That's a good game plan. However, what worries me is how spell intensive it's gonna be when what I want are creatures to do the same thing. So I'm thinking of cards like Burnished Hart, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Yavimaya Elder, Yavimaya Dryad, Wood Elves, etc. for ramping. They have bodies to produce zombies when milled, bodies to sac or chump block when in play, so it's win/win. And Lightning Greaves is at a whopping $6. I'm thinking Shuko could do the trick as well.
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Now, the Shuko + Cephalid Illusionist combo is absent because even though it's a brutal budget combo for Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, you need a lot more cards to make this work, particularly tutors (there are 4 cheap ($-wise) tutors that you can run but again, with all the milling going about, I rejected the straightforward tutor spell concept which I believe is still valid in this case). A better combo is one I just stumbled upon when brewing this version: Narcomoeba + Mortuary + Altar of Dementia. Unlike Shuko + Cephalid Illusionist, all three cards work extremely well on their own. Together (with Sidisi, Brood Tyrant in play), this is what happens:
So, all these pieces that work well on their own become super broken when together. Also, this means that all I would have to add to the deck is Narcomoeba instead of Shuko, Cephalid Vandal, and a bunch of cards to guarantee the combo. On top of all of that, the "Narcomortuary of Dementia Combo" guarantees a zombie token each time because Narcomoeba is a creature card. I'm pretty proud of myself for this one.
I was happy to see that (excluding basic lands which you could pretty much get for free anywhere) the deck comes to about $70. The are a couple of non-budget cards that are still fairly cheap (above $2 yet below $5) that are absolutely necessary for the deck to be worth its salt. There are two cards more expensive than $5 but still under $10 that I find are even more necessary to work. The deck is still budget because, thanks to all the money saved on the rest of the cards, these 7 cards should be relatively easy to acquire. Honestly, I don't think these cards have substitutes beyond really warping the deck. So I think a deck this efficient for around $70 is still budget (even the general only costs $1.25). These 7 cards add up to around $24, more or less, which I think is fair to beef up an already pretty solid deck. Trust me, the Mesmeric Orb Suite and Life from the Loam tricks are totally necessary. Also, Unholy Grotto is a must in order to effectively reuse Gempalm Polluter.
The deck runs a lot of creatures when compared to the other builds. And I do mean a lot of creatures. 41 creatures pretty much guarantees a zombie token each time you mill yourself. The reason for all the creatures is that the land base is budget, so ramp is needed. The awesome 'self-mill / library value' spells aren't budget, so budget creatures with more or less the same abilities were substituted in. Also, these creatures provide bodies for attacking, blocking, and sacrificing to Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, Altar of Dementia, etc.
One very important thing this budget deck still manages to do is to empower your horde: Cyclonic Rift, a couple of cheap zombie lords, (I've even considered adding Bow of Nylea because almost everything it does is useful to this deck, and it only costs ~$1), along with Filth and Wonder. On that note, to keep this budget, I added creatures that change land types to guarantee that an opponent without Swamps will have a Swamp. I also added Nylea's Presence which can benefit you (it cantrips, as well) by making lands like Unholy Grotto, Nephalia Drownyard, and others also tap for any color when not being utility and be all basic land types and can also make sure your opponent has a Swamp for when Filth is in the graveyard.
The essence of the competitive build is pretty much translated onto here. It's nowhere near as brutal and efficient, but it does get the job done. This deck still provides the Mesmeric Orb Suite, many ways of recurring Gempalm Polluter, many ways to still mill while getting topdeck advantage and filtering, graveyard recursion, animation, and massive zombie horde that's pumped and possibly unblockable. I think this version makes even more zombies than the competitive build, lol.
I tried to maintain all the most important elements in the deck without breaking budget and I feel I got it. I still have to test the deck and I have a list of cards to consider as well that didn't make the final cut in my thought-brewing that I will be intensely testing as well. Testing will show how viable this actually is, though I am pretty confident. There are 21 basic lands, so at ~$70 for 79 cards, each card averages at $1.13, which I think is still ok for a budget EDH deck as complicated as this one (and tri-color, no less). I will still try to find ways to lower the cost to around $50-$55. In the mean time, I'm gonna be testing this build.
My goal is to make this budget version replace the casual version in the original post so I hope this update was helpful! I want it to be budget and casual yet closer to brutal than friendly, lol. Let's see how it goes. Hopefully it won't take me 8 months for the breakthrough it took me with the competitive build. At least, thanks to that build I was able to know exactly what I wanted for this one. So, stay tuned for results!
Again, thanks to all those interested in my Sidisi, Brood Tyrant deck(s) and for taking the time to read such lengthy posts!
EDIT:
Forgot to mention:
This budget version makes it relatively difficult to avoid self-milling since the only rescue card at budget option is Gaea's Blessing. However, if one were to draw Gaea's Blessing, just cast it, then have Loaming Shaman enter play so that it gets shuffled back in the deck. It's also much harder to prevent graveyard hate with the lack of instantaneously placing Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre in your graveyard, but there are still ways to deal with the menace of graveyard hate; it's just limited being as it is a casual build after all. So, graveyard hate: the struggle is real.
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Hi, just beginning to shape up a Sidisi, Brood Tyrant list and I liked your list. From what I see, it seems Birthing Pod would be a pretty solid addition to the deck: you can ramp up your creatures, it puts your dudes in the yard (where you want them), and it will even trigger Sidisi if she's already on board.
Edit: Reading is hard. Ghaespar pointed out that podding away a dude won't trigger Sidisi. Still, I believe it would be a solid addition?
Sadly, Pod won't trigger Sidisi..it has to be from the library.
Nice decklist Kirby, should be pretty nice, you can even get Life from the Loam out since you are looking for the lands that will go in you hand. Instead you can run Profaner of the Dead, it has a decent body and will act like a low cost Rift
Thanks! I actually considered Profaner of the Dead but I need to have a big booty creature in play to really get the mileage out of it and make it more efficient. Cyclonic Rift is too amazing in that it bounces everything that's not a land. That includes troublesome artifacts and creatures.
As for cutting Life from the Loam:
Yeah, Life from the Loam is not budget. It's $8. But it's broken in this deck to not acquire. Its dredge 3 alone warrants its inclusion. Add to the fact that you can recover 3 lands from your graveyard is amazing. Sure, we're ramping like crazy, but that's something I would rather fix than remove Life from the Loam. Life from the Loam recovers lands like Blighted Woodland and Myriad Landscape.
I'm thinking of cutting one of the land type changers into Zombie Trailblazer being as it can do more than once instance without tapping (and it's a zombie). Maybe I'll switch out Nylea's Presence for it.
Hi, just beginning to shape up a Sidisi, Brood Tyrant list and I liked your list. From what I see, it seems Birthing Pod would be a pretty solid addition to the deck: you can ramp up your creatures, it puts your dudes in the yard (where you want them), and it will even trigger Sidisi if she's already on board.
Edit: Reading is hard. Ghaespar pointed out that podding away a dude won't trigger Sidisi. Still, I believe it would be a solid addition?
Thanks! I'm glad you like my list!
Birthing Pod's a great card but I don't really see it for this deck.
TESTING:
Testing has gone surprisingly well! I'm ramping like a typical G deck. Though this gives me a lot of bodies to block or whatever, I still wanna make use of the other colors. B is definitely in my creatures (zombies) and U is the color least used. 14 mana ramp creatures is a bit excessive. So I'm gonna probably eliminate all those that place the land into my hand instead of directly into play.
Thus, these are the latest changes I'm gonna be testing:
Falkenrath Noble can be an alternate win condition when the Narcomortuary of Dementia engine is operational. Butcher of Malakir can wipe the board when said engine is operational, as well. Bow of Nylea is a nice way to recover Gaea's Blessing from the graveyard if I had to cast it while also giving my attacking creatures deathtouch. People with think twice before attacking. It could also snipe some flyers or give me life. Adding Bow of Nylea temps me into running Kessig Cagebreakers. All those wolves attacking with deathtouch is very tempting. However, Kessig Cagebreakers just seems winmore in this deck. And I may even eventually cut Bow of Nylea as well for something better. Actually, now that I'm writing this, I think I can swap it out for Palace Siege. Choosing "khans" goes great with this deck an it's only $0.40.
When testing, the Narcomortuary of Dementia engine has proven to be so broken, I may try to fit Narcomoeba into the main, competitive deck. It's just that good. Anyways, will continue to post some more updates when I keep testing for consistency. Also, it's hard to find rooms in Cockatrice that are [budget] when having Cockatrice means you have access to absolutely every card in existence so why settle, right?
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Well, I tested a couple of games where I didn't use Life from the Loam or Mesmeric Orb and I think I have to accept that the concept of budget means I gotta keep to budget. Even though the cards are broken and someone with a little more investing power (less than $20 more) can have a more efficient deck and still keep to the budget. That being said, these are the changes I've made to help stick to budget and bring it down close to $50 (it's still a bit over the $50 mark, but it's getting there). The current average price tag is $53 if everything but basic lands are bought. However, fishing here and there for some free commons will cut the price down considerably. This would bring the new total to an average investment of $0.67/card and that's only because I have to draw the line at cutting Cyclonic Rift and Havengul Lich. No way, lol. Those are gonna stay.
EDIT:
Recent findings: Havengul Lich + Sakura-Tribe Elder is incredibly broken. I ramped so hard it was ridiculous. I also had Falkenrath Noble and Butcher of Malakir in play so not only did I drain a lot of the opponent's life, but I also wiped their board via sacrifice. Awesome. Oh, and I also had Gravespawn Sovereign in play so I was constantly stealing all the creatures being sacrificed. Talk about value town!
So far this budget version has been just as much fun to play as the other two versions. So far I haven't had too much of the same plays. All I know is that I need some kind of discard outlet in order to get more value of what I have in my hands for when there aren't sacrifice outlets in play.
EDIT:
"Narcomortuary of Dementia" has been so broken that I edited the main deck. Swapped Golgari Grave-Troll for Narcomoeba. No regrets.
For some reason I thought Undead Warchief was cheap but it isn't: it's $3.50. So it's been replaced by Cemetery Reaper saving $1.50. Sol Ring and Skullclamp cost a combined total of $4.75 so that's something I may look into. Every EDH Precon has these cards so I don't know why they aren't cheaper (Command Tower was excluded for costing $3.00). However, these budget changes has finally dropped the deck to $50! Joy! BUDGET ACCOMPLISHED!!
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Removed the "Casual" Build in favor of the Budget Build. The Budget Build has been tested and has been shown to be awesome in casual pods, so it kills two birds with one stone. I decided to remove that Casual Build outright because it costs almost as much as the competitive build and why invest in a casual build when for a little more you can build the Competitive version?
Eventually, I will give the Zombie Tribal build the same treatment.
I started testing something in the direction of more mill, and Dreamborn Muse is just awesome. With Undead Alchemist it is just sick, and with Prophet you are going through your library a lot faster
Dreamborn Muse is actually good to consider for the budget build! Consider it considered!
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What I like about Undead Gladiator is that it has cycling so I can at least cycle it, draw a card, and then use its ability from the graveyard. So it's very useful both in hand and in the graveyard. I also like that it's only $0.88 and a zombie. It combos pretty well with Gempalm Polluter as well. It's worth considering for the casual, budget build...
I always loved Tortured Existence. It costs about $0.25 and would go great in the budget build because of the sheer amount of creatures. It adds so much value to Gempalm Polluter. With all of these discard options, I could even try to sneak in Grave Scrabbler into the deck instead of Gravedigger. Now that I mention it Grave Scrabbler > Gravedigger; I dunno why I chose one over the other. I need to fix that soon, lol. They even cost the same ($0.15).
Thanks for the suggestions! They seem to blend pretty well with the deck so all I have to do is find space for testing. Since you suggested them, what do you suggested I swap out to test? I'm considering them for the budget build, so what do you think I could switch them in for?
I still have faith that this general will still see some awesome cards that will better fill in some hiccups the deck can run into. We still have the second set of the Zendikar block. Hopefully, we'll get some more cards but at least the new Kiora (Kiora, Master of the Depths) is amazing! I know for sure that the newest installment of the Commander products will provide some nice choices for the deck. Sidisi is a wedge and the new product is enemy colored so we'll see some nice new BG and GU cards along with maybe a couple of straight up G, B, or U cards. Fingers crossed!
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The first cards I would at would be Riftsweeper, Frontier Guide, Death Denied and Sudden Reclamation. Im unsure what Riftsweeper is for (graveyard removal protection?) and the Guide and Death Denied seem to be very slow. Sudden Reclamation is ok I guess, just not really exciting and between it and Death Denied the latter might be better because it has more potential.
Ah, it seems you're looking at the old list. The current list was actually updated a couple of days ago. Every card you mentioned (except Sudden Reclamation) has been cut in favor of something better. Sudden Reclamation is super useful: you self mill and then you can return a land and Gempalm Polluter to your hand. Gempalm Polluter loves being in your hand.
Riftsweeper is too good to pass up. Many a time has my Filth been exiled from my graveyard. Filth is one of the key cards to the deck. Riftsweeper gets it back. There's a lot of exiling in EDH and very few responses to it. Riftsweeper is one of only 2 cards in MtG that recover things from exile (the other being Pull from Eternity) so it's good to have around. Getting Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth exiled hurts as well.
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I used to play Rise of the Dark Realms and Liliana Vess. However, I found that most of the time it benefited my opponents too much (at least Living Death did). Also, I don't want to reanimate all my creatures. Filth needs to be in the graveyard. Now, that doesn't mean that Sidisi can't be built around cards such as these; you'd just need to considerably tweak what you want to do. At least, in my case, it more of a hindrance than anything.
As for Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, the deck doesn't run any knights and being able to cast but one creature on its own from the graveyard is not enough for me. Corpse Connoisseur though is a good card to test because it's an Entomb on a creature (at sorcery speed). It can most certainly be tested in my zombie build and my budget build (costs only $0.19). Thanks for catching that!
An all permanent Primal Surge could be interesting. It could be coupled with Laboratory Maniac, just in case or for the win. It should be relatively easy to pull off considering how many permanents exist that tutor for any card (Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Rune-Scarred Demon, Liliana Vess, etc.) so I think it could be worth a shot. I could at least dedicate a small section of the main thread to alternate wincons a bit off the beaten path. But, again, I don't want to include cards that don't work well with the rest of the synergy of the deck. Primal Surge requires some working around so I don't think I'll end up considering it. That being said, much like what I mentioned with massive reanimation, the deck would require some tweaking but it could be a viable version of the deck. The same strategy could be said for Hermit Druid - which I did test and ended up not liking, by the way.
Now, the Shuko + Cephalid Illusionist combo is absent because even though it's a brutal budget combo for Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, you need a lot more cards to make this work, particularly tutors (there are 4 cheap ($-wise) tutors that you can run but again, with all the milling going about, I rejected the straightforward tutor spell concept which I believe is still valid in this case). A better combo is one I just stumbled upon when brewing this version: Narcomoeba + Mortuary + Altar of Dementia. Unlike Shuko + Cephalid Illusionist, all three cards work extremely well on their own. Together (with Sidisi, Brood Tyrant in play), this is what happens:
So, all these pieces that work well on their own become super broken when together. Also, this means that all I would have to add to the deck is Narcomoeba instead of Shuko, Cephalid Vandal, and a bunch of cards to guarantee the combo. On top of all of that, the "Narcomortuary of Dementia Combo" guarantees a zombie token each time because Narcomoeba is a creature card. I'm pretty proud of myself for this one.
I was happy to see that (excluding basic lands which you could pretty much get for free anywhere) the deck comes to about $70. The are a couple of non-budget cards that are still fairly cheap (above $2 yet below $5) that are absolutely necessary for the deck to be worth its salt. There are two cards more expensive than $5 but still under $10 that I find are even more necessary to work. The deck is still budget because, thanks to all the money saved on the rest of the cards, these 7 cards should be relatively easy to acquire. Honestly, I don't think these cards have substitutes beyond really warping the deck. So I think a deck this efficient for around $70 is still budget (even the general only costs $1.25). These 7 cards add up to around $24, more or less, which I think is fair to beef up an already pretty solid deck. Trust me, the Mesmeric Orb Suite and Life from the Loam tricks are totally necessary. Also, Unholy Grotto is a must in order to effectively reuse Gempalm Polluter.
The deck runs a lot of creatures when compared to the other builds. And I do mean a lot of creatures. 41 creatures pretty much guarantees a zombie token each time you mill yourself. The reason for all the creatures is that the land base is budget, so ramp is needed. The awesome 'self-mill / library value' spells aren't budget, so budget creatures with more or less the same abilities were substituted in. Also, these creatures provide bodies for attacking, blocking, and sacrificing to Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, Altar of Dementia, etc.
One very important thing this budget deck still manages to do is to empower your horde: Cyclonic Rift, a couple of cheap zombie lords, (I've even considered adding Bow of Nylea because almost everything it does is useful to this deck, and it only costs ~$1), along with Filth and Wonder. On that note, to keep this budget, I added creatures that change land types to guarantee that an opponent without Swamps will have a Swamp. I also added Nylea's Presence which can benefit you (it cantrips, as well) by making lands like Unholy Grotto, Nephalia Drownyard, and others also tap for any color when not being utility and be all basic land types and can also make sure your opponent has a Swamp for when Filth is in the graveyard.
The essence of the competitive build is pretty much translated onto here. It's nowhere near as brutal and efficient, but it does get the job done. This deck still provides the Mesmeric Orb Suite, many ways of recurring Gempalm Polluter, many ways to still mill while getting topdeck advantage and filtering, graveyard recursion, animation, and massive zombie horde that's pumped and possibly unblockable. I think this version makes even more zombies than the competitive build, lol.
I tried to maintain all the most important elements in the deck without breaking budget and I feel I got it. I still have to test the deck and I have a list of cards to consider as well that didn't make the final cut in my thought-brewing that I will be intensely testing as well. Testing will show how viable this actually is, though I am pretty confident. There are 21 basic lands, so at ~$70 for 79 cards, each card averages at $1.13, which I think is still ok for a budget EDH deck as complicated as this one (and tri-color, no less). I will still try to find ways to lower the cost to around $50-$55. In the mean time, I'm gonna be testing this build.
My goal is to make this budget version replace the casual version in the original post so I hope this update was helpful! I want it to be budget and casual yet closer to brutal than friendly, lol. Let's see how it goes. Hopefully it won't take me 8 months for the breakthrough it took me with the competitive build. At least, thanks to that build I was able to know exactly what I wanted for this one. So, stay tuned for results!
Again, thanks to all those interested in my Sidisi, Brood Tyrant deck(s) and for taking the time to read such lengthy posts!
EDIT:
Forgot to mention:
This budget version makes it relatively difficult to avoid self-milling since the only rescue card at budget option is Gaea's Blessing. However, if one were to draw Gaea's Blessing, just cast it, then have Loaming Shaman enter play so that it gets shuffled back in the deck. It's also much harder to prevent graveyard hate with the lack of instantaneously placing Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre in your graveyard, but there are still ways to deal with the menace of graveyard hate; it's just limited being as it is a casual build after all. So, graveyard hate: the struggle is real.
So at least you can see what an extra $30 can get you. If you can stretch the budget farther, then Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Cabal Coffers should definitely go in. I believe that can reach the $100 cap while still being competitive, because the most important suites are still economically viable. The dual lands, Gaea's Cradle, Entomb, and eldrazi titans are another story (even though, at least with the case of the eldrazi titans, Modern Masters II managed to get their price down considerably) for being so expensive. However, in a more casual setting you should have no worries excluding these from a budget standpoint. The <$50 version runs nicely for being super budget, the $75 version runs very smoothly, and I can imagine the $100 version running just as well - if not better (by adding the two lands I previously mentioned). With that much mana at your disposal, you could even build your deck around cards like Living Death and Rise of the Dark Realms, which Artaud mentioned.
EDIT: @ Artaud:
By the way, I saw your Primal SurgePrime Speaker Zegana deck. I didn't comment there for fear of getting it locked by necroing (last time someone posted was April of last year, I believe) but I see what you want to try to accomplish with Primal Surge. I think that you could probably get there with Damia, Sage of Stone instead of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant. Damia can allow you to potentially draw significantly during your draw step. Also, you get access to B which has plenty of permanents that can tutor, thus keeping your deck instant and sorcery free.
If you want to keep it just GU, then I suggest adding Akroma's Memorial. Once Primal Surge hits, it's GG. All your creatures will have haste. Also adding Craterhoof Behemoth makes it ridiculous. I also recommend adding Garruk, Caller of Beasts. You have so many creature to block and protect him that you can get his emblem no problem. That emblem would be broken in this deck. Cast a cheap creature and tutor for another creature straight to play. Scrumptious!
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Ah, I see. Well, if Prime Speaker Zegana is inside of the deck when Primal Surge resolves, then it is in fact Game Over. So you could probably have Sidisi piloting the deck as a way to have access to B, thus nabbing you the tutors needed to find Primal Surge. Recall that B also has access to lots of card drawing enchantments and you could even run Necropotence. So yeah, with a healthy amount of cantripping creatures and B you could possibly get to Primal Surge much more efficiently than without B.
Necromancy is a good call to have an instant-speed graveyard save! However, I can't include it into the casual/budget build because it costs around $3.50 so I'd have to scratch it. However, those who can't access Entomb or the eldrazi titans could recur Loaming Shaman and cast Necromancy as an instant in order to save the graveyard. Then again that is a bit too janky - possible, but janky, especially if buying Entomb along with Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and/or Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is out of the question.
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This build can definitely work without Gaea's Cradle because you can still abuse Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers. Depending on your pod and/or LGS, you could use a gold-bordered Gaea's Cradle. However, even those which aren't legal to play in any sanctioned tournaments are at about $30 a piece...
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This build can definitely work without Gaea's Cradle because you can still abuse Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers. Depending on your pod and/or LGS, you could use a gold-bordered Gaea's Cradle. However, even those which aren't legal to play in any sanctioned tournaments are at about $30 a piece...
Btw Kirby.
If I start with the Budget version.
can you give me a list of Upgrades by Priority and what to cut for it.?
Also if you can give budget alternatives like Parallel Lives to Doubling Season
Thank you so much. I plan to start constructing this deck on the next pay day
At least with those changes you could spend around $75 if you're building the budget deck completely from scratch. Going up to around $100 you could add Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Cabal Coffers, and Akroma's Memorial.
Test it on Cockatrice so you can get a feel for it and determine if the extra $50 is something you can manage. Though, it's pretty clear that it does go a long way, lol.
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Actually, the very first version of the this deck worked with looters and dredge. What would happen is, when you'd draw, you'd dredge. Then, when you had to discard, you'd simple discard what you just dredged. For example:
Activate Merfolk Looter. Instead of drawing, use Golgari Grave-Troll's dredge ability, getting you some self-mill. Then, when you had to discard, you just discarded Golgari Grave-Troll. It seemed beautiful in theory but was very slow in practice. Trust me, I tried to make that concept work and ended up eliminating all the looters and all the dredgers except for Life from the Loam.
That being said, if you build enough around it you could probably get it working with Necromancer's Stockpile and cards like Shambling Shell and Grave Scrabbler (do to the madness).
Haakon with Nameless Inversion does seem pretty solid; it's continual spot removal. I think if you're really psyched with Haakon you should work more around it because (at least in my version space is cramped enough as it is already) those 2 cards on their own do nothing. However, you could work with cards like Ashes of the Fallen to get greater value out of Haakon. Ashes of the Fallen would go great with your Haakon concept. You would be able to cast any and all creatures from your graveyard for 1 less than by using Havengul Lich
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I already started building the budget version. I have a mesmeric orb already , btw what is the use of Trading Post?
Some cards are a bit hard to find especially the old cards like gempalm polluter.
Also I have a Courser of Kruphix. Would it help if I wedge it in xD?
Well, Trading Post is useful as a discard outlet, sac outlet, and it helps recover artifacts from the yard. You can also draw a card. It's pretty useful in a budget version 'cause it's super cheap.
I guess Courser of Kruphix is OK. You don't really have to build the list exactly as I have it. I build that list as closely as possible to the essence of the main deck, though. So that's why it is like it is. At least with Courser of Kruphix you can play lands from the top of your deck so you can at least prevent self-milling a land, in any case.
As for finding the cards, I personally get my fix at tcgplayer. I've gotten a lot of cards there pretty cheap, so it's worth considering.
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Due to frequent questions as to what changes could be made to the budget version by raising the budget a bit, I edited the main post to reflect this. At the end of the budget section I summarize what to swap in the $50 version to make a feasible $70 version and also what can be done with $100. Hopefully, this can benefit others with just reading the OP instead of having to read the entire thread.
As for more deck analysis:
I'm considering adding Glen Elendra Archmage. It's easily recurrable and it's great against decks that are anti-graveyard. It can counter Rakdos Charm, Tormod's Crypt, Nihil Spellbomb, etc. The only thing it can't do is deal with Bojuka Bog and Agent of Erebos. With those you just gotta cross your fingers. Possible candidate to cut for Glen Elendra Archmage: Jace, Memory Adept. All Jace is doing is mill 1 each turn and not much else. It's also a 3UU investment. I think I'll test cutting him out in favor of Glen Elendra Archmage and test to see if it's worth the change.
Cards that have been underperforming: Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - it doesn't produce color and I'm not really drawing as much as would warrant including it. Using it at end of turns have left me leaving 3 lands open. That, and I'm really digging through my library so what's one card draw every now and again? If only the tangolands were better, lol; in this deck, they're no better than guildgates. If only WotC would've been kind enough to print new Lairs for the Planar dragons when they made the wedge commanders, I could've easily switched it out for one of those. Oh well... Possible substitutes for it:
Leyline of the Void: So many times have I had a massive horde and could've milled an opponent outright. This also helps against other graveyard dependent players. However, on its own, it doesn't really do anything; so I'm on the fence about it...
Thunderfoot Baloth: a considerable boon along with trample. It could be a great budget replacement for Undead Warchief (much better than Cemetery Reaper and less expensive money-wise as well).
Scroll Rack: been considering this one for a long time as well. Drawing capabilities all while putting creatures from my hand onto the top of my deck for self-milling benefits to Sidisi. I just need to find what to swap out to test it.
EDIT:
I'm considering swapping out Dread Return for Scroll Rack. What do you guys think? I have enough recursion as it is and Dread Return is a sorcery. It's easier for me to recur artifacts from the graveyard than sorceries (even though I can cast Dread Return with flashback).
I'm also considering switching out Dryad Arbor with Rune-Scarred Demon. Even though Dryad Arbor can be tutored with the land tutors, I've never tutored for it. The most I've done is bring it back from my graveyard with Life from the Loam and that's pretty much it. Also, for all effects and purposes, it's basically a land I can't use the turn it comes in. So far, all it really is is a Sidisi trigger when it gets self-milled. However, even though Rune-Scarred Demon costs 5BB, it replaces itself with any card from the deck, is a 6/6 flyer, and can be sacrificed and recurred as much as I want which can lead to multiple instances of tutoring. It's also pretty easy to tutor for it or loot for it. Sidisi, Undead Vizier has been so good that having a second card that does the same is a no-brainer. What do you guys think?
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CONSIDERABLE UPDATE
Finally got around to giving some love to the Zombie Tribal Build. After some solid testing I finally made the latest cuts and explained what to mulligan and do early game through mid game to end game. I also put the stats such as avg. CMC and avg. price (along with some budget considerations).
Now, all 3 versions of the deck that I run have been discussed in great detail in the OP (of course, the secondary builds aren't discussed in as great a detail as the main build, but I'm still simultaneously discussing 3 decks at once, lol, and they're pretty detailed enough for people to learn from them or get ideas and understand the decks I built for Sidisi, Brood Tyrant).
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I tried Stitcher Geralf but found it to be too slow. It was one of the first cards I tried and it also made me too much of a target. As for Training Grounds, I don't really think I need it; so few of my creatures have mana-required activated abilities. The reason I play Ghoulcaller Gisa (in the Zombie Tribal) is because the amount of zombies produced is staggering and she provides a sac outlet.
Don't know if you've tried Deadeye Navigator but wouldn't it work really well with Sidisi?
Not really. The deck barely runs anything that does something when entering play. It's also super expensive and Sidisi doesn't really need to enter play for me to get zombies, her static ability works fine. Notwithstanding, you could work around with Deadeye Navigator, but just 'cause the deck has U doesn't mean it's gotta run it ;). I do, however, run it with great success in other decks. Here, it's just gonna occupy a slot.
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Just played this deck by proxying it and man its fun. Definitely going to build it as soon as I get the money. Got a question about Bazaar, why is it so good even though it doesn't activate Sidisi?
Glad you like it! It is super fun and the intricacy makes it a deck with some longevity being as it rarely ever gets boring.
Bazaar of Baghdad lets you draw 2 cards and works as a discard outlet. The deck does have some reanimator elements so most of the time it's easier to cast fatties from the graveyard then from your hand. It's not super essential, but there are few utility lands that the deck could run and the only other options are just mana lands. Playing the deck recently hasn't given me much use for the Bazaar, but when I do use it, it's been great. Draw 2 then drop 3 creatures in your graveyard in response to Sheoldred's trigger is pretty awesome. It's price range is pretty steep for a situational card, but if there are any other substitutions that do more or less the same and are better then I'm all ears, lol. Bazaar is literally the last remnant of the draw/dredge/discard system that was the original version of this deck. I've found myself tutoring less and less for it. Maybe it could be cut but I'm still hanging on to it. But the awareness for a substitute still stands. What could replace Bazaar of Baghdad? What broken card have I overlooked when building this deck? The good thing is that I don't count Bazaar as a "land" since it doesn't tap for mana. So it could easily be swapped out for a creature (preferably), planeswalker, enchantment, OH SNAP! I GOT IT! Let's swap out Bazaar of Baghdad for Scroll Rack and see how that goes, yeah? Scroll Rack is basically the same only I choose how much I draw and what goes top deck which could definitely trigger Sidisi. Thanks for the observation, fine sir!
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BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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4 Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Artifacts: 4
2 Altar of Dementia
2 Mesmeric Orb
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
Creatures: 41
2 Aphetto Alchemist
3 Borderland Ranger
3 Burnished Hart
3 Civic Wayfinder
2 Dawntreader Elk
3 Diregraf Captain
2 Dreamscape Artist
3 Farhaven Elf
4 Filth
2 Frontier Guide
2 Gatecreeper Vine
2 Gempalm Polluter
6 Gravespawn Sovereign
5 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
4 Gurmag Drowner
5 Havengul Lich
4 Hell's Caretaker
2 Kiora's Follower
3 Krosan Restorer
3 Krosan Tusker
3 Loaming Shaman
2 Narcomoeba
4 Nullmage Shepherd
5 Pharika's Mender
3 Pilgrim's Eye
5 Possessed Skaab
5 Prophet of Kruphix
6 Realm Seekers
1 Reef Shaman
2 Riftsweeper
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Satyr Wayfinder
2 Seeker of Skybreak
5 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
2 Sylvan Ranger
1 Tideshaper Mystic
4 Undead Alchemist
4 Undead Warchief
4 Wonder
3 Yavimaya Dryad
3 Yavimaya Elder
4 Mortuary
2 Nylea's Presence
4 Opposition
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
Instants/Sorceries: 12
7 Cyclonic Rift
2 Death Denied
4 Fact or Fiction
2 Grisly Salvage
4 Sudden Reclamation
3 Buried Alive
4 Dread Return
2 Gaea's Blessing
4 Jarad's Orders
2 Life from the Loam
2 Mulch
3 Victimize
Lands: 38
0 Blighted Woodland
0 Coral Atoll
0 Dimir Aqueduct
0 Everglades
0 Evolving Wilds
0 Golgari Rot Farm
0 Jungle Basin
0 Llanowar Wastes
0 Mortuary Mire
0 Myriad Landscape
0 Nephalia Drownyard
0 Opulent Palace
0 Simic Growth Chamber
0 Temple of the False God
0 Terramorphic Expanse
0 Unholy Grotto
0 Yavimaya Coast
10 Forest
5 Island
6 Swamp
Now, the Shuko + Cephalid Illusionist combo is absent because even though it's a brutal budget combo for Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, you need a lot more cards to make this work, particularly tutors (there are 4 cheap ($-wise) tutors that you can run but again, with all the milling going about, I rejected the straightforward tutor spell concept which I believe is still valid in this case). A better combo is one I just stumbled upon when brewing this version: Narcomoeba + Mortuary + Altar of Dementia. Unlike Shuko + Cephalid Illusionist, all three cards work extremely well on their own. Together (with Sidisi, Brood Tyrant in play), this is what happens:
Undead Warchief @$3.50
Unholy Grotto @$4.00
Cyclonic Rift @$3.00
Havengul Lich @$3.60
Mesmeric Orb @$6.00
Life from the Loam @$8.00
The deck runs a lot of creatures when compared to the other builds. And I do mean a lot of creatures. 41 creatures pretty much guarantees a zombie token each time you mill yourself. The reason for all the creatures is that the land base is budget, so ramp is needed. The awesome 'self-mill / library value' spells aren't budget, so budget creatures with more or less the same abilities were substituted in. Also, these creatures provide bodies for attacking, blocking, and sacrificing to Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, Altar of Dementia, etc.
One very important thing this budget deck still manages to do is to empower your horde: Cyclonic Rift, a couple of cheap zombie lords, (I've even considered adding Bow of Nylea because almost everything it does is useful to this deck, and it only costs ~$1), along with Filth and Wonder. On that note, to keep this budget, I added creatures that change land types to guarantee that an opponent without Swamps will have a Swamp. I also added Nylea's Presence which can benefit you (it cantrips, as well) by making lands like Unholy Grotto, Nephalia Drownyard, and others also tap for any color when not being utility and be all basic land types and can also make sure your opponent has a Swamp for when Filth is in the graveyard.
The essence of the competitive build is pretty much translated onto here. It's nowhere near as brutal and efficient, but it does get the job done. This deck still provides the Mesmeric Orb Suite, many ways of recurring Gempalm Polluter, many ways to still mill while getting topdeck advantage and filtering, graveyard recursion, animation, and massive zombie horde that's pumped and possibly unblockable. I think this version makes even more zombies than the competitive build, lol.
I tried to maintain all the most important elements in the deck without breaking budget and I feel I got it. I still have to test the deck and I have a list of cards to consider as well that didn't make the final cut in my thought-brewing that I will be intensely testing as well. Testing will show how viable this actually is, though I am pretty confident. There are 21 basic lands, so at ~$70 for 79 cards, each card averages at $1.13, which I think is still ok for a budget EDH deck as complicated as this one (and tri-color, no less). I will still try to find ways to lower the cost to around $50-$55. In the mean time, I'm gonna be testing this build.
My goal is to make this budget version replace the casual version in the original post so I hope this update was helpful! I want it to be budget and casual yet closer to brutal than friendly, lol. Let's see how it goes. Hopefully it won't take me 8 months for the breakthrough it took me with the competitive build. At least, thanks to that build I was able to know exactly what I wanted for this one. So, stay tuned for results!
Again, thanks to all those interested in my Sidisi, Brood Tyrant deck(s) and for taking the time to read such lengthy posts!
EDIT:
Forgot to mention:
This budget version makes it relatively difficult to avoid self-milling since the only rescue card at budget option is Gaea's Blessing. However, if one were to draw Gaea's Blessing, just cast it, then have Loaming Shaman enter play so that it gets shuffled back in the deck. It's also much harder to prevent graveyard hate with the lack of instantaneously placing Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre in your graveyard, but there are still ways to deal with the menace of graveyard hate; it's just limited being as it is a casual build after all. So, graveyard hate: the struggle is real.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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Edit: Reading is hard. Ghaespar pointed out that podding away a dude won't trigger Sidisi. Still, I believe it would be a solid addition?
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 1/19/15GWHatebearsThanks! I actually considered Profaner of the Dead but I need to have a big booty creature in play to really get the mileage out of it and make it more efficient. Cyclonic Rift is too amazing in that it bounces everything that's not a land. That includes troublesome artifacts and creatures.
As for cutting Life from the Loam:
Yeah, Life from the Loam is not budget. It's $8. But it's broken in this deck to not acquire. Its dredge 3 alone warrants its inclusion. Add to the fact that you can recover 3 lands from your graveyard is amazing. Sure, we're ramping like crazy, but that's something I would rather fix than remove Life from the Loam. Life from the Loam recovers lands like Blighted Woodland and Myriad Landscape.
I'm thinking of cutting one of the land type changers into Zombie Trailblazer being as it can do more than once instance without tapping (and it's a zombie). Maybe I'll switch out Nylea's Presence for it.
Thanks! I'm glad you like my list!
Birthing Pod's a great card but I don't really see it for this deck.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TESTING:
Testing has gone surprisingly well! I'm ramping like a typical G deck. Though this gives me a lot of bodies to block or whatever, I still wanna make use of the other colors. B is definitely in my creatures (zombies) and U is the color least used. 14 mana ramp creatures is a bit excessive. So I'm gonna probably eliminate all those that place the land into my hand instead of directly into play.
Thus, these are the latest changes I'm gonna be testing:
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Civic Wayfinder
1 Borderland Ranger
1 Nylea's Presence
1 Palace Siege
1 Zombie Trailblazer
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Falkenrath Noble
Falkenrath Noble can be an alternate win condition when the Narcomortuary of Dementia engine is operational. Butcher of Malakir can wipe the board when said engine is operational, as well. Bow of Nylea is a nice way to recover Gaea's Blessing from the graveyard if I had to cast it while also giving my attacking creatures deathtouch. People with think twice before attacking. It could also snipe some flyers or give me life. Adding Bow of Nylea temps me into running Kessig Cagebreakers. All those wolves attacking with deathtouch is very tempting. However, Kessig Cagebreakers just seems winmore in this deck. And I may even eventually cut Bow of Nylea as well for something better. Actually, now that I'm writing this, I think I can swap it out for Palace Siege. Choosing "khans" goes great with this deck an it's only $0.40.
When testing, the Narcomortuary of Dementia engine has proven to be so broken, I may try to fit Narcomoeba into the main, competitive deck. It's just that good. Anyways, will continue to post some more updates when I keep testing for consistency. Also, it's hard to find rooms in Cockatrice that are [budget] when having Cockatrice means you have access to absolutely every card in existence so why settle, right?
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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1 Life from the Loam
1 Unholy Grotto
1 Mesmeric Orb
1 Undead Warchief
1 Tilling Treefolk
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Cemetery Reaper
-Frontier Guide
+Profaner of the Dead
-Mortuary Mire
+Rogue's Passage
-Death Denied
+Trading Post
EDIT:
Recent findings:
Havengul Lich + Sakura-Tribe Elder is incredibly broken. I ramped so hard it was ridiculous. I also had Falkenrath Noble and Butcher of Malakir in play so not only did I drain a lot of the opponent's life, but I also wiped their board via sacrifice. Awesome. Oh, and I also had Gravespawn Sovereign in play so I was constantly stealing all the creatures being sacrificed. Talk about value town!
So far this budget version has been just as much fun to play as the other two versions. So far I haven't had too much of the same plays. All I know is that I need some kind of discard outlet in order to get more value of what I have in my hands for when there aren't sacrifice outlets in play.
EDIT:
"Narcomortuary of Dementia" has been so broken that I edited the main deck. Swapped Golgari Grave-Troll for Narcomoeba. No regrets.
For some reason I thought Undead Warchief was cheap but it isn't: it's $3.50. So it's been replaced by Cemetery Reaper saving $1.50. Sol Ring and Skullclamp cost a combined total of $4.75 so that's something I may look into. Every EDH Precon has these cards so I don't know why they aren't cheaper (Command Tower was excluded for costing $3.00). However, these budget changes has finally dropped the deck to $50! Joy! BUDGET ACCOMPLISHED!!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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Removed the "Casual" Build in favor of the Budget Build. The Budget Build has been tested and has been shown to be awesome in casual pods, so it kills two birds with one stone. I decided to remove that Casual Build outright because it costs almost as much as the competitive build and why invest in a casual build when for a little more you can build the Competitive version?
Eventually, I will give the Zombie Tribal build the same treatment.
Notable cards I still want to verily test for the casual build:
Smothering Abomination, Villainous Wealth, and Dreamborn Muse.
Also started to contribute to the Zombie Tribal build (added deck by function). Changes I want to test for the zombie build:
7 Overseer of the Damned
4 Soulless One
4 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
3 Adaptive Automaton
5 Conspiracy
6 Obelisk of Urd
EDIT:
Massive update to the Zombie Build.
Dreamborn Muse is actually good to consider for the budget build! Consider it considered!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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I always loved Tortured Existence. It costs about $0.25 and would go great in the budget build because of the sheer amount of creatures. It adds so much value to Gempalm Polluter. With all of these discard options, I could even try to sneak in Grave Scrabbler into the deck instead of Gravedigger. Now that I mention it Grave Scrabbler > Gravedigger; I dunno why I chose one over the other. I need to fix that soon, lol. They even cost the same ($0.15).
Thanks for the suggestions! They seem to blend pretty well with the deck so all I have to do is find space for testing. Since you suggested them, what do you suggested I swap out to test? I'm considering them for the budget build, so what do you think I could switch them in for?
I still have faith that this general will still see some awesome cards that will better fill in some hiccups the deck can run into. We still have the second set of the Zendikar block. Hopefully, we'll get some more cards but at least the new Kiora (Kiora, Master of the Depths) is amazing! I know for sure that the newest installment of the Commander products will provide some nice choices for the deck. Sidisi is a wedge and the new product is enemy colored so we'll see some nice new BG and GU cards along with maybe a couple of straight up G, B, or U cards. Fingers crossed!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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Ah, it seems you're looking at the old list. The current list was actually updated a couple of days ago. Every card you mentioned (except Sudden Reclamation) has been cut in favor of something better. Sudden Reclamation is super useful: you self mill and then you can return a land and Gempalm Polluter to your hand. Gempalm Polluter loves being in your hand.
Riftsweeper is too good to pass up. Many a time has my Filth been exiled from my graveyard. Filth is one of the key cards to the deck. Riftsweeper gets it back. There's a lot of exiling in EDH and very few responses to it. Riftsweeper is one of only 2 cards in MtG that recover things from exile (the other being Pull from Eternity) so it's good to have around. Getting Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth exiled hurts as well.
On a side note, I'm considering swapping out Gaea's Blessing for Kozilek, Butcher of Truth in the competitive build. It's a creature so it triggers Sidisi. That way, at least 2/99 cards in the deck will help prevent me from milling. If someone were to Bribery Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, I still have Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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Added the Card by Card Analysis
Will soon analyze in greater detail the Zombie Tribal version after I test some more.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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LegacyUBRDelverRBU
As for Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, the deck doesn't run any knights and being able to cast but one creature on its own from the graveyard is not enough for me. Corpse Connoisseur though is a good card to test because it's an Entomb on a creature (at sorcery speed). It can most certainly be tested in my zombie build and my budget build (costs only $0.19). Thanks for catching that!
An all permanent Primal Surge could be interesting. It could be coupled with Laboratory Maniac, just in case or for the win. It should be relatively easy to pull off considering how many permanents exist that tutor for any card (Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Rune-Scarred Demon, Liliana Vess, etc.) so I think it could be worth a shot. I could at least dedicate a small section of the main thread to alternate wincons a bit off the beaten path. But, again, I don't want to include cards that don't work well with the rest of the synergy of the deck. Primal Surge requires some working around so I don't think I'll end up considering it. That being said, much like what I mentioned with massive reanimation, the deck would require some tweaking but it could be a viable version of the deck. The same strategy could be said for Hermit Druid - which I did test and ended up not liking, by the way.
That topic I touched in one of the previous posts
So at least you can see what an extra $30 can get you. If you can stretch the budget farther, then Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Cabal Coffers should definitely go in. I believe that can reach the $100 cap while still being competitive, because the most important suites are still economically viable. The dual lands, Gaea's Cradle, Entomb, and eldrazi titans are another story (even though, at least with the case of the eldrazi titans, Modern Masters II managed to get their price down considerably) for being so expensive. However, in a more casual setting you should have no worries excluding these from a budget standpoint. The <$50 version runs nicely for being super budget, the $75 version runs very smoothly, and I can imagine the $100 version running just as well - if not better (by adding the two lands I previously mentioned). With that much mana at your disposal, you could even build your deck around cards like Living Death and Rise of the Dark Realms, which Artaud mentioned.
EDIT:
@ Artaud:
By the way, I saw your Primal Surge Prime Speaker Zegana deck. I didn't comment there for fear of getting it locked by necroing (last time someone posted was April of last year, I believe) but I see what you want to try to accomplish with Primal Surge. I think that you could probably get there with Damia, Sage of Stone instead of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant. Damia can allow you to potentially draw significantly during your draw step. Also, you get access to B which has plenty of permanents that can tutor, thus keeping your deck instant and sorcery free.
If you want to keep it just GU, then I suggest adding Akroma's Memorial. Once Primal Surge hits, it's GG. All your creatures will have haste. Also adding Craterhoof Behemoth makes it ridiculous. I also recommend adding Garruk, Caller of Beasts. You have so many creature to block and protect him that you can get his emblem no problem. That emblem would be broken in this deck. Cast a cheap creature and tutor for another creature straight to play. Scrumptious!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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Necromancy is a good call to have an instant-speed graveyard save! However, I can't include it into the casual/budget build because it costs around $3.50 so I'd have to scratch it. However, those who can't access Entomb or the eldrazi titans could recur Loaming Shaman and cast Necromancy as an instant in order to save the graveyard. Then again that is a bit too janky - possible, but janky, especially if buying Entomb along with Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and/or Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is out of the question.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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I'll try to build the first deck without the expensive cards. Like Cradle.
it might take sometime but I'll eventually finish it
U Delver
This build can definitely work without Gaea's Cradle because you can still abuse Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers. Depending on your pod and/or LGS, you could use a gold-bordered Gaea's Cradle. However, even those which aren't legal to play in any sanctioned tournaments are at about $30 a piece...
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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Btw Kirby.
If I start with the Budget version.
can you give me a list of Upgrades by Priority and what to cut for it.?
Also if you can give budget alternatives like Parallel Lives to Doubling Season
Thank you so much. I plan to start constructing this deck on the next pay day
U Delver
In summation, what you want to change is:
1 Sol Ring
1 Undead Warchief
1 Unholy Grotto
1 Mesmeric Orb
1 Life from the Loam
1 Disciple of Bolas
1 Forest
1 Realm Seekers
1 Cemetery Reaper
1 Tilling Treefolk
Test it on Cockatrice so you can get a feel for it and determine if the extra $50 is something you can manage. Though, it's pretty clear that it does go a long way, lol.
Hope that helps!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Actually, the very first version of the this deck worked with looters and dredge. What would happen is, when you'd draw, you'd dredge. Then, when you had to discard, you'd simple discard what you just dredged. For example:
Activate Merfolk Looter. Instead of drawing, use Golgari Grave-Troll's dredge ability, getting you some self-mill. Then, when you had to discard, you just discarded Golgari Grave-Troll. It seemed beautiful in theory but was very slow in practice. Trust me, I tried to make that concept work and ended up eliminating all the looters and all the dredgers except for Life from the Loam.
That being said, if you build enough around it you could probably get it working with Necromancer's Stockpile and cards like Shambling Shell and Grave Scrabbler (do to the madness).
Haakon with Nameless Inversion does seem pretty solid; it's continual spot removal. I think if you're really psyched with Haakon you should work more around it because (at least in my version space is cramped enough as it is already) those 2 cards on their own do nothing. However, you could work with cards like Ashes of the Fallen to get greater value out of Haakon. Ashes of the Fallen would go great with your Haakon concept. You would be able to cast any and all creatures from your graveyard for 1 less than by using Havengul Lich
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Some cards are a bit hard to find especially the old cards like gempalm polluter.
Also I have a Courser of Kruphix. Would it help if I wedge it in xD?
U Delver
I guess Courser of Kruphix is OK. You don't really have to build the list exactly as I have it. I build that list as closely as possible to the essence of the main deck, though. So that's why it is like it is. At least with Courser of Kruphix you can play lands from the top of your deck so you can at least prevent self-milling a land, in any case.
As for finding the cards, I personally get my fix at tcgplayer. I've gotten a lot of cards there pretty cheap, so it's worth considering.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
As for more deck analysis:
I'm considering adding Glen Elendra Archmage. It's easily recurrable and it's great against decks that are anti-graveyard. It can counter Rakdos Charm, Tormod's Crypt, Nihil Spellbomb, etc. The only thing it can't do is deal with Bojuka Bog and Agent of Erebos. With those you just gotta cross your fingers. Possible candidate to cut for Glen Elendra Archmage: Jace, Memory Adept. All Jace is doing is mill 1 each turn and not much else. It's also a 3UU investment. I think I'll test cutting him out in favor of Glen Elendra Archmage and test to see if it's worth the change.
Cards that have been underperforming:
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - it doesn't produce color and I'm not really drawing as much as would warrant including it. Using it at end of turns have left me leaving 3 lands open. That, and I'm really digging through my library so what's one card draw every now and again? If only the tangolands were better, lol; in this deck, they're no better than guildgates. If only WotC would've been kind enough to print new Lairs for the Planar dragons when they made the wedge commanders, I could've easily switched it out for one of those. Oh well... Possible substitutes for it:
- Alchemist's Refuge
- Darkwater Catacombs
- Exotic Orchard
- Flooded Grove
- Minamo, School at Water's Edge
- Petrified Field
- Sunken Ruins
- Tainted Isle
- Tainted Wood
- Twilight Mire
So far I'm caught between Alchemist's Refuge and Minamo, School at Water's Edge. The former giving flash to my spells (being able to cast creatures from my graveyard at instant-speed thanks to Havengul Lich seems appealing) and the latter being able to untap Gaea's Cradle, Volrath's Stronghold, and Grimgrin, Corpse-Born and providing me with U when not doing so. Petrified Field basically replaces itself if I were to mill Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and don't have Life from the Loam readily available. It also gives mana (even if it's colorless). As far as having more colored mana is concerned, Exotic Orchard is good. BUG are the most common commander colors individually or in combinations so I'm bound to at least get some colored mana from it in a multiplayer setting. However, I would like to swap out Mikokoro for another utility land. Again, my top 2 choices being Alchemist's Refuge and Minamo, School at Water's Edge.Cards I'm seriously considering testing:
EDIT:
I'm considering swapping out Dread Return for Scroll Rack. What do you guys think? I have enough recursion as it is and Dread Return is a sorcery. It's easier for me to recur artifacts from the graveyard than sorceries (even though I can cast Dread Return with flashback).
I'm also considering switching out Dryad Arbor with Rune-Scarred Demon. Even though Dryad Arbor can be tutored with the land tutors, I've never tutored for it. The most I've done is bring it back from my graveyard with Life from the Loam and that's pretty much it. Also, for all effects and purposes, it's basically a land I can't use the turn it comes in. So far, all it really is is a Sidisi trigger when it gets self-milled. However, even though Rune-Scarred Demon costs 5BB, it replaces itself with any card from the deck, is a 6/6 flyer, and can be sacrificed and recurred as much as I want which can lead to multiple instances of tutoring. It's also pretty easy to tutor for it or loot for it. Sidisi, Undead Vizier has been so good that having a second card that does the same is a no-brainer. What do you guys think?
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Finally got around to giving some love to the Zombie Tribal Build. After some solid testing I finally made the latest cuts and explained what to mulligan and do early game through mid game to end game. I also put the stats such as avg. CMC and avg. price (along with some budget considerations).
Now, all 3 versions of the deck that I run have been discussed in great detail in the OP (of course, the secondary builds aren't discussed in as great a detail as the main build, but I'm still simultaneously discussing 3 decks at once, lol, and they're pretty detailed enough for people to learn from them or get ideas and understand the decks I built for Sidisi, Brood Tyrant).
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I tried Stitcher Geralf but found it to be too slow. It was one of the first cards I tried and it also made me too much of a target. As for Training Grounds, I don't really think I need it; so few of my creatures have mana-required activated abilities. The reason I play Ghoulcaller Gisa (in the Zombie Tribal) is because the amount of zombies produced is staggering and she provides a sac outlet.
Not really. The deck barely runs anything that does something when entering play. It's also super expensive and Sidisi doesn't really need to enter play for me to get zombies, her static ability works fine. Notwithstanding, you could work around with Deadeye Navigator, but just 'cause the deck has U doesn't mean it's gotta run it ;). I do, however, run it with great success in other decks. Here, it's just gonna occupy a slot.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Bazaar of Baghdad lets you draw 2 cards and works as a discard outlet. The deck does have some reanimator elements so most of the time it's easier to cast fatties from the graveyard then from your hand. It's not super essential, but there are few utility lands that the deck could run and the only other options are just mana lands. Playing the deck recently hasn't given me much use for the Bazaar, but when I do use it, it's been great. Draw 2 then drop 3 creatures in your graveyard in response to Sheoldred's trigger is pretty awesome. It's price range is pretty steep for a situational card, but if there are any other substitutions that do more or less the same and are better then I'm all ears, lol. Bazaar is literally the last remnant of the draw/dredge/discard system that was the original version of this deck. I've found myself tutoring less and less for it. Maybe it could be cut but I'm still hanging on to it. But the awareness for a substitute still stands. What could replace Bazaar of Baghdad? What broken card have I overlooked when building this deck? The good thing is that I don't count Bazaar as a "land" since it doesn't tap for mana. So it could easily be swapped out for a creature (preferably), planeswalker, enchantment, OH SNAP! I GOT IT! Let's swap out Bazaar of Baghdad for Scroll Rack and see how that goes, yeah? Scroll Rack is basically the same only I choose how much I draw and what goes top deck which could definitely trigger Sidisi. Thanks for the observation, fine sir!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!