Hello everyone, after relentless playtesting I finally feel confident enough to post my Savra list. I'm always looking for suggestions/improvements, and am pretty happy with the decklist so far.
Some cards that I don't have that I would like to try out are:
Contamination: A lot of times when I draw this I just wish it was something else. I have plenty of ways to lock up the board and this hurts me quite a bit too. By the time I have a board state to where I don't need to play green spells anymore, I'm already winning.
Dread: This guy is a house but the inability to keep him around for recursion shenanigans kind of stinks.
Doomed Necromancer: I like Hell's Caretaker better, even though it's only on upkeep.
Plague Boiler: Just too unstable. Always goes off when I don't want it to, always have to pay to keep it from going off when I'd rather spend the mana elsewhere.
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf: I'm not too fond of targeted discard in multiplayer. The fact the elf tokens aren't black is just another reason I don't play him.
Animate Dead: One shot recursion that sets me up for a 2-for-1 is not that desirable. Good card, it's just outclasses by so many other cards in the deck's reanimation suite.
No Terastodon? It has no downside with this type of deck. I have a combo with Bloodghast+Perilous forays+Amulet of vigor to get most of my lands out. Even if you don't like the combo, Bloodghast would be a good addition to the deck. Have you tried Pernicious Deed? I always try to fit it into any b/g deck I build.
Darkheart Sliver needs to leave this list ASAP, it looks terrible even if it is sac fodder. Run the aforementioned Terastodon or Bloodghast instead. Also, you could use some of the Urza cycling lands too, it will help fuel Loams for you.
Also, I am confused by you saying Animate Dead can get you two for one'd. The enchantment gets back the creature, so I don't really see how this is possible, you should maintain card position barring a wrath effect or the like.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH Decks:
Halfdane Sek'Kuar
Please remember to autocard, just do [ card ] CARD NAME [ / card ] and for decks you can cover the whole thing in one deck tag like this: [ deck ] All of the cards in the deck [ / deck ]
I've been playing Savra for over 5 months and here are some of my thoughts.
No deed? If your going the land theme with Loam, Worm Harvest, cycle lands and Strip Mine, why are you not running Crucible?! It also works well with Braids, fetchlands and Smokestack.
I'd suggest adding Svogthos, the Restless Tomb. It can get huge pretty quick and its a great B/ recurrable creature if you add the Crucible.
Realms Uncharted is a very nice land tutor for the Loam and Crucible.
Are you aware Nath combos with Sadistic Hypnotist to eat all of your opponents hands?
I have learned having extra creatues to sac is great no matter what their color. Don't feel you need only black token generators, that idea held me back for awhile.
Mind Slash has become my favorite sac engine. It wasn't even in my build until a month ago.
Perilous Forays is another great sac engine. It combos with Bloodghast to get most of your lands from the deck.
Since I also run the infinite combo of Earthcraft and Squirrel Nest. I can use the Earthcraft to get every basic and dual land from my deck.
Butcher of Malakir is too good to remove. Hes saved me more than a few times. Remove something else with a huge CC.
I love Smokestack in my deck. I even call my build "Savra Stax". A link to the decklist is in my sig, if you want to check it out.
Cards I would remove from your list would be:
1x Regrowth (same as the animate dead. A simple 1 shot card thats not so great in EDH)
1x Essence Warden (Very minor ability with 40 life, not worth the spot with so many other great things to add)
1x Darkheart Sliver (Warlock is right. Really?)
1x Sakura Tribe Elder (I had this guy in my deck forever and he never impressed me much.)
1x Sisters of Stone Death (Put your Butcher back in!)
1 or 2 lands. 39 is a lot.
I forgot about Pernicious Deed. I don't actually own one yet, it's been on my list of cards to pick up. Same goes for Crucible of Worlds. When I have them, they're both going in for sure.
Terastodon is insane. I can't believe I forgot about that guy. He'll be going in today for sure. Urza cycling lands will be picked up today. I completely forgot about those.
Darkheart Sliver definitely has been useful but I will try cutting him for Bloodghast and see how he does.
I'll try swapping the Sisters of Stone Death for Butcher of Malakir and play it a little more. The sisters haven't been too crazy, aside from being a huge deterrent in people swinging at me.
Realms Uncharted and Perilous Forays are going to go in today. When I get off of work I'll update the original list for the changes.
I'll try swapping the Sisters of Stone Death for Butcher of Malakir and play it a little more. The sisters haven't been too crazy, aside from being a huge deterrent in people swinging at me.
Now you won't have to worry about creatures attacking you, since there won't be any on your opponents boards.
I STRONGLY recommend a Crucible in your deck when you can. Your putting a heavy load on that single Loam.
Now you won't have to worry about creatures attacking you, since there won't be any on your opponents boards.
I STRONGLY recommend a Crucible in your deck when you can. Your putting a heavy load on that single Loam.
A buddy is trading me a Crucible and some foils of other commons/uncommons for an extra textless foil Damnation I have so it will get added in today with everything else! Updated list to come still...
Your lack of apparent lifegain is going to hurt you in the end. I recommend running 1x loxodon warhammer, or a basilisk collar, or a sword of light and shadow. But you do need some way to gain life so that you can pay larger amounts for necropotence.
Your lack of apparent lifegain is going to hurt you in the end. I recommend running 1x loxodon warhammer, or a basilisk collar, or a sword of light and shadow. But you do need some way to gain life so that you can pay larger amounts for necropotence.
Actually his decklist is looking real solid. The only issue I see is the Oblivion Stone should be a Pernicious Deed.
Yep. Smokestack and Pernicious Deed are the next two cards on my buy list. Still waiting to finalize that Crucible of Worlds trade. Those three are going to put the deck over the top I think. I just don't know what to cut for them (aside from the O-stone/Deed swap.) Oversold Cemetery hasn't been terribly efficient. I haven't seemed to have 4 creatures in my yard when I need it most. It's either been completely nuts or a completely dead card. I want to make the deck as consistent as possible so that might get the axe next.
Necropotence is a no-no for this deck. The last thing I need is for someone to play a Wheel of Fortune effect while I've got a hand full of dredge cards.
If I need life gain, I tutor out Lord of Extinction and sac him to Miren, the Moaning Well. Neither cards are hard to find and usually doing that once is enough to keep me from worry about anything but general damage.
Sword of Light and Shadow would be cool to have. My playgroup doesn't care about a proxy here or there for playtesting-before-purchasing if a card isn't a bin rare or something super cheap so I'll give it a shot.
I ran Oversold for awhile. I had the same problems getting it to activate. I've replaced it with Oath of Ghouls and its been awesome. You need the constant creature recurrsion.
The Sapling doesn't do a lot for this deck. Its a good B/ creatues but doesn't fit the goal of the deck.
The Myojin is expensive to cast and its not good when reanimated.
Putrefy is fine and its nice to have instant speed removal sometimes, but I'd rather have the ability attached to a sac-able creature.
Artifacts are huge in my meta. Shrouded aggro generals mostly. So I removed my Uktabi Orangutans and added Gate to Phyrexia. A sac outlet and artifact destruction every turn!
Others Krovikan Horror - I was skeptical on this guy at first but he has been really solid as Bloodghast #3. He also doubles as a sac outlet which is fantastic. Coffin Queen - I think she is far better than Hell's Caretaker. Comes online sooner, can hit opponents graveyards and is not restricted to using her ability during upkeep. Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder - Great token generator if you have a sac outlet to control the flow of tokens.
I ran Oversold for awhile. I had the same problems getting it to activate. I've replaced it with Oath of Ghouls and its been awesome. You need the constant creature recurrsion.
The Sapling doesn't do a lot for this deck. Its a good B/ creatues but doesn't fit the goal of the deck.
The Myojin is expensive to cast and its not good when reanimated.
Putrefy is fine and its nice to have instant speed removal sometimes, but I'd rather have the ability attached to a sac-able creature.
Artifacts are huge in my meta. Shrouded aggro generals mostly. So I removed my Uktabi Orangutans and added Gate to Phyrexia. A sac outlet and artifact destruction every turn!
I have an Oath of Ghouls but I always worry I'll end up helping my opponents too much. I'll make the swap and see how I like it though.
Sapling of Colfenor is definitely on my list of potential cuts. I play a lot of creatures so I usually get advantage out of him but he's not too powerful of an effect.
A resolved Myojin is almost always game when I cast him. I can get him back to my hand via Genesis or Eternal Witness too so the "from hand" clause isn't too bad.
Putrefy has been so good to me. It deals with threats when I have no sac outlet, or hits troublesome artifacts like Disk or O-Stone.
Others Krovikan Horror - I was skeptical on this guy at first but he has been really solid as Bloodghast #3. He also doubles as a sac outlet which is fantastic. Coffin Queen - I think she is far better than Hell's Caretaker. Comes online sooner, can hit opponents graveyards and is not restricted to using her ability during upkeep. Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder - Great token generator if you have a sac outlet to control the flow of tokens.
I'm not totally sold on Yawgmoth's Will for this deck. The one shot effect kind turns me off since I'm not storming a lethal Tendrils of Agony or something, and RFG'ing my own cards is not something I want to do.
I'll see if my buddy will let me borrow one of his Grave Titans to throw in there. Seems like he could be a solid inclusion. I'd rather play him over Endrek Sahr.
I'll see if my buddy will let me borrow one of his Grave Titans to throw in there. Seems like he could be a solid inclusion. I'd rather play him over Endrek Sahr.
I recently replaced Endrek with a Grave Titan proxy and it is waaaaaay better. Endrek is too slow. His CC is high so I waste a turn playing him without an effect. Then you still need another large CC creature to make any worthwhile amount of tokens. I actually stopped casting him altogether, most of the time there are better options.
Black tutors are great here. I didn't notice the lack of a Vampiric. I would forget about about adding an Entomb and keep the Beseech the Queen instead. This isn't a Teneb, the Harvester deck.
I swapped Krovikan Horror for Nim Devourer and I'm always happy to see him. You are a little light on sac outlets...
The Gaea's Cradle is great when you come across it and have $30 to spend on a land.
Black tutors are great here. I didn't notice the lack of a Vampiric. I would forget about about adding an Entomb and keep the Beseech the Queen instead. This isn't a Teneb, the Harvester deck.
Entomb has a lot of quality targets here. Bloodghast, Nether Traitor, Worm Harvest, Life from the Loam, Genesis, creatures for reanimation, Grave Shell Scarab and it is a straight up tutor with any Regrowth effect. Any reason you think it is not good enough?
I swapped Krovikan Horror for Nim Devourer and I'm always happy to see him. You are a little light on sac outlets...
Do you mean you swapped out Nim Devourer for Krovikan Horror? Devourer seems pretty suboptimal.
Entomb has a lot of quality targets here. Bloodghast, Nether Traitor, Worm Harvest, Life from the Loam, Genesis, creatures for reanimation, Grave Shell Scarab and it is a straight up tutor with any Regrowth effect. Any reason you think it is not good enough?
Do you mean you swapped out Nim Devourer for Krovikan Horror? Devourer seems pretty suboptimal.
Yes, I replaced the Nim with the Horror.
My point is I would rather have a normal library tutor (Beseech the Queen) rather than Entomb. Nothing you listed is that game changing except the Loam. With Entomb he has 20 targets. With a normal tutor he has 99.
My point is I would rather have a normal library tutor (Beseech the Queen) rather than Entomb. Nothing you listed is that game changing except the Loam. With Entomb he has 20 targets. With a normal tutor he has 99.
I did not suggest cutting Beseech the Queen but I do think Entomb is the better card. The cost of the tutor is very relevant, the difference between Demonic and Diabolic Tutor is much greater than the 2 extra mana would suggest. You could say the Planar Portal can tutor for any card therefore Planar Portal > Entomb but I would strongly disagree. My Lyzolda list plays very similarly to a Savra deck and I also have a Savra player in my group. I can tell you from playtesting experience that Entomb is a great card for this type of deck.
Sure in a typical format, but 2 mana isn't so much of a difference in highlander.
Either way there a other things to cut if he wants to run both tutors.
I disagree on the first part, mana cost is still very relevant even in slower formats. Agreed on the second part, I think it would be better just to run both.
Krovikan Horror seems like he would be awesome. I'll pick one up asap. Will probably replace Sapling with him. I agree, I do find myself a little light on sac outlets. Shambling Shell and Grave-Shell Scarab pull quite the workload, I'd like to not rely on them so much.
As for the tutor debate, I'd like to run Vampiric Tutor, Beseech the Queen, and Entomb all together honestly. I do think I'm going to have to devote 1 or 2 slots to Jester's Cap effects soon because people in my league are starting to play graveyard hate now (Phyrexian Reclamation has been great for fighting through hate like Necrogenesis though).
I forgot to mention this earlier, I think Night Soil is stronger than Necrogenesis. It can't make as many tokens but it eats graveyards 4 times as fast.
Graveyard hate seems like a serious problem, maybe Pithing Needle could help? I like Sadistic Sacrament the best of the Cap effects because you can play it early and it can be backbreaking in the late game.
I forgot to mention this earlier, I think Night Soil is stronger than Necrogenesis. It can't make as many tokens but it eats graveyards 4 times as fast.
Graveyard hate seems like a serious problem, maybe Pithing Needle could help? I like Sadistic Sacrament the best of the Cap effects because you can play it early and it can be backbreaking in the late game.
I played with Night Soil prior to Necrogenesis and the problem I always had was that there has to be two legal targets in the graveyard to activate it. There were a lot of times I couldn't activate it when I really wanted/needed to. Although, a good friend of mine put Necrogenesis in his Doran deck, so that would make it a good Pithing Needle target too since I know he doesn't play Tormod's Crypt.
Pithing Needle and Sadistic Sacrament were the first two I was thinking of. I don't have too hard of a time fighting through hate, and I usually target the people I know playing Crypt/Relic first.
Sadistic Sacrament's a beast, but Bitter Ordeal can let you share the joy all around the table!
I play that with Sculpting Steel in my Sharuum, the Hedgemon deck. Can't believe I didn't think of that earlier. I'm going to play around with that and see if it helps with the graveyard hate.
Good suggestion!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
battleofwits on Cockatrice.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Some cards that I don't have that I would like to try out are:
Crucible of Worlds
Survival of the Fittest
Smokestack
Here's the list for your scrutiny. I welcome any and all suggestions!
1x Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Creatures:
1x Hell's Caretaker
1x Grave-Shell Scarab
1x Skeletal Vampire
1x Sapling of Colfenor
1x Creakwood Liege
1x Eternal Witness
1x Sadistic Hypnotist
1x Abyssal Gatekeeper
1x Acidic Slime
1x Braids, Cabal Minion
1x Bloodghast
1x Butcher of Malakir
1x Fleshbag Merauder
1x Gleancrawler
1x Shriekmaw
1x Vulturous Zombie
1x Indrik Stomphowler
1x Genesis
1x Myojin of Night's Reach
1x Nether Traitor
1x Shambling Shell
1x Mindslicer
1x Deadwood Treefolk
1x Woodfall Primus
1x Doomgape
1x Lord of Extinction
1x Terastodon
1x Life from the Loam
1x Innocent Blood
1x Diabolic Intent
1x Dread Return
1x Tooth and Nail
1x Beseech the Queen
1x Decree of Pain
1x Victimize
1x Damnation
1x Buried Alive
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Worm Harvest
Enchantment:
1x Bitterblossom
1x Grave Pact
1x Necrogenesis
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Phyrexian Reclamation
1x Oversold Cemetery
1x Lurking Predators
1x Mana Reflection
1x Perilous Forays
1x Mind Slash
Artifact:
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Phyrexian Altar
1x Golgari Signet
1x Oblivion Stone
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Sol Ring
1x Skullclamp
1x Worldly Tutor
1x Krosan Grip
1x Putrefy
1x Realms Uncharted
Land:
1x Phyrexian Tower
1x Pine Barrens
1x Gilt-Leaf Palace
1x Strip Mine
1x Vivid Marsh
1x Vivid Grove
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Barren Moor
1x Tranquil Thicket
1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
1x High Market
1x Twilight Mire
1x Bayou
1x Tainted Wood
1x Llanowar Wastes
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Golgari Rot Farm
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Polluted Mire
1x Slippery Karst
8x Forest
9x Swamp
Cards that I have tried and haven't liked much:
Contamination: A lot of times when I draw this I just wish it was something else. I have plenty of ways to lock up the board and this hurts me quite a bit too. By the time I have a board state to where I don't need to play green spells anymore, I'm already winning.
Yavimaya Elder: He's awesome, but I just replaced him with more powerful cards. I cut him for Life from the Loam.
Dread: This guy is a house but the inability to keep him around for recursion shenanigans kind of stinks.
Doomed Necromancer: I like Hell's Caretaker better, even though it's only on upkeep.
Plague Boiler: Just too unstable. Always goes off when I don't want it to, always have to pay to keep it from going off when I'd rather spend the mana elsewhere.
Nath of the Gilt-Leaf: I'm not too fond of targeted discard in multiplayer. The fact the elf tokens aren't black is just another reason I don't play him.
Animate Dead: One shot recursion that sets me up for a 2-for-1 is not that desirable. Good card, it's just outclasses by so many other cards in the deck's reanimation suite.
Changes:
-1 Sakura Tribe Elder
-1 Essence Warden
-1 Darkheart Sliver
-1 Sisters of Stone Death
-1 Regrowth
-1 Desert Twister
-2 Forest
+1 Perilous Forays
+1 Mind Slash
+1 Slippery Karst
+1 Polluted Mire
+1 Realms Uncharted
+1 Terastodon
+1 Butcher of Malakir
+1 Bloodghast
Also, I am confused by you saying Animate Dead can get you two for one'd. The enchantment gets back the creature, so I don't really see how this is possible, you should maintain card position barring a wrath effect or the like.
Halfdane
Sek'Kuar
Please remember to autocard, just do [ card ] CARD NAME [ / card ] and for decks you can cover the whole thing in one deck tag like this: [ deck ] All of the cards in the deck [ / deck ]
No deed? If your going the land theme with Loam, Worm Harvest, cycle lands and Strip Mine, why are you not running Crucible?! It also works well with Braids, fetchlands and Smokestack.
I'd suggest adding Svogthos, the Restless Tomb. It can get huge pretty quick and its a great B/ recurrable creature if you add the Crucible.
Realms Uncharted is a very nice land tutor for the Loam and Crucible.
Are you aware Nath combos with Sadistic Hypnotist to eat all of your opponents hands?
I have learned having extra creatues to sac is great no matter what their color. Don't feel you need only black token generators, that idea held me back for awhile.
Mind Slash has become my favorite sac engine. It wasn't even in my build until a month ago.
Mitotic Slime and Reassembling Skeleton have been great M11 additions to my deck.
One of my bigget problems is mana ramp. How are you doing with only 2 mana accelerators?
Black Market is amaaaaaaazing in Savra decks. Amazing. I'll say it again... Black Market.
Perilous Forays is another great sac engine. It combos with Bloodghast to get most of your lands from the deck.
Since I also run the infinite combo of Earthcraft and Squirrel Nest. I can use the Earthcraft to get every basic and dual land from my deck.
Butcher of Malakir is too good to remove. Hes saved me more than a few times. Remove something else with a huge CC.
I love Smokestack in my deck. I even call my build "Savra Stax". A link to the decklist is in my sig, if you want to check it out.
Cards I would remove from your list would be:
1x Regrowth (same as the animate dead. A simple 1 shot card thats not so great in EDH)
1x Essence Warden (Very minor ability with 40 life, not worth the spot with so many other great things to add)
1x Darkheart Sliver (Warlock is right. Really?)
1x Sakura Tribe Elder (I had this guy in my deck forever and he never impressed me much.)
1x Sisters of Stone Death (Put your Butcher back in!)
1 or 2 lands. 39 is a lot.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
The Bloodghast + Perilous Forays combo looks like fun. I have been really happy with Nether Traitor so I kind of overlooked Bloodghast but I will try him out.
Terastodon is insane. I can't believe I forgot about that guy. He'll be going in today for sure. Urza cycling lands will be picked up today. I completely forgot about those.
Darkheart Sliver definitely has been useful but I will try cutting him for Bloodghast and see how he does.
Zemog, I am aware of the interaction between Nath and Sadistic Hypnotist, but I can just use Creakwood Liege, Bitterblossom, or Worm Harvest tokens to accomplish the same while making them sacrifice guys at the same time.
I'll try swapping the Sisters of Stone Death for Butcher of Malakir and play it a little more. The sisters haven't been too crazy, aside from being a huge deterrent in people swinging at me.
Realms Uncharted and Perilous Forays are going to go in today. When I get off of work I'll update the original list for the changes.
Thanks for the suggestions so far!
Now you won't have to worry about creatures attacking you, since there won't be any on your opponents boards.
I STRONGLY recommend a Crucible in your deck when you can. Your putting a heavy load on that single Loam.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
A buddy is trading me a Crucible and some foils of other commons/uncommons for an extra textless foil Damnation I have so it will get added in today with everything else! Updated list to come still...
Legacy:WUBG Jace Rock
Trade thread
Sig by: heroes of the plane studios
That says Necrogenesis buddy!
Actually his decklist is looking real solid. The only issue I see is the Oblivion Stone should be a Pernicious Deed.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
Yep. Smokestack and Pernicious Deed are the next two cards on my buy list. Still waiting to finalize that Crucible of Worlds trade. Those three are going to put the deck over the top I think. I just don't know what to cut for them (aside from the O-stone/Deed swap.) Oversold Cemetery hasn't been terribly efficient. I haven't seemed to have 4 creatures in my yard when I need it most. It's either been completely nuts or a completely dead card. I want to make the deck as consistent as possible so that might get the axe next.
Necropotence is a no-no for this deck. The last thing I need is for someone to play a Wheel of Fortune effect while I've got a hand full of dredge cards.
If I need life gain, I tutor out Lord of Extinction and sac him to Miren, the Moaning Well. Neither cards are hard to find and usually doing that once is enough to keep me from worry about anything but general damage.
Sword of Light and Shadow would be cool to have. My playgroup doesn't care about a proxy here or there for playtesting-before-purchasing if a card isn't a bin rare or something super cheap so I'll give it a shot.
Options to remove IMO are:
The Sapling doesn't do a lot for this deck. Its a good B/ creatues but doesn't fit the goal of the deck.
The Myojin is expensive to cast and its not good when reanimated.
Putrefy is fine and its nice to have instant speed removal sometimes, but I'd rather have the ability attached to a sac-able creature.
Artifacts are huge in my meta. Shrouded aggro generals mostly. So I removed my Uktabi Orangutans and added Gate to Phyrexia. A sac outlet and artifact destruction every turn!
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
Obvious stuff:
Others
Krovikan Horror - I was skeptical on this guy at first but he has been really solid as Bloodghast #3. He also doubles as a sac outlet which is fantastic.
Coffin Queen - I think she is far better than Hell's Caretaker. Comes online sooner, can hit opponents graveyards and is not restricted to using her ability during upkeep.
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder - Great token generator if you have a sac outlet to control the flow of tokens.
I have an Oath of Ghouls but I always worry I'll end up helping my opponents too much. I'll make the swap and see how I like it though.
Sapling of Colfenor is definitely on my list of potential cuts. I play a lot of creatures so I usually get advantage out of him but he's not too powerful of an effect.
A resolved Myojin is almost always game when I cast him. I can get him back to my hand via Genesis or Eternal Witness too so the "from hand" clause isn't too bad.
Putrefy has been so good to me. It deals with threats when I have no sac outlet, or hits troublesome artifacts like Disk or O-Stone.
Vampiric Tutor will replace Beseech the Queen when I get one. Cost isn't a huge issue, but I won't exactly be picking up Imperial Seals or the like anytime soon.
Entomb and Gaea's Cradle would be great additions.
I'm not totally sold on Yawgmoth's Will for this deck. The one shot effect kind turns me off since I'm not storming a lethal Tendrils of Agony or something, and RFG'ing my own cards is not something I want to do.
I'll see if my buddy will let me borrow one of his Grave Titans to throw in there. Seems like he could be a solid inclusion. I'd rather play him over Endrek Sahr.
I recently replaced Endrek with a Grave Titan proxy and it is waaaaaay better. Endrek is too slow. His CC is high so I waste a turn playing him without an effect. Then you still need another large CC creature to make any worthwhile amount of tokens. I actually stopped casting him altogether, most of the time there are better options.
Black tutors are great here. I didn't notice the lack of a Vampiric. I would forget about about adding an Entomb and keep the Beseech the Queen instead. This isn't a Teneb, the Harvester deck.
I swapped Krovikan Horror for Nim Devourer and I'm always happy to see him. You are a little light on sac outlets...
The Gaea's Cradle is great when you come across it and have $30 to spend on a land.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
Do you mean you swapped out Nim Devourer for Krovikan Horror? Devourer seems pretty suboptimal.
Yes, I replaced the Nim with the Horror.
My point is I would rather have a normal library tutor (Beseech the Queen) rather than Entomb. Nothing you listed is that game changing except the Loam. With Entomb he has 20 targets. With a normal tutor he has 99.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
I did not suggest cutting Beseech the Queen but I do think Entomb is the better card. The cost of the tutor is very relevant, the difference between Demonic and Diabolic Tutor is much greater than the 2 extra mana would suggest. You could say the Planar Portal can tutor for any card therefore Planar Portal > Entomb but I would strongly disagree. My Lyzolda list plays very similarly to a Savra deck and I also have a Savra player in my group. I can tell you from playtesting experience that Entomb is a great card for this type of deck.
Sure in a typical format, but 2 mana isn't so much of a difference in highlander.
Either way there a other things to cut if he wants to run both tutors.
B Lover Since '09 ~
Standard:
meh.
Modern:
Urzatron GR
Vintage:
Contol-Slaver UBR
EDH:
Drana B
Jhoira UR
Savra BG
Turned into:
Adun Oakenshield BGR
Sharuum BUW
Turned into:
Memnarch U
KiKi-Jiki R
Turned into:
Godo R
Turned into:
Aurelia RW
The Mimeoplasm UBG
Rasputin Dreamweaver UW
Turned into:
Geist of Saint Traft -French 1v1 UW
Nekusar UBR
I disagree on the first part, mana cost is still very relevant even in slower formats. Agreed on the second part, I think it would be better just to run both.
As for the tutor debate, I'd like to run Vampiric Tutor, Beseech the Queen, and Entomb all together honestly. I do think I'm going to have to devote 1 or 2 slots to Jester's Cap effects soon because people in my league are starting to play graveyard hate now (Phyrexian Reclamation has been great for fighting through hate like Necrogenesis though).
Cards to pick up, in order of priority:
Graveyard hate seems like a serious problem, maybe Pithing Needle could help? I like Sadistic Sacrament the best of the Cap effects because you can play it early and it can be backbreaking in the late game.
I played with Night Soil prior to Necrogenesis and the problem I always had was that there has to be two legal targets in the graveyard to activate it. There were a lot of times I couldn't activate it when I really wanted/needed to. Although, a good friend of mine put Necrogenesis in his Doran deck, so that would make it a good Pithing Needle target too since I know he doesn't play Tormod's Crypt.
Pithing Needle and Sadistic Sacrament were the first two I was thinking of. I don't have too hard of a time fighting through hate, and I usually target the people I know playing Crypt/Relic first.
Glissa, the Traitor, Ulasht, the Hate Seed, The Mimeoplasm
I play that with Sculpting Steel in my Sharuum, the Hedgemon deck. Can't believe I didn't think of that earlier. I'm going to play around with that and see if it helps with the graveyard hate.
Good suggestion!