Varolz - Trying to Make this Dog Hunt

[redthirst]

Okay, so I want to see if this card can be useful enough to warrant play and I'd be open to ideas, but I don't want to post on Sally and have a dozen people tell me to splash [mana]R[/mana] for Vexing Devil and Slumbering Dragon.

First, the deck:

[deck]Creatures: 30
4 Gravecrawler
4 Diregraf Ghoul
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Lotleth Troll
4 Blood Scrivener
4 Knight of Infamy
4 Geralf's Messenger
3 Varolz, the Scar-Striped

Spells: 10
4 Tragic Slip
3 Rancor
3 Abrupt Decay

Land: 20
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
2 Golgari Guildgate
4 Cavern of Souls
6 Swamp[/deck]

Next, card choices:

The Zombie shell: Gravecrawler, Diregraf Ghoul, Lotleth Troll, and Geralf's Messenger - basic zombie shell that needs no explaination.

Deathrite Shaman - Reach
+ Lifegain + Reanimation hate = good card

Blood Scrivener - The deck has such a low average cc and so many ways to protect itself from over-extension that this seems like a no-brainer zombie (lulz).

Knight of Infamy - Just a solid dude that's a real good target for Rancor and +1/+1 counters vs a lot of decks.

Varolz, the Scar-Striped - His stats are not exciting and certainly not Aggressive, but his abilities are where he (maybe) earns his place (I'll go into detail later).

Tragic Slip - Kills early dudes and FA by itself and Morbid should be easy to turn on with so many weenie creatures and a sac outlet.

Rancor - Err'body likes having +2 power and Trample.

Abrupt Decay - Seemed like a solid removal spell, could alternatively be Victim of the Night.

Finally, Why Varolz?:

Varolz has the potential to give the deck new life. BG Zombies has been tried and found wanting in the past - it's not fast enough to kill an opponent before they
get online (like Naya Blitz and Gruul Sligh) and it's not big enough to grind out a game once the opponent starts dropping larger threats (like RDW with Hellkites and Dos Rakis), but Varolz can change that.

Varolz gives you a very specific ability: to have relevant late-game threats in your deck without having to actually make any deck concessions for them. What this means is that you have a very low-curve Aggro deck with more threats (because you can afford to run so few lands) that still has the option to attack with creatures that aren't completely out-classed after the 4th turn.



That's the theory, anyway...

[Christen]

I would say Dreg Mangler should be worth some slots here though I see that the list is already tight.

[redthirst]

I don't want to make the curve any higher so I can realistically expect to get some mileage out of Blood Scrivener. I don't think Mangler is better than Messenger and taking Varolz out for it kind of defeats the purpose and turns the deck into the old Golgari Zombie list which has already proven to not be viable.

I like Mangler, but there's just no room.

[RDW]

Beautiful deck that might make good usage out of both Blood Scrivener and Varolz; I'll see if I can my buddy to run this this week. Do you think you could swap some Rakdos Cackler in for some of the two-drops to lower your curve further to swarm the board and make your Scriveners more powerful?

[redthirst]

Cackler is a possibility - its synergy with Varolz is pretty terrible, but it is another 1cc 2/2.

I think I'd probably drop Abrupt Decay + 1 of something for them just because Abrupt Decay is such a reactive card and I do want to be able to just unload my hand whenevever possible.

[rcwraspy]

I'm going to make a case for splashing red, but not because of Vexing Devil or Slumbering Dragon.

Because of all of our favorite card. Falkenrath Aristocrat. If you're profiting from the GY so much with Deathrite Shaman and Varolz, why not add a sac outlet in one of the best creatures in the format?

My shell would be DRS, Varolz, Lotleth, FA and build from there. It could go in various directions, including midrange, aggro, or even a more controlling deck with Lili oTV.

[redthirst]

FA is good, but it forces the deck to:
-run more lands total
-run more disruptive lands
-have a higher average cc which makes Scrivener worse

In addition, it's not like the deck needs another sac outlet for anything.

Of course, it could be worth it since FA is so baller - I just don't know.

I think a Jund build is viable, but it would probably need to be more Midrange - and Jund Midrange doesn't really have an issue with its creatures being outclassed so it doesn't really need Varolz.

[TubeHunter]

In all its glory: Junk Varolz!

[deck]
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Gravecrawler
3 Dryad Militant
3 Lotleth Troll
3 Tithe Drinker
2 Voice of Resurgence
3 Varolz, The Scar Striped
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Advent of the Wurm

3 Rancor
2 Selsnya Charm
2 tragic Slip

4 Godless Shrine
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Temple Garden
4 Swamp
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Woodland Cemetary
3 Isolated Chapel

SB
3 Sin Collector
2 Thalia, Guardian of Tharaben
1 Voice of Resurgence
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Ultimate Price
3 Duress[/deck]

[rcwraspy]

Does Deadbridge Chant add anything here? This is almost going to look like either a Rock deck or a Golgari Block deck, but I think there are some good synergies with Deadbridge and Varolz.

Deathrite Shaman is obviously a powerful card, but if we're running Deadbridge Chant it can help clear the chaff from your GY to recur more impactful cards.

Lotleth Troll seems like a good inclusion because you can dump creatures to grow him, he's got evasion and resistance, and he helps turn on either Deadbridge or Varolz.

Dreg Mangler usually has a horrible scavenge cost but it's much more reasonable if Varolz is out. And hasty recursion from Deadbridge sounds nice.

Then add some more beats, some removal, and try to build a curve. So maybe something like this:

[deck]
Creatures - 18
3 Deathrite
Shaman
4 Lotleth Troll
4 Dreg Mangler
3 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
4 Thragtusk

Instants/Sorceries - 13
3 Abrput Decay
3 Sign in Blood
2 Putrefy
3 Tragic Slip
2 Victim of Night

Enchantments - 2
2 Deadbridge Chant

Planeswalkers - 3
2 Liliana of the Veil
1 Garruk Relentless

Land - 24
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
2 Golgari Guildgate
14 Swamp
[/deck]

Obviously very rough and maybe a worse version of a few things, but I do think there's something to the synergy between Deadbridge and Varolz.

EDIT: I had Mutilate in there but it seems bad with the creature base.

[Kaitscralt]

Are you guys aware of the Junk Aristocrats that's been smacking around Standard? Might be right up your alley.

[rcwraspy]

Are you guys aware of the Junk Aristocrats that's been smacking around Standard? Might be right up your alley.

Yeah I think this thread was created before that popped up and I just necro'd it.

[Alex]

What about Grixis? Opens up some survivability from Snapcaster and Unsummon, and neither of these cards are worth scoffing at. Also brings the ever-relevant Invisible Stalker to the table, which is good friends with Val. In red you get better low-end drops, while also opening up Izzet Charm, Pillar of Flame, Desolate Lighthouse...

Idk, seems like the best splash to me.

[lacco]

@redthirst: I stumpled upon your brew, and I tried it out several times on Cockatrice. I have to admit it has really nice synergies, and I even Blood Scrivener worked for me from time to time. Great work so far! Did you have some time to test it, too? Are there any changes you would do?

[Link]

This deck placed Top 8 at SCG OH

[deck]Creatures (24)

4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Diregraf Ghoul
4 Dreg Mangler
4 Geralf's Messenger
4 Gravecrawler
4 Lotleth Troll
Lands (22)

1 Forest
10 Swamp
3 Cavern of Souls
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
Spells (14)

4 Abrupt Decay
4 Tragic Slip
3 Victim of Night
3 Sign in Blood
Sideboard

4 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Illness in the Ranks
2 Devour Flesh
2 Golgari Charm
4 Duress[/deck]


No Valroz to be seen though. Maybe he is what would've made the deck get 1st ;D Easy swap for Valroz over Mangler. Also runs more land than probably necessary given the curve... Swap out some ladn and sign in bloods for Scrivener and there you go?

[redthirst]

@redthirst: I stumpled upon your brew, and I tried it out several times on Cockatrice. I have to admit it has really nice synergies, and I even Blood Scrivener worked for me from time to time. Great work so far! Did you have some time to test it, too? Are there any changes you would do?

I played it a little just to verify that Varolz wasn't garbage, but never really did a lot of playtesting. The deck is okay, but seems weak compared to other Aggro decks.

If you want to keep playing around with Varolz, the Junk Aristocrats version is probably the way to go, but once again, I haven't really played the deck enough to say that with any real authority.

[Kazekirimaru]

I've seen Varolz in some Jund sideboards. They weren't the best decks, mind you, but he's a resilient threat if nothing else. Can get out of hand somewhat.