Sideboard



This is my Zombie tribal EDH deck led by the powerful Grimgrin, Corpse-Born. I don't know anyone who doesn't love zombies, and having a deck piloted by Innistrad's Frankenstein monster is just awesome. I wanted to be able to use this deck in both high level EDH games and tribal only formats. This deck is not designed for duels and isn't as fast as most cEDH decks but is rather designed for large multiplayer games with 4+ people and uses control spells, reanimation, and a horde to protect Grimgrin, Corpse-Born and fuel unique Zombiestorm combos.

This deck is expensive but the zombie core and the necessary spells aren't too much with the priciest cards being Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Phyrexian Altar, Cloudstone Curio, and Bitter Ordeal. Cut the luxury lands and support cards like Mana Crypt or Yawgmoth's Will for a more budget-oriented deck.

All these combos can be combined with Storm cards like Bitter Ordeal, Tendrils of Agony, and Mind's Desire for devastating effects. Rooftop Storm is a vital card in this deck and is worth protecting at all costs from removal. If my opponents find a way to deal with this mad-scientist's laboratory then there are other zombie infinites as a backup.

Creatures


  • Carrion Feeder: The first infinite sacrifice outlet comes at a cheap price. Not being able to block is ok since I should just pump it up and swing as much as possible.

  • Gravecrawler: One of the main combo pieces in this deck and an extremely powerful card overall. It can go infinite with Phyrexian Altar to create a sacrificial Zombiestorm.

  • Butcher Ghoul: A combo card with Cauldron of Souls. Without Cauldron of Souls he is still a self reviving body that can be useful even after a Wrath of God.

  • Putrid Goblin: Another combo piece that can form an infinite sacrifice engine with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and live through a board wipe.

  • Undead Augur: A powerful form of card draw in the deck. Make sure it's not on the board when you plan on starting a game-ending Zombiestorm.

  • Diregraf Colossus: The first ability is fine, sometimes it gets big but not always. The second ability however is absolutely insane and allows me to create infinite zombies. Works well with sacrifice outlets to go infinite and Faces of the Past to un-tap the horde.

  • Fleshbag Marauder: An Innocent Blood on a Reanimate-able corpse is as overpowered as it sounds. Extremely broken when combined with steady forms of reanimation (Unholy Grotto for example) as well as cards like Gravecrawler and Grave Pact. Many "fair" decks can't live through the pressure this little guy puts out.

  • Murderous Rider: A Hero's Downfall on a body that can be brought back with Unholy Grotto or Volrath's Stronghold.

  • Midnight Reaper: Another version of Undead Augur that can help us rip through the deck for a combo piece or finisher.

  • Liliana's Standard Bearer: A big draw zombie that scales with the amount of death and comboing going on. The best part is he doesn't destroy your life total unlike the other draw zombies.

  • Sedraxis Alchemist: The Alchemist is permanent removal on a stick if it is needed but is mostly used in a zombiestorm combo with Rooftop Storm where he blinks himself infinitely. The art reminds me of Coffin Queen.

  • Geralf's Messenger: A resilient threat that is almost guaranteed to steal 1/10 of someone's life. This card gets really bonkers when Cloudstone Curio and Rooftop Storm allow this zombie to effectively one-shot everyone if he has a blinking buddy.

  • Phyrexian Ghoul: The second creature-based infinite sacrifice outlet in the deck is from my all-time favorite faction from MTG lore. Unlike Carrion Feeder the Ghoul can block incoming threats and his buff scales more but is not permanent.

  • Plague Belcher: A global Blood Artist effect is incredibly broken in an infinite sacrifice deck with Gravecrawler and it's ilk. Having a big body that can block is great as well. The drawback is negligible considering Gravecrawler or a token can tank the hit.

  • Diregraf Captain: A zombie lord with a Blood Artist effect seems pretty broken to me. With the sheer amount of ways for this deck to go infinite, this card becomes incredibly strong and the Anthem taped onto its death-touching body just sweetens the deal.

  • Death Baron: One of the strongest Zombie Lords, The Death Barron gives my entire army deathtouch and Glorious Anthems them as well. With the ability to generate infinite zombies and make them all instantly one-shot creatures, this card becomes quite strong. The Barron makes attacking into my horde very tough.

  • Undead Warchief: The war chief buffs my zombie horde immensely and the bump in power can mean all the difference. The fact that he makes my zombies and my commander cost even less is a welcome bonus.

  • Graveborn Muse: A shambling Phyrexian Arena that scales with the amount of zombies I currently have is as broken as it sounds. Yes it'll hurt in the short term but the payoff should be very sweet. If I end up having infinite zombies I can always sacrifice her before she becomes deadly.

  • Sidisi, Undead Vizier: This snake-lady is very powerful. Mostly seen as the commander of degenerate mono combo decks, Sidisi, Undead Vizier is a Diabolic Intent on a tough, death-touching body. She can exploit herself in a pinch if the need arises.

  • Noxious Ghoul: Turns your magic game into a zombie only event when properly abused. He turns even the most indestructible of threats (I'm looking at you Sigarda, Host of Herons and Avacyn, Angel of Hope) into piles of jelly. Abuse with any Zombiestorm for the ultimate effect.

  • Gray Merchant of Asphodel: A walking Exsanguinate is nice to have around and gets utterly degenerate when Cloudstone Curio and Rooftop Storm gets thrown into the mix. Getting up high devotion in this deck isn't hard so he hits like a truck.

  • Havengul Lich: Having the power to Reanimate any creature from any graveyard and get it's activated abilities is absolutely glorious. Can combo with Rooftop Storm to cheaply bring back the entire zombie horde.

  • Grimgrin, Corpse-Born: The commander of this deck is absolutely insane when used to his full potential. With infinite sacrifice combos and cards like Faces of the Past his "drawback" is completely negligible.

  • Mikaeus, the Unhallowed: The most expensive creature in the deck but one of the most powerful reanimation engines in the game. Goes infinite with the new Putrid Goblin to form a important back-up combo if Rooftop Storm gets removed.

Artifacts


  • Mana Crypt: A faster Sol Ring which lets me flip coins all game. Sounds like a win-win in my opinion.

  • Sol Ring: One colorless mana for a 2 turn accelerator is a deal that's too good to pass up. Since a lot of the cards in this deck have colorless mana requirements this can make a huge impact in the early game.

  • Skullclamp: Absolutely degenerate in this deck considering how much death is going on. When you can stack this on zombie token fodder or other sacrifices it all gets out of hand very quickly, literally.

  • Expedition Map: A card that can be played on turn 1 and can fetch up cards like Cabal Coffers or Unholy Grotto.

  • Arcane Signet: Golden Standard EDH mana rock that helps the deck get where it needs to go. Nothing super exciting here just a solid card.

  • Dimir Signet: One of the color fixing mana rocks in the deck. This one requires one colorless mana to get going but can do wonders later on or if I'm struggling to find blue.

  • Talisman of Dominance: This is the second one and instead of costing an initial colorless mana, the Talisman of Dominance takes life. Something black mages are perfectly comfortable with.

  • Ashnod's Altar: Imagine a world of possibilities, a space filled with billions of Sol Rings! For the measly cost of a creature, this Altar can combo people into oblivion.

  • Phyrexian Altar: Similar to Ashnod's Altar but allows for infinite colored mana. Immediately combos with Gravecrawler and Bitter Ordeal to end the game.

  • Cloudstone Curio: This combined with Rooftop Storm allows me to blink any two creatures in my deck for free, a degenerate tool when abused with threats like a Diregraf Colossus or the Gray Merchant of Asphodel.

  • Crucible of Worlds: Combos with fetchlands but can help bring back important lands like Strip Mine over and over again. Good insurance against land destruction overall.

  • Cauldron of Souls: A huge combo piece in this deck that breaks Butcher Ghoul, Geralf's Messenger, and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed.

Instants


  • Vampiric Tutor: Searches for any card in the deck at the cost of 1 life is a fantastic trade, even if I have to draw it first.

  • Entomb: Search for Gravecrawler and put it directly into your hand!

  • Cyclonic Rift: A "Vindicate" for 2 mana and a "Upheaval" for 7 is good enough utility for me.

  • Liliana's Triumph: An instant speed Innocent Blood is pretty sweet even if the secondary effect is irrelevant in this deck.

  • Lim-Dul's Vault: A utterly insane dig spell that can help you find those perfect 5 cards to complete your mad scientist's laboratory.

  • Force of Despair: An instant speed one-sided Damnation is always welcome.

  • Blue Sun's Zenith: A re-useable Draw Bomb that pairs quite well with infinite mana to dig through this deck or mill out an opponent who's tapped out.

Sorceries


  • Innocent Blood: A one mana global removal spell that goes past indestructible and hexproof. Very thematic with the deck and a multiplayer black staple.

  • Reanimate: The cheapest reanimation spell in the game that hits all graveyards. Very good at bringing back a vital combo piece or stealing opponents goodies.

  • Demonic Tutor: Two mana for any card in my deck is a solid deal. The art is so old school and it is the best tutor in the game by far in my opinion.

  • Diabolic Intent: Similar to Demonic Tutor in that it looks for anything but requires a sacrifice as tribute. That is not a big issue in a zombie deck.

  • Grim Tutor: Find any card for some life and its faster than Diabolic Tutor which is a requirement in competitive settings.

  • Mnemonic Betrayal: There's no world where infinite mana paired with a scaling Yawgmoth's Will for each opponent is remotely fair. Speaking of which...

  • Yawgmoth's Will: Probably the best reanimation spell in the entire game considering it hits everything in my graveyard. One of my all-time favorite cards for the art and the effect.

  • Toxic Deluge: I think having a way to turn Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Sigarda, Host of Herons into rotting piles of jelly is a must-have. It's important to stop threats that would otherwise hose me.

  • Damnation: Another one of my all-time favorite cards. Black Mages Wrath of God is so much cooler and means I don't have to rely on white for similar effects.

  • Braingeyser: BRRRRAAAAAIIINNNSSSSS......

  • Exsanguinate: One of the best X spells in all of MTG, this card just butchers people if left un-countered. It's power scales in multiplayer drastically but it is still solid in duels.

Enchantments


  • Mystic Remora: A very powerful card later in the game rather than earlier and most people wont pay a 4 mana tax even if their life depended on it.

  • Rhystic Study: Do YOU pay the tax? many don't making this one of the strongest draw engines in a multiplayer setting.

  • Necropotence: An incredibly notorious card. Necropotence can break games if left unchecked and many alternate versions of this draw effect like Yawgmoth's Bargain are completely banned.

  • Faces of the Past: One of the secret tribal techs in this deck. It's easy to untap all my creatures over and over with the amount of sacrificing i'm doing and being able to tap an entire swarm of elves just from killing a single one is downright amazing. A very powerful card in tribal formats which only blue mages have access to.

  • Grave Pact: My all time favorite magic card. The art just feels so black and its nice to see the Dark Ritual guy turn up now and again. Combine with Zombiestorms and sacrifice combos to make everyone rage and become Sigarda, Host of Herons players.

  • Open the Graves: While it costs additional mana, this card has the potential to be much more devastating and speedy than Endless Ranks of the Dead. A way to create infinite zombies is always welcome.

  • Rooftop Storm: The most powerful card in the deck. The ability to make every creature in the deck cost 0 is out of this world. So many cards combo with it and it makes my commander only cost the revival tax. Worth protecting at all costs from removal and important to save until it will be safe. Rooftop Storm is the namesake for the deck and an incredibly underrated combo tool.

Storm


  • Bitter Ordeal: One of the most broken finishers for sacrifice based combo decks. Landing a Gravecrawler into a Phyrexian Altar plus this end the game very quickly. Exiling decks is extra disrespectful as well.

  • Tendrils of Agony: A combo card that goes infinite with every Zombiestorm in the deck. Works similarly to Exsanguinate in that it is completely backbreaking if left unanswered.

  • Mind's Desire: Getting a Zombiestorm and vomiting the entire deck onto the table has never been easier, Most people don't mind that I don't bother to shuffle if its a majority of my deck.

Lands


  • Soul-Guide Lantern: Sometimes removing a person's graveyard is more important than abusing it over the course of the game (looking at you sultai players).

  • Deathgrip: Green gets greedy too often. I despise elves and combo elves is one of my most frequent Tribal match-ups. Persecute describes my feelings perfectly.

  • Withered Wretch: See Soul Guide Lanter. An important piece in the anti graveyard suite.

  • Blasting Station: A sacrifice outlet that can form another infinite damage combo against all opponents.

  • Praetor's Grasp: Steal the most powerful creature out of someone's deck or ruin their essential combo. A very terrifying card.

  • Sadistic Sacrament: Stops a combo player for 3 mana and reads "target player loses the game" for 10. Very strong against metas filled with cheesy combo decks relying on a few cards.

  • Contamination: Stops those OP multicolored decks and this deck has other ways to make blue mana. A very powerful magic card overall.

  • Infernal Darkness: Black has the power to simply shut off people's lands and punish people uneducated enough not to run swamps in their decks. The upkeep cost can easily be paid later on and the art is wonderfully atrocious with a kitten demon.

  • Leyline of the Void: The most powerful graveyard hate spell in the game. The fact that this does not target and is a potential 0 drop makes this disgusting.

  • Mystic Decree: Secret tribal tech against Merfolk and anything relying on flying like Angels, Dragons, and even Birds. Zombies can't fly so having a way to ground everyone is helpful.

+1 If you like Brains

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Comments

Casual

98% Competitive

Revision 69 See all

(4 years ago)

+1 Arcane Signet main
+1 Blasting Station side
+1 Butcher Ghoul main
+1 Cauldron of Souls main
+1 Contamination side
+1 Crucible of Worlds main
+1 Deathgrip side
-1 Final Parting main
+1 Grim Tutor main
+1 Infernal Darkness side
+1 Leyline of the Void side
+1 Liliana's Standard Bearer main
+1 Liliana's Triumph main
+1 Lim-Dul's Vault main
+1 Mana Crypt main
+1 Midnight Reaper main
+1 Mnemonic Betrayal main
+1 Murderous Rider main
+1 Open the Graves main
+1 Praetor's Grasp side
and 24 other change(s)
Top Ranked
Date added 8 years
Last updated 4 years
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

9 - 0 Mythic Rares

47 - 6 Rares

19 - 4 Uncommons

12 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 2.86
Tokens On an Adventure, Zombie 2/2 B, Zombie Army 0/0 B
Folders EDH, Ur zombie, Decks I Like, Commander, Commander, EDH Deck Ideas, Decks I like a LOT, EDH, EDH, Cool EDH
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