Alright, alright, alright… I know that Gravecrawler has been the topic of my articles for the past two weeks…but I hope you can spare me a few paragraphs to talk just a little bit more about my main man! Or Zombie I should say.
Last week, many awesome commenters asked why I didn’t look into U/B Zombie deck lists instead of R/B. It could be possible that Diregraf Captain would be worth sacrificing some burn and Falkenrath Aristocrat. I told most of the commenters that I would look into it and see if it could work. Luckily, Phillip Fortner did most of the dirty work for me by coming in second at the StarCityGames.com Open in Charlotte this past weekend! For reference, here is the sweet brew:
Creatures (27)
- 3 Fume Spitter
- 4 Phantasmal Image
- 4 Diregraf Ghoul
- 4 Skirsdag High Priest
- 4 Gravecrawler
- 4 Geralf's Messenger
- 4 Diregraf Captain
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (20)
Spells (11)
Sideboard
This deck’s structure contains some of the vital elements that I tried to stress in last week’s article. Phillip chose run Skirsdag High Priest, a card that is quickly becoming a mainstay in low-curve creature decks everywhere (or maybe just Zombie decks…). The removal package was most likely chosen due to the fact that Mirran Crusader, Geist of Saint Traft, and Dungrove Elder can be a problem. Geth’s Verdict and Liliana of the Veil really shine in this role, but I can’t help but wonder if he meant to play with two Liliana of the Veils because he only had two or if he thought it was right to run more Geth’s Verdicts.
Now, let’s talk about the interesting part. You know…the blue part! As mentioned earlier, there was quite a bit of support for playing blue to support Diregraf Captain from readers like you. However, the main problem I found was that I wasn’t sure how far I wanted to delve into blue and what blue cards I’d like to run. Propositions included Mana Leak, Snapcaster Mage, and Evil Twin, but most of these fell short of what the deck really needed.
The blue card that Phillip chose to run is Phantasmal Image. We’ve already seen this baby in Esper Spirits alongside Drogskol Captain and Dungeon Geists. What gems can we copy in here? Obviously, Diregraf Captain is a sweet candidate. Take that Day of Judgment! I hope your controller is ready to lose a whole lot of life! Geralf’s Messenger would appear to be the other prime choice. Nothing like paying only two mana for a 3/2 that will inevitably make them lose at least four life. This also gives another out to Geist of Saint Traft. If you have two of these guys, we can always just drop them both in the same turn copying an opponent’s Lord of the Unreal or Drogskol Captain. I’m not completely sure if Image is better than Phyrexian Metamorph, but if this type of archetype becomes popular I could see Magic Online hammering out the details. The eight blue cards with only eight blue sources makes me a little bit uneasy; I wonder how Phillip’s mana treated him throughout the weekend.
The cool sideboard cards worth noting are Porcelain Legionnaire and Corrosive Gale. These Phyrexian mana cards are not to be underestimated, and I expect the latter to proliferate (no pun intended…right, Eric Tang?). We have to smash those Esper Spirits decks somehow!
The last interaction I want to talk about is a slight reiteration of one stated in last week. It involves both Mortarpod and Gravecrawler to repeatedly ping things for three mana. The main difference? This week, the Zombie we could have in play to keep this cycle going is Diregraf Captain to start making them lose a ton of life. This type of effect may not seem like much, but people also underestimated Viscera Seer with Kalastria Highborn when M12 came out. While this interaction isn’t quite as explosive, it’s still one that is able to tip stalemates into your favor and end the game relatively quickly.
Now I’m done with my Gravecrawler deck rant…for this week!!
However, judging by the title of this article ("The Sukenik Special" will always be implied from now on), you could probably guess that I have more than just one U/B aggro deck to talk about. Those who guessed such a bold and daring answer would be correct!
One day, I was just chatting with some bros on Magic Online when my awesome friend Tellah a.k.a. Bo a.k.a. James Corbett told me that he lost in the Top 8 of a Premier Event on Magic Online with Esper Spirits. I told him that he would take down the whole thing next time, to which he responded with his opinion of his opponent’s deck: "That deck was sweet!!"
Creatures (12)
Lands (21)
Spells (27)
Sideboard
Tellah was right… This deck is sweet!!! In my opinion, it’s better than the U/B Infect Pike decks that were popping up right before Dark Ascension came out. Maybe we’ll see a hybrid of the two later on, if the metagame calls for it.
First off, let’s analyze the creatures. Blighted Agent is playing pseudo Invisible Stalker here. It allows us to provide a clock without worrying what creatures our opponent deploys (except for maybe Inferno Titan, Huntmaster of the Fells, or…wait for it…Forge[/author] Devil”][author name="Forge"]Forge[/author] Devil!!). The only problem with Blighted Agent is that it doesn’t have shroud. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to get too picky with our small selection of creatures with infect.
The next card was an obvious inclusion in Phyrexian Crusader. There is so much white and red these days between all of the Lingering Souls and Huntmaster of the Fells. I’ve even gone as far as trying this bad boy in non-Infect decks! The protection is just very strong, and it’s clear why Sword of War and Peace will fetch quite the pretty penny; it’s just about the most popular colors. I wonder if Sword of Body and Mind will ever get its time…
The last card that Kuriboh chose to include was Plague Stinger. This one made me think quite a bit. The only fliers you would probably encounter are Vault Skirge, a flipped Delver of Secrets, and some 1/1 white, flying Spirit tokens. However, what else can really take up the two-drop slot?
Necropede isn’t really the type of guy you want to be swinging into the red zone with. Plague Myr is nice for the mana acceleration, but there isn’t really anything you are trying to ramp up into. Flensermite…‘nuff said. The last one that really came into consideration for the two-drop slot is Ichorclaw Myr. This dude and I go way back (or at least as far as Mono-Green Infect in Pauper). If your goal is simply trying to sneak in a few points of infect damage, I could see Plague Stinger being the right choice. However, Ichorclaw Myr is just one tough creature to block, unless they are playing Gather the Townsfolk or Lingering Souls. The popularity of those decks is fairly high, so I can understand the justification of playing Plague Stinger at this point.
On to the other stuff!!
Gitaxian Probe, blah, blah, look at hand, blah, Mana Leak counters a spell, blah, blah, Ponder digs, blah, blah, Artful Dodge has always been a staple of these decks, blah…wait…what??
Artful Dodge is definitely not something I expected in this type of deck. Sure, Distortion Strike used to be played in these types of decks, but Artful Dodge just has a different feel to it. I’m not even sure if I can formulate it into words. If you thought that Artful Dodge would go in an infect deck upon first viewing the card, please raise your hand. Yeah, that’s what I thought!
At first, I was really surprised when Tellah told me that he lost to this card. It was sweet in my Two-Headed Giant Sealed tournament, but in Constructed? Well, it turns out that Tellah didn’t see it coming either and promptly lost to Artful Dodge with Livewire Lash on a Phyrexian Crusader. I guess that’s why they call Phyrexian Crusader the Artful Dodger (I had to make an Oliver Twist reference sometime!). Unless your opponent targets you with a Gitaxian Probe, I doubt anyone would see this card coming. It can allow you to sneak in for a ton of damage! However, playing this card begs the question: "Could we make the creatures compliment this card more?"
In my opinion, the answer is yes. The first card I would like to possibly see is Phyrexian Vatmother. I don’t know how your opponent will be able to dodge defeat when you hit them for a total of eight poison over the course of two turns. Another consideration could be good ol’ Skittles. Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon is the number one infect finisher in my book. Don’t worry Inkmoth Nexus, you can come in second since you’re usually played in Kessig Wolf Run decks. The only problem with Skithiryx is that they can just chump block him with Lingering Souls over the course of four turns. However, Artful Dodge solves this problem rather handily. Maybe we’ll see some Forbidden Alchemy to dig up Artful Dodge to go with Runechanter’s Pike. Like I said earlier, these two decks may merge sometime in the future.
The last two cards in the maindeck that seem pretty well positioned in this format are Virulent Wound and Mutagenic Growth. Virulent Wound can pick off Champion of the Parish, Delver of Secrets, and other Inkmoth Nexuses. In a way, if you view a poison counter as two damage, Virulent Wound is a lot like an instant Arc Trail for a black mana that has nail the player for "two."
As for Mutagenic Growth, this is your "Mental Misstep" for Gut Shot. The thing that makes Mutagenic Growth awesome is the fact that many people read the word instant as: "Must play on the opponent’s turn." This is similar to how Vendilion Clique doesn’t say, "Cast at the end of your opponent’s draw step," and Mistbind Clique doesn’t say, "Cast at the beginning of your opponent’s upkeep." So, with Mutagenic Growth, most people will have four mana and just Galvanic Blast your Blighted Agent on your turn in order to play around Mana Leak. What would you possibly do on your turn that could make this right? Play and equip Livewire Lash? Just remember, the best players know how to main phase their instants.
Lastly, a word on the sideboard. Hooray! Corrosive Gale strikes again!
Besides that, Dark Favor is an interesting addition that I like a lot. This card can provide quite the clock against a deck without much bounce. With Gitaxian Probe, I could even see a couple of copies of Dark Favor in the maindeck, if the metagame calls for it.
In all honesty though, the real all-star would have to be Undying Evil. I really really really want to see this card played a lot more. This card with Snapcaster Mage would be a dream come true, but everyone knows that interaction. How about this little number? If you play Undying Evil on an animated Inkmoth Nexus and it dies, the Inkmoth Nexus comes back unanimated with a +1/+1 counter on it. That’s right, the counter won’t fall off and your Nexus will be a 2/2 when you animate it next time. I wonder how well that card worked out for Kuriboh because it seems amazing to me.
There you have it! Two sweet U/B brews and one sweet analysis article. I hope I was able to break down my opinion of card choices and interactions that one may not have been able to come up with. If you have any opinions about anything, feel free to comment!
Thanks for reading,
Jonathan "Watchwolf92" Sukenik