Golgari Mullet

Modern BG (Golgari) Budget Combo Counters Exile Forest Midrange

Balaam__

Land (22)

• 6x Forest
• 4x Overgrown Tomb
• 6x Swamp
• 4x Verdant Catacombs
• 2x Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

Instant (7)

• 4x Assassin's Trophy
• 3x Cut Down

Creature (15)

• 4x Arbor Elf
• 4x Scavenging Ooze
• 4x Tarmogoyf
• 3x Tourach, Dread Cantor

Enchantment (3)

• 3x Genju of the Cedars

Sorcery (10)

• 2x Eradicate
• 4x Inquisition of Kozilek
• 4x Thoughtseize

Artifact (3)

• 3x Lifespark Spellbomb

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Sideboard

Instant (10)

• 4x Beast Within
• 3x Feed the Clan
• 3x Natural State

Sorcery (3)

• 3x Traverse the Ulvenwald

Artifact (2)

• 2x Torpor Orb

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Profane Tutor

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Tried and true Golgari Midrange shell in the front, brutal combo-based mana wipe in the back. Best enjoyed by those seeking a new spin on a familiar favorite.

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The Mana Base

This was tough to get right, and there are still some wrinkles to be ironed out but it’s workable for the moment. Not only do we need to ensure we hit our land drops each turn, but we have an extra peculiarity to be mindful of.

•Our key combo interaction partially revolves around tagging an opponent’s Forest with an enchantment, and as there are 4 other colors (as well as {C}…) to consider as possibilities that means we need a way to guarantee our opponent controls a Forest in the first place. Enter Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth. It’ll help smooth out our own mana curve as well, so good things all around.

•The other mana stopgaps are the usual fare; Verdant Catacombs and Overgrown Tomb let us cherry pick our color of the moment, while basic swamps and forests supply the remainder.

You Know How This Goes

Fairly typical structure here. If you’ve played a Rock or Golgari Midrange deck in the past 10 years, most of this will look familiar.

The Bodies Show

•Arbor Elf will double tap most of our lands right out of the gate, and once Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth is in play everything taps twice.

•Scavenging Ooze grows large over the course of the early game, feasting on the corpses of the fallen. Incidental life gain helps us stay afloat, but we do have additional cards to help weather the storm of burn decks in our sideboard.

•Tarmogoyf is here, of course, and we have plenty of card types to keep him fat and happy. A bit pricey, but a Golgari staple for a reason.

•So Tourach, Dread Cantor caught my eye as soon as I saw him in Modern Horizons 2. We run a full discard suite to make the most of what he offers, and if we manage to kick him on the way in then that’s quite a setback to recover from for the opposing player.

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The Intangible Show

•Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek are savage on their own, and become yet more so when paired with the aforementioned Tourach, Dread Cantor. There’s really never a bad time to play these spells.

•Cut Down is one of my favorite cards from the more recent sets. It screams “{B}”, is cheap (both mana wise and dollar wise), and is a fresh take on a removal spell. Modern is absolutely saturated with oft played creatures that fit the power+toughness<5 equation, so this will certainly see heavy useage.

•Assassin's Trophy over Abrupt Decay for good reason: It can hit lands. Use it early to zap a dual land forcing a trade-down to a mere basic, or else hang onto it for later…

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The Not So Familiar

I noticed Eradicate is Modern legal, and thought rather than building specifically around that one card, it would be interesting to try to incorporate it into an existing archetype with a proven track record of performance. More of a side story—a Plan B—than the main focus.

Golgari Midrange was a color match and is also notorious for keeping the pressure on, while not demanding so much of our own attention that we can’t redirect our focus if the opportunity arises. Eradicate had found a home.

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The rules text for Eradicate is vaguely unique; instead of searching various locations for ‘cards named X’ it searches for copies of that card. Doesn’t sound like much, but it makes all the difference in the world. If you found a way to turn a land—say, a forest, for instance—into a creature, then Eradicate would allow you to search your opponent’s zones (giggity) for all copies of that card…

But for our Eradicake to rise, we need a special ingredient. We need leaven in the form of Lifespark Spellbomb and/or Genju of the Cedars. Both let us animate lands, which opens the door for Eradication.

•Lifespark Spellbomb is the better option, being able to target any land the opponent has without restriction as well as giving us potential card advantage. It nurtures Tarmogoyf afterward so it’s as valuable in the graveyard as out of it.

•Genju of the Cedars is more finnicky to use, hence why we run Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth. The additional card type will feed our Lhurgoyf, so oftentimes it’s best to let the enchantment rot in the graveyard. But we do retain the option to recall it to hand, which can help when dealing with multicolored decks—especially if Tarmogoyf is M.I.A.

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On a final note, it’s worth highlighting that Eradicate does nothing against “copies of that card” that are already in play—it only targets them in the other zones. So if our opponent managed to ramp out a decent number of forests, you may wish to forego the land destruction elements of the deck and focus on a good old fashioned Golgari beat down. However…remember Assassin's Trophy? That does target lands in play. And should your opponent seek to find a replacement (as stipulated by Assassin's Trophy)…well, imagine their embarrassment when they realize they’ve already all been exiled when you cast Eradicate!

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Special thanks to wallisface for invaluable input, clarifying a misconception about Eradicate I had been erroneously operating under. The land destruction aspect doesn’t pack quite the all consuming punch I thought it might, but it still technically works—and for a land destruction aficionado like myself I enjoy having the option if the match warrants it.

TL;DR

•Approach the early to mid game stages in classic {B}{G} style, plopping creatures down on curve and chewing through your opponent’s defenses with utility spells.

•Grind out the game in the usual way, or opt in to the Scorched Earth Beta Test. Stick one of your opponent’s forests with Genju of the Cedars or else activate Lifespark Spellbomb to animate a land they control. Turn both keys counter clockwise on 3, nuking the majority of their unplayed mana base if facing a mono colored deck, or severely hindering a multicolor build. Finish them off with heavy battle damage.

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The Sideboard

A healthy mixture of effects that prolong our own life, remove unexpected threats, or else render cards ineffective.

•Torpor Orb is pricey, but a good fit here. We have no creatures that benefit from ETB’s, so we’re looking to level the playing field and prohibit our opponent from benefiting from the same.

•Traverse the Ulvenwald helps smooth out any mana hiccups and will very likely let us search for a creature as well.

•Natural State to remove pesky artifacts or enchantments cramping our style.

•Feed the Clan helps recoup lost life inherent in grinding out the typical Golgari stomp down. Depending on how bloated Scavenging Ooze or Tourach has become we might hit the Ferocious trigger for a big ROI.

•Beast Within as additional land destruction potential. A 3/3 can be handily dealt with, and gimping the opponent’s preexisting mana is key to unlocking the deck’s potential.

”Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?”

Top Ranked	Achieved #1 position overall 1 year ago
Date added	1 year
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Modern legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 22 - 5 Rares 12 - 4 Uncommons 7 - 6 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	1.55
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G
Folders	Modern, Crazy decks that work