Glory to the Scorpion King (Standard MTG Deck)

I really like The Scorpion God , and I've been wanting to build with Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons and Nest of Scarabs for a while, so this is my attempt at that.

My initial builds really focused on trying to make a ton of tokens and go super wide with nest of scarabs and Hapatra, and they just couldn't close out the game. This build gives me the traditional Jund board control with a good amount of heavy hitters to close the game with.

Our control package is based around putting -1/-1 counters on our opponents creatures and creating some tokens to block with so that we can win the game with our Glorybringers. The card advantage from the Scorpion God should come in handy as well. Our insects and deathtouch snakes should keep the board reasonably clear, while Ammit Eternal lets us swing in for some potential early damage or maybe a solid trade. The 1 of Cartouche of Ambition and the Consuming Fervor are both meant to go on the Ammit Eternals to help with the damage output and to provide an easy way to make more tokens, as well as the lifelink being fairly relevant since we are a bit grindy.

Liliana, the Last Hope is there as a 1 of in the main with a second in the side to bring back our Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons and our Ammit Eternals. She is also awesome against control if she can be landed early, and by the time they can pressure us we have a ton of things to block with.

Obelisk Spider is a great body that does a sneaky 2 points of damage and drains a point of life for you every time a -1/-1 counter is put on a creature. It dies to Glorybringer on the opposing side, but even if you get one or two blocks with it, the little guy did his job. The lone Aethersphere Harvester is here in a similar role, except for attacking. Sometimes your 1/1 insect needs to go over the top, and the two opportunities to gain life are, again, pretty relevant, as the deck is uber grindy.

In the sideboard we have lots of things to help vs the go-wide strategies. Two Yahenni's Expertise and a Bontu's Last Reckoning help to keep the board in check. Never//Return helps deal with a pesky planeswalker that you can't get to. Hour of Glory should be huge vs the decks running The Scarab God or Hazoret the Fervent. Lost Legacy helps deal with the new Ulamog Ramp decks, as well as the GitRock lists. Magma Spray is a catch-all for zombies and Scrapheap Scroungers. Speaking of Scroungers, we have those too for the control matchup. Abrade is there to help vs the Metalwork Colossus decks, as well as Mardu Vehicles and the mono blue Aetherflux Reservoir lists. The second Liliana, the Last Hope is also there for control, as again, she is great to land early if possible. Lifecrafter's Bestiary helps to grind, as this deck is so very grindy.

That's my newest take on the -1/-1 counter build. It's a more controlling midrange deck, super grindy until you can dragon them out. I'd love some feedback though. I'm a bit shaky on the mana base, but other than that I'm very excited to test this out a ton!

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Standard Showdown — July 23, 2017

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Well I went 1-2 today.

Lost 0-2 to BW Control with Cataclysmic Gearhulk, Archangel Avacyn ^Flip, and a ton of super grindy removal. Game 1 I kept a hand with 2 Grasp of Darkness and a single black source and couldn't find enough land to play anything. Game 2 started a little better, but he landed a Liliana, the Last Hope, and Archangel Avacyn ^Flip, and kept my Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons out of the red zone long enough for me to not be able to recover. By the time I was able to land Glorybringer the game was already over. Not a matchup I would expect to see anywhere else, but since the guy plays in my area and has been on an almost unchanged list since AER, I should probably bring some better answers just in case he shows up and I can change the sideboard before the event starts. Nest of Scarabs and Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons did well to stretch the second game out and give me a chance to get back into it, but in the end it wasn't enough.

Round 2 I played against a Bant Token/Monument list that I've been helping tune for about a month now. I lost again 0-2 here. Game 1 he just outpaced me after he hit my Nest of Scarabs with a Spell Queller, and then game 2 I was feeling pretty good until he landed Majestic Myriarch into Angel of Invention into Sram's Expertise plus a free Spell Queller to make the Majestic Myriarch a 16/16 flyer with vigilance. Not much you can do there. I kept a bad hand as far as mana game 2, but again, the deck underwhelmed, and I was not able to control the board as I wanted to.

Round 3 vs Mardu Vehicles I won 2-1, but the two games I won weren't even close and the one I lost came down to a Walking Ballista that had probably 14 counters on it over about 3 turns that I just couldn't kill. That was game 1. Game 2, I was able to remove threats efficiently until I landed a few Obelisk Spiders and an Ammit Eternal, and then I stuck Glorybringer for the win. Game 3, I had 3 Festering Mummys on board, as well as a Nest of Scarabs and The Scorpion God, and my opponent was just not able to overcome the card advantage.

The deck is incredibly durdly, but when you are able to stick a Nest of Scarabs on turn 3 it's a whole different ballgame. Onelisk Spider over-performed all day, and is pretty easily the linchpin of the deck aside from the Nest of Scarabs. Ammit Eternal however feels rather weak, as it either dies on the spot or is strangely outclassed on board. 23 lands feel high, and the types of lands felt wrong, as I oftentimes found myself missing a black or having to play a tapped land and being behind a turn. The payoff threats are not powerful enough on their own, and the deck struggles to close games. Moving forward I would like to fit the full playset of Glorybringer into the list, as well as maybe moving a couple copies of Abrade into the main for Fatal Push. I've spent a ton of time on the deck so far, and I don't want to give up on it yet, so I'm going to do some more tweaking.

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Top Ranked	Achieved #66 position overall 6 years ago
Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Splash colors	G
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 1 Mythic Rares 26 - 10 Rares 11 - 2 Uncommons 15 - 2 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.51
Tokens	Emblem Liliana, the Last Hope, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Insect 1/1 B, Snake 1/1 G, Snake 1/1 G w/ Deathtouch, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Upvoted Decks, Hapatra Decks
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