Introducing, Jund Zombies, a streamlined zombie deck that takes advantage of content of the first set from the upcoming Return to Ravnica block.
This build is based around an estimate of the standard meta-game environment that will present itself upon Scars block leaving the standard format. The strategy involves a similar game plan that current zombie decks implement. There are a lot of cheap resilient threats that interact with the graveyard. Blood Artist allows dead threats to gain value and to provide damage tempo throughout a match, letting you attack into a brigade of blockers confidently. Finally, Falkenrath Aristocrat provides a sacrifice outlet in combination with Blood Artist to finish off your opponent with your recurrable zombies. Not to mention it gives it great resiliency to creature removal and board sweepers such as Supreme Verdict.
The new scavenge ability gives your dead zombies value by pumping your threats, or even stopping an opposing
Strangleroot Geist
or Geralf's Messenger from ever triggering undying. How would you like to have a 3/4 Blood Artist, or better yet, a 7/3 Falkenrath Aristocrat? Scavenge is a great new ability that aggro players can use and abuse.
Dreg Mangler
is great because not only does it have the scavenge ability, but it also has haste, for only 3 mana to cast!
The removal is pretty straightforward. There is Tragic Slip, and
Brimstone Volley
, both which are easy to activate morbid off from. However, new to the removal suite is Abrupt Decay. It's easy to see how this card is very versatile and resilient. It is essentially a post-resolution Inquisition of Kozilek, a Smother on crack, for non-land permanents, and can't be countered!? Holy crapping cows Batman! Now all this deck needs is Bloodbraid Elf and... wait a second, Wizards wouldn't be that stupid to reprint that, would they?
The mana-base provides consistency with which to cast all of your spells with. With the new set's duels having multiple basic land types fitting with their colors, your buddy lands will almost never come into play tapped. Not to mention Cavern of Souls provides mana fixing, as well as making your beaters uncounterable. A couple copies of Evolving Wilds ensures that you are getting the right colors more often.
The sideboard is a bit of writing on the drawing board as we don't know exactly how the meta-game will shape up after rotation. We suspect that there will be a great deal of control coming back into the format. Dreadbore is great with dealing with their planeswalkers and any creature based kill cards they might have. Slaughter Games, is an uncounterable Memoricide to get rid of any card in their arsenal that we might have a problem dealing with if it resolves. Reanimator decks will definitely see play so along with the aforementioned,
Tormod's Crypt
will be able to pop their graveyard to deal with any Unburial Rites shenanigans. Against aggro we have Thragtusk to catch up on the damage race, and it's also great against any Wrath of God based control decks.
Knight of Infamy
does well versus white weenie and against a Runechanter's Pike equipped Geist of Saint Traft. There is also an extra copy of Abrupt Decay for match-ups it's especially great against.
There you have it for now. Please feel free to comment with your thoughts and feedback. If you decide to make this deck, let me know how it does for you!
