As Varina, Lich Queen was spoiled with the 2018 Commander release, I knew I finally have the opportunity to make Necromancer’s Covenant work! However, my meta is all over this particular legendary creature with two other decks on the field….so I had to lay low and bide my time and now finally bring forth the ZOMBIE HORDES!! (yes...stating it in CAPS makes them more intimidating!)
After careful consideration, I’ve decided to try for more creative approach other than just mindless zombies. After all, Varina is a Lich Queen - the direction of this deck is going to be a ‘everybody discards’ theme, with the goal of playing out madness cards or otherwise other great cards meant for the graveyard to offset my own discards. The graveyards still a huge part and a zombie deck isn’t a zombie deck without the horde part…but the discard will help me skip past the early game where zombies tend to struggle and will drop me into the mid-late game where zombies tend to thrive. It’s thin…I know….but going to try it out anyways.
Suggestions, comments, and criticism is always welcome!!
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be good against one or multiple opponents.
5) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
6) Have multiple paths to victory.
7) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
8) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
9) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
10) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
The number in front of the card will denote CMC of the creature/spell.
Our meta plays with 40 life totals and no general damage.
As Varina, Lich Queen was spoiled with the 2018 Commander release, I knew I finally have the opportunity to make Necromancer’s Covenant work! However, my meta is all over this particular legendary creature with two other decks on the field….so I had to lay low and bide my time and now finally bring forth the ZOMBIE HORDES!! (yes...stating it in CAPS makes them more intimidating!)
After careful consideration, I’ve decided to try for more creative approach other than just mindless zombies. After all, Varina is a Lich Queen - the direction of this deck is going to be a ‘everybody discards’ theme, with the goal of playing out madness cards or otherwise other great cards meant for the graveyard to offset my own discards. The graveyards still a huge part and a zombie deck isn’t a zombie deck without the horde part…but the discard will help me skip past the early game where zombies tend to struggle and will drop me into the mid-late game where zombies tend to thrive. It’s thin…I know….but going to try it out anyways.
Suggestions, comments, and criticism is always welcome!!
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be good against one or multiple opponents.
5) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
6) Have multiple paths to victory.
7) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
8) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
9) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
10) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
The number in front of the card will denote CMC of the creature/spell.
Our meta plays with 40 life totals and no general damage.
4 Varina, Lich Queen
//Zombies (26)
1 Gravecrawler
2 Wayward Servant
2 Rotting Rats
2 Miasmic Mummy
3 Midnight Reaper
3 Plague Belcher
3 Diregraf Colossus
3 Sibsig Icebreakers
3 Death Baron
3 Lord of the Accursed
3 Diregraf Captain
3 Cemetry Reaper
3 Lich Lord of Unx
4 Graveborn Muse
4 Forgotten Creation
4 Grave Scrabbler
4 Undead Warchief
4 Risen Executioner
4 Liliana's Reaver
5 Advanced Stichwing
5 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
5 Havengul Lich
5 Phyrexian Delver
5 Noxious Ghoul
6 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
6 Pontiff of Blight
5 Psychosis Crawler
//Tokens (6)
2 Zombie Infestation
4 Gisa’s Bidding
5 Awaken the Erstwhile
5 From Under the Floorboards
5 Open the Graves
8 Army of the Damned
//Card Advantage (9)
1 Skullclamp
1 Vampiric Rites
1 Call to the Netherworld
3 Windfall
5 Cryptic Gateway
5 Kindred Discovery
5 Vanquisher’s Banner
6 Zombie Apocalypse
7 Grave Betrayal
//Buff & Protection (6)
1 Reconnaissance
1 Elixir of Imortality
2 Waste Not
3 Behind the Scenes
6 Necromancer’s Covenant
6 Ethereal Absolution
//Control (7)
3 Sudden Spoiling
4 Barter in Blood
4 Crush Contraband
4 Utter End
5 Living Death
6 Meriless Eviction
6 Austere Command
1 Sol Ring
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Oath of Lieges
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Herald’s Horn
4 Smothering Tithe
5 Gilded Lotus
6 Rooftop Storm
//Land (36)
0 Command Tower
0 Arcane Sanctum
0 Exotic Orchard
0 Watery Grave
0 Isolated Chapel
0 Choked Estuary
0 Underground River
0 Cave of Koilos
0 Bojuka Bog
0 Crypt of Agadeem
0 Vault of the Archangel
0 Unholy Grotto
0 Rogue’s Passage
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Terramorphic Expanse
0 Evolving Wilds
10 Swamp
5 Island
5 Plains
2 Skirk Ridge Exhumer
3 Cemetry Repear
3 Lich Lord of Unx
4 Stitchwing Skaab
5 Deathbringer Liege
5 Corpse Harvester
6 Vela the Night-Clad
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3 Victimize
3 Gravepurge
3 Behind the Scenes
4 Utter End
5 Demonic Collusion
5 Liliana’s Mastery
6 Life’s Finale
Jan 9 2019:
Vengeful Dead >> Lich Lord of Unx
Gisa and Geralf >> Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
Arguel’s Blood Fast >> Cemetry Reaper
Intellectual Offering >> Austere Command
Ancient Excavation >> Gilded Lotus
Feldon’s Cane >> Reassembling Skeleton
Graf Harvest >> Behind the Scenes
Mirage Mirror >> Utter End
Tenacity >> Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Gleam of Resistance >> Oath of Lieges
Feb 14 2019:
Sorin, Solemn Visitor >> Reconnaissance
Smothering Abomination >> Smothering Tithe
Learn from the Past >> Awaken the Erstwhile
Dark Prophecy >> Cryptic Gateway
Reassembling Skeleton >> Liliana's Reaver
Champion of Stray Souls >> Grave Betrayal
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite >> Ethereal Absolution
Smallpox >> Open the Graves
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