Vigor Mortis

[Imiak]

To begin with, the card Vigor Mortis is not included in the deck. It's not a Legacy playable card, don't worry. However, the phrase and the card itself is very descriptive for the deck in a way.

Vigor Mortis (lat.) could be translated as "The liveliness of death" and as you'll notice: the dead won't just stay put!

To begin with, here's the current list:

Vigor Mortis (v. 0.9, 2018) main deck

7 [black fetches]
2 Swamp
2 Bayou
1 Badlands
1 Scrubland
1 Cabal Pit
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Undiscovered Paradise
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Wasteland

4 Putrid Imp
4 Carrion Feeder
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Bloodghast
2 Gravecrawler
2 Cryptbreaker
1 Liliana, Heretical Healer
1 Scourge of Nel Toth
4 Entomb
2 Bridge from Below
3 Cabal Therapy
2 Collective Brutality
2 Smallpox
2 Life from the Loam
1 Raven's Crime
1 Lingering Souls

And as can be seen, the deck (like the card Vigor Mortis) is heavy black, and doesn't necessarily need anything else to do it's thing. However, access to green gives access to some interesting maneuvers in the form of loaming and DrS activations. In addition to the green splash, SB also features white and red stuff, but the only MD white/red card is the single Lingering Souls.


The Strategy and Gameplay

The deck is generally a graveyard synergistic aggro with an Entomb-toolbox, that borrows gameplay elements from Dredge & Pox. It can also switch to combo or control mode when given an opportunity (or just chosen to go for it).

One of the sweetest aspects of the deck is that it's freaking tricky & surprising. It can suddenly go nuts after an innocent-looking one-drop by raving all around with Putrid Imps, Carrion Feeders, Bloodghasts, Entombs, Bridges from Below, Cabal Therapies and so on. Turn 2 6/6 flyer with a few 2/2 zombie companions is something to look for. The deck can also aim for a grindier game by therapying, wastelanding (with loam recursion) and smallpoxing the opponent's resources. Your opponent won't be prepared for all that's happening and probably even you'll miss lot of edges yourself that you just didn't think of.

Even though being generally a graveyard deck and really hating stuff like Leyline of the Voids, Vigor Mortis isn't as greatly impaired with gy-hosers as decks like Dredge or Reanimator-variants. We can just start dropping cheap threats and disrupt the opponent's gameplay while waiting a solution to the hoser and maybe casually win games while doing it.

Let's have a look of the current version of my sideboard.


Vigor Mortis (v. 0.9, 2018) sideboard

solutions to gy hosers & other annoying permanents

1 Abrupt Decay
1 Ancient Grudge (entombable!)
1 Ray of Revelation (entombable!)
2 Wear // Tear

hand disruption

1 Cabal Therapy

creature hate

1 Grave Pact
1 Minister of Pain (small)
1 Darkblast (small) (entombable!)
1 Vengeful Pharaoh (big) (entombable!)

graveyard hate

4 Leyline of the Void (also sticks BfB on the graveyard 8) )

lockdown against control/midrange

1 Contamination

Interesting options / maybeboard:

Liliana of the Veil
Liliana, the Last Hope
Grim Haruspex
Rotting Rats
Demon of Death's Gate
Smothering Abomination
Garza's Assassin
Plagued Rusalka
Blood Artist
Tomb of Urami
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Coffin Purge
Nether Traitor
Ground Seal
Big Game Hunter
Anger (& other Judgment Incarnations)
+ some sb cards main or some md cards on side

We shall delve later into various matchups and specific strategies.

So, how does this all smell like?

[FourDogsinaHorseSuit]

To begin with, the card Vigor Mortis

Then change the name!

[pettdan]

Looks fun and interesting, I like Bridge from Below a lot in fair decks. I write to link two threads where you may be able to find some relevant discussion, they are based on similar strategies.

Zombardment:
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...=1#post1018402

Bride of Young Frankenstein:
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...kenstein/page2

[Imiak]

Looks fun and interesting, I like Bridge from Below a lot in fair decks. I write to link two threads where you may be able to find some relevant discussion, they are based on similar strategies.

Zombardment:
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...=1#post1018402

Bride of Young Frankenstein:
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...kenstein/page2

Yes, Bridge is sooo sweet! I've always wondered why it has only found it's way to Dredge among the mainstream decks. -costing 2/2-zombies for every dying (non-token) creature on my side sounds like a bargain - even if Legacy isn't really a format of vanilla creatures. But hey, it's the black Empty the Warrens!

Thanks for the links! I was familiar with the Zombardment-concept, but this Bride is new to me. Subscribed to both threads!

[Xod]

Love the decklist!

Played zombardment and Bride in the past, have tested most of the cards already (just missing the Liliana and the Scourge).

I thing I noticed is 7 fetchlands, this is not so much if you want to deploy bloodghasts, but on the other hand, if you can activate Loam(entomb it), that can solve your problem.

Another thing this deck has trouble with, is CotV on 1. Without maindeck decays, a turn 1 (or 2) CotV on 1 can really be back breaking. Then you are solely relying on Loam, Ichorig and Bloodghast (ok with Scourge in the grave you might be able to turn it around), ok and the intent to search for it. Damn, still some possibilities

Anyways, if you are playing against a deck like this, try to refrain from a turn 1 play, if you have an entomb in your hand so at least you can respond to it. For CotV alone I would take 3 or 4 decays in the side (and an ancient grudge of course to entomb if possible)

To stop the grave hate of opponents, I would say Ground Seal, works like a charm, downside, you shut of your own DRS'es and your Loam. But I think that is a small cost to stop surgical and the other DRS (doesn't stop leyline or grafdigger's cage). It's not the best option, but it does a lot.

I will definitly test this deck, keep up the good work!

[Xod]

Ah, maybe 1 more thing, I'm not sure that wasteland is a good call.

Experience with gravecrawlers and other grave shenanigans makes this extremely mana hungry (althought the low cost of everything) just a headsup.