Art by Greg Staples
Saved commander deck
The Lord of Pain
Grind the table down with symmetrical resource denial, tax effects, and life drain before deploying The Lord of Pain to convert every opponent's spellcast into lethal punishment.
Prompt: Lord of pain edh, stax and control to wear down then play the commander and start dealing damage
Commander
1 cards
The Lord of Pain
{3}{B}{R}Legendary Creature — Human Assassin
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10 cards
Worn Powerstone
{3}Artifact
Accelerates into high-cost control pieces and commander
Nightscape Familiar
{1}{B}Creature — Zombie
Reduces costs of black and red spells
Treasure Nabber
{2}{R}Creature — Goblin Rogue
Punishes opponents' mana rocks by stealing them for a turn
Card Draw
10 cards
Black Market Connections
{2}{B}Enchantment
Versatile source of card draw, ramp, and board presence
Necropotence
{B}{B}{B}Enchantment
Massive burst card draw to restock under stax locks
Dark Prophecy
{B}{B}{B}Enchantment
Draws cards off creature deaths to outgrind opponents
Removal
10 cards
Bedevil
{B}{B}{R}Instant
Flexible answer to artifacts, creatures, and planeswalkers
Toxic Deluge
{2}{B}Sorcery
Bypasses indestructible while clearing small or large threats
Rakdos Charm
{B}{R}Instant
Modular hate card against graveyards, artifacts, or go-wide boards
Threats/Wincons
23 cards
Magus of the Moon
{2}{R}Creature — Human Wizard
Creature-based nonbasic land denial
Torment of Hailfire
{X}{B}{B}Sorcery
Devastating win condition when opponent resources are depleted
Mogis, God of Slaughter
{2}{B}{R}Legendary Enchantment Creature — God
Indestructible source of constant sacrifice or burn
Roiling Vortex
{1}{R}Enchantment
Shuts down lifegain and punishes free spellcasting
Sulfuric Vortex
{1}{R}{R}Enchantment
Puts the table on a fast clock and stops lifegain
Kaervek the Merciless
{5}{B}{R}Legendary Creature — Human Shaman
Directly mirrors the commander's spellcasting burn punishment
Zo-Zu the Punisher
{1}{R}{R}Legendary Creature — Goblin Warrior
Punishes land drops with persistent chip damage
Ankh of Mishra
{2}Artifact
Artifact stax piece punishing ramp and normal land drops
Price of Glory
{2}{R}Enchantment
Stops opponents from interacting on other players' turns
Manabarbs
{3}{R}Enchantment
Taxes every mana tapped to make casting spells lethal
Citadel of Pain
{2}{R}Enchantment
Forces opponents to tap out and discourages holding up mana
Harsh Mentor
{1}{R}Creature — Human Cleric
Punishes activations of artifacts, creatures, and lands
Immolation Shaman
{1}{R}Creature — Lizard Shaman
Taxes opponent activated abilities with repeatable damage
Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
{3}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Demon
Drains life totals while applying combat pressure
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
{2}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
Punishes card draw and cushions your own life total
Polluted Bonds
{3}{B}{B}Enchantment
Drains opponents and heals you whenever lands enter
Spiteful Visions
{2}{B/R}{B/R}Enchantment
Forces additional draws while dealing damage for each
No Mercy
{2}{B}{B}Enchantment
Deters attacks by destroying any creature that deals combat damage
Opposition Agent
{2}{B}Creature — Human Rogue
Shuts down library searching and tutors completely
Utility
8 cards
Dauthi Voidwalker
{B}{B}Creature — Dauthi Rogue
One-sided graveyard hate that steals opponents' best spells
Grafdigger's Cage
{1}Artifact
Shuts down graveyard recursion and library-casting strategies
Lightning Greaves
{2}Artifact — Equipment
Protects The Lord of Pain from spot removal
Swiftfoot Boots
{2}Artifact — Equipment
Grants hexproof to keep key stax creatures alive
Strionic Resonator
{2}Artifact
Copies The Lord of Pain's triggered damage for double pain
Shadowspear
{1}Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Provides lifelink to offset self-inflicted damage and removes hexproof
