Dark Betrayal Format (Inspired by Forgetful Fish)

What is Dark Betrayal and how is it played?

Dark Betrayal format was inspired by Forgetful Fish format and the constant back & forth-ness of old-school Yugioh (More specifically, Starter Deck Pegasus era). While Forgetful Fish is two players focused on manipulating the top of a central mono-blue deck, Dark Betrayal is four players focused instead on manipulating the graveyard of a central mono-black deck (That is largely Zombie tribal) and sending their opponent's threats there.

Its namesake comes from the card Dark Betrayal, which is a "Destroy target black creature" instant for a single black mana. With a presence of 10 copies in the 100 card deck, its role in players destroying every threat they can is central to the theme. The name fits the game dynamic as well, as creatures betray their casters (By other players snatching them from the graveyard), casters betray their creatures (By sacrificing or discarding them), and players betray each other, as the prospect of big plays and swings that step on other players' faces come up throughout each stage of the game.

Players do not have their own graveyards. Instead, the central deck has a central graveyard that all players share.

Here are the different cards in each deck and what dynamic & role they offer the game.

(The numbers in parenthesis are how many of that card are in the deck) If you want a decklist to reference, I built one on Moxfield for you to view here [https://www.moxfield.com/decks/0jTRw41dZ06LSeVSeq0PPQ]

Dark Betrayal (10)

The primary source of removal. Games will hinge largely on how wisely targets are picked and with what timing players choose to use this card. Is killing the opponent's Grave Titan worth giving the other players triggers on their Blood Artist, Diregraf Colossus, Profane Memento, etc? Might you notice that there are 9 creatures in the graveyard and no one has played Avatar of Woe yet? Maybe a player still has a large reserve of life left and you'd rather not give them a good Reanimate target? To kill or not to kill, that is the question in this format.

Cast Down (3)

A secondary removal spell that only targets non-legendary creatures. They are still good to answer threats like Grave Titan, Avatar of Woe, and Shepherd of Rot.

Life's Finale (2)

The only boardwipe and one that also lets you select up to three creatures from the deck to add to the graveyard. This can also be a good way to hit Kozilek to scoop the graveyard.

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth (1)

Serves the primary role of ensuring the game can keep going by making sure the deck is unlikely to ever be empty. Returned Revelers can be used as a way to mill into Kozilek to take leverage away from certain players who are relying too much on the current graveyards' status. As a secondary role, a player holding the Kozilek has a unique advantage, especially since no one else is aware that the graveyard isn't going to get scooped so easily.

Elixir of Immortality (2)

The only alternative to Kozilek for scooping the graveyard. Some players, while they may not like the idea of scooping the graveyard, may still do it for the 5 life.

Returned Reveler (6)

As a "Mill 12" on death, players holding recursion like Reanimate and Yawgmoth's Vile Offering can leverage these guys to mill powerful targets into the graveyard. As mentioned already, it can also be used to try to hit Kozilek and scoop the graveyard back into the library.

Reanimate (6)

A powerful play, but at the cost of a very limited resource, your life, that will be in increasingly shorter supply with each turn that goes by.

Junji, the Midnight Sky (2)

Shepherd of Rot (2)

Exsanguinate (2)

These are what I call "The Closers". They ensure that games can wrap up suddenly and decisively instead of dragging on forever. Some may prefer that games last a bit longer and swapping some of these out would achieve that.

Unholy Indenture (2)

Supernatural Stamina (2)

The only direct ways to protect your precious creatures from removal . Unholy Indenture can also be used to steal a creature by following up with a Reanimate.

Dread Wanderer (2)

Gravecaller (2)

Creatures that can keep returning to the battlefield. Any player may use their abilities, so once they hit the graveyard, they are fair game. This makes it less ideal to target them with removal, but some games can be won by maintaining a boardstate of sever smaller attackers.

Profane Memento (2)

Blood Artist (2)

Life-gain in general is precious in Dark Betrayal, so even at its worst, Profane Memento is a strong card to have out. At its best, it can yield a lot when Revelers start hitting the graveyard. Blood Artists is Blood Artist. In the hands of the player already in the lead, it can close the game and in the hands of the player looking to make a comeback, it can close the gap.

Ghoulish Procession (2)

Typically, this card doesn't offer a lot. The zombies aren't particularly useful, unless you can manage to amass enough of them to swing for the win. Situations can be further complicated by someone also having a Shepherd of Rot out.

Avatar of Woe (2)

This card doesn't see play that often, because Reanimating it for 8 life is rarely a good move. But when it does hit the board, it's typically a high-priority target for removal. If a few early game Revelers hitting the graveyard fill it up faster than usual, Avatar of Woe can be a substantial early-game play.

Cryptbreaker (2)

If you're holding a Reanimate and an ideal target to use it on, such as Grave Titan or Junji, Cryptbreaker can give you a 2/2 zombie AND let you dump that creature in the graveyard. If you happen to have developed a large boardstate of zombies, you can start drawing cards as well.

Diregraf Colossus (2)

This is a card that requires delicate timing. If you drop it too early, it won't be very big or generate much value. You ideally want to wait until Revelers load that graveyard up a bit. On the other hand, sometimes you have to play what you have got on-hand to keep the pressure on.

Ebondeath Dracolich (2)

As the only other creature with Flying aside from Junji, but with self-recursion, its presence on both the battlefield and in the graveyard is a key factor to consider in some scenarios.

Sheoldred, Whispering One (2)

As the strongest play in the format, this is the biggest "Kill on sight" no-brainer there is. Not just because it recurs every turn or forces your opponent's to sacrifice their creatures, but because it's a 6/6 that can't be blocked. Games absolutely will be won or lost simply because no one was holding Dark Betrayal to answer this.

Rite of Consumption (2)

Desperately need to close the life gap between you and the other players? Maybe it's worth it to lose your fattened Diregraf Colossus, Grave Titan, or Avatar of Woe.

Yawgmoth's Vile Offering (2)

Doubles as both removal and unconditional recursion. Usually this is a big mid-game play and is often responded to with a Dash Hopes.

Dark Ritual (2)

I don't think I need to go into what Dark Ritual offers, but it's especially valuable when you're sitting on Exsanguinate.

Swamp (34)