Zombies
Deck Help forum
Posted on May 11, 2012, 4:05 p.m. by iamozzy
Creatures:15
2x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born2x Laboratory Maniac2x Necrotic Ooze3x Undead Alchemist2x Armored Skaab4x Havengul Lich
Sorcery:6
2x Army of the Damned2x Moan of the Unhallowed2x Reap the Seagraf
Instant:62x Dismember4x Forbidden Alchemy
Artifacts:114x Grimoire of the Dead3x Mindcrank4x Trepanation Blade
Planeswalkers: 22x Jace, Memory Adept
Land:204x Drowned Catacomb8x Island8x Swamp
Any suggestions on how I could Improve this deck? Constructive Criticism ONLY, please.
Ohthenoises says... #3
First suggestion is use the deck builder feature of this site. Its hard to see without laying it out.
May 11, 2012 5:07 p.m.
PhyrexianAssimilator says... #5
no Elesh, the list says the total number of that type of card (Planeswalkers, in this case), then it lists the number of Jace, Memory Adept. So he runs 2.
May 11, 2012 5:14 p.m.
Zombies just to make things a Leetle bit easier.
Overall the deck seems unfocused. What do you want to be your win condition?
May 11, 2012 5:34 p.m.
NoSkillManiac says... #9
I guess you do get around it pretty well. Have you thought of Mana Leak or maybe Second Guess?
May 11, 2012 6:07 p.m.
Well I'd like it to be self-milling w/laboratory Maniac. I'd also like it to be Standard-Legal because I enjoy FNM. FNM is slowly making me a better player. I'll repost this so it's easier to make-out. All of you have my sincere apologies.
May 12, 2012 11:58 a.m.
PhyrexianAssimilator says... #11
No reason to apologize! Yes it was a bit difficult to read, but Jewrummer linked to the deck list, so it's easy to access.
As for a self-milling strategy using Laboratory Maniac... I'm not going to lie, it's a wacky deck idea. That's not a bad thing, but right off the bat I can tell you it's nothing close to what the pros are running. FNMs are usually pretty casual (you may still have a handful of competitive players that go, at my shop for example about half of the players are competitive players), but the meta-game is usually similar to more competitive events. That is, the people that are familiar with the format and experienced in Magic are going to be playing powerhouse decks such as:
W/u Humans
B/u Zombies
U/x Control
Reanimator (French Rites most likely, possibly Solar Flare)
R/G Ramp
Wolf Run Ramp
R/G Aggro
Red Deck Wins
The decks listed above are all extremely powerful and you'll probably see at least a few when you go to FNM (everyone's shop is different however, yours might have a larger amount of more casual players). My point here is that self-milling with Laboratory Maniac, while definitely fun and maniacal, is probably a bit underpowered in this meta. I mean, what are you going to use to deck yourself? Jace, Memory Adept? Okay, that's a pretty good strategy... if your opponent hasn't already won by turn 5 (which probably 3 or 4 of the decks I listed above are capable of doing) and doesn't have some kind of removal.
The problem is, I can't think of anything in standard that would provide self-milling (with Laboratory Maniac as your finisher) with the power it needs to compete with the big archetypes. However, I don't usually dabble into secondary or tertiary win conditions like that, so I may not be the best person to help.
My one piece of advice would be to remake this thread, call it Laboratory Maniac Self-Mill, and link to your deck list instead of listing out all the cards in the post. That should help you get more spot on feedback. Also make sure to mention you plan to take the deck to FNMs, that will help the commenters know that you are looking for competitive-minded advice.
PhyrexianAssimilator says... #2
What is your meta-game like? That is, do you regularly go to tournaments, and play with competitive-minded players, or is the environment you play in more casual? When making a deck-criticism thread, stating whether the list is competitive or casual will help the comments flow easier. As it is, people don't know whether to give you advice meant for a tournament player, or advice for someone who is looking to improve a deck made for fun.
I will note that the deck seems more casual. Cards like Moan of the Unhallowed
, Army of the Damned
, and Reap the Seagraf
, all token producers, coupled with a self-milling strategy using Laboratory Maniac
, Necrotic Ooze
and Armored Skaab
, makes the deck feel very unfocused. Throw in a mill the opponent strategy evident in the inclusion of Undead Alchemist
, Mindcrank
, and Trepanation Blade
and the deck really starts to get all over the place.
My recommendation, for casual or competitive play, is to pick a single focus for your deck. Definitely don't juggle two distinct win conditions. If you want to win by milling, win by milling, don't mix in damage. If you want to win by self-milling + Laboratory Maniac
and friends, go for that all the way, don't include any cards that mill the opponent. The point here is that a deck is most powerful when it has a singular focus. When you play your deck that is trying to win by damage, milling, and self-milling with Laboratory Maniac
, you will find that each of the three focuses becomes underpowered because you cannot devote enough cards to each one. It is the same concept with poison/infect decks: the best ones do not include any normal damage to players, because why would they? The goal is to get them to 10 poison counters, not reduce their life.
I hope this all seems like constructive criticism. I certainly mean for it to be. Once we know whether the deck is casual or competitive, I can provide more criticism if you would like.
May 11, 2012 5:06 p.m.