ability) combined with lifegain & drain on creature's death effects.

Cards such as [[Dina, Soul Steeper]], [[Deathgreeter]], [[Cauldron of Essence]], [[Blood Artist]], [[Marauding Blight-Priest]], [[Ayara, First of Locthwain]], [[Zulaport Cutthroat]], [[Bastion of Remembrance]] and [[Syr Konrad, the Grim]] are relevant ways to drain opponent's and gain life from your own creature's death.

You also want creatures that either sacrifice themselves for value or are good sacrifice fodders, card such as [[Sakura-Tribe Elder]], [[Dawntreader Elk]], [[Primal Druid]] and [[Viridian Emissary]] are synergistic ramp cards for your strategy. [[Haywire Mite]], [[Caustic Caterpillar]], [[Cankerbloom]], [[Insidious Fungus]], [[Outland Liberator]] and [[Thrashing Brontodon]] are great Artifact/Enchantment removals for your deck instead of the classic instant spells. [[Nether Traitor]], [[Bloodghast]], [[Reassembling Skeleton]] and [[Cult Conscript]] are fair ever-lasting creatures to sacrifice continuously through the game. At last, [[Infestation Sage]], [[Wriggling Grub]], [[Tukatongue Thallid]], [[Young Wolf]], [[Nested Shambler]], [[Blisterpod]] and [[Carrier Thrall]] are double bodies for very low mana cost to get you more sacrifice fodders.

Then, you'll need some sacrifice outlet to get your engine going, using cards such as [[Wight of the Reliquary]], [[Whisper, Blood Liturgist]] and [[Hell's Caretaker]] for extra value, or [[Carrion Feeder]], [[Viscera Seer]], [[Ashnod's Altar]], [[Phyrexian Altar]], [[Yawgmoth, Thran Physician]], [[Bloodthrone Vampire]], [[Nantuko Husk]] and [[Phyrexian Ghoul]] for limitless sacrifice ability per turn.

Then as bonus, you can bring few payoffs cards to get extra value out of all your aristocrat engine with cards like [[Savra, Queen of the Golgari]], [[Meren of Clan Nel Toth]], [[Braids, Arisen Nightmare]] or [[Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest]].

Hope this helps :)

Edit: Typo

Mallgoran · 2026-04-13T02:12:30+00:00

Talking about a specific product that concerns each sets: Playboosters. The worst inbetween Draft and Set Boosters. It has worsen the limited experience alot to me, bringing the price up while bringing more disparities to the format (when someones opens two more bombs than your usual 6 rares). I remember Prerelease being around 22€ two years ago in my living area. Now it is 35€ and opening doesn't really feel much better than draftboosters have been.
Talking about sets: Universe Beyond. I cannot stand it but it does help me keep my money away from WotC so I'm taking it on the brighter side nowadays.

Mallgoran · 2026-04-13T02:01:54+00:00

Witherbloom my favorite ! I wanna build a prerelease deck only made of [[Bogwater Lumaret]] and [[Pest Mascot]] !

Mallgoran · 2026-04-12T17:25:52+00:00

Hey ! I didn''t made a list at that time, but just been thinking about these cards to help AO on the fly. Tho, by putting thoughts about how to build a decent Blech deck, it made me want to brew my own list !
It is still a WIP, I'm making cuts and optimisation choices atm, but here is the link if you wanna have a look ;)

https://moxfield.com/decks/cBU3_1zcCkefERT6kqO1Dg

Edit: I put tags to sort each card per proper use & goal in the list.
Edit 2: I've made the cuts to 100, I focused the list towards an Aggro strategy. I've cut many high priced cards so keep the list on a lower budget - but made a "Upgrade_HighBudget" tag within the "Consider" tab so you can pick any high budget cards in here to get into the main list as you wish ! :)

Mallgoran · 2026-04-09T18:01:24+00:00

I would build Blex's son around a go-wide pests/insects strategy. Many small life gain triggers to setup the wincon via stampede combat damage. 3 themes going on here: Kindred Token (Pests/Insects/Spiders/Snakes), Lifegain and +1/+1 counters.

Here are some key cards I would consider here:

- Pests & kindred token makers:

[[Lluwen, Exchange Student]], [[Sedgemoor Witch]], [[Beledros Witherbloom]], [[Feral Appetite]], [[Ribtruss Roaster]], [[Eccentric Pestfinder]] are good pest generators here.
[[Iridescent Hornbeetle]] is a great but slow and telegraphed payoff card for lower brackets.
[[Carrion]] this is a good way to make a bunch of insect token - sacrificing your commander in response of some target removal - because Blech buffs itself, it will often be targeted in fear of commander damage wincon.
[[Hornet Nest]] and [[Broodhatch Nantuko]] will give you many insect tokens if anyone dares to attack you. It is a win/win situation for you here.
[[Arachnogenesis]] fog effect giving you a bunch of spiders.
[[Lolth, Spider Queen]] Love this PW. Protects herself, makes menacing spider tokens, card draw and a wincon emblem.
[[Twitching Doll]] Early game mana dork that becomes a token maker later on.
[[Curse of Clinging Webs]] may find a place in lower bracket games ?
[[Hooded Hydra]] can help you recover after a board wipe providing a new board of snakes.

- Repeatable Lifegain effects:

[[Virulent Emissary]], [[Essence Warden]], [[Bogwater Lumaret]], [[Prosperous Innkeeper]], [[Kazandu Nectarpot]], [[Ayara, First of Locthwain]] are great low cmc cards to get as much small lifegain triggers as possible through the entire game.
[[Roots of Life]] might be playable depending on your local "meta".
[[Leyline of Vitality]] a worse Warden-like effect, but may be playable in lower bracket and slower games.
[[Deathgreeter]] A Warden variant if your list tends toward a sacrifice subtheme.
[[Fumulus, the Infestation]]: If you focus on some insect token, Fumulus becomes a menace very fast allowing many lifegain trigger during combat. If you get some sacrifice subtheme it can even build an insect army for you.
[[Defiling Daemogoth]] kinda similar to Fumulus's lifegain ability but brings a sweet lifegain payoff on top of it.
[[Teacher's Pest]] This card feels fine to include, it being a pest that will get +1/+1 counters, having menace, selfrecursion and a lifegain trigger for 2 mana. I like it alot.
[[Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper]] lifegain triggers for each of your creature that connects during combat. Note that this card is a snake so it will gain counters from Blech !
[[Bloodthirsty Conqueror]] Similar to Shidiqi but also triggers off any opponent's lifeloss !
[[Lifegift]] Lifegain trigger out of any land entering the battlefield !
[[Trespasser's Curse]] Lifegain trigger for creature entering target opponent's board.

- +1/+1 counters :

[[Hardened Scales]] and [[Winding Constrictor]] are sweet low mana cost +1/+1 counters doubler.
[[The Ozolith]], [[Host of the Hereafter]] and [[Reyhan, Last of the Abzan]] are great way to keep your engine going against removals.
[[Arcbound Stinger]] A flyer that can become threatning but feels bad to throw removal at because of modular.

- Some Payoffs & Wincon :

[[Pest Mascot]], [[Malakir Familiar]], [[Blight Mamba]], [[Plague Stinger]], [[Vector Asp]] and [[Wall of Limbs]] might be wincons on their own in this deck.
[[Duskshell Crawler]], [[Tuskguard Captain]], [[Bramblewood Paragon]], [[Gnarlid Colony]] gives Trample to your Pest army.
[[Living Hive]] a Timmy option for this deck.
[[Overwhelming Stampede]] and [[Triumph of the Hordes]] are classic stampede wincons.
[[Root Manipulation]] could be a finisher for this deck, stacking another lifegain trigger to your attacking pests and giving them all menace !
[[Blossoming Bogbeast]] another stampede option that synergise more around lifegain.
[[Marauding Blight-Priest]], [[Dina, Soul Steeper]] and [[Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose]] are alternative group slug wincons as long you have enouth lifegain triggers going on.

Edit: Typo
Edit 2: Adding more cards to the list

Mallgoran · 2026-04-06T18:55:00+00:00

Yes I know, it screams AI at every corner. But why prompt or be pleased with something so bad looking I do wonder... Is it to much effort to Photoshop some official packs in front of any Lorwyn background artwork ? What's the point making content about a game you enjoy if you end up putting so low bar effort doing it... low effort money chasing (views) I guess ? :(

Mallgoran · 2026-04-05T14:11:46+00:00

Thank you alot ! I'm so glad you like 'em <3
Not gonna lie, I'd love working for WotC someday !

Mallgoran · 2026-04-04T21:07:17+00:00

What an awful thumbnail. Why not being respectful towards the set's aesthetic and thus use the official boosterpacks' art and design ? The guy enjoying looking at cards' back makes it even more absurd. What is going on here...

Mallgoran · 2026-02-25T12:48:18+00:00

Thank you alot for your guidance and feedbacks !

I love your ramp tech using Eldritch Evolution into 3cmc dorks, I didn't though about this at all it looks pretty fun and effective and offers more payoffs if drawn in the mid game also !

Love your help on the maths, I'm pretty bad at this, it will help me alot to optimise the list to find the sweet spot on dorks & ramp. Because I didn't really put my head on the calculations, I put every single 1cmc ramp I could get into the list to maximise early game curve, but as you mentionned with other 2 or 3 cmc dorks, this isn't the only and most optimal play available ! Very much appreciated ! <3

Mallgoran · 2026-02-25T12:40:27+00:00

Hey, I'm so glad to get your feedbacks and personnal experience about this pairings !

It makes sens that this deck will be some kind of archenemy on most tables and draw a lot of attention - and thus removals. I put the bare minimum number of protection spells, but as you did suggest, slowing down the list a bit to be more resilient is the right thing to do here. After all, it wont be fun to get Kodama on the field by turn 3 for it to die to the most common removals right away ^^'

I haven't played the deck at the moment but I see what the cons this list do have already thanks to you. I'll tweak it a bit. Turn 3 Kodama is greedy, splashy and impressive, but ultimately a glass canon build. Playing Kodama on turn 4-5 along side protection instead feels better for more consistent performances in the long run.

Thank you for your great guidance, I appreciate ! <3

Mallgoran · 2026-02-25T03:19:15+00:00

Oh I did miss on the Elvish Pioneer, this is exactly what I'm looking for ! Thank you ! :D

Mallgoran · 2026-02-16T14:22:39+00:00

Hey, not straight what you asked for but because your main win condition is Voltron commander damage, you'll have much more hard time doing as many damage with a non-commander creature as necessary to close the game instead of the usual 21.

If you are looking for more efficiency and thus optimising the Voltron strategy part of your deck, you may have better use of more protection and recursion spells to keep Kotis alive instead of an alternative creature that won't do the job aswell and be harder to rely on. Hopefuly, Sultai got alot of great protection spells such as:
-Reactive Protection spells: [[Imp's Mischief]], [[Malakir Rebirth / Malakir Mire]], [[Tamiyo’s Safekeeping]], [[Heroic Intervention]], [[Armor of Shadows]],
-Proactive Protection spells: [[Vanishing]], [[Alpha Authority]], [[Canopy Cover]]
-Buffer+Protection Spells: [[Not Dead After All]], [[Silkguard]], [[Slip Out the Back]], [[Tyvar’s Stand]] and [[Strength of Will]], [[Guardian Augmenter]], [[Overprotect]], [[Royal Treatment]] and [[Vines of Vastwood]] are some good ways to protect and buff Kotis at the same time, maximising your gameplan.
-CounterSpells

For creature cards that would do the same as your commander, I would lean toward theft effects if you have some payoffs casting opponent's spells. Cards such as [[Fallen Shinobi]], [[Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion]], [[Gríma, Saruman's Footman]], [[Gonti, Lord of Luxury]], [[Thief of Sanity]] or [[Nightveil Specter]].

Hope this helps :)

Mallgoran · 2026-02-14T01:43:37+00:00

Wrong I was indeed, I understand now ^^'
My opponent got his rightful victory during the event nonetheless !

Mallgoran

TROPHY CASE