Gisa and Geralf: Siblings of Self-Mill

Commander / EDH MegaMatt13

SCORE: 62 | 45 COMMENTS | 9333 VIEWS | IN 41 FOLDERS


Conspiracy 2 Update —Aug. 29, 2016

Only one card from the set looks like a good fit for the deck: Custodi Lich

It's a zombie, it's card advantage, and it's removal. Seems worth a try.

I've taken out Army of the Damned. I love the card, but this deck actually isn't really trying to go wide with zombie tokens.

MegaMatt13 says... #1

Podkomorka, I added Mesmeric Orb and it works great. Thanks for the suggestion :)

August 17, 2016 2:43 p.m.

Soldcastro says... #2

Since you aim to fill your grave, maybe Recall is good for you.
Also, Cover of Darkness and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Zombie Master can help you swing for the kill.
I still think you should give Liliana, the Last Hope some love. She fits well on your deck, much more than mine since i avoid self-milling.

August 17, 2016 5:01 p.m.

willis1234 says... #3

I would put in reanimation spells in the deck because of all the self-mill and I would run Entomb. Also, there are some draw spells that make you discard, that might work for your deck. It looks good.

August 17, 2016 6:36 p.m.

bretters says... #4

August 17, 2016 7:29 p.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #5

willis1234, thanks for the suggestions. Which reanimation would you run? I've thought about including Victimize and Dread Return. I think the deck is more interested in mass reanimation than single reanimation though. Gisa and Geralf already do the single reanimation (as well as Havengul Lich and Relentless Dead). Entomb is a great suggestion. If I pick up a copy I'll definitely add it.

bretters, Whip of Erebos is a great card. However, I think in this deck it could be a non-bo. I want my zombies to keep coming back after I mill them. Whip of Erebos exiles them.

Soldcastro, my problem with both Liliana, the Last Hope and Recall is that they send cards back to my hand. My main goal is to discard from my hand (and library) into the graveyard for mass reanimation. It almost feels like a step backwards to bring stuff back to my hand. I like the idea of Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Zombie Master as an alternate win condition though :)

Really appreciate all the suggestions. Keep 'em coming. :)

August 18, 2016 12:35 p.m.

Saltblast says... #6

I think since this deck is heavily creature and reanimation based that you'll want to go with the best possible non-creature cards so that you can make sure a non-creature card is never a dead draw. I think that Call to the Grave would be a great card if you play against other creature decks often. If you want more draw Underworld Connections or Phyrexian Arena would be solid options. Necrotic Ooze isn't a zombie, but it might be alright if you find you are having difficulty drawing reanimation spells or creatures. And I think as another win condition you could do a thing with Laboratory Maniac, just for kicks, you know?

August 19, 2016 12:53 p.m.

Although its not a zombie, I really think that you should play Labratory Maniac to add another win con for milling yourself out.Also, Endless Ranks of the Dead provides nice token creation.Lastly, Risen Executioner provides another good lord that you can recur pretty easily

August 20, 2016 9:36 p.m.

Denthrass says... #8

Epiphany at the Drownyard might have a decent place in this deck

August 21, 2016 6:01 a.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #9

Denthrass, Count_Porplexorus, and Saltblast thanks for the feedback.

I understand that lab maniac would make sense as an alternative win condition in here. However, my playgroup uses him a lot and I'm kinda tired of seeing him as the win condition lol. Simply personal preference :)

I tried endless ranks of the dead in here and didn't find it moved fast enough. Perhaps I didn't give it a fair shot though. I could play test it some more. It's a great card.

I think epiphany at the drownyard could work great in here. Very much on theme. Like fact or fiction, it gives my opponents a tough choice since I like stuff in my grave

August 21, 2016 1:33 p.m.

willis1234 says... #10

Rise of the Dark Realms and Twilight's Call works for mass reanimation but for single targets I would use Tempt with Immortality Exhume Animate Dead and Necromancy and tother help wits the reanimation I would use Entomb Buried Alive and Life's Finale Cryptbreaker would be Good too.

August 21, 2016 9:35 p.m.

willis1234 says... #11

Sry can't type on phone

August 21, 2016 9:36 p.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #12

willis1234, I already have rise of the dark realms, buried alive, life's finale, and cryptbreaker hehe.

Have you played with twilight's call before? How is it? I worry about animating my opponent's creatures though I suppose it's similar to living death (without the boardwipe)

August 21, 2016 10:22 p.m.

willis1234 says... #13

I'm not sure, but I think it could work because you can cast it as an instant.

August 21, 2016 10:29 p.m.

Flagellum says... #14

You can safely get rid of Thought Vessel and Reliquary Tower since the idea is to pitch your hand.

Tortured Existence is a great way to retrieve and/or stack the gy. It works well with a repeatedly cycled Gempalm Polluter which can net you a few cards and damage opponents in the process.

Tombstone Stairwell: combos with Diregraf Captain/ Vengeful Dead. Also makes Black Market insane. Only problem is opponents get zombs with haste too but will more likely favor a gy filled with zombs.

Careful Study: another Frantic Search effect that's cheaper.

August 23, 2016 midnight

Flagellum says... #15

You can safely get rid of Thought Vessel and Reliquary Tower since the idea is to pitch your hand.

Tortured Existence is a great way to retrieve and/or stack the gy. It works well with a repeatedly cycled Gempalm Polluter which can net you a few cards and damage opponents in the process.

Tombstone Stairwell: combos with Diregraf Captain/ Vengeful Dead. Also makes Black Market insane. Only problem is opponents get zombs with haste too but will more likely favor a gy filled with zombs.

Careful Study: another Frantic Search effect that's cheaper.

Blood Scrivener: goes with the game plan of dropping our hand into the yard. It's also a zombie, yay. But it's also conditional.

August 23, 2016 9:09 a.m.

MegaMatt13 says... #16

Flagellum, good point about Thought Vessel and Reliquary Tower. I've swapped Thought Vessel for Wayfarer's Bauble (I didn't want to reduce the overall ramp in the deck). I don't mind keeping Reliquary Tower in there. It's in a land slot so not a big deal. Plus there's always that off chance that someone casts a massive Windfall or something.

I like the look of Gempalm Polluter, Careful Study, and Blood Scrivener. I'll try to find spots for them

August 23, 2016 12:39 p.m.

Flagellum says... #17

Sorry for the double post earlier, my stupid phone was malfunctioning or something.

Oversold Cemetery is another cheap recursion engine that is fire and forget. I run 2 non-zombies aside from G&G (Grave Titan and Ghoulcaller Gisa) so I wanted ways to get them back should they go into the bin.

Dark Deal may perhaps be a better option than Windfall simply because it reduces your opponent's hand size by one and forces them to ditch their current one. We of course don't care about ditching our hand... most of the time.

Not the best idea but I'm trying it out simply for flavor: Gravestorm. Not everybody likes the idea of exiling cards from their GY or if you target someone who doesn't have anything in their yard then it's a free card. There is also the mystical fish Mystic Remora

You could also run counterspells which net you cards like Remand, Dream Fracture, Arcane Denial, ect. I'd also recommend Perplex for the transmute. It's at best a Demonic Tutor for anything with 3 CMC or just another counter that could cause your opponent to ditch their hand. I run the gambit of zombie lords which are all 3 CMC so I find Perplex pretty valuable.

Anyways those were some of my ideas I could come up with. I'm also currently building G&G here: The Art of Necrocraft. Any pointers would be welcomed. I'm also making some of the changes I and others mentioned earlier here and elsewhere. My deck is probably a little more focused on the zombie horde aspect than yours that can combo off if I so choose.

August 23, 2016 2:01 p.m.