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Author Topic: [EDH / Commander] Scarab Horde  (Read 331 times)

Trifecta739

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[EDH / Commander] Scarab Horde
« on: July 12, 2019, 04:44:07 am »
https://deckstats.net/decks/135757/1340206-scarab-horde

Played it for the first time today (with my IRL group). Board kept getting cleared every time I built up any Zombie presence and so Endless Ranks of the Dead became a dead card on my board. Might just be that I'm playing things too general instead of concentrating on a particular Zombie theme. If I had to double-down on a particular style I'd probably back Token/Mill and play off Scarab God.

I did run out of cards in hand at one point not too far into the game, so I was also considering getting more draw and search in there. And maybe some more removal too.

Any recommendations should keep in mind I'm trying to keep it within reason price-wise. So nothing that comes in at $100+ and nothing that'd tip it over around the $500 mark, which for this should be easy since it's not even at $250 yet.

CleanBelwas

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Re: [EDH / Commander] Scarab Horde
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2019, 11:52:10 am »
Hey man, great list. I love the Scarab God. Personally my favourite commander. Thought I'd share my own experiences with you in case they help.

I find that the Scarab God is better suited to a slightly more control build. Zombie tribal is definitely the way to run him in EDH, but he can make his own horde and is massively rewarded by making the game go on longer.

40 Zombies is a lot. Personally, I run about 30 or so and leave a little more room open for other things. I feel that one of the Scarab God's biggest benefits is his eteranlize-like ability. It can target any graveyard and can be activated at instant speed. In my experience, when I focus on this, the upkeep trigger just gets bigger each turn naturally, so I dedicate more cards to filling up graveyards and removing creatures. For me it is what sets the Scarab God apart as a Zombie tribal commander.

Personally, I also run a couple of creatures that aren't zombies. I play pretty casually so these might not be suitable for you, but I have a lot of success with Fleet Swallower and Omnispell Adept. The fleet swallower naturally just fills up a graveyard and gives you so much ammo to "eternalize", and the omnispell adept let's you cast sorceries at instant speed and for a specific cost. Casting Army of the Damned for 2U in response to the Scarab God's upkeep trigger feels great. And if you "eternalize" these two, you can do it just before your turn starts so they are much less likely to get removed before they can do their thing.

With that in mind, Final Parting is pretty great in this deck. One card in hand and on in the yard feels made for the Scarab God. I almost always get Army of the Damned in hand and Omnispell adept in the yard for that combo, but it's pretty versatile even if a little expensive at 5 cmc.

But generally I think the Scarab God takes care of his own horde if you want to play it that way. Focusing on big mana to activate his ability as many times as possible, milling and removal so you've got worthy targets and a bit of counter magic to protect from wipes is my personal preferred way to play him. When I play him this way, I find I don't care as much about card draw. It's still necessary, but every creature in any yard is also basically in your hand. And once he get's going, the scry effect means you get to pick the best card out of your top 3, 5, 10, 20, whatever.

A couple of specific cards that I feel have potential in Scarab God are:

Paradox Haze - double upkeep is just insane with him. You could also look for extra turn cards for the same kind of effect. This is pretty great regardless of what archetype you wish to play with Scarab God.

Ulamog's Nullifier - I played this guy on a whim just to try him out and he was gas. The big thing with Scarab God is when he eternalizes, he exiles the creature and makes a copy. This guy lets you put the best things back into the yard to eternalize again, while also countering a spell and is a flash flyer, so can chump block out of nowhere.

Training Grounds - this thing starts to get a little pricey, but that effect is super strong if you go the eternalize route.


Having said all that, it might be that going the more control, eternalize focused route just doesn't appeal to you, which is cool. If that is the case, it might still be worth just cutting a few creatures for counter spells if board wipes are prevalent.

Hope some of this has given you food for thought. Happy brewing!

Judaspriester

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Re: [EDH / Commander] Scarab Horde
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2019, 12:10:27 pm »
Since you got some budget left, you could also impove the mana base.
Prismatic Lens could be replaced with Talisman of Dominance.
For the lands: Evolving Wilds, Dimir Guildgate, Submerged Boneyard, Temple of Deceit and Terramorphic Expanse out.
In stead add Drowned Catacomb, Tainted Isle, Morphic Pool, Phyrexian Tower, Sunken Hollow and Watery Grave. With your amount of swamps, Cabal Stronghold could also be a viable option.

Another possible option would be adding Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. In that case (and depending on how strict you want to play the zombie tribe) there are some more interesting cards for more mana: Crypt Ghast, Magus of the Coffers, Cabal Coffers. Filth would also be interesting. With Urborg on the table and Filth in graveyard your whole board gets unblockable.

Not all of the suggestions are that pricey, so you may want to take a look before you add them.
You say Prison Cell, I hear 'Holiday'.

Trifecta739

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Re: [EDH / Commander] Scarab Horde
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2019, 02:52:53 am »
Thanks for the suggestions. I made some modifications. Cut some creatures and more targeted cards. Added in some removal and removal hate, with counterspells.

Quote
-1 Apprentice Necromancer    
-1 Dimir Guildgate    
-1 Diregraf Captain    
-1 Endless Ranks of the Dead    
-1 Eternal Skylord    
-1 Evolving Wilds    
-1 Fact or Fiction    
-1 From Under the Floorboards    
-1 Gempalm Polluter    
-1 Gnawing Zombie    
-1 Highborn Ghoul    
-1 Open the Graves    
-1 Prismatic Lens    
-1 Star Compass    
-1 Submerged Boneyard    
-1 Sultai Emissary    
-1 Temple of Deceit    
-1 Terramorphic Expanse    
-1 Vengeful Dead    
-1 Wayfarer's Bauble    
-1 Zombie Apocalypse    

+1 Akroma's Memorial
+1 Cabal Coffers    
+1 Caged Sun    
+1 Counterspell    
+1 Crypt of Agadeem    
+1 Cyclonic Rift    
+1 Demonic Tutor    
+1 Dictate of Erebos    
+1 Disallow    
+1 Discovery // Dispersal    
+1 Drowned Catacomb    
+1 Final Parting    
+1 Life's Finale    
+1 Morphic Pool    
+1 Phyrexian Tower    
+1 Sudden Spoiling    
+1 Tainted Isle    
+1 Talisman of Dominance    
+1 Thran Dynamo    
+1 Training Grounds    
+1 Ulamog's Nullifier    


CleanBelwas

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Re: [EDH / Commander] Scarab Horde
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2019, 08:40:24 am »
Those look like some great adjustments. Still plenty of Zombies, but a little more protection to keep your plans going, and the potential to generate a lot of mana.

Hope you find it works out for you. Keep us updated after you've tried it out. Would love to hear how it's running now.