After playing a handful of decks for the past year or so I decided that it was time to build Mono-black. At first, I thought about four distinct routes: Mass Discard, Poison, Good-stuff, and Voltron. None of these really appeal to me and it was because they are shallow and uninteresting themes to me.
Zombies aren't really my thing, but there is a very specific way the older movies develop that really interests me - had I taken more music classes in college I am sure I could explain it better. But, there is always a building up of pressure that takes its toll on the heros, rarely do they all survive, and even if they do make it out alive you get the sense that they are screwed and would be better off dead.
I really like Group Hug as a concept, but there is something too "Bomb Pops and CareBears" about it. So, instead of Group Hug I decided to create a deck that would recreate the look and feel of a classic George Romero Zombie film. I called it Group Nut Punch, but as the deck became more clear in my mind and on paper I saw that it wasn't quite as destructive/griefer/douchy as I initially thought.
It starts slow but if left unchecked it takes off exponentially and creates a strong feeling of inevitability that can completely ruin an otherwise predictable game. The other players are fighting amongst themselves and quickly enough they realize they have to band together and set aside their differences in order to keep the Zombies from taking over... or something like that.
After working on this idea for about a month it was brought to my attention that Bennie Smith over at Starcity Games had already gone through the exact same concept with similar results. His deck is great and I would imagine that it feels very much like this one. The biggest difference I see is the amount of control cards he runs. I don't have many - they make my decisions too much a part of the game - which goes too far off-theme to me.
It's pretty obvious that Geth is a strong card. His ability to bring creatures and artifacts out of graveyards at instant speed while simultaneously milling your opponent is worth running him. But, the real reason is simply that he's a Black Legendary Zombie. It was Geth or:
Considering two of those are utterly useless I went with the guy that felt most like what the deck wants to do. If they ever print a black Zombie version of Horde of Notions that would be amazing!!
Oddly, I think I've only played him a couple of times since he's not really a big part of the deck - but, you have to have a General, right? Some day I will attack with him I guess.
*Petrified Field - Since you have such powerful lands in Mono-black it's nice to get them back if they get destroyed, you mill them, or watch Morality Shift toss one into the bin.
* Black Market - Black Market is a no-brainer in a deck that watches a lot of creature die. I've had it up to 60 counters before it even came back to me for my next turn. It has a lot of synergy with a deck that spits out guys and kills them.
* Brainspoil - Decent creature removal, but for 3 you can tutor for: Gauntlet of Power, Black Market, Noxious Ghoul, Demonic Collusion, Necrologia, Promise of Power, Liliana Vess, and Living Death
* Demonic Collusion - When you actually want cards in your Graveyard the Buyback "cost" is a bonus.
* Expedition Map - Getting an early sac outlet or a late game Crypt of Agadeem or Cabal Coffers is good stuff. It also fits the Zombie movie theme since the Heros always seem to have maps.
* Liliana Vess - I use her to tutor most of the time. But, all three abilities are relevant.
* Necrologia - End of turn I'll draw 20. If Zombie Infestation is already out, I get lots of guys and a Graveyard full of goodies. If not, I still get a great grip of cards and a Graveyard full of goodies.
* Promise of Power - Good, but I refuse to get the Demon token. It simply doesn't make sense within the theme of the deck.
* Shred Memory - Gets rid of some nasty cards and tutors for Demonic Tutor, Consume Spirit, Drain Life, Exsanguinate, Boneknitter, Cabal Interragator, Plaguebearer, Rotting Rats, Shepherd Of Rot, Withered Wretch, Altar of Dementia, and Zombie Infestation.
Life Gain
I do not win games with these cards since that goes off-theme. They are here just to give me enough life to survive another turn, or play the Necro draw spells.
* Exsanguinate - This is quite possibly the most powerful EDH card that has been printed (and not banned) in the last few years. Again, I never kill with it, but for 10 mana I usually gain 24 life and suck 8 out of each opponent.
* Suffer the Past - This could go under Utility as well since the Exiling is more the reason I run the card. But the life gain has saved me a few times. Also, once you start milling people out with Altar of Dementia you need a way to keep the Eldrazis from doing their thing and green decks from recurring all their stuff.
* Tendrils of Corruption - Nothing fancy here, but it does kill a majority of their creatures and it's Instant Speed life gain.
Zombies
* Boneknitter - Regeneration sometimes helps to save one of your Lords. Morph can be sneaky. I really run him so that I have a body to throw down and a guy in the Graveyard early in the game.
* Cemetery Reaper - Another way to Exile problematic Graveyard cards and a Lord to boot.
* Coffin Queen - Control Magic on a stick. She's like Geth's little sister. She combos with Fleshbag Marauder pretty well - 3 mana for a Global Edict effect every turn? Sure. Then you use her to grab the best thing they sac'd.
* Death Baron - Deathtouch makes combat all gummed up, but I just needed another Lord.
* Fleshbag Marauder - I love when everyone throws something in the trash.
* Gempalm Polluter - I hate ending games with this guy, but it happens. Once Tombstone Stairwell comes into play I can usually hit for 15-20 points of uncounterable damage and draw a card... before YOU can even draw that turn.
* Ghastly Remains - He sucks, but I can recur and play him as a 0/0 to trigger Grave Pact or he can be a big dummy too.
* Graveborn Muse - So much card draw, but be careful or she will kill you fast! I often have to sac her before I can draw that many, but 4 mana that gets me 6-8 cards seems okay. Also, don't forget she's a 3/3 that trades with a lot of other creatures.
* Haunted Cadaver - I'm on the fence here. I like the discard, but he doesn't seem to connect that often. He has a lot of good synergy with Dawn of the Dead.
* Lord of the Undead - A good Lord that brings your best stuff back? Sure.
* Noxious Ghoul - Would you like to be the only one with creatures? He helps and once Stairwell is kicking, the game turns into a giant Zombie fest and everything else dies (Even the guy with the Shield of Kaldra on him).
* Plaguebearer - With a lot of mana you can do crazy things... or against a token deck.
* Rotlung Reanimator - I usually get 2-3 bodies out of Rotlung, but he's pretty blah in the deck.
* Rotting Rats - I like discarding and they hate it. Unearth is a great ability too!
* Shepherd Of Rot - The artwork is so perfect that I have to run this guy. The ability does work pretty well, but I am usually behind on Life so most of the time he's just a dude that becomes a dude in the Graveyard.
* Twisted Abomination - I always cycle him, but when he comes back a regenerating big guy is handy sometimes.
* Undead Gladiator - During the first few turns he just gets cycled. Later on I use him as a discard outlet. I don't think I have ever attacked with dead Kamahl.
* Undead Warchief - Tombstone Stairwell says we all get Zombies. Warchief says mine are bigger than yours are. For a Zombie Tribal deck he's bonkers.
* Vengeful Dead - You want to win before your next upkeep? Have a Tombstone Stairwell and Vengeful Dead in play. Each upkeep X zombies come into play and at the end of turn X Zombie tokens die. Each opponent takes X damage EACH turn. That doesn't sound ~that~ bad but if I told you that X was 15... He seals deals.
* Zombie Trailblazer - Makes some guys unblockable, but I really like turning other people's best lands into Swamps. A Gaea's Cradle that taps for 1 seems pretty bad.
Zombie Combo
Most of these cards revolve around Zombie Infestation or Tombstone Stairwell. The deck can work without these, but they are the most important cards in the entire deck. I don't know how I had missed Stairwell all these years, but it's one of the most game changing cards I have seen in EDH because EVERYONE gets Zombies during EVERY upkeep. It's best to wait a while before you drop Stairwell so you can get as much out of it as possible!
* Tombstone Stairwell - If played right you can reliably get anywhere from 6 to 15 zombies during each upkeep (suck on THAT Verdant Force) and since they ALL die by the end of the turn you can do all sorts of crazy things with them. Since this deck should have the fattest graveyard you should have the biggest crop of Zombies popping up each turn. This prevents you from getting yourself killed.
* Altar of Dementia - Sac your Tombstone Zombies to make your Graveyard even bigger and to get even more Zombies. Or if you have a large enough yard, you can actually mill a person per turn. That feels very off-theme to me, but I think there is something appropriate about slaughtering Zombies and stripping a person of their options - I just can't make the analogy work.
* Dawn of the Dead - It's not a crucial card for the deck at all. I chose it because it is actually named after Dawn of the Dead.
* Grave Pact - Grave Pact is a great card in any deck that can support its casting cost. In this deck it basically a Scorched Earth policy. When you have so many guys dying every turn your opponents' creatures don't really stand a chance. The nice part is that their Tombspawn Zombies from Stairwell will already be gone by the time Grave Pact does its thing, so they can't save their guys by tossing their own Zombies.
* Living Death and Living End - They are actually very anti-synergistic with Tombstone Stairwell, but they also make a great Plan B. The flavor of these two cards also feels very 70's-80's Zombie flick.
* Morality Shift - Seven mana is pretty easy to get and this card can come out of nowhere to do nasty things. Just make sure you have a Graveyard first or you can kill yourself pretty fast - you can do some crazy things to craft your next few draws by removing the chaff from your graveyard first with Withered Wretch. It goes very well with Tombstone Stairwell, Living Death, and Living End.
* Zombie Infestation - Instant speed Zombies are awesome. A discard outlet is awesome. My favorite is drawing out a ton of cards with one of the Necro-draw cards and then pitching the cards to Zombie Infestation... especially if you can actually get the cards you discard into your graveyard AND if Living End is counting down to 0.
Utility
* Claws of Gix and Infernal Tribute - Gaining life and drawing cards is always good, right? These are really in here to get rid of Necropotence after I draw the cards so I can discard them to the Graveyard. Both are a concession to how much I need Necropotence AND a Graveyard of stuff. Luckily I like getting a bit more value out of things that are going to be dying anyway.
* Damnation - Kinda meh. I use it sometimes, but it hardly feels like a necessary part of the deck or very flavorful. The best use of this card to power up Black Market and to keep token decks in check.
* Decree of Pain - This should probably be under card draw, but it's so good at resetting the board and drawing out a lot of cards. Eight mana to draw 8-10 cards is good even without the Wrath effect.
* Sensei's Divining Top - I need to get rid of this card. It's obviously one of the best cards in the format, but I feel like it's value is lost after the first few turns since I would rather just draw 3 cards than look at 3. I know I know, it's not the same thing, but it feels too smart to be in a deck of brainlessness.
* Thousand-Year Elixir - The one card that I added because of Geth. His resurrection ability is good, but I didn't notice that things come in tapped until somewhat recently (I have a problem with the notion of a Legendary Zombie in general, so I never play him). Being able to use the creature you pull out of the Graveyard the turn you get it seems good. It also goes well with Cabal Interrogator, Cemetary Reaper, Shepherd of Rot, and Lord of the Undead. Finally, it just looks like a Zombie artifact, so score.
Coming Soon
By its very nature this deck commits suicide quite a bit and you'd never want to play this when you want to field a competitive deck - it's just too hit or miss and easily disrupted. Luckily nobody I know seems to play much graveyard hate and the counter happy players have stayed home lately.
So, you either win by swinging in with lots of Zombies every turn made from Tombstone Stairwell, Zombie Infestation, Living Death or Living End. The last two are my least favorite because it doesn't create the feeling of slow inevitability that the first two do. You can also win with big Life Drain type spells. Again, this feels off-theme and I try not to use these spells unless I absolutely have to.
You lose by getting greedy with Necropotence, Graveborn Muse, or any pay X life type effect... this deck runs a lot! Because Morality Shift does such a great job of draining your library it can take you out too. I would guess that half the losses I have had with this deck have been because of being milled to death - by myself. Because of that I might add Feldon's Cane to the list or even go down the BG-Dredge route in the future. Because I don't run a lot of spot-removal there is a problem with lots of high powered Generals hitting me for 21 before I can dig for an answer.
This is a very fun deck to play and if you love theme decks that aren't just a collection of the best cards in the format this might be a good deck to try out. I am sure you could make it much more competitive, but all of my card choices were based on flavor first. Efficiency and power are fine, but it's like you've never seen a Zombie movie.
I'm guessing Grave Titan is too far off theme, too bad. You could find room for Call to the Grave since it fits the theme by slowly killing off the living, with only the dead remaining.
Thanks! I've had this deck on the burner for a long time and just recently got around to getting all the stuff. (Zombies must be a popular casual archetype because some of these cards were way more expensive than they should be... Undead Warchief was $2!?!)
@Darklich528 - I honestly don't know how Gutless Ghoul* got overlooked. When I looked for Zombies on Gatherer I wrote them all down and he never made it. But, yes, he'll go in ASAP.
@Necr0maNc3R - Why couldn't they have made Grave Titan a Zombie too? He'd still be a bit off-theme but littering the table with Zombies is the end goal, so he may eventually end up in here. Call to the Grave is card #101 right now and if anything else doesn't work out it's in. Death Match would be kind of funny and flavorful with Stairwell or Infestation out, but I actually meant Grave Pact. Since everything of mine should have a pretty short life it just takes down everyone else too.
Things have been shuffled around and this is the deck I will try to run this weekend. Any other Ideas on what to add and what to cut? Midnight Ritual is on the chopping block since it empty my graveyard of deadies. Also, I am trying to figure out if there is a way to get around the Exiling Effect of Necropotencesince I really want to discard once I grab all the cards. Is there an easy way to get rid of it without running green (a solid second color for sure).
Things have been shuffled around and this is the deck I will try to run this weekend. Any other Ideas on what to add and what to cut? Midnight Ritual is on the chopping block since it empty my graveyard of deadies. Also, I am trying to figure out if there is a way to get around the Exiling Effect of Necropotencesince I really want to discard once I grab all the cards. Is there an easy way to get rid of it without running green (a solid second color for sure).
I would either add something in that discards for an effect (Skirge Familiar comes to mind) or a way to sacrifice permanents. Hands down the best way to do this in mono black is Infernal Tribute.
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All great ideas! Skirge Familiar doesn't get around the Necropotence problem, but Claws of Gix and Infernal Tribute work on multiple levels, so I'll figure out a way to squeeze those in.
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That's funny. I hadn't seen his article before, but apparently I am not the first person to come up with the idea or the analogy. I really like his list and it definitely got me thinking about using Geth more than I have. Honestly, I picked Geth because he's a black Zombie and the art looked "kinda right." Using him as part of the deck hasn't felt quite right - just more right than any other Black Legend.
Thanks for the link. I'm going to have to try some of that.
The problem I have with cards like these is that they don't really fit the overall theme of the deck. Sure, they are really good and work well with Geth, but I haven't really ever used him and don't think I will.
I hadn't even heard of Walking Dead until December 19th, but I have since read the entire series and watched all of the TV episodes (which are pretty bad compared to the comic).
Have you considered Moonlight Bargain over Promise of Power? If you're not using Promise for the Demon Token, Bargain lets you draw the same 5 cards at instant speed, lets you pitch any number of them you want, and can actually cost you fewer life (if you pitch at least 3).
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Have you considered Moonlight Bargain over Promise of Power? If you're not using Promise for the Demon Token, Bargain lets you draw the same 5 cards at instant speed, lets you pitch any number of them you want, and can actually cost you fewer life (if you pitch at least 3).
I saw that card a long time ago and just forgot about it. Promise of Power's Demon has saved my ass a couple times, but I think you are right that Moonlight Bargain might be better. I actually want to bin some of the cards I draw so that should be icing. Hmmm....It also doesn't make you discard - they are put into the graveyard - so it gets around Necropotence in a very slick way.
Edit: Consultations have been change to Collusions. Thanks Wildfire.
I saw that card a long time ago and just forgot about it. Promise of Power's Demon has saved my ass a couple times, but I think you are right that Moonlight Bargain might be better. I actually want to bin some of the cards I draw so that should be icing. Hmmm....It also doesn't make you discard - they are put into the graveyard - so it gets around Necropotence in a very slick way.
Long time lurker, very part time poster here. Even though your deck is a theme couldn't you use Helldozer ( perhaps a little DB but theme fitting ) or Unliving Psychopath. Sorry messaging from a PS3.
Long time lurker, very part time poster here. Even though your deck is a theme couldn't you use Helldozer ( perhaps a little DB but theme fitting ) or Unliving Psychopath. Sorry messaging from a PS3.
You know, both were in there before, but Helldozer didn't feel right (he's huge and destroys land, which isn't very "zombie movie -esque" and the Psychopath costs too much mana to use. They are both cool and if I ever stray from the Romero theme they'll probably find a way in.
Also, does this deck get anything at all in Besieged? Nested Ghoul seems like a possibility?
well if you plan on having a large grave yard with a lot of creatures in it, why not try Mortal Combat?
i know you only have 23 creatures. but it could work right?
I don't think I have ever had that many guys in the graveyard even with a loaded Morality Shift. The deck actually runs pretty tight right now so I have no idea what I would drop for that. If I went full on Zombie Tribal I could see that working though.
If you need a way to discard cards why not use Putrid Imp? He's cheap and a zombie.
I don't really ever want to discard unless it's a recurred Rotting Rats so I hit everyone else as well. I would much rather play my guys and get them killed so they do stuff. Imp is a great discard outlet but I don't think I need that.
Zombies aren't really my thing, but there is a very specific way the older movies develop that really interests me - had I taken more music classes in college I am sure I could explain it better. But, there is always a building up of pressure that takes its toll on the heros, rarely do they all survive, and even if they do make it out alive you get the sense that they are screwed and would be better off dead.
I really like Group Hug as a concept, but there is something too "Bomb Pops and CareBears" about it. So, instead of Group Hug I decided to create a deck that would recreate the look and feel of a classic George Romero Zombie film. I called it Group Nut Punch, but as the deck became more clear in my mind and on paper I saw that it wasn't quite as destructive/griefer/douchy as I initially thought.
It starts slow but if left unchecked it takes off exponentially and creates a strong feeling of inevitability that can completely ruin an otherwise predictable game. The other players are fighting amongst themselves and quickly enough they realize they have to band together and set aside their differences in order to keep the Zombies from taking over... or something like that.
After working on this idea for about a month it was brought to my attention that Bennie Smith over at Starcity Games had already gone through the exact same concept with similar results. His deck is great and I would imagine that it feels very much like this one. The biggest difference I see is the amount of control cards he runs. I don't have many - they make my decisions too much a part of the game - which goes too far off-theme to me.
It's pretty obvious that Geth is a strong card. His ability to bring creatures and artifacts out of graveyards at instant speed while simultaneously milling your opponent is worth running him. But, the real reason is simply that he's a Black Legendary Zombie. It was Geth or:
- Balthor the Defiled
- Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
- Phage the Untouchable
- Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
Considering two of those are utterly useless I went with the guy that felt most like what the deck wants to do. If they ever print a black Zombie version of Horde of Notions that would be amazing!!Oddly, I think I've only played him a couple of times since he's not really a big part of the deck - but, you have to have a General, right? Some day I will attack with him I guess.
1 Geth, Lord of the Vault
Land - 38
27 Swamp
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Crypt of Agadeem
1 High Market
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Petrified Field
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Unholy Grotto
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Volrath's Stronghold
Mana Boost - 6
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Black Market
1 Caged Sun
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Nirkana Revenant
Draw/Tutor - 13
1 Ambition's Cost
1 Ancient Craving
1 Brainspoil
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Demonic Collusion
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Dimir Machinations
1 Expedition Map
1 Insidious Dreams
1 Necrologia
1 Necropotence
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Consume Spirit
1 Exsanguinate
1 Suffer the Past
1 Tendrils of Corruption
Zombies - 23
1 Blackcleave Goblin
1 Cemetery Reaper
1 Coffin Queen
1 Contagion Nim
1 Death Baron
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Gempalm Polluter
1 Ghastly Remains
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Gutless Ghoul
1 Lord of the Undead
1 Noxious Ghoul
1 Phyrexian Crusader
1 Rotlung Reanimator
1 Rotting Rats
1 Scourge Servant
1 Shepherd Of Rot
1 Twisted Abomination
1 Undead Gladiator
1 Undead Warchief
1 Vengeful Dead
1 Withered Wretch
1 Zombie Trailblazer
1 Altar of Dementia
1 Dawn of the Dead
1 Grave Pact
1 Living Death
1 Living End
1 Morality Shift
1 Tombstone Stairwell
1 Zombie Infestation
Utility - 7
1 Call to the Grave
1 Claws of Gix
1 Contamination
1 Damnation
1 Decree of Pain
1 Infernal Tribute
1 Yawgmoth's Will
Land
*Crypt of Agadeem - When you have 8-12 creatures in your graveyard this can be a huge mana boost late game.
*High Market and Miren, the Moaning Well - You are going to lose a ton of guys anyway, why not? These combo very well with Dawn of the Dead and Grave Pact. With High Market, Dawn of the Dead, and Grave Pact out it reads "Tap, everyone else sacs a creature every turn." The life gain is important as well because the best draw spells are Necrologia and Necropotence.
*Petrified Field - Since you have such powerful lands in Mono-black it's nice to get them back if they get destroyed, you mill them, or watch Morality Shift toss one into the bin.
*Reliquary Tower - With all the card draw it's nice to keep your cards. It makes Necropotence and Necologia that much better.
*Unholy Grotto - Obvious? Recycling Gempalm Polluter or Fleshbag Maurader has been very effective.
*Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - Make Cabal Coffers better and doubles the effectiveness of Zombie Trailblazer too!
* Black Market - Black Market is a no-brainer in a deck that watches a lot of creature die. I've had it up to 60 counters before it even came back to me for my next turn. It has a lot of synergy with a deck that spits out guys and kills them.
* Extraplanar Lens, Gauntlet of Power, Nirkana Revenant - Mono-Black Staples.
* Brainspoil - Decent creature removal, but for 3 you can tutor for: Gauntlet of Power, Black Market, Noxious Ghoul, Demonic Collusion, Necrologia, Promise of Power, Liliana Vess, and Living Death
* Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor - Duh.
* Demonic Collusion - When you actually want cards in your Graveyard the Buyback "cost" is a bonus.
* Expedition Map - Getting an early sac outlet or a late game Crypt of Agadeem or Cabal Coffers is good stuff. It also fits the Zombie movie theme since the Heros always seem to have maps.
* Liliana Vess - I use her to tutor most of the time. But, all three abilities are relevant.
* Necrologia - End of turn I'll draw 20. If Zombie Infestation is already out, I get lots of guys and a Graveyard full of goodies. If not, I still get a great grip of cards and a Graveyard full of goodies.
* Necropotence - Almost as good as Necrologia, but the "Exile clause" makes things hard sometimes. I run Reliquary Tower, Infernal Tribute, and Claws of Gix to keep the cards if I need to.
* Phyrexian Arena - Good.
* Promise of Power - Good, but I refuse to get the Demon token. It simply doesn't make sense within the theme of the deck.
* Shred Memory - Gets rid of some nasty cards and tutors for Demonic Tutor, Consume Spirit, Drain Life, Exsanguinate, Boneknitter, Cabal Interragator, Plaguebearer, Rotting Rats, Shepherd Of Rot, Withered Wretch, Altar of Dementia, and Zombie Infestation.
* Consume Spirit, Soul Burn- Stardard "gain X Life" spells.
* Exsanguinate - This is quite possibly the most powerful EDH card that has been printed (and not banned) in the last few years. Again, I never kill with it, but for 10 mana I usually gain 24 life and suck 8 out of each opponent.
* Suffer the Past - This could go under Utility as well since the Exiling is more the reason I run the card. But the life gain has saved me a few times. Also, once you start milling people out with Altar of Dementia you need a way to keep the Eldrazis from doing their thing and green decks from recurring all their stuff.
* Tendrils of Corruption - Nothing fancy here, but it does kill a majority of their creatures and it's Instant Speed life gain.
* Cabal Interrogator - Reusable Mind Twist is great! When you get to choose Geth's targets it's pretty solid.
* Cemetery Reaper - Another way to Exile problematic Graveyard cards and a Lord to boot.
* Coffin Queen - Control Magic on a stick. She's like Geth's little sister. She combos with Fleshbag Marauder pretty well - 3 mana for a Global Edict effect every turn? Sure. Then you use her to grab the best thing they sac'd.
* Death Baron - Deathtouch makes combat all gummed up, but I just needed another Lord.
* Fleshbag Marauder - I love when everyone throws something in the trash.
* Gempalm Polluter - I hate ending games with this guy, but it happens. Once Tombstone Stairwell comes into play I can usually hit for 15-20 points of uncounterable damage and draw a card... before YOU can even draw that turn.
* Ghastly Remains - He sucks, but I can recur and play him as a 0/0 to trigger Grave Pact or he can be a big dummy too.
* Graveborn Muse - So much card draw, but be careful or she will kill you fast! I often have to sac her before I can draw that many, but 4 mana that gets me 6-8 cards seems okay. Also, don't forget she's a 3/3 that trades with a lot of other creatures.
* Gutless Ghoul - Another sac outlet and another way to gain life. With Tombstone Stairwell going, I can gain a lot of life!
* Haunted Cadaver - I'm on the fence here. I like the discard, but he doesn't seem to connect that often. He has a lot of good synergy with Dawn of the Dead.
* Lord of the Undead - A good Lord that brings your best stuff back? Sure.
* Noxious Ghoul - Would you like to be the only one with creatures? He helps and once Stairwell is kicking, the game turns into a giant Zombie fest and everything else dies (Even the guy with the Shield of Kaldra on him).
* Plaguebearer - With a lot of mana you can do crazy things... or against a token deck.
* Rotlung Reanimator - I usually get 2-3 bodies out of Rotlung, but he's pretty blah in the deck.
* Rotting Rats - I like discarding and they hate it. Unearth is a great ability too!
* Shepherd Of Rot - The artwork is so perfect that I have to run this guy. The ability does work pretty well, but I am usually behind on Life so most of the time he's just a dude that becomes a dude in the Graveyard.
* Twisted Abomination - I always cycle him, but when he comes back a regenerating big guy is handy sometimes.
* Undead Gladiator - During the first few turns he just gets cycled. Later on I use him as a discard outlet. I don't think I have ever attacked with dead Kamahl.
* Undead Warchief - Tombstone Stairwell says we all get Zombies. Warchief says mine are bigger than yours are. For a Zombie Tribal deck he's bonkers.
* Vengeful Dead - You want to win before your next upkeep? Have a Tombstone Stairwell and Vengeful Dead in play. Each upkeep X zombies come into play and at the end of turn X Zombie tokens die. Each opponent takes X damage EACH turn. That doesn't sound ~that~ bad but if I told you that X was 15... He seals deals.
* Withered Wretch - Sometimes you need to get rid of things. He also triggers Rotlung Reanimator.
* Zombie Trailblazer - Makes some guys unblockable, but I really like turning other people's best lands into Swamps. A Gaea's Cradle that taps for 1 seems pretty bad.
* Tombstone Stairwell - If played right you can reliably get anywhere from 6 to 15 zombies during each upkeep (suck on THAT Verdant Force) and since they ALL die by the end of the turn you can do all sorts of crazy things with them. Since this deck should have the fattest graveyard you should have the biggest crop of Zombies popping up each turn. This prevents you from getting yourself killed.
* Altar of Dementia - Sac your Tombstone Zombies to make your Graveyard even bigger and to get even more Zombies. Or if you have a large enough yard, you can actually mill a person per turn. That feels very off-theme to me, but I think there is something appropriate about slaughtering Zombies and stripping a person of their options - I just can't make the analogy work.
* Dawn of the Dead - It's not a crucial card for the deck at all. I chose it because it is actually named after Dawn of the Dead.
* Grave Pact - Grave Pact is a great card in any deck that can support its casting cost. In this deck it basically a Scorched Earth policy. When you have so many guys dying every turn your opponents' creatures don't really stand a chance. The nice part is that their Tombspawn Zombies from Stairwell will already be gone by the time Grave Pact does its thing, so they can't save their guys by tossing their own Zombies.
* Living Death and Living End - They are actually very anti-synergistic with Tombstone Stairwell, but they also make a great Plan B. The flavor of these two cards also feels very 70's-80's Zombie flick.
* Morality Shift - Seven mana is pretty easy to get and this card can come out of nowhere to do nasty things. Just make sure you have a Graveyard first or you can kill yourself pretty fast - you can do some crazy things to craft your next few draws by removing the chaff from your graveyard first with Withered Wretch. It goes very well with Tombstone Stairwell, Living Death, and Living End.
* Zombie Infestation - Instant speed Zombies are awesome. A discard outlet is awesome. My favorite is drawing out a ton of cards with one of the Necro-draw cards and then pitching the cards to Zombie Infestation... especially if you can actually get the cards you discard into your graveyard AND if Living End is counting down to 0.
* Damnation - Kinda meh. I use it sometimes, but it hardly feels like a necessary part of the deck or very flavorful. The best use of this card to power up Black Market and to keep token decks in check.
* Decree of Pain - This should probably be under card draw, but it's so good at resetting the board and drawing out a lot of cards. Eight mana to draw 8-10 cards is good even without the Wrath effect.
* Sensei's Divining Top - I need to get rid of this card. It's obviously one of the best cards in the format, but I feel like it's value is lost after the first few turns since I would rather just draw 3 cards than look at 3. I know I know, it's not the same thing, but it feels too smart to be in a deck of brainlessness.
* Thousand-Year Elixir - The one card that I added because of Geth. His resurrection ability is good, but I didn't notice that things come in tapped until somewhat recently (I have a problem with the notion of a Legendary Zombie in general, so I never play him). Being able to use the creature you pull out of the Graveyard the turn you get it seems good. It also goes well with Cabal Interrogator, Cemetary Reaper, Shepherd of Rot, and Lord of the Undead. Finally, it just looks like a Zombie artifact, so score.
By its very nature this deck commits suicide quite a bit and you'd never want to play this when you want to field a competitive deck - it's just too hit or miss and easily disrupted. Luckily nobody I know seems to play much graveyard hate and the counter happy players have stayed home lately.
So, you either win by swinging in with lots of Zombies every turn made from Tombstone Stairwell, Zombie Infestation, Living Death or Living End. The last two are my least favorite because it doesn't create the feeling of slow inevitability that the first two do. You can also win with big Life Drain type spells. Again, this feels off-theme and I try not to use these spells unless I absolutely have to.
You lose by getting greedy with Necropotence, Graveborn Muse, or any pay X life type effect... this deck runs a lot! Because Morality Shift does such a great job of draining your library it can take you out too. I would guess that half the losses I have had with this deck have been because of being milled to death - by myself. Because of that I might add Feldon's Cane to the list or even go down the BG-Dredge route in the future. Because I don't run a lot of spot-removal there is a problem with lots of high powered Generals hitting me for 21 before I can dig for an answer.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
I only have one suggestion: All Hallow's Eve! Seems like it would fit the theme pretty well.
Deck is very cool by the way. =D
Edit: Gutless Ghoul is a surprising amount of life-gain in a token deck.
I'm guessing Grave Titan is too far off theme, too bad. You could find room for Call to the Grave since it fits the theme by slowly killing off the living, with only the dead remaining.
EDIT: You mean Death Match, right? Death Pact doesn't exist.
@Darklich528 - I honestly don't know how Gutless Ghoul* got overlooked. When I looked for Zombies on Gatherer I wrote them all down and he never made it. But, yes, he'll go in ASAP.
@Necr0maNc3R - Why couldn't they have made Grave Titan a Zombie too? He'd still be a bit off-theme but littering the table with Zombies is the end goal, so he may eventually end up in here. Call to the Grave is card #101 right now and if anything else doesn't work out it's in. Death Match would be kind of funny and flavorful with Stairwell or Infestation out, but I actually meant Grave Pact. Since everything of mine should have a pretty short life it just takes down everyone else too.
*If anyone out there wants to send me one
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Claws of Gix? And the obv disk or O. Stone.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Buried Alive might be a fun combo card. Diabolic Intent is another cheap tutor you might be able to take advantage of.
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/multiplayer/20327_You_Lika_The_Juice_The_EDH_Evil_Dead.html
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That's funny. I hadn't seen his article before, but apparently I am not the first person to come up with the idea or the analogy. I really like his list and it definitely got me thinking about using Geth more than I have. Honestly, I picked Geth because he's a black Zombie and the art looked "kinda right." Using him as part of the deck hasn't felt quite right - just more right than any other Black Legend.
Thanks for the link. I'm going to have to try some of that.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Two cards. From the same set. That count the same conditions. That Geth promotes. It's a little weird.
And they have 'Spoil' in the name...ewwww. Stinky.
I'll have to take a long look at this list. Zombies are fun as hell. Gotta ask--did 'Walking Dead' help inspire this deck?
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I hadn't even heard of Walking Dead until December 19th, but I have since read the entire series and watched all of the TV episodes (which are pretty bad compared to the comic).
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
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StaffCurrently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
I saw that card a long time ago and just forgot about it. Promise of Power's Demon has saved my ass a couple times, but I think you are right that Moonlight Bargain might be better. I actually want to bin some of the cards I draw so that should be icing. Hmmm....It also doesn't make you discard - they are put into the graveyard - so it gets around Necropotence in a very slick way.
Edit: Consultations have been change to Collusions. Thanks Wildfire.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
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StaffAlso, your deck lists Demonic Consultation, but when you're describing it, it sounds like you are really talking about Demonic Collusion.
Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
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You know, both were in there before, but Helldozer didn't feel right (he's huge and destroys land, which isn't very "zombie movie -esque" and the Psychopath costs too much mana to use. They are both cool and if I ever stray from the Romero theme they'll probably find a way in.
Also, does this deck get anything at all in Besieged? Nested Ghoul seems like a possibility?
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
i know you only have 23 creatures. but it could work right?
UB Grimgrin, Corpse-BornUB
WRG Marath, Will of the Wild GRW
RGOmnath, Locus of RageGR
WBTeysa, Orzhov ScionBW
URThe Locust GodRU
W(W/R)RAkiri, Line-SlingerW(W/R)R
I don't think I have ever had that many guys in the graveyard even with a loaded Morality Shift. The deck actually runs pretty tight right now so I have no idea what I would drop for that. If I went full on Zombie Tribal I could see that working though.
I don't really ever want to discard unless it's a recurred Rotting Rats so I hit everyone else as well. I would much rather play my guys and get them killed so they do stuff. Imp is a great discard outlet but I don't think I need that.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.