Premodern Zombies Deck Guide (2026)
Premodern Zombies is a mono-black tribal aggro deck: Carnophage and Sarcomancy start fast, Lord of the Undead grows the team, Shepherd of Rot drains to finish. Undead Warchief adds a second lord, Duress and Cabal Therapy clear the way, and Gempalm Polluter helps close games without attacking. It shows up at local events: in June 2026 it won a 13-player event at Cloudpost in Bratislava and took second place at a 10-player side event in Mallorca.
How the deck wins
- Carnophage and Sarcomancy put two power on the table for one mana each, and the life they cost matters mostly in races against burn and the other aggro decks. A turn-one Dark Ritual casts Lord of the Undead or Rotlung Reanimator right away, and the one-drops follow on turn two.
- Duress takes the sweeper or a noncreature combo piece, and Cabal Therapy can name any nonland card, creatures included. Its flashback sacrifices a creature: with Rotlung Reanimator on the table, sacrifice a Cleric such as Shepherd of Rot or Withered Wretch and a 2/2 Zombie token takes its place, so you strip a card without shrinking your board.
- Shepherd of Rot taps to make every player lose life for each Zombie on the battlefield, so with four Zombies out it is four points every turn that nobody can block, though you lose them too. Gempalm Polluter cycles from your hand and makes only the opponent lose that much. When the board is stalled by a bigger creature or a chump-blocking army, this is how Zombies wins anyway, and Lord of the Undead plus Unholy Grotto bring a dead Shepherd or a cycled Polluter back for another round.
Core cards
- 4 Withered Wretch
- 4 Lord of the Undead
- 4 Carnophage
- 4 Dark Ritual
- 4 Shepherd of Rot
- 4 Sarcomancy
- 4 Rotlung Reanimator
- 3 Duress
- 3 Cabal Therapy
- 3 Gempalm Polluter
- 3 Wasteland
- 2 Bad Moon
Key cards
- Lord of the Undead: Other Zombies get +1/+1, so Carnophage and Sarcomancy tokens attack as 3/3s, and for {1}{B} and a tap it returns a Zombie card from your graveyard to your hand: Cabal Therapy fodder, a killed Shepherd of Rot, or the same Gempalm Polluter to cycle again.
- Shepherd of Rot: Tapping it makes each player lose one life per Zombie on the battlefield, yours and theirs. That is life loss, so blockers, Solitary Confinement and Glacial Chasm do not stop it, and with a full board it takes four to six life a turn. Against Sligh and Burn count both sides carefully: it hurts you just as much.
- Carnophage: A 2/2 for one mana that taps itself in your upkeep unless you pay 1 life. Keep paying while you are the beatdown; stop paying and let it stay tapped once the drain plan is doing the work.
- Sarcomancy: The second two-power one-drop: an enchantment that makes a 2/2 Zombie token when it enters. As long as any Zombie is on the battlefield it costs nothing more, and in this deck that is almost always true. Together with Carnophage it gives eight copies of a turn-one 2/2.
- Rotlung Reanimator: Whenever it or another Cleric dies, you get a 2/2 Zombie token. Shepherd of Rot and Withered Wretch are Clerics too, so a sweeper, a trade or a Cabal Therapy flashback that costs you a Cleric leaves a token behind.
- Withered Wretch: A two-mana 2/2 that exiles cards from graveyards one at a time for one mana each. Maindeck graveyard hate against Reanimator, Replenish and Psychatog, a Cleric for Rotlung, and a perfectly good attacker when there is nothing to exile. Its ability costs {1}, which any land can pay, so keep a land untapped when it matters.
- Cabal Therapy: Name the card, see the hand, take every copy, then flash it back by sacrificing a Zombie you can recur or replace. After Duress you name with certainty; blind, you name the card that beats you: Pernicious Deed, Wrath of God, Replenish, Oath of Druids, Phyrexian Dreadnought.
- Gempalm Polluter: Rarely cast for six mana. For {B}{B} it cycles and makes a player lose one life per Zombie on the battlefield, at instant speed and past any blocker, though it targets, so Solitary Confinement stops it. Lord of the Undead returns it to hand, so the same card can finish a game twice. Undead Warchief makes it cost five to hard-cast and turns it into a 6/4.
Mulligan guide
Keep
- Two lands, a one-drop and a two- or three-drop: Swamp, Swamp, Carnophage, Withered Wretch is a typical keep. The deck has 21 lands and almost every spell costs three or less, so two lands is enough.
- Swamp, Dark Ritual, Lord of the Undead or Rotlung Reanimator with a one-drop behind it. A turn-one Lord or Rotlung is the deck's best start.
- Against combo and control, any hand with Duress or Cabal Therapy and two threats. The discard buys the time the creatures need.
Ship
- One land without Dark Ritual, and hands of five or more lands: the deck cannot afford to flood, and its only card draw is cycling Gempalm Polluter and a single Graveborn Muse.
- Hands whose only lands are Wasteland and Unholy Grotto: both make only colorless mana, so neither casts Carnophage or any other spell in the deck.
- Hands without a one-drop that depend on Graveborn Muse, Undead Warchief or a hard-cast Gempalm Polluter: those cards are strong only on a board that already exists.
Keep two lands with a one-drop, or a Swamp and Dark Ritual with a three-drop and a one-drop behind it. Zombies wins by making the opponent react from turn one, and a hand that does nothing before turn three gives that up.
Play tips and sequencing
- On the play, cast Carnophage or Sarcomancy on turn one and Duress or Cabal Therapy on turn two, once you have seen their first land. Against known combo, discard comes first, because the one card you take on turn one is worth more than two damage.
- Cast Cabal Therapy after Duress: Duress shows the hand, and Therapy takes every copy of what you saw. The flashback then costs you a creature; with Rotlung Reanimator in play sacrifice a Cleric and get a token back, otherwise sacrifice the Sarcomancy token, which is the body you can most afford to lose.
- Creatures held in hand are safe from Pernicious Deed and Wrath of God, so against a deck with a sweeper deploy in two waves and lead the second one with Lord of the Undead.
- Hold Shepherd of Rot for a stalled board: as an attacker it is a 1/1, but its tap ability goes past any number of blockers. Play it once you have at least three other Zombies, and hold Lord of the Undead's recursion for it.
- Point Wasteland at their utility lands: Mishra's Factory, Rishadan Port, Gaea's Cradle and Serra's Sanctum, or the only source of a two-color deck's second color. The deck needs {B}{B} for Withered Wretch, {1}{B}{B} for Lord of the Undead and {2}{B}{B} for Graveborn Muse and Undead Warchief, so do not sacrifice a land you still need.
- Against Reanimator, Replenish and Psychatog, keep a land untapped on their turn for Withered Wretch and exile the one creature or enchantment that turn depends on, in response.
- Count your life as carefully as theirs: Carnophage, Sarcomancy without a Zombie and Shepherd of Rot all cost you life, and Graveborn Muse costs you one life per Zombie every upkeep while it draws as many cards. Against Sligh and Burn stop paying for Carnophage early and use Shepherd only when the race math says you finish first.
Matchups
- Goblins (even before boarding, favorable afterward): Game one is a race between two tribal decks: Goblin Lackey on turn one is the card to answer or block, and Goblin Ringleader out-grinds you. Your lords make blocks profitable, and Shepherd of Rot wins a stalled board once Goblin Sharpshooter is gone. After board, Engineered Plague naming Goblin is close to a lock: it kills Lackey, Mogg Fanatic, Sharpshooter and every token, and their answers are Naturalize or Tranquil Domain for the Plague and a Goblin King that keeps the X/1 Goblins alive. No match data.
- Sligh (slightly unfavorable): A pure race, and your own cards cost life: Carnophage's upkeep, Sarcomancy without a Zombie and Shepherd of Rot all count against you. Stop paying for Carnophage early, do not tap Shepherd unless the math says you finish first, and let Lord-pumped 3/3s block their 2/1s. Bottle Gnomes come in for Shepherd of Rot, some lists add Zombie Master, and Snuff Out's free mode costs 4 life, so use it only while you are ahead. No match data.
- Elves (even before boarding, favorable afterward): Same logic as Goblins with a higher ceiling on their side: Gaea's Cradle and Survival of the Fittest can go over the top of any number of 2/2s. Cabal Therapy naming Survival on turn one is the best play you have, Wasteland is for Cradle and nothing else, and after board Engineered Plague naming Elf kills every one-toughness Elf outright, which is most of their deck; Yavimaya Granger, Wirewood Symbiote, Nantuko Vigilante and Masticore survive it. No match data.
- Stiflenought (even): Phyrexian Dreadnought is a 12/12 trampler that ends the race in two attacks once it resolves, so take Stifle or Vision Charm with Duress and Therapy before it can. Snuff Out and Diabolic Edict both kill a resolved Dreadnought, and your drain plan wins through a single blocker: Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter never have to attack into it. Sacrifice Sarcomancy tokens to flash back Cabal Therapy freely; they will not race a Dreadnought anyway. No match data.
- Mono Black (unfavorable): Their Duress, Cabal Therapy, Smother and Diabolic Edict trade one-for-one with your best cards, Snuff Out and Gloom are dead against them, and Nantuko Shade blocks a lord-pumped 3/3. Rotlung Reanimator and Lord of the Undead's recursion are what keep you in it. After boarding expect Engineered Plague naming Zombie, which kills Shepherd of Rot unless a lord is out and also shrinks their own Withered Wretch and Graveborn Muse; Zombie Master, in the lists that board it, gives your other Zombies swampwalk. No match data.
- Replenish (even): They are slow to set up and you are fast, so take Replenish itself with Duress or Therapy, keep Withered Wretch active on the enchantments they discard, and pressure them under any Parallax Wave. After board Gloom makes Replenish, Parallax Wave, Opalescence and Seal of Cleansing cost three more to cast, and every Parallax Wave or Seal of Cleansing activation costs three more as well. Dystopia makes them sacrifice a white permanent in each of their upkeeps, and Withered Wretch can exile those enchantments before Replenish brings them back. No match data.
- Enchantress (slightly unfavorable): Once Argothian Enchantress or Enchantress's Presence is on the table they draw more cards than you can strip. Elephant Grass, main deck in about half their lists, stops black creatures from attacking them at all, and Solitary Confinement prevents your combat damage, but neither stops Shepherd of Rot's drain. Discard on turns one and two matters most; after board four Gloom and three Dystopia keep the matchup playable, and every Wasteland should point at Serra's Sanctum. No match data.
- The Rock (unfavorable): Pernicious Deed for two wipes your one- and two-drops, and a bigger Deed takes the Lords and Rotlungs too, and they have the edicts, Ravenous Baloth and Krosan Tusker to clean up what is left. Name Deed with Cabal Therapy, deploy in two waves so a Deed never takes more than three permanents, and keep Lord of the Undead's recursion for after the sweeper rather than before it. After boarding expect Engineered Plague naming Zombie. No match data.
- Landstill (even): Standstill is awkward for them against a board of one-drops: you keep attacking without casting anything, and whoever casts the next spell gives the other player three cards. Their answers are Wrath of God and, in about half their lists, a Humility, which turns off Lord of the Undead and Shepherd of Rot but not a cycled Gempalm Polluter. Use Wasteland on Mishra's Factory, and after boarding Engineered Plague naming Soldier kills the tokens from a cycled Decree of Justice. No match data.
- Terrageddon (even): No recent match data. Carnophage and Sarcomancy start fast, Duress and Cabal Therapy take Armageddon, Shepherd of Rot drains without attacking, and Withered Wretch exiles land cards and shrinks Terravore. Terravore walls the ground, and after boarding their Pyroclasm sweeps your 2/2s while Cursed Totem stops Shepherd of Rot, Withered Wretch and Lord of the Undead's recursion, so bring Gloom and Dystopia.
- MUD (slightly favorable): No recent match data. Carnophage and Sarcomancy come down before the lock, Withered Wretch exiles Goblin Welder targets, and Wasteland hits a mana base of 21 nonbasics. Lord of the Undead recursion and Shepherd of Rot's drain punish a slow start. Ensnaring Bridge, main deck or sideboard in nearly all their lists, stops your 2/2s from attacking once they hold one card or fewer, though not the drain, and Pyroclasm, Triskelion, Masticore and Powder Keg answer your creatures.
- Full English Breakfast (slightly favorable): Withered Wretch in your main deck exiles combo pieces, Engineered Plague after boarding kills Hermit Druid or Birds of Paradise, and Carnophage and Sarcomancy put on a clock they have to answer. After boarding their Pyroclasm, Ghitu Slinger and Ray of Revelation fight back. No match data.
- Stasis (slightly unfavorable): Duress and Cabal Therapy take Stasis before they can cast it, and Dark Ritual gets your threats down before the lock. After boarding their Cursed Totem stops Shepherd of Rot, Withered Wretch and Lord of the Undead's recursion, though not its +1/+1 or a cycled Gempalm Polluter, and Root Maze keeps a fresh Swamp from casting Dark Ritual. No meaningful match data.
- Deadguy Ale (slightly unfavorable): Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate and Exalted Angel's lifegain blunt the swarm, and their Nantuko Shade blocks a lord-pumped 3/3. Their own lands and Phyrexian Arena cost them life, so Shepherd of Rot's drain and a cycled Gempalm Polluter can finish a game that looks lost. After boarding expect Engineered Plague naming Zombie, which also hits their own Withered Wretch and Graveborn Muse, and bring Gloom: their Swords, Vindicate and Gerrard's Verdict then cost three more. No meaningful match data.
- Aluren (slightly favorable): Aluren is symmetrical, so once it resolves your Carnophage, Lord of the Undead and Shepherd of Rot are free too. Duress and Cabal Therapy take Aluren or Survival, Wasteland hits their green mana, and Engineered Plague naming Beast after boarding kills Cavern Harpy. Kill them before the Spike Feeder loop starts: unlimited life ends the race. No match data.
- White Weenie (slightly unfavorable): Soltari Monk and White Knight have protection from black, so your Zombies cannot block them. Carnophage, Sarcomancy and Lord of the Undead race well, Duress and Cabal Therapy take Armageddon, and Gloom after boarding makes their white spells cost three more. Some lists bring Light of Day, which stops every black creature from attacking or blocking, though not Shepherd of Rot's drain. No match data.
- BW Control (slightly unfavorable): Their Wrath of God, Decree of Pain in some lists and Infest after boarding punish a swarm, so take the sweeper first with Duress or Cabal Therapy and deploy two threats at a time. Withered Wretch exiles Eternal Dragon from their graveyard, and Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter drain them past blockers. After boarding expect Engineered Plague naming Zombie; bring Gloom, which makes their Swords to Plowshares and Wrath of God cost three more. No match data.
- Gro-a-Tog (even): Their Fire // Ice kills a 2/2 Zombie or two Shepherds of Rot, and Pyroclasm and Engineered Plague naming Zombie come in after boarding. Race with Carnophage and Sarcomancy before Quirion Dryad grows, take a counter with Duress or Cabal Therapy, and keep Withered Wretch for Psychatog's graveyard. No match data.
- Pit Rack (even): You empty your hand fast, which turns on their Rack, but your creatures are black, so their Snuff Out cannot target them; Smother can, and Diabolic Edict makes you sacrifice one. Gempalm Polluter drains past their blockers, and Engineered Plague naming Zombie after boarding is the card to fear. No meaningful match data.
- Rebels (even): You are faster than their chain: Carnophage, Sarcomancy and Lord of the Undead attack early, Gempalm Polluter cycles for the last points, and Withered Wretch exiles the Rebel cards Lin Sivvi would recycle. Nightwind Glider, and any creature Mother of Runes gives protection from black, block your attackers without dying, and Swords to Plowshares takes the Lord, so attack with several small Zombies. No match data.
- Contamination (even): Contamination does nothing to your black mana. Attack early with Carnophage, Sarcomancy and Lord of the Undead before Innocent Blood and Sickening Dreams catch up, use Withered Wretch to exile Nether Spirit, and expect Engineered Plague naming Zombie, which some lists already play in the main deck. No match data.
- Turbo Lands (even): Glacial Chasm prevents the damage of your attacks, but Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter make them lose life, which gets through, and Wasteland destroys Chasm. Duress and Cabal Therapy go after Exploration and Seismic Assault, which otherwise kills a Zombie for every land or two. No match data.
- Fluctuator (favorable): Your clock is faster than their combo, and Withered Wretch exiles creature cards from their graveyard for {1} each, also in response to Songs of the Damned. Duress and Cabal Therapy take Fluctuator, Wasteland takes their black source, and their Expunge cannot kill your black creatures. Cycling Gempalm Polluter targets them, so Gilded Light stops it for a turn. No match data.
- RG Zoo (slightly unfavorable): Zoo's burn kills Lord of the Undead and Withered Wretch, and Elephant tokens and Treetop Village are 3/3s that block your 2/2s. Shepherd of Rot drains them every turn without attacking, though it drains you as much, and Withered Wretch exiles Call of the Herd before its flashback and starves Grim Lavamancer. Their fetchlands, Karplusan Forest and Sylvan Library cost them life; bring Snuff Out and Bottle Gnomes, and keep Shepherd of Rot only while you are ahead on life. No match data.
- Clerics (even): Both decks are mono-black and share Rotlung Reanimator, Withered Wretch, Duress and Cabal Therapy, and either Rotlung makes a 2/2 Zombie whenever any Cleric dies, yours or theirs. Your Lord of the Undead pumps their Rotlung, Wretch and Zombie tokens too, Shepherd of Rot counts them, and neither side's Snuff Out can target the other's creatures. Name Dark Supplicant with Cabal Therapy and pressure them before it finds Scion of Darkness, a 6/6 trampler. After boarding, Engineered Plague naming Human kills Dark Supplicant and Priest of Gix and shrinks Cabal Archon without touching any of your creatures; their Plague naming Zombie shrinks their own Rotlung and Wretch as well. No match data.
- Dromar Control (slightly unfavorable): Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate, Diabolic Edict and Dromar's Charm each answer only one creature, and a flipped Exalted Angel blocks and gains them life whenever it deals damage. Go wide with Carnophage and Sarcomancy, take Wrath of God or a counter with Duress, and finish past the Angel with Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter; Caves of Koilos, Adarkar Wastes and their fetchlands cost them life too. Gloom after boarding makes Swords, Vindicate, Meddling Mage, Mother of Runes and Wrath cost three more, and Dystopia makes them sacrifice a white permanent in each of their upkeeps. Expect Engineered Plague naming Zombie. No match data.
- Oath of Druids (unfavorable): You nearly always control more creatures, so Oath of Druids can put a Terravore onto the battlefield in each of their upkeeps. Take Oath with Duress or Cabal Therapy before they cast it, and keep Withered Wretch exiling land cards to shrink Terravore; your own Wasteland grows it. Sphere of Resistance makes your one-drops cost two, and Rishadan Port and Thermokarst attack your Swamps. After boarding, Snuff Out kills Terravore and Dystopia makes them sacrifice Oath, Terravore or Sylvan Library in each of their upkeeps; expect Cursed Totem and, in the red lists, Pyroclasm. No match data.
- Psychatog (even): Counterspell and Foil trade poorly with one-mana creatures, and Duress and Cabal Therapy take the counters or Sickening Dreams. Withered Wretch exiles their graveyard one card at a time, which keeps Psychatog small and weakens Accumulated Knowledge, and Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter drain past a big Tog on defense. Their Smother kills almost any of your creatures, and a Sickening Dreams that discards two cards sweeps the 2/2s. Psychatog is black, so Snuff Out cannot target it; after boarding expect Engineered Plague naming Zombie. No match data.
- Reanimator (even): Keep Withered Wretch ready with a land untapped: it exiles the creature card in response to Reanimate, Exhume or Animate Dead. Duress and Cabal Therapy take the reanimation spells before they are cast, but a turn-one or turn-two reanimation gets there before Wretch can, and their Cabal Therapy can name it. Akroma, Angel of Wrath has protection from black, so your creatures cannot block it and Snuff Out cannot target it, though Snuff Out kills Phantom Nishoba and Verdant Force. Exhume also returns a creature from your graveyard, often a cycled Gempalm Polluter, and their Sickening Dreams sweeps your 2/2s. After boarding expect Oath of Druids, which your creatures turn on; Duress takes it. No match data.
- The Solution (slightly unfavorable): In the red lists, Lightning Bolt and Fire // Ice kill your 2/2s and Lord of the Undead; Mother of Runes protects their creatures, and Lightning Angel and Exalted Angel fly over a board that cannot block them. Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter make them lose life, which Worship cannot stop, because it only changes damage, and their fetchlands and painlands help you. Gloom after boarding makes Swords to Plowshares, Meddling Mage, Mother of Runes and Lightning Angel cost three more, and Dystopia costs them a white permanent in each of their upkeeps. Some lists bring Pyroclasm. No match data.
- Tron (slightly favorable): Pressure them before the Urza lands come together: Wasteland destroys an Urza land, and Duress and Cabal Therapy take Wrath of God or Decree of Justice. Masticore pings your creatures and Powder Keg on one counter destroys every Carnophage, but Snuff Out from the sideboard kills Masticore through its regeneration. A Decree of Justice cycled at instant speed makes Soldier tokens to block, so finish with Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter, and after boarding Engineered Plague naming Soldier kills the tokens. Gloom after boarding makes Wrath, Swords to Plowshares and a hard-cast Decree cost three more. No match data.
- UG Madness (even): Your discard helps them more than usual: a Basking Rootwalla discarded to Cabal Therapy comes in for free, an Arrogant Wurm for {2}{G} if they kept the mana up, and Roar of the Wurm or Deep Analysis taken by Duress can still be flashed back, so take Survival of the Fittest or a counter. Withered Wretch exiles Wonder, Roar of the Wurm, Deep Analysis and Squee from their graveyard. Wild Mongrel and Arrogant Wurm outsize your 2/2s, so let Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter finish the game. After boarding, Snuff Out kills their green creatures, though Wild Mongrel can discard a card to turn black in response, and Dystopia makes them sacrifice a green permanent in each of their upkeeps. Expect Cave-In or Pyrokinesis in the red lists. No match data.
Sideboard guide
- vs Goblins and Elves: Engineered Plague, Snuff Out. In: three Engineered Plague, and against Goblins the three Snuff Out to answer a turn-one Lackey before Plague arrives. Out: against Goblins the four Withered Wretches, whose graveyard ability does little there, plus Graveborn Muse and Undead Warchief; against Elves three Wretches, keeping one for the Anger and Squee that Survival of the Fittest puts in their graveyard.
- vs Sligh and Burn: Bottle Gnomes, Snuff Out. In: two Bottle Gnomes and three Snuff Out, whose 4 life you pay only while you are ahead; otherwise cast it for {3}{B}. Out: the four Shepherds of Rot, which drain you too, and Graveborn Muse, whose upkeep loss you cannot afford in this race. Some lists board Zombie Master: your other Zombies can then regenerate for {B} each, which saves them from Lightning Bolt and Fireblast, though not from Incinerate, and Zombie Master itself cannot regenerate.
- vs Enchantress, Replenish and white control: Gloom, Dystopia. In: four Gloom and three Dystopia. Snuff Out and Bottle Gnomes stay in the sideboard, except Snuff Out for Tron's Masticore, and keep the Shepherds against Enchantress: Elephant Grass and Solitary Confinement stop your attacks and your combat damage, but not the Shepherds' drain. Gloom taxes Replenish, Parallax Wave, Swords to Plowshares and Wrath of God alike; Dystopia makes them sacrifice a green or white permanent in each of their upkeeps and cannot be stopped by protection.
- vs Stiflenought and combo: Snuff Out. In: three Snuff Out to kill a resolved Dreadnought. Out: a Lord of the Undead, Graveborn Muse and Undead Warchief, because against a counterspell deck your cheapest threats are the hardest to answer. Gloom and Dystopia stay in the sideboard, and every Duress and Therapy stays in.
- vs Mono-Black and The Rock: Engineered Plague, Bottle Gnomes, Snuff Out. Gloom is dead in both matchups and Snuff Out against Mono-Black, so this is where the deck runs out of good swaps. Against The Rock bring in Snuff Out for Ravenous Baloth and Krosan Tusker, and Engineered Plague naming Elf only against builds with Deranged Hermit, since naming Beast only shrinks their big creatures. Against Mono-Black, Bottle Gnomes are a spare body for their edicts, though their Snuff Out can target them. The real answer is Zombie Master's swampwalk if you make room for it.
Budget and upgrades
Typical cost: $370–$640. The priciest singles are Wasteland and the sideboard Dystopia, about $46 each. The full 75 costs about $640, or about $370 without them, and the deck plays fine without both: the fourth-place La Parroquia list in the archive ran sixteen Swamps and no Wasteland. Carnophage, Duress, Shepherd of Rot, Gempalm Polluter and Withered Wretch are all under three dollars, and most of the rest sits in Rotlung Reanimator, Sarcomancy, the two lords, Cabal Therapy and Graveborn Muse.
- Start with the cheap core, which is most of the deck: Carnophage, Shepherd of Rot, Withered Wretch, Gempalm Polluter, Duress, Dark Ritual and seventeen Swamps.
- Add Lord of the Undead and Sarcomancy next: the Lord grows the team and Sarcomancy doubles the one-drops. Play Carrion Feeder and Festering Goblin as stand-ins until you have them.
- Then Rotlung Reanimator and Cabal Therapy: Rotlung turns a dead Cleric into a new 2/2, and Therapy names the creatures Duress cannot take.
- The singletons come after: Graveborn Muse for the long games, Undead Warchief for the fast ones, Unholy Grotto for the recursion.
- Wasteland last, two copies at first: it answers Mishra's Factory, Gaea's Cradle and Serra's Sanctum, and the deck works without it. Dystopia is the final purchase: until then, extra Gloom and Perish cover green and white well enough.
Every deck that costs under $500 with reprints is on our budget decks page, priced from a real tournament list.
