Salutations!
Welcome to Deck Diaries, the series where I tune a list over the course of many weeks and track the changes.
The previous week can be found here: https://lefowens.blogspot.com/2019/10/deck-diaries-varina-week-3.html
This is Week 4 of Varina tuning and this is the list as it stands: https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/varinaweek4/
Unfortunately, this week is going to be a shorter update as I have been quite ill since this past Wednesday. I missed my usual game night and haven't gotten any practical games in with the current list. As such, I'm not removing any of the cards added last week until I get to see them in the real world. There are several other cards that have been under performing for me that I'd like to upgrade.
Many of the comments I've received when posting the list is that it's underpowered. While I believe that's accurate, some of the suggestions coming in weren't for more powerful cards, but for unfair cards. Since I don't have a lot of practical stuff to add today, I thought I'd talk about the difference between powerful and fair. The surest way to show the difference is with examples, and I thought I'd use a couple that have been considered for this deck.
Eldrazi Monument is a powerful card. It removes interaction from your opponents and makes your clock faster. Its the kind of card you hope to draw when you have someone on the edge of dead. However, it has counterplay. It is itself able to be destroyed, and if done so when you're already committed to an attack can be disastrous. At five mana, its also going to be most of what you do in a turn, and it requires an upkeep cost. The upkeep cost is marginal for decks that want it but its also a real concern in the face of a Terminus or other sweeper it doesn't protect against. Eldrazi Monument is powerful, but it is inherently a fair card.
Phyrexian Altar is an unfair card. Unbound sacrifice outlets are notorious for enabling loops so they tend toward unfair on their face. Cards that convert resources to mana tend toward the unfair. Phyrexian Altar is unique as its both an unbound sacrifice outlet and converts creatures to mana. I have Ashnod's Altar in the deck currently and have considered cutting it on several occasions since its similar to Phyrexian Altar, but only making colorless has thus far prevented me from giving it the ax. There is no 'fair' use of Phyrexian Altar unless the person playing the deck deliberately stops themselves from using the card to its potential. If I were to put it into Varina I'm not even sure of the implications but I know Gravecrawler would immediately lead to infinite combos.
Individuals each have their own tolerances to what's 'fair' and 'unfair.' Personally, I'm trying to use Varina to explore that question. It would be easy to throw Phyrexian Altar in here and a bunch of tutors and focus on establishing that combo. Or to put Labratory Maniac into the deck and use Varina's massive looting and Dread Return/Unburial Rites to buy him back for the win. So, while I think the deck is currently not powerful, when adding power to the deck I want to be careful that I don't make it more unfair in the process.
OUT:
I'm removing Worn Powerstone for Talisman as a 1-for-1 swap. I've noticed that colored mana is at a premium in the deck and Talisman lines up with the deck's play pattern much better. Worn Powerstone doesn't cast Varina any faster, doesn't contribute to casting her more than any other mana rock, and I'm trying to be efficient rather than going for maximum ramp. Talisman gives another early colored source, and only costs 1 on the turn you play it.
Tomebound Lich seemed like a natural fit. Its a looter, its a zombie, its got deathtouch and lifelink. The reality is that I almost always pitch him to looter triggers. The versatility is there, but Tomebound Lich is a jack of all trades and master of none type card. Its not good enough at any one thing to justify it's spot.
Liliana's Mastery is maybe the card that is the most surprising to be on the list of cuts. Its an anthem, and it makes two bodies when it comes down. This is where I think I'll have to reiterate that this version of Varina is not zombie tribal. The deck plays zombies as a means to an end. Enhancing your zombies is fine if it comes at no additional cost, but the two bodies you get from playing Mastery are overpaying if you cut out the anthem from the equation. I think I want to focus on better token makers that are more efficient at producing bodies.
Shepherd of Rot was put in as a way of dealing maximum damage to the table and to close games where you couldn't attack. Wayward Servant has filled that role much better while also bolstering my life total and not needing haste to get the job done before people can react. I'm benching Shepherd for now since I haven't liked it, but the door is open for Shepherd to return if I notice closing out games is harder.
Forbidden Alchemy has never been an impressive card. I played it as an Impulse that got some cards in the graveyard. I don't think I've ever flashed it back. As stated in previous articles, my breakpoint on instants is two mana. At three mana, I don't think Forbidden Alchemy is exciting or efficient so its getting cut.
Eldrazi Monument I mentioned above, but its being added as a way to give my team evasion and protection. Feeding it every turn should be pretty do-able through Varina and other token makers. I think I'll also be adding other types of evasion but Monument stands out as a powerful option to start with.
Empty the Pits gives me a back up option to Varina. The rate is the same, but Empty lets me convert my whole graveyard at once. It also works well in combination with Varina. From Under the Floorboards has proven to be surprisingly strong when it goes off at the end of the opponent's turn. Empty gives another Army-in-a-can option to get back on the table after a board wipe.
Alhammarret's Archive doubles Varina's trigger to get an absurd amount of card advantage and life. It also turbo charges the cantrips in the deck, turning them all into +1 card, and has a positive interaction with Frantic Search and Careful Study. The low cost of cantrips generally means I'll be able to play archive and immediately play a cantrip so the Archive will pay for itself.
Tombstone Stairwell is an odd card. I encourage people to read the Oracle text since its a bit on the old side. This came up in last week's thread and was suggested by u/HarshPerspective. The gist of it is, at the start of each player's turn, they make a 2/2 zombie with haste for each creature card in their graveyard. While it has some negatives that might cut its run in the deck short, I want to give it a try. The negatives are that it has a cumulative upkeep cost so it cuts me off of making other plays or activating Varina. It relies on the number of creature cards in my graveyard, which might conflict with Delve too much if I'm trying to take full advantage. It's also symmetrical, so while I'm expecting to get the most use out of it its possible it gets hijacked by someone else at the table. What interests me is just how many bodies it makes. Zombies entering the battlefield are useful for Wayward Servant. Getting to attack with them is obviously great and goes a long way to mitigating other people getting the TS trigger. I'm also adding Eldrazi Monument to the deck, which is a natural pairing for TS since the Tombspawn are destroyed instead of sacrificed. This addition is speculative, but might wind up being awesome.
I hope to have actual games to report next week. I'm going to be paying special attention to Tombstone Stairwell and the cards that I haven't gotten to play with from the last update.
Week 5: https://lefowens.blogspot.com/2019/10/deck-diaries-varina-week-5.html
Week 5: https://lefowens.blogspot.com/2019/10/deck-diaries-varina-week-5.html
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