Varina, Lich Queen - Esper Zombie Midrange

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pzbw7z
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Post by pzbw7z » 2 years ago

plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago

This would be my hierarchy of tutors for Varina:
I could see myself running all of those in a high power environment and would never play diabolic tutor or beseech the queen, personally. I dont see Varina ever being "cedh viable" because varina doesnt really contribute anything at all in that environment but she could exist just below that (power level 8ish on the 1-10 scale) if it were finely tuned to combo out.
I don't mind Diabolic Tutor in Prosper, sometimes Dream Devourer can Foretell it and Prosper makes mana or he's losing anyway. :) I don't like it much for Varina. Beseech the Queen is an acceptable bargain card for me here since four or five is all I'd ever want - well, maybe six, but just every once in a while.

Intuition is out of the question; I sold mine and the price has gone nuts since which is very sad because it's a perfect card for Varina. I used to play it in a Bant deck and it was just really out of place.

I might be able to scrape together enough to trade for Vampiric or Intent someday, but there are other things needed as well. I need to just suck it up and proxy a few cards - or just play one deck at a time for a while and switch cards back and forth. I asked about Mystical because it's cheap enough to consider getting.

I've been contemplating Doomsday|WTH and Peer into the Abyss but I don't think Varina is a good home for that sort of thing. I'm keen to try them out in Prosper, though. :drool:

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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

Yeah Peer isn't right here. I've tried it out and it just isn't enough. Its a good card in a wheels deck or similar, but this isn't that.

Personally I can't see myself ever stooping low enough for Grim Tutor or Buried Alive. If you want tutors you want them cheap and efficient.

Vampiric and such, you just want to wait for a reprint. Entomb dropped nicely on the last reprint for example. Grab them a couple weeks after they next print and you're golden.

I should also mention my Dralnu deck is now gone, so I have an Entomb free. I'm still not convinced it goes here purely for wanting more variance and fun in the deck. I sort of don't want to devolve to finding Gravecrawler or Phyrexian Altar every single game, and it does seem like thats where it'd leave you.
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Post by plaganegra » 2 years ago

Man down! Poor buried alive, my favorite zombie tutor lol

Why all the hate? Honestly my ranking of tutors above is purely competitive in context, but buried alive is incredibly efficient at 3 cards for 3 mana. It would be right under intuition for me if it was an instant.

Depends on what zombies you run in your deck though
Zombies ate my brains.
My Varina Decklist
Also: Yawgmoth, Tinybones, Blim, Krenko, Kaalia, Beckett Brass, Chatterfang, Evelyn, Kodama-East, Kozilek, Breya, Morophon, U-Braids, Ashcoat.
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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
Man down! Poor buried alive, my favorite zombie tutor lol

Why all the hate? Honestly my ranking of tutors above is purely competitive in context, but buried alive is incredibly efficient at 3 cards for 3 mana. It would be right under intuition for me if it was an instant.

Depends on what zombies you run in your deck though
I mean I just think its slow for all of its efficiency of cost. I struggle to think I'd ever want it above Entomb. That said in a more battlecruiser build I feel like Buried would be ok. I'm currently using it in a new Bride Olivia build for example.
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Post by plaganegra » 2 years ago

toctheyounger wrote:
2 years ago
plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
Man down! Poor buried alive, my favorite zombie tutor lol

Why all the hate? Honestly my ranking of tutors above is purely competitive in context, but buried alive is incredibly efficient at 3 cards for 3 mana. It would be right under intuition for me if it was an instant.

Depends on what zombies you run in your deck though
I mean I just think its slow for all of its efficiency of cost. I struggle to think I'd ever want it above Entomb. That said in a more battlecruiser build I feel like Buried would be ok. I'm currently using it in a new Bride Olivia build for example.
Well that really does depend on what creatures you are getting with it! I run buried alive alongside entomb. They don't do the same thing, but do have overlap. Entomb stands out because it gets any card at instant speed. But I don't even compare these two cards TBH. I use buried alive to fuel Varina in a number of ways...

I would argue that buried alive is the best and most efficient 3-drop "creature" in my deck TBH. Often grabbing one of the following packages:
Or any combition of the above and any combination of game winning or utility reanimation targets like gray merchant of asphodel or a drain effect like wayward servant.

With Wonder and master of death being difficult to interact with and gravecrawler being the centerpiece of so many other interactions, It is hard not to just grab this trio every single time, but the list above just illustrates some of the combinations that make buried alive worth including in a Varina deck.

It is honestly a bit shocking to me how few people use buried alive looking at that list of potential things it does. I am most excited to run this over any other tutor aside from intuition wich has the raw power of a 1-card combo at instant speed.

And on top of all that - it is one of the biggest flavor wins imaginable! It ticks all the boxes...
Zombies ate my brains.
My Varina Decklist
Also: Yawgmoth, Tinybones, Blim, Krenko, Kaalia, Beckett Brass, Chatterfang, Evelyn, Kodama-East, Kozilek, Breya, Morophon, U-Braids, Ashcoat.
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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
toctheyounger wrote:
2 years ago
plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
Man down! Poor buried alive, my favorite zombie tutor lol

Why all the hate? Honestly my ranking of tutors above is purely competitive in context, but buried alive is incredibly efficient at 3 cards for 3 mana. It would be right under intuition for me if it was an instant.

Depends on what zombies you run in your deck though
I mean I just think its slow for all of its efficiency of cost. I struggle to think I'd ever want it above Entomb. That said in a more battlecruiser build I feel like Buried would be ok. I'm currently using it in a new Bride Olivia build for example.
Well that really does depend on what creatures you are getting with it! I run buried alive alongside entomb. They don't do the same thing, but do have overlap. Entomb stands out because it gets any card at instant speed. But I don't even compare these two cards TBH. I use buried alive to fuel Varina in a number of ways...

I would argue that buried alive is the best and most efficient 3-drop "creature" in my deck TBH. Often grabbing one of the following packages:
Or any combition of the above and any combination of game winning or utility reanimation targets like gray merchant of asphodel or a drain effect like wayward servant.

With Wonder and master of death being difficult to interact with and gravecrawler being the centerpiece of so many other interactions, It is hard not to just grab this trio every single time, but the list above just illustrates some of the combinations that make buried alive worth including in a Varina deck.

It is honestly a bit shocking to me how few people use buried alive looking at that list of potential things it does. I am most excited to run this over any other tutor aside from intuition wich has the raw power of a 1-card combo at instant speed.

And on top of all that - it is one of the biggest flavor wins imaginable! It ticks all the boxes...
Hmmm. Yeah I guess when you look at it in that light it becomes a lot more flexible and enabling. I'll be honest and say I've not really looked too closely as to whether it could set up any strong lines for me to follow in my build, but there's definitely the Mikaeus, the Unhallowed/Plague Belcher/Carrion Feeder line. Those all do nothing from the yard, but it certainly seems like itd make it easier to get that to go off. Bare minimum I guess it helps sweeten a mass reanimation spell, so thats not nothing by any stretch.
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Post by pzbw7z » 2 years ago

@plaganegra The discussion of Buried Alive intrigues me. How about Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, Corpse Knight and Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight?

Has anyone considered running anything such as Culling the Weak, Cabal Ritual, Rain of Filth or even Dark Ritual to enable big turns? It seems as if one would need a few of these enablers and it's probably too many slots and even then, probably still not worthwhile without something wacky like Peer into the Abyss to load up with.

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Post by plaganegra » 2 years ago

pzbw7z wrote:
2 years ago
@plaganegra The discussion of Buried Alive intrigues me. How about Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, Corpse Knight and Foulmire Knight // Profane Insight?

Has anyone considered running anything such as Culling the Weak, Cabal Ritual, Rain of Filth or even Dark Ritual to enable big turns? It seems as if one would need a few of these enablers and it's probably too many slots and even then, probably still not worthwhile without something wacky like Peer into the Abyss to load up with.
I am not actually against peer into the abyss, but it actually depends a lot on what you plan to do with all the cards you draw. Running rooftop storm would make sense but you would need to put a lot of thought into the shell that wants it. It certainly would not be worth running in my shell for example. So I would be curious to see what you are planning in that regards. Hard to evaluate that card without context of the shell it operates in. Same with the rituals.

I can easily see the rituals being used in a very competitive build focused in comboing off quickly. I dont use them because I dont like the card disadvantage they create in the deck. One time use and all.

That pile with the three knights is great. There are just so many options with buried alive. It gives me a very similar play experience to intuition and it is super budget friendly. More people should probably give it a try if they like using any zombies that come back without a reanimate spell alongside cards like wonder. Its just very efficient at 3 mana for me since a lot of the time the things I grab require little to no mana investment at all. Like prized amalgam and silversmote ghoul and master of death. "Free" effects.

But again I have a unique shell that really capitalizes on those sorts of interactions. My deck is lean and efficient and skips many of the sacred cows in the zombie world in favor of efficiency.
Zombies ate my brains.
My Varina Decklist
Also: Yawgmoth, Tinybones, Blim, Krenko, Kaalia, Beckett Brass, Chatterfang, Evelyn, Kodama-East, Kozilek, Breya, Morophon, U-Braids, Ashcoat.
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Post by pokken » 2 years ago

I definitely do not like this as a Peer into the Abyss deck. I'd be more inclined for Ad Nauseam tbh, but my curve be low.

The rituals are worth considering particularly Cabal Ritual for late game plays, but depends a lot on how hard you're going at a combo. I don't hate Culling Ritual either but it's kinda dependent on having a board, and likely worse than just finding Phyrexian Altar most of the time.

Buried Alive knight package is a slam dunk imho. I don't run it because I'm trying to keep the critical mass of tutors down, but it's very powerful.

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Post by pzbw7z » 2 years ago

Thus far, Living Death seems to be the thing that brings success most reliably. On occasion though, I've found I need to do something else, and I just don't have the mana to get there.

Last time out, I was playing against Purphoros, God of the Forge and he had a damage tripler and several Devils in play. Living Death didn't cut we determined after reading the updated text because the tripled Devil triggers killed me before Gray Merchant of Asphodel could kill him and save me. If I had had a few more mana, I could have dropped Rooftop Storm and Liliana, Untouched by Death and chuckled maniacally.

So the normal route is to grind, maybe play a sweeper or benefit from someone else's sweeper, play Living Death and cruise home. Shepherd of Rot or Vengeful Dead or one of the various Aristocrats often gets partly there and Gary is always a bomb but games are almost always a slogfest. The only time I've assembled the machine gun one of the other players had Suffer the Past and hosed it for me. What are the odds? Suffer the fickin' Past? Are you kidding???

So it'd be groovy to be able to just go off with a big turn and not have to put pieces in play and hope they are still there next turn to finish it.

In reality, I'm probably not going to try to rework the shell substantially because that sort of thing is probably just so much better with Rakdos colors anyway - Final Fortune|MIR is just such an awesome card - and the curve needs to be much lower and there needs to be mana generation and I'm not much of a Commander player/deck builder anyway. I have just always preferred Modern until recently.

I think what I shall focus on is cutting the three-drops to smooth the curve, maybe add one more tutor and polish the mana-base a little more. I probably need to add a counter-spell package but I'm reluctant to do that as I've always hated control decks. Still, it seems prudent to do it.

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Post by Eburon » 2 years ago

pzbw7z wrote:
2 years ago
I probably need to add a counter-spell package but I'm reluctant to do that as I've always hated control decks. Still, it seems prudent to do it.
Playing some countermagic does not make it a control deck. Many combo and midrange decks play countermagic because it makes the deck more resilient (against control decks too). Countermagic is a tool and a very useful one at that.

Talking Countermagic: @plaganegra, You advocated for Fierce Guardianship earlier in the thread. Have you ever felt it awkward if you don't have the queen in play?

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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

Yeah ill second this from @Eburon. Addibg counters doesn't make it a control shell. If you wanted a control shell you're probably looking at adding some staxy elements to complement and really put the squeeze on the board too. I think given some of our win cons here are a little slower theres no reason not to run 3-4 counters to make sure things go the way you want them to. I've had very good results with Swan Song and i think Arcane Denial, the OG and Fierce Guardianship are justifiable too. It doesn't have to eat into the zombie shell, I think its a matter of give and take between removal and counters, you want to min/max those areas to fit your needs.

@pzbw7z, cutting at the 3 slot is probably a good idea. The real chase/splashy zombies tend to sit at 3 and 5, so keeping a tight rein on those slots would probably be prudent. It just means less of a logjam and minimal tempo loss, which is nice.
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Post by plaganegra » 2 years ago

Eburon wrote:
2 years ago
pzbw7z wrote:
2 years ago
I probably need to add a counter-spell package but I'm reluctant to do that as I've always hated control decks. Still, it seems prudent to do it.
Playing some countermagic does not make it a control deck. Many combo and midrange decks play countermagic because it makes the deck more resilient (against control decks too). Countermagic is a tool and a very useful one at that.

Talking Countermagic: @plaganegra, You advocated for Fierce Guardianship earlier in the thread. Have you ever felt it awkward if you don't have the queen in play?
So far it hasn't really come up honestly. If I don't have her in play then my top priority is to usually get her back into play in the early-mid game. People don't seem to use targeted removal on her or any of my zombies for that matter, there is usually a larger singleton threat somewhere else on the board in most games. Zombies are actually a very fair strategy until you bring them all back or combo out with something. The last time I used fierce guardianship it was actually to save Varina from the rare targeted removal. 0 mana counter instead of 6 to recast her so it was an easy choice to just use it then. Gravecrawler or phyrexian arena are actually the lightning rod in my deck for exile effects because people respect the broken interactions either of those can facilitate.

I usually try to hold a counterspell in hand for my game winning turn, wether it be a mass reanimate or a combo win it is always good to have backup. And in that scenario I always want a very cheap counterspell because the more I need to keep open the longer I have to wait and the more vulnerable I am. So actually pact of negation is my favorite counterspell for the deck.

The new one, miscast, is a card I would add probably as counterspell #4. Currently I run Pact of Negation, Fierce Guardianship, and Swan Song. I agree with Toc that 3-4 counterspells are the sweet spot for an optimized, but not "win at any cost" playgroup. Anything less is risky I think and leans more towards battlecruiser.

I almost always want to counter a noncreature spell to protect my own strategy, so not being able to counter creatures with most of those isn't an issue for me.

As always, free counterspells work the best because they are free and because you can tap out and people think you won't respond. And once they see you run free counterspells, they may always feel like they need to play around them even when you don't have one.
Zombies ate my brains.
My Varina Decklist
Also: Yawgmoth, Tinybones, Blim, Krenko, Kaalia, Beckett Brass, Chatterfang, Evelyn, Kodama-East, Kozilek, Breya, Morophon, U-Braids, Ashcoat.
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Post by pzbw7z » 2 years ago

plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
The new one, miscast, is a card I would add probably as counterspell #4. Currently I run Pact of Negation, Fierce Guardianship, and Swan Song.
Your list seems correct to me, but Fierce Guardianship is probably off the table due to budget. The other two are not bad but still expensive enough I might think about substitutes from my piles.

Focusing on non-creature spells is probably correct - except maybe when Narset, Enlightened Master is around :(, so I'm wondering what the top three budget substitutes would be?

Maybe Countersquall, Negate and Dispel?

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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

pzbw7z wrote:
2 years ago
plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
The new one, miscast, is a card I would add probably as counterspell #4. Currently I run Pact of Negation, Fierce Guardianship, and Swan Song.
Your list seems correct to me, but Fierce Guardianship is probably off the table due to budget. The other two are not bad but still expensive enough I might think about substitutes from my piles.

Focusing on non-creature spells is probably correct - except maybe when Narset, Enlightened Master is around :(, so I'm wondering what the top three budget substitutes would be?

Maybe Countersquall, Negate and Dispel?
I'm on Arcane Denial, Counterspell and Delay. Maybe Memory Lapse even.
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Post by pzbw7z » 2 years ago

toctheyounger wrote:
2 years ago
pzbw7z wrote:
2 years ago
plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
The new one, miscast, is a card I would add probably as counterspell #4. Currently I run Pact of Negation, Fierce Guardianship, and Swan Song.
Your list seems correct to me, but Fierce Guardianship is probably off the table due to budget. The other two are not bad but still expensive enough I might think about substitutes from my piles.

Focusing on non-creature spells is probably correct - except maybe when Narset, Enlightened Master is around :(, so I'm wondering what the top three budget substitutes would be?

Maybe Countersquall, Negate and Dispel?
I'm on Arcane Denial, Counterspell and Delay. Maybe Memory Lapse even.
There's probably no reason to play non-creature-only counters when they aren't cheaper than all-around counters. Double-U could be a little bit of an issue early, but not mid to late game. Arcane Denial is fine if it's protecting a win-con. I've seen Ertai's Meddling in some lists but it really just seems worse than Delay.

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Post by pokken » 2 years ago

pzbw7z wrote:
2 years ago
I've seen Ertai's Meddling in some lists but it really just seems worse than Delay.
Ertai's Meddling is > delay for corner cases of stopping uncounterable things. :) Of which there are a lot more than you think.

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Post by Eburon » 2 years ago

When evaluating your countersuite, it is just important to know what you are expecting to counter. Ertai's Meddling can have more value in some metas than Fierce Guardianship and visa versa.

Dovin's Veto is a card I enjoy because being uncounterable itself is great when you expect a fair amount of control.

There are many options out there, but there is not one perfect combination since each piece of countermagic shines in a different situation.

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Post by pzbw7z » 2 years ago

Well, I'm not sure if Ertai or Dovin have any Zombie credibility, but the cards are worth considering. :) Thanks for pointing out the value of Ertai's Meddling @pokken and @Eburon.

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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

I think the counter options really just depend how much interaction you see on the stack. Veto seems really strong if there's a lot of that, but it really does come down to whats going to work in your meta, what yiu can afford and what's efficient for you to hold up mana for. I think that looks a little different for everyone to be honest. Thankfully though I think the options right up the pricier end of the scale with FoW and such probably aren't a good fit anyway, so I don't know that I'd bother even if I could afford them.
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Post by plaganegra » 2 years ago

toctheyounger wrote:
2 years ago
I think the counter options really just depend how much interaction you see on the stack. Veto seems really strong if there's a lot of that, but it really does come down to whats going to work in your meta, what yiu can afford and what's efficient for you to hold up mana for. I think that looks a little different for everyone to be honest. Thankfully though I think the options right up the pricier end of the scale with FoW and such probably aren't a good fit anyway, so I don't know that I'd bother even if I could afford them.
Yeah not nearly enough blue in the average varina deck for Force of Will or force of negation... I think pact of negation and swan song are probably two of the best counters for the deck which are relatively affordable and easy to trade for right now. Pact is at an all time low I believe since the TSR reprinting. Swan Song could use a few more reprints but it is not expensive compared to the premium blue cards.

Anyway, think all of the counterspells mentioned in this thread are more than viable. You just want to have a few up your sleeve for those big turns I think.
Zombies ate my brains.
My Varina Decklist
Also: Yawgmoth, Tinybones, Blim, Krenko, Kaalia, Beckett Brass, Chatterfang, Evelyn, Kodama-East, Kozilek, Breya, Morophon, U-Braids, Ashcoat.
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Post by plaganegra » 2 years ago

Hey everyone, I just wanted to make a PSA about a way to acquire some of the more expensive cards for a Varina deck. I recently started using Cardsphere and have traded in a ton of cards that have been in my trade box for years and years. Often times at 50-70% their market value. This is actually great because it is essentially "found money" and you can overpay (85-100% value) for the cards you want and get them relatively easily. Think of it as like "trading up" when you commonly give 20% more value for something like a reserved list card.

Well, Someone is sending me an LP Intuition for 85% it's value as of right now. I basically did very little to get it other than send a lot of bulk and lower value cards to stores and mass traders that use the site. I sent some good stuff too, but so happy to get another copy of intuition for my Breya deck. I am sure the value of something like a reserved list card will easily gobble up the "25-30%" extra you might trade to get one over a few years of growth and overall market inflation of non-RL cards. I have also traded for a Taiga and a Savannah and several judge foils I always wanted like Gamble, Birthing Pod, and Morophon, the Boundless.

Just wanted to let yall know that if you look hard enough and have a stock of stamps and envelopes - you can get the cards you want for a bunch of cards you dont want this way. Cards regularly get sent at 75% value and you can see what other people are offering for cards, so it is very easy to become the highest bidder for any given card.
Zombies ate my brains.
My Varina Decklist
Also: Yawgmoth, Tinybones, Blim, Krenko, Kaalia, Beckett Brass, Chatterfang, Evelyn, Kodama-East, Kozilek, Breya, Morophon, U-Braids, Ashcoat.
MTG since 2003

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Post by pzbw7z » 2 years ago

Does anyone have any regard for the big ol' tree?

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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

plaganegra wrote:
2 years ago
Hey everyone, I just wanted to make a PSA about a way to acquire some of the more expensive cards for a Varina deck. I recently started using Cardsphere and have traded in a ton of cards that have been in my trade box for years and years. Often times at 50-70% their market value. This is actually great because it is essentially "found money" and you can overpay (85-100% value) for the cards you want and get them relatively easily. Think of it as like "trading up" when you commonly give 20% more value for something like a reserved list card.

Well, Someone is sending me an LP Intuition for 85% it's value as of right now. I basically did very little to get it other than send a lot of bulk and lower value cards to stores and mass traders that use the site. I sent some good stuff too, but so happy to get another copy of intuition for my Breya deck. I am sure the value of something like a reserved list card will easily gobble up the "25-30%" extra you might trade to get one over a few years of growth and overall market inflation of non-RL cards. I have also traded for a Taiga and a Savannah and several judge foils I always wanted like Gamble, Birthing Pod, and Morophon, the Boundless.

Just wanted to let yall know that if you look hard enough and have a stock of stamps and envelopes - you can get the cards you want for a bunch of cards you dont want this way. Cards regularly get sent at 75% value and you can see what other people are offering for cards, so it is very easy to become the highest bidder for any given card.
This is good to know, although tbh I think I'd likely struggle to pull together enough to cover Intuition or anything as costly. As is the only things I'm keen to get in here are fetches, and I think I can wait for a reprint. My lgs has both of the relevant on colors, but at 50 and 60 respectively I think I'd prefer to wait it out.

@pzbw7z Boseiju, Who Shelters All seems a pretty meta call. Honesoty most of my things are fairly low value on their own aren't likely to bait out counters, aside from reanimation, altars, and Necroduality (ill be updating the online list later today hopefully). As is though in the pickup games I mostly play there tends to be fairly low levels of stack interaction so it's not something I'd spring for at current prices. That said, if your usual game experience differs I could see it.
Malazan Decks of the Fallen
| Shadowthrone/Lazav | Raest/Yidris | T'iam / The Ur-Dragon |

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toctheyounger
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Post by toctheyounger » 2 years ago

Alright, so the rest of the VOW update is here for me. Well, truth be told it was here just slightly after christmas, but doing an actual update on the list is super hard on mobile, and I've only just got back on a usable (read: non-work related) computer now.

I should preface that I'm now at the point that all of the changes I'm making here are arguable for and against, which in one way is great, in that we've got SO many great options, and in another is terrible, in that it makes lasting changes a lot harder to decide on. These ones, I think I have right, but I'm open to discussion as there are some cards dropping out that you could consider staples. Anyway, here's where I'm at:


Alright, so the creature adds and the big flashy enchantment we all knew were coming. It does represent a rise in the curve to some degree, but I think it mostly balances out, so it shouldn't be too significant. The counter additions, firstly with Fierce Guardianship and secondly with Delay, I wanted to improve and these seemed right. The former should be pretty golden with Varina, as even if she does die, more often than not I'll let her get caught up in mass reanimation anyway. The latter I think will just be nice to knock someone off of going off, as most of the time when that spell does finally resolve it's not going to be of much use 3 turns later. I think it's comparable with Arcane Denial in terms of a counter with upside, I just want to try this for not giving away as much. Crypt of Agadeem and Fabled Passage are more utility, and the Crypt should be good value here and there. Given it plays into what we're wanting to do, it should perform. The Passage I think I can justify purely for having the breadth of basics in the deck from having a more budget land base. That may change over time, but for now I think it'll do fine.

Generous Gift and Hour of Revelation I've pulled in favour of more stack interaction as above. I think it represents a risk as there is at least some chance I'll struggle to hold up appropriate amounts of mana to justify an element of draw-go, but the changes represent a slight drop in CMC anyway, so it may well balance out. I mentioned earlier Festering Mummy was a place holder, and its place is now taken, no issues there. I've no major synergy with Putrid Imp at present other than it being cheap to cast and for me I don't think that's enough right at the minute. The only additional utility I can see it having is as a way to fill the yard with its discard ability, but that seems like it would vary so I think I'm ok losing it. Death Baron and Undead Warchief represent 2 of the 3 last pieces of tribal pump in the deck. I'm ok losing the Baron to some degree (although deathtouch is good for combat) but the Warchief could be questioned. I think the rationalisation is that the 1 reduction isn't all that significant for early zombies, and those are the ones that are clutch for a consistent game, and that combat isn't what ends most of my games. It can, but it's much more of a grind and not easily done, so I think overall the utility of Warchief is in areas that I'm not hugely wanting to maximise.

I'm relatively happy with all of this, but mostly a lot happier to have everything collated finally and be able to actually get some games in. As always, sound off if you think there's something I've missed here.
Malazan Decks of the Fallen
| Shadowthrone/Lazav | Raest/Yidris | T'iam / The Ur-Dragon |

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