(Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener | Art by Jason Rainville)

It's Time to Wake Up

Mono-black is a color identity known for playing around in graveyards. Whether it's Yawgmoth, Thran PhysicianYawgmoth, Thran Physician putting creatures into the graveyard or Chainer, Dementia MasterChainer, Dementia Master is pulling them back out, the graveyard is often essential for a mono-black deck. Graveyard hate like Rest in PeaceRest in Peace or Leyline of the VoidLeyline of the Void are such powerful cards because exile is the only reliable way to handle a deck that's good at bringing back its most powerful threats over and over again. But what can you do if your own commander is exiling your best creatures one by one? Let's talk about Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener.

Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener seems, at first glance, to be very similar to Alesha, Who Smiles at DeathAlesha, Who Smiles at Death. They both sport strong combat stats for their costs, and both bring back a creature from your graveyard when they attack. Isareth isn't able to cheat on expensive mana costs since you'll have to pay the full cost of that creature. Most important, though, is the fact that Isareth will exile every creature she revives if they would ever leave the battlefield. This is more evocative of Gyrus, Waker of CorpsesGyrus, Waker of Corpses: you'll get one extra use out of each creature instead of looping them repeatedly for value.

So it shouldn't be surprising that Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener's EDHREC page has significant overlap with Gyrus, Waker of CorpsesGyrus, Waker of Corpses. It's full of creatures that will have an immediate, powerful impact. PanharmoniconPanharmonicon shows up in nearly a third of all decks, doubling the value of cards like Massacre WurmMassacre Wurm and Noxious GearhulkNoxious Gearhulk. Another popular tactic seems to be running creatures that revive other creatures when they hit the field, like Phyrexian DelverPhyrexian Delver or Puppeteer CliquePuppeteer Clique. This saves the really important creatures from being exiled while still giving you the opportunity to play them multiple times. One card I wasn't expecting to see on Isareth's page was Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet. Safe HavenSafe Haven and Endless SandsEndless Sands also appear in around 10% of decks, even though at first glance they don't seem to work with Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener at all. As it turns out, though, Isareth is the perfect mono-black flicker commander.

If You Can't Avoid It, Enjoy It

I would have assumed that the exile from Isareth's ability would override any flicker or blink effect. However, Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener's replacement effect is worded specifically so that it does not: because Isareth says, "If that creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else," if the creature would be exiled, because of Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet, for instance, the replacement effect has nothing to replace. Then, when the creature re-enters, it will be a new game object and free of Isareth's effect. This also works with Whip of ErebosWhip of Erebos's activated ability.

Focusing on big creatures that do powerful things when they hit the battlefield makes even more sense now. Rune-Scarred DemonRune-Scarred Demon is so good in flicker-style decks, alongside the continuous removal provided by Noxious GearhulkNoxious Gearhulk. We can also include cards like BloodtrackerBloodtracker that let us draw whenever it leaves the battlefield.

These are all pretty expensive cards though. It'll take some time to build up the resources necessary to pull Rune-Scarred DemonRune-Scarred Demon out of the graveyard with Isareth's ability. Focusing too much on setting up Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet or Safe HavenSafe Haven with multiple big, splashy creatures will leave you vulnerable in the early and mid game. This is where more traditional black aristocrat cards come in. Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener can bring back staple black creatures like Fleshbag MarauderFleshbag Marauder and PlaguecrafterPlaguecrafter, or help Archfiend of DepravityArchfiend of Depravity soak up multiple pieces of removal. It's inevitable that some of your creatures will get exiled by Isareth, and these are perfect early game fodder. Even just the threat of a second PlaguecrafterPlaguecrafter trigger can be enough to keep creatures off the field. Plus, every piece of removal your opponents use early increases the chances of your real threats surviving in the later turns of the game.

Flickering, Just Upside Down

None of the traditional aristocrat fodder shows up on Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener's pages. This didn't surprise me, but I don't think that these should be ignored. For one, they're a persistent source of Devotion for Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel and Nykthos, Shrine to NyxNykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Second, they enable powerful draw engines with Grim HaruspexGrim Haruspex, Smothering AbominationSmothering Abomination, and Harvester of SoulsHarvester of Souls. While Isareth does want to avoid traditional aristocrats strategies, these creatures will also feed Ayara, First of LocthwainAyara, First of Locthwain and Desecrated TombDesecrated Tomb, strengthening the deck's early game.

There also isn't much support for a flicker deck in mono-black. You're only going to get one blink a turn with Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet, where an Azorius or Bant deck can flicker nearly all of their permanents at once. Black can approximate this, however, by having multiple creatures enter the battlefield from other places. Keeping with a flicker theme instead of an aristocrats theme, I'm opting for Ayara, First of LocthwainAyara, First of Locthwain over Blood ArtistBlood Artist and Orc SureshotOrc Sureshot instead of Falkenrath NobleFalkenrath Noble. Both of these effects interact nicely with PanharmoniconPanharmonicon, while Desecrated TombDesecrated Tomb and Genesis ChamberGenesis Chamber create even more triggers as our little creatures leave the graveyard and enter the battlefield.

Having BloodghastBloodghast, Nether TraitorNether Traitor and Bloodsoaked ChampionBloodsoaked Champion in your graveyard at once is ideal, but it won't happen all the time. The tokens from Genesis ChamberGenesis Chamber and Desecrated TombDesecrated Tomb create a nice stream of bodies to die for Nether TraitorNether Traitor, while Crypt GhastCrypt Ghast and Nirkana RevenantNirkana Revenant help produce plenty of mana to activate Bloodsoaked ChampionBloodsoaked Champion several times a turn. Finally, Walking AtlasWalking Atlas is a way to ramp additional lands into play and get BloodghastBloodghast into play twice a turn.

Of course, you'll need sacrifice outlets to make use of all this reanimation. Razaketh, the FoulbloodedRazaketh, the Foulblooded is incredibly powerful; it's hard to lose the game if you can tutor for any card in your deck two or three times in a turn. Woe StriderWoe Strider and Viscera SeerViscera Seer also help smooth out draws, and Ashnod's AltarAshnod's Altar is a mainstay of sacrifice decks everywhere, even if they're really flicker decks.

Flickereanimation

You love him, or you love to hate him: this deck does rely on Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel to win. It isn't difficult to have more than enough Devotion to wipe out a table in a single round, especially if you've been dealing some damage with Ayara, First of LocthwainAyara, First of Locthwain already. Dire Fleet RavagerDire Fleet Ravager will have a harder time reducing life points to zero, but this is where Safe HavenSafe Haven and Endless SandsEndless Sands really shine. These lands can exile multiple creatures and then bring them all back at once. This is useful for saving a creature that was reanimated by Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener, but it also allows you to build to an explosive turn where multiple big creatures come back into play. Having Gray Merchant of AsphodelGray Merchant of Asphodel and Dire Fleet RavagerDire Fleet Ravager enter the battlefield together feels pretty good, even without PanharmoniconPanharmonicon in play.

This should usually win the game right away, but you can also play it early to recover against aggressive opponents. Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds is a great way to get Safe HavenSafe Haven back and keep the chain going. Most of the deck is creatures so Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener has as much utility as possible, but I've got most of the usual suspects for ramp and draw, as well.

This deck ended up being a lot more fun to build than I expected. The interaction between Isareth the AwakenerIsareth the Awakener and Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet is unique, and entirely dodges the fact that Isareth is an effective counter to her own strategy. I certainly haven't built a traditional flicker deck before, but leaning into sacrifice feels plenty flavorful for mono-black. Plus, relying on effects that trigger when creatures enter the field, rather than when they die, keeps it feeling like a flicker deck, which can be just as important as actually being a flicker deck.

But what do you think? Is mono-black flicker viable? Did you know about the trick with Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet? If not, does it change your opinion of Isareth at all? Let me know, and as always thanks for reading.

Ben Doolittle

Ben was introduced to Magic during Seventh Edition and has played on and off ever since. A Simic mage at heart, he loves being given a problem to solve. When not shuffling cards, Ben can be found lost in a book or skiing in the mountains of Vermont.