I’m obviously no stranger to weird decks, bad decks, and even meme decks. And this one seems to check all three boxes just perfectly. It’s got just the right balance of powerful cards and ridiculous one that one game you’ll be thinking “Wow, how isn’t this tiered?” and then the next you’ll be wondering why you thought this was a good idea and the first place.
Or maybe that’s just me.
The pairing of Seance and Eldritch Evolution drives the engine of the deck and is the best thing our deck can do. Seance maintains the converted mana cost on tokens it creates, which means you can use Evolution to turn the free tokens into a real creature out of your deck.
The core of the deck is a lot of good midrange cards that generate value, and these shouldn’t be too unfamiliar. Birds of Paradise and Noble Hierarch are our nice turn 1 plays to ramp us up, with Stitcher’s Supplier to dump a bunch of cards in our graveyard for later. Satyr Wayfinder does a nice little Stitcher’s Supplier impression, but finds us a land along the way. Wall of Omens gives us a cantripping blocker, and Eternal Witness is good for getting back milled cards that our namesake can’t get back for us.
Renegade Rallier is a nice value piece that is as versatile as our graveyard is big, and Restoration Angel plays nicely with all the enter-the-battlefield effects we have lying around. Siege Rhino is a powerhouse that helps us stabilize or pull ahead, Reveillark gives us an extra value boost, and Shriekmaw is a two-mana removal spell that we can call back from the dead. Finally, we have Woodland Bellower to grab Eternal Witness, Renegade Rallier, Wayfinder, or a mana dork. This slot would almost certainly be better filled by Sun Titan, but recently I’ve had a soft spot for Bellower, so here we are.
Our spells look like what you would expect out of any old modern deck. A couple of Fatal Push, a Path to Exile, four Eldritch Evolution, a Wrath of God, and four Seance. Just like any other sensible deck. Besides Evolution being the focal point of the deck, our other spells are removal spells that help us catch up. The Wrath may look odd but our deck wants some of our creatures to die anyway and I like having a way to catch up in a game.
Our lands aren’t doing anything fancy, instead just trying to keep up with our mana needs. Four basics and a variety of shocks and fetches keep us in the game long enough to start dropping threats. The sideboard is also filled with a lot of cards you would expect from a Junk midrange deck. Qasali Pridemage deals with artifacts and Blood Moon, Lone Missionary keeps us alive against fast decks, and Knight of Autumn is a flexible answer to a wide variety of opposing decks. Tireless Tracker keeps our hand full while also threatening to kill, and Plaguecrafter is a good way to slowly grind out the opponent’s resources. Golgari Raiders gives us a kill from nowhere if we need it, Shalai keeps us safe from the opponent’s burn and/or hand disruption, and Doom Whisperer is a big threat that will also keep our graveyard full. Thoughtseize is nice to have for combo decks, and Collective Brutality can single-handedly win games against burn. Finally, we have Tetzimoc, Primal Death, which we can discard after a few activations for a really weird board wipe. Like I said before, this deck is definitely a bit higher than usual on cards that I’m playing “just because I can.” If you don’t like things like Tetzimoc, Woodland Bellower, or Golgari Raiders, switch them out!
Tips:
- Be careful you don’t try to flicker a Seance token with Restoration Angel. Since the creature is a token, it’ll just stay in exile. This seems obvious but you'll definitely make the mistake too when your excited to flicker your Woodland Bellower token!
- Don’t be too afraid to board wipe. Coming back is a bit easier with Seance, since you can generate blockers and ETB effects, and use Eternal Witness and Rallier to get back creatures a bit more permanently.
- Watch your deck size. You can get close to decking yourself in the grindier games.
Extra Spice:
- Voice of Resurgence gives you a nice creature to sacrifice to Eldritch Evolution, and goes straight into Siege Rhino when you do.
- Sun Titan is a great replacement for Woodland Bellower, getting a bunch of things back from the graveyard every turn.
- Angel of Grace can keep you protected on a crucial turn when your opponent has lethal, but you just need one more turn to in the game yourself.
Looking Forward:
- Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves could be an easy way to gain life, kill something, and make a 3/3 token.
- God-Eternal Bontu lets you sacrifice your creatures for more cards, and works really well with being Seance’d.
- God-Eternal Rhonas gives you a way to deliver a finishing blow, or at least clear away a few of your opponent’s creatures.
The deck is a lot of fun, and uses three of my favorite cards ever printed: Siege Rhino, Eldritch Evolution, and Seance. It might not be the best deck you could pull out at FNM, but the sight of Seance alone is sure to draw some eyes.
