"Under the command of the elvish lich lord Jarad, the Golgari have dwelled in darkness long enough. The Swarm grows restless and its rot farms need fresh corpses. Jarad believes the time is right to teach Niv-Mizzet’s magewrights a lesson: that there is no place for Izzet research in the vicious cycle of life and death."
Welcome to the swarm, fellow scavenger!
This decks taps on the power of one of Magic's coolest mechanics: Dredge. Dumping half of your deck into your graveyard to recur it makes for a very serious engine if your playgroup, like mine, runs little enough grave-hate for you to get away with it. A tight ramp package with lots of mana elves and the usual set of G/B goodies like Grave Pact and Soul of the Harvest fill the remaninder of the 99 spots. The power level is tuned to that of my meta, which means the final product isn't incredibly competitive but allows me to run personal favourites like Worm Harvest.
If the quote on top of the page wasn't enough of a clue, my basis for deckbuilding was the black and green half of the Izzet vs. Golgari Dual Decks. Another great source of inspiration was Weebo's Sisters of Stone Death primer, because, as different as the decks may be, they are joined in their eternal love of mana elves and the Golgari Swarm.
Lastly, regarding budget: there isn't an explicit one, but I'm not able/willing to spend over $1 in any card, as much as I know how nice Verdant Catacombs and Overgrown Tomb and Craterhoof Behemoth are.
If you're interested in a combo-centric build with Jarad, consider reading my thread, linked in my signature. It's pretty expensive but none of the money cards are important to the deck.
Welcome to the swarm, fellow scavenger!
This decks taps on the power of one of Magic's coolest mechanics: Dredge. Dumping half of your deck into your graveyard to recur it makes for a very serious engine if your playgroup, like mine, runs little enough grave-hate for you to get away with it. A tight ramp package with lots of mana elves and the usual set of G/B goodies like Grave Pact and Soul of the Harvest fill the remaninder of the 99 spots. The power level is tuned to that of my meta, which means the final product isn't incredibly competitive but allows me to run personal favourites like Worm Harvest.
If the quote on top of the page wasn't enough of a clue, my basis for deckbuilding was the black and green half of the Izzet vs. Golgari Dual Decks. Another great source of inspiration was Weebo's Sisters of Stone Death primer, because, as different as the decks may be, they are joined in their eternal love of mana elves and the Golgari Swarm.
Lastly, regarding budget: there isn't an explicit one, but I'm not able/willing to spend over $1 in any card, as much as I know how nice Verdant Catacombs and Overgrown Tomb and Craterhoof Behemoth are.
The deck:
4 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Creatures:
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Viscera Seer
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Boneyard Wurm
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Magus of the Library
2 Golgari Thug
2 Pit Keeper
2 Reassembling Skeleton
3 Wood Elves
3 Reclamation Sage
3 Eternal Witness
3 Splinterfright
3 Shambling Shell
3 Nantuko Husk
3 Fleshbag Marauder
3 Stinkweed Imp
4 Brawn
4 Ondu Giant
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Disciple of Bolas
4 Erebos, God of the Dead
5 Golgari Grave-Troll
5 Acidic Slime
5 Bloodgift Demon
5 Puppeteer Clique
5 Shriekmaw
5 Spiritmonger
6 Elvish Aberration
6 Soul of the Harvest
6 Harvester of Souls
7 Sylvan Primordial*
7 Sepulchral Primordial
7 Mossbridge Troll
1 Tortured Existence
2 Cream of the Crop
2 Golgari Signet
3 Awakening Zone
4 Grave Pact
5 Dawn of the Dead
6 Lurking Predators
Insatns/sorceries:
1 Raven's Crime
1 Life//Death
2 Life from the Loam
2 Treasured Find
2 Explore
3 Search for Tomorrow
3 Cultivate
3 Beast Within
3 Gaze of Granite
3 Buried Alive
4 Makeshift Mannequin
4 Dread Return
4 jarad's Orders
5 Worm Harvest
5 Creeping Renaissance
Lands:
1 Command Tower
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Dakmor Salvage
1 Khalni Garden
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Slippery Karst
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Barren Moor
1 Polluted Mire
1 Zoetic Cavern
14 Swamp
14 Forest
*: Sylvan Primordial is unbanned by my house-ruling, but I carry a Butcher of Malakir around to replace it if necessary.
Notable inclusions/exclusions:
- I currently own only one Sol Ring and it's in my Melek deck.
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
Jarad Graveyard Combo[Primer]!
Sidisi ANT!
Playing Commander to Win - A guide on Competitive, 4-player EDH
LandDestruction.com - An EDH blog