Dawn of the Dead

[Liiva]

So I was browsing the T8 lists at starcitygames, and I noticed Nick Calcoteria finished 2nd in Chicago with Dawn of the Dead . I've been a fan of the deck for quite some time now (along with Vromans 5-color baghdad bob deck). Anyways, here is the list:

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire

Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf

Enchantments
3 Zombie Infestation

Instants
4 Swords To Plowshares
1 Vampiric Tutor

Legendary Creatures
2 Gaddock Teeg
4 Squee, Goblin Nabob

Sorceries
1 Balance
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Duress
2 Life From The Loam
4 Thoughtseize

Basic Lands
1 Plains
1 Swamp

Lands
3 Bayou
4 Bazaar Of Baghdad
3 Bloodstained Mire
3 Scrubland
1 Strip Mine
2 Wasteland
2 Windswept Heath

Sideboard:
4 Chalice Of The Void
2 Pithing Needle
4 Thorn Of Amethyst
2 Oxidize
2 Ray Of Revelation
1 Seeds Of Innocence

I noticed the deck only has 2 permanent based disruption pieces in the main board (Gaddock Teeg) not counting the wastes/strip. This reminded me of something Vroman said in his RBW post:

I lost to empty gifts every time I faced it. what can work? 8x resistor? 8x duress? leyline? I think the method is heavy discard plus powerful aggro. permanent based disruption (resistors/leyline) are too prone to bounce. joter for swift clock, and either dconf or bazaar+squee to keep digging for duress in spades. Seek helps too.

So a few points for discussion:
- The 'dig for duress' strategy
- The chalices in the sideboard, what are they for? i can't figure it out.. chalice @ 1 shuts down duress/thougthseize + plows and chalice @ 2 disables pretty much every win condition in the deck. Against what decks do you board this in? Whouldn't 4x leyline be better? (depends a bit on the meta ofcourse)
- I wonder.. has anyone played with Gaddock Teeg on a tournament? If so, how good is he?

/Liiva

[rkmancer]

- The 'dig for duress' strategy

The list looks so solid, it's the most interesting decks besides TKnoughtz as a result of Chicago tourney last week. .
Next day after I saw the list, I made this deck *with proxies of course* and call my friends to have some test-deck. .
Call me noobs but I have no idea how to play this deck correctly. .
I just don't know what to do at the early turn, is it drop confidant or play duress / seize. .
And more confusing that I don't know when to drop bazaar and when to dig with it *is it waiting for squee or not*

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

I always saw this deck and it startled me since it was created. It is one of the few decks I have seen that really never used "permanent based" disruption. Now it has Gaddock which has more merit. The aggro mirrors seem fairly simple (deal with 5 2/2 zombies guy) but what is the primary strategy against more powerful decks. I agree the early game is yours as you duress the hell out of them, but what happens from there? You put in a steady clock and just hope they don't rip the bombs to win? Reminds me of the old Bazaar Madness strategy, of rushing them with creatures and hoping to win from there.

[Spacebalzz]

A couple of thoughts that I've had on this deck:

1.  How effective is Gaddock Teeg?  I personally have never really thought he's as "game-breaking" as people make him out to be; however, I may be wrong.  It seems he'd be good against Empty Gifts, but I still feel like I'm missing something.  His absence in other successful decks also makes me question his viability in the Vintage metagame.

2.  Vroman noted that Zombie Infestation in his experience is simply a "win more" in this deck.  Are there other disruptive elements (perhaps for the Empty Gifts matchup) that could be added in its stead?

3.  If Zombie Infestation is the correct pick, what about Cabal Therapy?  Does this deck, with ZI have enough creatures to make it worthwhile.  It could quite possible be valuable as a one or two-of, simply because it is strengthened with the other hand-viewing discard effects.

4.  Unearth? (just kidding, I love that card)

Anyway, some thoughts.

-Matt

[Polynomial P]

First off, the 4x chalice was likely an error in posting it on the SCG database, because those were definitely Leyline of the Void.

From what I understand, Teeg was pretty useless most of the day with only a few games where he was mildly relevant. Those should be something else (I had originally suggested aven mindcensor, but Jotun grunt or Terravore are possibilities as well). Furthermore, this list was rushed into production with no testing and less than 30 minutes of time spent building it. I think the deck should have 2 Riftstone portals and probably play crop rotation as well.

The idea for the deck is early disruption and get a threat or two down and dig for more disruption while attacking in....and it is very good at doing this. The deck should bazaar fairly aggressively in order to produce 1 threat or 1 piece of disruption every turn, when possible. The fact is that the deck will dig its ways into squee or loam and eventually recoup the lost card advantage. Unless your hand is full of gold, you probably should be using bazaar early and often.

In retrospect, Dawn of the dead was a perfect metagame choice. There was relatively few combo decks at SCG, with most decks relying on creatures to win. This deck is the undisputed king of aggro environments. Zombie tokens block tarmogoyfs all day long and eventually will overwhelm opposing blockers. 4x swords, backed by 7x duresses makes sure that the opponents' win conditions dont stick around for the fight. I was amazed that Nick beat 2 combo decks too....which I thought was the worst matchup for him. But between duresses main and spheres/leyline SB nick just dominated those games. The combo matchup is helped alot by tarmogoyf because the clock is so fast that the combo opponent does not have all day to rebuild.

I always saw this deck and it startled me since it was created. It is one of the few decks I have seen that really never used "permanent based" disruption. Now it has Gaddock which has more merit. The aggro mirrors seem fairly simple (deal with 5 2/2 zombies guy) but what is the primary strategy against more powerful decks. I agree the early game is yours as you duress the hell out of them, but what happens from there? You put in a steady clock and just hope they don't rip the bombs to win? Reminds me of the old Bazaar Madness strategy, of rushing them with creatures and hoping to win from there.

What bombs are you worried about? Tinker-->DSC? Dryad? Tog? None of those are scary for this deck. In fact, the only thing that is scary is ETW/Tendrils. Storming up to 10 for tendrils is difficult when the deck is duressing the heck out of you. ETW for 10 tokens is more likely, but the deck can just clog up the ground game between zombie tokens and T-goyfs. Admittedly, i think the deck should have a problem with combo G1, but the SB is dedicated to making that matchup winnable with the thorns of amethyst and either leyline or extirpates. Also, the deck doesnt just sit there, waiting to get rolled over. Played properly, the deck will get a threat out and either keep disrupting (strips, duresses) or keep playing threats...both of which are aided by bazaar.

If Zombie Infestation is the correct pick, what about Cabal Therapy? 

Cabal therapy has been considered for this deck on multiple occasions. The problem is that it is unacceptable to miss with therapy and 1/2 the time, you want to take a restricted card anyway. Therapy is playable in ichorid because 1) there are only a few cards that you care about; 2) you put guys into play with no investment; and 3) multiple therapies are played in a single turn. The possibility of whiffing on a therapy in this deck is not acceptable.

It could quite possible be valuable as a one or two-of, simply because it is strengthened with the other hand-viewing discard effects.

Possibly, but how much of the time would a simple duress or thoughtseize be better?

[WhiteWolf]

@ Polynomial P: Seeing that you have been one of the prime designers of this deck throughout the years and seeing its most recent finish, would you mind posting your "updated" list? You talk about dropping Teegs and adding Mindcensor/Grunt, Riftstone Portals and Crop Rotation but how would you exactly integrate these?

It seems so weird to cut the Gaddock Teegs because (besides Duress effects) it's the only thing to disrupt combo. I would rather expect to go up to three Teegs. On the other hand Jotun Grunt is a nice cheap better with the ability to disrupt and that can be kept alive almost "indefinitely" in this deck.

What does this deck do about an early Chalice @ 2 ? That's pretty harsh. After sideboard you have 2 Oxidize and 1 Seeds of Innocence but in the first game you could be screwed by a first or second turn Chalice. If you would remove the Teegs, you could replace them by Devout Witness (wich also spells trouble for Oath and can be fed with Squees).

This deck seems to have a pretty good game against workshop, control and especially aggro archteypes. The only real problem match-up seems combo. Are the sideboarded Thorns and Leylines enough to turn that match-up in your favour? If yes, this deck could do pretty good when piloted well (and yes it did).

This is probably going too far but seeing that Green and Black seem the most necessary colours could White be dropped for consistency in the mana base (although Life from the Loam solves a lot of problems)? Is the white splash for only Plows (and side Ray of Revelation) really necessary? Plow could maybe be replaced by (various) Edicts, Smallpox (could be intersting), Paralyze (don't laugh, I used these with succes in the past), ... Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying dropping white would make the deck necessarily better, I'm just wondering.

[Polynomial P]

// Lands
    3  Scrubland
    2  Riftstone Portal
    2  Wasteland
    1  Strip Mine
    4  Bazaar of Baghdad
    3  Bayou
    4  Polluted Delta
    1  Swamp
    1  Bloodstained Mire

// Creatures
    4  Dark Confidant
    3  Squee, Goblin Nabob
    2  Terravore
    4  Tarmogoyf

// Spells
    1  Vampiric Tutor
    3  Zombie Infestation
    4  Swords to Plowshares
    2  Life from the Loam
    1  Crop Rotation
    1  Demonic Tutor
    1  Mox Emerald
    1  Mox Jet
    1  Mox Pearl
    1  Mox Ruby
    3  Duress
    1  Black Lotus
    1  Mox Diamond
    4  Thoughtseize
    1  Balance

// Sideboard
SB: 4  Extirpate
SB: 2  Ray of Revelation
SB: 2  Oxidize
SB: 4  Thorn of Amethyst
SB: 1  Krosan Grip
2x ??????


Ok, here is my list card for card what I would run tomorrow. 2x SB slots are metagame dependent.

Personally, i dont like teeg, but that is me. If i expected to see a ton of combo, Teegs are probably necessary or you could play aven mindcensor as a more universal disruptive piece. As things stand right now, Goyfs are everywhere, and Terravore simply dwarfs every other creature out there, shy of DSC. I do expect to drop game 1 vs combo most of the time, but with the SB extirpates and thorn of Amethyst, i do not expect combo to win many games post board. I fully expected nick to get run over by combo decks at the tournament, but he managed to win two matches against rit based combo.

Chalice for 2 has always been a problem for this deck. However, game 1 vs workshop decks I would absolutely duress every chance I get to take chalice out of their hands. Following that, a single tarmogoyf or zombie infestation can be ridden to victory. With the list I proposed, I also have 2x Terravore...but i would not really count on drawing one early enough to get around chalice. Post-board, every artifact destruction will either be at 1cc or 3cc. Overall, i have found that the stax matchup is very favorable, given a competent DotD pilot (this matchup has been tested ad infinitum vs Vroman back in the day).

Devout witness was always a possibility back in the day, but we had found the witness to be so incredibly slow. Its like viashino heretic, only you have to discard a card. Not worth it.

Dropping white is certainly a possibility, but STP and ray of revelation are so good right now. STP, for obvious reasons. But ray of rev hits all the control magics, threads of disloyalty, and leylines that people bring in against you. I dont know if the deck would function quite as well without STP given the current metagame.


EDIT:

Ive had some more time to think about this deck. I would say that in my list 2x Terravore, 1x Zombie infestation, and 1x Balance are metagame slots. For example, if I was in a metagame with a ton of combo and almost no workshops, I would load up on Gaddok Teegs. If I was in an environment with a bunch of aggro-control and stax, I would run a list very close to what I posted. There are definitely metagame dependent SB slots.

Its important that everyone understands that there will not be a "perfect" DotD list that should be run by everyone from the East Coast to the West Coast. Tuning this deck to your metagame is vital if you want to be successful.


@rkmancer

The duress vs Confidant play is very situation specific. For example, against an unknown opponent, on the play, I would lead with duress. They cant respond with brainstorm, so you are going to take their best card. If they go first, play a fetch and pass, I would play confidant first. If you duress, they will likely brainstorm in response. Instead, let them brainstorm EOT or in response to your confidant, then Duress them on your second turn. If they go first, cast a ponder, and pass, then I would duress, since they are tapped out. If I am playing against a known combo player, then duress immediately (obviously).

Basically, if you are sure you are going to get another turn, play the confidant. If you arent guaranteed another turn, make sure you get your next turn and duress.

[DarkfnTemplar]

This deck likes its turn 1 drops. I think it should still run 7x free mana. Perhaps cut petal for diamond is the only change there for me.
The only other difference i see is riftone portal versus basic forest. Im leaning on the 2x riftstone.

[vroman]

in the limited testing Ive seen w this deck, it owns the aggro mirror. other fish style decks, even ones w heavy synergy like my RBW one, just cant keep up w the free creature production of zombfest+loam/squee/Dconf, on top of mana denial  and hand disruption.
the only card Im not convinced is worth it is terravore. at 1GG he can be expensive and awkward to cast w/o riftstone in yard. Id cut this for squee#4 and perhaps one jotun grunt as modicum of decking insurance. or maybe 1of tutor target creature like witherwretch or true beleiver or gaddock teeg.
there was also some discussion of cutting t-vores for tombstalker, on the beleif that BB is easier to cast than 1GG; flying is more or less equivalent to trampling; hes gauranteed 5/5, whereas t-vore can sometimes be stuck at low power. the major downside is the prospect of taking 8 damage off Dconf. probably not worth it in the long run.
Im hesitant to ever suggest cutting balance from a deck w white mana in it, but this may be the one exception. in testing we both agreed there was never a situation in actual test games where balance was worth casting. maybe cut this for my favorite tutor, demonic consultation.

[NicolaeAlmighty]

The only thing Balance has saved me from is a lethal Empty. Other than that, I usually don't use it. I'm debating EE despite playing Teeg and Zombie tokens. It would be for worst case scenario, but what else hits goblin tokens and Chalice?

[the boogie man]

has root maze been considered as a potential disruption tool? Maybe not in the main, but even in the side? Combo, Gat, and A lot of control decks would be hurt by it, and coupled with continual draw from bob or bazaar, or pressure from super-efficient creatures and waste would be back-breaking.

   Edit: would reanimate be useful at all? It is kind of a outdated and inefficient, but with bazaars and life from the loam, extra creatures could be recycled, especially goyf. but any of them really won't hurt that bad. you could also snag other creatures.

[Rock Lee]

The only thing Balance has saved me from is a lethal Empty. Other than that, I usually don't use it. I'm debating EE despite playing Teeg and Zombie tokens. It would be for worst case scenario, but what else hits goblin tokens and Chalice?

Deed.

DotD is the only deck atm that would effectively run deed.

Gat can run it, but doesn't need to. (withholding a huge staxx-fish meta)

I thought balance was just an easy mindtwist in this deck.

[Liiva]

So i played with this deck (same list as above in my first post but in the SB 1 oxidize + 1 ray of revelation instead of 2 pithing needle) in a local tournament and managed to get top 4.

Here's a small report of the day:

Game 1 vs BG hermit druid with bridge from below, dread return and flame-kin zealot as kill
He opens with a duress on my swords to plowshares, i cast a gaddock teeg followed by a goyf. He extirpates my swords but the teeg and goyf win the match
I still have no idea what my opponent is playing so i SB nothing, game 2 he start with an unmask taking my swords and plays a hermit druid, i cast nothing relevant on my turn and he combos me out. In goes the leylines.
Match 3 i mull to 6 and open with a leyline followed shortly by a gaddock teeg, teeg locks out his reverent silences.

Game 2 vs Empty Gifts
First match i duress away most of his cards and finish it with a tarmogoyf
2nd match i'm going pretty strong untill an Engineered Explosives blows away my entire table (2 goyfs, 1 conf, 2 thorns), he finds a will shortly after that and goes broken
There isn't much time left and my opponent offers a draw, which i gladly take.

Game 3 vs Manaless Ichorid
Well what deck doesn't lose the first match vs ichorid?
2nd match he mulls to 4, i mull to 6 and open with a leyline. Nothing really happens on his side so i beat him down
3rd match i mull to 6 again and start with a leyline. He manages to destroy it but my strip mine on his bazaar crippled him too much. Tarmogoyfs finish it off before he can dredge into anything dangerous.

Game 4 vs Tyrant Oath
I get a pretty agressive start and dark confidant + zombie tokens kill him just in time, he manages to oath once.
2nd game, he gets an oath pretty early but doesn't have an orchard. I destroy his first oath with a ray of revelation but it gets extirpated. A 2nd oath follows shortly but i manage to plow away his trisk and 2 tyrants. An broken will follows and i scoop (he still has a Blazing Archon)
3rd game ends in a draw, he needed 1 more turn to finish me off so i got a bit lucky here 

Game 5 vs GAT
This game is basicly tarmogoyfs vs dryads, i win the first match fairly easily but the 2nd match was very close. I had 2 tarmogoyfs but he had a big dryad so we stalled a bit while i was searching for a swords and found multiple. In the end i'm at 3 life and he has a tendrills in his hand but no other spells to get the needed storm so my tarmogoyfs finish it off.

Top 8 vs Flash
1st match i get triple duress in the first few turns, discarding most of his key cards.
2nd match i mull to 6 and keep a mediocre hand, he combos me out on turn 2 with no resistance.
3rd match was a bit like the first match but he keeps a hand with 4 mana (1 is a lotus) summoners pact and hulk, i thoughtseize him twice and he proceeds to draw nothing at all allowing my tarmogoyfs to finish him.

Top 4 vs Platz Oath
He starts with an orchard, mox, oath.
2nd match i destroy his oath after one activation (giving him a platz), my goyf kicks him to zero life but i can't find a swords.. i have 2 active bazaars and use them both for 3 turns but can't find a swords in time

Platz Oath plays vs Tyrant Oath in the finals, the Tyrant Oath player wins.

About the deck
I think the deck did pretty well, it will need some tweaking but i really like the 7 duress package. Gaddock Teeg wasn't that great during the day but i'm not sure if i will replace him just yet. Zombie Infestation was pretty dead.. i didn't face a stax deck (they're pretty rare in my meta) and i found myself discarding them alot to bazaar. Also most of the time i wished balance was just another spot-removal card. I was amazed by tarmogoyf's beating power, i allways considered him like a bad jotun grunt but damn.. a 5/6 beater on turn 2 is pretty good, even in vintage 

[Polynomial P]

Congratulations on the top 4! Where was the tournament at and how many people were there?

It sounds like there is an awful lot of Oath in your meta. I would suggest running some number of krosan grips over either seeds of innocence or oxidize to give you an uncounterable spell to deal with oath. Also, the deck definitely should run mox diamond. It has been incredible for me in testing.

Zombie infestation has been a hit or miss card for me. It is critical for certain matchups (stax, fish, GAT) but tend to get sided out in other matchups. Perhaps 2 Zombie infestation is the correct number for the deck.

Can you elaborate why gaddok teeg was not good for you? it seems like he was very good in a few of your matches and if you saw him vs Empty gifts or GAT he should be really good.

[rkmancer]

Congratulation for a great result and being top 4. .Your meta has a lot of similarity with mine (oath spread, dread return based deck, and GAT, but we have Stax too) and your report will be a very good reference for me to face next tournament. .So thank you very much. .
I hope you won't mind to explain more details your match up vs GAT, and what if that GAT bring Goyf too?? what's your plan against it??
And about 2 wastelands on your list, are they useful??

[Liiva]

Congratulations on the top 4! Where was the tournament at and how many people were there?

Thanks, the tournament was in Hengelo (The Netherlands) and there were 31 players.

It sounds like there is an awful lot of Oath in your meta. I would suggest running some number of krosan grips over either seeds of innocence or oxidize to give you an uncounterable spell to deal with oath. Also, the deck definitely should run mox diamond. It has been incredible for me in testing.

Seeds of Innocence is getting replaced with something else yes, possibly Krosan Grip. Note: there were Stax decks (2 of them in Top 8) but overall they're pretty rare in my meta. Do you recommend replacing an off-color mox for mox diamond or run it in addition to the other moxen/petal/lotus?

Zombie infestation has been a hit or miss card for me. It is critical for certain matchups (stax, fish, GAT) but tend to get sided out in other matchups. Perhaps 2 Zombie infestation is the correct number for the deck.

I agree with this, I'm going to cut 1 zombie infestation.

Can you elaborate why gaddok teeg was not good for you? it seems like he was very good in a few of your matches and if you saw him vs Empty gifts or GAT he should be really good.

Problem mainly was that i didn't see Gaddock Teeg vs the decks were i needed him (i really REALLY needed him in the empty gifts match vs that engineered explosives  ). So i've only seen him in action vs the decks he isn't that great against. So for now I'm gonna keep him in.

I hope you won't mind to explain more details your match up vs GAT, and what if that GAT bring Goyf too?? what's your plan against it??

The GAT player did his usual thing, playing a dryad and drawing loads of cards, while i duressed away his counters so my swords would be able to resolve. I really feared misdirection here, if your meta is filled with GAT then a number of cruel edicts in the board might be wise. If you get a zombie infestation online, then you can chump their dryad untill you find a swords or they find a berserk. In the 2nd game we were both in topdeck mode but he had a small dryad, i drew a tarmogoyf to stop his attacks but was on lowish life (9 or something, can't really remember). His dryad grew bigger untill i STPed it but he soon found 2 more dryads while i managed to get a bazaar, another goyf and a dark confidant. My confidant has to chump his dryad, but i swords it the turn after. He only has 1 fairly big dryad left while i have 2 tarmogoyfs. I resolve a squee off a petal and swing him to 3 life with my tarmogoyfs. This was a risky play but looking back at it, it was the right one. He drew a card (now 2 cards in his hand) and casted a tendrills taking me to 1 life, then scooped.

If the GAT player plays Goyfs as well, then i think you'll need some extra creature removal in the form of cruel edicts. the GAT match-up stays a coin flip though, they sometimes just go nuts with will.. but that's magic right? 

And about 2 wastelands on your list, are they useful??

Recurring land destruction can win random games if your opponent keeps mana-light hands but don't count on it. I used the wastelands mostly to cut off a player from a certain color, or kill one of their utility lands. Don't just waste a random land unless it gives you some tempo advantage else you might as well keep it in your hand and bazaar it away for something more usefull

[Polynomial P]

My gut would say to drop lotus petal for mox diamond because permanent mana sources are really great for this deck. I consider lotus petal a marginal effect that is ok, but not great, in a deck that wants to see turn 8.

I'd also try and work in a few riftstone portals. Those slipped my mind when I was suggesting a decklist to Nick Calcaterra, but that was a complete oversight.

John Donavon also T8ed in chicago with Dawn of the Dead. The zombies are eating brains all over now!

[Duncan]

Arjen, congratulations on your top4 finish.

I don't know much about this deck but just wanted to respond to this:

It sounds like there is an awful lot of Oath in your meta.

As far as I could see, there were 3 (2 tyrant and 1 platinum) out of 31 playing oath, which is not an awful lot

I'm very interested in a metagame breakdown. Arjen, can you fix that? I believe your brother's got all the lists.

[Isaac85]

I've been thinking a lot about this deck recently and I was curious as to what people think of adding grunts in the main. Now granted he doesn't work to well with tarmogoyf but then again you can set it up so he doesn't hit any cards that decrease his power and toughness. Grunt would also add more ways out late game and would also fill up your library for the potential of decking yourself. Also let's face it a 4/4 is a good blocker mean time till you either have an answer to something bigger on the field or hell just to get in early damage till you combo off with infestation.

[Liiva]

I've played grunts in the mainboard before tarmogoyfs and i didn't really like them, putting back some important blue instant in my opponents deck in a metagame filled with merchant scrolls isn't a good idea, and his ability is pretty slow. Besides, you can't cast a turn 1/2 grunt vs most decks.
I would love to play something to counter the broken mid- or endgame wills though.

[TheAlpha]

Top 8 vs Flash
1st match i get triple duress in the first few turns, discarding most of his key cards.
2nd match i mull to 6 and keep a mediocre hand, he combos me out on turn 2 with no resistance.
3rd match was a bit like the first match but he keeps a hand with 4 mana (1 is a lotus) summoners pact and hulk, i thoughtseize him twice and he proceeds to draw nothing at all allowing my tarmogoyfs to finish him.

I honestly still don't understand why I lost that match. The only cards that really affect the game from you side are the Duress/Thoughseize and game 1 StP's. G1 was just too much but for instance, game 3 took quite a while. At some point I was 1 mana short of hardcasting a hulk which would have won me the game assuming you boarded out the StP's. At some point I could have drawn like, 15 cards that would have won me the game but I didn't, guess that's part of the game. Problem with the 7 Duress package is that I'm not worried about you stripping my hand since I can get something good of the top and still win. I also doubt if Teeg is that good, how did it work for you?

[DarkfnTemplar]

Some points I have thought over:
 Gaddock teeg should go back in the deck. Long will have a revival and terravore is a pain to play.
 Infestation should only be a two of?
 Demonic consultation should be seriously considered.
 Extirpate vs. Leyline : Leyline should be the choice vs. the current meta. Extirpate is is better vs. the mirror, the rare mirror.
 Oath is seeing a lot of hype for some reason. Perhaps a third ray should be added.
 Any comments?

[elgoff]

A friend of mine took Dawn of the Dead (my deck!!) to first place in a 16 players Tournament (I know that's not a lot of player but anyway...) Here's the Métagame breakdown: 1 Oath (the deck I played), 2 Bomberman, 1 Gush Tinker, 1 GAT, 2 Parfait, 1 Suicide U-W, 1 Aggro B-R, 1 Dawn of the Dead, 1 Fish U-W-B, 1 Elemental, 1 Suicide B-W Splah Plagarize & co.???, 1 Aggro R-G, 1 Aggro W-G-R, 1 New Dark Elf

1st place: Samuel Vaillancourt
Deck: Dawn of the Dead

3 Thougthseize
4 Duress
2 Life from the Loam
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Balance
2 Gaddock Teeg
4 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Vampirirc Tutor
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Zombie Infestation
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Dark Confidant
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Black Lotus
1 Strip Mine
2 Wasteland
1 Swamp
1 Plains
3 Windswept Heath
2 Bloodstained Mire
3 Bayou
3 Scrubland
4 Bazaar of Baghdad

Sideboard:
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Seal of Primordium (Krosan Grip please!)
2 Oxidyze
2 Ray of Revelation
4 Thorn of Amethyst

After the day...Sam told me that even when Gaddock was suppose to be good he was just not good enough...mainly because Merchant Scroll is the key card to lock down and Gaddock can't. So Gaddock got sided out all day.

That brings a thought...Should we put Mindcensor over Gaddock Teeg, even if you get 3 mana late in the game...
"I see that those two cards are virtually interchangable. They perform the same role in slightly diffrent matchups. Mindcensor vs Gaddock is basicaly metagame call of flash vs ichorid respectively.", like vroman said.
I personnally gonna play Aven Mindscensor. He flies! and pass over Moat!! and lock down Tutor/Fetch engine!! and there's a lot of Scrolls in my area...

Other discussion: 3x Extirpate over 4x Leyline.

I would like to include 1 more Revelation (SB) because they are just insane these days with an Meta full of Oaths, Threads of Disloyalty, Leylines...Therefore, tooking out 4x Leyline let me room for 3x Extirpate and that 3rd Revelation.
So the question is : Is Extirpate better than Leyline in this deck?

What do  you guys put in the Sideboard for Flash matchup!?!? is Leyline our only chance!??! do I really gonna have to keep the Leylines!?!? last tournament no Flash but we had 4x Leylines + 2x Explosive ready for them...

thanks for any comments!

[DarkfnTemplar]

mind censor is neat, but for three mana he is a not worth it. He's mediocre vs. aggro, and he still doesn't shut gat down. If you're going to kill gat, you need to focus on killing its win conditions, not its protection. 4x Swords and superior aggro beat gat. Duress and seize shut down its protection.
I think that teeg and censor are about even in games versus gat. Censor isnt a bounce lightning rod like teeg is, so I choose to play him (among other reasons.)
With stax, long, and empty gifts seeing a lot of play, i think teeg is fine.

But in the end, ill have to agree with my team leader. Otherwise, I'm stuck on de-sleeving duty for a month....

[elgoff]

We're talking about Mindscensor being played over Teeg...

But do you guys think (Glowrider) could be another solution...

Disrupting GAT, Combo... means Spheres of some kind.

[DarkfnTemplar]

We're talking about Mindscensor being played over Teeg...

But do you guys think (Glowrider) could be another solution...

Disrupting GAT, Combo... means Spheres of some kind.

cost dub white, thats why it plays thorn. I guess rider could see play if it got to the point where hurkyls was seeing a ridiculous amount of play.

[TopSecret]

We're talking about Mindscensor being played over Teeg...

But do you guys think (Glowrider) could be another solution...

Disrupting GAT, Combo... means Spheres of some kind.

cost dub white, thats why it plays thorn. I guess rider could see play if it got to the point where hurkyls was seeing a ridiculous amount of play.

Glow Rider only has one white in it's casting cost.

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

Instead of Terravore, did anyone try Doran, The Siege Tower in here. Hes a bit lighter on your manabase for starters then Terravore. Also what are the thoughts on Aven Mindscensor in this deck? He is still insanely powerful, and should fit the tempo in this sort of deck rather well...granted he isn't a big beefy guy sadly. I really want another guy to put on the beats besides Tarmogoyf. It seems like I want just another guy to make sure the job gets done quickly, after I duress them to death.

[TopSecret]

If you need a creature just to beat with, would Wild Mongrel be any good?
He works with both Squee and Life from the Loam.
Though, you're already playing Zombie Infestation and Bazaar, so I'm assuming he may be too redundant.

Perhaps Unearth?
It could be really handy when you've played a turn 1-2 bazaar, you're a little mana-light, and you want to drop a threat.
Reanimate is similar, with the added bonus of Thoughtseize-ing a ridiculous creature from the opponent
and then animating it on your own side. Either of these spells will up the reliance on the graveyard, of course.

[DarkfnTemplar]

We're talking about Mindscensor being played over Teeg...

But do you guys think (Glowrider) could be another solution...

Disrupting GAT, Combo... means Spheres of some kind.

cost dub white, thats why it plays thorn. I guess rider could see play if it got to the point where hurkyls was seeing a ridiculous amount of play.

Glow Rider only has one white in it's casting cost.

dub (2) white. Sorry, I guess that was a bit misleading. The point is that id rather have an artifact that cost 2 do the same thing. Even if he is a creature, the deck has enough aggro.