Copy of: Golgari - Jarad's Graveyard V2 (Modern)

Summary

The aim is to get as many creatures into the graveyard as possible using Grisly Salvage, Splinterfright, Gather the pack and Satyr Wayfinder. We use this graveyard to create some huge trample creatures to either smash face, or be sacrificed to Jarad Golgari Lich Lord, or both.

Card Breakdown

Early plays

Cards which we can use early game to setup a board and graveyard state that we need.

• Elves of deep shadow - Being able to tap for black makes it much easier to cast our early game BG cards like Lotleth troll, Grisly Salvage and the double B Nighthowler. There's a chance that elves on T1 allows you to cast troll on T2 and have Mana available for his ability. Also a card we don't really mind being discarded or killed after the first few turns.

• Stitcher's Supplier - The perfect turn 1 play that gets our graveyard churning started, and can also provide even more value when it dies.

• Satyr wayfinder - Pretty much the perfect T2 play. Satyr can find us the land we might need whilst also filling the graveyard to enable our mid and Lategame cards. Also a creature we have no problem chump blocking with early if we need to add to the creature count in the graveyard.

• Grisly salvage - Allows us to look for whatever we might need, be it creature or land and chances are that by looking at 5 cards we'll find something helpful. The instant speed can come in useful for surprise buffing our graveyard synergy creatures to mess up a block for the opponent or to get in extra damage. The only things we don't want to find are our instants and sorceries, and not too many lands, although even these can be used to help escape Polukranos without exiling to many creatures as well as enabling spell mastery on Gather the pack.

• Gather the pack - Like Grisly salvage this also looks at 5 cards, although it only gets us creatures. On the plus side we can get two creatures with it if we have spell mastery, perhaps a Jarad + sacrifice creature, Lotleth + discard card, Splinterfright + Nighthowler etc. Having the option to get two gives us lots of options.

Midgame graveyard synergies

The creatures which take the benefits of a graveyard full of creatures.

• Fiend Artisan - Acts as a sacrifice outlet, a huge creature in the mid to late game, a way to fill the graveyard, and a tutor for any value creature.

• Lotleth troll - The perfect recipient for Nighthowler. Troll can fuel the graveyard on his own to get counters, has trample and can protect himself. We can't really ask for anything more than that. Lotleth Troll discarding a bunch into a Nighthowler bestow can end the game very fast.

• Splinterfright - Another trampling, graveyard fueling threat. The only thing to be careful with is that it doesn't have x + 1 toughness, meaning it can't be played with 0 creatures in the graveyard, or will die if the graveyard is exiled. However it will very quickly grow very big, its own ability helping there, and the trample makes it impossible to chump block. Can turn into a OTK with a Nighthowler bestow.

Lategame Plays

These plays aren't cheap but are potentially very effective.

• Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - The main build-around of the deck, he could also fit into the previous section as he also grows with the size of the graveyard, but his best weapon is his 3 Mana sacrifice ability.

  • Given how large our creatures naturally get this will do a ton of damage.
  • The instant speed allows us to sacrifice in response to removal
  • The lack of a tap cost let's us use it multiple times a turn if needed or use it the turn her comes into play.
    He also has in-built recursion for 4, a good play being to sacrifice two of the lands you tapped to use the ability in the first place. Meaning from the graveyard we can reanimate him and Sacrifice a creature for 7.

• Polukranos, Unchained - A 6/6 for 4 with the ability to fight other creatures is pretty good on it's own (fills the opponents graveyard for Nighthowler). The fact that he shrinks, and could eventually die to his own ability isn't really a big deal. Firstly it adds to the graveyard for our other creatures and secondly we will have no problems paying the cost to escape him back into play, when he then becomes a 12/12, making him a good beater and a good sacrifice target for Jarad.
  In an ideal world we'll just eat all the non creature cards in it graveyard to pay his escape, but if we don't have a graveyard synergy card available the even eating creatures isn't so bad.

Removal

• Heartless Act - Versitile removal spell, as it can kill most creatures, and shrink anything with counters. Swappable if you have a higher budget but it does a nice job as it is.

• Shriekmaw - A removal spell which also adds to our graveyard creature count is exactly what we need. Being able to be played as an evasive threat later into the game definitely doesn't hurt either. A nice potential recipient for Nighthowler.

Interactive lands

• Dakmor salvage - Even our lands can help fill the graveyard! If we happen to discard it to any of our spells, we can drege it back to further fill the GY.

• Svogthos, The Restless Tomb - Can turn into a big X/X creature if we run out of other threats.

Non-budget alternatives

Improved Mana base

• +4 Birds of Paradise +4 Blooming Marsh/Verdant Catacombs
• -4 Elves of Deep Shadow -3 Llanowar Wastes -1 Woodland Cemetery

Improved removal

• +2 Abrupt Decay or Assassin's Trophy
• -2 Putrefy