Tomb Raider (B/u Gravecrawler Combo)

[Darkenslight]

The deck revolves around the card Gravecrawler and its interactions with Phyrexian Altar to generate infinite "Graveyard" and "LtB" triggers.

The loops is as follows:

Sacrifice Gravecrawler to Phyrexian Altar to Generate one Black mana with a Zombie in play;
Cast Gravecwaler from your Graveyard;
Repeat ad infinitum until your opponent dies.

The best creatures to combine this with are Diregraf Captain, Vengeful Dead infinite lifeloss) and Extractor Demon (infinite mill).

Here is a starting point for a possible Decklist:

Lands (22):

4 Swamp
3 Island
4 USea
4 Polluted Delta
2 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
2 Unholy Grotto

Combo (14):

4 Gravecrawler
4 Phyrexian Altar
4 Diregraf Captain
2 Extractor Demon

Other Dudes (12):

4 Carrion Feeder
4 Drowned
4 Withered Wretch

Other Stuff (12):

4 Diabolic Intent
4 Entomb
4 Chain of Vapor

I'm figuring that some of the card choices are suboptimal (for example, that Drowned probably looks bizarre). Here's the reasoning for some of the card choices:

Entomb: is there to put Gravecrawler/Extractor Demon in the bin.

Diabolic Intent: for putting Gravecrawler in the bin and fetching out the piece that you need to assemble the combo of choice

Extractor Demon: in case the opponent has a method of nullifying the lifeloss and for added versatility.

Wasteland: I know it's a tempo loss ofr us, but it helps deal with problematic lands (like Inkmoth Nexus, for example)

An initial sideboard would probably look something like:

4 Hurkyl's Recall - for bouncing pesky Cages and Cheeky Chalices
4 Stifle - to stop crazy Exile shenanigans from Crypts and Relics
3 Echoing Truth - anti-Bridge tech
4 meta slot

Thoughts and critiques are, as always, appreciated.

[Mr. Safety]

The casual junkie in me is screaming Bitter Ordeal, alas, a story for another time...

I feel that Mutavault should get some playtest time. It allows you to control a zombie for Gravecrawler to return from the yard without taking up an precious slot space. You just add :1: to the required cost of returning Gravecrawler. With Diregraf Captain it swings for 3 and it provides a little resilience to wipers. Firespout my board so I don't have a zombie for Gravecrawler? Ok, tap Mutavault to activate, tap swamp to get Gravecrawler back.

What is really sexy about this setup is the aggro alternative win. Withered Wretch is great tech right now (considering Snapcaster Mage is so prevalent) and Diregraf Captain allows for an aggressive mid-game if you don't draw into Phyrexian Altar or the Entomb/Extractor Demon combo.

I also think Intuition could provide some incredible consistency as well. Bin Extractor Demons/Gravecrawlers and you have your combo set up with only two cards needed: Intuition and Phyrexian Altar. I like it better than Drowned.

[neoryujin]

The casual junkie in me is screaming Bitter Ordeal, alas, a story for another time...


Door of Destinies (Big, Biiiig B.F.M. (Big Furry Monster)), Bridge from Below (infinite zombies), Deathgreeter (infinite life), Erayo, Soratami Ascendant (just to annoy them :), Brain Freeze (deck them), any storm spell, ... you name it. I think the more serious problem of this deck is not the kill card after the combo is going, but rather how to assemble the combo faster, before they outrun us.

Or we could increase the number of the combo cards to make it more frequently to happen (depending solely on Phyrexian Altar & Gravecrawler is a little bit risky, I think. Alternative to Phyrexian Altar would be Carnival of Souls+Carrion Feeder, though the storm count is limited to how many lives you are willing to pay. EDIT: Phyrexian Unlife stops you from bleeding to death, but that's another story .... Don't know about alternative to Gravecrawler, though)




I feel that Mutavault should get some playtest time. It allows you to control a zombie for Gravecrawler to return from the yard without taking up an precious slot space. You just add :1: to the required cost of returning Gravecrawler. With Diregraf Captain it swings for 3 and it provides a little resilience to wipers. Firespout my board so I don't have a zombie for Gravecrawler? Ok, tap Mutavault to activate, tap swamp to get Gravecrawler back. Agreed. Mutavault in (if you have the space for colorless land).




What is really sexy about this setup is the aggro alternative win. Withered Wretch is great tech right now (considering Snapcaster Mage is so prevalent) and Diregraf Captain allows for an aggressive mid-game if you don't draw into Phyrexian Altar or the Entomb/Extractor Demon combo.
Khabal Ghoul? (aggro-combos with Carrion Feeder+Gravecrawler) Liliana of the Veil? (discarding Gravecrawler & Bridge from Below, turning their attention to Liliana instead of to the combo)

Speaking of Withered Wretch, I just realized another serious problem of this deck, gravehate. ("Ach, Hans, run! It's the ...Grafdigger's Cage!")

So combo / grave protection is probably needed (Force of Will?)


I also think Intuition could provide some incredible consistency as well. Bin Extractor Demons/Gravecrawlers and you have your combo set up with only two cards needed: Intuition and Phyrexian Altar. I like it better than Drowned.That's the way to do it. Intuition (This could be Gravecrawler Nr. 5-8), Careful Study (draw two, discard Gravecrawler, Bridge from Below, which I found to be better than the Extractor Demon, since you only need to discard it, no other mana requirements. And it fits with the zombie theme. Tease them to Wrath of God your 100,000,000 zombies with Diregraf Captain in play :)

EDIT: instead of Entomb, perhaps I'd rather go for Cabal Therapy (see combo / grave protection above), again discarding your own Bridge from Below, or saccing your Gravecrawler to flashback the Therapy.

[from Cairo]

I agree with the ideas of Mutavault, and Cabal Therapy as well.

I guess it depends on how you want to build the deck, if you're mostly going for the combo, then I think the "Other dudes" and "Other stuff" sections can be revised considerably to make the combo more reliable to find and easier to protect. IE Adding Brainstorm and Force of Will, etc.

If you're going for more of an agro approach with an alt "oops I win" type thing, then I'd probably drop Entomb, Drowned, Extractor Demon and Diabolic Intent for better Zombie creatures- Diregraf Ghoul, maybe another lord, some removal, idk.

[rufus]

Right off the bat, there's the issue that you're playing a 3-card combo, which isn't so great. If you can figure out a way to run it off a single multi-card tutor like Intution,Buried Alive or even Gifts Ungiven you can make the concept a lot strong - even if you've got to address graveyard hate.

For example, something like...
Phyrexian Altar+Buried Alive->Gravecrawler,Fatestitcher,Extractor Demon

If you play with a discard outlet like Cabal Therapy or Zombie Infestation (both have some synergy with Gravecrawler), then Intuition piles may also be viable.

I think that as a pure combo, it's going to have fundamental problems outperforming something like Necrotic Ooze which can go off more easily - something to consider if you're trying to make this into a viable competitive deck...

With that in mind, I'd think the deck either needs a fast aggro plan as a primary threat to keep the opponent busy, or a strong disruption suite to slow them down...

With the list you have, the only compelling blue card is Diregraf Captain. Considering there are win conditions available in black, there are plenty of good blue cards, but I'm not sure that he, by himself, justifies the splash.

[Dark Ritual]

Interesting idea to be sure. Here's the decklist I just put together in a few minutes from some ideas I had and others on this thread have.

Lands 20
4 Underground Sea
3 Swamp
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
3 Verdant Catacombs
4 Mutavault

Combo Pieces 14
4 Gravecrawler
4 Phyrexian Altar
4 Diregraf Captain
2 Extractor Demon

Search 16
4 Brainstorm
4 Careful Study
3 Buried Alive
4 Diabolic Intent

Zombies 8
4 Carrion Feeder
3 Undead Gladiator

Protection 4
4 Thoughtseize

For SB options, against surgical/extirpate you could run 4 ground seal since they can't be targeted then. You could board more duress effects if you're afraid of control. Overall good luck with the deck though.

[Darkenslight]

All Good ideas, thanks. See, I wasn't sure if the Diregraf was better than Vengeful Dead for this deck, and whether splashing Blue was worth it for Cage-hate. I think it is, but an alt decklist is Mono-B Zombies with a combo finish, replacing the Captains with Vengeful dead, the Chains with Shepherd of Rot and the other Blue cards with tiny Lili and a minor discard package: we can also replace the Islands with Mutavault and possibly add some of the Black dig, like Night's Whisper.

[Mr. Safety]

Black dig? Maybe Dark Confidant can fill that spot...the curve is quite low. I don't see how it would be a 'dig' upgrade over the synergistic Diabolic Intent that was in the original list. Honestly, Bob is pretty hot for a deck like this. There is some pretty serious potential for the deck being a decent aggro list. Bob would make it that much more dangerous.

I think if you replace the blue then options like Innocent Blood, Duress, Inquisition of Kozilek, Hymn to Tourach, and Thoughtseize are all stronger than Night's Whisper. I don't see the replacement of blue though...Diregraf Captain is strong and allows for Intuition, Brainstorm, Careful Study, and even some light permission for protection in the form of Flusterstorm or Spell Pierce

[Mr. Safety]

For example, something like...
Phyrexian Altar+Buried Alive->Gravecrawler,Fatestitcher,Extractor Demon

Just curious what Fatestitcher does for this package...just a cheap zombie by getting it into play for :u: to feed the combo(along with some disruption that might come in handy)?

[rufus]

Just curious what Fatestitcher does for this package...just a cheap zombie by getting it into play for :u: to feed the combo(along with some disruption that might come in handy)?

Often it's net free since you can use it to untap a land once you get it into play and get the mana back. (In a pinch it can also tap a Trinisphere).

[dahcmai]

Better stick in a couple Academy ruins. Anyone with an idea of what's going on will destroy or counter the Vault in a heartbeat. It's on color anyway.

[neoryujin]

Better stick in a couple Academy ruins. Anyone with an idea of what's going on will destroy or counter the Vault in a heartbeat. It's on color anyway.

This. It also allows you to dump Phyrexian Arena to your graveyard through Intuition. As a side note to Intuition: Opposed to Buried Alive, Intuition can fetch non-creature spells as well (just choose 3 Phyrexian Arena if you really need it...), or provide some sort of chaff for gravehate (choose 3 Gravecrawlers, you would have a spare one on your hand, even if they remove your graveyard).

EDIT: Would Snapcaster Mage be of any help? I mean if you're playing Brainstorm, Careful Study & Diabolic Intent (Tiago also provides a sac bullet for Diabolic Intent). On second thought, naah, probably not enough instant / sorcery. (in which case we'd soon need the inevitables like Dismember or Tragic Slip, etc. ...)

Also agreed with Dark Confidant. It could also push the tier level of this deck. On the other hand, if you dismiss blue completely and go Innocent Blood, Hymn to Tourach, Thoughtseize & co., that would be another deck ("Undying Suicide Black"? Throw in a couple of Diregraf Ghoul, Bloodghast, Geralf's Messenger, Bob, Sinkhole, Umezawa's Jitte (this with Mutavault + Gravecrawler would perhaps be as terrifying as an Undying Grim Lavamancer...) or Sword of A & B, ... what the heck, might as well bring Stoneforge Mystic to join the crew)

Another direction to consider, hmmm....

[Mr. Safety]

Often it's net free since you can use it to untap a land once you get it into play and get the mana back. (In a pinch it can also tap a Trinisphere).

Wow...forgot it could untap MY lands, lol. Free zombie is good, lol. It's quite elegant, truthfully.

[rufus]

Between Svogthos, the Restless Tomb and Mutavault I wonder how far a deck could get with a zombie/dredge approach. There's a decent variety of stuff out there that can fit...
[edited for being OT]

[Darkenslight]

Wwo, I've been gone two days, and I see a lot ogf interesting ideas! Great work folks.

Looking at it, I suspect that a Mystic package would make the deck somewhat less synergistic, but it's worth a look. Svogthos could get rather hilarious, and the green splash provides us with some anti-Blue permission in Guttural Response and Autumn's Veil.

Blue offers us the "best" nonblack creature for the deck in the Diregraf Captain, which makes the combo assemblable by Turn 4, as well as Alter protection.

Monoblack offers us Sol-lands to turn out the combo faster, as well as Thorn of Amethyst for a more Prison-like variant, especially iff you can get a CRucible in there, but that's also less synergistic, I suspect.

All ideas are worth testing.

EDIT:

Right, got two or three lists going, each taking it in a different direction: B/W Equip, B/u Captain and MBG

MBG involves:

Gravecrawler
Phyrexian Altar
Diregraf Ghoul
Vengeful Dead
Shepherd of Rot
Cabal Therapy
Duress
Dark Confidant
Grave Pact

B/W Equip:

Tidehollow Sculler
Stoneforge Mystic
Gravecrawler
Vengeful Dead
Kor Duelist
Paradise Mantle
Phyrexian Altar
Equip toolbox

B/u:

Gravecrawler package (GC, Altar, Diregraf)
Duress
Cabal Therapy
Extirpate
Brainstorm
Liliana
Force
Preordain
Chain of Vapor

Each with manabases as appropriate.

[neoryujin]

MBG involves:

Gravecrawler
Phyrexian Altar
Diregraf Ghoul
Vengeful Dead
Shepherd of Rot
Cabal Therapy
Duress
Dark Confidant
Grave Pact


I'm not sure know about Vengeful Dead, 4 mana sounds too slow in an mono black aggro deck. The same goes to Grave Pact (unless you're able to assemble some sort of devastating combo with Geralf's Messenger + Hex Parasite + Phyrexian Altar or something, which sounds more like a Commander deck).

And it seems that Khabal Ghoul is still being understimated as a tech in this deck. Imagine this:
1st turn:
You: Gravecrawler
Opp: some creature
2nd turn:
You: Innocent Blood. Both Gravecrawler & opp's creature are sacrificed. Cast Khabal Ghoul, it turns to 3/3 end of turn.
Opp: Goyf or something.
3rd turn:
You: options:
a) cast Gravecrawler from the graveyard, cast Carrion Feeder, and sac Gravecrawler to Carrion Feeder if you need to cast Tragic Slip or something, attack with the 3/3 Khabal Ghoul, eot you have a 4/4 Khabal Ghoul, 2/2 Carrion Feeder, with a potential to make them at least 7/7 (eot) and 5/5 in your next turn.
b) cast Gravecrawler from the graveyard, cast another Innocent Blood, saccing Gravecrawler & opp's Goyf, attack with the 3/3 Khabal Ghoul, eot it turns to 5/5.
c) cast Liliana of the Veil, use it's second ability to make your opp sac his/her creature, attack with the 3/3 Khabal Ghoul, eot it turns to 4/4 (and you have Liliana, with a Gravecrawler backup in your graveyard).

... and so on ...

EDIT:
d) cast Fleshbag Marauder or Gatekeeper of Malakir ...
e) cast Gravecrawler from the graveyard, cast Smallpox ...



B/W Equip:

Tidehollow Sculler
Stoneforge Mystic
Gravecrawler
Vengeful Dead
Kor Duelist
Paradise Mantle
Phyrexian Altar
Equip toolbox
No comments to this yet, other than there's little to abuse here other than the interaction of Gravecrawler + Umezawa's Jitte. Even Phyrexian Altar + Gravecrawler doesn't seem to do much here. If splashing white doesn't bring any plus value, then perhaps putting an Umezawa's Jitte in the other decks (without splashing white) would be more considerable. That way, it would be just an alternative win condition, but it might be just enough (since you have the possibility to search for any card with Diabolic Intent).




B/u:

Gravecrawler package (GC, Altar, Diregraf)
Duress
Cabal Therapy
Extirpate
Brainstorm
Liliana
Force
Preordain
Chain of Vapor

Each with manabases as appropriate.Personally, should I choose blue as a splash color, I would take the draw & discard direction, due to card advantage in the form of Gravecrawler, Bridge from Below (infinite zombies, harder to remove with Diregraf Captain), therefore Careful Study and / or Intuition. To maximize card advantage, Dark Confidant would be in there too (and Spell Pierce instead Force of Will, etc.).

Combo protection (counter spells), some removals (Darkblast?), Mutavault & Academy Ruins (to bring back countered Phyrexian Altar or Umezawa's Jitte) would round it up as a midrange / combo zombie deck. It would have the most options & different win conditions from my point of view.

Interaction involving Phyrexian Tower & Gravecrawler might also be considered, to accelerate mana to make the combo goes faster.

Just my two cents.

[Climax]

Take a close look at Khabal Ghoul. Closer..... Closer.....
Can you see it now?
Yepp: He costs 2B.

So your scenario doesnt work as you'd like

[neoryujin]

Take a close look at Khabal Ghoul. Closer..... Closer.....
Yepp: Can you see it nowe? He costs 2B.

So your sceanrio doesnt work as you'd like

Hahaha, old cards. Thanks for the tip.