I recently became very interested in Sam Black's Legacy Zombardment deck. If you haven't played that deck, consider throwing it into MWS or Cockatrice just to see how the deck's synergies gel so well together. Anything that plays like a redundant Rube Goldberg machine gets my attention. When I saw Sam's Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper Commander deck posted a while back, I realized that with tweaks, the same synergies that I enjoyed in Zombardment were possible in a Golgari Commander deck. Since I was looking to modify my Jarad deck from being a fun but mediocre build entirely contingent on Lord of Extinction or Sewer Nemesis, I immediately began modifying Sam's list into the following:
There is the Mikaeus/Triskelion infinite combo in case the game goes really long and it's just time to end it, but generally the deck plays like it looks. Start by recurring cards like Bloodghast, Nether Traitor, Reassembling Skeleton, and Verdant Eidolon or creatures via Oversold Cemetary to combo into sacrifice effects to make tokens via Pawn of Ulamog, Fresh Meat, and Golgari Germination. Death Cloud and Genesis Wave are there to push you ahead on board presence. Death Cloud is not my favorite card for this, so it's under consideration for replacement.
Jarad could be stronger in this deck, but he's still decent as an expensive incremental value sacrifice outlet and can get semi-bigger with a stocked graveyard.
Squirrely, you pointed out how a Jund version has access to Goblin Bombardment and Rage Thrower and I want to say that you are spot on with your assessment. I think Jarad is a weaker choice than going Jund or Rakdos because sacrificing 2/1, 1/1, or 0/1 creatures for 1BG aren't nearly as effective as dies triggers. I just really wanted to get to use Jarad and I was very tired of a Golgari Good Stuff.dec build. It was so one-dimensional!
This build is a little more interesting to me because Jarad at least semi-Voltron's himself into a big beater post-board wipe. I played against a Grimgrin deck in one-versus-one this weekend and he had wiped out my board with Life's Finale. I was able to get Jarad back into play and he was a respectable 8/8 to attack with.
Harvester of Souls is definitely great. Foster sounds good too. Massacre Wurm is obviously good, but lies more in the bomb camp than in the synergy camp... I don't like Smokestack and similar cards. It's not how I like to roll, denying my opponents their gameplay and all. Smokestack is great in this kind of deck, but too unfun for my taste. And you don't need them to compete, either.
I'm thinking of cutting Smokestack as you suggested in place of Harvester of Souls or Foster. Each time it's been in my hand late game, I simply don't want to cast it.
Hermit Druid is one of the cards I would want to play in my deck if I had access to green.
I might consider him and keep my existing mana base as a pseudo-land tutor and self-milling ability. I had avoided Hermit Druid because of the perception that creature has on casual/competitive play, but I would be running it in a deck where nearly half of my manabase is basics.
Also, I tried to stay away from non-thematic haymakers like Genesis Wave and trying to rely completely on my engines to overpower opponents (and the occasional Living Death).
I was able to cast Genesis Wave for 6GGG this weekend off of the back of Eldrazi tokens and five lands. My flip was not that amazing. Given that this deck has no real way to handle non-creature board states, I'm of the opinion that Genesis Wave is almost necessary for mid- to late-game as a way to continue board presence.
One card that can sometimes be awesome is Dross Havester, gaining you loads of life when you do your shenanigans.
Interesting find! I'm considering him because he's on-curve and my games are full of creatures dying. I had also casually considered Grim Feast, but found it lacking enough punch for me to replace anything.
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Viscera Seer
1 Blood Artist
1 Bloodghast
1 Bloodthrone Vampire
1 Nether Traitor
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Pawn of Ulamog
1 Phyrexian Broodlings
1 Krovikan Horror
1 Necrotic Ooze
1 Phyrexian Plaguelord
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Sadistic Hypnotist
1 Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Diligent Farmhand
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Eternal Witness
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Wood Elves
1 Mongrel Pack
1 Verdant Eidolon
1 Acidic Slime
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Lord of Extinction
1 Savra, Queen of the Golgari
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Triskelion
1 Grave Pact
1 Tombstone Stairwell
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Awakening Zone
1 Fecundity
1 Parallel Lives
1 Doubling Season
1 Perilous Forays
1 Golgari Germination
1 Entomb
1 Fresh Meat
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Buried Alive
1 Death Cloud
1 Dread Return
1 Genesis Wave
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mana Vault
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Sol Ring
1 Culling Dais
1 Spawning Pit
1 Mimic Vat
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Smokestack
1 Skullclamp
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
9 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 High Market
1 Khalni Garden
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Pendelhaven
1 Phyrexian Tower
7 Swamp
1 Tainted Wood
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Woodland Cemetery
There is the Mikaeus/Triskelion infinite combo in case the game goes really long and it's just time to end it, but generally the deck plays like it looks. Start by recurring cards like Bloodghast, Nether Traitor, Reassembling Skeleton, and Verdant Eidolon or creatures via Oversold Cemetary to combo into sacrifice effects to make tokens via Pawn of Ulamog, Fresh Meat, and Golgari Germination. Death Cloud and Genesis Wave are there to push you ahead on board presence. Death Cloud is not my favorite card for this, so it's under consideration for replacement.
Jarad could be stronger in this deck, but he's still decent as an expensive incremental value sacrifice outlet and can get semi-bigger with a stocked graveyard.
Cards I'm considering trying to fit into the deck:
Harvester of Souls
Foster
Massacre Wurm
This build is a little more interesting to me because Jarad at least semi-Voltron's himself into a big beater post-board wipe. I played against a Grimgrin deck in one-versus-one this weekend and he had wiped out my board with Life's Finale. I was able to get Jarad back into play and he was a respectable 8/8 to attack with.
Thanks for the link! I'll check that deck out.
I'm thinking of cutting Smokestack as you suggested in place of Harvester of Souls or Foster. Each time it's been in my hand late game, I simply don't want to cast it.
I might consider him and keep my existing mana base as a pseudo-land tutor and self-milling ability. I had avoided Hermit Druid because of the perception that creature has on casual/competitive play, but I would be running it in a deck where nearly half of my manabase is basics.
I was able to cast Genesis Wave for 6GGG this weekend off of the back of Eldrazi tokens and five lands. My flip was not that amazing.
Interesting find! I'm considering him because he's on-curve and my games are full of creatures dying. I had also casually considered Grim Feast, but found it lacking enough punch for me to replace anything.
Mongrel Pack seems sweet. Did you give any thought to Sengir Autocrat?
My group would hate Death Cloud. Have you received any push back on that or is this a more competitive GP Side Event list?