Phyrexian Altar is a very powerful card and is not only playable in this deck and format, the price clearly shows that. But you can use it in many other decks too, so even if it would turn out to not be worth it in this deck (even though I think it will be) you can use it in other decks, some may use it even more. And if you own 1 of them, i would say its fair to proxy it to any other deck you use, since then its just about moving the card around :)

But best feedback to see if it is worth its pricetag, is to proxy it and playtest, hope your meta will allow it. Maybe later they will say you need to buy it to play it since its really busted as a combo piece :)

Maybe its an idea to try Wonder ? FLying Zombies is by all means fun :D

I need to take a closer look at this deck ;) I really want to build this guy, but I'm in pretty deep on The Locust God already...

Also, have you considered Bloodchief Ascension for the combo with Mindcrank? It seems SUPER easy to set up, and both pieces of the combo work fantastically here.

Risen Executioner is still in the deck list but the change log says he's out. Did you forget to make a change? The deck list still has 99 cards.

You are right... I will have to go through my deck when I get back from my vacation! Good catch!

Just wondering if there is a reason you're not including Necropotence?

Enral: It was in the list at first, and then I realized that I really don't want my cards to be exiled, while discarding is just FINE! The deck is almost always full because I dump mana into The Scarab God so often. Plus I run some other great draw.

VexenX: That makes sense...what are your thoughts on Slate of Ancestry for card draw + discard?

Glen Elendra Archmage may be worth a try? Getting tokens of her would make it impossible to interact with us...

Liliana, the Last Hope can control the board and fill your gy in the early game and her emblem alongside scarab got can end games crazy quick.

Love the use of flash enablers! So many zombie players omit the usefulness of being able to resolve Army of the Damned at your opponents end step.

I am not so sure about Slate of Ancestry. It seems likely very situational card draw. Consecrated Sphinx would be added first.

Glen Elendra Archmage allows for repeatable counters, but only gives you one more use after Exiling it with The Scarab God.

If I had an extra Liliana, the Last Hope lying around I might give it a shot, but it is by no means worth the $35 dollar price tag. Standard players just want it to be there Liliana of the Veil...

LoTeezah: I was pretty proud of my flash idea. It makes the deck feel very control-like, while also being a zombie beat-down deck. Plus getting the out of no-where win with The Scarab God on your upkeep is pretty amazing!

Idea behind Glen Elendra Archmage is more to cast her and "Enjoy" her Double 1U Counter. And dont underestimate her ability to interact with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed....Endless 1U Counter Stuff :)

Had some playtesting of different builds on Xmage and seem to like yours the best. I dropped some expensive stuff (My Playgroup doenst need a Cavern)But on all games I didnt really like Nim Deathmantle The deck is hungry to Exile all stuff there is on a GY and having 4cmc laying around isnt - at least for me - my playstyle.

I included some Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre - should have seen the face of my friend when I dropped this turn 5 :D

I decided to make some changes and include some more mill. In some games I was kinda stuck because I coudlnt get stuff into the GY (my own or everybody elses)....

Correct me, Glen Elendra + Mikaeus wont word...darn :(

Duskmantle Guildmage to go with your mindcrank. Infinite mill and damage

I also disagree with the removal of Noxious Ghoul I played my Scarab God build, which is similar to yours and you need the removal. The Attrition isn't enough.

Also, I wouldn't worry too much about Living Death, I use Undead Alchemist and usually tutor him first. While it doesn't go well with scarab God's second ability, It feeds his second. Combo that with the Mindcrank and you have a good zombie creation engine and your opponent loses all of his creatures :)

Nice deck! It's definitely provided some inspiration for mine: The Scarab God, Grave Defiler

A couple suggestions:

Rewind is a great counterspell in here. It untaps just enough lands for Scarab God's ability.

You may want to run a couple instant speed kill spells to get rid of opponents' threats and then reanimate them. Hero's Downfall and Curtains' Call are great for this.

Oh, and you may wanna consider getting rid of Nim Deathmantle. Do you really want to hold 4 mana up for its ability when your commander also does the ability for 4 mana?

Also, Cyclonic Rift is an amazing card but is it the best boardwipe for this deck? In a way don't you want opponents' creatures going to the grave so you can reanimate them? Life's Finale could be a good option :)

Mesmeric Orb would be bomb in this

man1ac and MegaMatt13: I think you are right about Nim Deathmantle. I think I will add Curtains' Call once I get a copy.

Lets be honest, Cyclonic Rift is always an auto include if you are playing . I know I want stuff in their grave, but it also just wins me the game when I get to keep all of my stuff. The instant speed of it is just nuts.

XDarthRipperX - I have been thinking a lot about Undead Alchemist recently. Although it is the opposite of what you want to do with The Scarab God's second ability, it is AMAZING for his first ability. I think I might add it because of that...

I don't like adding cards because of there one interaction with another card, unless I was building a combo centered deck. That being said, I don't think Duskmantle Guildmage is good enough.

MegaMatt13: Rewind might be going in at some point, getting to keep up mana to BOTH counter and then use with The Scarab God seems really sweet. Plus, untapping utility lands like Cabal Coffers seems nice!

Peaceful_Ninja: The mass-mill proved by Mesmeric Orb is not really what I am looking for. I play with a lot of gy focused decks in my meta, so I am going more for a smaller-scale controled mill, just to have a few targets for The Scarab God.

Thank you all so much for the support! We are just a few votes away from being the best Zombie deck on Tappedout!!!

Just imagine it man. Draining 11 from scarab, that triggers Mindcrank which mills 11, all the creatures are exiled to Undead Alchemist giving you more zombs. Second upkeep with paradox haze, do it again. Lol. I had that happen on Thursday with my build.

VexenX happy to help. I agree on Cyclonic Rift but its no that strong lategame cause you just delays threads if there is enough mana. Its the way to go if you can go lethal for at least one. I think I'll add some more control into this build and exclude the "flash" enablers. It definitely is nice gettin Army of the Damned out there but of the 5 trys I even played them I ran into 3 Counterspells.Damnation and Rewind will be my next include.

Dont underestimate Mesmeric Orb. I got it out Turn 1 and before I got killed it milled each of 3 guys 20 cards into their GY. (I got Steel Hellkite, Hellkite Tyrant, Grave Titan and some Sliver stuff). Since not all colors run stuff to get their GY back you just get rid of stuff that may get unhandy lategame.

Could you please add a budget build of this deck. Really want to try this!