Sidisi, Queen of the Damned

Commander / EDH* BUG (Sultai) Combo Mill Reanimator Tokens Zombie

Shiek200

Creature (37)

• 1x Aphetto Alchemist
• 1x Body Double
• 1x Clever Impersonator
• 1x Coffin Queen
• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Gempalm Polluter
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Gravespawn Sovereign
• 1x Havengul Lich
• 1x Hedron Crab
• 1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
• 1x Krosan Restorer
• 1x Laboratory Maniac
• 1x Massacre Wurm
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Mirror-Mad Phantasm
• 1x Necrotic Ooze
• 1x Noxious Ghoul
• 1x Phyrexian Delver
• 1x Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1x Protean Hulk
• 1x Ramunap Excavator
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Riftsweeper
• 1x Satyr Wayfinder
• 1x Selhoff Occultist
• 1x Shambling Shell
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Skirge Familiar
• 1x Skullwinder
• 1x Smothering Abomination
• 1x The Gitrog Monster
• 1x The Scarab God
• 1x Undead Alchemist
• 1x Vengeful Pharaoh
• 1x Vizier of Many Faces
• 1x Zombie Master

Land (34)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x City of Shadows
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dakmor Salvage
• 1x Deserted Temple
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 4x Forest
• 1x Golgari Rot Farm
• 5x Island
• 1x Lotus Vale
• 1x Nephalia Drownyard
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Sequestered Stash
• 1x Simic Growth Chamber
• 4x Swamp
• 1x Unholy Grotto
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Dread Return
• 1x Life from the Loam
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Splendid Reclamation
• 1x Victimize
• 1x Villainous Wealth

Commander (1)

Artifact (9)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Cryptic Gateway
• 1x Embalmer's Tools
• 1x Library of Leng
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mesmeric Orb
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Attrition
• 1x Cryptolith Rite
• 1x Faces of the Past
• 1x Necromancy
• 1x Parallel Lives
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x Rooftop Storm

Instant (3)

• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Memory Plunder

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Origins of the Deck

The idea behind this deck started with Cryptic Gateway. I wanted to make use out of that card, and Sidisi just so happened to be one of the better tribal commander options in BUG (My personal favorite color combo.) So naturally this deck started out as a zombie tribal. Since its conception the deck has undergone many changes, and while it still has a very strong element of zombie tribal to it, it has become less about using powerful zombies, or diregraf wins and instead using cards that benefit from having multiple zombies already out on the field as opposed to in my library. Cryptic Gateway is probably the weakest card in the deck, but I just don't have the heart to take it out seeing as it was the inspiration for this deck in the first place.

The Game Plan

I tried to ensure that every card in the deck was as useful in the early game as it is in the late game.

The premise of the deck revolves around getting Sidisi, Brood Tyrant out early, and milling yourself quickly to generate some zombie tokens. You don't need many to get an engine going, but obviously the more you can get the better. There are no infinite damage combos or cheap wins of that sort, I don't enjoy them so I did my best to avoid them, opting instead to make infinite zombies. I feel like the best wins come when your opponents can respond, and you can respond better. There are however many ways to win in this deck.

Your graveyard is your second hand, and the deck excels at cycling through your deck, often multiple times per turn in the late game. Mesmeric Orb, Embalmer's Tools and Altar of Dementia are your strongest tools to fill your yard. Getting one or more out early is ideal, but it is far from the only way to mill yourself. An early Entomb into Life from the Loam can be a very strong way to gain early game card advantage as well as mana fixing. From there it's easy to use Dread Return to get back your Skullwinder to get one of the artifacts needed to start a true engine. From there you can easily cycle through your deck to find answers and win conditions. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth keeps you from milling yourself out. If someone manages to exile him don't worry, you've got your handy-dandy Riftsweeper.

The Win Conditions

The Gitrog Monster + Skirge Familiar + Dakmor Salvage + Villainous Wealth This is your primary combo win. Makes infinite zombies as well, if Sidisi is in play.

Rooftop Storm can lead to a few combos. (these are all assuming Sidisi is in play and an un-exiled Kozilek is in your library) Gravecrawler + Rooftop Storm + Selhoff Occultist with a sac outlet makes infinite zombies, swing next turn for win. Combine with Ashnod's Altar for infinite colorless mana, or Cryptolith Rite + Faces of the Past for infinite colored mana.Rooftop Storm + Shambling Shell + Smothering Abomination can also make infinite zombies, as well as making them infinitely big.

Aphetto Alchemist + Mesmeric Orb can also make infinite zombies with Sidisi.

If Kozilek gets exiled or is in your hand, you can opt for the Lab Maniac win. If this is your goal, you can tutor up or simply draw into Kozilek and use one of the previously mentioned mill engines, or activate Mirror-Mad Phantasm's ability with Necrotic Ooze to immediately mill your entire deck.

Finally, you have your bread and butter zombie tribal Gempalm Polluter win.

Card Choices

Cryptic Gateway Honestly, it's not that strong in this deck, but I love the card too much to cut it.

Library of Leng The great thing about this card as opposed to the newer Nephalia Academy is that it doesn't care who controls the effect, allowing you ensure there is a creature on top of your library when you need it. This turns Skirge Familiar into on engine of his own, as well as Cryptbreaker in a pinch.

Coffin Queen An absolute allstar in multiplayer games. While not quite as powerful as a Chainer, she has lower colored requirements which is nice in a 3-color deck, and she's also a zombie, which synergizes well.

Hedron Crab A turn 1 drop that fuels sidisi and provides reanimation targets.

Massacre Wurm A card I don't see nearly enough, it's insanely powerful and one of the best answer cards I've had the pleasure of abusing. Getting additional triggers from him to kill larger creatures isn't very difficult and he can often win games on his own.

Protean Hulk Can fetch a large number of the of pieces of the various engines in the deck, as well as always being able to grab you a free Dryad Arbor.

Shambling Shell For a while I ran Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest instead, and while she's incredibly powerful I found that all to often I would draw her early on and have no use for her, as she doesn't do much without an already dominant board state. At the end of the day she felt like win-more. The Shell can give your creatures an early game buff as well as fill your yard and can combo off late game for infinite infinitely large zombies.

Ramunap Excavator Crucible on a stick. Way too much value in this deck not to include.

Razaketh, the Foulblooded Wow. Just wow. Its like an ever so slightly less powerful Grislebrand.

Skullwinder So why Skullwinder in place of Eternal Witness? Honestly the deck is just really black-mana-heavy, and the 2 green investment of E-witness would often lock me out of other plays that turn. Also, if you're off to a rough start the deathtouch can really save your ass, especially if your playgroup has already seen what this deck can do. It's also a good politicking card, as giving someone back a boardwipe or removal spell when you don't have one can be surprisingly effective.

The Gitrog Monster Ensures that you virtually never have a dead dredge or mill, and can combo off for the win late game.

The Scarab God This guy is just fantastic. He's a little slow, needing a 9-mana investment, 4 of which is colored to get his full value, however that value is insane. Being able to remove big scary things from your opponents graveyard at instant speed is immensely powerful already, but being able to copy that creature as well? Not to mention it's repeatable if you have the mana. On top of all of that he also lets you scry for a LOT each turn which is such a criminally undervalued effect in so many playgroups. This guy is a real heavy hitter, but only time will tell if he's fast enough for the deck. I have high hopes.

Undead Alchemist Exiles creatures as a triggered ability, which means The Scarab God can override the effect as it goes on the stack. Removes threats, gives you zombies.

Vizier of Many Faces While you won't often be too excited to see it in your hand, it's real value comes from being in your yard. I've lost track of how many times I've been one last etb away from closing out the game, and copying an opponent's creature from your graveyard will often catch them by surprise. Plus it's a zombie. So. Neat.

Animate Dead/Necromancy/Dread Return/Reanimate/Victimize/Living Death So the reanimation package in the deck had a few rules it had to follow. To make the cut, a reanimation spell needed at least one of the following features: 1) Can target more than just my graveyard. 2) Grabs more than one creature. 3) Can be used at instant speed. The only exception here is Dread Return for obvious reasons.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	7 years
Key combos	Aphetto Alchemist + Mesmeric Orb Gravecrawler + Rooftop Storm + Selhoff Occultist Rooftop Storm + Shambling Shell + Smothering Abomination Cryptolith Rite + Faces of the Past
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 45 - 0 Rares 23 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.55
Tokens	Copy Clone, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Morph 2/2 C, Vizier of Many Faces 0/0 W, Zombie 2/2 B