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Zombie Tribal deck which originated from Avacyn Restored Event Deck.
Reasonably quick deck. Diregraf Ghoul and Highborn Ghoul to get you going, with Cemetery Reaper and Death Baron to get buffs going. I've added 4 Vault of Whispers to allow me to play Phylactery Lich on turn 4. Some instants and sorcery for removal. Let me know what you think and what to improve on.
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Have always been a fan of zombie decks, and I like the direction and potential of this one, especially with Phylactery Lich!Suggestions:Consider adding Adaptive Automaton? It will buff your zombies, and as an artifact creature, it will increase your ability to actually play Phylactery Lich. Also...I would definitely suggest adding Gravecrawlers for obvious reasons. Also having more Death Barons; That deathtouch is super useful, especially if you end up going into late game against a midrange deck. Plus you can never complain about having more +1 buffs--will help you win faster, which is good since late game is never the most shining moment for zombie decks.Maybe remove some Undead Servants, Skinrenders, and Returned Centaurs? They seem a bit...underwhelming...for their mana cost. Removing them and making the above suggestions will lower your mana curve while making all your zombies hit harder.Lastly, In a deck with only 22 lands, your odds of having free lands to cast a 5 mana Instant are not the greatest from my experience, especially because you will want to be playing creatures on your turn. Consider removing Cruel Revival?
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Thanks for your thoughts and advice! I like the look of Adaptive Automoton! Yeah I really like Phylactery Lich. For 3 mana he is brilliant! I shall make the changes that you have suggested on the gravecrawlers. What would you suggest if I take out some of the mid range creatures?
Hmmm...well for replacing creatures:I'm not much a fan of Undead Servant; he costs 4, he's only a 3/2 so very easy to kill, and you only run 3 copies so you most likely won't have him in the graveyard to make the number of zombie tokens you actually get worth it imo.I also don't care much for Skinrender; the -1/-1 counters are nice, but again, it costs 4 for a 3/3 that can easily killed by a burn spell or even just blocking. For only 3 mana, you could cast Geralf's Messenger, who is a 3/2 that dings 2 life from your opponent AND has undying (to come back as a 4/3 and ding them for 2 more life). His only real drawback is entering tapped in my experience. The last creature I personally think is kind of "meh" is Returned Centaur; again, 4 cost is a bit high if you're trying to over-run, which is usually the major way zombies win...and while mill isn't bad, it just doesn't really have synergy with the rest of the deck as a mechanic. I love Grave Titan with all my heart, but I rarely run him in zombie decks because hitting 6 mana is not consistent (at least not the way I build decks because I focus on a lower mana curve for more aggro and over run ability, and thus run less lands). But if you do hit 6 mana consistently, there is no denying that he is a beast. So I'd say that call is totally up to you. Same deal with Kalitas. It's really about how playable you think they are. As for Non-Creature Spells:Most of the kill spells are pretty solid, but I would still HIGHLY suggest removing Cruel Revival; as you well know, a zombie deck that is doing what it should do is puking creatures out of its hand. To me, that means you probably won't have the mana to cast that spell. Surgical Extraction is a good card, but a pretty situational unless you are running a mill deck. A cheep, less situational card I like for removal that you might consider is Tragic Slip--which is also great for getting rid of indestructible creatures. Otherwise, just replace with another copy of some of the kill spells you already have on your list. Anyway, if you were to remove most of those 4 to 6 drop cards, you can drop at least 2, maybe 3 lands, and your deck will function smoothly. That leaves you room to add more creature or spells, and would probably increase the pace of the game.