commander · Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath
Sworn to Darkness (C14).
A mono-black demon reanimation deck from Commander 2014, led by Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath — sacrifice creatures to his minus ability to create 5/5 flying demon tokens, then reanimate the greatest threats from any graveyard.
The Commander
Sworn to Darkness is Commander 2014's mono-black deck and Ob Nixilis is one of the most threatening planeswalker commanders in the format. His +2 makes each opponent lose one life and you gain one life per opponent. His -2 creates a 5/5 flying demon token and causes you to lose two life, but that life loss is the payment for ongoing loyalty accumulation. His ultimate gives you an emblem that causes each opponent to lose ten life whenever they search their library. In a format where tutoring is constant, the emblem ends games.
Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath builds steady board presence through demon tokens while growing toward the library-search emblem. The deck runs Ghoulcaller Gisa for more token generation, Grave Titan for zombie token value, and a full reanimation package that brings back the most powerful creatures in the game from any graveyard.
Key Cards
Grave Titan
A 6/6 with deathtouch that creates two 2/2 Zombie tokens on entry and on each attack. The most efficient token generator in mono-black — enters with six power plus two tokens, then generates two more every swing. In a deck that wants sacrifice fodder for Ob Nixilis activations and creatures to fill the graveyard for reanimation targets, Grave Titan provides both. The deathtouch makes him unkillable in combat profitably, and the constant zombie stream fuels the attrition gameplan.
Ghoulcaller Gisa
Tap, sacrifice a creature: create X 2/2 zombie tokens where X equals the sacrificed creature's power. In Ob Nixilis's deck, Gisa converts each creature death into multiple replacement tokens. Sacrifice Grave Titan — six power — and Gisa creates six 2/2 zombies. Sacrifice those six zombies one at a time for six more 2/2s, potentially generating twelve zombies from one Grave Titan. Gisa is the sacrifice outlet that turns Ob Nixilis's token and demon package into an army that overwhelms through pure numbers.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
When Gary enters, each opponent loses X life and you gain that much life, where X is your black devotion. In a deck full of double-black-mana-cost creatures — Grave Titan, Ob Nixilis, Ghoulcaller Gisa — the devotion count is eight to twelve by mid-game. Gary entering drains eight to twelve life from three opponents simultaneously while gaining you twenty-four to thirty-six life. Pair with blink effects or reanimation for repeated triggers. One Gray Merchant activation in a high-devotion board often deals lethal damage.
Dread Return
Return target creature from your graveyard to the battlefield. Flashback — sacrifice three creatures. In a token-heavy board from Grave Titan and Ghoulcaller Gisa, paying the flashback cost sacrifices three disposable tokens to return the most powerful creature in your graveyard for free. Reanimate Grave Titan for more tokens, return Gray Merchant for another drain, or bring back a previously removed threat at a crucial moment. Dread Return provides instant-speed reanimation that opponents can't counter once you have the tokens to sacrifice.
Crypt Ghast
Whenever you tap a Swamp for mana, add an additional black mana. Also extorts whenever you cast a spell. In a mono-black deck running twenty-plus Swamps, Crypt Ghast effectively doubles your mana production. Twenty Swamps generate forty black mana with Ghast in play. That excess mana casts multiple large demons and reanimation spells in the same turn. The extort clause drains one life per opponent per spell cast — in a multi-opponent game, extorting ten spells across a game deals twenty to thirty damage to each opponent without attacking.
How to Play
Establish mana acceleration through the deck's artifact rocks and Crypt Ghast by turn four. Get Ob Nixilis onto the battlefield and start generating demons with his -2 while accumulating loyalty toward the emblem. The life loss from the -2 activation is manageable with his +2 drain ability running in parallel. Once the demon token base is established, deploy Grave Titan for six more creatures and start running Ghoulcaller Gisa's token multiplication engine. Win through two vectors: Gray Merchant of Asphodel for massive simultaneous life drain across all opponents, or Ob Nixilis's emblem that makes every opponent's tutor cost ten life — which makes Sol Ring search and fetchland fetches lethal actions.