Might want to splash blue and run 4x Diregraf Captain .

That being said, Door of Destinies is coming out in M14 so you can keep it mono black with that if you want.

You've got a lot of zombies flooding the board, but they are weenies at all points in the game.

I'm confused by Nightveil Specter , it seems like a very slow mill card in this deck because it is mono-black which means that you aren't going to be playing much from another person's deck, even your artifacts are Codex Shredder which doesn't help you fix your mana for the Specter. I'd swap those out with Chromatic Lantern if you want to keep the Specters in.

Been playing zombie decks for quite some time, and let me tell you, friend, this needs a bit 'o work.

Fist thing's first. Unless you're running a few more artifacts, don't run Phylactery Lich . Poor guy will get destroyed/the artifact destroyed in a matter of turns. I agree with the above statement to swap the Codex Shredder for Chromatic Lantern . If you don't do anything to accelerate your mana, you shouldn't be running Army of the Damned either. I suggest a pair of Dark Ritual to alleviate this.

If this is supposed to be a tribal zombie deck, the hell is Nightveil Specter doing in there? Swap the Barter in Blood for another Bone Splinters . Swap the Hunted Ghoul and Walking Corpse for some sort of zombie lord to pump your zombies.

You don't need to splash blue if you don't want to. Cemetery Reaper is a thing.

Tl:dr -2 Phylactery Lich -4 Codex Shredder -4 Nightveil Specter -1 Barter in Blood -2 Hunted Ghoul -1 Walking Corpse +2 Dark Ritual +2 Cemetery Reaper +4 Chromatic Lantern

I would add more suggestions and commentary, but I want to see what you say first.

I appreciate all the help. This is the first deck I've made since getting back into the game only 2 weeks ago, so it's wasn't supposed to be any particular type of deck because I know so little about what current cards are out there and how they work. I guess the reason I put the Codex Shredder in was because I needed the artifact for the Phylactery Lich and it seemed the least crappy of what I had in my cards. Please understand, that I am just getting started, so any advice given will be accepted gratefully and, unless a particular card is outrageously expensive, will be added to the deck. I'll get to work on the changes you already suggested, and update the deck once I get them. One question. If I pull out the Nightveil Specter and the Phylactery Lich is there a need for Chromatic Lantern at all? As to the Dark Ritual I'm trying to keep the deck standard legal, isn't it too old? Sorry, for my lack of knowledge and thanks for your help so far!

One thing I'd consider, and I would drop the Phylactery Lich , Codex Shredder , and Nightveil Specter would be to find something that can buff up your creatures. They are cheap to play, but not extremely fast or strong, so if you can find something like Dark Favor , Deviant Glee , Predator's Gambit or Skeletal Grimace that will help strengthen your deck, also drop Army of the Damned simply too much mana to be worth it in your deck, otherwise you could have to work on mana acceleration and make Army of the Damned the whole point of the deck (so have four in there), but I'd just take it out personally.

Ok I'm dropping the Phylactery Lich Codex Shredder and Nightveil Specter as everyone seems to agree on that. Because, I don't have access to the Chromatic Lantern and since I only have 1 Diregraf Captain , I'll start there. I have the Dark Favor and Deviant Glee So I will make those adjustments now. Also, if anyone knows a good affordable zombie standard deck on the site point to it and say "Do That". Again, I appreciate all the tips and time taken to help me!

Also, would Vampire Nighthawk fit in this deck?

I would strongly recommend not using creature enchantments in this deck. For one, it throws you off tempo if you spend a turn slapping down an enchantment, versus playing another creature. And two, it's just begging to get 2-for-1'd by Abrupt Decay or Searing Spear .

You have the core of the deck down, which is:

• Geralf's Messenger
  
• Gravecrawler
  
• Diregraf Ghoul
  

I would also add:

• Knight of Infamy
  
• Bloodthrone Vampire
  
• Vampire Nighthawk
  

...which aren't zombies, but that's fine for a few reasons.

Knight of Infamy is a really scary turn two play. For one, he stops Champion of the Parish , can't be blocked by Restoration Angel s flashing in, plays around Lingering Souls , can't be targeted by Angel of Serenity or Detention Sphere or Azorius Charm , etc. etc. He forces your opponents playing white to use Terminus and Supreme Verdict to get rid of him. He also means that turn one Diregraf Ghoul is now a 3/3 when it attacks.

Bloodthrone Vampire helps you play around Pillar of Flame , Detention Sphere , etc. by sacrificing Geralf's Messenger and Gravecrawler when they become targets. When you have another zombie out with Gravecrawler , she essentially reads "B: Bloodthrone Vampire gets +2/+2 until end of turn," which can end games. Plus, she keeps Tragic Slip always up.

Vampire Nighthawk tops off your curve, gets lifelink damage in against aggro decks, and the deathtouch stops Midrange from stomping all over you.

The last creature I'd recommend is Desecration Demon . He keeps morbid active when combat begins, or they take six to the face. I'd run a full set of four. They're incredibly hard to deal with when there's more than one on the table. He can't be taken out by Searing Spear or Abrupt Decay , either. With Bloodthrone Vampire , you can then run the full set of Tragic Slip .

So, to recap, I'd make the following changes:

-1x Highborn Ghoul
-2x Unbreathing Horde
-1x Walking Corpse
-4x Ghoulraiser
- 2x Appetite for Brains
-1x Bone Splinters
-1x Mutilate
-4x Dark Favor
-4x Deviant Glee

+4x Vampire Nighthawk
+4x Knight of Infamy
+4x Bloodthrone Vampire
+3x Tragic Slip
+4x Desecration Demon
+1x Swamp

Then you'll need a sideboard, which would look something like:

2x Appetite for Brains (moved these from your main to your side. Great vs. control and midrange, but they're terrible going in blind because of aggro).
3x Cremate / Vile Rebirth (graveyard hate vs. Junk Rites)
2x Devour Flesh (stops Bant Hexproof or decks with Blood Baron of Vizkopa )
3x Duress (vs. Red Deck Wins, Midrange, and Control)
1x Sever the Bloodline (good all-around card except vs. control)
2x Sign in Blood (help you vs.control so you can keep up with their draw spells)
1x Murder (unconditional removal)
1x Illness in the Ranks (vs. decks with Lingering Souls and Advent of the Wurm ).

I played Zombies for about 7 months. You can check out my version for more explanations on a lot of cards and how to play vs. certain matchups. While there's a lot of differences between mono-black and multi-color zombies, there's more overlap on specific matches.

sylvannos: I'm not discounting your apparent experience in this area, and your suggestions are solid, but what about if he wants to keep this a pure zombie deck? No Demons, no Humans, no Vampires. It seems to me that you're suggesting his ditch the main concept of the deck for the sake of competitive play. My apologies if this comes off poorly. I'm not seeing the logic of dumping half the deck for non-zombies.

@yungxak: I assumed that by making this for Standard, he was planning on taking it to an FNM or playing with friends who play Standard exclusively (which are often a competitive bunch).

By playing mono-black, his options are kind of limited as to what he can play. When it comes down to it, Ghoulraiser just doesn't compare to Vampire Nighthawk , nor does Walking Corpse even hold a candle to Knight of Infamy .

If he wants to just keep it flavorful, why even bother asking for deck help at all if it's just for fun or if he wants to tell a specific narrative with every game ("CAN YOU DEFEAT MY HORDE OF ZOMBEHZ!? MWAHAHHAAHAHAHAA!")? But that doesn't seem to be his goal. He's looking for help as a new player to MtG with how to build a functioning deck. icarusfalls feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in any of my assumptions.

I will make the adjustments you suggested. I already have the Vampire Nighthawk and can acquire the others. It is for FNM at my local shop, and it's a standard tournament. I'm just getting started, and the suggestions are awesome. Thank you so much for all the work you put into that comment. It will make a big difference I'm sure. You are correct, in that I'm not dead set on playing a pure zombie deck. I'm not good enough a player to play a deck that isn't at it's strongest, and lately I haven't come across much defense for flying during the last few FNM's. Not sure why, though. Again, my thanks!

... Blood Artist ? you have a sac outlet in Bloodthrone Vampire and regurgitation in the messenger and crawler

Thanks for this tip! I will snag a play set. And recommendations on what to swap out?