[EDH] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

[Aggro_zombies]

Commander: Sidisi, Brood Tyrant

Altar of Dementia
Mesmeric Orb
Birthing Pod

Birds of Paradise
Deathrite Shaman
Essence Warden
Gravecrawler
Viscera Seer
Fauna Shaman
Hermit Druid
Phantasmal Image
Reassembling Skeleton
Riftsweeper
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Scavenging Ooze
Zulaport Cutthroat
Cadaver Imp
Death Baron
Diregraf Captain
Eternal Witness
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Loaming Shaman
Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Reclamation Sage
Undercity Informer
Wood Elves
Clever Impersonator
Entomber Exarch
Falkenrath Noble
Glen Elendra Archmage
Solemn Simulacrum
Wickerbough Elder
Wonder
Corpse Connoisseur
Havengul Lich
Mulldrifter
Phenax, God of Deception
Prophet of Kruphix
Shriekmaw
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Brutalizer Exarch
Greenwarden of Murasa
Harvester of Souls
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
Rune-Scarred Demon
Dryad Arbor

Tortured Existence
Oversold Cemetery
Survival of the Fittest
Attrition
Pernicious Deed

Entomb
Vampiric Tutor
Intuition

Demonic Tutor
Diabolic Intent
Gaea's Blessing
Life from the Loam
Cultivate
Kodama's Reach
Toxic Deluge
Damnation
Living Death

Barren Moor
Bayou
Bazaar of Baghdad
Bojuka Bog
Breeding Pool
Command Tower
Drowned Catacombs
Dust Bowl
5 Forest
Hinterland Harbor
3 Island
Lonely Sandbar
Misty Rainforest
Opulent Palace
Overgrown Tomb
Polluted Delta
5 Swamp
Tranquil Thicket
Tropical Island
Underground Sea
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Verdant Catacombs
Volrath's Stronghold
Watery Grave
Woodland Cemetery

Yup, it's Dredge(-ish). This is adapted from my earlier attempt at a Dredge EDH deck, led by Damia (and Vorosh before that). That deck was more of a control deck that lived out of its graveyard, but its big weaknesses were that 1) it was very slow, 2) could have trouble generating and keeping board presence, and 3) Damia herself was difficult to keep in play for any length of time. Sidisi solves all three of those problems. Interestingly, her ability only triggers on zone changes, so you don't really need to keep a large graveyard; it's fine to shuffle your graveyard back in periodically, giving you some protection from graveyard hate despite being a graveyard deck.

There are two main paths to victory for this deck, hinging on many of the same cards. You can either mill yourself to amass a zombie horde and beat down, or you can use the mill cards to target other players (especially useful against control/pillowfort decks that may be difficult to attack). Occasionally these things happen all in the same turn, usually by way of Altar of Dementia into Living Death.

This deck is pretty fun. Sidisi is definitely an extremely powerful, though not Tier One, general.

[TsumiBand]

I expect my failed Skullbriar deck will morph into something a lot like this, unless I determine a great way to give it more reach (but I kind of just want to have it not be that deck anymore)

Are the lesser Delve assisters like Sultai Ascendency and Nyx Weaver just not even playable things? The latter seems like it does a lot of things the deck might want to do; it dumps cards in the bucket for upkeep Zombies and can Regrowth a card at Instant speed - maybe it's just redundant though?

[Aggro_zombies]

I thought about them. The problem with most is that they're either not creatures or they don't have great stats. The Spider, for example, would be much more interesting at two mana or as a 2/4 or maybe 3/3. As it stands, though, I don't know which three-drop it would replace (and I want it to replace a three-drop to keep my Pod curve intact).

I could maybe see putting in something like Mindshrieker, though. And I would definitely like to get Shambling Shell into the list.

EDIT: Actually, I wonder if Duskmantle Guildmage wouldn't be too bad. The mill ability is kind of pricey but a bit more palatable when it also produces a zombie, and the life loss ability is pure gas.

[Aggro_zombies]

I haven't updated this thread in a while, though I've continued to make changes to the decklist (http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/24-11-14-sidisi-dredge/).

The biggest addition has turned out to be Gravecrawler, which has been insane. It turns out that when you general makes zombies and you want to sacrifice creatures for fun and profit, Gravecrawler is just the best option for that. I've considered both Bloodghast and Bloodsoaked Champion, but I don't think either of those are anywhere near as good as Gravecrawler - Champion is closer, though, since I can get it back multiple times in the same turn.

[Davran]

I haven't updated this thread in a while, though I've continued to make changes to the decklist (http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/24-11-14-sidisi-dredge/).

The biggest addition has turned out to be Gravecrawler, which has been insane. It turns out that when you general makes zombies and you want to sacrifice creatures for fun and profit, Gravecrawler is just the best option for that. I've considered both Bloodghast and Bloodsoaked Champion, but I don't think either of those are anywhere near as good as Gravecrawler - Champion is closer, though, since I can get it back multiple times in the same turn.

Apologies if it's in your tappedout list (blocked here at work)...but what about Reassembling Skeleton? It's a Bloodsoaked Champion without the raid that can chump block. I guess you lose out on 1 point of power, but is that relevant in your sacrifice fodder?

[Aggro_zombies]

Reassembling Skeleton could be interesting. Power only matters for Altar of Dementia, and it's at a better mana cost for Pod. I could see swapping it in for Duskmantle Guildmage, which has been thoroughly underwhelming.

The recently-spoiled Zombie Sidisi seems like a pretty good upgrade for the Ghoulcaller Gisa slot. Gisa was never quite as good as I wanted her to be, but I could always use more tutors and defensive bodies (and zombies, for Gravecrawler).

I'm also interested in adding more ways to draw cards. Dig Through Time seems good because of how deep it digs, but the spell slots are very tight. I could see dropping Attrition for it, but I'd want to swap Attrition for another board control spell. Also, I want to get Rise of the Dark Realms in here somehow.

[AngryTroll]

Two thoughts: What about Opposition and Champion of Stray Souls? Both look extremely strong in here.

A wuick thought about the manabase. You're running Sakura-Tribe Elder, Wood Elves and Solemn Simulacrum; did you consider the other ramp creatures? I end up reaching for the 4 3cc creatures in a deck that either cards about colored permanents (Rith, the Awakener or the 4 3cc accelerants, Sakura Tribe Elder, and the other two sac-to-get-lands creatures in a deck that cares about creatures in the graveyard (Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord):
Farhaven Elf
Yavimaya Granger
Yavimaya Dryad
Diligent Farmhand
Dawntreader Elk?

[Aggro_zombies]

Opposition would allow me to play a stronger control game than I can currently play, which would be nice, but I think it also takes the list in a very different direction. Under those conditions I'd want more removal, more sweepers, and probably more big guys with EtB effects than what I have now. That deck would probably cut Birthing Pod (since your curve would end up really skewed towards 5cc+ monsters) and be more of a traditional reanimator build. It's probably pretty good.

In this list, though, I'd rather tap my guys to Phenax to mill myself than tap them to Opposition. I suppose I could run Prophet and do both but I don't think this deck gets tons of mileage out of Prophet.

Champion seems slow.

I've considered other ramp guys. Elk is actually the closest to making the deck because the two-mana slot has more flexibility than the three-mana slot despite the 3cc ramp guys being generally better. Elk is kinda weak, though, so I've passed on it for now. I'm holding out hope for a good 2cc ramp dork in Return to Zendikar block.

[Phoenix Ignition]

Mana Severance seems like it could be good once you've hit a time you just want to be dredging creatures.

[Aggro_zombies]

Altar of Dementia
Mesmeric Orb
Birthing Pod

Birds of Paradise
Deathrite Shaman
Essence Warden
Gravecrawler
Viscera Seer
Blood Artist
Fauna Shaman
Hermit Druid
Phantasmal Image
Reassembling Skeleton
Riftsweeper
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Scavenging Ooze
Death Baron
Eternal Witness
Grim Haruspex
Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Reclamation Sage
Undercity Informer
Wood Elves
Clever Impersonator
Entomber Exarch
Falkenrath Noble
Glen Elendra Archmage
Solemn Simulacrum
Wickerbough Elder
Wonder
Corpse Connoisseur
Havengul Lich
Mulldrifter
Phenax, God of Deception
Shriekmaw
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Sultai Soothsayer
Brutalizer Exarch
Grave Titan
Harvester of Souls
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
Rune-Scarred Demon
Dryad Arbor

Tortured Existence
Oversold Cemetery
Survival of the Fittest
Attrition
Pernicious Deed

Entomb
Vampiric Tutor
Intuition

Demonic Tutor
Diabolic Intent
Gaea's Blessing
Life from the Loam
Cultivate
Kodama's Reach
Toxic Deluge
Damnation
Living Death

Barren Moor
Bayou
Bazaar of Baghdad
Bojuka Bog
Breeding Pool
Command Tower
Drowned Catacombs
Dust Bowl
6 Forest
Hinterland Harbor
3 Island
Lonely Sandbar
Misty Rainforest
Opulent Palace
Overgrown Tomb
Polluted Delta
5 Swamp
Tranquil Thicket
Tropical Island
Underground Sea
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Verdant Catacombs
Volrath's Stronghold
Watery Grave
Woodland Cemetery

That's 97 cards right now.

Some notable things:

No Sol Ring: The local players generally agree that Sol Ring's continued legality in the format is probably one of the biggest mistakes the Rules Committee is making, so we've all been either cutting it from our decks or refusing to cast it until after turn four to prevent the sort of dumb early-game snowballing that card allows.

Creature to Non-creature Ratio: The remaining two slots must be creatures. I'm trying to maintain a high creature count so that I can use Zombies to make more Zombies with Phenax (one of the best cards in this build) or Altar/Undercity Informer. With both Blood Artist and Falkenrath Noble in this deck, simply recycling Zombies can easily kill people. I kind of want to add Diregraf Captain for that same reason.

Cutting Big Guys: I'm finding that the games I win are the games where I go wide, so I've mostly cut the guys that are just big and dumb for things that support dude spam.

[Aggro_zombies]

I've updated the deck a little bit with BFZ out - mostly involved "upgrading" Blood Artist to Zulaport Cutthroat and adding Greenwarden of Murasa (latest list in OP).

Right now, I'm considering a few changes, mostly revolving around giving this deck some light stack control. The ideas I'm floating are:

- Mesmeric Orb, + Mana Drain
- Falkenrath Noble, + Counterspell
- ???, + Dissipate
- ???, + Mystic Snake / Voidslime / Faerie Trickery / Muddle the Mixture

The goal is to have enough counters to reasonably keep myself from getting blown out by mass exile/extraction effects but not so much as to be oppressive. I currently have Glen Elendra Archmage and sort of Kira to protect me from some of that but I'd like to have 5-7 counters in the deck. Mana Drain and Counterspell seems like the most solid pair to start with, and Dissolve's exile clause seems like a reasonable insurance policy. Past that, I'd want 1-2 of the other cards I've listed. Snake is a guy, to keep my creature count up, Voidslime has added utility, Trickery is Dissolve #2, and Muddle hits most things I care about while also tutoring for stuff (Survival, Demonic, Altar, Riftsweeper, Loam being notables). I'm just not sure what to cut for the last 2-3 slots. They can all be creatures if Mystic Snake is one of the additions, since I don't want to drop below 40 creatures. Otherwise, one will have to squeeze into a spell slot.

Opinions?

[Davran]

Opinions?

The first thing I'd take a good long look at is Riftsweeper. Your meta is probably different than mine, but I think I've had that card actually do something for me 1 out of 10 times or less. It takes a lot of doing to actually make it work - not only does something relevant need to be exiled, but then you have to find the Riftsweeper AND some sort of way to get the thing you bring back out of your deck again.