Command the Swarm [Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord EDH]

Commander / EDH BG (Golgari) Casual Combo Reanimator

Dradnock

Land (37)

• 1x Barren Moor
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 6x Forest
• 1x Golgari Rot Farm
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Mortuary Mire
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Polluted Mire
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Strip Mine
• 7x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Tranquil Thicket
• 1x Twilight Mire
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Instant (6)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Momentous Fall
• 1x Putrefy

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker
• 1x Sorin Markov
• 1x Vraska the Unseen

Creature (22)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Avatar of Woe
• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Geth, Lord of the Vault
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Lord of Extinction
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Meren of Clan Nel Toth
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Mossbridge Troll
• 1x Necrotic Ooze
• 1x Phyrexian Devourer
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Terastodon

Enchantment (11)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Asceticism
• 1x Burgeoning
• 1x Deadbridge Chant
• 1x Death's Presence
• 1x Exquisite Blood
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Journey to Eternity  ^Flip
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Phyrexian Arena

Commander (1)

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Exhume
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Tempt with Discovery

Artifact (8)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Bonehoard
• 1x Lifeline
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x MImic Vat
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Whip of Erebos

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Maybeboard

Creature (8)

• 1x Genesis
• 1x Hermit Druid
• 1x Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Triskelion
• 1x Ulvenwald Hydra
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

Instant (1)

• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Sorcery (6)

• 1x All Hallow's Eve
• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Scapeshift
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Land (4)

• 1x Bayou
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Black Market
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Pernicious Deed
• 1x Survival of the Fittest

Artifact (4)

• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Worn Powerstone

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JARAD, GOLGARI LICH LORD

Lore:

"Jarad vod Savo, or simply Jarad, was a bounty hunter who worked extensively in the Undercity of Ravnica. His sister, Savra was the matka of the Devkarin elves, and unbeknownst to him, the servant of Szadek. When her ambitions brought her to control Svogthir to upset the current guild balance, he found himself opposed to his twin. Allied with Agrus Kos and Fonn Zunich, he was instrumental in upsetting Szadek's coup at the decamillenial Festival of the Guildpact. After his sister's death in those events, he took control of the Golgari Swarm."

The Commander:

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord is a 2/2 Zombie Elf that grows in size as creatures enter your grave, and while his added protection is nice, allowing you to sacrifice a few land to keep him from death, his real power comes from his ability to sacrifice a bit of your army to in turn make your opponents lose a chunk of their life total. In combo with many cards in this deck makes for a brutal death to your foes.

Now to breakdown each of the general's abilities:

Firstly, Jarad gains +1/+1 for each creature card in your graveyard. This will cause Jarad's power and toughness to fluctuate heavily throughout the game as creatures enter and leave, however this does help Jarad out in many ways. He can gain the potential later in the game to be a viable win condition on his own through commander damage, survive large damage spells, and just provide an extra layer of safety by becoming a decently large blocker himself.

Secondly, the player is given the option to use one of Jarad's activated abilities by paying and sacrificing another creature to cause each opponent to lose life equal to the sacrificed creature's power. This is the bread and butter of Jarad, and easily allows this deck to be so versatile, either being built around big stupid creatures to be sacrificed, or using as much versatility and utility that and will provide with the added benefit of having a looming threat over the board as this deck is built. In combination with many other cards, this ability is quite the threat.

Lastly, the player is given the option of sacrificing one Swamp and one Forest to return Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord from the graveyard to their hand. This is the weakest ability that Jarad possesses as the command zone is usually the safest place for the commander to go to, and should Jarad be placed into the graveyard, generally, there is a good reason, such as having Lifeline out on the field to quickly reanimate him without the need of the safety that is the command zone. Still, this ability does occasionally have its uses, although situational.

The Deck:

There are MANY ways to build around Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord, and this deck specifically aims to have Jarad function as more of a part of the other 99 than be the main focus, whilst still having cards that directly benefit him. Some cards function as purely sac fodder like Lord of Extinction and Mossbridge Troll, however the major of the cards in the deck function more as utility and can be used as potential sacrifice targets. So that all being said, this is how I've built the deck:

Lands

• Barren Moor - Potential card draw, assists in thinning out the deck.
• Bojuka Bog - Graveyard hate.
• Cabal Coffers - Extreme form of mana acceleration, exceeds in combination with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
• Command Tower - Mana fixing.
• Evolving Wilds - Helps find specific basics, assists in thinning out the deck.
• Forest - Basic land.
• Golgari Rot Farm - Minor mana acceleration.
• Homeward Path - Excellent in acting as a barrier against certain control effects.
• Jungle Hollow - Mana fixing, provides minor life gain.
• Llanowar Wastes - Mana fixing.
• Mortuary Mire - Minor form of reanimation.
• Myriad Landscape - Excellent land that can be used to grab out the basics we need at any time.
• Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx - Extreme form of mana acceleration in many stages of the game.
• Opal Palace - Mana fixing, also provides added benefit of giving a +1/+1 counter to Jarad.
• Overgrown Tomb - Mana fixing, can pay two life as it comes in for early plays.
• Polluted Mire - Potential card draw, assists in thinning out the deck.
• Reliquary Tower - Excellent land overall.
• Strip Mine - Land hate, great for removing lands opponents control that are causing trouble.
• Swamp - Basic land.
• Tainted Wood - Mana fixing.
• Temple of Malady - Mana fixing, added benefit of Scry 1.
• Temple of the False God - Mana acceleration.
• Terramorphic Expanse - Helps find specific basics, assists in thinning out the deck.
• Tranquil Thicket - Potential card draw, assists in thinning out the deck.
• Twilight Mire - Filter land that provides excellent utility.
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - Mana fixing, also provides massive acceleration in combination with Cabal Coffers

Instants

• Beast Within - Excellent form of removal.
• Entomb - Quick and easy way to get an important creature into the graveyard to be reanimated later.
• Hero's Downfall - Creature / Planeswalker removal for cheap.
• Krosan Grip - Cheap artifact / enchantment removal that cannot be responded to.
• Momentous Fall - Life gain and card advantage.
• Putrefy - Creature / Artifact removal.

Sorceries

• Buried Alive - Assists in filling up the graveyard with creatures that we can reanimate later.
• Cultivate - Fetches out two basic lands, providing mana acceleration and deck thinning.
• Damnation - Black's Wrath of God, providing a cheap, excellent board wipe, that creatures cannot regenerate from.
• Demonic Tutor - Tutor effect.
• Diabolic Tutor - Tutor effect.
• Exhume - Cheap reanimation, does also effect opponents however 9/10 times will be better for us than them.
• Green Sun's Zenith - Fetches out any of our useful green creatures as well as shuffling the deck if necessary.
• Jarad's Orders - Flavorful card that tutors up a creature as well as help fill up the graveyard.
• Kodama's Reach - Fetches out two basic lands, providing mana acceleration and deck thinning.
• Living Death - Board wide reanimate and wipe, works amazingly in combination with Ashnod's Altar.
• Reanimate - Cheap reanimation effect with negligible downside.
• Tempt with Discovery - Personal love for this card as it has the potential of providing MASS acceleration and potential politics at the table. At the very least fetches ANY land in the deck which can help find something needed for a certain situation.

Artifacts

• Ashnod's Altar - There are so many good things to say about this card, I cannot simplify them here, if you'd like an indepth reason as to why it's simply amazing check out Rhystic Studies video on it.
• Birthing Pod - A powerful card in many decks, this card allows you to exchange or upgrade creatures, sending one to the grave to be brought back later, and finding one in the deck and throwing it onto the field.
• Bonehoard - Allows any equipped creature to quickly become a menacing threat, as well as turning even the weaker creatures into decent targets for Jarad to sacrifice.
• Lifeline - Powerful reanimation overall.
• Lightning Greaves - More often than not provides decent protection for Jarad, and occasionally some of our other important creatures.
• Mimic Vat - Provides the ability to pump out a steady line of sacrifice targets for Jarad, working exceedingly well with cards like Kokusho, the Evening Star and Terastodon.
• Sol Ring - One of the best turn 1's in Magic, as well as a good artifact overall.
• Whip of Erebos - Decent reanimation with the added benefit of providing lifelink to all of our creatures.

Enchantments

• Animate Dead - Single target reanimation to be used on priority creatures.
• Asceticism - Board wide hexproof for our creatures with added regeneration.
• Burgeoning - This card, if played early, can set you so far ahead of your opponents that the game might as well already be over, and even in the mid-to-late game, it can still provide some occasional benefits.
• Deadbridge Chant - Fills the graveyard as well as occasionally reanimating creatures and giving card advantage.
• Death's Presence - With the amount of sacrificing we're doing we should have a way to make our guys a bit tougher so then they may also give themselves to Jarad. This card combo's heavily with Jarad as well as all of our other sacrifice effects.
• Exquisite Blood - Provides massive health gain in general, gets out of control with Jarad.
• Grave Pact - Makes the sacrificing of our creatures even more beneficial by taking out our opponents creatures.
• Journey to Eternity   - Enchantment that provides a single reanimation at first, then followed by a transformation that turns this card into a land that produces a mana of any color, as well as having an ability to reanimate almost freely, excellent card overall.
• Necromancy - Single target reanimation to be used on priority creatures.
• Necropotence - Massive card advantage.
• Phyrexian Arena - Excellent card advantage at a negligible cost.

Planeswalkers

• Garruk Wildspeaker - Mainly used for the +1 ability to ramp us up in mana, however the -1 ability can provide some nice blockers and the -4 could serve as a potential win condition.
• Sorin Markov - This planeswalker is included in EDH decks mainly for his -3 ability, which can completely level a player out or outright kill them in combination with other cards, however his +2 is some nice life gain as well as damage and the Mindslaver on a -7 is of course excellent.
• Vraska the Unseen - Her -3 ability to destroy any target nonland permanent is powerful on it's own, that along with her +1 protection and potential win condition on a -7 and you have a powerhouse on your hands.

Creatures

• Acidic Slime - Deathtouch 2/2 with removal on an ETB effect and you have a powerful utility creature that pairs excellent with reanimation.
• Avatar of Woe - High mana cost that will 9/10 times come out for , has Fear making her pseudo-unblockable, and can to Destroy a target creature, and it cannot regenerate. Plus this card has amazing art and all-in-all is a fantastic card.
• Avenger of Zendikar - Provides many tokens on an ETB effect, which, by themselves are decent sac fodder to cards like Ashnod's Altar and pairs well with reanimation in general.
• Crypt Ghast - One of the best black mana ramp cards in the game, provides ludicrous amounts of mana in combination with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.
• Deathrite Shaman - One of the most powerful 1-drop creatures to exist, this creature provides an absurd amount of utility for a 1-drop.
• Disciple of Bolas - Life gain, card advantage, and a single sacrifice on an ETB effect, all good.
• Erebos, God of the Dead - 5/7 Indestrucible creature that prevents opponents from gaining life as well as providing card advantage, excellent overall.
• Eternal Witness - Easy way to grab a card from our graveyard on an ETB effect, pairs well with reanimation.
• Fauna Shaman - The creature version of Survival of the Fittest, helps tutor out our creatures and helps fill the grave.
• Geth, Lord of the Vault - Steals artifacts or creature cards from our opponents graveyards that we can use for ourselves, also mills our opponents for more potential targets or a win condition.
• Kokusho, the Evening Star - A 5/5 flying creature that happens to have a really nasty death effect, serves as an excellent attacker, blocker, and sacrifice target.
• Lord of Extinction - MASSIVE body in the late game, either swinging for lethal or being a primary win condition as a sacrifice target with Jarad.
• Massacre Wurm - Absolutely slaughters players with a mass of tokens on their field, wipes out any small utility creatures and tokens, can potentially do heaps of damage on his own. Excellent ETB effect, pairing great with reanimation, also serves well as sacrifice fodder.
• Meren of Clan Nel Toth - Strong as a commander in her own right, Meren provides a hefty amount of reanimation if she is able to stay on the battlefield long and build up experience counters.
• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed - Provides a nice +1/+1 to the majority of our creatures, making them a bit more difficult to deal with, also providing undying, which in combination with many cards in the deck, provides huge benefits.
• Mossbridge Troll - MASSIVE body in the late game, either swinging for lethal or being a primary win condition as a sacrifice target with Jarad.
• Necrotic Ooze - Having the activated abilities of all cards in all graveyards is way too good to pass up.
• Phyrexian Devourer - This card, much like Lord of Extinction and Mossbridge Troll, serves as yet another potential win condition in combination with our general. His ability can also be used by Necrotic Ooze, turning that creature into a win condition of it's own.
• Sakura-Tribe Elder - Excellent mana ramp, pairs excellently with reanimation.
• Scavenging Ooze - Graveyard hate that gets pretty huge, potential sacrifice target for Jarad.
• Sheoldred, Whispering One - Huge creature with swampwalk making her a decent attacker, also provides huge power with her ability to allow you to reanimate one creature from your graveyard per upkeep, as well as force an opponent to sacrifice one creature on their upkeep.
• Terastodon - Huge body that provides an excellent sacrifice target, as well as providing a large amount of removal on an ETB effect, pairs well with reanimation.

Date added	10 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.90
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Player Killer, Beast 3/3 G, Copy Clone, Elephant 3-3 G, Experience Token, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Plant 0/1 G
Folders	Interesting