How we Varolz

Commander / EDH BG (Golgari) Counters Infect Proliferate

Gutzman34

Creature (35)

• 1x Beast Whisperer
• 1x Blight Mamba
• 1x Blightsteel Colossus
• 1x Brawn
• 1x Caustic Caterpillar
• 1x Chainbreaker
• 1x Channeler Initiate
• 1x Core Prowler
• 1x Corpse Cur
• 1x Deathcap Cultivator
• 1x Death's Shadow
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Fiend Artisan
• 1x Flesh-Eater Imp
• 1x Genesis
• 1x Glistener Elf
• 1x Hand of the Praetors
• 1x Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
• 1x Hex Parasite
• 1x Ichor Rats
• 1x Ichorclaw Myr
• 1x Necroskitter
• 1x Obelisk Spider
• 1x Phyrexian Crusader
• 1x Phyrexian Dreadnought
• 1x Phyrexian Swarmlord
• 1x Plague Myr
• 1x Plague Stinger
• 1x Rot Wolf
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Scout
• 1x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
• 1x Spinebiter
• 1x Thrashing Brontodon
• 1x Viridian Emissary
• 1x Whispering Specter

Land (30)

• 1x Blooming Marsh
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Command Tower
• 8x Forest
• 1x Foul Orchard
• 1x Golgari Guildgate
• 1x Hissing Quagmire
• 1x Inkmoth Nexus
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Mortuary Mire
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 8x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Woodland Cemetery

Instant (11)

• 1x Berserk
• 1x Fog
• 1x Giant Growth
• 1x Grim Affliction
• 1x Might of Oaks
• 1x Sprouting Vines
• 1x Strength of the Tajuru
• 1x Tainted Strike
• 1x Untamed Might
• 1x Virulent Wound
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Glistening Oil
• 1x Phyresis
• 1x Rancor

Commander (1)

Artifact (12)

• 1x Aether Vial
• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Cauldron of Souls
• 1x Contagion Clasp
• 1x Contagion Engine
• 1x Decimator Web
• 1x Golgari Keyrune
• 1x Grafted Exoskeleton
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Plague Boiler
• 1x Surestrike Trident
• 1x Viridian Longbow

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Caress of Phyrexia
• 1x Festering March
• 1x Final Parting
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Spread the Sickness
• 1x Triumph of the Hordes

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Sideboard

Creature (17)

• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Dread
• 1x Filth
• 1x Force of Savagery
• 1x Grim Poppet
• 1x Hunted Horror
• 1x Melira, Sylvok Outcast
• 1x Myr Superion
• 1x Nyxathid
• 1x Ohran Frostfang
• 1x Reaper of Sheoldred
• 1x Reyhan, Last of the Abzan *f-etch*
• 1x Siege Behemoth
• 1x Thorn Elemental
• 1x Vigor
• 1x Viridian Corrupter
• 1x Viridian Zealot

Instant (3)

• 1x Entomb
• 1x Grisly Salvage
• 1x Putrefy

Artifact (1)

• 1x Talisman of Resilience

Sorcery (2)

• 1x Jarad's Orders
• 1x Predatory Focus

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So Varolz isn't used in this deck nearly as much as his ability is. Scavenging cards like Phyrexian Dreadnought transforms any of our little infectious imps like Plague Stinger into a one hit kill poison bomb that must be accounted for through the air.

For removal and defense I really relied on the whither mechanic built into infection, but it all combos heavily with Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons. My personal favorite being utilizing Black Sun's Zenith like a mustard gas drop and getting a few dozen snakes to take up the space previously occupied by a full battlefield. The Cauldron of Souls is another Happy Hapatra combo that leaves you with a field and your opponents wishing they still had creatures.

With this deck being built for a single quick hit to finish off an opponent, there is a reasonable amount of field wipes, like Nevinyrral's Disk and Plague Boiler the point behind this is to clear board and then use your own creatures to feed the infecters and make an attack on an opponent who wasn't holding back a creature to play the next turn. Sandbagging a creature and blowing up the board is a really effective way to win, because the majority of players are over eager to play out their hands.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 31 - 14 Rares 22 - 8 Uncommons 25 - 1 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.86
Tokens	Centaur 3/3 G w/ Pro Black, Phyrexian Insect 1/1 G, Snake 1/1 G, Snake 1/1 G w/ Deathtouch