Zegana needs some help
Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 3, 2014, 1:58 a.m. by UmbrotheUmbreon
So working with my Zegana deck for quite a long time, it's been a blast to play and a real powerhouse deck. It's my most used EDH deck and it is brutal at what it does: Combos.
The problem is, it needs a small bit of modification. The deck is Before I Forget and I want to remove Horizon Chimera with one of the following cards:
Heroes' Bane , Engulfing Slagwurm , Protean Hydra , Scourge of Skola Vale , Fathom Mage , Dream Halls , Mana Short , or Boomerang .
Now the deck is already pretty brutal against my friends, so I'm trying my best not to get anymore ridiculous than it already is. However, I still want it to be a powerhouse combo deck. So guys, of those cards, what should I replace Horizon Chimera with?
asasinater13 says... #3
I have a zegana deck and Shipbreaker Kraken
is an all star as some removal. also Chasm Skulker
does some awesome things and has value after a board wipe, which is always a good thing.
September 3, 2014 10:08 a.m.
asasinater13 says... #4
the skulker is a better Lorescale Coatl , less color intensive and a bonus ability. the only downside is starting at 1/1 instead of 2/2, which won't matter once zegana has been played
September 3, 2014 10:09 a.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #5
Guys, I wasn't asking for suggestions. While I appreciate the fact you took time to give them, it wasn't what I was asking. I asked which of the cards I listed should I replace Horizon Chimera with.
September 3, 2014 2:59 p.m.
i understood, i just dont think hydras are the way to go, not enough board state impact. ive been thinking about trying Fathom Mage
in my zegana edh 99, but its such a slow burner that im nervous. gets my vote out of that constrained list though probably, at least for a probationary trial.
September 3, 2014 3:07 p.m.
zegana has 4 main attributes
1) she is a MERFOLK
2) she is a WIZARD
3) she is a CARD DRAWING BEAST
4) she is made of +1/+1 COUNTERS
her card drawing prowess is so intense that its the main thing it seems everyone focuses on. Ive seen merfolk tribal, Im guessing theres some wizard tribal shenanigans you could set up, but i havent seen too many lists super interested in that. the chimera you are axing feeds you life with the card drawing and it flashes in nicely, but simple lifegain and a lackluster body for EDH makes it a good candidate for the axe. ive been thinking about ways recently to better synergize with attribute #4. the Fathom Mage lines up nicely with plays that are designed to manipulate the counters, which is where my interest has been.
September 3, 2014 3:27 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #8
if you can't move around her counters, Fathom Mage
ends up being too slow. you could be better off with, say, Soul of the Harvest
than the fathom (I know it's not in your list, just an example.
from your list, I think the hydras are kind of unnecessary for the deck, the ones with X at least, you'll want to draw lots of cards and play as many as you can, not commit to one big creature and hope no one has removal for your one creature.
Scourge of Skola Vale
can be an interesting way to let you replay zegana, if that interests you. also saves her from effects that would shuffle her, probably not necessary for a zegana deck, but could be relevant. so that's worth considering.
it feels like you're not running enough high-end stuff to make Dream Halls
work best for you, opponents might benefit more and that would just make you lose sometimes, probably not worth the risk.
Mana Short is a bit annoying of a thing to do, but shuts off people for their turn and is great against combo decks that need mana to run. also worth considering
I love using Boomerang
, but that's a personal preference.
Engulfing Slagwurm is high up on your curve, but an awesome ability that will almost always be relevant, gives you life (probably more than the chimera does on average), a body to enable zegana with, and a beater. I think it's probably your best option for replacement, as long as being that high costed isn't going to be a problem for your deck.
September 3, 2014 3:37 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #9
@asasinater13: High costs aren't a problem, as the ramp power in this deck has become a threat itself. There have been situations where I have access to about 15-20 mana by turn 5-6 just off lands and mana rocks (keep in mind I only have 4-6 mana rocks and most of them are Simic rocks).
Mana Short is really annoying but it helps stop them if they are gonna win the game that turn and enable me another turn. It also saves me from Oloro's trigger if I respond to it. Dream Halls I do agree with though.
Engulfing Slagwurm was a card I really loved back in the day. It's ability to be a beastly chump blocker appeals greatly to me. However, more often than not the opponent will just take the 7, so attacking is useless. The body is nice so it's also good there.
Scourge of Skola Vale would be a good sac outlet for Zegana if I ever need to recast her, stops Terminus dead in its tracks (you have no idea how annoying losing Zegana is with this deck x.x), and is a great body to boot (plus it has trample). The other hydras I can agree with to a degree.
@xiao.wen: I used to use Fathom Mage as a filler card for when I was waiting on other cards, and it didn't do too much. Most the time I'd have preferred something more powerful or instant access to than the Mage. While I do consider it to go back in, I just keep forgetting that it didn't do much or enough to warrant running it. The Hydra I'd highly consider right now is Scourge of Skola Vale because as stated earlier, it helps me recast Zegana (nobody will kill it willingly), and it helps avoid tucking her.
xiao.wen says... #2
Snapcaster Mage Zameck Guildmage Coiling Oracle Mystic Snake Overbeing of Myth Thassa, God of the Sea Diluvian Primordial Trygon Predator Shipbreaker Kraken Kiora, the Crashing Wave Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Acidic Slime
September 3, 2014 6:47 a.m.