Legacy [Zombie deck] BRAIIIIINSSSS!!!!!!!

[MirrorMask]

As the title says, I m trying to build a competitive deck at lest for tribal tournaments with the hope that one day it may compete at an actual legacy tournament as well. I am waiting for your feedback so don't hesitate. Thanks :smile:
Here is the list:

Creatures

4xcarnophage
4xdiregraf ghoul
4xputrid leech
4xwretched anurid
4xlord of the undead
4xdeath baron
4xcemetery reaper
1xgempalm polluter

Spells

4xaether vial

1xcover of darkness
4xgo for the throat

Lands

4xverdant catacombs
3xmarsh flats
4xmutavault
4xwasteland
4xbayou
3xswamp

I haven't thought about a sideboard yet so I haven't written anything about it.
There are also some cards I still consider like carrion feeder, festering goblin and tidehollow sculler
What do you guys think?

[Mr. Safety]

I think Cemetery Reaper and Glissa, the Traitor would be decent playtest cards.

Flavor and fun-factor aside, you need a good reason to play Vial Tribal that isn't Gobbos or Fish. What do zombies do that goblins and merfolk don't? If you can answer that question and find the tech for it, you're on your way to a good deck.

[sillyandrew]

I tried a list pretty similar to th is a while back. it ran shepard of rot and some discard in hymn and thoughtseize. it want's very good, but it was fun.

shepard of rot becomes a pretty fast clock if you can deal a few damage to your opponent before he hits you, but like all suicide decks, there's a fair amount of risk involved.

grave defiler is worth looking into as well.

[Kich867]

For one, drop Bad Moon. It's not good, you already run a bunch of lords, there's no reason to be running that since it's much worse than a lord: recommendation, replace it with the lord mentioned above that you didn't include.

You should run more discard (at least Hymn to Tourach since it curves into lords well) and creature kill, things like Ghastly Demise or Smother.

[Esper3k]

Call to the Grave is expensive (manawise), but seems nuts in a Zombie tribal deck.

[Brushwagg]

I played a Zombie deck in a couple of tourney and it went kind of meh. Your going to want to go with the Lord plan and also proabably MD Pulse for problem stuff like Moat etc. I know this because I didn't play Pulse or Grip and lost horribly to problem enchantments.

[jhhdk]

This is probably stupid but Zombie Master may actually a decent lord despite not giving +1/+1, especially with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.

[MirrorMask]

cemetery reaper is nice. glissa,the traitor also but both have the same problems as all the zombie lords have, 3 cc which is kind of high and this is the reason I added vials to help a bit.
Well... zombies don't seem to have a role yet as a tribal like the rest. They don't have certain abilities that matter and go well together. Maybe if you run some tricky creatures might work but searching at a 3cc maximum I didn't find many.
Sure there is coffin queen, bone dancer,putred leech, tidehollow sculler ,Skullbriar, the Walking Grave (which I haven't find a way to use effectively yet) and zombie infestation
That is the point of the thread, to get some help and ideas because I think the zombie-nation should be represented like the rest.

[gkraigher]

i don't think you need aether vile in the main deck. I know that it is good and gets around a lot of decks, but if you put that in the board, and made some other adjustments I think you could have a great deck on your hands.

this deck is like a merfolk deck, instead of having counterspells, you have great removal spells and cards like hymn to tourach.

I get the reasons why you want to include green, but playing mono-color has a tremendous amount of advantages. My decklist suggestion:


4xcarnophage
4xdiregraf ghoul
4xSARCOMANCY
4xlord of the undead
4xdeath baron
4xcemetery reaper
4 WITHERED WRETCH

4 HYMN TO TOURACH
4 DARK RITUAL
4xgo for the throat

Lands

6 FETCH
4xmutavault
4xwasteland
4x swamp
2xurborg, tomb of yawgmoth


sideboard:
3 zombie master
4 aether vile

[Roman Candle]

I get the reasons why you want to include green, but playing mono-color has a tremendous amount of advantages.

Like what, exactly? There's really no reason to stay monocolored, especially when the list you posted plays fetches and is susceptible to Wasteland because of Urborg.

I'm somewhat skeptical of the lords plan with Zombies, as none of the Zombie lords are very good at all. I think that if a Legacy Zombies deck exists, its going to want to capitalize on Shepherd of Rot, since that card can do an insane amount of damage.

[Qweerios]

I took first place in a 35man tournament back in april with a Black/Red zombie deck. I played Slavering Null, Terminate, and Lightning Bolt. I remember beating Affinity, NO Bant, and i faced MUC in the finals. The caliber at that event was nothing spectacular but the deck performed well overall and could definitely compete as a tier 1.5 or tier 2 deck.

The strength of Zombies over other tribal aggro decks is their 1 drops. I think Dark Ritual along with 8-12 2/2 1drop zombies is a must. I tried playing zombies with white for Tidehollow Sculler, StP, and Vindicate but zombies aren't something I want to bring into the mid-to-late game because, again, their strength is in their 1drops and the deck just felt like a bad version of Deadguy. For that very reason, if I were to play zombies again, I would still choose a red splash for Slavering Null, Lightning Bolt, and Chain Lightning. Here is a small analysis of what I think makes a good zombie core:

1 Drops:
Sarcomancy
Diregraf Ghoul
Carnophage

These 1 drops are usually not removal-worthy and will dish out a fair amount of damage. Swarming your opponent is a great way to take advantage of Dark Rituals and Lords.

2 Drops:
Dark Confidant: Automatic 4-of, even though Bob isn't a zombie, he has to be answered and shouldn't need further explanation.
Withered Wretch: GY hate is relevant against plenty cards that can really dent our plans, notably Goyf, KotR, and Snap. Having a couple between the main and SB is never a bad move.
Wretched Anurid: A smaller Goyf that can benefit from Lord effects and Rituals. Not the best 2-drop out there but definitely something to think about for an aggressive game plan.
Stromgald Crusader: His protection from white, potential evasion, and lategame ritual abuse is worth looking into. Not something you want 4 of but great in some matchups.
Slavering Null: Aggressive disruption that benefits from Lord effects is very good even though the discard is voluntary. Complements Hymns and Thoughtseize beautifully. Even scarier with Deathtouch. If you choose a white splash, Tidehollow Sculler is better.

3 Drops:
Death Baron: +1+1 and Deathtouch makes every previously cast small zombies more threatening.
Lord of the Undead: Acts as your lord 5-8 and offers some lategame recursion when unanswered. Overall not ideal but can be very good with Gempalm Polluter in 24+ creature versions.
Shambling Remains: The biggest zombie you can get for a reasonable cost. Makes a fair in creature-light versions.
Fleshbag Marauder: A 3CMC zombie edict, not the best 3drop but can be good with recursion tools.

Anything above 3 cmc is win-more and I wouldn't consider without Aether Vial. Going for a more goblin-like strategy with Undead Warchief and Grave Defiler would be a different strategy (AKA, bad goblins).

Playing Zombies competitively without disruption spell is not possible IMO which is why I suggest the following suite:


0-4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Lightning Bolt
2-4 Chain Lightning
0-2 Terminate
4 Wasteland


If I were to play zombies today, here is what I would try:


Creatures (24)
4 Sarcomancy
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Carnophage
4 Slavering Null
4 Dark Confidant
4 Death Baron

Spells (16)
4 Dark Ritual
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Chain Lightning
2 Terminate

Lands (20)
4 Wasteland
4 Badlands
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Marsh Flats
3 Swamp
1 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Withered Wretch
1 Extirpate
4 Duress
3 Perish
2 Shattering Spree
2 Smash to Smithereens

[MirrorMask]

@Qweerios:

Nice ideas! I was thinking of some disruption as well but tried to go all critters(almost)this time.The only problem is that I don't own badlands or confidants. Well.. badlands I could find for a reasonable price I guess but lately ppl won't part with their bobs easily around here..
I do have some phyrexian arenas which of course are not at Bob's power level but will do for now.
Also .. only 4 lords? I mean you have only 2/2 critters what are they gonna do past the first 2-3 turns?

[Qweerios]

@MirrorMask

If you are building on a budget, don't substitute Bob for Arena. I play Bob because he is cheap, can beat, and generally eats removal, Arena doesn't do any of that. I suggest Wretched Anurid instead. I only play 4 Lords because there are only 4 good ones. Lord of the Undead's ability will almost never be used so he is pretty much as good as Adaptive Automaton. The deck I played is more akin to a Sligh deck than a traditional Tribal aggro deck. Right now, this zombie deck is fairly ordinary overall except when you open up with a Dark Ritual. It becomes extremely difficult for current legacy decks to overcome the pressure generated by 2-3 creatures, or 1 creature + Hymn on T1 followed by additional creatures, or removal on T2. Landing a T2-3 Lord is the nail on the coffin.