Love the primer

There’s a lot of great interactions you’re missing here. Mortal Combat, No Rest for the Wicked, Black Market

I also don’t think this deck really even wants Sol Ring. Black mana is so deeply essential here the only situation where sol ring is useful is powering out Thrumming Stone.

Mana Confluence is a pretty weak choice of land considering the sheer amount of mana this deck needs. Expedition Map also feels like a wasted slot and should likely just be another apostle. Mox Amber is all kinds of mediocre imo. Same with Sol Talisman. Sure playing demons early is nice but will almost never actually win you the game.

Dark Confidant is unnecessarily risky when you’re running a bunch of expensive demons and angels, especially when Black already has access to large amounts of card advantage.

I also like having some kind of backup to avoid getting my apostles Pithing Needle. I chose Mirror Entity but there are plenty of other alternatives.

I’ve played this list off and on since the printing of Shadowborn Apostle:

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/atheros-god-of-wifi/

I also went back and forth between Grim Haruspex and Harvester of Souls. For now I’ve gone back to the demon.

Thank you for the rich feedback Beware!

Mortal Combat and No Rest for the Wicked do seem handy. I'll try them out.

I take your point on Sol Ring and Sol Talisman, although the former does help get Athreos online on turn 2 as well as accelerate how quickly the bigger spells are played like Phyrexian Altar, Remembrance, Angel of Glory's Rise, and anything else above 4 Mana in general. Sol Talisman I was trying on in place of Land Tax or an unconditional draw spell like Night's Whisper. It's cute in a bad way so I agree with you that it needs to go.

Black Market is OK. It's just helping me with mana at a point when I don't need it much anymore. Still, the mana package here feels raw so I'll play around with it again and see if it feels like a better functional fit as I do like how on theme it is.

Expedition Map is a personal preference. I like being able to grab Cabal Coffers or Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to power up mana. I also have found being able to grab a Bojuka Bog pretty helpful against graveyard decks. And weirdly enough, snatching Vault of the Archangel has helped me several times to deter aggro with deathtouch capable Shadowborn Apostles or improve survivability with lifelink. Finally, there are games where lack of lands can be an issue and it gives me an out to those corner cases to stay on curve or fix mana colors.

I have never had a problem with Dark Confidant. Nearly 83 cards in the deck are 2 mana value or less so the damage is often negligible especially when our life total matters as little as it does in a combo build. In a pinch, I can sac it to Razaketh, the Foulblooded, Diabolic Intent, Phyrexian Altar, or Skullclamp when draw is no longer necessary. I'm comfortable with this risk profile particularly with fair access to lifegain as from Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Vault of the Archangel.

I'm going to take your advice on a few of these suggestions and I really appreciate the years of experience behind your feedback. Thank you!

Remember that Black Market is a permanent source of black mana. Even 2x counters on it ensures hitting your high end. It’s a bit slow but gets way out of hand. At least seems better than the more fragile Pitiless Plunderer.

Also, I don’t know how I missed Taborax, Hope's Demise in my last update but I’m going to be squeezing that in ASAP.

Beware I agree with most of what you said. I do feel that sol ring and other fast rocks would help out depending on how the deck is suppose to play. My view is coming from playing K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth as the commander but my deck is also competitive and doesn't need the amount of Colored mana this one does. Mine pumps out is more pump out Thrumming Stone, Secret Salvage or Peer into the Abyss (which I highly recommend and Aetherflux Reservoir Turns 1-4.

Dark Confidant shouldn't hurt too much but I understand why you say what you do. A bonus is at least with the commander out it is draw that is hard to remove.

"I also like having some kind of backup to avoid getting my apostles Pithing Needle. I chose Mirror Entity but there are plenty of other alternatives." This is just hilarious... never would have thought about it.

Mana Confluence Definitely agree on this being changed. Would even swap it with Forbidden Orchard it gives a creature to the enemy yea but attack with a shadowborn make them block taking away their creature and yours then cast Secret Salvage.

I like the deck gave you an upvote. There are a couple questions I have...

1. what level are you trying to be with this deck?

2. what do you think about Aetherflux Reservoir, Carnival of Souls, Peer into the Abyss

Nice simple primer also it's perfect

Hey thanks GreenHamma!

I tried this deck without any tutors except Rune-Scarred Demon and Razaketh, the Foulblooded, added some redundant pieces like Cruel Celebrant, and added more draw too. It still had a whiff rate I didn't like. So I'm shooting for a tuned 80%.

I did see Aetherflux Reservoir as a popular win condition. I've played it in other decks before so I thought I would try something different here. I think it fits in the same spot as Mortal Combat for me. What do you think about either of these? I kind of like having a free win card in the deck.

Carnival of Souls is too aggressive for me. I see how it is appealing but the downsides are costly.

Peer into the Abyss I had not even thought of here. It makes sense in the same way Ad Nauseam does but what's interesting is that 1/3 of the cards I would eventually discard at end of turn would be Shadowborn Apostles. So if there is a Immortal Servitude effect in hand that is bonkers! I might have to try this out to understand it better. Funny how I'm OK with this kind of half life risk but not Carnival of Souls. :D

1. "I tried this deck without any tutors except Rune-Scarred Demon and Razaketh, the Foulblooded, added some redundant pieces like Cruel Celebrant, and added more draw too. It still had a whiff rate I didn't like. So I'm shooting for a tuned 80%."

Have you tried Vilis, Broker of Blood instead of rune-scared? Rune tutors 1 thing.. vilis lets you keep drawing and playing shadowborn

1. "I did see Aetherflux Reservoir as a popular win condition. I've played it in other decks before so I thought I would try something different here. I think it fits in the same spot as Mortal Combat for me. What do you think about either of these? I kind of like having a free win card in the deck."

I like free win cards.. I would have one in every deck if i could.

1. "Peer into the Abyss I had not even thought of here. It makes sense in the same way Ad Nauseam does but what's interesting is that 1/3 of the cards I would eventually discard at end of turn would be Shadowborn Apostles. So if there is a Immortal Servitude effect in hand that is bonkers! I might have to try this out to understand it better. Funny how I'm OK with this kind of half life risk but not Carnival of Souls. :D"

Now just imagine you had Edgewalker on the field with blood artist, and phyrexian altar.

Yes you are right Carnival of Souls is aggressive.. you have the cards to make it not so much. Example... Blood Artist and a sac outlet you could secret salvage without Edgewalker and still cast all of your shadowborn. It is an acquired taste lol.

Your decklist is fun and i'm glad people are still making these.

Btw here is my deck if you want a look.

K'rrik TurboStone - Cedh (Primer 2019 - 2021)

Always love to see another Athreos player. Your build is very nice and reminds me of mine when it was first developing. The variance you find never really goes away no matter how much you streamline it. Check out my build and see if there’s any points of interest for you:

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/athreos-the-river-of-styx/

It’s true there is basically no way to eliminate variance with this deck. Sometimes you’ll sit there with a couple 1/1s twiddling your thumbs.

GreenHamma, do not discount how powerful Rune-Scarred Demon can be. This deck often only needs one extra card to close a game once it starts rolling. Vilis seems good but requires a significant amount of work for it to close the game, something R-S Demon can usually do on the spot.

Beware i don't disagree with rune-scarred demon being powerful. I just stand behind that vilis is more viable. It is a 8/8 beater, removal on a stick, and card draw on a stick. I mean probably could just add both, but most of the time you are just going to search for Razaketh, the Foulblooded. Vilis, Broker of Blood also combos with razaketh when you tutor you auto draw cards so if you run out of creatures to sacrifice you can draw into some.

Rune-Scarred Demon can tutor you a card but what if (and i don't like hypotheticals...) your card gets countered? Vilis would allow you to keep digging rune-scarred would be a 6/6 beater on the field it would be fun to flicker RSD though now that would be some fun stuff.

Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire and Lurrus of the Dream-Den both seem great additions. Ashnod's Altar is great for aristrocrat decks. Oh, and Smothering Abomination, Species Specialist and Grim Haruspex are powerful card draw options.

GreenHamma i think it’s a mistake to even compare these two cards. They don’t do any of the same things. Rune scarred demon can end a game. Vilis gives you a great advantage. The deck is a toolbox so you rarely need to choose, but rune scarred demon is essential here.

Beware I can agree with "GreenHamma i think it’s a mistake to even compare these two cards." That being said run-scarred is not necessarily essential being Razaketh, the Foulblooded is in the deck imo. It doesn't end a game it tutors 1 card, yes you can grab anything but it doesn't end the game. He can easily be replaced with one of the many tutors that cost half the mana which doesn't require all the steps and/or set up RSD does. just an ex and probably one of the most expensive tutors Dark Petition at least adds mana after you tutor so you can go out.

I agree Razaketh is usually going to be better but i won’t leave the house without an RSD since it never needs anything but itself to achieve the goal

Rune-Scarred Demon is a lovely tutor as a stand alone beat creature/tutor.

Vilis, Broker of Blood is also a wonderful card that grants draw, beat stock, and board control.

I’ve played both and have removed both from my list as I find their cmc to high and actual board presence a hinderance. Keep in mind before y’all jump at that statement that it’s play style and expectation. I play my build against CEDH decks and my expectation is that when I make my move I can achieve it in one turn as a glass cannon. I’ve done this as fast as turn 2 and can possibly do it on turn one but would require to much of the perfect hand/top deck scenario to contemplate it.

RSD gets dropped, I’m hard casting it and the board is on alert to watch my next turn.

VBB gets dropped, I’ve either hard casted and don’t have the mana to use, or my board is prepped to cheat him and my opponents are on alert.

Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire is my card choice as I find him a stable threat for the table to overlook and a lightning rod for removal threats to ensure safety.

Essentially the entire argument breaks down to “Tempo”. At what speed do you expect you deck to achieve things and at what tolerance do you accept volatility. I don’t care about my life total with this deck, my Glass Cannon. I win games at less than 10 life the vast majority of the times. I often hurt myself more than my opponents, but I sacrifice a lot for my speed and bypassing other zones/avenues of approach for the win.

My take on these card choices:

Remembrance? To slow. Needs cost reductions on the Shadowborn and a sac outlet that’s better than their own ability.

Secret Salvage? Creates play issues as the set up becomes overly complicated. Looks great on paper but rarely works out if you’re playing to speed.

Lurrus of the Dream-Den? only allows one play.

Mortal Combat? requires upkeep trigger and you can’t get that many creatures in you grave on the opponents turn or play MC at instant speed at EOT. You give to much time for multiple players to react to you and possibly in prepared ways.

We can at least agree that Razaketh, the Foulblooded is staple.

The rest just seems to be tempo choices and nothing more to me.

Why in gods name would you ever hard cast an RSD.... >.>

Beware, I’ll answer a question with a question.

Why in gods name would I grab anything other than Razaketh, the Foulblooded with my Shadowborn’s first sacrifice round so can combo off?

I tend to choose Rune-Scarred Demon when I have no other creatures to sacrifice to activate Razaketh, the Foulblooded immediately.

ghostfire86 I borrowed Songs of the Damned from your list and it's exactly what the deck needed!

Icaruskid, it’s beautiful ramp.

Especially when someone is playing wheels or mill.

ghostfire86 because you may not HAVE another creature to sacrifice. If it’s your FIRST activation you likely only have 6 apostles and are looking for a way to win on the spot. There are many cases where an automatic tutor will be advantageous compared to the activated ability of Razaketh. Keep in mind I’m not saying “don’t play Razaketh.” I am saying “play Rune-Scarred Demon.”

This is one of my favorite aristocrats Build in any format, +1 from me.

Wow thank you so much HobbyMan5000! It's taken a village to get it to this point. All the folks in this thread and their lists share the credit. Love the community here!