“Look at all those good little cogs, unaware of the wheel they turn.”
Art:Witherbloom Apprentice
by Josh Hass
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Witherbloom Apprentice is a Golgari menace that allows us to cantrip and spellsling our way to victory! We are a Golgari deck that focuses on sticking and protecting our commander on turn two, spell-slinging and draining our opponent’s life, and gaining on every cast. While there are no doubt some downsides of spell-slinging on Golgari, there are a ton of strong spells that allow us to control the board, protect ourselves, and control our opponent’s hands. This deck is an absolute blast to pilot, and while it certainly isn’t CPDH, it is a ton of fun! Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
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Witherbloom Apprentice Spellslinging!
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Why Witherbloom Apprentice?
Witherbloom Apprentice is the main damage dealer in our deck and is the primary card that we win games with. Witherbloom has a ton of advantages, only costing two mana and being a great way to deal damage to opponents and gain some life back which can position us strongly against many strategies.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! I also highlighted some of my favorite cards in the deck!
Creatures:
To start off our creature package, we have some payoffs for the life we gain off of Witherbloom Apprentice like Epicure of Blood
and Marauding Blight-Priest
which are great ways to get some additional damage off of our Witherbloom Apprentice triggers. We also have Blood Researcher
, which is a well-stated creature with menace that can get out of hand very quickly and be one of the best attackers in our deck. Chain Devil
and Fleshbag Marauder
are uniquely strong in the deck since we rarely have creatures, so they often end up as Chainer's Edict
for each of our opponents where we just sacrifice the creature we ETB-ed with. Spore Frog
is another awesome creature that can be extremely effective against aggressive decks and allows us to survive even the toughest combats. Staunch Throneguard
, Entourage of Trest
, and Thorn of the Black Rose
, which are all awesome ways to get the monarch and have some strong blockers.
Instants:
Two of my favorite instants in the deck are Dark Ritual
and Cabal Ritual
, which are great ways to cheaply produce a ton of mana and keep on spell-slinging. We have some strong instant speed removal like Go for the Throat
, Cast Down
and Doom Blade
which are awesome ways to stop opponents threats/commanders. We also have some cheap ways to protect Witherbloom Apprentice like Feign Death
, Supernatural Stamina
and Tamiyo's Safekeeping
which are awesome ways to keep Witherbloom Apprentice on the battlefield and keep the damage engine going. We often don’t have a strong board presence, so cards like Fog
and Darkness
are great ways to shut down creatures.
Sorceries:
We have some strong mana ramp with upside like Explore
and Broken Bond
, which is a great way to ramp and destroy a mana rock or enchantment of an opponent which is a strong card at any stage of the game. We also have some general ramp like Cultivate
and Kodama's Reach
, which are awesome ways to get ahead on mana. We also have some sorcery speed draw, which not only triggers Witherbloom Apprentice, but it also helps us keep the spell-slinging going. We have Night's Whisper
and Sign in Blood
, as well as a couple of others that allow us to draw for pretty cheap. We have a couple of cards that help control our opponent’s hands, like Syphon Mind
, which is also a nice draw spell for us. We also have Duress
and Extract the Truth
which are strong additional ways to control our opponent’s hands.
Artifacts:
We are a deck that focuses entirely on spell-slinging, so our artifact package only contains mana rocks, which help us keep on casting. We have Arcane Signet
, Golgari Signet
, and Bonder's Ornament
not too much to say about any of these. They help us cast more spells and keep the damage going.
Enchantments:
We only have one enchantment in Ill-Gotten Inheritance
which is an awesome card that is a great additional way to deal damage to opponents and, if we have the mana, can be a great way to finish off an opponent or at least hit them for a chunk of four damage. Ill-gotten Inheritance is a very strong card that can assist the gameplan greatly.
Land Base:
We have the classic Golgari duals and basics within our landbase, but we have some cycling lands that allow us to keep on spell-slinging and drawing. Cards like Barren Moor
and Slippery Karst
help a ton with this and allow us to keep the engine going. Hidden Necropolis
and Hidden Nursery
are awesome mid-late game ways to get some extra cards while the mana investment can be a lot discovering is extremely powerful.
Strengths of the Deck:
- We don’t necessarily have an advantage but can delay aggressive strategies by gaining life pretty frequently, while we typically can’t stop their relentless attacks we can mitigate how quickly they can get a kill
- A decent amount of payoffs for lifegain
- Spells that attack hands and life total can help put the game in our favor
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Can be weak to aggressive strategies since it can be hard for us to have an established board in the early game
- Witherbloom Apprentice
is our main damage dealer and, thus our easiest target, while they are cheap and can be recast, it can be a lot after a few deaths - Can be hard to kill all three of our opponents with solely damage, we often need help from opponents
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops within the deck. We win the game typically through cantripping with and casting a ton of spells with Witherbloom Apprentice, draining opponents and losing life. We have some alternative combat wins, like attacking after a big Chatterstorm
, but this is not something we go for all that often.
Conclusion:
Witherbloom Apprentice is a very interesting take on a storm-style deck that doesn’t even include the main spellslingers colors in red or blue. Despite that, we have a very fun deck that is a blast to pilot and can be nightmarish for opponents to face. This deck is a blast, and I have had so much fun at my LGS and with my playgroup. If you are looking for an interesting take on an established archetype, this is the deck for you! Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!