Varina, Lich Queen - Esper Zombie Midrange

[Reya]

Fresh Spoiler from Crimson Vow:

Overcharged Amalgam

2UU

Creature - Zombie Horror

Flash
Fly
Exploit
When Overcharged Amalgam exploits a creature, counter target spell, activated ability or triggered ability

3/3

What do you think ??? I love it but 2UU is a lot, unfortunately…

And if you don't know already we will have a new zombie card with « zombies you control have fly »

[demonicpic]

And if you don't know already we will have a new zombie card with « zombies you control have fly »

2UU is a lot, but I love the versatility. You can hold up mana for a counter spell then flash him in if you don't like what you see. Are we really getting the flying zombies card?

[plaganegra]

Playing zombies on turns 1,2 and 3 and then looting 3 with varina on turn 4 was very good.

I am fairly sure more 1 drop zombies are in my future as they release good ones. If I could run like 10 copies of champion of the perished I would. It was an 8/8 and came back as a 12/12 after the zombie apocalypse and soaked up two targeted removal spells that could have been at varina.

This - so much this. Curving out and maximizing Varina! I think Champion is underrated.

Also, new spoiler that I would consider:



Cost is doable on the curve, pseudo evasion, card advantage. Definitely playable!

[ChocoDude]

Here's the picture for Overcharged Amalgam

[ChocoDude]

Where would you all rank the slow dual lands in the dual-land hierarchy?

[toctheyounger]

Man that came around quick! I still haven't picked up everything I wanted from MID.

Stoked to see exploit return. Its a neat mechanic that can be really strong. Zombie Scorpion looks really good, here but elsewhere too.

The fast lands - I think they're very good, and probably sit around the same sort of value as tango lands or check lands for me, in that almost every time you drop them they're ostensibly a dual land once they're in play. Ideally I should probably drop some credit and pick some up while they're cheap. They do seem very good.

[pokken]

Where would you all rank the slow dual lands in the dual-land hierarchy?

image.png

I think it depends a lot on the deck. In Varina, I might play the black ones but depends on the build too. The more 1 and 2 drops you have the worst etb tapped lands are.

[yeti1069]

image.png Here's the picture for Overcharged Amalgam

Basically Disallow for 1 more mana attached to a 3/3 flying zombie if you have another creature to sacrifice to it. This looks super solid, but holding up 4 mana is asking a lot. I'm already not running Disallow, because I don't want to hold up 3 mana. Is it worth including being a zombie?

Notably, this does stop Bojuka Bog and similar effects.

[Artaud]

image.png Here's the picture for Overcharged Amalgam

Basically Disallow for 1 more mana attached to a 3/3 flying zombie if you have another creature to sacrifice to it. This looks super solid, but holding up 4 mana is asking a lot. I'm already not running Disallow, because I don't want to hold up 3 mana. Is it worth including being a zombie?

Unless Rooftop Storm is out. Speaking of which, is running Academy Rector worth a slot to find RS?

[pokken]

Unless Rooftop Storm is out. Speaking of which, is running Academy Rector worth a slot to find RS?

If you are going very hard then 100%. we run lots of sac outlets naturally and a number of the powerful payoffs are enchantments. Stiarwell, storm, discovery, teferi's ageless insight, etc.

Basically Disallow for 1 more mana attached to a 3/3 flying zombie if you have another creature to sacrifice to it. This looks super solid, but holding up 4 mana is asking a lot. I'm already not running Disallow, because I don't want to hold up 3 mana. Is it worth including being a zombie?

I think it is very good - Disallow is good enough I run it in a lot of builds, probably the 4th or 5th counterspell I add. I've played a lot of Summary Dismissal as well.

In this deck, you usually don't want to hold 4 mana up...but you would often be OK spending 4 mana for a 3/3 flying zombie and incidentally stopping a spell.

If you think of all the utility it brings:
1) Good sized flier to always be able to attack
2) Counter spells, triggered, activated abilities
3) Instant speed sac outlet to generate a death trigger (e.g.; Grave Pact) or protect something from an uncounterable exile effect
(this utility is lessened because you can just counter it with this dude, but there are a lot of situations where you want something to resolve and also want to sacrifice something)

I think it's a pretty serious consideration for the deck.

There are even scenarios where you'll get someone super good with Twilight's Call or Wake the Dead if you run that.

[yeti1069]

I'm inclined to agree, but I'm still a little on the fence.

[toctheyounger]

Well Archghoulof Thraben seems pretty nice. What do we think?

[Falkenbach]

Well Archghoulof Thraben seems pretty nice. What do we think?

I think he's pretty amazing. It Seems like we will have to find room for some cards from this set aswell
Always hard to cut cards from the Varina deck..

[yeti1069]

Well Archghoulof Thraben seems pretty nice. What do we think?

Was just about to post about this as well. Zombie dies: Surveil 1 is decent. That it can also draw you a card about 30% of the time is also decent. Neither is super strong, but card advantage on a zombie is probably worth including.

[pokken]

It's got some strengths as sweeper hate but this deck is already basically anti-sweeper. Not sure it's quite good enough to deserve a spot in most builds.

It does serve as a way to combo out with Gravecrawler and Phyrexian Altar which is nice - you just dig until you get a guy who drains.

(Or alternative dig until you get Dread Return in the bin and then reanimate whatever, if you're tight on mana:P but presumably you could just sac the dread return bodies to altar I guess to pay for Corpse Knight ).

[toctheyounger]

It's got some strengths as sweeper hate but this deck is already basically anti-sweeper. Not sure it's quite good enough to deserve a spot in most builds.

It does serve as a way to combo out with Gravecrawler and Phyrexian Altar which is nice - you just dig until you get a guy who drains.

(Or alternative dig until you get Dread Return in the bin and then reanimate whatever, if you're tight on mana:P but presumably you could just sac the dread return bodies to altar I guess to pay for Corpse Knight ).

Idk I think you might be just undervaluing its ability to get decent zombies into the yard and smooth the curve on draws. Or maybe I'm expecting it to trigger more than it will in practice, who knows.

[pokken]

Idk I think you might be just undervaluing its ability to get decent zombies into the yard and smooth the curve on draws. Or maybe I'm expecting it to trigger more than it will in practice, who knows.

I'd be interested in some examples of sequencing where this thing is strong. It feels to me like if you have enough zombies you can spare them to sac to stuff you're probably fine? Or is the idea that you're going to swing them into blockers to trigger Varina then get stuff on death?

My general take is that 3 cmc zombies need to do a crapload; incremental card draw is not what the 3 cmc slot is about. It's where lords and drainers live.

I could see scenarios where it's stronger than Midnight Reaper or Master of Death (your worst two 3-drops) but I think both of those are usually better. First one allows you to draw lands and second one surveils 2 right now with no cost.

[yeti1069]

I can see this and a sac outlet being used to dig for an answer, or a mass reanimate, or to pad the graveyard in advance of a mass reanimate.

I can also see this digging deep on a board wipe.

And it pairs nicely with any of th draw on death cards we have.

I also don't think I said nontoken so it can be used to cash those in (particularly the decayed tokens) for some value.

[toctheyounger]

Yep, does not specify nontoken. The way i see it being useful is to pad the graveyard prior to reanimation, or as a freebie in the case of attacking decayed tokens or Tombspawns at eot. You can even get the trigger as a result of Living Death, although im not 100% sure the timing would work as optimally as id like it to (my assumption is LD resolves, things happen then the pseudo mill triggers happen).

I dunno, @pokken is right. A 3 drop really needs to earn its spot in the list. But I think this could, maybe. Its incident value for something that's already happening, which could be really helpful.

[yeti1069]

Yeah, triggers would resolve after LD has fully resolved.

[toctheyounger]

Yeah, triggers would resolve after LD has fully resolved.

Sad panda. Oh well. It might be good anyway.

[Falkenbach]

Curious to hear everyones thoughts..?

[pokken]

Now evasion and zombie token making sac outlet in the 3 drop is an autoinclude.

If he were a zombie

I'm debating it as not zombie. Ugh. He does make zombies, but only at a cost of reducing our other creatures, and not saccing tokens is countersynergy with Varina.

Bleh. What a conundrum. I am leaning no?

[BeneTleilax]

Leaning no as well. I don't like off-tribe lords in general, and he's not cool enough to make exception to that. Do you think Mindleech Ghoul gets in?

[plaganegra]

Leaning no as well. I don't like off-tribe lords in general, and he's not cool enough to make exception to that. Do you think Mindleech Ghoul gets in?

I think both cards are playable but suboptimal. Geralf maybe squeeks into a more aggro focused deck.

I really wish he had partner, maybe some day I would have paired him with tormod or something. Or Gisa, if she had partner, which would be appropriate lol...