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Overview ------------------------------------
This is a Standard zombie deck, with a couple of minor twists. The idea is to use discarding and recursion to get creatures to the graveyard and then to the field while lowering the costs to cast them.
The sideboard is designed to turn the deck into more of a control-type deck while still generating creatures.
Biting Rain
for removal, Collective Brutality, Transgress the Mind, etc... are all aspects of control. Call the Bloodline allows creature generation while still enabling discarding to get creatures to the graveyard. I have tried this and it does throw off an opponent because they normally side in a bunch of removal, then I don't have as many creatures and they have wasted cards. Mind Rot is another card to consider, especially since it is in the new Kaladesh set.
---------------CREATURES--------------------
Haunted Dead is probably the main driver of the deck. The idea is to get it to the graveyard and then cast it for , at which point it brings in a 1/1 flying spirit and any
Prized Amalgam
s that may be in the graveyard.
Prized Amalgam
is a card that I actually don't want to cast! Rather, I want it in the graveyard to be pulled without paying any mana costs when I summon Haunted Dead from the graveyard.
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*NOTE about the Haunted Dead +
Prized Amalgam
combo as a deck cornerstone: this works pretty well and almost without fail, so long as there are plenty of mechanisms to get cards into the graveyard directly from your library or from your hand.
Corpse Churn
, Contingency Plan, Cryptbreaker, and Call the Bloodline (a sideboard card) all work for this. If there aren't enough of these outlets, then the deck might stall and not function as well.
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Cryptbreaker is an awesome card! It can crank out 2/2 zombie tokens and either enable madness or get cards from my hand to the graveyard (Haunted Dead or
Prized Amalgam
). This card is just a solid card.
Stitchwing Skaab is a solid card with the ability to be recalled from the graveyard. Obviously, this would enable
Prized Amalgam
. I dislike that it is a 3/1 as it is easily killed, but the recursion for only helps. Indeed, this is one of those cards that i do not want to cast from my hand. Rather, I want it in the graveyard so that I may recall it for half the casting cost.
Relentless Dead is just a solid card. A 2/2 with menace that only costs , if it is killed I can return it straight to my hand AND I can use it to cast a zombie from my graveyard-- Cryptbreaker,
Forgotten Creation
, or even other Relentless Deads that somehow ended up in the graveyard.
Voldaren Pariah
is a nice fit for this deck. There are plenty of discard mechanisms (see above) to enable madness and get this creature for 3 mana. Using Haunted Dead and it's associated 1/1 spirit and any
Prized Amalgam
s that may also enter the battlefield with it, provide the 3 creatures necessary to flip the voladern pariah. I have used this to decimate my opponents! The next turn, I am able to pull the Haunted Dead, 1/1 spirit, and any associated
Prized Amalgam
s right back onto the field. Devastating.
Distended Mindbender is the strange card in this deck, and I give the credit to pro tour guru Seth Manfield for this one. He had a nice zombie decklist on TCGPlayer.com that included this card. I gave it a test run and it worked beautifully! I normally sacrifice Haunted Dead or
Forgotten Creation
with their 4 CMC each and end up casting this creature for ! Then I get to dig through an opponent's hand and make them get rid of a couple of cards. This card has been one of the two most powerful cards in the deck (Voldaren Pariah
being the other, though Dark Salvation is a close third).
---------------SORCERIES AND INSTANTS--------------------
Corpse Churn
is essential. it gets creatures into the graveyard. Yes, occasionally, another card I want (e.g., another
Corpse Churn
, a Grasp of Darkness or similar) gets put into the graveyard, but it's a small price to pay. This card is too good. Early game I can get creatures into the graveyard, while mid- and late game I can get creatures out (e.g., Cryptbreaker, Voldaren Pariah
, Distended Mindbender, or
Forgotten Creation
are the main targets).
Contingency Plan is amazing. Only and I get to look at the top 5, decided what I need, what I want in the graveyard, etc... I basically get to plan my attack and fill the graveyard. I honestly think that Wizards of the Coast crapped themselves with this card. In the right deck, this card is extremely powerful. This is one of those decks.
Dark Salvation combines removal with creature generator. Great! I usually only cast it for a single token as I'm able to use other zombies for its -1/-1 per zombie ability. Note that it states zombies I control, not just those cast using the card-- but you do get to include those zombies in the total. Nice removal that generates a creature. Nice card.
Grasp of Darkness is the best single-creature removal in Standard for its CMC.
Ruinous Path not only targets a creature, but it can hit a planeswalker. Excellent card.
---------------LANDS--------------------
Dual lands are key to this deck as they easily facilitate the blue cards that show up. Don't forget that Sunken Hollow may be revealed for Choked Estuary! You don't have to reveal a basic land for sunken hollow, just an island or a swamp, and Sunken Hollow is both.
---------------SUMMARY--------------------
Solid deck with several tricks and a modified control alt build. I've had fun with this deck and I'm looking forward to a couple of cards that may help from the Kaladesh block. Then it's time to try FNM!
