Yarok-amonicon - ETB/Reanimator

[Guerte]

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Deck History
• Why play Yarok?
  • Other Possible Commanders
• Deck
• Card Analysis
• Yarok's Fen
• Strategy
• Weaknesses of Yarok
• Combos
• Changelog

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Introduction

"Yarok grieves within the waste
Of Bala Ged's corrupted land.
Yarok's waters rush and rage
Where armies bled into the sand.
Yarok's nightmares lurk and wait
Where dark despair is near at hand.
Grief and rage and nightmares fade
Where hope and comfort make their stand."

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Deck History

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Why play Yarok?

Cost:

Power/Toughness:

Abilities:

You might like Yarok if:

You might dislike Yarok if:

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Other Possible Commanders:

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The Deck

Yarok-amonicon

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

//Commander (1):

5 Yarok, the Desecrated

//Creatures (27):

2 Baleful Strix

2 Coiling Oracle

2 Lotus Cobra

3 Eternal Witness

3 Fierce Empath

3 Reclamation Sage

3 Spellseeker

3 Thrashing Brontodon

3 Wood Elves

4 Bramble Sovereign

4 Golgari Findbroker

4 Gonti, Lord of Luxury

4 Ravenous Chupacabra

4 Sakashima the Imposter

4 Solemn Simulacrum

4 Sower of Temptation

4 Spark Double

4 Venser, Shaper Savant

5 Acidic Slime

5 Mulldrifter

5 Tatyova, Benthic Druid

6 Noxious Gearhulk

6 Sire of Stagnation

6 Woodland Bellower

7 Agent of Treachery

7 Rune-Scarred Demon

8 Woodfall Primus

//Artifacts (8):

0 Mana Crypt

1 Sol Ring

2 Lightning Greaves

3 Ashnod's Altar

4 Birthing Pod

4 Panharmonicon

5 Conjurer's Closet

5 Lifeline

//Sorceries (16):

1 Green Sun's Zenith

1 Reanimate

2 Demonic Tutor

2 Exhume

2 Farseek

2 Finale of Devastation

2 Nature's Lore

2 Neoform

2 Three Visits

3 Cultivate

3 Eldritch Evolution

3 Kodama's Reach

3 Toxic Deluge

4 Damnation

4 Rite of Replication

5 Living Death

//Instants (8):

1 Entomb

1 Mystical Tutor

1 Vampiric Tutor

1 Worldly Tutor

2 Cyclonic Rift

3 Corpse Dance

3 Ghostly Flicker

3 Krosan Grip

//Enchantments (4):

2 Sylvan Library

3 Necromancy

4 Guardian Project

5 Treachery

//Lands (36):

1 Ancient Tomb

1 Bayou

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Breeding Pool

1 Cabal Coffers

1 Cavern of Souls

1 Command Tower

1 Dryad Arbor

1 Field of the Dead

1 Flooded Strand

5 Forest

2 Island

1 Marsh Flats

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Opulent Palace

1 Overgrown Tomb

1 Polluted Delta

1 Prismatic Vista

1 Scalding Tarn

3 Swamp

1 Tropical Island

1 Underground Sea

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Volrath's Stronghold

1 Watery Grave

1 Windswept Heath

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Yavimaya Hollow

Approximate Total Cost:

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Card Analysis

While there are many options for cards that could be included in a deck, there is only room for 100. In the spoiler below, I will give a card-by-card explanation as to why I specifically chose to have a certain card in in the deck.

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Creatures

Baleful Strix:

Coiling Oracle:

Lotus Cobra:

Eternal Witness/Golgari Findbroker:

Fierce Empath, Woodland Bellower:

Reclamation Sage:

Spellseeker:

Thrashing Brontodon:

Wood Elves, Solemn Simulacrum:

Bramble Sovereign:

Gonti, Lord of Luxury:

Ravenous Chupacabra:

Sakashima the Imposter/Spark Double:

Sower of Temptation:

Venser, Shaper Savant:

Acidic Slime:

Mulldrifter:

Tatyova, Benthic Druid:

Noxious Gearhulk:

Sire of Stagnation:

Agent of Treachery:

Rune-Scarred Demon:

Woodfall Primus:

Artifacts

Mana Crypt, Sol Ring:

Lightning Greaves:

Ashnod's Altar:

Birthing Pod:

Panharmonicon:

Conjurer's Closet:

Lifeline:

Sorceries

Green Sun's Zenith/Finale of Devastation/Neoform, Eldritch Evolution:

Reanimate:

Demonic Tutor:

Exhume:

Farseek, Nature's Lore, Three Visits, Cultivate, Kodama's Reach:

Toxic Deluge, Damnation:

Rite of Replication:

Living Death:

Instants

Entomb:

Mystical Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Worldly Tutor:

Cyclonic Rift:

Corpse Dance:

Ghostly Flicker:

Enchantments

Sylvan Library:

Necromancy:

Guardian Project:

Treachery:

Lands

Ancient Tomb:

Bayou, Tropical Island, Underground Sea:

Bloodstained Mire, Flooded Strand, Marsh Flats, Misty Rainforest, Polluted Delta, Prismatic Vista, Scalding Tarn, Verdant Catacombs, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills:

Breeding Pool, Overgrown Tomb, Watery Grave:

Cabal Coffers:

Cavern of Souls:

Command Tower, Opulent Palace:

Dryad Arbor:

Field of the Dead:

Forest, Island, Swamp:

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth:

Volrath's Stronghold:

Yavimaya Hollow:

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Yarok's Fen

This is the section in which I will list the cards that either used to be in the deck, or am considering trying out. I tend to swap these out frequently when I want to try something different.

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Yarok's Fen

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

//Creatures:

2 Yarok's Fenlurker

3 Farhaven Elf

3 Springbloom Druid

4 Dimir House Guard

4 Hostage Taker

4 Prime Speaker Vannifar

6 Duplicant

6 Progenitor Mimic

7 Meteor Golem

//Artifacts:

1 Expedition Map

2 Nim Deathmantle

//Sorceries:

2 Rampant Growth

3 Timetwister

3 Villainous Wealth

3 Yawgmoth's Will

//Instants:

1 Noxious Revival

2 Wake the Dead

3 Displace

//Enchantments:

2 Animate Dead

2 Dance of the Dead

3 Journey to Eternity

//Planeswalkers:

5 Tezzeret, the Seeker

//Lands:

1 Phyrexian Tower

1 Thespian's Stage

Approximate Total Cost:

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Strategy

1) Mulligans:

2) Early Game:

3) Mid Game:

4) Late Game:

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Weaknesses of Yarok

1) ETB Hate Cards: The main theme of the deck is Enters the Battlefield (ETB) effects. Most of our creatures have an ETB effect that helps us in some way, so if those get shut off, we have a hard time of winning. Even parts of our combo rely on our creatures entering the battlefield. So, some of the cards we need to look out for are:

• Hushwing Gryff
• Tocatli Honor Guard
• Torpor Orb

2) Graveyard Hate: The second, smaller subtheme of the deck is reanimator/graveyard based, so we heavily rely on the graveyard as a second library of sorts. Therefore, any card that prevents interaction with the graveyard will hinder us severely. The following cards are a few examples of very problematic cards:

• Anafenza the Foremost
• Bojuka Bog
• Containment Priest
• Grafdigger's Cage
• Leyline of the Void
• Nihil Spellbomb
• Rest in Peace
• Tormod's Crypt

These are only a few of the many graveyard hate cards in the game. Any of them are bad for us so if we can get rid of them, we should prioritize that.

3) Hexproof/Shroud: Another problem we will run into is anything that has or can grant Hexproof/Shroud. A lot of our ETB creatures interact by targeting. If we can't target our opponent's stuff, then we may end up targeting ours if they are legal targets, and we don't want that happening.

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Combos

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Changelog

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7/12/19:

OUT:
Dimir House Guard
Forest
Nim Deathmantle
Rampant Growth
Springbloom Druid
Wake the Dead
Yarok's Fenlurker

IN:
Agent of Treachery
Eldritch Evolution
Entomb
Field of the Dead
Neoform
Spellseeker
Treachery

Made some changes to the deck after doing some testing. Neoform/Eldritch Evolution are awesome tutors that put the creature directly to the battlefield to immediately get an effect. The Treachery were also added to steal other people's things. Spellseeker and Entomb were added to go alongside Reanimate. Field of the Dead is just good with Yarok.

I took out cards that seemed to have a relatively low impact in games I've played.

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7/22/19:

OUT:
Animate Dead
Dance of the Dead
Displace
Duplicant
Expedition Map
Farhaven Elf
Hostage Taker
Island
Meteor Golem
Phyrexian Tower
Progenitor Mimic
Thespian's Stage
Villainous Wealth
Yawgmoth's Will

IN:
Dryad Arbor
Exhume
Finale of Devastation
Forest x2
Golgari Findbroker
Green Sun's Zenith
Krosan Grip
Lotus Cobra
Sakashima the Imposter
Sower of Temptation
Tatyova, Benthic Druid
Thrashing Brontodon
Woodfall Primus

Making a few more changes to the list after some playtesting over the weekend.

For the additions, I added Thrashing Brontodon and Krosan Grip as a way of dealing mainly with Torpor Orb. Sakashima can act as another Yarok. Added some more creature tutors, and more ETB creatures.

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[BroSelvala]

I definitely recommend running Treachery. Absolutely bonkers with Yarok on the field and of course quite good even without. The new Agent of Treachery isn’t bad either.

Another fun piece of tech is Wild Pair. Kind of under the afar card but it can definitely be abused in Yarok.

[Guerte]

I definitely recommend running Treachery. Absolutely bonkers with Yarok on the field and of course quite good even without. The new Agent of Treachery isn’t bad either.

Another fun piece of tech is Wild Pair. Kind of under the afar card but it can definitely be abused in Yarok.

Thanks for the suggestions! Both of those are actually on my short list of things to try out, although I’m a little hesitant on the Agent due to its high cost, and I already have a few at that cmc. But it could be really great.

Any suggestions as far as cuts go? When I get some time, I’ll list the stuff I am currently considering trying out.

[BroSelvala]

I’d cut Yarok’s Fenlurker first. I think it’s just kind of meh. I’d rather a ETB effect that has a board impact.

[Guerte]

I’d cut Yarok’s Fenlurker first. I think it’s just kind of meh. I’d rather a ETB effect that has a board impact.

That's probably a good consideration for cut. I had Mesmeric Fiend and Thought-Knot Seer in the initial list, but cut them, so I feel like this is also a safe cut.

I've also added a separate section for cards I am thinking about trying out.

[Guerte]

7/12/19:

OUT:
Dimir House Guard
Forest
Nim Deathmantle
Rampant Growth
Springbloom Druid
Wake the Dead
Yarok’s Fenlurker

IN:
Agent of Treachery
Eldritch Evolution
Entomb
Field of the Dead
Neoform
Spellseeker
Treachery

Made some changes to the deck after doing some testing. Neoform/Eldritch Evolution are awesome tutors that put the creature directly to the battlefield to immediately get an effect. The Treachery were also added to steal other people's things. Spellseeker and Entomb were added to go alongside Reanimate. Field of the Dead is just good with Yarok.

I took out cards that seemed to have a relatively low impact in games I've played.

[Guerte]

7/22/19:

OUT:
Animate Dead
Dance of the Dead
Displace
Duplicant
Expedition Map
Farhaven Elf
Hostage Taker
Island
Meteor Golem
Phyrexian Tower
Progenitor Mimic
Thespian's Stage
Villainous Wealth
Yawgmoth's Will

IN:
Dryad Arbor
Exhume
Finale of Devastation
Forest x2
Golgari Findbroker
Green Sun's Zenith
Krosan Grip
Lotus Cobra
Sakashima the Imposter
Sower of Temptation
Tatyova, Benthic Druid
Thrashing Brontodon
Woodfall Primus

Making a few more changes to the list after some playtesting over the weekend.

For the additions, I added Thrashing Brontodon and Krosan Grip as a way of dealing mainly with Torpor Orb. Sakashima can act as another Yarok. Added some more creature tutors, and more ETB creatures.