The Five Laws of NecroWarfare: A ZomboCombo Primer

Commander / EDH* ElspethOfValeron

SCORE: 176 | 89 COMMENTS | 24422 VIEWS | IN 99 FOLDERS


Amazing deck, +1 just for the description. Your explanations for each card and the deck itself ensouls the EDH format. Rock on, ElspethOfValeron

June 29, 2017 10:08 p.m.

Chris15Henry says... #2

What about playing Door of Destinies?

July 1, 2017 3:05 p.m.

Chris15Henry: Yeah, I feel it. Cutting cards is by far the hardest part of making decks. I can give some tips if you want, but it's a lengthy process. It took me months to cut my Alesha deck down to 100.

Cirksena: Yeah, it should definitely be in here. Good redundancy. I'll add it, thank you!

oliveoilonyaasscureshemorrhoid: Awww, thank you so much. That means a lot to me.

Chris15Henry (part 2): Door of Destinies is an amazing card for aggro strategies (it's a bit slow, but definitely worth thinking about IMO). This is a combo deck, so buffing our team isn't really what we're looking to do. Winning through combat is a plan C at best.

July 1, 2017 3:25 p.m.

IAmTheWraith says... #4

Empty the Pits For your aggro footnote

July 2, 2017 4:15 p.m.

collazoch says... #5

So I thought about Diregraf Colossus vs. Drunau Corpse Trawler for a while and have decided that Diregraf Colossus is just the better card for the deck. I seldom see deathtouch being a relevant ability with this deck as you're almost always happy with a chump block, usually don't have 3 mana to spare, and are rarely if ever attacking for combat damage. On top of this usually an opponent won't have the incentive to attack us if we do have a 2/2 zombie (knowing we're going to chump) unless their creature has trample which deathtouch regardless wouldn't protect us from. As well Drunau only nets you the 1 2/2 and costs an extra mana then Diregraf while Diregraf can net us a significant amount of 2/2's if left unchecked as well as possibly be a big protective body. Not to mention that it can give us infinite 2/2's and infinite mana in a couple ways with this deck as a nice little bonus.

September 11, 2017 4:06 p.m.

collazoch says... #6

trample for a lethal amount

September 11, 2017 4:27 p.m.

collazoch: Drunau will probably be replaced by Death Baron, which is significantly better. It does pretty much the same thing (discourage blocking), but much better. Drunau does have some value, though, but it's mostly here cause I like the art and stuff.

I really don't like Colossus for the build. It just doesn't really do much of anything to advance any goal this build is going for. It's great for zombie aggro decks, but this is not that.

September 23, 2017 12:41 a.m. Edited.

Deadpoo111 says... #8

Fantastic design and explanation!

February 11, 2018 9:24 p.m.

Thank you very much!

February 11, 2018 9:45 p.m.

LordMithos says... #10

GriffynRyder, here is an elegant deck with a well written explanation on why he did the things he did. Maybe you can take a few ideas from this for your deck!

February 14, 2018 8:51 p.m.

LordMithos: *She :) And thank you very much!

February 14, 2018 8:59 p.m.

chubba says... #12

this is just awesome to admire. nice work! +1

February 15, 2018 11:50 a.m.

Query: What is your gameplan if you accidentally mill Rooftop Storm, or if an opponent deals with it?

February 16, 2018 12:26 a.m.

chubba: Thank you so much!

draconaspyrothanus: That's exactly what Recall and Yawgmoth's Will are in the deck for. In fact, while they have other utility, almost their entire purpose is to be able to get back Phyrexian Altar and Rooftop Storm in emergencies.

February 16, 2018 12:51 a.m.

KINGofORESKOS says... #15

How did you add those big accordions, i mean the code of it? It's so cool!

February 16, 2018 12:54 a.m.

daNoodalz: Thanks! Here's a pastebin of the source text: https://pastebin.com/ztHria6w

February 16, 2018 1:19 a.m.

GriffynRyder says... #17

Definitely going to be using this beautiful example as a base on how to make the zombros a little more terrifying. Thanks LordMithos

March 4, 2018 4:53 p.m.

Deadpoo111 says... #18

Have you perhaps thought about using The Scarab God? Yes, I know he's expensive, but he would be great as this decks commander, and okay in the 99.

March 4, 2018 8:03 p.m.

Scarab God is a finisher, and G&G is a card advanatage engine. They serve vastly different decks.

March 5, 2018 10:36 a.m.

GriffynRyder: Thank you so much for your kind words!

Deadpoo111: I actually address why I'm playing The Scarab God in the 99 but not as the commander in my writeup. I'll copy and paste it here:

"The Scarab God is most people's answer for "the commander you should be playing zombies with", so I'll spend a chunk of time explaining why I believe that Gisa and Geralf is better than The Scarab God for this specific archetype. There's no denying that The Scarab God is an incredibly powerful card - I have it in the 99 of this deck, and it's probably in contention for one of the best cards in the deck. Its first ability allows you to stack your deck and burn opponents for sometimes ridiculous levels, and its second ability lets you recur creatures, just like Gisa and Geralf's. Furthermore, its second ability lets you get opponents' creatures as well, and it even comes with a third ability that makes it incredibly difficult to permanently kill. So why do I think Gisa and Geralf is better for this archetype? The answer: Their recursion ability is more streamlined, more abusable, more valuable over a long game, and better suited to the archetype than The Scarab God's.

The key thing about The Scarab God's recursion ability is that it exiles the creature that it recurs. You get a single activation on a single creature, and that's it. This deck loves to recur creatures multiple times. It's at its best when spamming Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Noosegraf Mob, Fleshbag Marauder, Corpse Augur, etc. In addition, its repeatable tutors, Corpse Connoisseur and Sidisi, Undead Vizier, are often chained multiple times in order to find enough pieces to close out a game. The Scarab God's ability being one-and-done on every creature is incredibly limiting for this deck's gameplan, in a way that being at instant speed and allowing stealing opponents' creatures just doesn't make up for. It's my opinion that The Scarab God is best played in generic, non-zombie UB control decks, or more midrange/aggro zombie decks that can further benefit from stealing opponents' creatures and making its own creatures 4/4s. Gisa and Geralf remain the monarchs of Zombo-Combo."

March 13, 2018 7:13 p.m.

collazoch says... #21

Switching out Gisa and Geralf for Muldrotha, the Gravetide seems pretty appealing

March 30, 2018 3:03 a.m.

Muldrotha does have things going for it - Green can solve most vulnerabilities that the deck has, and you can get back more than just Zombies (notably, your Rooftop Storm).

However, Muldrotha costs 6 mana to get out there the first time, and doesn't help fill the graveyard on its own.

Still, if you want to Sultai Zombo-Combo, Muldrotha and Sidisi basically split G&G's ability in two, with upside

March 30, 2018 3:27 p.m.

Frankly, Muldrotha would be a better choice for this deck, but I find it a really boring card and a really boring commander. Restriction fosters creativity, yknow?

May 20, 2018 3:21 p.m.

devincav1 says... #24

Hi, what do you think of the new zombie from m19 stitchers supplier?? and also the new zombie that was in that new game nights set, rot hulk? it isnt released yet but it seems like it could do a lot of work!

September 1, 2018 3:36 p.m.

kylearobert says... #25

This deck is great, and I've been playing with a deck very very similar to it after reading this primer. I am wondering why you aren't running Cabal Coffers though. It seems great here and like it would cost the deck very little to run it.

September 2, 2018 11:39 a.m.

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