Stitchwing Skaab

Creature — Zombie Horror

Flying

symbol1{U}, Discard two cards: Return this from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (51)

bushido_man96 on Zombie help

1 year ago

Tainted Adversary seems a bit mana intensive to really get good results from. How many tokens do you usually get when you cast it? And is the effect worth that much mana investment? I don't like Stitchwing Skaab, either, especially when you talk about running out of gas. It will only contribute to that problem if you don't have cards to discard, and you don't want to discard better cards to play that one.

I'd consider cutting Spell Swindle for a cheaper CMC counterspell, or a straight removal spell. I think you want to be pretty aggressive with how you spend your mana in this deck, and holding up 5 mana to counter a spell is counterintuitive to that strategy.

I'd drop the mill theme: Dread Summons, Drown in Dreams, Maddening Cacophony, Peer into the Abyss, Psychic Corrosion maybe even Telemin Performance. I would add card draw spells in those spots. Night's Whisper, Ambition's Cost, and Sign in Blood will always draw you cards, regardless of board state. Altar's Reap, Village Rites, and Vampiric Rites are good draw sources when you have a board state. I'd recommend pushing your ramp to 10 spells, and then you should be off an running.

Good luck going forward with this deck.

ChrisHansonBiomancin on The Walking Dredge

3 years ago

Nice deck! If you're getting good results from Haunted Dead you'll probably also like Stitchwing Skaab ; it might even be slightly better since you get a 3-power flyer to go over the top while Prized Amalgam clogs up the ground. Sidisi, Brood Tyrant could also be nice as both a big threat and a way to keep your dredge engine going.

BoneclockHarmony on Blue Bird (Arclight Dredge) - Pioneer

3 years ago

Hey, yeah Prized Amalgam might be good. I've not been playing the deck lately, but when I was it did feel like it needed one more threat. I tried Stitchwing Skaab a few times, too.

The deck was a lot of fun, but a bit underpowered :)

drpeppercan on Scarab god

5 years ago

Some cards to consider:

• Bojuka Bog : A must include in any black commander deck.
• Boneknitter : Utility, simple as that.
• Corpse Harvester : Out with the old, in with the new... and a swamp!
• Cryptbreaker : So much value in such a small package. Token generating, card draw, good in the early and late game... what is not to love about this card!
• Death Baron : A zombie lord with some extra punch Sure he doesn't get deathtouch himself, but all those 2/2 tokens that are now 3/3 deathtouch.
• Dread Summons : Ever seen those zombie movies with that big hoard that just keeps coming... that's this card. Gives you a bunch of tokens, and recursion bait for your commander.
• Endless Ranks of the Dead : Card title kind of says it all for this one. Obviously not the best in metas with wrath effects coming down every turn, but shines like a copper penny otherwise.
• Ghoulcaller Gisa : So take one creature, throw it under the bus, and get more...
• Grave Titan : Why this thing isn't a zombie I will never know. 6/6 for 6, deathtouch, and brings two friends with it AND when it attacks.
• Graveborn Muse : Card draw based on zombies, who is also a zombie!
• Infernal Caretaker : Mass recursion, either play them out, or discard them back for more effects.
• Liliana, Death's Majesty : Just an all around strong zombie planeswalker.
• Liliana's Mastery : Zombies + an anthem that won't be a big target for removal.
• Lord of the Undead : A low to the ground zombie lord with recursion on a stick.
• Noxious Ghoul : Sweeps out low toughness cards for things you're already doing. Just great value.
• Relentless Dead : A great early drop, and late game it serves as a sac target + recursion.
• Shepherd of Rot : Yes it hits you, but this can be such a major threat.
• Undead Warchief : Cheaper zombies, and bigger zombies. All in one convenient package.
• Awaken the Erstwhile : Disruption, plain and simple. Sure it hurts your hand too, but you are the one with all the zombie based anthems.
• Victim of Night : Doomblade 2.0, but hits black creatures.
• Sidisi, Undead Vizier : You'll have so many tokens kicking around to exploit that she's just a straight tutor, and if she ever hits the graveyard just use her again with Scarab God.
• Fleshbag Marauder : Hurts them a lot more than you, and enter the battlefield abilities are great with Scarab around.
• Josu Vess, Lich Knight : Solid 4/5 Menace for 4, got the extra 6 mana though and he brings friends who also have menace.
• Wonder : Flying zombies... yep, that's scary.
• Pull from Tomorrow : Nice draw on an instant with the added benefit to pitch something for Scarab to target.
• Price of Fame : Legendary killer + Surveil 2... love it.
• Sinister Sabotage : Counterspell + Surveil... love it too.
• Paradox Haze : You've got a couple effects that trigger on upkeep, why not double up?

Some mana fixing/ramp:

• Dimir Signet
• Talisman of Dominance
• Mind Stone
• Dimir Locket

What would I take out:

• The deck currently seems to be going in two directions, you have a large zombie theme which I love, but you also have a minor mill theme which seems out of place.
• Advanced Stitchwing : Slow for what it gives, even on the bounce back it comes back tapped.
• Apprentice Necromancer : This is one I'm on the fence suggesting, it's a one use for one turn only.
• Grimgrin, Corpse-Born : This guy is beast, but he works best in a deck build around him.
• Lamplighter of Selhoff : Slow, for his effect.
• Merciless Eternal : He's not bad, just a lot better things to include in the 3 cost bracket.
• Phenax, God of Deception : Love this guy, really do, but he's out of place here because he's a mill guy who loves big butts.
• Relentless Skaabs : This guy does everything you don't want as he hurts your graveyard in order to even hit play.
• Servant of Tymaret : Slow with high cost. In order to make the best use of him you have to be attacking, and if the way isn't clear that means a 3 mana tax just for 1 life on each opponent.
• Spiteful Returned : Don't hate it, but better things out there.
• Stitchwing Skaab : Suffers from the same as Advanced Stitchwing.
• Undead Alchemist : This guy can go either way, but the way I look at him is generally people have more cards in their decks than life, so it's easier to take out their life.
• Vindictive Lich : This guy is fun, though for his cost there is a lot more out there.
• Exotic Orchard : Risky unless you know your playgroup always has one of your colors, otherwise it's just a colorless and a swamp or island would be just as good.
• Leechridden Swamp : Slows you down for a minor effect.
• Path of Ancestry : Phenax is the only other god creature, so even if you keep him in it's very slow for the benefit it probably will never get the chance to give.
• Coat of Arms : I love this card, I really do, but it's a calculated risk and I find zombies are usually too slow of it. Run up against a goblin or elf deck and this will do more for your opponent.
• Mindcrank : This is another I'm on the fence with as it pairs really well with Scarab.
• Vanquisher's Banner : Good card, though you're not casting all those tokens so you're only getting a bit of a benefit from it.
• Liliana Vess : Good card, out of place in this deck unless you are going heavier into the mill.
• Ob Nixilis Reignited : Just completely out of place for zombie tribal.
• Glimpse the Unthinkable : One of those mill cards, it suffers as a one of.
• Rise from the Grave : Expensive for effect.
• Ruthless Disposal : This isn't bad in this deck, but compared to Morbid Slip for example it lacks that added shine.
• Curse of Disturbance : So much politics, this is VERY meta dependent as to if players fall for the bait.
• Quest for the Gravelord : This can work out, but more often then not stuff isn't dying fast enough or it just gets pinged with early removal.
• Search for Azcanta  ^Flip: More at home in a non-creature strategy.
• Torment of Scarabs : Most people can play around this with not too much fuss, and it gives all the choice to them. I'd prefer some targeted removal.

killer_eye on 4C Bridgevine

5 years ago

hi! nice list, i like the idea of izzet charm. for suggestions would you like the idea of staying in grixis color to further simplify the manabase?

maindeck: Stitchwing Skaab as an additional discard engine and threat.

sideboard: any bounce spell in place of assassin's trophy to handle Leyline of the Void like Void Snare.

Xica on

6 years ago

Hello, from your post i just realized that i am not the only person who is tinkering with a deck built around Skaab Ruinator
So here is what ideas i came up with till now:

1# Build an all in deck with the best cheap mill spells, Hedron Crab, Minister of Inquiries, Shriekhorn (a few - as its sadly an artifact), Dream Twist, Contingency Plan - ad 3 playsets of "real" creatures Narcomoeba, Skaab Ruinator, Eternal Scourge - and a flex slot, that at the moment i fill with Stitchwing Skaab, but it could be Magus of the Bazaar.
The problem is that this version has obvious problems with stuff like Path to Exile, (and grave hate) despite being really fast.

2# Build a deck that abuses Gifts Ungiven with Skaab Ruinator as win condition (since this creature doesn't need slots devoted to Unburial Rites.
In such a shell Mulldrifter, Shriekmaw, Plaxmanta + Pit Keeper as a worse Snapcaster Mage would do well.
For turn one stuff like Siren Stormtamer/Martyr of Frost or stuff like Vampire Cutthroat would be ideal.

P.s.:Laboratory Maniac is a trap - for this deck.
There are alternatives that are a lot better - like Psychic Spiral + Mystic Retrieval which can work out of the graveyard, and mill the opponent out of nowhere.

x12721 on Zombie Variety Deck

6 years ago

There are also some nice flying zombies in blue, such as Stitchwing Skaab, Advanced Stitchwing, and Geralf's Masterpiece. Staying in Orzhov, there are some neat interactions with Haunted Dead that award you with fliers, especially if you have Anointed Procession on the field.

Brownkid09 on Sultai Reanimator

6 years ago

Messing around with a deck similar to this. The reanimation package is very strong in standard right now. Incoming God-Pharaoh's Gift decks....

I've been playing around with Embalmer's Tools to make Haunted Dead and Stitchwing Skaab 1 cheaper. The extra mill effect is also nice for either your opponent or yourself.

Perpetual Timepiece is a sweet way to get your stuff back from the graveyard.

I like Grapple with the Past but have you considered running Contingency Plan? Reorder and pitching any amount of cards seems nice. I also see people playing Strategic Planning, personally not sure how I feel about it.

Also, I have a few copies of Elder Deep-Fiend thrown in. Flash on opponents turn, sac The Scarab God then get him back into your had seems sweet. Not sure if Distended Mindbender has a home in this deck.