I have tried piloting Zombies again last weekend, despite its unfavorable performance it showed me last GP Manila. This is for the reason that the deck has been gaining momentum in the metagame lately, and I am to experiment something.

The popular version is Rakdos(Black/Red), but I am adding the third color Green for versatility. I really considered Lotleth Troll in the list (aside from buying it at its peak price after the release of RtR) as it has resiliency to removals. Bounce effects is quite bad for it, but surviving Supreme Verdict, and Pillar of Flame is not to be disregarded.

Here is the list I played last Saturday.

Lands
4 Blood Crypt
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Woodland Cemetery
3 Swamp
1 Rakdos Guildgate
1 Golgari Guildgate

Creatures
1 Hellrider
4 Diregraf Ghoul
2 Bloodthrone Vampire
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Lotleth Troll
4 Gravecrawler
4 Geralf’s Messenger
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
2 Blood Artist

Spells
3 Mark of Mutiny
1 Victim of Night
2 Brimstone Volley
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Tragic Slip

I won against UW Flash and BR Zombies (started 2-0), and lost to GW Humans and GW Aggro (ended 2-2). There might be some sideboarding mistakes on my part, aside from unfortunate land stalls and flood which can’t be avoided. The most misfortune I got was against Humans, wherein a resolved turn four Angel of Jubilation shut down my graveyard and Falkenrath Aristocrat shenanigans.

Anyhow, I am thinking in adding more spot removals in the deck or additional Bonfire as more aggro decks has been appearing in my local metagame. This might be to worsen the matchup of UW Flash. I also think this is a good time for Bant Control to dominate the meta. Calling Mr. Tonton hehe.

I might be going back to Naya next weekend or I might try Kibler’s G/W Aggro concoction. Until next post.

Grand Prix Manila will once again be held in the next next week and my preparations are currently, just moderate. One major reason maybe is the lack of cards the card pool currently have. We are still coping with the buy list of Avacyn Restored cards, which was the result of not preordering the cards while they still aren’t their hype price.

Anyhow, I’ve decided to go back to my root colors from the previous Zendikar Standard. These are the colors Black and Red. This time, I am taking on the rotting corpses which got popularized in Innistrad. Here is my current list:

Black Red Zombies by Mark Ian Alloso
Maindeck
Lands
14 Swamp
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Cavern of Souls

Creatures
4 Gravecrawler
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Geralf’s Messenger
1 Cemetery Reaper
3 Falkenrath Aristocrat
3 Blood Artist
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Highborn Ghoul

Spells
2 Arc Trail
3 Brimstone Volley
3 Geth’s Verdict
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Go for the Throat
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Doom Blade
2 Mortarpod

Sideboard
SB: 3 Distress
SB: 3 Manic Vandal
SB: 1 Act of Aggression
SB: 3 Ratchet Bomb
SB: 2 Nihil Spellbomb
SB: 1 Zealous Conscripts
SB: 2 Appetite for Brains

Since I am expecting Delver will still be the popular deck to use, the main deck adjustments will focus on that. That archetype continue to evolve after each weekend of SCG Open tourneys, with Restoration Angel as the current inclusion in the deck.

I am still debating on Liliana to be replaced or not since she’s pretty much slow for the current meta. Maybe she’ll be switched with a fourth Brimstone.

This will still undergo a last weekend of playtesting and hopefully with all the current Tier 1 and 2 decks. I guess I need more articles to read and ponder on to help finalize the list.

Until next post!