Welcome to my newest blog in a hell of a long time. Where have I been? Well real life got in the way, and i actually lost interest/good things to say about the format. I've been doing well in it so its not to say i stopped playing magic. I've won a couple FNM's, did poorly at a couple, got excited about a PTQ only to have my dreams dashed at the announcement of midterms...
So here i am, just like the rest of you, scrounging the DailyMTG sight at the crack of midnight, hoping to see the next awesome card.
Gotta say: Been really impressed so far.
So ya ya you guys probably read this blog for one thing. Analysis and deck lists. Well good news ladies and gents. You dont have to go to the NCD thread anymore. I've gottcha covered!
First up, the list everyone is talking about, and the one that i have yet to see a decent list for. Zombies.
Ya ya ya i know. Zombies. Hear me out. everyone is talking about BG, and how its the bomb. I'm here to tell you they're wrong. Jund is where its at boys and girls, and here is where I'm at in testing so far:
What's different? Why is Jund better than BG?
1 word. Reach
Now zombies is a pretty reaching deck. I'd say its probably the best non-red deck at burning people out. But i wanted something better. I wanted a quarter of your life gone for a single card. I wanted a creature that is incredibly hard to kill. Are Volley and Aristocrat worth the splash
Abso-****ing-lutely
Lets look at this list shall we. The red cards in the lists main deck (sideboard options include Pillar of Flame, Smelt, Zealous Conscripts, Bonfire, Flames of the Firebrand, etc) are Brimstone Volley and Falkenrath Aristocrat. So why 8 lands? well same reason we have 8 lands for Lotleth Troll and Dreg Mangler. Plus we have cavern to pump out Aristocrat so it all comes out in the wash.
Now i realise that people may not like this mana base. But the majority of the time, it runs flawlessly.
So this isn't exactly new. Everyone and their dog is brewing zombies right?
well lets look at the 2nd list i've been testing extensively. Lets look at Humans, my old baby!
Wow. Would you look at that curve?
So this deck LITERALLY has like 10 nut draws. 10.
Ya.
So if you combine Any 1 drop, and 2 drop, and any 3 drop, i'd say you are probably in a winning position. And with 3 toughness becoming the new 4 (thanks Bolt leaving, hello Pillar of Flame), this deck is perfect for you!
It has removal, it has stupidly efficient beaters, it has moorland haunt, it has planeswalkers, it had nut draws...whats not to love?
So why the blue splash? Easy. Detention Sphere is bonkers, Azorious Charm has 2 modes that are insane for a deck like this, and Moorland Haunt/Geist of Saint Traft were insane last go around, why not make it 2?
Sideboard slots? Well we have Elite Inquisitor for the Zombie decks, Negate for the control decks, more bonds of faith...Judge's Familiar if needed...I'm sure I'll think of something.
Lastly? well this last one is essentially all theory until i start practicing. And truth be told I'm horrible at pulling lists out of my ass, especially control ones.
Ill tell you now though that if there is a control deck, it will either be UWR, Grixis or Jund. Its that simple. Red removal is at a high, and having access to Green, Black, Blue and White is essentially all preference.
Gerry Thompson's Jund list is close to where I would be for Jund Control, however its interesting to note out of 8 games last night it didnt beat humans once. As for American Control...well i'm not there yet. Hopefully in the coming weeks i can post one that looks nothing like a piece of crap but hey, you never know with me i guess
That's all from me for now. I'm brewing for Provincials so thats why your seeing an article now, and there will probably be another once we learn more cards (I'm looking at you Rakdos Charm, Golgari Charm, Azorious Guild. Get your **** together and preview already)
Thanks for reading, comment in the comment section, don't be afraid to PM me.
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Please go back up to 22 lands. Im gonna say go up to 23, but with Sign in Blood you MAY be able to afford 22, but 23 is optimal. 20 is WAY too few for a 3 colour deck, and you want 4 on turn 4 for Aristocrat anyway, so please go up to 23.
4 of Rancor, and so many red spells is asking for disaster, You need to slim down on the non-black spells, or move to a more midrange style.
PLAY DREG MANGLER! its insane and is an auto- 4 of in ALL zombie decks from here on out. I'm even playing it in Junk (see next blog post)
thanks for commenting!
but one thing I really like is Rancor its usually a home run when it hits play and the reaction of your opponent when you play rancor on your gravecrawler is priceless what are your thoughts on Rancor
current list
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Slitherhead
4 Blood Artist
4 Geralf's Messenger
2 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Rancor
4 Tragic Slip
3 Pillar of Flame
3 Brimstone Volley
2 Sign in Blood
2 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
3 Woodland Cemetery
2 Overgrown Tomb
7 Swamp
also I was running 22 lands but always got land flooded so I moved it down to 20 and it runs really nice now.
Second, not OVERLY. I think Junk midrange will actually be better due to having Green turn 1 more often while having other colours too (Temple Garden, Overgrown Tomb) Most of the good midrange decks I've played play Turn 1 dork to accelerate into the mid game bomb creatures.
The Junk deck I'm trying to build but there are so many variables for it its tough at the moment. however that is where i will be headed next.
Also, if more Rakdos cards are spoiled that are awesome, I'm probably also brewing Grixis Control. i edited that into the Blog.
Thanks for commenting
I totally agree with the Jund zombies, and like the humans too... have you thought about a Jund midrangy deck that could be viable perchance?