Feels like Josu could be a 1-2 of somewhere as well. Strictly Better MTG also briefly touched on a potential UB version using Scarab God because of his zombie scry & loss of life clause.
I think you can just drop white altogether. Wayward Servant and Binding Mummy aren't good enough for a color splash. And the other white cards you're playing are WW (the 1 Settle and the abilities on the Shefet Dunes), and you only have 10 total sources of white mana (9 in the case of the Dunes, since you have to actually tap a Dune to use the ability). Drop the White is my suggestion.
I think you can just drop white altogether. Wayward Servant and Binding Mummy aren't good enough for a color splash. And the other white cards you're playing are WW (the 1 Settle and the abilities on the Shefet Dunes), and you only have 10 total sources of white mana (9 in the case of the Dunes, since you have to actually tap a Dune to use the ability). Drop the White is my suggestion.
Mana base needs some work, but I like the splash. Zombies need another 2 drop (I dont like Mimic). Being able to play Zombies from/with help from the GY can help end games (in theory). I was hesitant to add the single Settle because of the WW, and youre probably right, the WW in Dunes is probable asking too much. Perhaps those should be Unclaimed Territory instead. Wayward Servant means you dont necessarily have to attack into opposing Settles (slow drain) and the incremental life gain can help vs red. I think Binding Mummy has some merit vs aggro. Opponent's eot, make zombies via Graveyard Marshal. Tap down blockers. Untap, lord, alpha strike
I agree with the fact white doesn't bring much. Playing monoB is very strong with such awkward mana in the format. As soon as you play 2 colors, you end up with tapped lands in your games, and you lose because of them. Yes, enemy colors are better for aggro, bt you still run into awkward hands and more mulligans.
I saw a CFB guy propose a rather ambitious list with 4x Liliana's Mastery, and I think we must be careful with it, it's very expensive and perhaps not as impactful as it used to be. The new Liliana is the real deal, but it really shines in grindy games, less so against aggro. I would prioritize her over Mastery because she's cheaper.
Also in black, we have the excellent Ammit Eternal, which is with a pump or 2 able to ignore opponents's attempts to shrink it.
A card like Heart of Kiran might be necessary as well in order to get through stall boards and kick Teferi off the board. The deck lacks evasion overall, and deathtouch isn't good enough. Not even sure we want 4 Death Barons.
A card like Heart of Kiran might be necessary as well in order to get through stall boards and kick Teferi off the board. The deck lacks evasion overall, and deathtouch isn't good enough. Not even sure we want 4 Death Barons.
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
I'll find out when I get the cards next Friday. Both fill the yard, but LUbD has the possible benefit of doing so via a 4 pt life swing. She also acts as removal and her 3rd ability can be bonkers late game and create dramatic life swings with the right Zombies in the yard/in play. I think both have merit in the 75 though.
I think that Liliana, Death's Majesty is more reliable, but the ceiling on Liliana, Untouched by Death is higher. Until she rotates, the former is probably the better choice due to all the graveyard hate and the ability to throw 2/2 zombies out onto the field. In all honesty, the M19 walkers feel like the typical core set planeswalkers, which is to say none of them are particularly good. They are all upgrades to their Planeswalker deck counterparts.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I want to build a mono black zombies deck SO BAD, but I can't justify buying 3 copies of the new Liliana and some other stuff, only for a lot of the important Amonkhet cards rotate out in three months... damn! the deck looks like so much fun
I want to build a mono black zombies deck SO BAD, but I can't justify buying 3 copies of the new Liliana and some other stuff, only for a lot of the important Amonkhet cards rotate out in three months... damn! the deck looks like so much fun
I already had the removal/SB cards for my UB midrange decks so I only had to spend about $100.
I want to build a mono black zombies deck SO BAD, but I can't justify buying 3 copies of the new Liliana and some other stuff, only for a lot of the important Amonkhet cards rotate out in three months... damn! the deck looks like so much fun
I already had the removal/SB cards for my UB midrange decks so I only had to spend about $100.
I have the removal too and a couple of cards like Death Baron, I just know I'll regret it come rotation hehe
It's a 3/2 with menace for three mana that requires other tools to grow to a 5/4. Zombies already has ten slots filled at the 3 cmc range for lords and removal, and the potential ceiling on Death Baron or Lord of the Accursed is just higher in a dedicated zombies build.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
because killing your own creature to watch it eat a removal spell is bad
It can target itself. A 3/2 with Menace for 2B with that ability is still good.
A marginally superior Boggart Brute doesnt seem very good
I wouldn't say marginally superior. For a tribe that thrives on recursion and sacrifice as potential avenues of mechanical advantage, the ability can be quite relevant depending on your deck. Also, the way in which you respond seems very defensive and ill-directed. You said: "because killing your own creature to watch it eat a removal spell is bad". I respond with: "It can target itself. A 3/2 with Menace for 2B with that ability is still good." Your follow-up is: "A marginally superiorBoggart Brute doesnt seem very good". Relating your two arguments against this card in any logical manner just means you are going to just say whatever to put the card down. You don't like it? That's fine. At least learn to stay in a lane. Switching lanes to demean a card doesn't add any validity to your arguments.
the way in which you respond seems very defensive and ill-directed.....Relating your two arguments against this card in any logical manner just means you are going to just say whatever to put the card down. You don't like it? That's fine. At least learn to stay in a lane. Switching lanes to demean a card doesn't add any validity to your arguments.
No, it was just a very straightforward, matter-of-fact response. But since you brought it up, yes, I think its a bad card
Plague Belcher is good. It's just that it requires working around it to get the most out of it and Amonkhet was remarkably underwhelming in that regard. They had an idea where the creatures would get stronger with time, but wanted to set a cap to the maximum strength the creature could reach. To do it they started the creatures with higher stats and then applied counters to weaken them. The problem is that the payoff of stronger stats alone wasn't really enough to get past the fact the ways to get the counters off the creatures were all so inefficient. The biggest impact that Amonkhet had with the counter synergies was with older modern cards from Lorwyn.
Plague Belcher is good if going wide is not the right plan and you need a creature with higher stats to survive. However, to get to those higher stats there needs to be a token to sacrifice to do it. It's basically a less strict Demon of Catastrophes, in that they both require a sacrifice to run. I like the math with Demon of Catastrophes as far as damage and he beats Lyra Dawnbringer in raw power.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
13x Swamp
4x Isolated Chapel
4x Concealed Courtyard
2x Ifnir Deadlands
2x Shefet Dunes
Creatures (24)
4x Diregraf Ghoul
4x Dread Wanderer
4x Wayward Servant
4x Graveyard Marshal
4x Lord of the Accursed
4x Death Baron
4x Fatal Push
2x Vraska's Contempt
Enchantment (3)
3x Liliana's Mastery
Planeswalker (2)
2x Liliana, Untouched by Death
4x Duress
2x Vraska's Contempt
2x Binding Mummy
2x Arguel's Blood Fast
2x Cast Down
2x Liliana, Death's Majesty
1x Settle the Wreckage
Feels like Josu could be a 1-2 of somewhere as well. Strictly Better MTG also briefly touched on a potential UB version using Scarab God because of his zombie scry & loss of life clause.
I saw a CFB guy propose a rather ambitious list with 4x Liliana's Mastery, and I think we must be careful with it, it's very expensive and perhaps not as impactful as it used to be. The new Liliana is the real deal, but it really shines in grindy games, less so against aggro. I would prioritize her over Mastery because she's cheaper.
Also in black, we have the excellent Ammit Eternal, which is with a pump or 2 able to ignore opponents's attempts to shrink it.
A card like Heart of Kiran might be necessary as well in order to get through stall boards and kick Teferi off the board. The deck lacks evasion overall, and deathtouch isn't good enough. Not even sure we want 4 Death Barons.
I would probably start with this kind of draft :
18 Swamp
4 Ifnir Deadlands
2 Scavenger Grounds
Creatures:
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Dread Wanderer
4 Graveyard Marshal
4 Ammit Eternal
4 Lord of the Accursed
4 Death Baron
3 Fatal Push
2 Vraska's Contempt
2 Heart of Kiran
3 Liliana, Untouched by Death
2 Liliana's Mastery
A card like Heart of Kiran might be necessary as well in order to get through stall boards and kick Teferi off the board. The deck lacks evasion overall, and deathtouch isn't good enough. Not even sure we want 4 Death Barons.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
It can target itself. A 3/2 with Menace for 2B with that ability is still good.
I have the removal too and a couple of cards like Death Baron, I just know I'll regret it come rotation hehe
It's a 3/2 with menace for three mana that requires other tools to grow to a 5/4. Zombies already has ten slots filled at the 3 cmc range for lords and removal, and the potential ceiling on Death Baron or Lord of the Accursed is just higher in a dedicated zombies build.
Imo, the best cards in zombies right now is Graveyard Marshal, Lord of the Accursed, and Liliana's Mastery. The build around cards in the deck are Stitcher's Supplier, Liliana, Untouched by Death, and Wayward Servant. Death Baron is really acting as 5-8 of Lord of the Accursed. Not that death touch isn't relevant, but the ability to give all zombies menace and that extra point of toughness is fairly relevant in a format dominated by red with Abrade and Lightning Strike.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I wouldn't say marginally superior. For a tribe that thrives on recursion and sacrifice as potential avenues of mechanical advantage, the ability can be quite relevant depending on your deck. Also, the way in which you respond seems very defensive and ill-directed. You said: "because killing your own creature to watch it eat a removal spell is bad". I respond with: "It can target itself. A 3/2 with Menace for 2B with that ability is still good." Your follow-up is: "A marginally superiorBoggart Brute doesnt seem very good". Relating your two arguments against this card in any logical manner just means you are going to just say whatever to put the card down. You don't like it? That's fine. At least learn to stay in a lane. Switching lanes to demean a card doesn't add any validity to your arguments.
Plague Belcher is good if going wide is not the right plan and you need a creature with higher stats to survive. However, to get to those higher stats there needs to be a token to sacrifice to do it. It's basically a less strict Demon of Catastrophes, in that they both require a sacrifice to run. I like the math with Demon of Catastrophes as far as damage and he beats Lyra Dawnbringer in raw power.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Liliana, Death's Majesty is far superior imho, the abilities are less conditional and more impactful.
But it isn't a maindeck as zombies are a curve-out aggro tribal deck first for which Liliana's Mastery is better before SB'ing.
4 Dread Wanderer
4 Lord of the Accursed
1 Metallic Mimic
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
3 Death Baron
4 Graveyard Marshal
1 Never // Return
1 Cast Down
2 Fatal Push
2 Vraska's Contempt
4 Liliana's Mastery
3 Ifnir Deadlands
1 Scavenger Grounds
21 Swamp
1 Liliana, Untouched by Death
2 Doomfall
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
2 Ruin Raider
2 The Eldest Reborn
1 Liliana, Untouched by Death
3 Duress
1 Plague Mare
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
4 Concealed Courtyard
3 Ifnir Deadlands
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Plains
8 Swamp
4 Unclaimed Territory
Creatures (24)
4 Death Baron
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Dread Wanderer
4 Graveyard Marshal
4 Lord of the Accursed
4 Wayward Servant
2 Cast Down
2 Fatal Push
1 Vraska's Contempt
Enchantment (4)
4 Liliana's Mastery
Planeswalker (2)
2 Liliana, Untouched by Death
1 Fatal Push
1 Vraska's Contempt
1 Arguel's Blood Fast
2 Demon of Catastrophes
2 Dispossess
3 Duress
1 Invoke the Divine
1 Ixalan's Binding
1 Lost Legacy
2 Never // Return
Please link it if you find it.