Scavenger Grounds is a pretty good one to have. Easily fetchable and can exile graveyards repeatably. It does exile your own graveyard, but it may be a necessary evil when you just can't win through fogs.
In terms of dealing with Meren, good old Lignify is difficult for any commander-centered deck. I run it in tandem with Treefolk Harbinger.
Thanks for the great tips! I've been making some changes to the deck, but haven't edited the post. I'll edit when I can.
These are great suggestions! I in particular like Kytheon, since a flipped planeswalker doesn't die to the Kirin and contributes to the "Fog"-type plan I seem to have going on.
I think I'll play Coat of Arms for the 1-shot potential.
I've tested a few games in the "just for fun" room. Played a couple white decks. No removal means we're a bit squishy to Kor Skyfisher. Otherwise I've been able to race well. Keeping their hand empty is a huge bonus. Death Denied is really powerful and should probably be a 2-of.
I think I'll try a Dimir version with the Mnemonic Wall/ Ghostly Flicker combo for the late game hard-lock and the early game discard with Ravenous Rats/ Burglar Rat. It also opens up some options in the sideboard.
Yeah, aside from that, people have mentioned Healer's Hawk. This card will likely encourage players to play more equipment and stuff. Two powerful keyword abilities for just W is quite good. Step aside, Suntail Hawk!
I could see people running both Vault Skirge and Healer's Hawk in the same deck to overload on hard-to-race fliers. I know I will.
Ornery Goblin is a deceptively powerful card. It doesn't die to other X/1s in combat, making it a pretty interesting threat on the board. Add some deathtouch and he'll kill anything before it even damages him.
Full Spoiler is up. Not too much else to talk about.
I really like Ornery Goblin. His ability looks innocuous enough, but this basically means that he kills any X/1s before they even get to deal their damage. Having a 2/1 body for a very cheap price makes him a surprisingly efficient beater that will be hard to block. Give him Deathtouch and you've got a real monster.
Burglar Rat is like Ravenous Rats, but affects all opponents, making is strictly (if only slightly) better. It also doesn't target. Pretty fringe benefits but still worth noting.
Severed Strands is unique and fairly costed. Not sure if it's worth playing.
Portcullis Vine is another well costed creature with a potentially powerful ability. I don't think there are many defender-heavy decks that would want this. Maybe good enough for the Freed from the Real/Axebane Guardian combo deck?
I like where this deck is going, actually. I would keep it mono black and focus more on early discard to get the opponent top-decking while we beat them down with powerful rats.
Undergrowth Scavenger saw little to no play, so I would be surprised if this did. While Rhizome Lurcher does come into play with an extra 2/2 stat for the same cost, it only counts your own graveyard as opposed to all graveyards like Scavenger. I'm sure they would end up being pretty similar in size.
Thank you so much for your great insight into the matchup, Einhorn! I will definitely add your suggestions and advice to the Primer.
I think Seal of Removal seems like the most promising tool to fight Tribe, since it's so hard to play around once it's on the battlefield and can be cast preemptively. Lignify comes in as a close second and may be better since it can be tutored for.
These cards could be a slow way for colours with little to no draw to finally get some card draw. 7 mana to draw two cards is really steep, but it is spread out across multiple turns. It also ramps, which is cool.
I also really like Notion Rain. It's a lot like Read the Bones, but being able to put the cards in your graveyard is way more powerful. It could be a good draw spell for decks that play Gurmag Angler and other graveyard shenanigans.
I agree with everything you said. I'll make room for Charge Across the Araba and try to focus more on token generating.
Kindred Boon! I didn't know this was a card! Handing out Divinity Counters sounds great, especially with Myojin of Cleansing Fire for repeatable instant-speed board wipes. Gotta find a spot for that.
I think I'll also include Enlightened Tutor, since I'm starting to have quite a few important artifacts and enchantments. Gives me an excuse to use my foil one, too.
Good change! Looks a lot more stylish. Although it feels kinda like Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Why do all community websites just imitate the big social media guys?
My favorite card is Deftblade Elite. Although I'm not generally a White player, this card is just so sweet; he has won me games. Whether he's killing a provoked creature every turn with lots of pump like Honor the Pure or Catapult Squad, or he's getting a dangerous blocker out of the way so my other creatures can get through (and lives to do it again!),he gets the job done! Just an all-round good card. and a common 1-drop, too!
I really like your introduction! Very concise and explains where the archetype comes from.
Is Cadaverous Knight really a core creature? It barely looks playable, to me anyways.
Maybe comment on each creature and specify in what style it belongs to (control or aggro), so that we can get a better idea of where they belong. You can also include ''shells'' of decks, in other words cards that must be run in order to make the deck function.
A notable exclusion from your otherwise rather full list is Nameless Inversion. This card is a complete beast in this deck, as it's recurable removal, with cards like Ghoulcaller's Chant and Ghoul Raiser.
Bonesplitter probably deserves a mention, as do other pump spells like Unholy Strength (there are many variants available).
I think Top 8 and Video sections are wishful thinking, as there are no sanctioned paper pauper tournaments. If you can get your hands on some MTGO videos playing Zombies, that might be a useful tool.
I suggest a section on Peasant (five uncommons max). It doesn't require a much bigger metagaming knowledge, just another card search. There are lots of uncommon candidates for Zombies.
A brief (or very detailed) matchup breakdown and analysis would be very appreciated. I like to test against many of the top decks in Pauper to see where mine stands, but I understand it's not possible for everyone, considering play-mates and time.
Overall, I think you're scraping the bottom of the barrel for playable cards, and cutting some of the more "fringe" ones is probably a good idea (you can also use the rating system to determine the value of each card to the deck). But it's a really good start! I look forward to seeing the rest!
In terms of dealing with Meren, good old Lignify is difficult for any commander-centered deck. I run it in tandem with Treefolk Harbinger.
These are great suggestions! I in particular like Kytheon, since a flipped planeswalker doesn't die to the Kirin and contributes to the "Fog"-type plan I seem to have going on.
I think I'll play Coat of Arms for the 1-shot potential.
4 Typhoid Rats
10 Rat Colony
3 Ravenous Rats
4 Burglar Rat
4 Chittering Rats
3 Archaeomancer
4 Preordain
2 Ponder
4 Ghostly Flicker
1 Death Denied
Lands (22)
2 Bojuka Bog
2 Barren Moor
2 Mortuary Mire
4 Dimir Aquaducts
7 Swamp
5 Island
I think I'll try a Dimir version with the Mnemonic Wall/ Ghostly Flicker combo for the late game hard-lock and the early game discard with Ravenous Rats/ Burglar Rat. It also opens up some options in the sideboard.
I could see people running both Vault Skirge and Healer's Hawk in the same deck to overload on hard-to-race fliers. I know I will.
I really like Ornery Goblin. His ability looks innocuous enough, but this basically means that he kills any X/1s before they even get to deal their damage. Having a 2/1 body for a very cheap price makes him a surprisingly efficient beater that will be hard to block. Give him Deathtouch and you've got a real monster.
Burglar Rat is like Ravenous Rats, but affects all opponents, making is strictly (if only slightly) better. It also doesn't target. Pretty fringe benefits but still worth noting.
Severed Strands is unique and fairly costed. Not sure if it's worth playing.
Portcullis Vine is another well costed creature with a potentially powerful ability. I don't think there are many defender-heavy decks that would want this. Maybe good enough for the Freed from the Real/Axebane Guardian combo deck?
Burglar Rat is a new Ravenous Rats, which could be interesting to have more copies of.
4 Typhoid Rats
10 Rat Colony
4 Ravenous Rats
4 Chittering Rats
4 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
3 Raven's Crime
4 Undying Evil
4 Sign in Blood
1 Death Denied
3 Bojuka Bog
4 Barren Moor
2 Mortuary Mire
13 Swamp
Eternal Troops is so close to being a better Vampire Hounds! Why only once per turn?! Why?
I think Seal of Removal seems like the most promising tool to fight Tribe, since it's so hard to play around once it's on the battlefield and can be cast preemptively. Lignify comes in as a close second and may be better since it can be tutored for.
I've been boarding in Relic of Progenitus to help counter Circular Logic, which has helped in a few instances.
Right now my list is looking like this:
3 Fog
4 Tangle
4 Moment's Peace
Draw (19)
4 Brainstorm
4 Preordain
2 Think Twice
4 Accumulated Knowledge
3 Tragic Lesson
2 Gush
3 Arcane Denial
4 Muddle the Mixture
Enchantments (4)
4 Jace's Erasure
Lands (19)
2 Forest
7 Island
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Thornwood Falls
2 Radiant Fountain
2 Simic Growth Chamber
2 Counterspell
3 Dispel
4 Jaddi Offshoot
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Aerial Volley
2 Penumbra Spider
Selesnya Locket
These cards could be a slow way for colours with little to no draw to finally get some card draw. 7 mana to draw two cards is really steep, but it is spread out across multiple turns. It also ramps, which is cool.
I also really like Notion Rain. It's a lot like Read the Bones, but being able to put the cards in your graveyard is way more powerful. It could be a good draw spell for decks that play Gurmag Angler and other graveyard shenanigans.
I agree with everything you said. I'll make room for Charge Across the Araba and try to focus more on token generating.
Kindred Boon! I didn't know this was a card! Handing out Divinity Counters sounds great, especially with Myojin of Cleansing Fire for repeatable instant-speed board wipes. Gotta find a spot for that.
I think I'll also include Enlightened Tutor, since I'm starting to have quite a few important artifacts and enchantments. Gives me an excuse to use my foil one, too.