Standard Zombies Vol. 2
If you’ve been keeping up with some of the latest top 16 lists in standard, you may have seen that zombies have been performing well. As a zombie player, I see this as both good and bad. Good because it shows that zombies are a legit force in competitive Magic, and bad because if it gets too much attention, people are going to start packing sideboard hate for it. Here’s what I’ve been running:
Creatures: x26
4x Gravecrawler
4x Diregraf Ghoul
3x Highborn Ghoul
4x Phantasmal Image
4x Geralf’s Messenger
4x Diregraf Captain
1x Cemetery Reaper
2x Fume Spitter
Instants: x11
4x Mana Leak
4x Vapor Snag
2x Doom Blade
1x Go For the Throat
Artifacts: x2
2x Sword of War and Peace
Lands: x21
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacomb
1x Island
12x Swamp
Sideboard: x15
4x Distress
4x Flashfreeze
3x Ratchet Bomb
2x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Mental Misstep
I’ve been having a lot of success at FNM with this list, and as a bonus, it’s a lot of fun to play! If you read the first article I wrote on this deck, you’ll notice I changed a few things. In this list, Grimgrin is expensive and isn’t worth his cost. This deck typically has about three or four mana on board by the time the game’s over, and getting to five so you can play a guy who doesn’t immediately impact the board on his own makes Grimgrin not good enough. Sword of War and Peace is a new addition and is extremely powerful right now. Lingering Souls is a hot new card and is sure to be a driving force in competitive standard tournaments, and Slagstorm and Whipflare are the go to removal for Wolf Run. These cards are very relevant and the protections on Sword of War and Peace put it in a top position right now amongst the standard swords. Fume Spitter was tech I hadn’t considered until I saw it in some of the mono black and U/B zombie lists. Being able to kill a first turn Bird, Pilgrim, or Champ of the Parish while also being able to make Geralf’s Messenger stick around a little longer and continue to annoy the crap out of your opponent is pretty awesome. He can also wield a sword. Highborn Ghoul has actually been performing much better than I originally thought it would. Getting by Lingering Souls is really what puts it over edge as a playable creature. I decided not to go with the Skirsdag High Priest, and am still debating whether I should try and make room for a couple Mortarpods. I’m really happy with Mana Leak in this deck and I’m surprised to not see zombie lists running it. Having it against Wolf Run is extremely beneficial. You may have noticed the one-of Cemetery Reaper. Usually, I think of him as a very clunky card with an ability that’s just too slow. He’s actually really good in tempo matches for not only building your board but stealing your opponent’s Moorland Haunt targets or wrecking opposing Gravecrawler/Messenger shenanigans. It’s a good one-of, and I can’t say that he hasn’t won me games when I see him.
For sideboarding, Distress comes in for both Wolf Run and control matchups. Grabbing a win con or a sweeper out of the hand can be very devastating. The Ratchet Bombs are brought in almost every match. I think the sole exception to this is Wolf Run, which unfortunately represents a large enough portion of the field to justify Ratchet Bomb being confined to sideboard. Mental Misstep is the new tech I’m trying out against Surgical Extraction, which can be a nasty tool for dealing with Gravecrawler and Geralf’s Messenger. It’s sweet because it also deals with Nihil Spellbomb and Grafdigger’s Cage on your turn 0.
Zombies are good right now, and that’s awesome because it’s been a long time since they were THE black tribe. After reappearing in Zendikar, vampire cards essentially replaced zombie cards. In the world of Innistrad, zombies have reemerged as a powerful force, and as a deck I definitely recommend trying out in this currently healthy standard environment. I must reiterate how fun this deck is to play and how early it can take over games. Gravecrawler and Geralf’s Messenger are amazing and powerful cards. They are the true foundation of this deck and I believe they are going to continue to be what zombies needed to become a tier 1 constructed deck.