Bride of Young Frankenstein

[Weapon X]

Far from streamlined yet, but the result of two ideas coming together. The deck played extremely well in spite of not being tuned at all.


4 young pyromancer
4 deathrite shaman
1 bloodghast
1 grave Titan
1 elesh norn, grand cenobite
1 inferno Titan
2 stoneforge mystic

1 firebolt
1 faithless looting
3 liliana of the veil
4 entomb
4 cabal therapy
4 gitaxian probe
4 reanimate
4 lightning bolt
1 dread return
1 umezawa's jitte
1 batterskull

[Weapon X]

This is where I have the deck at now

4 deathrite shaman
4 young pyromancer
2 stoneforge mystic
1 elesh norn
1 grave Titan
1 bloodghast

4 gitaxian probe
4 cabal therapy
4 entomb
4 reanimate
4 lightning bolt
3 vindicate
1 dread return
1 umezawa's jitte
2 faithless looting *
2 liliana of the veil

4 bloodstained mire
4 badlands
3 marsh flats
1 bayou
2 scrubland
1 plateau
1 plains
1 swamp
1 mountain

Sideboard
3 leyline of sanctity
1 ancient grudge
1 Iona
1 pithing needle
1 batterskull *

I feel like I have gotten to the point where the deck is feeling tight and the "*" is a highlight of that. Looting is easily better for working on a plan where batterskull is just good. Also I listed a short board as those cards seem to be the for sure ones. It has also been through the last few games that dark confidant seems to be a wasted slot. I do still want orim's chant or silence available even as a mise.

[Weapon X]

Played this in a third tournament yesterday bringing its record to a 5th followed by two 1st place finishes. This deck continues to amaze me. Still needs a little bit of tuning.

[DemolitionColorScheme]

I've been interested in the Young Frankenstein build and this really reminds me of it. The only thing I'm wondering is; isn't adding the SFM package just a bit of extra fluff? While I absolutely love the idea behind it and think it's quite original, don't you feel it's less streamlined? Especially with no cantrips and just 2 SFMs.

The Young Frankstein build basically plays to YP's strengths; which is having loads of cheap (and free) spells and netting you value and tempo in the form of tokens (like 4 Color Delver, which I main right now). I feel, even though this version runs the Probes + Cabal Therapy package, it looks - on paper - a lot slower and has less protection vs. the YF build. You don't have Daze, no cantrips (besides Faithless Looting and Probe), no FoW or any counters; the only 'free' spell is the Probe (which is even sorcery speed). The only protection you have is the Therapies, it seems. You're also playing off of the top more with this non-Blue version.

What do you do against a resolved Rest In Peace (with a meta filled with Patriot, D&T and Miracle)? Just 4 YPs, 4 blank DRS and 2 SFM aren't going to cut it when RIP drops. ;) I noticed your complete sideboard isn't listed, so I'm genuinely curious. I feel this version might be weaker against combo decks (it lacks the speed, outside of being on the play and getting your god hand to 'go off' turn 2) and Tempo Delver strategies, throwing Spell Pierces, Flusterstorms, Dazes and FoWs at you. You're not as fast as the regular Reanimator lists and almost equally GY dependent with the inclusion of DRS.

While I really think the small SFM package is cute and interesting, I do feel it tears the deck apart a bit; seeing as you're also running a basic Plains (which is abysmal without the SFM, right?). If you really want to keep the white splash in, adding Wear // Tear in the sideboard might be a good idea, next to the Ancient Grudge you already have. However, if you drop the white splash, this would enable you to run Abrupt Decay in the mainboard even. Seeing as you're not really a tempo deck, Vindicating their land is probably less important than having an uncounterable 1-less-mana-costing catch-all in AD (which jives better with YP as well) that handles the Miracle matchup better as well. This would even give you the opportunity to include Wasteland, if you wish, giving the deck a more tempo to midrange feel. To me, right now, it looks like a midrange deck with a combo package. Which I believe is what you were going for, though (and which I like, or else I wouldn't be interested in Young Frankenstein).

If you remove the white splash:
-2 SFM
-1 Jitte (optional, since Jitte is good as a standalone tool as well, but hard to consistently run into without any real cantrips)
-3 Vindicate

This opens up 5 to 6 slots, which then can be filled with 3-4 Abrupt Decay and maybe something like Sylvan Library for some more consistency and explosiveness?
This would also open up dropping the basic Plains, since all you need is Badlands, Bayou's, a basic Swamp and maybe a basic Mountain if you feel you need it. You could even add Taiga, if you feel you need to do so. I feel it's a bit greedy to run too much basics in lists like these, though I do understand it if you're not running Wasteland.

If you want to keep the white splash, I don't see much point for Batterskull being in the sideboard, you know? It's not really a sideboard card, in my opinion.
What's also an option is, if you want to be cheeky, is have a transformational sideboard. I'm not a huge fan of those, but with so much GY hate and you running none yourself, this might open you up to transform the deck into a tempo-shell after sideboarding, removing the GY package. Just thinking out loud here.

[Weapon X]

SFM I find a bad card for the most part. It is a better enlightened tutor in this deck otherwise it just functions as a way to win without needing the reanimator plan while only taking 4 slots. Ignoring that I have played RIP in the board for this deck, equipment and guys gets there. It is also worth noting that grave Titan is castable at 6 mana and capable of winning the game with 2 swings on its own. To clarify, I'm not graveyard dependant but will use it if available.

The important thing with vindicate is that it is a catch all. Decay will not deal with everything that is killing/stopping you to the point of the uncounterable part is negligible. Staring down karn, moat, tabernacle, griselbrand, etc is where I'm coming from.

Not a tempo deck. Not even trying to be one. I would sooner label this a value deck.

[maharis]

Interesting that Stoneforge seems like the cut to you guys. I just noodled around with a version of this and she saved my butt multiple times. Especially in the face of a Deathrite Shaman, setting up a reanimation spell can be really difficult. But while they're concentrating on that, you just Stoneforge into Batterskull and win.

This was the build I tried. I felt myself really wanting more removal and less wanting to set up a token-dread return. I could see it as a BW reanimator deck using Unburial Rites with the Stoneforge package. I'll try the version with Deathrite and Vindicate and Probe, but to me that seems overly greedy.

2 Arid Mesa
3 Badlands
1 Batterskull
3 Bloodstained Mire
4 Cabal Therapy
1 Dread Return
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
4 Entomb
4 Faithless Looting
1 Grave Titan
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Lingering Souls
4 Marsh Flats
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Reanimate
3 Scrubland
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Swamp
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Thoughtseize
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Young Pyromancer

[Weapon X]

It's funny you mention unburial rites, I got to this plan from burning reanimator.

I am back to batterskull and no Lilly's main at this point. The ability to gain life seems to need to be present since it factors into one path of victory. That is one of the reasons for dread return in fact, there is no life cost there. Plus bloodghast and YP make it easy to flash back. I am starting to be curious about gerrards verdict again as the few more discard spells I want still. I'm also on the fence on plow vs path.

[maharis]

Yeah this deck definitely seems to borrow from burning reanimator, young frankenstein, and BW midrange. I really like the idea of clocking them with a batterskull while you set up an over the top play, or making it look like you're setting up reanimation when, bam, batterskull! But maybe it's too greedy overall.

[MD.Ghost]

I also tried something like this (but called it "Young Necromancer" :wink: )

Deathrite Shaman fits in better, because it is more flexible like Stoneforge G1. Deathrite improves your Combo Matchup and is huge against mana denial (tempo, d&t) - the deck itself is greedy enough with BRw(+g).

A single Jitte shoud be maindecked, because you can reanimate a dead/discarded Stoneforge from your opponent to gain some value. Young Pyromancer itself loves spells, so don't put in to many creature cards.

For Reanimate-Blowouts i like Elesh Norn (kills most legacy stuff and works well with our Token Swarms) and Sire of Insanity (reanimate Turn 2 against Combo/Controll means GG and without blue, Grisel isnt good enough, Sire can also be hardcasted).

[Weapon X]

It's not that greedy. In fact it is quite easy to play game 1 only showing red and black. I've surprised a few opponents when I reveal white game 2. That said there is also ample white mana available which seems more pertinent towards sideboard options at this point. Even the single green source is really there for the flashback of ancient grudge.

I do like how plans can change seamlessly. Even at the tournament I was at yesterday I don't think I can count the games that started on one plan only to change over the next turn. YP -> SFM -> reanimate for example ran one opponent completely out of resources because of what each play represented.

[MD.Ghost]

Old Build with some notes:

4 Bloodstained Mire
3 Badlands
2 Polluted Delta
2 Scrubland
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Swamp
2 Bayou
1 Plateau

19 Lands

4 Young Pyromancer
2 Bloodghast
4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Sire of Insanity (Anti Combo/Control Tech)
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite (GG against most Creature Decks)

12 Creatures

4 Entomb
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Lingering Souls (swarm the field with Young Pyromancer and works well with Entomb/Looting etc.)
3 Faithless Looting
4 Reanimate
3 Thoughtseize
1 Raven's Crime
1 Dread Return
1 Darkblast (D&T, Elves / Dredge also helps to get stuff into our yard)
3 Lightning Bolt (fast way to kill Deathrites, shot down walkers or players)
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Umezawa's Jitte (best equipment, works well with tokens, gain some life and loves a reanimated stoneforge from the opponent)

29 Other Spells

Sideboard
1 Ashen Rider (Show & Tell, Reanimator)
1 Ray of Revelation (RIP, CP, Sneak Attack)
2 Abrupt Decay (Flex-Hate)
2 Pithing Needle (Flex-Hate Number 2: Sensei's, Sneak Attack, Thespian Stage etc.)
1 Ancient Grudge (Equipment, Vial, LED's)
3 Surgical Extraction (Graveyard / Combo)
2 Duress (Combo/Controll)
1 Liliana of the Veil (Combo/Control or against TNN)
2 Bitterblossom (blank GY Hate, good vs Control)

The deck is under development so it has more than enough flex slots, currently i test the following changes:

Main:
-1 Bloodghast
-1 Raven's Crime
-1 Liliana
+3 Gitaxian Probe

Leads to a better Probe+Therapy or Probe+YP Plan, but also results in more lifeloss and more "maybe a good starting hand if probe draws X" situation. Without Crime (a Entomb Solution to get a fatty from hand to yard, or to abuse useless land-draws) and Liliana (good in many situations) i got some space for Probes, but i don't want drop more discard, because therapy isn't enough to stop combo decks and Thoughtseize also helps to get a fatty in our own yard.

Side:
-2 Bitterblossom
-1 Ray of Revelation
-2 Duress
+3 Stoneforge
+1 Batterskull
+1 Meekstone

Maindeck is more streamlined: Go Aggro with YP+Tokenswarm or reanimate into win, with Stoneforge as a Sidetech you can leave the reanimate Plan to blank Graveyard Hate. Bitterblossom is another option and better vs miracle (Terminus etc.), Stoneforge+Batterskull (Jitte main) can cause some problems against fair decks. Meekstone also helps vs tempo stuff (and synergizes well with our Token-Army), without the Stoneforge-Maindeck Plan, most opponents won't board into Artifact Removal G2.

[Weapon X]

I don't like sire in this deck. It doesn't go all in and keep pushing like burning reanimator. With this you want to keep your hand.

[MD.Ghost]

I don't like sire in this deck. It doesn't go all in and keep pushing like burning reanimator. With this you want to keep your hand.

Sire enables Turn 2 "GG" against some decks (Elesh covers most other decks) and this deck is crafted to win Game 1 - Without Stoneforge G1 (and clunky BSkull) you can discard your hand, Bloodghast will return, Lingering Souls can easy be flashbacked and even Young Pyromancer is a nice target for a topdecked Reanimate.

Sure against fair Decks (or decks with Swords) Sire isn't so good (besides T2 Blowouts), but as i mentioned: Elesh is the anti-creature tech and covers most other matchups (and still gets removed from swords). Without blue Counter-Magic, common targets as Grisel or Iona aren't so good here, so Sire works as a little Brother which can also be hardcasted in a long grindy game.

Afterall it is a meta-call, if you didn't fear other combo or control decks, you can skip Sire (and some Discard) for others spells, because as discussed before Stoneforge (or Gravetitan) can easly swing fair matchups in the right direction. In an open meta, this deck is also a "half-combo" deck and it shoud win against other unfair-decks, and without blue (and Grisel/Iona) you will not get the right amount of disruption. Lucky Cabal Therapy (even with Probe) isn't enough (and is easly countered with Brainstorm) to stop those decks. Young Pyromancer and/or Stoneforge are way to slow, so you need enough disruption and/or an Game-Ending Reanimate Target: Sire of Insanity

[Weapon X]

I completely agree with that assessment of sire, I also feel that with what you have it makes a better fit. I like sire better when reanimation is the main plan, like in burning reanimator. When it is not reliably turn one I think it loses value.

[Weapon X]

Well I think I've decided I need access to plow or path in my sideboard. I think path may win it but I think it actually comes down to my own need for life gain as the deck is able to generate a fast clock. Sideboard otherwise still needs tweaking but the main is starting to seem 100% done. Hopefully I'll face some new matchups and know sooner then later.


Actually as a side question, Iona vs sire, which one and why?

[Weapon X]

Another first place win. Sideboard is looking like this now:
3 dark confidant
3 lightning helix
1 Iona
1 inferno titan
1 ancient grudge
2 swords to plowshares
2 leyline of sanctity
1 rest in peace
1 marsh casualties

[Weapon X]

Well I suppose it's official, leylines on the chopping block. I feel like in the end I only wanted them against storm and glass cannon decks and I feel that space can be better utilized. Looks like I may have been right in the beginning, enlightened tutor tool box activate. I think making it a little more deadguy ale like post board is the plan.

[Weapon X]

As of sept 2014:

4 deathrite shaman
4 young pyromancer
2 stoneforge mystic
1 elesh norn
1 grave Titan
1 bloodghast

4 gitaxian probe
4 cabal therapy
4 entomb
4 reanimate
4 lightning bolt
3 vindicate
1 dread return
1 umezawa's jitte
1 batterskull
3 faithless looting


4 bloodstained mire
4 badlands
3 marsh flats
1 bayou
2 scrubland
1 plateau
1 plains
1 swamp
1 mountain

Sideboard
3 dark confidant
3 pack rat
3 lightning helix
2 swords to plowshares
1 marsh casualties ( zealous persecution)
1 ancient grudge
1 Iona, shield of emeria
1 surgical extraction

While I did like the enlightened tutor plan, this dudes/spells plan seems better. Also pack rat is a house. Playing this in the tournament today also reminded me that I can play off my deck well which does make a case for sire over Iona. Also of note is the zealous/marsh slot. I think I still prefer marsh for the potential to kill 2 toughness creatures. Persecution is good but it almost feels like its win more.

The point of contention again seems to be the desire for a 19th land again. While I played my round 4 game on 1 land and a DRS quite successfully, I feel like the 19th land would have helped. It's awkward since there is a low curve present and getting flooded is awful, but mana screw is much worse. It may be something I will have to look into again. The current thought is an undiscovered paradise for some added bloodghast triggers and mana fixing.

[EnderKR]

How's the testing been going? Any updates? This list looks really interesting to me and seems to be putting up some promising results.

[Weapon X]

I actually I have been forgetting to post some results.

I think it's gotton to a point where the choice to play enlightened tutor is the issue the affects the board. While surgical extraction has performed well, I actually miss rip. By not playing rip I am able to keep very minimal cards of the reanimation plan that are good on their own. While I had done that as well with rip, I do like the dudes plan more game 2, especially if they have seen the broken half of the deck. So that kind of highlights one point that is running through my mind.

Pack rat is a house in this deck. It may even be worth fitting some number in the main

[owerbart]

Did anyone saw the list of Alex Bridges in SCGIndy? Any updated list? I'm looking forward to build this

[wolftree]

Any chance the delve creatures from FRF might be useful for providing an alternate beatdown plan? I've been testing a bit and turn 2 Gurmag Angler/Tasigur is pretty feasible with DRS and Faithless Looting in the deck.

[Weapon X]

Given the choice I'd lean towards zombie fish but it doesn't feel needed. I might sooner go to tombstalker but it still doesn't feel needed.

[Redkid43]

Not too familiar with the deck's philosophy, but I think this deck doesn't want Tas or Angler.

For those asking, Alex's list:


Creatures [13]
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
3 Bloodghast
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Young Pyromancer

Instants [9]
1 Abrupt Decay
4 Entomb
4 Lightning Bolt

Sorceries [18]
1 Dread Return
1 Innocent Blood
2 Thoughtseize
3 Cabal Therapy
3 Lingering Souls
4 Faithless Looting
4 Reanimate


Lands [20]
1 Marsh Flats
1 Polluted Delta
2 Bayou
2 Scrubland
2 Swamp
4 Badlands
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs

1 Pithing Needle
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Merciless Executioner
2 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Wear // Tear
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Cabal Therapy


Forgoing blue gives us a more all in feel while still being quite resiliant due to our increased number of discard outlets. I would personally like to see Probe+Therapy because that combo is sweet and adding YP in the mix has been proven to be potent. I personally like Dread Return here, as it's basically another Reanimate for free if you Entomb with it. Bloodghast and lingering souls are quite resiliant and offer up as great fodder for Dread Return and Innocent Blood, while being major threats with an Elesh Norn in play.

I'm kinda eh about the sideboard---I would like to see another big dumb creature to side in against control like Grave Titan, Sire, Jin-Gitaxias, etc over that oddly played Grim Lavamancer. FRF's new Flesbag Maurader seems like a Show and Tell bullet, and is worth looking into.

[Weapon X]

I built bride as a hybrid deck. I liked the explosiveness of burning reanimator and the synergy within young frankenstein. The result lead me to white mainly for the stoneforge package which helps turn some of the weaker threats into must answers. The combination created a deck that can play fair and unfair and even hide full play options making it truly hard for opponents to sideboard.

All that said the RUB build is young frankenstein, this white splash build (WBR) that I created is The Bride of young Frankenstein and named as a nod to the precursor.

[Qweerios]

I made an almost identical deck yesterday when I felt like spicing up my 4c Bombardment deck ("The Expendables" in the Developmental section). The tournament went smoothly and some plays were absolutely nutty. Here's the list and how it played out:


4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Young Pyromancer
3 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Bloodghast
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

4 Entomb
4 Abrupt Decay

3 Thoughtseize
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Faithless Looting
1 Lingering Souls
1 Dread Return

1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull

4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Polluted Delta
3 Badlands
2 Scrubland
2 Bayou
1 Taiga
1 Swamp
//SB
1 Grave Titan
1 Thoughtseize
1 Coffin Purge
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Pithing Needle
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Dread of Night
1 Blood Moon
2 Choke
3 Liliana of the Veil


2-0 against BG Pox

G1 Iona on black T2 via Entomb and Reanimate
G2 Swarm with Pyromancer and Bloodghast and seal it with topdeck Entomb and Reanimate on Iona

0-2 against Lands

G1 I my opponent had T2 Marrit Lage
G2 Grave Titan on T2 got Bog'd away via Crop Rotation, Blood Moon was KGripped, and Loam dredged a Maze of Ith the turn Iona would have killed him.

2-0 against UW CounterTop

G1 I get T2 Iona in play with Bloodghast via T1 DRS, Entomb and Therapy.
G2 I get T2 Grave Titan online, he gets Plowed and tokens eat a DSphere, RiP eats my Bloodghast, my Lily gets handled by Gideon, and Batterskull + Lingering Souls grinds him out.

2-0 against Reanimator

G1 He was a bit confused when I Entombed Elesh Norn with my Pyromancer army in response to his Exhume on Iona. He also Reanimated Griselbrand to defend himself but I had an Abrupt decay to prevent the lifelink on my lethal attack.
G2 I shredded his hand and Reanimated his Elesh Norn then slammed a Lily and a DRS to seal the deal.

A few comments on my experience and card choices:

-I think I was very lucky to chain Entomb Reanimate all night
-Dread Return feels utterly useless bececause having 3 dorks to sac means I could just win with them or Entomb more Souls or Ghasts instead. I would rather play Unburial Rites or a better card in that slot
-The manabase could use a Plateau
-I like how SFM + Batterskull is another "combo" in the deck and is unaffected by GY hate but perhaps only Jitte would do the trick?
-I want a 2nd Blood Moon for lands in the SB
-Sigarda might be a better alternate reanimation target than Grave Titan. She poses a smaller threat but she won't die to StP and get stalled by Maze of Ith and PFire. Against a deck like DnT she will carry equipments like a boss. She is also much easier to hardcast with a DRS on the board than a Grave Titan

I have yet to test against Delver and Aggro decks like DnT and Elves. I can't say for Delver but I expect DnT to remain favorable and Elves to become much more "hit or miss". Combo and Burn are definitely improved and I'll have to see about Miracles.

[TLK]

I really like your list. Am I missing something, or did you forget to list Reanimate in your 60?

[Qweerios]

You are correct, I did forget to list 4 Reanimate.

[Agrippa91]

*cough* lots of settled dust here.

I've been made aware of Young Frankenstein again on reddit and I remembered that I wanted to make the deck viable again after DTT was banned (before the strategy seemed bad because RIP was already good against Grixis as it was). I feel a lot more comfortable in my deckbuilding skills and analysis, too, so I tried a new take on this old bad boy.

As I tuned this decklist I made it my main goal to be as consistant as possible since that's already a problem with Reanimator sometimes and definitely is with a build that tries to incorporate another strategy.
My first take of just playing 4 entombs, 4 reanimates and 2 fatties led to very, very awkward draws so I adjusted a bit. Here's the list for the reference:


7 Creatures
4 Young Pyromancer
1 Bloodghast
1 Grave Titan
1 Griselbrand

39 Spells
4 Brainstorm
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Entomb
4 Force of Will
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
4 Reanimate
2 Animate Dead
1 Dread Return/Intuition

14 Lands
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Badlands

Sideboard (15 Cards)
2 Spell Snare
2 Pithing Needle
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Echoing Truth
2 Pyroblast
1 Tidespout Tyrant
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Darkblast
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Ancient Grudge

I didn't want DRS because it didn't add anything to the game plan: It's neither good with the reanimator shell (you work on low mana anyways) nor does it work particularly good with YP besides the t1 drs t2 yp->therapy dreamstart. So I cut the shamans alltogether and added stuff that made both strategies more viable: More cantrips in Preordain (helps find the combo, feeds pyromancer) and 2 Animate Dead because sometimes I just couldn't afford to reanimate the fatty because my life total was already too low.
I also would learn the hard way that entombing for Ancient Grudge in response to a Chalice does nothing when you don't play green in the deck :laugh:

In the actual gameplay the deck just felt a tad too slow. preordaining and pondering helped me find the combo, but took quite some turns which gave my opponent lots of time to prepare. Worst of all I often times was already low enough in life total that I couldn't reanimate anything or was in burn range afterwards, Animate Dead wasn't just a worse Reanimate as I first thought (I don't play exhume for obvious reasons, the upside outweights the -1/0, decay isn't that much of a problem because we can discard it/have other targets/draw 7 cards anyways).
Dread Return never came up, when you have 3 creatures you're in good shape anyways most of the time and it really felt "win-more" while being just dead otherwise.

So I tuned to list to be more on the synergy-side: Every spell besides the pyromancer-probe-therapy-combo and the bolts should make the deck a better t2-t3 reanimator deck. Here's what I've come up with and am currently playing:

8 creatures:

4 young pyromancer
1 bloodghast
1 griselbrand
1 elesh norn
1 tidespout tyrant

4 enchantments:
4 animate dead

33 instants/sorceries:
4 reanimate
4 entomb
4 careful study
4 brainstorm
4 gitaxian probe
4 force of will
4 bolt
4 cabal therapy
1 intuition

15 lands:
4 bloodstained mire
4 polluted delta
2 underground sea
1 volcanic island
2 badlands
1 swamp
1 island

sideboard:
4 Echoing Truth
2 Pithing Needle
1 Darkblast
2 Spell Snare
2 Pyroblast
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Grave Titan

I cut the Dread Return for an Intuition (making it a comfortable 18 blue cards in the mainboard with plenty more in the sb) and made sure to max out on the combo by playing 4-12 ways to get stuff into the gy and 8 ways to reanimate it. Basically I cut the 8 durdly cantrips for action that puts my opponent to the test each turn.

In the sideboard I have Echoing Truth mainly because it hits Leyline, it's also very nice with therapy. Not playing decays makes me more vulnerable to counterbalance, but I'm very content with 2 Spell Snares (also against RIP, hatebears and spheres) and 2 pyroblasts (mostly vs. miracle, not sure how good it's against delver, propably only against UR).

I favored Forked Bolt over Darkblast in Grixis Delver, but given the fact that it's tutorable Darkblast is just a must-have and has served me well on the few occasions I brought it in.

Needle is there against D&T, Miracles and Lands, not sure if I should bring it in against Shardless BUG (they have DRS alongside planeswalkers, problem is the decay).

Grim Lavamancer is just mean against creature decks without STP, recurring it can be a nightmare though they can of course outrace it.

Grave Titan is the most iffy one, I think I'll keep it for now though. I just would like another threat that doesn't get bounced by Karakas, but still has a really high impact, Archetype of Endurance or Stormtide Leviathan were considerations, I stuck to the threat though that can also deal with a full board of Eldrazi or white creatures (against Miracles it's also nice because I can hardcast it).

I keep in the Pyromancers against every deck really besides loam decks really, there I just hit them with the full power of Reanimator while keeping them in check with Truths, Needles and Snares (you can still flashback therapy with bloodghast theoretically). Note that the basics not only dodge Blood Moon but also allow me to go full UB against Loam without the vulnerability to Wasteland.

At last I should mention that I made this list with a certain thinking of budget in mind: I just don't own Show&Tell, more Griselbrands, Blood Moon or Scalding Tarns and I don't want to afford more of these 50 bucks cards. I tried to tune my list in a direction though that doesn't just replace them with "budget" alternatives, but instead takes advantage of the lower curve and the fact that I can rely on my graveyard in pretty much every game (due to the vast sideboard hate). That said I can still "steal" games by just tempoing them out with Pyromancer and bolt or stripping their hand off threats with YP or bloodghast.

Powerlevel-wise I would put this deck at roughly Omniscience-level: Not the absolute best but certainly on a level where the better player wins like 80-90% of the time. That said it has the huge advantage of your opponents not knowing what the hell in going on in most games which ups your win-percentage significantly. Last but not least I just really, really enjoy playing this deck. It combines tempo, combo and control in a very unique way and, given that you know your opponent's hand most of the time, lets you play around stuff accordingly, rewarding tight play as well as knowledge of your own deck, in short the things that make Legacy great!

[Weapon X]

TL;DR

I just want to point out that I made this thread for a variant I made at the time that is in fact mardu. It runs a reanimator package, stoneforge mystic, and young pyromancer plan creating very diverse options that synergize together.

[Agrippa91]

ah ok sry, I didn't find any "Young Frankenstein" thread itself so I figured I'd post it here since that's how the moderators do it with many delver decks/miracles, etc.

I mean I can't really post it in a Reanimator thread, so should I open a new one?

[Weapon X]

Honestly I think it's fine here, it's not like you are the first to do so. It's just be aware that this is a mardu thread first with relevant grixis talk second.

The removal that white adds, plus stoneforge, is why I feel this splash is stronger then grixis. It plays a different tempo game.

[markitus]

8 creatures:
4 young pyromancer
1 bloodghast
1 griselbrand
1 elesh norn
1 tidespout tyrant

4 enchantments:
4 animate dead

33 instants/sorceries:
4 reanimate
4 entomb
4 careful study
4 brainstorm
4 gitaxian probe
4 force of will
4 bolt
4 cabal therapy
1 intuition

15 lands:
4 bloodstained mire
4 polluted delta
2 underground sea
1 volcanic island
2 badlands
1 swamp
1 island

sideboard:
4 Echoing Truth
2 Pithing Needle
1 Darkblast
2 Spell Snare
2 Pyroblast
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Grave Titan



Nice list!

Just a few comments (I have not been able to test your build yet):


I think 15 lands is too low for this deck. I would like to see one or two more.
Careful Study is not very good here, as there are only 4 cretures to discard. I would replace it with Ponder, which will help find relevant pieces (Entomb, reanimation or protection).
Perhaps Collective Brutality can also help with the self-discard, so I would try in instead of Intuition (it is also faster and helps against Shaman).
I would consider Blazing Archon in the spot of Tyrant, as this deck will reanimate a creature later than other Reanimator decks and the board state can be an issue.


Based on those comments, a list I would also like to test contains the following changes:
-1 tidespout tyrant
-2 animate dead
-4 careful study
-1 intuition
+1 Blazing Archon
+4 Ponder
+1 Collective Brutality
+2 lands