Leader of the Undead - Best Zombie Commander?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Aug. 25, 2016, 9:53 a.m. by StormBroken
With the (somewhat) recent release of Eldritch Moon/Shadows Over Innistrad, there have been excellent additions to the wealth of creatures that focus on zombie creation/tribal. Mostly Diregraf Colossus, Liliana, the Last Hope, Prized Amalgam, Gisa and Geralf.
I want to make a fun, efficient zombie-based EDH deck. However, I'm struggling to choose a leader for my undead horde. I'm aware of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, Lim-Dul the Necromancer, etc.
I want to know what you think. Which commander do you believe is the most effective one and why? Sound off in the comment section below.
Thanks!
Ohthenoises says... #3
As far as combo potential I feel like Grimgrin, Corpse-Born is the best available commander for tribal since he easily infinities with Rooftop Storm and Gravecrawler and is easily capable of getting a 1 hit ko via commander damage.
Also, simply paying the commander tax makes Rooftop Storm super broken.
Gisa and Geralf make a decent commander if you're planning on playing a slower and grindier deck, this could easily support stax effects with the ability to cast from the grave.
August 25, 2016 10:36 a.m.
Shane.Allen says... #4
I think Sidisi, Brood Tyrant is my pick, it gives you all you need Green for ramp and green recursion and some big fatties to attack with, Blue for control and card draw, as well as combos. Black gives you the best zombies and drain effects as well as the best recursion spells. plus with him you can always get an army of zombies to attack or block he's the best all in one package.
August 25, 2016 10:37 a.m.
I have played with Ghoulcaller Gisa for a long time and have found that she's quite solid for mono-black and provided access to the majority of the lords.
Grimgrin, Corpse-Born is another popular commander and can be a beast with certain combo pieces blue gives you access to (e.g., Gravecrawler + Rooftop Storm).
Gisa and Geralf has been my latest project and they are quite fun as they allow your graveyard to be another toolbox. The major issues I've had with my experience is milling much needed spells, artifacts, lands or lack of synergy due to them being humans (they die to Zombie Apocalypse). Blue does give you access to Diregraf Captain as well.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant gives you access to ramp spells, better enchantment/artifact hate, and a handful of key zombies like Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord and Glissa, the Traitor, and it also gives you access to Meren of Clan Nel Toth. Sultai colors also allows you to toss in some Infect into your deck if you want an alternative win-con.
Grixis zombies is also quite popular but the issue I've found is that most of the zombie commanders don't really synergize with the tribe. I would say the exception to that is Sedris, the Traitor King.
Esper zombies is a color pattern I don't see often but splashing white gives you access to some great recursion elements in the form of Debtors' Knell and Immortal Servitude as well as great removal.
Hope this helps!
August 25, 2016 10:45 a.m.
As far as my knowledge goes, Gisa and Geralf and Sidisi are the most popular. Gisa and Geralf effectively plays like Meren while giving you more, but narrower, value. I've seen storm decks made with it.
August 25, 2016 10:56 a.m.
scopesightzx says... #7
I had a grimgrin that was based around him attacking often, and I recently switched to Gisa and Geralf. Having the extra utility of things in your graveyard has been very impressive. Things like Skinrender and Fleshbag Marauder become repeatable removal options, things like Gravedigger can be repeated easily, and sacrifice outlets in general become much better. Vivisection was a carryover from the grimgrin deck, but it performs much better in Gisa and Geralf. A fun card i've started using with the twins is Ashes of the Fallen. Suddenly being able to cast any creature in my graveyard will open the deck up to more options, like Disciple of Bolas. In this deck, I still think Zombie Apocalypse has a home, just give your general indestructible or recur them from your graveyard in other ways.
August 25, 2016 10:57 a.m.
andymaul123 says... #8
If you wanted to dip into red, you can use the OG badass Lord of Tresserhorn at the helm of a Grixis zombie deck :)
August 25, 2016 2:48 p.m.
Metroid_Hybrid says... #9
I'm sure the Lord of Tresserhorn player would be tutoring for Torpor Orb every game..
August 25, 2016 8:08 p.m.
UpperDeckerTaco says... #10
To answer your question accurately, basically I would need to know what style of deck you're aiming for (aggressive, combo, control, midrange...) and if you play mostly Multiplayer or 1v1. And if you play the same general people and if that's the case, what does your meta look like. Then I would be able to better assess your situation. Because there are Mono-black, Dimir, Sultai, Grixis as options, and you could even make Esper work. With the different color choices it would help sway you into your desired direction by choosing your general and making synergy with your general.
August 26, 2016 1:14 a.m.
Thraximundar isn't bad, though as a general he won't add to your zombie synergy more so than he'll benefit from them. BUT running him will let you run things like Lightning Reaver and Anathemancer as well as general red good cards like Fervor that let you get more speed than zombie decks normally get.
Raging_Squiggle says... #2
My zombie deck ran Gisa and Geralf for a time. Pretty solid commander if you build around self-milling and casting zombies from the graveyard.
Another option is Ghoulcaller Gisa who amasses huge quantities of zombies and usually just overruns everyone's board.
The third option that comes to mind is Stitcher Geralf. Less quantity, more quality. Focus on making the large zombie token unblockable and beat down all the opponents.
August 25, 2016 9:58 a.m.