The Scarab Oh My Gawd!

Commander / EDH Midrange Primer Reanimator UB (Dimir) Zombie

Sh1n1ngForc3

Lands (34)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Castle Locthwain
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Choked Estuary
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Creeping Tar Pit
• 1x Darkslick Shores
• 1x Darkwater Catacombs
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Fetid Pools
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 1x Ipnu Rivulet
• 4x Island
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 1x Sunken Ruins
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Isle
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Unholy Grotto
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Watery Grave

Zombie Generator (6)

• 1x Cryptbreaker
• 1x Endless Ranks of the Dead
• 1x Ghoulcaller Gisa
• 1x Grave Titan
• 1x Josu Vess, Lich Knight
• 1x Lich Lord of Unx

Recursion (2)

• 1x Reanimate
• 1x Victimize

Tutor (11)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Entomb
• 1x Lim-Dul's Vault
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Spellseeker
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Utility (10)

• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Gravecrawler
• 1x Illusionist's Bracers
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1x Liliana, Dreadhorde General
• 1x Mindslicer
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Training Grounds
• 1x Wonder
• 1x Zombie Master

Card Draw (8)

• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Midnight Reaper
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Undead Augur
• 1x Vilis, Broker of Blood

Lord (5)

• 1x Cemetery Reaper
• 1x Death Baron
• 1x Diregraf Captain
• 1x Lord of the Accursed
• 1x Undead Warchief

Commander (1)

Ramp (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Thran Dynamo

Removal (9)

• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Life's Finale
• 1x Murderous Rider
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Toxic Deluge

Lifegain (4)

• 1x Basilisk Collar
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
• 1x Whip of Erebos

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Maybeboard

Other (5)

• 1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
• 1x High Market
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystical Tutor

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The Scarab, Oh My Gawd!

Please Upvote and Comment if you like the list and Primer. I've only been playing for 2 years so please leave me feedback, insight, advice, helpful critiques and suggestions. Thanks for looking!

If you're here you already know the allure that is, The Scarab God. Though there are many re-animator commanders in the world of EDH, some being quite powerful, The Scarab God holds a special place among these decks as the commander that can feast upon everyone's graveyard at instant speed while still giving you access to blue instants.

What is this deck designed to do? It is first and foremost a remove and reanimate deck. It can answer most creature heavy decks with a pretty fantastic mid to late game. It is designed to ramp to allow you to remove creatures and reanimate them in the same turn if needed and if left unchecked it will allow you plunder multiple graveyards and tutor for effects which will allow your engine to push for the victory in the late game. It has a tool-box feel with a strong tutor package that allows you to 'drive' the deck down multiple pathways based on what the board looks like.

What it is not? It is not a cEDH or even top tier deck. Its power level sits around a 6 or 7 out of 10 and does not attempt to go infinite as my play group avoids and hates on these decks.

So how does this deck run? What are the lines of play and what should I be tutoring for at different points of the game? Let's discuss...

Opening Hands

Having played this deck MANY times I've found that is crucial as in most commander decks to have at least 3 lands in your opening hand. The curve sits at around 3.2 but the deck really begins to fire at around 8 mana. If you have less than 3 lands just mulligan. 3 or 4 lands with a mana rock and an early creature, source of removal or tutor effect is ideal.

Keep(Ideal): 3+ lands with one of the following - Ramp, early game Tutor, early game Creature or Removal

Mulligan: Anything less than 3 lands.

Early Game (Turns 1 - 3)

The early game in this deck is about long term planning. Initially you will be trying to balance your early plays between dropping your mana rocks on curve and removing early critical creatures from your opponents board (Think fast combo creatures). You can do this using both removal and counterspells though this deck is lighter on the counter magic and it is preferable to save your counters for the mid to late game. You should also be looking to drop early sources of card draw such as a Phyrexian Arena or Necropotence. Early cards like Dreadhorde Invasion, Cryptbreaker and most of the Lords are usually great plays. Additionally you should be considering your mid and late game based on what your opponents are doing and how fast they seem to be hitting. If you have been hitting your lands and ramp on time and feel that a turn 4 or 5 The Scarab God is feasible you should strongly consider firing off Buried Alive and Entomb. We will discuss which targets are best at different points in the game and why. If your opponents have built a fast and threatening board it is advisable to fire off an early tutor like Demonic Tutor or Mystical Tutor to grab a Toxic Deluge or Damnation. Don't be afraid to wipe the board early as those creatures will soon be on your board threatening your enemies!

Early Game Tutor Targets

If you are ripping an early tutor (turns 1 through 4) your most important target types are as follows:

1. Card Draw
2. Board Wipes
3. Training Grounds
4. Entomb or Buried Alive

The deck can struggle with drawing enough cards late game so I almost always prioritize these effects. It is important to note that if you are going for these targets you should consider your life total carefully. If you can get your Whip of Erebos running at some point in the mid-game I would highly suggest it. Of course if you have any of the above listed effects in your hand already and your casting an early tutor consider what other type of affect you want and go for that.

If you are dropping an entomb type of effect you should strongly consider how quickly you can cast your commander to reanimate them. Targets that I have found to be bonkers when casting these graveyard fillers are as follows

1. Grave Titan + Razaketh, the Foulblooded
2. Rune-Scarred Demon + Sheoldred, Whispering One
3. Grave Titan + Sidisi, Undead Vizier
4. Grave Titan + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
5. Consecrated Sphinx + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Usually you should consider some type of zombie generator and tutor or card draw effect with Buried Alive and for the 3rd target I almost always want Wonder in the grave.

Mid Game (turns 4 - 8)

So now we've hit our land drops, played an early mana rock and have either tutored for a desired effect, established an early board presence in the form of creatures and/or enchantments or have kept the board in check with early spot removal or a board wipe. Where do we go from here?

The Mid Game in this deck is critical if you want a shot at winning the whole thing. This is the time where we begin to drive the deck hard. Your priorities should be generating a zombie army and sticking your commander. Key cards at this point in the game are as follows

1. Endless Ranks of the Dead This card should be played if you have been able to establish an early game zombie presence. It will snow-ball quickly so don't be afraid to drop this on curve if it's safe.
2. Whip of Erebos Though your life total might feel safe the Whip is a fantastic mid game drop as we will be using our life total as a resource ideally and we will want to keep it high (especially if we drop Bolas's Citadel on curve).
3. Victimize If you have been able to run an early Buried Alive and want to get extra value out of your own creatures before your commander reanimates them then ripping a mid game Victimize feels pretty nasty.
4. Any of your Lilianas. They all have an impact on your board's gameplan immediately so drop them if you can here.

Let your opponents use their early and mid game removal before you drop your commander. Obviously you can never truly know but you should have an idea if you can run out the big guns now. This is where he really shines. Again, if your opponents have built a better board than yours, you should consider wiping the board again before dropping your boi.

Mid Game Tutor Targets

You may need to wipe the board to prepare for your God to feast. Go for it. If you have the opportunity to grab a Training Grounds and haven't already got it running this is the time to do it! Your deck becomes a completely different beast when you have either the Illusionist's Bracers and/or Training Grounds running. Don't be afraid to drive the deck hard at this point! RED LINE it and make your opponents tremble in awe at the power you wield! If you haven't been able to get your card draw online, this should be your main priority unless someone is threatening to win. Lastly you should consider the bonkers Bolas's Citadel at this juncture. It has the potential to push your deck through the roof especially if you have an Exsanguinate in hand.

Sealing the Deal

If you've been lucky and skilled then welcome to the end game. Here is where we kill em all at once. Let's finish them! At this point in the game hopefully we've hit most if not all our land drops, have been drawing cards and have a zombie army. If not, that's ok. We've got 9 mana rocks, Liliana of the Dark Realms, Cabal Coffers + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and a God on our side. Let's look at how we win at this stage based on our board.

1. We have an Army of Zombies! - If we have assembled the Horde then we should strongly consider whether we can get Lord of the Accursed out. Her menace ability means we will be hitting very hard. We can Grow our Army by crushing our big creatures with Ghoulcaller Gisa making the horde larger. A kicked Josu Vess, Lich Knight has made a few tables scoop. Protect the army with your counterspells if you can. You'll always want to take out an insurance policy on your army if you can. The following pieces are critical to play if you can at this stage.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General at this point is just filthy and acts as insurance in case someone decides your army has to go. Blood Artist will make your weakend opponents think twice about wiping your army. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed will ensure that key permanents will return. Zombie Master will allow you to punch through against the players and if you have Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth out everyone is fair game. He also allows you to regen your army. Cyclonic Rift does what it has always done. USE IT! Midnight Reaper will refill your hand if your opponents wipe. Be careful of the lifeloss trigger though. It may cost you game.

1. You have an Army but so do your Enemies - Wipe the board if you can. We can rebuild faster 9 times out of 10. Get your Insurance pieces running if possible and push through with Lord of the Accursed + Zombie Master . Exsanguinate and Torment of Hailfire are great ways to just end the game with big mana. Sometimes you don't even need to swing.

2. The Board has been Wiped and we have to Rebuild - Here is where our big mana should allow us to out race our enemies in rebuilding. Replay your commander and steal the most powerful pieces you can. At this point in the game creatures like Sheoldred, Whispering One really shine in keeping our opponents from stabilizing while we snowball back into action.

3. We have nothing, they have everything - Land a board wipe if you can, otherwise GG. It was fun but we can't win em all. Sometimes you can sneak in a late game coup with Exsanguinate and Torment of Hailfire so NEVER SCOOP!

Well I hope you enjoyed this Primer and Decklist. May the God of Death always smile upon house Dimir!

Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Key combos	Cabal Coffers + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Grave Titan + Sidisi, Undead Vizier Grave Titan + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed Consecrated Sphinx + Mikaeus, the Unhallowed Grave Titan + Razaketh, the Foulblooded Rune-Scarred Demon + Sheoldred, Whispering One Lord of the Accursed + Zombie Master
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 53 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.29
Tokens	Copy Clone, Emblem Liliana of the Dark Realms, On an Adventure, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie Knight 2/2 B, Zombie Wizard 1/1 UB