UB Zombies: Standard

Hello and welcome to Only On Tuesdays! This week I will be covering a deck that I have been working on very hard for the past few weeks, in preparation for Grand Prix Atlanta. This is going to be the first major tournament that I will be attending, and I am super excited to bring a deck of my own making. With that being said, let’s get onto the deck!

Zombies is a tribe that used to be considered one of the most fearsome decks in standard. Mono-Black zombies had the potential to both grind out games, and win in a lightning fast manner. However, ever since the rotation of Shadows over Innistrad block, the deck is a shell of what it used to be. But I still felt like zombies had a lot of potential to it. None of the 3 lords rotated, and there were other unexplored avenues to the shell, such as adding another color to the mix. What is dead may never die, and zombies are coming back for round 2 in Ixalan Standard. 

Initially, when I began testing zombies in standard, I started with a WB zombies that were similar to the lists seen before pro tour Hour of Devastation such as this list by casualmtg: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/631416#paper. While these initial lists were able to perform well, I felt like the deck was missing a lot of end game. And in this standard metagame, having a solid late game is very important to any deck that isn’t as fast as Ramunap Red. So I ended up dropping the white going for a more traditional mono black list. This deck started performing much better, and I was pleased with where it was heading. However, I still felt like the deck wasn’t quite there. Stir the Sands doesn’t exactly compete with cards such as Bristling Hydra. I was at a loss at what to do until I noticed that the best card in Standard, is a card that would fit perfectly into the deck. With a quick splash of blue, The Scarab God soon began to lead my zombie horde.

Splashing for blue was exactly what the deck needed to start performing well. The Scarab God is a powerful magic card, and maximising its strengths is a recipe for success. Part of the power of this deck comes from the ability to outclass opposing decks that run The Scarab God as well. With all of the lords in the deck, it is very easy to create zombie tokens that are far larger than anything the opponent may create. Then, from that point on, all you have to do is wait as The Scarab God will slowly drain the opponent to death.

Creating a shell for The Scarab God is one of the main draws to the deck, but is not the only reason to run the deck. Zombies, even without The Scarab God, still has a lot of potential to it and has the strength to overrun any careless opponent who underestimates the dead. Landing a Dread Wanderer, with Metallic Mimic, Lord of the Accursed, Hostage Taker, and Liliana’s Mastery is very powerful and can be backbreaking in many circumstances. While this deck does not typically play like an aggro deck, it still has the potential to sequence lines of play that will put the pressure on your opponent. 

UB Zombies may not be one of the best decks in standard, but it still has the potential to compete. Many people might believe that zombies died after rotation, but the tribe still has a lot going for it. This is the deck that I am bringing to the Grand Prix, and tomorrow night I will give a rundown on how I did. I’m expecting to have a lot of fun at my first Grand Prix, and I’m excited to bring a deck that nobody will be expecting. Thank you for reading, and be sure to have a great week and a great Tuesday!

UB Zombies List: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/823728#paper

My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TuesdayTastic