I have used Zombie Infestation as a discard outlet in every reanimator I've built since it came out in Odyssey. To me this is the gold standard of discard outlets for graveyard decks. 5/5 from me.
This takes me back to a particular time and space, specifically getting my ass handed to me by a BR Zombie deck with this, Lord of the Undead, and Deadapult way back when. Halcyon days.
It's still a good card, from enabling reanimator to abusing token generators. I hesitate to call it great, since a 2/2 body isn't often very relevant in EDH and being forced to bin two cards can be awkward, but it's still very much worth playing in the right deck.
Between this card and Call the Bloodline, one of them is good at enabling discard for Madness and reanimation, while this one is a lot better when you've got 60 cards in hand and not enough mana to use them efficiently. It's not an awful card, but it's hard to justify putting it into decks with that awkward (and hefty!) 2 card cost.
Zombie Infestation is great in Zombie tribal obviously as it synergies with alot of reanimate strategies. Creating a 2/2 zombie isn't inconsequential as one token can turn into multiples (Endless Ranks of the Dead, etc.), but the cost of pitching two cards is a little steep. It is understandable for the ability because discarding one card for a 2/2 zombie token would be insane. Somehow I end up always cutting Zombie Infestation from any zombie deck I make, because in the end it doesn't do enough to help win the game for me. I dunno, it isn't bad, 4/5 would try it again and make it work.
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"People are the worst. The worst thing about music is that people play it." - Mike Patton
I don't get to sign in every day, so to back up a little:
I like this in Mizzix of the Izmagnus. It normally is played for a single blue and can potentially add an experience counter or two. Remember, getting an experience counter is a triggered ability. If you only have 3 experience and cast one spell with a casting cost above three, you will trigger Mizzix, then can cast this for a single blue with that trigger on the stack and trigger it again. To be honest, that is one of my favorite things about that deck: that it can make sub optimal cards useful and give them a home.
Great card for decks that can cast stuff from the grave. Like Zombies. Such a coincidence.
I agree. This is a great way to discard for value when you want things in the graveyard anyway. I am happy to have one in my collection.
Discard cards with madness, flashback, or Reanimate targets.
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"Whatever style you wish to play, be it fast and frenzied or slow and tactical, the surest way to defeat your opponent consistently is by dominating him or her in the war of card advantage." - Brian Wiseman, April 1996
If only this was an instant or it'd hit all opponents I could see this as a great way to get surprise kills. As is though...it's rather meh.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
If only this was an instant or it'd hit all opponents I could see this as a great way to get surprise kills. As is though...it's rather meh.
If it said life lost instead of damage dealt it would be at least be worth looking into for my Kokusho and probably other Life Drain decks, but alas it does not. As it is I think it doesn't really pull it's own weight, as mentioned if it were an instant it could see play. It's just a little too underpowered for EDH.
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EDH Pantheon UBRG Yidris, Eye of the Storm WBR Kaalia, Herald of Apocalypse UBG Damia, Sage of Nightmare WBG Karador, the Bridge Between WU Grand Warden Augustin IV RG Omnath, Locus of Awakening BG Nath Addict UR Niv Mizzet, Brain Aflame B Kokusho, the Mourning Star U Memnarch is All
It's like a Furnace of Rath that you don't telegraph precombat or pre-burnspell, but it only works for one turn. This is probably the perfect format for such a tool, but it's still too goshdarn expensive to consider. At 3 mana it would be fairly usable.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Yeah, I like the idea behind the card, but when you combine sorcery speed, 5 mana and only counting damage and not lifeloss, this ends up being pretty bad - even if there weren't better options for this type of effect, I still wouldn't look to run this anywhere.
You still ultimately open yourself up to removal before you hit in with the creatures, rather than your opponent taking the hit or burn without thinking twice and suddenly getting dunked.
Between things like Stuffy Doll, Seedborn Muse and Repercussion there are a few cute interactions with this thing. 12 damage will reliably deal with just about every non-indestructible/hexproof creature but the cost is hefty. Still, one hell of a cool card.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Fortunes is the most common, and playable of the cycle, although Murmurs milling eight is pretty insane in 'Yard decks. This is fine as far as the scale for colourless removal goes.
I have used Zombie Infestation as a discard outlet in every reanimator I've built since it came out in Odyssey. To me this is the gold standard of discard outlets for graveyard decks. 5/5 from me.
Now see, you've gone and made Putrid Imp so very very sad now. You should apologize to him!
Fortunes is the most common, and playable of the cycle, although Murmurs milling eight is pretty insane in 'Yard decks. This is fine as far as the scale for colourless removal goes.
I run Tower of Fortunes in Karn, and I ran it in Azusa when I still played that deck. It's great for a nonblue deck that can generate absurd amounts of mana but runs out of steam. (For example, last Sunday I was playing Karn and was generating 10 times the mana of anyone else by the end of the game.)
amazingly epic sig courtesy of DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Planes.
It's still a good card, from enabling reanimator to abusing token generators. I hesitate to call it great, since a 2/2 body isn't often very relevant in EDH and being forced to bin two cards can be awkward, but it's still very much worth playing in the right deck.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
I use it in Gitrog Monster and love it.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
I don't get to sign in every day, so to back up a little:
I like this in Mizzix of the Izmagnus. It normally is played for a single blue and can potentially add an experience counter or two. Remember, getting an experience counter is a triggered ability. If you only have 3 experience and cast one spell with a casting cost above three, you will trigger Mizzix, then can cast this for a single blue with that trigger on the stack and trigger it again. To be honest, that is one of my favorite things about that deck: that it can make sub optimal cards useful and give them a home.
I agree. This is a great way to discard for value when you want things in the graveyard anyway. I am happy to have one in my collection.
Discard cards with madness, flashback, or Reanimate targets.
If only this was an instant or it'd hit all opponents I could see this as a great way to get surprise kills. As is though...it's rather meh.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Wound Reflection, while being a permanent and slightly more expensive, is a lot more damaging than this one.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
If it said life lost instead of damage dealt it would be at least be worth looking into for my Kokusho and probably other Life Drain decks, but alas it does not. As it is I think it doesn't really pull it's own weight, as mentioned if it were an instant it could see play. It's just a little too underpowered for EDH.
UBRG Yidris, Eye of the Storm
WBR Kaalia, Herald of Apocalypse
UBG Damia, Sage of Nightmare
WBG Karador, the Bridge Between
WU Grand Warden Augustin IV
RG Omnath, Locus of Awakening
BG Nath Addict
UR Niv Mizzet, Brain Aflame
B Kokusho, the Mourning Star
U Memnarch is All
Yeah, but so is Dictate of the Twin Gods.
Red, however, pwns the ***** out of this effect: Furnace of Rath, Dictate of the Twin Gods (which actually has flash and does everything this card wants to), Gratuitous Violence, and even a one-player version, Curse of Bloodletting. If you're in red/white, there's Gisela, Blade of Goldnight too.
On phasing:
You still ultimately open yourself up to removal before you hit in with the creatures, rather than your opponent taking the hit or burn without thinking twice and suddenly getting dunked.
Between things like Stuffy Doll, Seedborn Muse and Repercussion there are a few cute interactions with this thing. 12 damage will reliably deal with just about every non-indestructible/hexproof creature but the cost is hefty. Still, one hell of a cool card.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Now see, you've gone and made Putrid Imp so very very sad now. You should apologize to him!
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
I don't see the usefulness of Tower of Murmurs when Sands of Delirium exists.
Redundancy? /shrug
Neither of them are particularly good.
Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
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