Also, what do you guys do against quick decks? I have sort of a similar thing I'm trying to do, although not sticking to tribal, invisible stalker is just too sweet with a sword. I also like manor skeleton, with a sword on the board, it's 4 mana to cast> equip> swing in one turn.
after testing i like the blade better than the sword because the sword only mills if you deal combat damage. yeah the protection and +2/+2 and blah blah ten cards... but with the alchemist (center of my deck) the blade is more likely to get me a zombie token and mill something i can surgically extract rather than get chump blocked.
as for visions i think thats up to the builder... jace is a good enough draw engine for me.
moan of the unhallowed usually gets me more tokens than the sword... but wolves have proved to be a good sac for grimgrin also... which ever works better for you is best for your deck though.
as for geth im still back and forth between him and grave titan. ive got geth SB'd right now for KWR and anything else packing big beasties... down side of him is he's a waste against a fast deck that the tokens and titan would be a bit more of an advantage. i think its a meta call. i like your deck - its a bit more controlish than mine.
hows batterskull working for you?
Excuse me for not quoting, but my internet is horrible at the moment.
People don't play Sword of Body and Mind in an all zombie deck because it has to deal combat damage to mill anything. And if you have an undead alchemist out, you are not doing combat damage. You are instead simply milling them. Trepanation Blade is a guaranteed mill every time.
That being the case, that's why only half my creatures are zombies. If you add in invisible stalkers, you have something that can't be removed or blocked that is a prime sword candidate. He has won me the game many times.
I am very new to forum posting and have never listed a deck before so please bare with me and allow for some errors on my part
I've recently been working on a zombie mill variant, a lot like others I've seen in this thread. I apologize if this seems repetitive, but I wanted to try posting something.
I'm going for a more aggressive mill concept (in case I can't deck my opponent). Any feedback is appreciated.
I am very new to forum posting and have never listed a deck before so please bare with me and allow for some errors on my part
I've recently been working on a zombie mill variant, a lot like others I've seen in this thread. I apologize if this seems repetitive, but I wanted to try posting something.
I'm going for a more aggressive mill concept (in case I can't deck my opponent). Any feedback is appreciated.
i think you mean Vapor Snag.
so here is an issue i see with the deck...
undead alchemist... or mindcrank.
your'e also running invisible blade agaisnt zombie blade... zombies plus trepanation blade are good... Sword are not... vice versa you would rather equip the sword to the stalker not the trepanation blade...
cause neither of them work together so taking one out would make some room for more tech.
it seems a little aggro-ie for U/B for my taste but if it works for you then why not.
do you have a sideboard?
i think you mean Vapor Snag.
so here is an issue i see with the deck...
undead alchemist... or mindcrank.
your'e also running invisible blade agaisnt zombie blade... zombies plus trepanation blade are good... Sword are not... vice versa you would rather equip the sword to the stalker not the trepanation blade...
cause neither of them work together so taking one out would make some room for more tech.
it seems a little aggro-ie for U/B for my taste but if it works for you then why not.
do you have a sideboard?
Yes, I did mean Vapor Snag, thank you for the correction.
I see what you mean about the mindcrank or the undead alchemist. My thoughts were originally to get the alchemist and a few zombies through and hopefully create some more zombies.
Once I get Grimgrin down, I can sac the alchemist and start swinging for damage all the while milling with the mindcrank.
As for the sword v. blade - I mostly, agree. Having the sword with a zombie while the alchemist is out is a waste (the protection and extra p/t is nice but probably too expensive for what I'm getting). However, The stalker with the sword is amazing and the blade seems to work with him as well.
why would you sac the alchemist when he is a bomb that just creates token overload?
once he hits the board... swing with a zombie. boom a token. swing with two zombies, boom three tokens...etc...
grimgrin eats more removal than the alchemist ive found... once people figure out he is doom blade on a stick...
I have been running something similar, but I found Swiftfoot Boots a necessary equipment against removal. I might have to wait till the opponent is tapped out to play the alchemist, but swinging for 4 the same turn he drops is usually enough to nab a zombie or two. Ghoul callers chant the next turn if he dies. Two or three attacks is usually enough to mil a creature heavy deck to death.
why would you sac the alchemist when he is a bomb that just creates token overload?
once he hits the board... swing with a zombie. boom a token. swing with two zombies, boom three tokens...etc...
grimgrin eats more removal than the alchemist ive found... once people figure out he is doom blade on a stick...
(patlienemann)
I'm starting to lean towards this way of thinking... I wanted too much from the deck; I would probably be better off just concentrating on milling and creating an endless supply of zombies.
I have been running something similar, but I found Swiftfoot Boots a necessary equipment against removal. I might have to wait till the opponent is tapped out to play the alchemist, but swinging for 4 the same turn he drops is usually enough to nab a zombie or two. Ghoul callers chant the next turn if he dies. Two or three attacks is usually enough to mil a creature heavy deck to death.
(Ghoullio)
I like Swiftfoot Boots as a card, but with this deck I can't wait until turn 7 to play the alchemist/boots together... sure you can play the equip earlier and then play it all on turn 5, but that's still asking to be countered as soon as it drops.
I'm going to rework the deck and post improvements. Thanks for the opinions guys.
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"They fight beyond thought, beyond fear, and beyond mercy."
After a lot of play with 4x Undead Alchemist and 4x Trepanation Blade (I dropped the Sword and Mindcrank) I've found I just don't have enough to get through and when I really want to swing I leave myself open.
Originally I said I liked the more aggressive side of this and so I've re worked the deck to reflect that change. I haven't had enough time to play test this version yet, but let me know what you guys think.
I played this last weekend locally (small, 8 person tournament) and went 4-0. It worked pretty well. I think I got 6 wins by decking and 2 through damage (zombie hoard or unblockable thief).
I won a 3-player FNM the other night with my deck. It was against a green ramp/control deck with Frost Titan, Dungrove Elder, Phantasmal Image, Genesis Wave... and a WUB flashback deck with Delver, a couple Titans, and Liliana.
My Commanders:
:symg::symu::symb: The Mimeoplasm
:symg::symu::symb: Damia, Sage of Stone
:symr::symg::symw: Mayael the Anima
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum the Hegemon
:symg::symu: Prime Speaker Zegana
:symb::symr: Olivia Voldaren
:symu::symb: Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
:symr::symw: Tajic, Blade of the Legion
Geth, Lord of the Vault
Wow. The first deck I've made was zombie-mill. I saw a lot of potentials for a zombie-mill deck before but I always end up losing games so I quit it. I thought my Undead Alchemist was a waste until I saw this thread. This thread really helped me a lot. I'm glad I didn't throw away my zombie-mill pieces. With some minor adjustments, I can make it work again.
The problem I found out about zombie-mill deck was its bad mana curve. Cemetery Reaper, Undead Alchemist, Endless Ranks of the Dead and Grimgrin, Corpse-born requires too much time to prepare and they waste your 1st to 3rd turn which I find critical. From where I can see, this deck needs a solid 1st to 3rd turn. Therefore, I added Vault Skirge and Highborn Ghoul in the deck, they will hold you on the early round and they can also be the best wielder of Trepanation Blade in the middle round because of their evasion. Partner it with Undead Alchemist then you will have a milling and token producing machine. I've also added Unbreathing Horde as they can be your largest zombie if your enemy made it to the later round.
As for side boarding, what's worth mentioning right now is that it has Distress and Surgical Extraction which can be draw out against control and combo decks. While the rest, they're still under construction.
So it seems as though nobody has given UB Zombie Mill a shot since DKA has hit the scene. My girlfriend had previously tried to run a version of this deck when Innistrad had first come out and although it is a fun deck when things go your way, it was just missing a few things. So here's a list I threw together that I'm considering running at FNM in the coming weeks. I haven't playtested at all yet so things still may need some tweaking
So it seems as though nobody has given UB Zombie Mill a shot since DKA has hit the scene. My girlfriend had previously tried to run a version of this deck when Innistrad had first come out and although it is a fun deck when things go your way, it was just missing a few things. So here's a list I threw together that I'm considering running at FNM in the coming weeks. I haven't playtested at all yet so things still may need some tweaking
Basically I just threw the list together based on my card pool. I'm sure how well it will do but I'm sure it will be fun at the very least
I think that curse of the bloody tome would probably be a good idea to create a constant flow of zombies if alchemist sticks. Id ditch increasing confusion for it. I would also replace the two endless ranks with two unbreathing hordes. Also would probably lose two of the undying evil and put in phantasmal image. Just my two cents.
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Standard
Mid-range 'Merica UWR
LOL Zombies GB
Wurmz Ramp GW
How would this deck not benefit from running a similar UB Zombie build but changing out abou 8 cards for the milling options of the Alchemist, Blade and Endless Ranks?
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Also, what do you guys do against quick decks? I have sort of a similar thing I'm trying to do, although not sticking to tribal, invisible stalker is just too sweet with a sword. I also like manor skeleton, with a sword on the board, it's 4 mana to cast> equip> swing in one turn.
against quick decks i side more control lol.
Currently Playing
UTron
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
TRADE ME!!!
as for visions i think thats up to the builder... jace is a good enough draw engine for me.
moan of the unhallowed usually gets me more tokens than the sword... but wolves have proved to be a good sac for grimgrin also... which ever works better for you is best for your deck though.
as for geth im still back and forth between him and grave titan. ive got geth SB'd right now for KWR and anything else packing big beasties... down side of him is he's a waste against a fast deck that the tokens and titan would be a bit more of an advantage. i think its a meta call. i like your deck - its a bit more controlish than mine.
hows batterskull working for you?
Currently Playing
UTron
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
TRADE ME!!!
People don't play Sword of Body and Mind in an all zombie deck because it has to deal combat damage to mill anything. And if you have an undead alchemist out, you are not doing combat damage. You are instead simply milling them. Trepanation Blade is a guaranteed mill every time.
That being the case, that's why only half my creatures are zombies. If you add in invisible stalkers, you have something that can't be removed or blocked that is a prime sword candidate. He has won me the game many times.
EDH
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Tibor and Lumia
Glissa, the Traitor
Modern
Affinity
I am very new to forum posting and have never listed a deck before so please bare with me and allow for some errors on my part
I've recently been working on a zombie mill variant, a lot like others I've seen in this thread. I apologize if this seems repetitive, but I wanted to try posting something.
I'm going for a more aggressive mill concept (in case I can't deck my opponent). Any feedback is appreciated.
4x Diregraf Ghoul
4x Undead Alchemist
4x Invisible Stalker
3x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
2x Grave Titan
4x Vapor Snap
Sorcery's (8)
4x Ghoulcaller's Chant
4x Ponder
Artifacts/Equipment (7)
3x Mindcrank
2x Sword of Body and Mind
2x Trepanation Blade
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacomb
8x Island
8x Swamp
i think you mean Vapor Snag.
so here is an issue i see with the deck...
undead alchemist... or mindcrank.
your'e also running invisible blade agaisnt zombie blade... zombies plus trepanation blade are good... Sword are not... vice versa you would rather equip the sword to the stalker not the trepanation blade...
cause neither of them work together so taking one out would make some room for more tech.
it seems a little aggro-ie for U/B for my taste but if it works for you then why not.
do you have a sideboard?
Currently Playing
UTron
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
TRADE ME!!!
Yes, I did mean Vapor Snag, thank you for the correction.
I see what you mean about the mindcrank or the undead alchemist. My thoughts were originally to get the alchemist and a few zombies through and hopefully create some more zombies.
Once I get Grimgrin down, I can sac the alchemist and start swinging for damage all the while milling with the mindcrank.
As for the sword v. blade - I mostly, agree. Having the sword with a zombie while the alchemist is out is a waste (the protection and extra p/t is nice but probably too expensive for what I'm getting). However, The stalker with the sword is amazing and the blade seems to work with him as well.
The only cards I've really considered for sideboard are:
Nihil Spellbomb
Doom Blade
Ratchet Bomb
I like playing aggressively... any idea's on where I can change and still maintain the general idea?
- Thanks
once he hits the board... swing with a zombie. boom a token. swing with two zombies, boom three tokens...etc...
grimgrin eats more removal than the alchemist ive found... once people figure out he is doom blade on a stick...
Currently Playing
UTron
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
TRADE ME!!!
I'm starting to lean towards this way of thinking... I wanted too much from the deck; I would probably be better off just concentrating on milling and creating an endless supply of zombies.
(Ghoullio)
I like Swiftfoot Boots as a card, but with this deck I can't wait until turn 7 to play the alchemist/boots together... sure you can play the equip earlier and then play it all on turn 5, but that's still asking to be countered as soon as it drops.
I'm going to rework the deck and post improvements. Thanks for the opinions guys.
Originally I said I liked the more aggressive side of this and so I've re worked the deck to reflect that change. I haven't had enough time to play test this version yet, but let me know what you guys think.
4x Diregraf Ghoul
4x Duskhunter Bat
4x Invisible Stalker
3x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
2x Grave Titan
4x Vapor Snag
Sorcery:
3x Ghoulcaller's Chant
4x Ponder
Artifacts:
4x Mindcrank
4x Trepanation Blade
2x Sword of Body and Mind
7x Island
7x Swamp
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacomb
3x Ratchet Bomb
4x Sword of Body and Mind
4x Invisible Stalker
2x Snapcaster Mage
4x Undead Alchemist
2x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacomb
3x Nephalia Drownyard
7x Island
6x Swamp
3x Surgical Extraction
4x Mana Leak
3x Doom Blade
3x Dissipate
4x Think Twice
3x Go For the Throat
3x Nihil Spellbomb
3x Black Sun's Zenith
1x Surgical Extraction
3x Flashfreeze
2x Ghost Quarter
I played this last weekend locally (small, 8 person tournament) and went 4-0. It worked pretty well. I think I got 6 wins by decking and 2 through damage (zombie hoard or unblockable thief).
4x Cemetery Reaper
1x Grave Titan
4x Diregraf Ghoul
2x Mindshrieker
4x Undead Alchemist
2x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
Sorcery (2)
2x Black Sun's Zenith
Artifact (3)
3x Trepanation Blade
Planeswalker (2)
2x Jace, Memory Adept
6x Island
8x Swamp
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Darkslick Shores
2x Nephalia Drownyard
Instant (12)
3x Negate
4x Mana Leak
3x Doom Blade
2x Go for the Throat
3x Deathmark
2x Nihil Spellbomb
3x Steel Sabotage
1x Go for the Throat
2x Ratchet Bomb
1x Dismember
3x Surgical Extraction
:symg::symu::symb: The Mimeoplasm
:symg::symu::symb: Damia, Sage of Stone
:symr::symg::symw: Mayael the Anima
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum the Hegemon
:symg::symu: Prime Speaker Zegana
:symb::symr: Olivia Voldaren
:symu::symb: Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
:symr::symw: Tajic, Blade of the Legion
Geth, Lord of the Vault
So here's what I'm planning to make:
10 Swamp
2 Island
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Nephalia Drownyard
Creatures (22):
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Vault Skirge
4 Highborn Ghoul
3 Cemetery Reaper
2 Unbreathing Horde
3 Undead Alchemist
2 Grimgrin, Corpse-born
3 Dream Twist
3 Mana Leak
3 Doom Blade
Enchantments (2):
2 Endless Ranks of the Dead
Sorcery (2):
2 Moan of the Unhallowed
Artifacts (3):
3 Trepanation Blade
2 Grimoire of the Dead
3 Distress
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Doom Blade
1 Mana Leak
1 Dream Twist
The problem I found out about zombie-mill deck was its bad mana curve. Cemetery Reaper, Undead Alchemist, Endless Ranks of the Dead and Grimgrin, Corpse-born requires too much time to prepare and they waste your 1st to 3rd turn which I find critical. From where I can see, this deck needs a solid 1st to 3rd turn. Therefore, I added Vault Skirge and Highborn Ghoul in the deck, they will hold you on the early round and they can also be the best wielder of Trepanation Blade in the middle round because of their evasion. Partner it with Undead Alchemist then you will have a milling and token producing machine. I've also added Unbreathing Horde as they can be your largest zombie if your enemy made it to the later round.
As for side boarding, what's worth mentioning right now is that it has Distress and Surgical Extraction which can be draw out against control and combo decks. While the rest, they're still under construction.
I hope this would help. Thanks!
4 Undead Alchemist
4 Gravecrawler
3 Highborn Ghoul
4 Diregraf Captain
Planeswalkers
1 Jace, Memory Adept
4 Mana Leak
2 Negate
4 Thought Scour
3 Go For the Throat
3 Undying Evil
2 Increasing Confusion
Enchantments
2 Endless Ranks of the Dead
Land
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Drowned Catacomb
7 Island
7 Swamp
2 Nephalia Drownyard
Basically I just threw the list together based on my card pool. I'm sure how well it will do but I'm sure it will be fun at the very least
I think that curse of the bloody tome would probably be a good idea to create a constant flow of zombies if alchemist sticks. Id ditch increasing confusion for it. I would also replace the two endless ranks with two unbreathing hordes. Also would probably lose two of the undying evil and put in phantasmal image. Just my two cents.
Mid-range 'Merica UWR
LOL Zombies GB
Wurmz Ramp GW