So I squired a Scarab God and am wnating to run teh typical Zombie tribal most people wll be aiming for. While His ability to brings big creatures back, my focus is going to aim for his Upkeep ability. Sure if I can, i'll bring back creatures that are nice, but with my meta having ways to stop activated abilities, I would rather focus on overwhelming with zombies. 20 life each upkeep... Scry 20. Yes Zombie Tribal, but why not add in some control?
But that's the extent. Its mainly black with some blue splashed in i don;t wnat ths to just be linear (As I run a combo Vela the Night-clad which I enjoy a lot. So yes, i want Scarab god to be a Horde/control and not combo)
Granted I will have fun bring back big guys form my opponents grave if need be but I do not want my deck to focus on getting big stuff into my grave, as I don;t want to count on having to bring them back (I may throw a few in there, but a grave play deck is not my focus. the recursion spells (like reanimate) are a little too expensive for me.
Reanimate is overrated unless your meta is very fast/combo-y, so that shouldn't be a problem. Animate Dead and Necromancy are both great alternatives.
Depending on the decks your enemies play, you might consider Undead Alchemist to fuel your upkeep ability. I'd also try to get your hands on Training Grounds.
Shepherd of Rot can double down on the life loss. I would also run a few extra turn spells. They trigger your upkeep again and you get more combat phases.
I am playing a similar deck than you want to achieve.
Since I dislocated my shoulder 2 days ago on my holiday vacation I got plenty of Xmage time and tested the deck:
Mesmeric Orb and Altar of the Brrod may be some nice addition to keep fueling Scarab. Most of the time I cant fill my GY fast enough to make me some nice litte zombies. I hat that combo turn 3 on the table and before 3 guys could kill it they all had milled about 20 cards in their GY.
And everyone will know what you can do with a nice GY so they will Bojuka Bog the ***** out of you - but noone ever killed is own GY with this.
After getting his dirty hands on a Steel Hellkite or Grave Titan or whatnow that got milled in some other GY they know ***** is about to get real
Our good is so damn Mana Hungry and if you dont encounter lots of Land-Hate: Currently I am tutoring if I have Urborg or Cabal Coffers for either one. Gettin up to 5-10 Mana for 2C is priceless and lets you drop some U where you need it. I even got to a point where I could Exile 3 Creatures per turn...
And I highly recommend Minamo, School at Water's Edge You cant target much but even getting Ghisa do her ***** 2 times for 2B is pure evil...
cabal is going in no question, even thrwoing in vesuva and thespian stage. Thre cabal coffers, even at only ten lands, if urborg is out (most pods i play has at least 2 people running one) if i have a sol ring the mana i can produce will be 36 (26 being black) i figure there a few cards that will enjoy that much mana.
Altar of the brood is a good Addition. Adding it but since i am not aiming to mill myself so no to the orb. Also gonna grab an altar of dementia. If they gonna board wip. I am not losing my zombies fir nothing. Also gonna run vela, just as another backup plan for board wipes and lots of zombies.
Edit: there is a guy i played who ran an almost mono black oona deck. He was able to get i think 6 cabal coffers. Liqimetal coating allowed him to use phyrexian metamorph and sculpting steel.
Edit: i need some draw power. Scrying 10+ is nice but i woul like to draw more than one of those cards.
The resurrection is a crazy good ability and really should not be ignored - don't forget that it's instant speed and can be done multiple times. Digging up a Sheoldred, Whispering One on your opponent's end step and grabbing another fatty you buried off her ability is really spicy tempo and literally the only card you need to see in order to get that combo off is an Entomb or a Buried Alive. Keep in mind you're actually playing Magic the Gathering, a game with other players. Not even my cat would let you park up with your general online and twenty zombies so you can swap around 20% of your deck lmao
That said if you actually really aren't going to use the resurrect then just copy a Grimgrin build because those tend to lean towards big boards and expendable/recur-able Zombies in order to feed his ability. Lords aren't actually hugely important because it's number of Zombies and not their P/T that feeds your ability so the mana would be better spent on cards that give you more board presence (I mean it wouldn't, you're going to eat board wipes more than hot meals but twenty zombies is what we're doing so you're going to have to play all twenty of them somewhere) just run Zombie Master and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and then that twenty zombies equals four hundred unblockable damage
I would focus on Scarab's resurrection more if my meta was not so good at shutting activated abilities down. i mean heck, one guy I play plays Linvala as his general. That is not even adding all the extra lock down effects he has. He may not realizethe full potential of his deck but he can in fact lock each player out of the game in one way or another. He effective locked one guy out by using Faith's Fetters on his Necropotence. He no longer had a draw step. Had no hand and no board state. He was just there as a meat bag.
The Scarab upkeep ability is great because i can only name 4 card that stop it. 3 in blue and 1 is an artifact i have see no one run. (Din;t even know Eon Hub was a card yesterday morning.
Grave Titan is able to yield you a ton of zombies, which will help with your triggered upkeep ability. As gravy, he's also a juicy target for your (oft-countered) activated ability from your commander.
Grave Titan is able to yield you a ton of zombies, which will help with your triggered upkeep ability. As gravy, he's also a juicy target for your (oft-countered) activated ability from your commander.
By the way, the other hoser I can think of is Pithing Needle. You'll also need to watch out for Angel of Glory's Rise, as do all zombie decks.
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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!
By the way, the other hoser I can think of is Pithing Needle. You'll also need to watch out for Angel of Glory's Rise, as do all zombie decks.
pithi g needle onlybhitstbe activated ability. Not the upkeep ability. Angels of glorys rise may see mlre llay but not common in my meta (only hoses zombie decks. Still too situational. Plus tbere is a balck card that does the exact opposite of angel. Kill allbhumans and brimg back zombies.
I've seen Angel of Glory's Rise in human tribal, and it was essential to the Laboratory Maniac route to win in Hermit Druid.
"The next Hermit Druid" is a big reason all my decks run Pithing Needle now.
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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!
Now I am running the Lords, Death Baron, Mikaeus, The unhallowed, Cemetery reaper, Lord of the Undead, Undead Warchief, Diregraf Captain, Lord of the Accursed. I have the Token producers Endless Ranks of the dead, Army of the Damned, Liliana's Mastery also offers pump Even ghoulcaller Gisa can do some damage. I also have Akroma's Memorial for some bonus effects and evasion and Coat of Arms.
But that's the extent. Its mainly black with some blue splashed in i don;t wnat ths to just be linear (As I run a combo Vela the Night-clad which I enjoy a lot. So yes, i want Scarab god to be a Horde/control and not combo)
Granted I will have fun bring back big guys form my opponents grave if need be but I do not want my deck to focus on getting big stuff into my grave, as I don;t want to count on having to bring them back (I may throw a few in there, but a grave play deck is not my focus. the recursion spells (like reanimate) are a little too expensive for me.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Depending on the decks your enemies play, you might consider Undead Alchemist to fuel your upkeep ability. I'd also try to get your hands on Training Grounds.
Along with Diregraf Captain you have Plague Belcher and Vengeful Dead to punish wiping your zombies and combo with Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar. Relentless Dead is another asset here.
If your deck is heavy enough into creatures, Tombstone Stairwell will benefit you more than the other players (but watch out for Zombie Master and Lord of the Undead, those buff enemy zombies, too).
Shepherd of Rot can double down on the life loss. I would also run a few extra turn spells. They trigger your upkeep again and you get more combat phases.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/778566-the-scarab-god-lets-brew
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Altar of the brood is a good Addition. Adding it but since i am not aiming to mill myself so no to the orb. Also gonna grab an altar of dementia. If they gonna board wip. I am not losing my zombies fir nothing. Also gonna run vela, just as another backup plan for board wipes and lots of zombies.
Edit: there is a guy i played who ran an almost mono black oona deck. He was able to get i think 6 cabal coffers. Liqimetal coating allowed him to use phyrexian metamorph and sculpting steel.
Edit: i need some draw power. Scrying 10+ is nice but i woul like to draw more than one of those cards.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
That said if you actually really aren't going to use the resurrect then just copy a Grimgrin build because those tend to lean towards big boards and expendable/recur-able Zombies in order to feed his ability. Lords aren't actually hugely important because it's number of Zombies and not their P/T that feeds your ability so the mana would be better spent on cards that give you more board presence (I mean it wouldn't, you're going to eat board wipes more than hot meals but twenty zombies is what we're doing so you're going to have to play all twenty of them somewhere) just run Zombie Master and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and then that twenty zombies equals four hundred unblockable damage
The Scarab upkeep ability is great because i can only name 4 card that stop it. 3 in blue and 1 is an artifact i have see no one run. (Din;t even know Eon Hub was a card yesterday morning.
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsOFT countered?
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsYea one guy i play with alot play Linvala. Plus aura that say "Activated abilities cannot be activated"
What does OFT stand for?
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsOf course, (Stupid me)
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
By the way, the other hoser I can think of is Pithing Needle. You'll also need to watch out for Angel of Glory's Rise, as do all zombie decks.
On phasing:
UB Vela the Night-Clad BUDecklist
WBG Ghave, Guru of Spores GBW
WUBRGThe Ur-DragonWUBRGDecklist
"The next Hermit Druid" is a big reason all my decks run Pithing Needle now.
On phasing: