Revelation 17:8

Vintage Reanimator WUB (Esper)

Balaam__

Creature (8)

• 1x Emrakul, the Promised End
• 1x Ghoulcaller Gisa
• 1x Griselbrand
• 2x Iona, Shield of Emeria
• 1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

Sorcery (12)

• 4x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 4x Exhume
• 2x Reanimate
• 1x Time Walk

Land (15)

• 2x Bazaar of Baghdad
• 1x Island
• 4x Polluted Delta
• 2x Swamp
• 4x Underground Sea
• 2x Watery Grave

Artifact (4)

• 1x Black Lotus
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mox Jet

Instant (13)

• 1x Ancestral Recall
• 4x Dark Ritual
• 4x Entomb
• 2x Extirpate
• 1x Lim-Dul's Vault
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Enchantment (8)

• 4x Animate Dead
• 4x Dance of the Dead

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Maybeboard

Creature (9)

• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Geth, Lord of the Vault
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Sire Of Insanity
• 1x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
• 1x The Scarab God
• 1x Thraximundar
• 1x Worldgorger Dragon

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How to play:

Draw 7 cards. Ideally you’ll be looking at at least one card from each of the following categories:

Mana Source(s)

Though technically a tri-color build, this deck is effectively mono black. Remember, creatures are never being hard cast here; rather, mana is spent on tutors and reanimation spells. That being said, an ideal turn one land drop is Underground Sea as it covers all bases and can pay for Lim-Dul's Vault , Time Walk or Ancestral Recall if need be. Watery Grave or Polluted Delta are the next best lands, followed by the ubiquitous Swamp. While technically classified as a land, Bazaar of Baghdad is not a land in the traditional sense in this build; more on that later.

Ramp

A turn 1 Emrakul, the Promised End or Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is entirely possible here, and to that end we must discuss ramp. Ideally you’ll want to see one or two of the following in your opening hand:

Black Lotus

Mox Jet

Chrome Mox

Lotus Petal

Dark Ritual

These play fast and free and bolster our mana supply to enable the next category of card to be discussed.

Tutors

Ah, the workhorses of our deck. These magnificent card(s) allow us to locate exactly what we’ll need, when we need it. Should RNGesus smile upon your opening draw, you’ll find in it a tutor in the form of either Entomb or Buried Alive .

Other tutors are included in this build as contingencies. Demonic Tutor is your ace in the hole; Vampiric Tutor functions much the same. Use either to conjure up one of the aforementioned methods of creature interment. Lim-Dul's Vault can help set up for the long game, perhaps should you be playing more than one opponent.

Not to be forgotten is Bazaar of Baghdad . The inclusion of this card is imperative; in the off chance you draw one of your god-tier creatures in your opening hand, this facilitates a method to dump them in your graveyard as well as gain card advantage. I’ve found success with locking it to 2 copies; your results may vary.

Reanimation Spells

At last we reach the culmination of our efforts: using the keys of death and of Hades to unleash our fearsome threats upon our opponent(s). Victory is all but assured if you happen to have a copy of either Animate Dead , Dance of the Dead , Exhume or Reanimate in hand. Simply cast your reanimation spell and give life to the abomination of your choice.

Unleash Armageddon

No, not the MtG card. Armageddon in the sense of complete and utter annihilation of your enemies. This is the part of the shell of this deck wherein you have plenty of room for personal customization. I’ve picked the creatures I’d choose to go to war with, and they hit devastatingly hard and inflict crippling status ailments on the opponent.

• Iona, Shield of Emeria is just sadistic (Prepare for table-flipping rage-quitting).

• Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur adds insult to injury—first you can’t play spells of a specific color, now you don’t get to have a hand.

• Emrakul, the Promised End will beat your opponent to their knees.

• Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger mills libraries faster than a swarm of lonely housewives in the romance novel section.

• Griselbrand helps offset the life loss accumulated through various sub costs attached to our necromantic antics, then once we’re stable again we can start sifting through our deck at our leisure.

• Sheoldred, Whispering One is a sexy Quelaag cosplayer with a recursive ability built right in. Should you get her out first and have others in the graveyard, Boom free, unrestricted Unearth .

• Ghoulcaller Gisa is a personal favorite of mine; My heart belongs to Liliana of the Veil (but I rent Gisa a Witch's Cottage on the side...Shh...).

In short, tutor for Iona, Shield of Emeria if you don’t want people to play Magic with you. Otherwise seek out that which is fearsome, terrible, and unusually strong...

“The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss...And when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present, those who dwell on the earth will wonder admiringly, but their names have not been written upon the scroll of life...”

Top Ranked	Achieved #35 position overall 4 years ago
Date added	4 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Vintage legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 22 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.82
Tokens	Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Vintage