B3 P7.57 THE EVIL DEAD (Esper Zombie Aristocrats & Reanimator) by rustyshunt

Format: Commander

Commander: Varina, Lich Queen

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 37

Deck overview

This deck is an Esper Zombie tribal strategy that blends aristocrat drain mechanics with explosive graveyard reanimation. Commanded by Varina, Lich Queen, the deck curves out with low-cost Zombies on early turns before casting Varina on Turn 4 to filter cards, stock the graveyard, and gain life. The primary game plan leverages discard payoffs like Archfiend of Ifnir to repeatedly wipe opposing creature boards while filling the graveyard with high-impact threats such as Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Grave Titan, and Zombie lords. Mass reanimation spells like Living Death and Zombie Apocalypse flip the game by returning an overwhelming army that drains life totals and overwhelms blockers. Efficient spot removal controls key threats, while aristocrats like Blood Artist and Wayward Servant punish opponents for interacting with the board. The deck reliably creates critical pressure on Turn 5 and closes the game by Turn 7.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Accursed Marauder
  • 1 Anguished Unmaking
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Arcane Sanctum
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archfiend of Ifnir
  • 1 Bard, King of Dale
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Buried Alive
  • 1 Carrion Feeder
  • 1 Caves of Koilos
  • 1 Choked Estuary
  • 1 Cleaver Skaab
  • 1 Colossus Hammer
  • 1 Come Back Wrong
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Concealed Courtyard
  • 1 Corpse Knight
  • 1 Crawl from the Cellar
  • 1 Crypt of Agadeem
  • 1 Cryptbreaker
  • 1 Culling the Weak
  • 1 Dance of the Dead
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Deadly Rollick
  • 1 Death Baron
  • 1 Diabolic Intent
  • 1 Dimir Aqueduct
  • 1 Diregraf Captain
  • 1 Diregraf Colossus
  • 1 Dismember
  • 1 Drowned Catacomb
  • 1 Entomb
  • 1 Feed the Swarm
  • 1 Feign Death
  • 1 Field of the Dead
  • 1 Fracture
  • 1 Gloomlake Verge
  • 1 Godless Shrine
  • 1 Grave Pact
  • 1 Grave Titan
  • 1 Graveborn Muse
  • 1 Gravecrawler
  • 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
  • 1 Grim Tutor
  • 1 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
  • 1 Grimoire of the Dead
  • 1 Hallowed Fountain
  • 1 Headless Rider
  • 1 Hordewing Skaab
  • 3 Island
  • 1 Isolated Chapel
  • 1 Jet Medallion
  • 1 Living Death
  • 1 Necroduality
  • 1 Necromancy
  • 1 Noxious Ghoul
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Persist
  • 1 Phyrexian Altar
  • 3 Plains
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Puresteel Paladin
  • 1 Ratadrabik of Urborg
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Reassembling Skeleton
  • 1 Rooftop Storm
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Songs of the Damned
  • 1 Sunken Hollow
  • 6 Swamp
  • 1 Syr Konrad, the Grim
  • 1 Temple of Deceit
  • 1 Temple of Silence
  • 1 The Meathook Massacre
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Undead Augur
  • 1 Underground River
  • 1 Unholy Grotto
  • 1 Vanquish the Horde
  • 1 Varina, Lich Queen
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Viscera Seer
  • 1 Wand of Orcus
  • 1 Watery Grave
  • 1 Wayward Servant
  • 1 Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
  • 1 Witch's Cottage
  • 1 Zombie Apocalypse
  • 1 Zombie Master