Varina's Procession

Commander / EDH Lifegain Reanimator Tokens WUB (Esper) Zombie

goldencrisis

Creature (29)

• 1x Archfiend of Ifnir
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x The Scarab God
• 1x Doomed Necromancer
• 1x Gisa and Geralf
• 1x K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Phyrexian Delver
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x Lord of the Undead
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Undead Warchief
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Diregraf Colossus
• 1x God-Eternal Bontu
• 1x God-Eternal Kefnet
• 1x God-Eternal Oketra
• 1x Corpse Knight
• 1x Murderous Rider
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Diregraf Captain
• 1x Bone Miser
• 1x Death Baron
• 1x Havengul Lich
• 1x Undead Augur

Instant (2)

• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Shadow of the Grave

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Liliana, the Last Hope

Land (33)

• 4x Island
• 1x Arcane Sanctum
• 1x Ash Barrens
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crypt of Agadeem
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Field of the Dead
• 1x Grand Coliseum
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Unholy Grotto
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vivid Creek
• 1x Vivid Marsh
• 4x Plains
• 5x Swamp

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Army of the Damned
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Call to Mind
• 1x Command the Dreadhorde
• 1x Connive / Concoct
• 1x Divine Reckoning
• 1x Flood of Recollection
• 1x From Under the Floorboards
• 1x Grind / Dust
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Unburial Rites

Commander (1)

Artifact (15)

• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Prismatic Lens
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sphere of the Suns
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Urza's Incubator
• 1x Whip of Erebos

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Arcane Adaptation
• 1x Drake Haven
• 1x Faith of the Devoted
• 1x Necromancer's Covenant
• 1x Rooftop Storm

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Maybeboard

Creature (15)

• 1x River Kelpie
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Erebos, God of the Dead
• 1x Ghoulcaller Gisa
• 1x Geth, Lord of the Vault
• 1x Noosegraf Mob
• 1x Prized Amalgam
• 1x Undead Alchemist
• 1x Vengeful Pharaoh
• 1x Boneyard Scourge
• 1x Scourge of Nel Toth
• 1x Forgotten Creation
• 1x Josu Vess, Lich Knight
• 1x Graveborn Muse
• 1x Corpse Harvester

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Beacon of Unrest
• 1x Dusk / Dawn
• 1x Ever After
• 1x Profound Journey
• 1x Rags / Riches
• 1x Sevinne's Reclamation
• 1x Stitch Together

Instant (1)

• 1x Ray of Distortion

Artifact (3)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Elixir of Immortality
• 1x Grimoire of the Dead

Land (3)

• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Temple of Silence

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When i saw Varina, Lich Queen i knew i wanted to change my zombie edh commander to her. I started UBR with Thraximundar with high aggro and a decent reanimator, however it had problems sustaining itself. I had trouble maintaining my life total later in the game against ping cards and damage spells. So the steady health gain from Varina's ability is a really welcome change.

Deck Construction

So for Varina i had to find a way to make the most of her passive, and since its a forced requirement if I want to attack with any of my zombies i need to mitigate the discard portion and have it work in my favor.

Whenever you attack with one or more Zombies:

-Draw that many cards

-Discard that many cards

-You gain that much life

Bone Miser : Interacts with what you discard by breaking down those cards into 3 different effects based on card type. However, the mana portion was being wasted so i tried adding Leyline of Anticipation to flash in cards. Unfortunately since the effects happen after i discard i found myself without being able to cast anything unless i had a decent buffer with my hand since I'm basically replacing my hand with what i just drew. So i went with Faith of the Devoted and Drake Haven which for every land i discard i can pay for both enchantments for one card or pay for itself and another card if only one is out. These two cards compliment the life gain aspect and creature swarm from token generation.

Archfiend of Ifnir : Allows Varina's Procession through to your opponents life. Since Varina's ability resolves before blockers are declared, if you attack with enough zombies then they will have nothing left standing in their way. This effect is a global ability and can remove both hexproof and indestructible creatures with it.

Alhammarret's Archive : This card was made for Varina. It doubles the positive portion of her ability; complementing the life gain you have and gives you card advantage after you discard.

Anointed Procession : Its obvious what this card does, it allows you to go berserk with your token generation. But another reason i like this card is that it makes Varina's last ability from a mediocre emergency token generator to a 1:1 card exchange. Use it to remove the excess lands your discarding into more board presence.

Combos

Rooftop Storm + Any card that allows you to cast a zombie from a graveyard: While the obvious 0 drop zombies from your hand are great, this card also does double duty with creatures like Gisa and Geralf or Havengul Lich . This allows you to cast those creature for free as well opening up mana for discard triggers. Note: you will still have to pay 1 each time to use lich's ability.

God-Eternal Kefnet + The Scarab God : Allows you to set and control kefnets ability reliably. Scarab God will require you to have board pressence but will keep you deck stacked however you need it.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	18 - 0 Mythic Rares 37 - 0 Rares 24 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.82
Tokens	Copy Clone, Drake 2/2 U, Emblem Liliana, the Last Hope, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie Warrior 4/4 B