[EDH] Savra, Queen of the Golgari

[SilverGreen]

I'm having a hard time putting togheter an EDH deck to start playing the format. I have no idea yet of how the format's decks run, how the games evolve, and thus, how to deckbuild. So I just traced a basic strategy in my two favourite colors and put together every card I could remember that could work. It let me with a 120+ card monstruosity that's still growing, so I feel I'm desperately in the need of some advice, and quickly!

Edit: There's still 12 cards over, I would like to discuss about options to cut off...

General: Savra, Queen of the Golgari

Full List:

Lands (41):

1 Barren Moor
1 Bayou
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Dust Bowl
8 Forest
1 Golgari Rot-Farm
1 Leechridden Swamp
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Polluted Delta
1 Polluted Mire
1 Pendelhaven
1 Sapseep Forest
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Slippery Karst
1 Strip Mine
6 Swamp
1 Tainted Wood
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Twilight Mire
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills


Creatures (34):

1 Acidic Slime
1 Coffin Queen
1 Creakwood Liege
1 Eternal Witness
1 Faceless Butcher
1 Fallen Angel
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Fertilid
1 Grave-Shell Scarab
1 Gutless Ghoul
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Krovikan Horror
1 Mycoloth
1 Nether Traitor
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Phyrexian Plaguelord
1 Pupeteer Clique
1 Ravenous Baloth
1 Sadistic Hypnotist
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Shambling Shell
1 Shriekmaw
1 Silverglade Pathfinder
1 Sisters of Stone Death
1 Spiritmonger
1 Spike Feeder
1 Spike Weaver
1 Stinkweed Imp
1 Verdant Force
1 Vhati il-Dal
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Yavimaya Elder


Spells (37):

1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Defense of the Heart
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Doubling Season
1 Far Wanderings
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Golgari Germination
1 Golgari Signet
1 Grave Pact
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Life from the Loam
1 Lifeline
1 Liliana Vess
1 Living Death
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Malevolent Awakening
1 Natural Order
1 Necrogenesis
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Oversold Cemetery
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Primal Command
1 Profane Command
1 Putrefy
1 Ritual of the Machine
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Sorin Markov
1 Spawning Pit
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sylvan Library
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Victimize
1 Worm Harvest


Distinguished by function list:


Mana Fixing/Acceleration:

Farhaven Elf
Krosan Tusker
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Yavimaya Elder
Far Wanderings
Fertilid
Garruk Wildspeaker
Golgari Signet
Kodama’s Reach
Silverglade Pathfinder
Sol Ring


Tutoring, Library Manipulation & Card Draw:

Barren Moor
Defense of the Heart
Demonic Tutor
Grave-Shell Scarab
Krosan Tusker
Liliana Vess
Natural Order
Polluted Mire
Primal Command
Skullclamp
Slippery Karst
Survival of the Fittest
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sylvan Library
Tranquil Thicket
Vampiric Tutor


Life Gaining (Resource):

Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Gutless Ghoul
Miren, the Moaning Well
Primal Command
Ravenous Baloth
Sapseep Forest
Spike Feeder
Sorin Markov
Sword of Light and Shadow


Token Generation (Resource):

Creakwood Liege
Doubling Season
Garruk Wildspeaker
Golgari Germination
Mycolot
Necrogenesis
Spawning Pit
Urza’s Factory
Verdant Force
Worm Harvest


Sacrifice Outlets:

Doomgape
Fallen Angel
Grave-Shell Scarab
Gutless Ghoul
Krovikan Horror
Malevolent Awakening
Miren, the Moaning Well
Mycoloth
Natural Order
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Ravenous Baloth
Ritual of the Machine
Sadistic Hypnotist
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Shambling Shell
Spawning Pit
Victimize
Yavimaya Elder


Reanimation:

Beacon of Unrest
Coffin Queen
Eternal Witness
Grave-Shell Scarab
Krovikan Horror
Lifeline
Liliana Vess
Living Death
Malevolent Awakening
Nether Traitor
Nezumi Graverobber
Oversold Cemetery
Profane Command
Pupeteer Clique
Shambling Shell
Sisters of Stone Death
Stinkweed Imp
Sword of Light and Shadow
Victimize
Volrath’s Stronghold


Removal:

Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Bone Shredder
Faceless Butcher
Grave Pact
Krovikan Horror
Living Death
Maelstrom Pulse
Nevinyrral’s Disk
Pernicious Deed
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Profane Command
Putrefy
Ritual of the Machine
Shriekmaw
Sisters of Stone Death
Sorin Markov
Stinkweed Imp
Sword of Fire and Ice


Disruption & Board Control:

Acidic Slime
Dust Bowl
Indrik Stomphowler
Liliana Vess
Maelstrom Pulse
Nevinyrral’s Disk
Pernicious Deed
Primal Command
Putrefy
Sadistic Hypnotist
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Wickerbough Elder
Woodfall Primus


Creature Enhancement

Creakwood Liege
Garruk Wildspeaker
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
Pendelhaven
Profane Command
Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
Spike Feeder
Spike Weaver
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sword of Light and Shadow


Reach:

Leechridden Swamp
Profane Command
Sorin Markov


Utility:

Doubling Season
Eternal Witness
Life from the Loam
Necrogenesis
Nezumi Graverobber
Primal Command
Sorin Markov
Spike Weaver
Vhati il-Dal



Your suggestions will be highly appreciated, thx!

[MattH]

Oh my lord, how do you not have Grave Pact?!? That's priority #1.

Krovikan Horror is the black Squee for Survival, and also lets you sac your guys (fueling Savra). Seems like an auto-include to me.

Attrition is also pretty fuckin' strong. So is Phyrexian Reclamation, both need to be in here. Recurring Eternal Witness or Yavimaya Elder is sooooo dirty, and turning your tokens into Doom Blades is a great way to send your opponents' creatures elsewhere, and to make friends.

No Genesis?

More possibilities: Bitterblossom (finally down to a reasonable price), Urborg Justice, Sadistic Hypnotist, Brood of Cockroaches, Nether Traitor, Puppeteer Clique, Scavenger Drake, Woebringer Demon, Phyrexian Plaguelord, Spawning Pit, Ritual of the Machine.

Necrogenesis >>> Withered Wretch.

No Rest for the Wicked is a one-shot Gleancrawler effect. Khabal Ghoul is a sweet card, but it's kind of hard to get ahold of. Go for it if you have one!

To fit all this in, I suggest cutting the Husk/Ghoul/Aristocrat, they don't really do much in my experience, and are quickly outclassed. I like to get a card's worth of value out of the deal when I sacrifice things, and 2 damage is not worth a card. Marrow Chomper is pretty sad, too. Elves of Deep Shadow is mediocre, if pretty (The Dark only). Quirion Ranger doesn't seem to do anything relevant except mayeb give something pseudo-vigilance.

Darkheart Sliver and Briarhorn seem unimpressive too. You already have Feeder and Baloth and Savra for lifegain (actually important because a lot of awesome cards require life payment - Savra, durrr, but also Brood of Cockroaches, Bitterblossom, Phyrexian Reclamation).

[SilverGreen]

Thanks a lot for your advice, man.

Oh my lord, how do you not have Grave Pact?!? That's priority #1.

Grave Pact is there since the first time I put the deck together, you didn't see it. It's the heart and soul of the deck!

Krovikan Horror is the black Squee for Survival, and also lets you sac your guys (fueling Savra). Seems like an auto-include to me.

For sure it is! I coudn't remember of it, thank you.

Attrition is also pretty fuckin' strong. So is Phyrexian Reclamation, both need to be in here. Recurring Eternal Witness or Yavimaya Elder is sooooo dirty, and turning your tokens into Doom Blades is a great way to send your opponents' creatures elsewhere, and to make friends.

Very nice, really. Malevolent Awakening and Tortured Existence also look interesting, and I think the former can be even better then the Reclamation. The later, not so much. This deck begs for sacrifice outlets, hence even the three Husks I put into it.

No Genesis?

It was one of the first cards I thought about since the beginning, but it doesn't looks worth for me. It demands a kind of setup I don't have access with ease, and it "just" disentombs a creature. The other simillar cards in the deck all have additional effects attached to them.

More possibilities: Bitterblossom (finally down to a reasonable price), Urborg Justice, Sadistic Hypnotist, Brood of Cockroaches, Nether Traitor, Puppeteer Clique, Scavenger Drake, Woebringer Demon, Phyrexian Plaguelord, Spawning Pit, Ritual of the Machine.

Justice: Looks very strong, really.
Hypnotist: Incredibly strong here!
Brood/Endless Cockroaches: Just unworthy 1/1's.
Traitor: Another 1/1 that can just be something better.
Clique: I like Coffin Queen a lot more than this.
Drake: Hmmm... No.
Demon: So much more of the same.
Plaguelord: Overlaps with so many other cards here that I think are just better. But definetely a solid possibility.
Pit: Probably not good enough. Blossom is so much sexier...
Ritual: WOW!!!!!

Necrogenesis >>> Withered Wretch.

Agree. At first I discarded it for being more expensive to activate than Wretch, but at second glance, it really looks a lot better.

No Rest for the Wicked is a one-shot Gleancrawler effect. Khabal Ghoul is a sweet card, but it's kind of hard to get ahold of. Go for it if you have one!

The Ghoul is terrible! hahaha! It's just a creature that may go large, and it isn't enough for itself. And Gleancrawler isn't a continuous NRftW, it's a 6/6 trampler with an in-line bonus.

To fit all this in, I suggest cutting the Husk/Ghoul/Aristocrat, they don't really do much in my experience, and are quickly outclassed. I like to get a card's worth of value out of the deal when I sacrifice things, and 2 damage is not worth a card. Marrow Chomper is pretty sad, too. Elves of Deep Shadow is mediocre, if pretty (The Dark only). Quirion Ranger doesn't seem to do anything relevant except mayeb give something pseudo-vigilance.

Other than with the husk package, I agree with everything here. I also think these are the weaker links in the chain. The Scryb could be cut too, but I simply love this card so much to do it...

With no mana requirements, the husks are the faster sacrifice outlets available, but perhaps they could be replaced for something more versatile. Perhaps that Coldsnap ghoul that gives life, or something more...

Darkheart Sliver and Briarhorn seem unimpressive too. You already have Feeder and Baloth and Savra for lifegain (actually important because a lot of awesome cards require life payment - Savra, durrr, but also Brood of Cockroaches, Bitterblossom, Phyrexian Reclamation).

Agree! I'll cut them and update the list. Thank you!

[MattH]

Well, you're right and wrong about the Husk triplets.

You're right: not taking mana is awesome!

You're wrong: They're still too weak, because there are better ways to sacrifice, even if you demand the sacrifice be free. Spawning Pit and Phyrexian Plaguelord both sacrifice for free, and they're both better than Husk.

Pit is better because getting half of a 2/2 is better than getting a small pump, and because it lets you avoid a lot of the pain from Wrath of God and other sweepers. (It's also incredible with Doubling Season - double tokens AND double charge counters, it's like ": Put a 2/2 into play"!)

Plaguelord is better because -1/-1 can kill things, even things that aren't involved in combat (or combat between other players!), and that's also better than a small pump. The first time you take out a dangerous utility creature like Master Transmuter or Captain Sisay or Goblin Welder, you'll see how much better this is than Husk.

Nether Traitor is the other card I think you underestimate (maybe you are confusing it with Nether Shadow, which is similar but terrible). Think about him like this: with N.T., half your sacrifices cost :B: instead of "sacrifice a creature"! :B: is much cheaper than "lose a guy," even if that guy was a token. He fuels sacrifice cards better than anything else in the game.

Oh yeah, and Golgari Germination is pretty cool too. And Diabolic Intent. And where is Skullclamp?

[SilverGreen]

Ok, ok, you bet me! hahaha

Exit the husks, enter Plaguelord, Pit and Traitor. But it doesn't helping me with the card count issue, there's still 15 cards over, and I have no idea what to cut yet...

[AngryTroll]

Tainted Pact might be worth a slot. Between snowcovered lands and the Legendary lands (Shizo and Okina), you can probably make Pact solid. The trick is to take the first solid card, and only tutor for something specific if you have to.

Gigapede, Krosan Tusker, and Loxodon Warhammer are all probably worth looking into as well. The lifegain from Warhammer can make a lot more of a difference than you might think.

Tusker's a solid card all around. Gigapede's the man.

[SilverGreen]

I severed apart the various action angles the deck utilizes, to make a little easier the task of cut off reduntand and/or unworthy stuff. About 20 cards need to get the blow yet:


Mana Fixing/Acceleration:

Farhaven Elf
Krosan Tusker
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Yavimaya Elder
Far Wanderings
Garruk Wildspeaker
Golgari Signet
Kodama’s Reach
Skyshroud Reclamation
Sol Ring


Disruption & Board Control:

Acidic Slime
Dust Bowl
Indrik Stomphowler
Sadistic Hypnotist
Wickerbough Elder
Woodfall Primus
Liliana Vess
Maelstrom Pulse
Nevinyrral’s Disk
Pernicious Deed
Primal Command
Putrefy
Strip Mine
Wasteland


Removal:

Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Dark Banishing
Doom Blade
Drooling Groodion
Grave Pact
Krovikan Horror
Living Death
Maelstrom Pulse
Nevinyrral’s Disk
Pernicious Deed
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Profane Command
Putrefy
Ritual of the Machine
Shriekmaw
Sorin Markov
Sisters of Stone Death
Sword of Fire and Ice
Visara the Dreadful


Sacrifice Outlets:

Doomgape
Fallen Angel
Golgari Guildmage
Krovikan Horror
Marrow Chomper
Miren, the Moaning Well
Mycoloth
Natural Order
Phyrexian Plaguelord
Ravenous Baloth
Ritual of the Machine
Sadistic Hypnotist
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Shambling Shell
Spawning Pit
Spore Frog
Victimize
Yavimaya Elder


Token Generation (Resource):

Creakwood Liege
Doubling Season
Mycolot
Verdant Force
Garruk Wildspeaker
Golgari Germination
Necrogenesis
Spawning Pit
Urza’s Factory
Worm Harvest


Life Gaining (Resource):

Marrow Chomper
Miren, the Moaning Well
Primal Command
Ravenous Baloth
Sapseep Forest
Spike Feeder
Sorin Markov
Sword of Light and Shadow


Reanimation:

Beacon of Unrest
Cauldron of Souls
Coffin Queen
Deadwood Treefolk
Eternal Witness
Grave-Shell Scarab
Golgari Guildmage
Gleancrawler
Krovikan Horror
Liliana Vess
Living Death
Nether Traitor
Oversold Cemetery
Profane Command
Shambling Shell
Sisters of Stone Death
Sword of Light and Shadow
Victimize
Volrath’s Stronghold


Reach:

Leechridden Swamp
Profane Command
Sorin Markov


Tutoring, Library Manipulation & Card Draw:

Barren Moor
Defense of the Heart
Demonic Tutor
Grave-Shell Scarab
Krosan Tusker
Liliana Vess
Natural Order
Necropotence
Polluted Mire
Primal Command
Skullclamp
Slippery Karst
Survival of the Fittest
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sylvan Library
Tranquil Thicket
Vampiric Tutor


Creature Enhancement

Creakwood Liege
Drooling Groodion
Garruk Wildspeaker
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
Pendelhaven
Profane Command
Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
Spike Feeder
Spike Weaver
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sword of Light and Shadow


Utility:

Doubling Season
Eternal Witness
Life from the Loam
Necrogenesis
Primal Command
Sorin Markov
Spike Weaver
Spore Frog
Vhati il-Dal

[MattH]

Tainted Pact might be worth a slot. Between snowcovered lands and the Legendary lands (Shizo and Okina), you can probably make Pact solid. The trick is to take the first solid card, and only tutor for something specific if you have to.

Gigapede, Krosan Tusker, and Loxodon Warhammer are all probably worth looking into as well. The lifegain from Warhammer can make a lot more of a difference than you might think.

Tusker's a solid card all around. Gigapede's the man.

Normally I'd agree about Pact, but here, Exiling cards is really bad in a graveyard recursion deck.

Tusker is definitely a solid dude. I haven't tried 'Pede or Warhammer, but I'm skeptical about the Hammer; I mean, the general gains life already, and there's stuff like Miren and Spike Feeder already in, and there's not much of size that really appreciates the trample. Hammer makes more sense IMO in Kresh or a Planar Chaos/Invasion dragon legend that appreciates the trample.





Thanks for the updated list, it makes reading easier. Here are the remaining cards whic stand out as weak to my eyes:

@Far Wanderings, Golgari Signet, Skyshroud Claim: I don't like the look of this. I think that whenever you have the choice of how to get an effect, in this deck, choose the version that's a creature. So I would use something else, like a Civic Wayfinder/Borderland Ranger, or Seedguide Ash which is also neat.

@Dark Banishing, Doom Blade: I'm usually disappointed with 1-for-1 removal in EDH. I really only ever the best options, like STP. I would use Bone Shredder, Nekrataal, and Faceless Butcher (remember the stack trick to permanently exile!) before these.

@Drooling Groodion: seems slow, but I've never played the card, so if it's good to you then keep it.

@Golgari Guildmage, Urza's Factory: seems expensive, I won't tell you to cut it just yet, but keep an eye out for how often you actually use this. I bet most turns you will have something better to do with your mana.

@Marrow Chomper: same problem, plus you get your board ruined by any removal or bounce.

Nether Traitor probably belongs with the token cards, because he serves the same function: giving you lots of creatures to sacrifice.

@Cauldron of Souls: The utility guys like Bone Shredder are usually pretty small, I doubt this will be good.

@Necropotence: Surely powerful, but here it's actually only the third-best card drawer, behind Survival and Clamp. I would always tutor for one of those first. Also, exiling things you discard is very bad, especially with Survival.

@Vhati il-Dal: Seems kind of random, although he is very, very good with Plaguelord.

I'm still seeing a distinct lack of Attrition. Other than that, looks good.

EDIT: Oh yeah, you might also try Lifeline.

[AngryTroll]

I haven't tried 'Pede or Warhammer, but I'm skeptical about the Hammer; I mean, the general gains life already, and there's stuff like Miren and Spike Feeder already in, and there's not much of size that really appreciates the trample. Hammer makes more sense IMO in Kresh or a Planar Chaos/Invasion dragon legend that appreciates the trample.

I recommend the hammer becuase of Magister Sphynx and the new Planeswalking 30-Point-Fireball guy. Most of the games I've played lately end up with three or four players with pretty even boards desperately trying to keep the boards even after Magister Sphynx has hit everyone. Warhammer breaks that board state wide open.

On the other hand, we seem to have a lot of control around here, so two or sometimes three decks in each pod might be running the Sphynx-of-30-damage.

[SilverGreen]

As stated above, Tainted Pact is a card plenty of anti-sinergy with this deck. This combined with all my (failed) draw skill can be unbeatable at exiling my most desirable cards at any given time; About Tusker, I don't know why I refused it in the beginning, but obviously I was wrong. I'm looking for versatile cards that play more than one role in this deck, and Tusker's amazing at this job. Gigapede, on the other hand, plain sucks here. I don't care when a creature of mine gets killed, so the shroud ability doesn't seem so attractive. If someone tries to exile or get control over one of my creatures, I just sacrifice it in response. And the deck's plenty of powerful reanimation effects already, I'll never bother disentombing a 6/1 in upkp when I may reanimate a giant Gorgon and smash bones with it.

Hammer is fine, in thuth it's fine in almost every deck all by itself, but the space is spare and it wouldn't fill any specific hole, so I think it must remain out. Savra and company may do its job easily.

The acceleration package's the better I could come with up to this point. I took out the faster and weaker manamakers like elves and rangers for heavier, more powerful ones. I once saw Far Wanderings in EDH action, and it's very, very impressive, believe me. I also replaced the removal spells for creatures with similar effects, so much more sinergistic in this deck. And Lifeline is nuts. Plain, simple, incredibly nuts. I'm throwing Cauldron of Souls in the garbage bin for it in a heartbeat!

Still, there's yet 13 cards over. It's becoming more and more difficult cut off cards now, each one of the remaining cards is looking so fine, so in it's right place...

[badjuju]

Hey. I'm kinda interested in building Savra, but I'm wondering how much hate this deck generates. I would assume a ton, since you're including so many sacrifice effects.

Also, how well does this thing fair against the majority of generals?