Varina, Lich Queen

Commander / EDH Discard Reanimator Tokens WUB (Esper)

ChaosClaws

Creature (35)

• 1x Archghoul of Thraben
• 1x Bone Miser
• 1x Cemetery Reaper
• 1x Cleaver Skaab
• 1x Corpse Knight
• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Death Baron
• 1x Diregraf Captain
• 1x Diregraf Colossus
• 1x Ghoulcaller Gisa
• 1x God-Eternal Oketra
• 1x Graveborn Muse
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Gravespawn Sovereign
• 1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1x Headless Rider
• 1x Lich Lord of Unx
• 1x Lord of the Accursed
• 1x Lord of the Undead
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Noxious Ghoul
• 1x Plague Belcher
• 1x Relentless Dead
• 1x Rot Hulk
• 1x Shepherd of Rot
• 1x Soulless One
• 1x The Scarab God
• 1x Tormod, the Desecrator
• 1x Undead Augur
• 1x Undead Warchief
• 1x Vengeful Dead
• 1x Wayward Servant
• 1x Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
• 1x Zombie Master

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Liliana, Death's Majesty

Land (33)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Field of the Dead
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Island
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 1x Mutavault
• 1x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Silent Clearing
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 2x Swamp
• 1x Unclaimed Territory
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Unholy Grotto
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vault of Champions
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Watery Grave

Instant (4)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Commander (1)

Artifact (12)

• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Crowded Crypt
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Wand of Orcus

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Agadeem's Awakening  ^Flip
• 1x Army of the Damned
• 1x Empty the Laboratory
• 1x Living Death
• 1x Patriarch's Bidding
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Zombie Apocalypse

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Endless Ranks of the Dead
• 1x Necroduality
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Rooftop Storm
• 1x Smothering Tithe

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Maybeboard

Creature (12)

• 1x Archfiend of Ifnir
• 1x Champion of the Perished
• 1x Geralf, Visionary Stitcher
• 1x Gisa and Geralf
• 1x Gleaming Overseer
• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia
• 1x Lazotep Chancellor
• 1x Liliana's Standard Bearer
• 1x Tomb Tyrant
• 1x Tormod, the Desecrator
• 1x Unbreathing Horde

Instant (3)

• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Rise of the Dread Marn
• 1x Teferi's Protection

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I was first introduced to commander by playing a friends' Mikaeus, the Unhallowed zombie tribal deck. I had an absolute blast reanimating powerful creatures like Grave Titan and pummeling people with the abundance of zombie lords. Then I learned about Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, and I made zombie tribal myself with some fun win-cons like Undead Alchemist. A few years later, Gisa and Geralf came along, giving me a more versatile utility commander to let me reanimate whatever I wanted. Once Varina, Lich Queen was released, I was a bit skeptical about throwing white into a zombie deck. I've seen B/G zombies with Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, which was unexpectedly powerful with the added ramp from green. From the release of Amonkhet with Wayward Servant up to War of the Spark with the amass ability and new funky zombie cards, I decided to give Varina a go. While the deck barely even uses white, Varina's attack trigger is absolutely insane. Just attacking with Varina and let's say a Gravecrawler, Cryptbreaker, and Relentless Dead, you get to loot four cards and gain 4. Zombie decks have had a problem gaining life since black is so thirsty for your life total, and it adds up fast. Looting alone is a good mechanic, but when you pick and choose what to throw away in the best tribe for self-reanimation, it's all value. Toss a Rot Hulk and bring it back the next turn, or dump all your zombies in the grave and cast Living Death to outright win the game. Zombies is my favorite tribe by far and I hope this list provides an excellent example of how powerful you can make them.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Exclude colors	RG
Splash colors	WU
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	16 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.46
Tokens	Copy Clone, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie 2/2 B w/ Decayed, Zombie Warrior 4/4 B, Zombie Wizard 1/1 UB