Shepherd of Rot

Creature — Zombie Cleric

Tap: Each player loses 1 life for each Zombie on the battlefield.

Discussion (51)

LadyZ on

3 months ago

Thought of a couple more cards you should think about adding:

- Endless Ranks of the Dead is a good token engine

- Balthor the Defiled is a great way to get your grave back

- Sidisi, Undead Vizier is a powerful tutor, if a little pricey

- Liliana's Mastery

- Risen Executioner

- Shepherd of Rot

McToters on The Black Parade

3 months ago

Automatic +1 I support all Grimgrin players! I’ll start by saying there are a lot of ways to go about winning with this deck. As you described in your intro this deck can go tall semi-voltron or go wide with zombie tokens. It is very flexible in that sense and also, a helluva deck to make comebacks as well. It is a very very good late-game deck with the right cards.

As you will see (if you check out my list) you will see I use Arcane Adaptation to give me some flexibility with what creatures I can play. Creatures like Grave Titan , River Kelpie , and Wonder . I highly recommend Buried Alive as a cheap affordable tutor so you can always search for Gravecrawler and Wonder if you decide to use it. The great thing about Buried Alive is zombies want to be in the graveyard so it helps a lot.

I know they are pricey but I cannot stress enough how amazing Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is slightly more affordable but also really really solid.

Also, Ashnod's Altar and Altar of Dementia are very handy sac outlets especially if you use Dictate of Erebos and/or Grave Pact . Saccong creatures to Ashnod’s gives you the ability to make mana and destroy creatures if Erebos or Pact is out. There are some really neat combos with those and Gravecrawler in particular.

I enjoy using Dream Halls for value and because ai love the card but not necessary. Of course take all suggestions with a grain of salt but i think the sac outlets and enchantments that make opponents sac creatures when yours die are must haves in zombies!

Personally I have ended the majority of games with Shepherd of Rot , Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Gempalm Polluter which i noticed you already have! I would research the Gravecrawler combo because that would be another way for you to finish games as well, applied in the right ways.

Here is my Grimgrin deck for inspiration or if you want to give me any suggestions!

McToters on Ertai, The Corrupted

4 months ago

Nice list! Seems really tight and refined overall!

Not zombies but when I ran Ertai I had the Guile + Dovescape combo and it worked really well. My deck was enchantments based, not zombie based. So I ran cards like Hatching Plans , Intruder Alarm and Opalescence .

Josu Vess, Lich Knight is a great late game zombie token generator. He actually just won me a game a few weeks ago paired up with Gempalm Polluter . Gray Merchant of Asphodel is a sweet zombie too if you’re running enough devotion.

Shout out to Shepherd of Rot possibly my favorite zombie card ever, and if it hasnt happened to you yet—get ready. He’s been the reason I’ve been the cause for many tied games!

+1

MadStacks on Dying to play Esper

5 months ago

Undead Warchief

Havengul Runebinder

Commence the Endgame

Lord of the Accursed

Plague Belcher

Dreadhorde Invasion

Cemetery Reaper

Necromancer's Stockpile

Shepherd of Rot

Reconnaissance

Sloanan on "Grimgrin Want to Play!"

6 months ago

Looking through your deck I think for the most part it looks doable. There's a few things I would recommend cutting to kind of lower the CMC of the deck, as i noticed you've got a somewhat low land count, along with some cards I feel like are zombie traps.

Firstly, Butcher of Malakir is just too expensive. If you still want that effect, I'd highly suggest either Grave Pact or Dictate of Erebos , as they're cheaper and harder to remove.

Army of the Damned is something I see in a hell of a lot of zombie decks, but I never feel like it's ACTUALLY any good. Sure, 13 2/2's is nothing to scoff at, but it's so mana intensive and they enter tapped anyway that it just feels like a trap. Unless you've got a way to cheat the cost, I'd suggest trying something else - Reanimate , Unearth , Living Death , etc. Besides, I think Josu Vess is better for that kind of thing, since his horde has menace and is untapped.

Endless Ranks of the Dead is only situationally good from my experience. It's just a little too slow for me to ever really do much with it.

Empty the Pits is another I'm not too crazy about. Admittedly, self milling can make it do some work, but overall I feel like it's too expensive UNLESS you've got a good GY built up.

As far as suggestions, here's a few thoughts:

Unearth - this beauty is so synergistic with a zombie deck. The biggest problem for zombies in a 60 card format is that all of their lords are at the 3 CMC cost. In EDH we can run them all, and hey, surprise surprise, they're all targetable with this spell!

Reanimate - Basically a second Unearth, but without the 3 CMC restriction.

Flash and Rot Hulk is a pretty disgusting combination. You flash in the hulk and don't pay it's cost and since that's technically part of the resolution of the Flash spell, Hulk's ETB won't trigger until after he's in the graveyard in this instance, meaning you can target him with his own ETB, getting back it and two other zombies, then on his second ETB getting back another three zombos. All at instant speed!

Living Death - Highly, HIGHLY suggest this one. It's both a boardwipe and a finisher, all in one.

Plague Belcher - basically an extra blood artist effect, effectively a second Diregraf Captain .

Tombstone Stairwell - THis one is a finisher in my deck. A better version of Endless Ranks of the Dead , but with the added benefit of sooooo many death triggers that if you've got a Diregraf Captain or Plague Belcher out, you'll probably win the game shortly after.

Shepherd of Rot - With all the zombies you're running, why not turn them into pure burn? Sure it hurts you too, but you can always run things like...

Whip of Erebos - Lifelink is underrated in black, and being able to reanimate anything in your GY for a burst swing is super nice.

Phyrexian Altar AND Ashnod's Altar - Both of these are great. Not only do they ramp, but with certain boardstates they go infinite for a combo win - Classics like Gravecrawler , Phyrexian Altar , and Diregraf Captain will drain the whole table pretty easily.

Nim Deathmantle - If you're running Ashnod's Altar , you should run this. This can EASILY lead to some infinite combos (with Ashnod's, this, and, say, Grave Titan you've got infinite zombies and also infinite colorless mana).

Bontu's Monument - There's probably a combo hidden with it, but cost reduction and incidental lifegain is always nice!

Talisman of Dominance - I like it better than the Dimir Signet, but running both will give you a little bit of ramp at least.

Graf Harvest - If you're going the combo route you probably don't need this but if you're wanting to just swing, this 1 CMC enchantment does some work in an aggro shell.

drpeppercan on Scarab god

6 months ago

Some cards to consider:

• Bojuka Bog : A must include in any black commander deck.
• Boneknitter : Utility, simple as that.
• Corpse Harvester : Out with the old, in with the new... and a swamp!
• Cryptbreaker : So much value in such a small package. Token generating, card draw, good in the early and late game... what is not to love about this card!
• Death Baron : A zombie lord with some extra punch Sure he doesn't get deathtouch himself, but all those 2/2 tokens that are now 3/3 deathtouch.
• Dread Summons : Ever seen those zombie movies with that big hoard that just keeps coming... that's this card. Gives you a bunch of tokens, and recursion bait for your commander.
• Endless Ranks of the Dead : Card title kind of says it all for this one. Obviously not the best in metas with wrath effects coming down every turn, but shines like a copper penny otherwise.
• Ghoulcaller Gisa : So take one creature, throw it under the bus, and get more...
• Grave Titan : Why this thing isn't a zombie I will never know. 6/6 for 6, deathtouch, and brings two friends with it AND when it attacks.
• Graveborn Muse : Card draw based on zombies, who is also a zombie!
• Infernal Caretaker : Mass recursion, either play them out, or discard them back for more effects.
• Liliana, Death's Majesty : Just an all around strong zombie planeswalker.
• Liliana's Mastery : Zombies + an anthem that won't be a big target for removal.
• Lord of the Undead : A low to the ground zombie lord with recursion on a stick.
• Noxious Ghoul : Sweeps out low toughness cards for things you're already doing. Just great value.
• Relentless Dead : A great early drop, and late game it serves as a sac target + recursion.
• Shepherd of Rot : Yes it hits you, but this can be such a major threat.
• Undead Warchief : Cheaper zombies, and bigger zombies. All in one convenient package.
• Awaken the Erstwhile : Disruption, plain and simple. Sure it hurts your hand too, but you are the one with all the zombie based anthems.
• Victim of Night : Doomblade 2.0, but hits black creatures.
• Sidisi, Undead Vizier : You'll have so many tokens kicking around to exploit that she's just a straight tutor, and if she ever hits the graveyard just use her again with Scarab God.
• Fleshbag Marauder : Hurts them a lot more than you, and enter the battlefield abilities are great with Scarab around.
• Josu Vess, Lich Knight : Solid 4/5 Menace for 4, got the extra 6 mana though and he brings friends who also have menace.
• Wonder : Flying zombies... yep, that's scary.
• Pull from Tomorrow : Nice draw on an instant with the added benefit to pitch something for Scarab to target.
• Price of Fame : Legendary killer + Surveil 2... love it.
• Sinister Sabotage : Counterspell + Surveil... love it too.
• Paradox Haze : You've got a couple effects that trigger on upkeep, why not double up?

Some mana fixing/ramp:

• Dimir Signet
• Talisman of Dominance
• Mind Stone
• Dimir Locket

What would I take out:

• The deck currently seems to be going in two directions, you have a large zombie theme which I love, but you also have a minor mill theme which seems out of place.
• Advanced Stitchwing : Slow for what it gives, even on the bounce back it comes back tapped.
• Apprentice Necromancer : This is one I'm on the fence suggesting, it's a one use for one turn only.
• Grimgrin, Corpse-Born : This guy is beast, but he works best in a deck build around him.
• Lamplighter of Selhoff : Slow, for his effect.
• Merciless Eternal : He's not bad, just a lot better things to include in the 3 cost bracket.
• Phenax, God of Deception : Love this guy, really do, but he's out of place here because he's a mill guy who loves big butts.
• Relentless Skaabs : This guy does everything you don't want as he hurts your graveyard in order to even hit play.
• Servant of Tymaret : Slow with high cost. In order to make the best use of him you have to be attacking, and if the way isn't clear that means a 3 mana tax just for 1 life on each opponent.
• Spiteful Returned : Don't hate it, but better things out there.
• Stitchwing Skaab : Suffers from the same as Advanced Stitchwing.
• Undead Alchemist : This guy can go either way, but the way I look at him is generally people have more cards in their decks than life, so it's easier to take out their life.
• Vindictive Lich : This guy is fun, though for his cost there is a lot more out there.
• Exotic Orchard : Risky unless you know your playgroup always has one of your colors, otherwise it's just a colorless and a swamp or island would be just as good.
• Leechridden Swamp : Slows you down for a minor effect.
• Path of Ancestry : Phenax is the only other god creature, so even if you keep him in it's very slow for the benefit it probably will never get the chance to give.
• Coat of Arms : I love this card, I really do, but it's a calculated risk and I find zombies are usually too slow of it. Run up against a goblin or elf deck and this will do more for your opponent.
• Mindcrank : This is another I'm on the fence with as it pairs really well with Scarab.
• Vanquisher's Banner : Good card, though you're not casting all those tokens so you're only getting a bit of a benefit from it.
• Liliana Vess : Good card, out of place in this deck unless you are going heavier into the mill.
• Ob Nixilis Reignited : Just completely out of place for zombie tribal.
• Glimpse the Unthinkable : One of those mill cards, it suffers as a one of.
• Rise from the Grave : Expensive for effect.
• Ruthless Disposal : This isn't bad in this deck, but compared to Morbid Slip for example it lacks that added shine.
• Curse of Disturbance : So much politics, this is VERY meta dependent as to if players fall for the bait.
• Quest for the Gravelord : This can work out, but more often then not stuff isn't dying fast enough or it just gets pinged with early removal.
• Search for Azcanta  ^Flip: More at home in a non-creature strategy.
• Torment of Scarabs : Most people can play around this with not too much fuss, and it gives all the choice to them. I'd prefer some targeted removal.

Lanzo493 on Scarab God's Boneyard Fun

6 months ago

I love zombies. Here’s some more budget friendly options for zombie tribal. Diregraf Captain , Diregraf Colossus , Undead Warchief , Lord of the Accursed , Cryptbreaker (great for card draw), Death Baron , and Shepherd of Rot .

As for graveyard interaction, your commander already does really good. So does Gravecrawler with any sacrifice outlet. Ashnod's Altar is great. You also have access to Buried Alive .

Now for draw. The good ones are Rhystic Study and Phyrexian Arena . Other ones include Arcanis the Omnipotent , Cryptbreaker , Concentrate , Brainstorm and the other cantrips.

drakendark on Ayli's Unholy Clergy

7 months ago

Shepherd of Rot ?