01 / The diagnosis
Chainer, Dementia Master is a five-mana black legendary creature with an expensive but potent ability: pay three black mana and three life, then put a creature card from a graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. That creature becomes a Nightmare. When Chainer leaves the battlefield, all Nightmares are exiled.
That last clause is the trap. You can spend turns assembling an incredible board, only to lose every stolen creature to one removal spell.
02 / The prescription
Rather than pretending the weakness doesn't exist, build around it. Fill graveyards, make abundant black mana and sacrifice Chainer's Nightmares for value before his leave-the-battlefield trigger exiles them. A sacrificed creature goes to a graveyard instead of being exiled from the battlefield and can become a future reanimation target.
Viscera Seer and Carrion Feeder are cheap sacrifice outlets. Buried Alive prepares creatures to bring back, while Gray Merchant of Asphodel helps stabilize your life total as Chainer spends it.
Don't just reanimate the best creature. Make sure you can sacrifice it before the nightmare ends.
03 / The game plan
Establish mana rocks, fill graveyards and land an inexpensive sacrifice outlet. Your commander needs a reliable supply of black mana and targets.
Resolve Chainer with mana left to activate him. Bring back an impactful creature and protect the plan by keeping a sacrifice outlet available.
Reanimate high-impact threats, sacrifice them in response to Chainer leaving, and repeat. Recur Gray Merchant or other stabilizers to pay for future activations.
04 / Six pieces worth rescuing
These inexpensive engines and payoff cards demonstrate what makes Chainer different from a generic black goodstuff commander.
An inexpensive sacrifice outlet that lets you cash in a Nightmare before Chainer’s leave-the-battlefield trigger resolves.
Another one-mana sacrifice outlet; turns creatures threatened by exile into repeatable counters.
Searches for three creatures and loads the graveyard with high-impact reanimation targets.
Drains each opponent and buys back the life paid to Chainer’s ability.
Turns one creature into two reanimated threats, allowing your engine to function when Chainer is unavailable.
Offers a repeatable sacrifice outlet and scry while providing its own Goat token.
05 / Rules that matter
06 / What kills this plan?
- Graveyard hate can remove targets before you bring them back. Include answers such as Feed the Swarm where appropriate.
- Instant-speed commander removal threatens a board full of Nightmares. Prioritize sacrifice outlets and protection.
- Paying three life per activation adds up. Gray Merchant and other lifegain effects can help you stay in the game.
- The triple-black mana requirement makes reliable black sources more important than flashy colorless utility lands.
07 / The $100 build challenge
This is a 20-card noncommander starter package, not a tested 100-card deck or a verified $100 total. The older report's card choices and research are retained, now presented using the same tools and structure as the other case files.
Copy the core or open it in our Deck Workshop. The Fill to 100 helper can suggest lands and missing roles, but review its suggestions before accepting them.
View all 20 starter cards and roles
| Role | Card — opens Scryfall |
|---|
The starter core is incomplete: it needs a full mana base and other spells before it is a valid Commander deck. Costs and gameplay results have not been independently verified.
Our verdict
Rescue potential: promising, but untested. Chainer gives you a plan that genuinely requires your commander: turn opposing graveyards into a resource while making sure you can sacrifice Nightmares before his exile ability undoes your board. It's a repeatable reanimation engine, not a generic pile of black staples.
Deep Cuts EDH is fan commentary, not official Wizards guidance. Deck strategies and power estimates are editorial, not independently playtested.