Rate my Magic deck on a scale of 1-10

[Jalor]

Okay, this is my main deck, mono-black zombie. Please post ratings and suggestions to improve it.

Lands
21x Swamp
1x Temple of the False God

Creatures
2x Festering Goblin
1x Cairn Wanderer
3x Stromgald Crusader
2x Carrion Feeder
3x Vengeful Dead
3x Gravedigger
1x Undead Warchief
3x Severed Legion
1x Corpulent Corpse

Other Cards
1x Liliana Vess
1x Death Denied
2x Raise Dead
4x Patriarch's Bidding (the only proxies in the deck)
2x Midnight Charm
2x Terror
2x Dark Banishing
3x Sudden Spoiling
3x Vampiric Link
3x Unholy Strength
3x Grave Peril
1x Mind Slash
1x Demon's Horn
1x Feldon's Cane

http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/ For any cards you are unsure of.

[Mirrinus]

I'm not one for rating decks, but I do have some comments about it.

1) 22 land is pretty low, especially since your deck runs a lot of strong 4 or 5 mana cards (Vengeful Dead, Patriarch's Bidding, Liliana Vess, etc.). I'd recommend 23 at the very least, but 24 might be the best amount for your mana curve, which includes lots of more expensive cards.

2) Your aura cards seem somewhat out of place, and aren't really synergistic with your deck. You have lots of sacrifice outlets like Carrion Feeder and Mind Slash, as well as cards that want to die, like Festering Goblin. This means you don't want to be using auras, as sacrificing an aura'd creature would net you major card disadvantage (especially since you don't have much card-drawing power to counteract this). Auras are also usually underpowered to begin with for this very reason. I'd suggest getting rid of the unholy strengths and vampiric links, especially since I don't see lifegain as much of a theme for your deck.

3) Cairn Wanderer doesn't really have that many key-word abilities to copy from your deck. Stromgald Crusader's mana-activated abilities don't count, so you really just have protection and fear as abilities to copy. I suggest adding more synergistic zombies with abilities that Cairn Wanderer could use, although to be honest, zombies as a tribe were never really known for combat keyword abilities. It just seems kind of out of place, and I would consider taking it out.

4) I suggest increasing the numbers of some of your best early drops, such as Festering Goblin (very good early creature and sac target), Stromgald Crusader (just good beatdown all-around), and Undead Warchief (awesome card, but might be hard to get your hands on, since it's technically timeshifted in standard). Other options you could consider include Gempalm Polluter, Shepherd of Rot, Twisted Abomination, Putrid Imp (to discard zombies from your hand for a follow-up Bidding), Skirk Ridge Exhumer (more festering goblin fun, plus fills graveyard), and Skulltap (sac outlet, card advantage). All of these cards are common, except for Skirk Ridge Exhumer, which is uncommon. Also, all of the cards I named can be used for the low price of just 2 mana or less (the Abomination and Polluter for cycling abilities, which cost 2), which drives your mana curve down and makes 23 mana more manageable. If you're looking for other things to remove, I'd recommend taking out the Severed Legions and Corpulent Corpse, and maybe the Grave Perils. These cards are situationally underpowered against other black decks.

Edit: Nantuko Husk would be great for your deck too.

From what I can see, your deck isn't really a standard zombie beatdown (which would probably like more Undead Warchiefs and Souless Ones), but more of a deck that sacs a bunch of creatures, only to bring them back with a huge, potentially game-winning Patriarch's Bidding. If so, I'd recommend a build like this:

Lands:
23 Swamp

Creatures:
4 Festering Goblin
3 Putrid Imp
3 Skirk Ridge Exhumer
3 Nantuko Husk
2 Carrion Feeder
2 Gempalm Polluter
4 Twisted Abomination
3 Vengeful Dead

Other Cards:
1 Liliana Vess
4 Patriarch's Bidding
2 Terror
2 Dark Banishing
4 Skulltap

I basically streamlined the deck to focus more on the powerful synergy between sac/discard effects and Patriarch's Bidding. You want to play some cheap early creatures that can be easily sacrificed. I chose Festering Goblin, Putrid Imp, and Skirk Ridge Exhumer (which can create lots more Festering Goblins). The latter two also lets you discard cards from your hand with their abilities, which could be good for dumping your more expensive zombies, like Vengeful Dead, in anticipation of a big Patriarch's Bidding on your next turn. You have Carrion Feeder, Nantuko Husk, and Skulltap as discard outlets (although I personally like the Husk more, as a single unblocked Husk could sometimes mean game over for your opponent, even if you never draw a Bidding). Skulltap also lets you dig through your deck to find your precious Patriarch's Biddings. Finally, Gempalm Polluter and Twisted Abomination both have a staggering cost of 6 mana, but both can be cycled for just 2 mana for bonus effects (deal damage to opponent and tutor for a swamp), sending themselves to the grave early on just before a nice Bidding brings them directly to play. The swampcycling effect of the Abomination also justifies running less than 24 lands. Oh, and all of the additions I made to the deck are all commons, except the Skirk Ridge Exhumers and Nantuko Husks, which are uncommon.

If you're looking to add some rare cards, Grave Pact would make the deck much stronger. I'd run it in place of the Terror/Dark Banishings, as it pretty much acts as a reusable creature kill card when combined with lots of self-sac effects, except it can actually kill black cards and cards with protection from black.

[Jalor]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind, although I have had difficulty finding the cards I need. I've been trying to get a Skirk Ridge Exhumer for weeks now, and have opened about 12 Future Sight boosters without getting one. I'm probably also going to have trouble getting the cards from any pre-Kamigawa set, because the only store near me doesn't carry older boosters.

Cairn Wanderer works for all graveyards, so it becomes a major powerhouse after I Terror someone's Serra Angel or whatever.

[Mirrinus]

True, but I don't like cards that are too dependant on what my opponents play, as that's something you really can't influence. In fact, one of my favorite decks to play is a very low-budget Ire of Kaminari deck that doesn't contain a single creature, which I built mainly to go up against mono-black control decks that pack tons of creature removal, like Damnation, Barter in Blood, Chainer's Edict, and Tendrils of Corruption. It essentially makes a huge chunk of my opponent's cards dead draws.

Personally, I play Magic: the Gathering Online, so I usually have an easier time acquiring cheap common and uncommon singles (built my entire Ire deck for less than 3 dollars). I'm sure it must be much more frustrating searching for the cards in real life.

[Jalor]

You're right about that. I went and bought 2 Time Spiral and 2 Future Sight boosters, and the only decent Zombie I received was Deathspore Thallid. And it's a good Thallid, not a good Zombie.

[Chibiqueso]

If you're searching for specific cards, buying them online or as singles from stores can actually be cheaper, unless you have obscene luck on your side.

I've always giggled maniacally at Tombstone Stairwell in a deck with Vengeful Dead. Season with Noxious Ghoul to taste, though by then you don't have a beatdown deck, and instead have a zombie combo deck.

[RS14]

If you're searching for specific cards, you might also want to read Optimal Card-Collecting Strategies for Magic: The Gathering (Bosch, Robert) It's available through JSTOR or in The College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 31 No.1. I remember being amused when I found it. The author shows that the best strategy for collecting every single card is to buy the bulk packs up until you need just one or two more cards (I don't remember exactly how many). It's focused on collectors, but I suspect that parts of his work may be adapted.

[Carpetkiller]

A Soulless One would add to the power of the deck. Maybe even add two. A Call to the Grave, Zombie Master, Frightshroud Courier, or Boneknitter would add to the deck too.

[truegrave18]

Hey all, I was wanting some advice on my deck also. Just recently started playing again from a 15 year break so any and all input will be greatly appreciated:)

Main deck:

4x livewire lash
4x ichorclaw myr
3x vector asp

4x plague stinger
2x ichor rats
4x blight mamba
2x hand of praetors

9x forest
9x swamp

4x preys vengeance
4x stabbing pain
3x vampire bite
4x vines of vastwood
4x virulent swipe


I'm still working on my sideboard. Right now I think it will have contagion clasp, pistus strike, and that's all I got. Still need to play test it. Thanks for your help!

[Brother Oni]

It's better to ask questions in the main Magic the Gathering thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190392).

Also thread necromancy is frowned upon here.