With that said, I disagree regarding Alhammarret's Archive. It's a redundant card that serves the same purpose that Kindred Discovery does, albeit ONLY if Varina is in play. It turns Varina into a real card advantage engine. She needs the help because she is a commander that, let's be honest, is a weaker version of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant in immediate function. Without support, she is designed to pitch cards to generate tokens at the cost of 2. Even with the support of Zombie tribal, she won't be as efficient at the same tasks as Sidisi with the might of milling shenanigans like Mesmeric Orb, Embalmer's Tools,Altar of Dementia, etc. Sidisi does that for free, doesn't require any attacks with its support package, and has access to the same artifact/enchantment hate in Sultai. What sets Varina apart is that, with the appropriate support of these draw enablers, she creates far more card advantage than Sidisi can with the same tribal backing.
Overall, I'd agree with you if Varina was in the 99, but it's the one consistent creature that you can count upon. If you are choosing to introduce Kindred Discovery, and have no monetary constraints, I see no reason why Archive shouldn't be included for redundancy. The reality is Kindred Discovery is going to attract attention the moment you drop it, I mean it has to or you will run away with the game, and someone is going to remove it. You need redundant effects, especially when not having something with heavy draw significantly weakens Varina. I'd much rather have a superior, Zombie tribal version of Edric, Spymaster of Trest than what Varina starts out as. If cost weren't a factor, I'd argue that Alhammarret's Archive is more deserving of a 5CC slot than Black Market, a card with diminishing returns without something like Exsanguinate or Torment of Hailfire, or Open the Graves, which creates a new vector for the Gravecrawler combo, however it's in a form that cannot win the game on the spot.
I couldn't agree more on Archive. It's been great for me and the added redundancy (alongside Discovery) makes Psychosis Crawler particularly potent. Kindred Discovery and Archive are why I even bother to play Reliquary Tower and Thought Vessel. And the life gain bonus is not negligible either.
Speaking of 5-drops, I tried out Archfiend on your recommendation and it's been nothing less than stellar. Thanks!
Updates after a few months of testing. I found a need for more interaction, especially early, so I added a few more sweepers and removal. I wanted to try pressing the deck's identity a bit more so I'm testing out both Mirage Mirror and Stolen Strategy. Also, turns out Isolated Watchtower is as good as advertised in mono-colored decks and even better in a deck that places a premium on Scry effects.
At the risk of repeating myself from years bygone in this very thread, yes, only a handful of enablers are necessary to make this combo worth inclusion, even at larger sizes.
Last draft, when both myself and my opponent were in top deck mode, my opponent skipped his turn and subsequently turned the tide with two consecutive turns. Even paying the iron price works on occasion.
From my experience, since we're curving into Grenzo on turn three it is nice to have some two-drops to add value to the board. This sets us up for the mid-game as each creature already present on the board adds to the strength of each flip.
It depends how hard you want to prioritize the drain life effects. I wouldn't see anything wrong with playing all three (though Zulaport Cutthroat is the essential one).
I've had Putrid Imp in my cube for years, along side Raven's Crime as 2T reanimation enablers. I've eventually cut both, but they performed surprisingly well for us.
Though not typical, I did have a game where I pitched Griselbrand, reanimated it on turn 3, and on turn 4 (with the help of a 2T mana rock) drew 14, pitched my hand to the imp, and cast Living Death for 12+ creatures.
THUNDERWANG: I must admit an irrational soft spot for Vorapede. It passes the Vindicate test, that plus the vigilance has proven to be a beating for aggro decks, and plays well with another pet card of mine in Devastation.
- Deathbringer Thoctar/Goblin Sharpshooter - With the amount of saccing I do with this list, these both have been absolutely insane, and I can't tell you how many times these two cards have won me the game. Deathbringer Thoctar especially has been one of my favorite powerhouses and my playgroup's most feared drops. Any creature that dies gives you a stored free ping to anything!!!! "Oh you played Avenger of Zendikar? Remove a counter, kill a plant, gain a counter, remove a counter, kill a plant, etc."
Token decks are crippled, and swinging in at a player with a 30/30+ Thoctar, killing that player, and then removing 27 counters to kill another player has happened more times than I can count.
This plus I've been running Archetype of Finality which turns both of the above into one-sided wraths in addition to making our smallest 1 power tokens into potent threats on offense (with opponents less likely to block) and defense (as no one wants to trade with little deathtouchers).
Looks like a really cool white good-stuff build; able to leverage the commander without relying too heavily on it.
I do wonder about the land count. 33 seems a bit light to me. In all my non-green mono-colored EDH decks I've found it necessary to get to 38-39 lands (roughly 40% range) just to make sure I'm not drawing too many 2 land hands. This has been even the case in a low curve deck with artifact ramp.
Both of these new legends seem to have strong synergies with the deck. "Free" removal plus sac outlet plus draw/new tokens. Thoughts on inclusion?
I couldn't agree more on Archive. It's been great for me and the added redundancy (alongside Discovery) makes Psychosis Crawler particularly potent. Kindred Discovery and Archive are why I even bother to play Reliquary Tower and Thought Vessel. And the life gain bonus is not negligible either.
Speaking of 5-drops, I tried out Archfiend on your recommendation and it's been nothing less than stellar. Thanks!
I'm currently testing Tombstone Stairwell and excited to see how it plays.
With that said, I'd maybe also toss in a few of the signets or the like as some non-green ramp.
Visionary is nice to have once you've gone infinite with Temur Sabertooth you can draw your deck.
Scout works quite well in conjunction with Quirion Ranger and Scryb Ranger.
Updates after a few months of testing. I found a need for more interaction, especially early, so I added a few more sweepers and removal. I wanted to try pressing the deck's identity a bit more so I'm testing out both Mirage Mirror and Stolen Strategy. Also, turns out Isolated Watchtower is as good as advertised in mono-colored decks and even better in a deck that places a premium on Scry effects.
Suggestions for testing welcome. Thanks.
Adds:
Grim Monolith
Coalition Relic
Mirage Mirror
Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Stolen Strategy
Boom // Bust
Mizzium Mortars
Slagstorm
Chandra's Ignition
Reiterate
Wheel of Fate
Cathartic Reunion
Isolated Watchtower
Flamekin Village
Drops:
Harsh Metor
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Ogre Battledriver
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
Artizan of Kozilek
Unstable Obelisk
Chromatic Lantern
Worn Powerstone
Mind's Eye
Scour From Existence
Disrupt Decorum
Hour of Devastation
I actually added in Key over Kiora's Follower as the artifact deck leans toward Grixis colors with Tezzeret 2.0, Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast, and Saheeli, the Gifted pushing the archetype into those colors.
Last draft, when both myself and my opponent were in top deck mode, my opponent skipped his turn and subsequently turned the tide with two consecutive turns. Even paying the iron price works on occasion.
It depends how hard you want to prioritize the drain life effects. I wouldn't see anything wrong with playing all three (though Zulaport Cutthroat is the essential one).
Though not typical, I did have a game where I pitched Griselbrand, reanimated it on turn 3, and on turn 4 (with the help of a 2T mana rock) drew 14, pitched my hand to the imp, and cast Living Death for 12+ creatures.
Is there room for Cathars' Crusade?
I also liked Tempt with Vengeance, Mogg Infestation, and Descent of the Dragons in my Purphoros deck.
Diabolic Edict or Chainer's Edict for Collective Brutality
The clearest possible cuts right now are either Vorapede or Regal Behemoth. Thoughts?
This plus I've been running Archetype of Finality which turns both of the above into one-sided wraths in addition to making our smallest 1 power tokens into potent threats on offense (with opponents less likely to block) and defense (as no one wants to trade with little deathtouchers).
I do wonder about the land count. 33 seems a bit light to me. In all my non-green mono-colored EDH decks I've found it necessary to get to 38-39 lands (roughly 40% range) just to make sure I'm not drawing too many 2 land hands. This has been even the case in a low curve deck with artifact ramp.