Hello Everyone!I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel, and welcome back to Commander Kryptonite, the series that looks at some of the strongest commanders in the format--how the deck works, its strengths, weaknesses, and ultimately, how to defeat it. This week, we're looking at one of the strongest mono-Black commanders of all time: K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth. Since this particular commander has a small but notable presence in cEDH, it should be noted that this article is going to be focused around brackets three and four. Sorry, cEDH players--you're on your own for this one. But before we look at the deck itself, let's look at this commander.

The Commander

A surprise inclusion in a Red and Black precon deck, K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth became one of the more beloved mono-Black commanders of all time. At the core of the Black color identity is free will and amorality, as well as the desire to cross lines in the name of progress. The most thematic way we see this represented in card design is through the payment of life for additional abilities or power. No commander is better at this than K'rrik. K'rrik allows every single Black mana pip to be paid with either a Black mana or two life. In a format that starts at 40 life, this can accelerate a game plan and put K'rrik down to single digits at the same time. K'rrik can get this life back by growing in size and connecting with players thanks to lifelink.

The Deck

Let's talk about the deck. The conventional approach these days seems to have settled into a life gain-synergistic deck with combos thrown in that feel natural. Some decks are playing Professor Onyx and Chain of Smog to win, while others might be using Bolas's Citadel or even Exquisite Blood and Sanguine Bond. Either way, this deck works quickly to go for the kill whenever and wherever it can. Since it's mono-Black, the deck also has access to one of the deepest removal packages for creatures in all of Magic. Here is an example of the average K'rrik deck you might see at your local game store.

K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth | Commander

• Commander (1)
• 1 K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth

• Creatures (22)
• 1 Asmodeus the Archfiend
• 1 Ayara, First of Locthwain
• 1 Balthor the Defiled
• 1 Blood Celebrant
• 1 Blood Pet
• 1 Chainer, Dementia Master
• 1 Crypt Ghast
• 1 Dauthi Voidwalker
• 1 Dimir House Guard
• 1 Fleshwrither
• 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1 Hoarding Broodlord
• 1 Necrotic Ooze
• 1 Opposition Agent
• 1 Orcish Bowmasters
• 1 Pontiff of Blight
• 1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 1 Skirge Familiar
• 1 Vile Entomber
• 1 Vilis, Broker of Blood
• 1 Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose

• Instants (12)
• 1 Animate Dead
• 1 Culling the Weak
• 1 Dark Ritual
• 1 Deadly Rollick
• 1 Defile
• 1 Dismember
• 1 Entomb
• 1 Feed the Swarm
• 1 Imp's Mischief
• 1 Reanimate
• 1 Sign in Blood
• 1 Toxic Deluge

• Sorceries (14)
• 1 Beseech the Mirror
• 1 Beseech the Queen
• 1 Buried Alive
• 1 Cabal Ritual
• 1 Dark Petition
• 1 Demonic Tutor
• 1 Diabolic Tutor
• 1 Exsanguinate
• 1 Final Parting
• 1 Grim Tutor
• 1 Peer into the Abyss
• 1 Sacrifice
• 1 Vampiric Tutor
• 1 Wishclaw Talisman

• Artifacts (11)
• 1 Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Bontu's Monument
• 1 Jet Medallion
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Lotus Petal
• 1 Mana Vault
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Sensei's Divining Top
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots

• Enchantments (6)
• 1 Bolas's Citadel
• 1 Font of Agonies
• 1 Necromancy
• 1 Necropotence
• 1 Phyrexian Arena
• 1 Sanguine Bond

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Professor Onyx

• Lands (31)
• 1 Ancient Tomb
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Cabal Coffers
• 1 Cabal Stronghold
• 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 24 Swamp
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

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Strengths

The strength of this deck is in its consistency. There's no color fixing to worry about. This deck is straightforward and has an archetype that offers a deep list of quality cards. K'rrik can also solve his own problems of losing too much life by going to combat and taking advantage of lifelink or staying back as a blocker to connect for damage multiple times per rotation. Mono-Black is also the color of the best tutors in the entire game, making this deck even more consistent--assuming that's what the K'rrik player wants to go for.

Weaknesses

The weakness of the deck is that it can be a bit of a glass cannon. With K'rrik not on the field, the deck can struggle, and if a card like Aetherflux Reservoir gets countered or removed before being used, it can be difficult to recover since this deck is looking to be explosive. There are many games in which a grindy deck can put K'rrik in a rough spot simply through attrition. Finally, the deck also depends on being able to gain life back to replenish what's being spent, so if that gets shut off--either through a stax piece or removal--that resource can and will run out.

Cards to Look Out For

1. Bolas's Citadel - This card was popular for the deck before, but after the Post Malone Secret Lair came out, it's almost a guarantee you'll see it. Combined with Sensei's Divining Top and Aetherflux Reservoir, this combo can build up a life total high enough to win the game on the spot.
2. Vilis, Broker of Blood - One way or another, this card typically ends the game since you can get so many cards off of it. With enough life in reserve, a player can pay 2 life into Vilis' activated ability and simply draw their entire deck. Unfortunately, once this card hits the table, there's really no clean way to stop it.
3. Crypt Ghast - This goes for every card with the mechanic Extort. K'rrik allows players to pay 2 life rather than that one Black mana. This means in your standard four-player pod, each opponent will lose one life per spell, and K'rrik will have a net gain of one life per spell. This can bring a wide range of results, from annoying to lethal.
4. Jet Medallion - This one's a bit sneakier than the rest of the list. K'rrik is not able to reduce generic mana, only Black mana, so generic mana reducers can be worth their weight in gold with this deck and need to be taken off the board when possible, though it wouldn't be as urgent to do so as with others on this list.

How to Defeat K'rrik

With a deck like K'rrik, you almost have to look at the player starting with 40 life as having a potential 20 Black mana at any given moment. The more you can do in terms of chip damage while K'rrik is focused on getting their commander in play, the better. If a player wants to use their life as a resource, it's the table's responsibility to limit that resource and chip in for damage here and there. With all the different potential combos, this is also a deck that can win out of nowhere, so it's important to hold up a versatile removal spell like Beast Within to disrupt any potential combos on the horizon. Once their combos are disrupted and their life total is too low to spend, there won't be much fight left. Just keep the lifelinkers like K'rrik from attacking, and the game will be over quickly for them.

Commander Kryptonite

If you're still having issues with this mono-Black masterpiece, consider adding these cards to your 99:

1. Screaming Nemesis - As the absolute silver bullet to this deck, Screaming Nemesis only has to damage K'rrik one time before shutting down lifegain effects entirely.
2. Angel of Jubilation - Another way to stop the value engine that drives this deck is by preventing the payment of life for abilities or cost reduction. Angel of Jubilation provides just that. Not only does it shut down both sacrifice effects and life payments, it also adds a nice little buff to your creatures at the same time. It's a nice card.
3. Tainted Strike - When this deck is holding up a large amount of life to expend later, it can be daunting to try and overcome it. Fortunately, with Tainted Strike, all you need is one creature with nine power to get through unblocked. With the cast of this spell, it'll be ten poison counters and one very dead K'rrik--out of nowhere like an RKO.

And there you have it! Another week, and another commander in the dust. If you have a problematic commander in your playgroup that needs to be taken down, send me an email at thoughtvesselshow@gmail.com and we can look at getting it featured on Commander Kryptonite. Until next time, happy gaming.