Feed OUR Frankenstein!

Commander / EDH* Combo Multiplayer Reanimator Theme/Gimmick UB (Dimir) Zombie

Octrate

Zombie (25)

• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Cemetery Reaper
• 1x Coffin Queen
• 1x Corpse Augur
• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Diregraf Captain
• 1x Diregraf Colossus
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Graveborn Muse
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x Havengul Lich
• 1x Lord of the Undead
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Noxious Ghoul
• 1x Plague Belcher
• 1x Prized Amalgam
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Sedraxis Alchemist
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Undead Alchemist
• 1x Vengeful Dead
• 1x Withered Wretch
• 1x Zombie Master

Recursion (9)

• 1x Coffin Queen
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Havengul Lich
• 1x Lord of the Undead
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Recall
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Ramp (8)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Rooftop Storm
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance

Control (6)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cryptic Command *list*
• 1x Memory Lapse
• 1x Remand
• 1x Swan Song

Filler (5)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Recall
• 1x Undead Alchemist

Draw (15)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Corpse Augur
• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Cryptic Command *list*
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Graveborn Muse
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Pull from Tomorrow
• 1x Remand
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Secrets of the Dead
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Time Spiral

Utility (13)

• 1x Cemetery Reaper
• 1x Cloudstone Curio
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Prized Amalgam
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Sedraxis Alchemist
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Withered Wretch
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will
• 1x Zombie Master

Removal (9)

• 1x Cryptic Command *list*
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Fleshbag Marauder
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Noxious Ghoul
• 1x Toxic Deluge

UtilityLand (7)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Cephalid Coliseum
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Unholy Grotto
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

FetchLand (5)

• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Token (4)

• 1x Cemetery Reaper
• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Diregraf Colossus
• 1x Grave Titan

Commander (1)

Combo (14)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Cloudstone Curio
• 1x Diregraf Captain
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x Nim Deathmantle
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Plague Belcher
• 1x Rooftop Storm
• 1x Sedraxis Alchemist
• 1x Vengeful Dead

ColorLand (11)

• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Fetid Pools
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x River of Tears
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 1x Sunken Ruins
• 1x Tainted Isle
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Watery Grave

SacEngine (7)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Carrion Feeder
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier

Tutor (6)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

BasicLand (14)

• 6x Island
• 8x Swamp

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Maybeboard

Other (14)

• 1x Coffin Queen
• 1x Corpse Connoisseur
• 1x Corpse Harvester
• 1x Endless Ranks of the Dead
• 1x Frankenstein's Monster
• 1x Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Phyrexian Delver
• 1x Prized Amalgam
• 1x Siren of the Silent Song
• 1x Undead Warchief
• 1x Zombie Apocalypse
• 1x Zombie Infestation

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"The Blessed Sleep? Ha! Wake up my lovelies, there's work to be done!"

"Let those idiot priests tremble! A new era in unlife begins here and now!"

New Show/Hide Buttons! Click Gisa!

Why Gisa and Geralf?

Background

So, to start off this primer, how about some mushy emotional stuff or whatever. So, I started playing in original Innistrad, and as such, I've always had a fondness for the gothic horror of the the world. I loved the zombies, the vampires, the demons, and especially the werewolves. I was initially disappointed to see no legendary demon or werewolf, but I was satisfied with Olivia Voldaren and Grimgrin, Corpse-Born. As I delved into the lore, I read about Gisa and Geralf, finding them strange and amusing. The mad twins were so very interesting, sprinkled in Uncharted Realms and flavor texts everywhere. I grew to wonder just what they would be like as a card myself. However, I completely fell in love with the characters during the Preview Article: Mikaeus the Unhallowed. Their mad banter, sibiling rivalry, and war games were well written and entertainingly insightful. I fully expected to have a card for them in Dark Ascension or Avacyn Restored. Alas, I had to wait. When Commander 2014 released with new commanders and cards, I was excited to see Gisa and Geralf had finally their own cards. I was happy, but not satisfied. I still wanted a card akin to Anax and Cymede or Tibor and Lumia, a card featuring both of the Cecani twins. I did not expect for Eldritch Moon to hold exactly what I was hoping for.

Mechanics

Sentiment aside, Gisa and Geralf have a real home in commander. Despite not being zombies themselves, they bring incredible synergy to the tribe. So, how do they fare as commanders? Let's examine closely to find out. First, the Mad Twins have a sturdy 4/4 body for four mana. While stats are less important in Commander, it is worth mentioning that they can survive cards like Anger of the Gods, Inferno Titan, and such... Sure, that's not really that big a deal, but hey, it's just a bonus. Four power is also decent, since it allows the Skaabaren and Ghoulcaller to kill an enemy in... six turns. Okay, again, stats really don't matter that much in commander. Next, what's this? They're wizards, that's pretty nice! As wizards, they interact with absolutely no cards in this deck except Riptide Laboratory... Perhaps, we can find some synergies in the future? Okay, let's get to the mechanics then. Upon entering the battlefield, the twins allow you to fill your graveyard with four cards. This ability is certainly not the focus of the deck, but it is a lovely bonus still worth mentioning. At the very least, you'll usually be throwing at least one zombie into the graveyard. In such a graveyard focused deck, their first ability reads less like "mill four cards" and more like "draw four cards." But, of course, the cornerstone of these twins, the single ability that makes them VERY playable for tribal zombies is their ability to play a zombie from the graveyard once a turn. Giving all your zombies a Gravecrawler ability is unbelievably powerful. Yes, you can only do it once a turn, and despite the tribal restriction, this ability still grants synergy to the zombie tribe unlike any other general currently available. Karador, Ghost Chieftain is a premiere commander card for a very good reason...

Alternatives

So, let's say that you're not the biggest fan of Gisa and Geralf, and you'd still like to transition this deck somehow. What are your options? Well, the good news is zombie tribal commanders are everywhere, so you have margin. Let's take a look at our lovely canditates:

1. Grimgrin, Corpse-Born - This is the best transition commander, easily the most popular before Gisa and Geralf. Grimgrin offers a built in sacrifice outlet and the threat of commander damage instead of graveyard shenanigans. If I were to rebuild this deck for Grimmy, I'd throw out some of the graveyard focused shenanigans or zombie tribal cards and focus on Gravecrawler combos (Bloodghast, Nether Traitor , etc.). You also get a huge benefit from morbid-like effects, so try out cards like Dark Prophecy.

2. Mono-black generals (like Ghoulcaller Gisa, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Lim-Dul the Necromancer...) - Clearly, there's no shortage to options for mono-black zombie generals. The transition to one of these decks is relatively simple, as you'd simply need to cut the blue spells and lands from this deck and throw in more mono-black goodies (I'm looking at you, Cabal Coffers). The direction from there depends on which of the many generals you'd choose to make your own. Between you and me, Ghoulcaller Gisa is super solid as a mono-black general for zombies. And no, that's not favortism... (But it very much is)

3. Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - A more complicated transition, but an effective one all the same. Sidisi grants you access to green, self-mills more consistantly, and spits out zombie tokens, however, you lose access to consistant graveyard recursion. To transition over to the Sultai, you'd need to splash green mana production to the land base, and include some built in recursion to the deck.

4. Grixis generals (like Thraximundar, Sedris, the Traitor King, etc) - Like Sidisi, you'll need to splash in red for the mana base, but your zombie tribe will gain access to rakdos colored zombies, like Deathbringer Thoctar . You'll also have access to grixis power staples like Crosis's Charm and Terminate. You get options for both combos and beatdown strategies. Good stuff.

There are lots of options out there, and there are more synergies than I can summarize here briefly. Fortunately, zombies have been around for a while, and they've got a ton of Commander potential no matter what you decide to build.

What's This Deck Do?

To put this delicately, this deck seeks to combo out in zombified ways... or swing in for a decent amount of damage using tokens and anthem effects. But usually, synergy plays, keeping tempo, and finding combos are what a deck like this are best at. I understand that combos aren't everyone's cup of tea, so I will be linking the non-combo list here with cards featured on the sideboard once I create a list for you guys.

Combos

Let's get right to it. This deck wants to combo out, and there are several ways to do so. These are the main combos I've got right now, but I'm considering more in the future... (Intruder Alarm + Fate Stitcher shenanigans are sooo tempting!)

Infinite:

1. Gravecrawler + Rooftop Storm + Sac Outlet = To start, infinite death triggers. Depending on the sac-outlet, one of several things could happen. You could have a huge Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, infinite mana with Phyrexian Altar, or pay 1 to draw two with Skullclamp. A Diregraf Captain or Vengeful Dead will surely end the game from there.
2. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Skinrender + Sac Outlet = Target the Skinrender with his own etb trigger in order to reset the undying trigger. For results, see above.
3. Grave Titan + Nimdeath Mantle + Ashnod's Altar = Infinite colorless mana or infinite 2/2 zombies.
4. Zombie + Cloudstone Curio + Gray Merchant of Asphodel + Rooftop Storm = Infinite life gain for you and life loss for your... victims.
5. Diregraf Colossus + Rooftop Storm + Sedraxis Alchemist = Infinite little zombies.
6. Rooftop Storm + Cloudstone Curio + Sedraxian Alchemist = Infinite ETBs for whatever creature you'd like.

Non-infinite:

1. Altar of Dementia + Undead Alchemist = Massive mill potential and lots of sacrifice triggers. Not truly infinite, but you'll knock out a good portion of an opponent's deck.
2. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Zombie Master = Unblockable zombies. Warning, this will affect your opponents' zombies as well!
3. Havengul Lich + Rooftop Storm = All your dead zombies can be cast for (1).

Hate Combos? Read This!

So let's say you hate the infinite combos in this deck. Well good news! I'm making an alternate list with no infinite combos, and I'll be posting a link to it here soon!

Card Choices

Core Cards

1. Rooftop Storm - This is a cornerstone to many of the combos in this deck. If not for its ability to simply win me the game with a loop, then the pressing advantage of casting zombie after zombie should surely push us to a victory.
2. Gravecrawler - Like the storm, Gravecrawler is pivotal for cranking out the combos. If this card isn't pulling out a combo, you can expect it to be drawing a ton with Skullclamp or grabbing a card with Diabolic Intent.
3. Entomb Usually just a one mana instant speed Demonic Tutor. Seems fair.

Cards to Consider

1. Zombie Infestation - If commander was a game where decks were 101 cards, then you'd better believe that Zombie Infestation would be a serious contender for this list. Discarding my cards to make a 2/2 zombie seems simple or unexciting, however it opens the door to better synergies.
2. Possessed Skaab - A card I'm very on the fence about. With Cloudstone Curio and its combo potential, this card operates a lot like Eternal Witness. However, the only things holding this card back are its self exile ability, and its demanding mana cost. Still, Eternal Witness is an extremely powerful card...
3. Windfall/Whispering Madness - These cards fill the graveyard and have a potential to net myself even more cards. The problem? They could help my opponents too much. However, they're still on my radar, for now.

Notable Exclusions

1. Unbreathing Horde/ Soulless One - Big beaters. These cards aren't bad, but they're not quite what this deck wants to do. However, they're not all that bad for a deck that isn't focused on combos, so you could consider them for your own deck if you want to do something different.
2. Endless Ranks of the Dead / From Under the Floorboards /Army of the Damned - Huge flavor cards, and definitely powerful cards on their own. However, the deck I've made has less to do with sheer numbers and more to do with synergy in the zombie tribe. Like the beaters previously mentioned, these are not bad cards and would certainly fit in a less combo centered deck.
3. Death Baron/Undead Warchief - These lords make your zombies bigger and better for combat. While these are a lot harder to say no to, they ultimately did not help my deck get to finding combos faster. I could reconsider the Undead Warchief at a later time, but for now I'll pass. If you like these cards, more power to you; they're incredible.

The Predecessor

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Feed My Frankenstein

Commander / EDH* Octrate

SCORE: 25 | 37 COMMENTS | 8150 VIEWS | IN 11 FOLDERS

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The predecessor, Grimgrin, Corpse-Born. May we never forget him. We had some good times, Grimmy, good times... Lots of combos, lots of brains. Alas, times change, and so too do I. But you are not forgotten, dear one. May angels sing thee to thine rest.

And please, don't forget to show your support by giving the Cecani family a +1! Thank you!

Special Thanks

Music by: Myuuji

Art/Button Code by: Rainnebrooks She's open for commissions! Ask for one via Email here

Top Ranked	Achieved #1 position overall 8 years ago
Date added	8 years
Last updated	7 years
Key combos	Havengul Lich + Rooftop Storm Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Skinrender Cloudstone Curio + Gray Merchant of Asphodel + Rooftop Storm Diregraf Colossus + Rooftop Storm + Sedraxis Alchemist Altar of Dementia + Undead Alchemist
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 47 - 0 Rares 20 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.00
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	EDH Decks to Build, EDH, Commander Decks, decks I want, Interesting Decks, Other cool deck ideas, Edh decks, awesome decks, Fun stuff, Maybe