Varina by user1621687

Format: Commander

Commander: Varina, Lich Queen

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 31

Deck overview

Led by Varina, Lich Queen, this Esper deck leverages Zombie tribal synergies, combat-driven looting, and graveyard recursion to overwhelm opponents. The primary strategy establishes early board presence with low-cost Zombies like Gravecrawler and Wayward Servant, then deploys Varina on curve to convert every attack into card selection, life gain, and graveyard fuel. Discarded threats feed reanimation spells such as Reanimate and Victimize, while specialized payoffs like Archfiend of Ifnir, Bone Miser, and Gisa, the Hellraiser turn combat looting into board wipes, mana generation, and token swarms. The deck closes games through aggressive alpha strikes powered by Zombie lords like Death Baron and Undead Warchief, evasion from Wonder, or passive drain via Shepherd of Rot and Diregraf Captain. Supported by a versatile instant-speed removal suite including Void Rend, Cyclonic Rift, and Anguished Unmaking, the deck maintains steady pressure while grinding out opponents through superior card quality and resilient token generation.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Alhammarret's Archive
  • 1 Altar of the Brood
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Arcane Sanctum
  • 1 Archfiend of Ifnir
  • 1 Army of the Damned
  • 1 Azorius Signet
  • 1 Batwing Brume
  • 1 Beacon of Unrest
  • 1 Black Dragon Gate
  • 1 Bladestitched Skaab
  • 1 Bone Miser
  • 1 Cemetery Reaper
  • 1 Chain of Vapor
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Copycrook
  • 1 Crucible of Worlds
  • 1 Cryptcaller Chariot
  • 1 Curse of Death's Hold
  • 1 Curse of the Restless Dead
  • 1 Cyclonic Rift
  • 1 Death Baron
  • 1 Dimir Signet
  • 1 Diregraf Captain
  • 1 Diregraf Colossus
  • 1 Dismal Backwater
  • 1 Endless Ranks of the Dead
  • 1 Feast of Sanity
  • 1 Fetid Heath
  • 1 Fracture
  • 1 Geralf, Visionary Stitcher
  • 1 Gifts Ungiven
  • 1 Gisa, the Hellraiser
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Grave Titan
  • 1 Gravecrawler
  • 1 Hashaton, Scarab's Fist
  • 1 Hythonia the Cruel
  • 8 Island
  • 1 Jwar Isle Refuge
  • 1 Kindred Discovery
  • 1 Lazotep Chancellor
  • 1 Liliana Vess
  • 1 Lord of the Accursed
  • 1 Lord of the Undead
  • 1 Mystic Gate
  • 1 Orzhov Signet
  • 1 Plains
  • 1 Ratadrabik of Urborg
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Requisition Raid
  • 1 Rooftop Storm
  • 1 Rune-Scarred Demon
  • 1 Scheming Symmetry
  • 1 Scourge of Nel Toth
  • 1 Seachrome Coast
  • 1 Shepherd of Rot
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sunken Hollow
  • 1 Sunken Ruins
  • 17 Swamp
  • 1 Teferi's Ageless Insight
  • 1 Temple of Deceit
  • 1 Temple of Silence
  • 1 Tragic Slip
  • 1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
  • 1 Undead Warchief
  • 1 Unstoppable Slasher
  • 1 Varina, Lich Queen
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Void Rend
  • 1 Wayward Servant
  • 1 Wonder
  • 1 Zombie Master
  • 1 Zombify
  • 1 Zul Ashur, Lich Lord