Arena Standard - Zambos

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This is my take on the current Zombie tribal list that's been floating around.  I went with mono black after seeing a couple of other lists here and made a few alterations on my end to try and strengthen some of the weaknesses of the tribe.  If you like the look of it, feel free to upload it and Tinkerimage around to find some new ways to deal some sweet, sweet undead damage to your opponents.  On to the cards!

 

Creatures

The cornerstone of any tribal deck is of course the creatures and how they synergize with each other.

Champion of the Perishedimage - Aside from the meme-ability of the card name, this is probably the best one drop zambo I've seen in forever.  1-drops that can be viable cards in every stage of the game are incredibly important to a tribal list.

Shambling Ghastimage - Really good tech zambo, either finishing off smaller creatures or ramping you.  I don't want to see this pop up late game, but it's a solid 1-drop.

Wightimage - I don't particularly love this card, but he can be pretty decent against aggro, especially with a Champion out.  3/2 stats are pretty decent for a 2-drop as well.

Tainted Adversaryimage - Great defensive stats for stopping aggro in it's tracks, and an obscene upside if the game goes long.  All of the adversaries are great, and while Tainted isn't the best of them, it's really good in zombie tribal.

Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephaliaimage - Pretty strong early 2-drop that can help your Champions get moving even faster by dropping a zambo onto the field every single turn.  1/1 dies to a strong breeze, but if he sticks around for even a full turn you get your value's worth.

Ebondeath, Dracolichimage - Zombie typing is a bonus on this sneaky beatstick.  The flash and recursion are fantastic, and a 4-cost is really competitively priced.

 

Instant / Sorcery / Enchantment

While not necessarily as important to a tribal list, it's always a good idea to have some tech here and there to interact with your opponent in ways other than the walking dead.

Village Ritesimage - Eat your own zambos for fun and profit.  Draw 2 for B is *chef's kiss*.

Infernal Graspimage - Unconditional creature removal will always come at a premium.  Paying 2 life is pretty fantastic with a 1B cost.  Full set seems pretty non-negotiable.

Deadly Disputeimage - A more powerful Rites, being able to sac treasures to power it is pretty good too if you're running low on creatures.

Ghoulish Processionimage - It doesn't trigger on tokens sadly, but it makes up for it by triggering on any creature death, so it can add a bit of value to cards like Grasp, Crippling Fear or Meathook Massacre.

No Way Outimage - This is a bit of a flex spot in my opinion.  Being able to hit 2 cards (opponent's choice unfortunately) and getting some upside with a body is pretty good disruption for a tribal list, however and it mostly earns it's spot.

Crippling Fearimage - I've seen most lists running 3 or 4 of these, and they may be right.  With the more powerful tribes out there however (i.e. Werewolves, Giants, Dragons), this coming down late game can be a bit of a bummer if you're staring down a bunch of 4 toughness beaters on your opponents field.  I tried to offset that feels-bad-man moment with the next card I included.

The Meathook Massacreimage - This is one of my favorite cards in the set.  Scaleable board wipes like this are pretty good to begin with, and lets you kill almost anything.  The fact that it sticks around as a sort of pseudo Bastion of Remembranceimage turns this into both a powerful sweeper AND an alternate win con since it'll trigger every single time your decayed zombies die, and keep you going by giving you a bit of extra life off of trades.  Super powerful, incredibly important card for this list in my opinion.

Agadeem's Awakeningimage - While this isn't a super powerful card here, being able to bring back a couple of bodies and acting as back up lands is pretty good value and deserving of a couple slots.

 

Conclusion

This is far from the most efficient list out there right now, but I've had a really good time with it so far.  Feel free to upload the deck and try it out on ladder!  If you do, please let me know how you fare with it and what changes work or don't.  Cheers!

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SoliloquyNow
Last Updated: 18 Sep 2021
Created: 17 Sep 2021
591 240 0

Mainboard - 60 cards (16 distinct)

Creature (18)
$1.65
$4.17
$3.03€3.340.02
$0.26
$1.28€2.090.02
$0.35€0.660.03
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (22)
$51.83€36.9419.26
$1.40
$0.15€0.050.03
$19.003.11
$0.25€0.150.03
$1.45€0.980.03
$0.40
$1.30€1.710.30
Land (20)
$2.20
$0.99€0.600.04

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