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Ssh, no tears. Only zombies now.

Modern Combo Mill Tokens UB (Dimir) Zombie

Fiveoclock


Magic is a game of many types of creatures. We got elves, goblins, tree people...hell, we've even got bunnies and goats. But frankly, all those things are kind of shit. Why? They're not zombies.

There's nothing better and more terrifying than an army of the living dead. You can't kill them, you can't fight them. You have to just sit back and let it happen. That's the kind of deck I play. That's what you all should be playing. So sit down and let's talk about why zombies are the best thing ever.

At first look you might be asking, why the mill? If you have zombies as the main theme, why go for Jace and other library destroyers? Well, this is a special kind of mill deck. It's a lot more than just throwing their deck away and calling it a game. You win by milling them for zombies. Every time you get rid of a creature you get a zombie. Or even two. Or three or four. And they build up. Hordes of them. There's no way out for the enemy once you've gotten your hold on them, and they're going to lose. You've got them by the balls and they're playing by your rules now.

I'll go over the creatures and cards in the deck, one by one, to explain how this all works. Cause there's a lot to this deck than just a mill.

--------------------CREATURES--------------------

-- Diregraf Ghoul --

It's a 2/2 Zombie, basically a token. One mana and it comes in tapped. Don't need any more reason to play this really.

--Gravecrawler--

What if we took your average zombie, and made it so he'd keep coming back no matter how much he died? Meet the Gravecrawler, who for one single mana swings for two without fearing death. Have him attack every turn he can, unless there's no point. Because why not? He'll do two damage or kill an enemy, and then you just summon him again. And since everything's a zombie, as long as you have something else, he'll come back. Having two or three of these out can be a death sentence on its own.

--Diregraf Captain--

So it's a 2/2 deathtouch for 3. Not bad on its own, since it terrifies the enemy into not attacking. You don't wanna hit if you're going to lose your biggest fighter. The kicker is he also gives your zombies a big +1/+1 as long as he's there. That gravecrawler? Now he swings for 3. The ghoul? It's a 3/3 for one. Now your field is starting to look scary, and you've barely spent any mana. The hidden gem to this card? He does 1 damage to the enemy every time a zombie dies. If you have two, of course, it's doubled up. You can kill the enemy without milling just by letting the enemy kill you. If only there were a way you could both hold off the enemy, and kill your zombies without the enemy's help...

-- Corpse Blockade --

One of the most underrated cards in this deck. He's a 1/4. He can take a beating and stall until you can mill. But the most important thing is he can get deathtouch, and the means by which he does is sacrificing another zombie. Not only does this mean he can constantly eat gravecrawlers to kill the enemy soldiers but he can trigger the Captain's lifeloss. You can easily just have him eat the gravecrawler, summon it back, and eat it again, over and over triggering lifeloss for a bizarre black version of the fireball.

--Undead Alchemist--

Here it is. His synergy is what makes this deck what it is, and he's the real cornerstone to every game this deck plays. When you deal damage, you don't make the enemy lose life. You make the enemy mill cards. And whenever a creature is milled, you get a zombie. He himself is a 4/2 and that's okay I guess. Usually he won't be attacking because he's the first one they'll kill at every possibility. He's the highest priority target in the deck. But this means your Gravecrawler, Diregraf Ghoul, and your tokens can attack all out and spawn more tokens. The average deck has around 20 creatures, more for aggro and less for control, but in general every 3 unblocked damage will make a token. Next turn those tokens can fight, and create even more. The enemy will be powerless to stop it save mass creature removal via Detention Sphere or something. They can't kill them, since it triggers the lifeloss. If the Blockade is out, however, you can sacrifice them before they're all exiled for lifeloss anyway.

Basically, when you have your horde out, you win.

-------------------OTHER SPELLS-------------------

--Tragic Slip--

Attack with a disposable zombie, if they kill it, you kill them. Or give a 2/2 some depowering so it dies to your 2/2 or 2/1. Eat a Gravecrawler with your Blockade, then cast it on their best creature. This does just about everything, and is only better the more you have in hand.

-- Pilfered Plans --

Draw cards, and make zombies at the same time? Why not?

--Psychic Strike--

Counter their spell and turn it into zombies. Also helps you stall out for your better cards. Keep some mana on hand and control with this and tragic slip.

-- Soul Manipulation --You counter their creature spell, you get a creature back from your grave. Bring back the Alchemist with a vengeance for that stupid burn spell they used and let the horde resume. This is an amazing and underrated spell and would have more than two copies if not for Gravecrawler coming back on his own anyway.

--Jace, Memory Adept--

Apparently this guy has three abilities, but 90% of the time only one will matter. He gives you a Glimpse the Unthinkable every turn. Having him and the Alchemist out wins you the game. 10 cards usually means at least 3 zombies will come, and the zombies defend him while he mills. 4-5 turns of him being out and the game is yours.

-- Endless Ranks of the Dead --

Hear me out. What if you could take your zombies, and just make them into more on their own? This gives you 50% more zombie every turn. The catch is, you need two in order to start it off, but with Gravecrawler that's not an issue. One good mill spell with Alchemist out and this turns your little crew into the full blown horde. You win any stall war, and it forces them into either acting imminently or losing the game. Hope you have enough tokens.

-- Call to the Grave --

A five drop is a lot for this deck, and I've been avoiding those, but this one is too good to pass up. Every turn, your opponent loses a creature. Keep in mind, every turn they'll likely only draw one card. This quickly locks down the enemy and again, ensures your win. Not to mention it works great with Tragic Slip. Only have one because it's too much of a gimmick to rely on, but it's also too cool to pass up.

----------------------LAND-----------------------

Look, I'm poor. There are better choices than these. Go with what you want. But the Dimir Aqueduct is a very good card that nobody uses. Gives you 3 mana for 2 lands. As long as you have two colours of pretty equal distribution, you're good to put this in your deck. Something to think about.

---------------OTHER INFORMATION----------------

There's a lot of other cards you could put in here, but I've found this works best, and it's thankfully not that pricy. More importantly, almost nobody does this kind of deck, despite it being fun as hell. Hope you all like it.

Like every deck, though, it's got a big weakness. The issue is, this deck is based around fighting and combat in order to survive long enough to mill. It's like, a transitional hybrid deck. And the issue with that is, if you beat the first part of the deck, you won't even have to deal with the second. So flying decks win against it pretty easily. Same with burn. I hate playing against them so much but zombies are inherently weak to those two types so there's really not much that can be done. I guess you could have enough in your sideboard to turn it into a full mill deck, throwing away the whole Zombie thing, but then it's just not fun to play.

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Date added 8 years
Last updated 8 years
Splash colors UB
Legality

This deck is Modern legal.

Rarity (main - side)

2 - 0 Mythic Rares

11 - 0 Rares

8 - 0 Uncommons

21 - 0 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.68
Tokens Zombie 2/2 B
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