Caketown (Jund Madness)

[SpatulaOfTheAges]

This project was inspired by Lotleth Troll. Madness has always been an interesting deck, but the power creature creep obsoleted Arrogant Wurm, and made Wild Mongrel much weaker in comparison. Troll gets to Knight-like levels, and regenerates and tramples to boot.

Enablers:

4 Lotleth Troll
4 Faithless Looting
3 Wild Mongrel
2 Liliana of the Veil

Shenanigans:

4 Bloodghast
4 Krovikan Horror
3 Basking Rootwalla
2 Anger
1 Big Game Hunter
1 Carrionette

Other business:

4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Abrupt Decay

The mana:

4 Bayou
2 Badlands
3 Swamp
10 assorted black fetchlands

SB ATM:

3 Surgical Extraction
2 Duress

3 Grim Lavamancer
2 Darkblast

2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Tormod's Crypt

2 Sylvan Library

So far I've found the most difficulty vs combo; both High Tide and Show and Tell. I could add REBs to the board to counteract that.

The Grim/Darkblast/Deathrite package has been awesome against any creature heavy strategies, destroying Goblins, Merfolk, and Maverick.

Cards for consideration not being played:

Innocent Blood - Works great with Bloodghast, one mana removal against RUG, BUG, or any deck not running Lingering Souls or goblins.

Gravecrawler - The problem I have with this guy is finding more zombies to make him worthwhile, and Zombie Infestation would probably have to go in to make it work reliably. And for Zombie Infestation, I think I'd need at least a couple Squee, Goblin Nabob. So it's a lot of cards to try to find room for, and I don't feel it's necessary.

Firestorm - Possible SB card.

Vengevine - Only really works with Rootwallas and Gravecrawlers and I'm only running the former.

Card Explanations:

Krovikan Horror vs. Squee - Krovikan Horror comes back less reliably than Squee, but when hardcast actually has an extremely relevant ability. The pinging damage has come up in many games, killing Thalias, SFMs, Snapcasters, SGC, planeswalkers, and players.

Big Game Hunter and Carrionette - BGH was originally a 3-of, but proved to be too situational. I think at a SCG event I might up it to 2. Carrionette has the useful ability to kill from the graveyard, giving it a helpful interaction with Krovikan Horror, as well as an ace in the hole that the opponent is likely to forget about when tapping mana.

Anger allows for some very explosive starts, and is particularly nice with Deathrite.

Liliana just does everything you want her to.

[(nameless one)]

I think Cabal Therapy would be so much better than Inquisition. Cabal Therapy is great as you can use it twice and you're creatures can be recycled, making Therapy's flashback so much better.

Also, why was Gravecrawler cut?

[Viridia]

I think Cabal Therapy would be so much better than Inquisition. Cabal Therapy is great as you can use it twice and you're creatures can be recycled, making Therapy's flashback so much better.

Also, why was Gravecrawler cut?


Gravecrawler - The problem I have with this guy is finding more zombies to make him worthwhile, and Zombie Infestation would probably have to go in to make it work reliably. And for Zombie Infestation, I think I'd need at least a couple Squee, Goblin Nabob. So it's a lot of cards to try to find room for, and I don't feel it's necessary.

Also, i like the deck, but it looks very similar to Zombardment, but enough different to have it's own discussion place :)

[Greenpoe]

Want some cool tech? Filth + Urborg = unblockable creatures. Oh, and I'm sure you've thought of it, but Bitterblossom seems good here, especially because Anger means those tokens can attack a turn sooner, and it gives plenty of bodies to sacrifice once you play the Horror.

[SpatulaOfTheAges]

I think Cabal Therapy would be so much better than Inquisition. Cabal Therapy is great as you can use it twice and you're creatures can be recycled, making Therapy's flashback so much better.

Also, why was Gravecrawler cut?

I had Therapy in originally, but found it too situational. I prefer the reliability of Inquisition.

Gravecrawler is similarly unreliable. The only other zombies are the Trolls.

Virdia - There are similar concepts, but Zombardment is more of a combo-deck, and this is an aggro-control deck.

[metamet]

This seems like one of the few decks where I want to see more Entomb. You have so much utility to take advantage of.

Then you could include Vengeful Pharaoh. Get's pretty nutty if you have a Lotleth Troll out.

[SpatulaOfTheAges]

...holy shit. Vengeful Pharaoh seems worth testing.

re: Entomb, I did actually think about putting in some Recurring Nightmare hijinks, but with only Bloodghast to truly abuse it, I dunno. What would you suggest cutting for some sort of tight Reanimator package?

[metamet]

...holy shit. Vengeful Pharaoh seems worth testing.

re: Entomb, I did actually think about putting in some Recurring Nightmare hijinks, but with only Bloodghast to truly abuse it, I dunno. What would you suggest cutting for some sort of tight Reanimator package?

Without testing, this is what I would recommend, as the Entomb package allows you to run 1-ofs very easily, such as Anger.

-1 Krovikan Horror
-1 Wild Mongrel
-1 Anger
-1 Carrionette (seems very expensive)

+3 Entomb
+1 Vengeful Pharoh

[TsumiBand]

Entomb + Vengeful Pharaoh is funny, nice.

I see your argument against Vengevine, but I'm afraid I don't understand it. You say it's only good if you're playing Rootwallas and Gravecrawlers, but it looks like your deck is absolutely playing both of those cards. In a world where there's no reason to pay 2G for Arrogant Wurm and recurring dudes from the yard is elementary, especially if you're thinking about trying Entomb I don't understand this card as not being an auto-include.

[SpatulaOfTheAges]

I'm not playing Gravecrawlers. It's something I've thought about, what would you suggest cutting?


Without testing, this is what I would recommend, as the Entomb package allows you to run 1-ofs very easily, such as Anger.

-1 Krovikan Horror
-1 Wild Mongrel
-1 Anger
-1 Carrionette (seems very expensive)

+3 Entomb
+1 Vengeful Pharoh

The second Anger and the Carrionette seem reasonable, as does the third Mongrel.

But the other problem I see with Entomb is, what do you get with it? Pharaoh and Anger are two obvious ones. But it doesn't work very well with Krovikan Horror at all. Maybe if I switched to 1 Squee and 3 Horror and then find another slot to cut.

[metamet]

But the other problem I see with Entomb is, what do you get with it? Pharaoh and Anger are two obvious ones. But it doesn't work very well with Krovikan Horror at all. Maybe if I switched to 1 Squee and 3 Horror and then find another slot to cut.

Yeah, I can see your point with that. I like Nether Spirit, but I feel like we could still do better.

If you were playing heavier on green, I'd snap suggest Loam since you have Lily already. T1 fetch, Entomb Loam, dredge loam, cast it isn't a bad start. You could also squeeze in a Waste or another utility land to compliment the Loam as well, as you could use extras to get one in your GY. Just a thought, though. I'm partial to wanting to cast Loam. :)

[gkraigher]

I think this deck is going places. I think gravecrawler is a must though and you already have 4 lotleth trolls. That's enough zombies to warrant running it. You could also include a white dual land and lingering souls.

I think krovokian horror might be better than goblin bombardment. I really like the card and had completely forgotten about it.

as far as cuts, maybe
- 1 krovokian horror
- 1 anger
- 1 carionette
- 1 big game hunter
+4 gravecrawler

[Greenpoe]

Have you thought about dropping Mongrel for something that just has more raw power (think Confidant or Goyf)? I think you could just add a Liliana (or possibly two) to ensure having a discard out (11 discard outs is plenty). Sometimes you just need to ditch you should ditch some of the amusing little interactions for cards that are just plain good on their own, and I think Confidant has some serious merit here. The more cards you draw, the more likely you'll be able to string together the combos and the engines within the deck (not to mention draw into spare lands to help do it all).

[igri_is_a_bk]

I have a few questions and suggestions. First, why not Putrid Imp over Mongrel? You said yourself that Mongrel is not good anymore. PImp starts your discarding one turn earlier (good) and turns into a flying Isamaru. Plus, it's a zombie so Gravecrawler works.

Other than that, I think you should increase the number of Liliana to three or four. She's by far the most powerful card in your list, and one worth maxing out, in my opinion.

Another question is why any Krovikan over Squee in the first place? Squee is unconditional. You'll return him to your hand every time, and that cannot be said for Krovikan.

One interaction I've wanted to see is Life from the Loam + Dryad Arbor to fuel Lotleth. Now, this may be worse than Squee, but I can't say for sure having never tried it. That's just something I would consider.

[Koby]

While I know Fauna Shaman is slow and vulnerable, if it ever gets going it's just pure value in this deck. Is there any glaring reasons for it's exclusion?

[baghdadbob]

I would suggest removing something from the sideboard for 2x pithing needles (atleast). They will be good against sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many decks and you can side them in against grave hate (which stomps you).

[thecheese]

4 Vengevine
4 Basking Rootwalla
1 Anger
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Lotleth Troll
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
1 Taiga
2 Badlands
3 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Garruk Relentless
2 Wasteland
2 Big Game Hunter
1 Dryad Arbor
2 Putrid Imp
4 Gravecrawler
4 Faithless Looting
1 Genesis
4 Entomb
1 Vengeful Pharaoh
SB: 3 Thoughtseize
SB: 4 Natural Order
SB: 1 Progenitus
SB: 3 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 3 Ingot Chewer
SB: 1 Big Game Hunter

I'm playtesting this list it has some real potential I think. Some great lead out plays are Entomb/Faithless looting into; Genesis, Vengeful Pharaoh, Gravecrawler, Anger, Vengevine. Anger is excellent for Deathrite Shaman setups. The vengevine/gravecrawler combo is obvious and boss and vengeful pharaoh helps with this. I feel this deck has great potential and am continuing to test it. Diabolic intent definitely seems like an option but atm not in there. The mana base needs some work, i'm not sold on wastelands in here, probably if I want wastelands I should lose the NO/Prog/Dryad arbor combo.

[Barook]

Entomb into Vengeful Pharaoh seems pretty awesome. Well, a bit less awesome since DRS is a thing now, but still, awesome.

The manacost might be a bit bad (you need :b::b: for Liliana anyway), but what about Rakdos Augermage?

[thecheese]

4 Vengevine
4 Basking Rootwalla
1 Anger
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 Liliana of the Veil
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Lotleth Troll
1 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Taiga
2 Badlands
3 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Garruk Relentless
3 Wasteland
1 Putrid Imp
4 Gravecrawler
4 Faithless Looting
1 Vengeful Pharaoh
2 Swamp
4 Entomb
1 Darkblast
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob

SB: 4 Thoughtseize
SB: 3 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 2 Abrupt Decay
SB: 3 Big Game Hunter
SB: 3 Rakdos Charm

Sp this is my slightly revised list, I am find it very flexible and it's ability to handle so many match-ups makes me think it has the potential to be a deck to beat, even graveyard hate I am finding doesn't shut the deck down. If anyone can recommend some match-ups you think it would be weak against I will test them and see what I come up with. The only flex card i am finding is diabolic intent, currently it is not making the cut.

[Barook]

@thecheese: Why not a single Life from the Loam as Entomb target?

Seems pretty good with all those fetchlands and Wasteland.

[thecheese]

@Barook I agree, can't think of any reason it wouldn't be worth it, added it in.