[EDH] Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord

[Davran]

Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord

Boneyard Wurm
Golgari Thug
Hermit Druid
Nether Traitor
Reassembling Skeleton
Sakura-tribe Elder
Viridian Emissary
Bone Shredder
Eternal Witness
Farhaven Elf
Glissa, the Traitor
Splinterfright
Stinkweed Imp
Wood Elves
Ashen Ghoul
Lhurgoyf
Masked Admirers
Solemn Simulacrum
Bloodgift Demon
Corpse Connoisseur
Golgari Grave-troll
Kessig Cagebreakers
Lord of Extinction
Sadistic Hypnotist
Shriekmaw
Deadwood Treefolk
Harvester of Souls
Ghoultree
Terastodon
Verdant Force

Entomb
Beast Within
Krosan Grip
Putrefy
Makeshift Mannequin

Reanimate
Demonic Tutor
Life from the Loam
Mulch
Beseech the Queen
Buried Alive
Damnation
Diabolic Tutor
Dread Return
Harmonize
Demonic Collusion
Increasing Ambition
Spider Spawning
Grim Flowering

Nihil Spellbomb
Sensei's Divining Top
Skullclamp
Sol Ring
Crucible of Worlds
Birthing Pod

Phyrexian Reclamation
Animate Dead
Fecundity
Phyrexian Arena
Diabolic Servitude
Greater Good

Bojuka Bog
Buried Ruin
Command Tower
Evolving Wilds
Gilt-leaf Palace
Golgari Rot Farm
Llanowar Wastes
Overgrown Tomb
Petrified Field
Tainted Wood
Terramorphic Expanse
Twilight Mire
Verdant Catacombs
Woodland Cemetery
13x Forest
11x Swamp

[Offler]

I already played against this kind of deck. Really impressive general.

Cards like Lord of extinction just cant hit the battlefield or its end of game. Keeping grave full, while not able to protect yourself from direct creature damage is also not very wise...

[Davran]

I already played against this kind of deck. Really impressive general.

Cards like Lord of extinction just cant hit the battlefield or its end of game. Keeping grave full, while not able to protect yourself from direct creature damage is also not very wise...

Upon further reflection, the list above is pretty much a one trick pony. Tutor for Hermit Druid, fill the graveyard, kill everyone by flinging a Lhurgoyf type creature. It is VERY weak to any form of graveyard hate, and the "plan" is telegraphed from turn 1 on.

While it gets the Johnny in me going and is no doubt very fun to play, it's pretty easy to disrupt and will likely just roll over and die before it can get in a winning position.

The idea has been rolling around in my head since Jarad was first spoiled...so I figured I'd get it down and see if the hive mind can take it anywhere.

[Offler]

Exactly the reason why i prefer Highlander over EDH. The general says too much about the strategy.

But this deck still has potential and slots for having strong creatures just for hardcast and/or reanimation. Green/black combination promises a lot of strong creatures, pumps, destroy effects and reanimation of course.

Anyways - there is no way how could Damnation or any other mass destroy make any game situation gone wrong.

Combo potential with random beatdown as secondary plan seems also possible...

[kombatkiwi]

Upon further reflection, the list above is pretty much a one trick pony. Tutor for Hermit Druid, fill the graveyard, kill everyone by flinging a Lhurgoyf type creature. It is VERY weak to any form of graveyard hate, and the "plan" is telegraphed from turn 1 on.

While it gets the Johnny in me going and is no doubt very fun to play, it's pretty easy to disrupt and will likely just roll over and die before it can get in a winning position.

The idea has been rolling around in my head since Jarad was first spoiled...so I figured I'd get it down and see if the hive mind can take it anywhere.

I think the strength of this deck is that while it is fairly easy to win the game out of nowhere as you describe, it's a fairly resilient combo as the hermit druid is easy enough to revive, and even if they do exile it or you can't find the hermit druid, the rest of the cards in the deck are still perfectly fine on their own.

One dilemma I have identified (especially since you're only playing 2 colours) is trying to minimize basic forests for Hermit Druid activations while also trying to have enough forests for Wood Elves and such.

I think if you want to make a "You play tormod's crypt? GG" deck then I think Jarad should definitely be a part of it because paying 3 mana to deal 40+ damage to all opponents is pretty absurd.

However, I think that instead of being the commander, he should be one of the 99 in a Karador deck, which has the following benefits:

-Karador offers more utility than Jarad by letting you have access to repeatable removal or card draw or whatever you need each turn
-You get sweet white cards like Unburial Rites and Karmic Guide and such
-The basic land problem isn't as much of an issue

The only downside is that you need to find Jarad in order to combo, but if you're ditching your entire deck to a Hermit Druid activation then it's right there in the graveyard and you can replay it out of the bin with Karador anyway

[AngryTroll]

I've been playing my Jarad list for a few nights and I really enjoy it. A single Relic or Bog is frustrating, but not game ending. Multiple Bogs is very frustrating.

Here's where I am, list-wise:

----General----
Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord

----Utility----
Shriekmaw
Bone Shredder
Big Game Hunter
Fleshbag Marauder
Slum Reaper
Stinkweed Imp
Sheoldred, Whispering One
Viridian Zealot
Sylvok Replica
Wickerbough Elder
Acidic Slime
Woodfall Primus
Molder Slug
Graveborn Muse

Putrefy
Krosan Grip
Beast Within
Bane of the Living
Pernicious Deed
Damnation

----Graveyard Cards----
Brawn
Filth
Genesis
Worm Harvest

----Recursion----
Golgari Thug
Pit Keeper
Eternal Witness
Deadwood Treefolk
Regrowth
Reanimate
Animate Dead
Necromancy
Makeshift Mannequin

----Spells----
Entomb
Buried Alive
Night's Whisper
Sign in Blood
Mulch
Grisly Salvage
Syphon Mind
Skeletal Scrying
Life from the Loam
Tortured Existence
Mesmeric Orb
Oversold Cemetery
Sylvan Library
Phyrexian Arena
Survival of the Fittest
Tombstone Stairwell

----Really Big Dudes----
Boneyard Wurm
Splinterfright
Terravore
Lhurgoyf
Mortivore
Revenant
Golgari Grave-Troll
Lord of Extinction
Ghoultree

----Mana Ramp/Fixing----
Diligent Farmhand
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Yavimaya Granger
Wood Elves
Farhaven Elf
Yavimaya Dryad //
Krosan Tusker
Yavimaya Elder
Hermit Druid
Avenging Druid //

----Land (36, sections separated by //)----
Verdant Catacombs
Wooded Foothills
Misty Rainforest
Windswept Heath
Bloodstained Mire
Polluted Delta
Marsh Flats //
Llanowar Wastes
Tainted Wood
Woodland Cemetery
Twilight Mire
Overgrown Tomb
Bayou
Golgari Rot Farm //
Wasteland
Dust Bowl
Volrath's Stronghold
Yavimaya Hollow
Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
Crypt of Agadeem //
Tranquil Thicket
Slippery Karst
Barren Moor
Polluted Mire //
7 Forest
4 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth


This is still 5 cards over, but Grisly Salvage and Slum Reaper aren't out yet and I'm still hunting down a few cards.

In general, are Night's Whisper and Sign in Blood worth running? I don't have many two drops, and they're good at all points in the game.

I was really sad when I finally cut the landcyclers (Twisted Abomination, Elvish Aberration, and Wirewood Guardian), but the 4 Wood Elves seemed better and there were way too many cards devoted to land.

[Davran]

I think the strength of this deck is that while it is fairly easy to win the game out of nowhere as you describe, it's a fairly resilient combo as the hermit druid is easy enough to revive, and even if they do exile it or you can't find the hermit druid, the rest of the cards in the deck are still perfectly fine on their own.

One dilemma I have identified (especially since you're only playing 2 colours) is trying to minimize basic forests for Hermit Druid activations while also trying to have enough forests for Wood Elves and such.

I think if you want to make a "You play tormod's crypt? GG" deck then I think Jarad should definitely be a part of it because paying 3 mana to deal 40+ damage to all opponents is pretty absurd.

However, I think that instead of being the commander, he should be one of the 99 in a Karador deck, which has the following benefits:

-Karador offers more utility than Jarad by letting you have access to repeatable removal or card draw or whatever you need each turn
-You get sweet white cards like Unburial Rites and Karmic Guide and such
-The basic land problem isn't as much of an issue

The only downside is that you need to find Jarad in order to combo, but if you're ditching your entire deck to a Hermit Druid activation then it's right there in the graveyard and you can replay it out of the bin with Karador anyway

The high basic count isn't so much to power up Wood Elves type effects, it's more to prevent overextending into a graveyard wipe. The only reason I'm running Wood Elves at all over something like Skyshroud Claim is because it's a creature that can be Clamped and/or simply give Jarad +1/+1 off of a dredge.

Putting Karador at the helm is an interesting idea. I worry that it places too much demand on the mana base of a deck that really just wants to flip itself into the graveyard at its earliest opportunity.


I've been playing my Jarad list for a few nights and I really enjoy it. A single Relic or Bog is frustrating, but not game ending. Multiple Bogs is very frustrating.

Here's where I am, list-wise:

This is still 5 cards over, but Grisly Salvage and Slum Reaper aren't out yet and I'm still hunting down a few cards.

In general, are Night's Whisper and Sign in Blood worth running? I don't have many two drops, and they're good at all points in the game.

I was really sad when I finally cut the landcyclers (Twisted Abomination, Elvish Aberration, and Wirewood Guardian), but the 4 Wood Elves seemed better and there were way too many cards devoted to land.

I'm not sure about Sign in Blood and Night's Whisper - on one hand, you might get some extra dredging done. On the other, they do very little to help your game plan of putting more creatures in the graveyard.

Terravore is something that I missed initially...seems pretty good in here.

As for being 5 cards over - Molder Slug seems like an easy cut. I'm also not a huge fan of Brawn or Filth since it doesn't seem like we're really looking to attack. Worm Harvest is cute, but again, there isn't really much the deck can do with a token swarm.

[AngryTroll]

I'm not sure about Sign in Blood and Night's Whisper - on one hand, you might get some extra dredging done. On the other, they do very little to help your game plan of putting more creatures in the graveyard.

Terravore is something that I missed initially...seems pretty good in here.

As for being 5 cards over - Molder Slug seems like an easy cut. I'm also not a huge fan of Brawn or Filth since it doesn't seem like we're really looking to attack. Worm Harvest is cute, but again, there isn't really much the deck can do with a token swarm.

My thought process after a few nights of playing the deck was to power up the deck's post-Relic power. The primary plan of dredging and throwing Lord of Extinction or Golgari Grave Troll at people is very strong if you aren't disrupted, but post Crypt games can be awkward as you try to rebuild. To that effect I bumped up the recursion to try and avoid leaving juicy cards in the graveyard and added Night's Whisper (etc) to keep cards flowing through my hand. I'm not sure if this is the right approach, but it seems worth trying.

Another style you could certainly explore is to go for more of an all-in dredge approach, focusing more heavily on Hermit Druid, but that build would be even weaker to graveyard removal.

[Aggro_zombies]

My thought process after a few nights of playing the deck was to power up the deck's post-Relic power. The primary plan of dredging and throwing Lord of Extinction or Golgari Grave Troll at people is very strong if you aren't disrupted, but post Crypt games can be awkward as you try to rebuild. To that effect I bumped up the recursion to try and avoid leaving juicy cards in the graveyard and added Night's Whisper (etc) to keep cards flowing through my hand. I'm not sure if this is the right approach, but it seems worth trying.
The nice thing about card drawing is that it also allows you to play a dredge-light game if you want to avoid getting hit by graveyard removal. The problem is that the All-Lhurgoyf deck can't really do something like that because of its creatures. It's part of the reason I moved away from that strategy with my BUG dredge deck years ago.

That said, Phyrexian Arena, Sylvan Library, Night's Whisper, Elvish Visionary, Wall of Roots, Bloodgift Demon, the new tap Arena, and so on let you play a pretty decent midrange control deck.


Another style you could certainly explore is to go for more of an all-in dredge approach, focusing more heavily on Hermit Druid, but that build would be even weaker to graveyard removal.
Depends on the speed. Hermit Druid combo is probably one of the best top-tier strategies in metagames not overly prepared for it.

[Offler]

Few standalone combos are quite good kill condition with Jarad.

Quillspike + Devoted druid
Umbral mantle + Elvish Aberration

or any green/black variations to reanimation or infinite token generation.

[lavafrogg]

This is a dumb question but us their a "dredge" EDH deck? This seems as good a place as any to ask/

[Ace/Homebrew]

Is their a "dredge" EDH deck?

When I have a few minutes I'll post my Mimeoplasm build. I took some inspiration from Kuma's 5-color Hermit Druid deck using Scion as the general.

You can work around some graveyard hate using Pithing Needle and Phyrexian Revoker.

Cards I did not see listed but seem good enough for consideration:
Hall of the Bandit Lord
Living Death nevermind, not great synergy with Lhurgoyfs...
Victimize
Survival of the Fittest
Bloodghast - another creature to abuse Skullclamp with