Do you like decks? Do you like seeing cards in decks? Yes? Great!

Then you are going to love this article. Because last week I gave you four decks inspired by the various spoilers from Eldritch Moon. Yay spoilers! But today, we’re going to unload another five decks for you.

After all, I might as well improve on that, right?

Right!

The key cards inspiring today’s quintet of crazy are Lone Rider, Mausoleum Wanderer, Cryptbreaker, Ishkanah, Grafwidow and Tamiyo, Field Researcher.

But that’s not all! I have lands, spells, creatures and more, all from Eldritch Moon. In fact, at the end of the deck, I’m rocking a full 9 cards from Eldritch Moon in these right now.

Are you ready for DECKS, DECKS, DECKS?!?!?

The Spirits of Innistrad

Like many folks out there, I really adore the horror stuff. And I read it too, particularly older horror before it became overly genre-fied and everyone was writing fresh ideas. Some of my favorite authors are Algernon Blackwood and HP Lovecraft. (For contemporary authors that are still alive, it’s Thomas Ligotti first, and then perhaps later stuff by Ramsey Campbell, such as Midnight Sun or The Hungry Moon) Anyway, yay horror!

So I wanted a deck that was just the Innistrad stuff only. How about a tribe?

Spirits are very different in Innistrad than they were on Kamigawa, where they had a very different manifestation and slate of abilities. So what about an Innistrad only Spirit deck? That seems to have some legs to me.

Sprits of Innistrad ? Causal | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Battleground Geist
• 2 Drogskol Shieldmate
• 2 Nebelgast Herald
• 2 Selfless Spirit
• 2 Spectral Shepherd
• 4 Bygone Bishop
• 4 Drogskol Captain
• 4 Mausoleum Wanderer
• 4 Rattlechains

• Spells (10)
• 2 Divine Deflection
• 2 Eerie Interlude
• 2 Silverstrike
• 4 Dissipate

• Lands (24)
• 10 Island
• 10 Plains
• 4 Sejiri Refuge

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And there you are! Just us!

Now Mausoleum Wanderer is where this deck started. It’s a great 1-drop that wants more Spirits to be invited to the party. Follow it up with Rattlechains at the two spot and Drogskol Captain at the three. Seems like a party, right?

In leapt a variety of expected Spirit tribal love. I tossed in everything from cheap lil’ Spirits like Selfless Spirit to sacrifice and make your team indestructible or Bygone Bishop to turn your cheap stuff into clues ripe for investigating into cards. And I even had Innistrad-based support cards like Dissipate, Eerie Interlude and removal.

So the spooky Spirit loving folk are about to hit their limit here, as every single Spirit strikes!

What’s next? How about the Zombie Dance?

The Cryptbreaker Five

Cryptbreaker Five ? Casual | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (30)
• 1 Grave Defiler
• 1 Gravespawn Sovereign
• 2 Corpse Harvester
• 2 Noxious Ghoul
• 2 Relentless Dead
• 2 Risen Executioner
• 2 Soulless One
• 2 Zombie Trailblazer
• 4 Cryptbreaker
• 4 Gravecrawler
• 4 Lord of the Undead
• 4 Undead Warchief

• Spells (12)
• 2 Dark Salvation
• 2 Syphon Flesh
• 2 Zombie Apocalypse
• 2 Call to the Grave
• 4 Necromancer's Stockpile

• Lands (22)
• 19 Swamp
• 1 Phyrexian Tower
• 2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

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From the song, “The Monster Mash”, you might remember a lyric, “With their vocal group, the Crypt Keeper Five.” That line was in my head when I read the Cryptbreaker’s name. “With your vocal group, the Cryptbreaker Five!” That’s where the title of this deck comes from.

Anyway, Zombie time!

Because of how long Zombies have been a supported tribe, you can basically have a deck that uses almost all Zombie lords of various types, and it winds up feeling like a Sliver deck. From Zombie Master to Cemetery Reaper, we have a lot of Lords. So I knew we would have a lot of options to choose from for supporting the Cryptbreaker.

The Cryptbreaker lets you discard a card for the making of Zombies. That’s good. So to play into that space, I tossed in Necromancer's Stockpile as well, which can discard a creature card for another card, as well as a Zombie token if the creature card we discarded was a Zombie (And they all will be).

Given that, we are in a good place with some obvious Zombie additions. The first Lord to make the cut is Lord of the Undead. Sure, you can pump your stuff like expected. Go you. But you can also return any Zombie from that graveyard of yours to your hand for just the low, low price of only 2 mana. Imagine that, just 2 mana! Which means you can discard a Zombie to the Cryptbreaker or Stockpile, and then return it and keep going. That’s clearly a useful engine.

Discard Gravecrawler and then play it for a mana. Discard Risen Executioner and then recur it. Discard Zombies to make your Soulless One big. Discard Zombies to fill up that gorgeous graveyard and then play Zombie Apocalypse. Seems like a good deal.

Then, in addition to getting Zombies to the graveyard via discarding, I also threw in some sacrificing. It’s not a lot, but there are cards like Corpse Harvester that will sacrifice a Zombie for some useful stuff. We also want a lot of Zombies out to tap and use the Cryptbreaker’s ability to draw some cards, right? So check out Dark Salvation and such.

Shoot, I even added in tappers like Zombie Trailblazer and Gravespawn Sovereign (Don’t forget that its ability can tap Zombies to recur creature from other graveyards as well as your own).

Wrap it all up in a chilled to the bone blanket of Call to the Grave and Noxious Ghoul for some serious anti-Zombie feelings.

And there we are!

So what’s next?

The Tamiyo Tryst

Well, I think Tamiyo, Field Researcher is a great card. So let’s Tamiyo up this article!

The Tamiyo Tryst ? Casual | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
• 2 Avenging Druid
• 2 Loxodon Smiter
• 2 Mystic Snake
• 2 Qasali Pridemage
• 2 Rafiq of the Many
• 2 Venser, Shaper Savant
• 4 Geist of Saint Traft
• 4 Noble Hierarch

• Planeswalkers (6)
• 2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher
• 2 Venser, the Sojourner

• Spells (9)
• 3 Swords to Plowshares
• 2 Wargate
• 4 Cultivate

• Lands (24)
• 2 Island
• 2 Plains
• 3 Forest
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Windswept Heath
• 2 Breeding Pool
• 2 City of Brass
• 2 Gavony Township
• 2 Hallowed Fountain
• 2 Temple Garden
• 4 Seaside Citadel

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This deck uses a bunch of early-mid range stuff to get in powerful Bant-based smashing. Most of these cards come straight out of Bant’s Greatest Hits. You can play Avenging Druid on the 3rd turn, (2nd turn with Noble Hierarch love) drop Tamiyo, and then swing after Tamiyo’ing up your Druid. Draw a card when you smash and grab that land for your battlefield at the same time.

You can do the same with Geist of Saint Traft. Wow is that a card you want to Tamiyo, right? And Rafiq of the Many will let your en-Tamiyo’ed critter get double the hit triggers for two cards, not just one. Meanwhile you can drop the powerful Loxodon Smiter for damage, or the Mystic Snake for countering, the Qasali Pridemage for layering in more exalted triggers or popping a powerful artifact/enchantment you hate, and so forth.

It should seem very synergetic. Check out Venser, the Sojourner. He seems like a useful ally for all things unblockable. You can Tamiyo two creatures, make the team unblockable, and then swing for two cards. Or you can use him to flicker and blink stuff in and out of play as well, if you prefer. From resetting a Planeswalker’s loyalty counters to untapping a creature you swung with to reset it as a fun blocker, I’m sure you’ll find some interesting stuff in here.

Check out Wargate to fetch out a Planeswalker, creature, or land. Cultivate. Gavony Township. Well, you get it.

And you can sub in Birds of Paradise for the Hierarch if you prefer. And you can go for cheaper fetch lands, or what not. You could also make this Modern legal by swapping out Swords to Plowshares for Path to Exile and Avenging Druid for another cheap Green-centric beater of your choice or something more aligned with the original like Ohran Viper.

Anyway, there you are!

How about some Spider fun times?

Widowing the Wolrd

Widowing the World ? Casual | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Acid Web Spider
• 2 Chameleon Colossus
• 2 Silklash Spider
• 2 Stingerfling Spider
• 3 Arachnus Spinner
• 3 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
• 4 Graverobber Spider
• 4 Nyx Weaver

• Spells (14)
• 2 Arachnogenesis
• 2 Spider Spawning
• 4 Cultivate
• 4 Arachnus Web
• 2 Predator, Flagship

• Lands (26)
• 15 Forest
• 5 Swamp
• 2 Swarmyard
• 4 Golgari Rot Farm

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And there you are! Spider Fun Time Awaits. For me the best and coolest Spider cards are the interaction with Arachnus Spinner and the Web. Tap a Spider to fetch out Arachnus Web and toss it on a creature. You have a full slate of Webs for slowing folks down here.

After that I tossed in some fun Spiders like Acid Web Spider, Silklash Spider, and Stingerfling Spider for breaking stuff. And that’s virtually a deck already. So a few Spiders with cool Black based abilities to go with Ishkanah (flashback on Spider Spawning, activation on Graverobber Spider, and shoot, let’s toss in Nyx Weaver as well) gives you a fun and interesting slate of Spidery goodness.

The last major trick here is Predator, Flagship. You might want to give an opposing creature flying before you launch a Silklash’s attack, or drop a Stingerfling Spider. (You also might do it for politics. Jump up Stevees powerful 6/6 grounded beater. Your team will block it all day long, but your foe’s one won’t, so they might be encouraged to attack elsewhere. See also Eaten by Spiders, Whirlwind, Spidersilk Armor or Aether Web for fun ideas.

And that’s our Spider Deck!

How about one more for the road . . . 

Early Lifelink Beats

I’m giving another thought to Lone Rider. It reminds me a bit of Exalted Angel. What made Exalted Angel so powerful was that you could play her morphed on the third turn, and then un-morph her and swing with a 4/5 in the air with lifelink. It was an eight point swing of life, you gained four while your foe lost four. Now that’s pretty powerful life swinging. Imagine that you did something similar with the Lone Rider. Drop it on turn two. Then on turn three, play something that gains you life, swing for one, and at the end of the turn you’ll have a 4/4 lifelink, trample, first strike beater, and thus a 4 powered life link body ready to swing on turn four, just like Exalted Angel Only this time, you don’t have to invest two turns into morphing and then un-morphing the Angel. If your third turn play is both on curve and life-gain-esque, then you can keep up the pressure while doing other stuff.

So let’s take a look at cards that leap to my mind for Lone Rider:

Mutagenic Growth — Use it for no mana to grow your Lone Rider to 3/3 so you hit for 3, gain three life, and transform your Rider. This is a mana-free non-disruptive way to hit your foe for two more damage and to flip your beater. Now, I am not a Rules Smith. I don’t know if this would work as you lost two life and gained three, so the net was one. I don’t know if the trigger just says, “Yup, you sure gained at least three!” or if it prefers the net. Sorry!

Arashin Cleric, Temple Acolyte — Cheap 1/3 bodies that cost just 2 and make enough life to flip your Lone Rider. Lone Missionary is a 2/1 for 2 mana and the 4 life it has is also more than enough.

Aven Riftwatcher — Makes 2 life, gain another from the Rider’s attack. That’s 3. I also like Inquisitor Exarch in the 2 life mold, since you can use it later to cause someone to lose two if that’s needed instead. Or you could drop something like Centaur Healer if you want a 3-drop that gets you all of the life you need on curve as a 3/3.

Kitchen Finks — Mr. Obvious for 2 life as well.

You could block with Goldenglow Moth or Pride Guardian.

Martyr of Sands — Another Obvious Option

Soul Warden — Or others. This is a good 1-drop you could parley into enough life to matter.

Divine Favor — I know, that’s funny. But that’s also interesting. Drop it on turn three, gain 3 life, and then swing with the 2/4. Gain two more, flip it to a 5/7 – that’s a lot harder to kill or trade than a 4/4. And even if someone pops the Favor, it already helped to flip your Rider, right?

Elixir of Immortality — turn 1-drop, turn three sac. Or Sunbeam Spellbomb I suppose.

Natural End – Destroy something, gain that life, flip your Lone Rider. (Check out Solemn Offering if you prefer the sorcery, but in color, option)

And here are other cards that jump out: Ajani's Pridemate, Vizkopa Guildmage, Blighted Steppe, Kabira Crossroads, Radiant Fountain, Path of Bravery, Ordeal of Heliod, Invigorate, Vines of Vastwood. And some of those are going to head right on in!

So let’s make a casual-centric Lone Rider deck, with the understanding that there could be something more FNM here under the hood if I really wanted to try and push it out.

Not that Lonely On the Road ? Casual | Abe Sargent

• Creatures (24)
• 2 Gaddock Teeg
• 2 Lone Missionary
• 2 Loxodon Hierarch
• 2 Loxodon Smiter
• 4 Ajani's Pridemate
• 4 Kitchen Finks
• 4 Lone Rider
• 4 Soul Warden

• Spells (12)
• 2 Natural End
• 4 Mutagenic Growth
• 4 Path of Bravery
• 2 Umezawa's Jitte

• Lands (24)
• 8 Forest
• 8 Plains
• 2 Kabira Crossroads
• 2 Radiant Fountain
• 4 Graypelt Refuge

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And there you are! Are you Lonesome Tonight?

Anyways, as you can see, I tossed in a few beaters like the Smiter and Hierarch, as well as the life gain fun-team, and Umezawa's Jitte as both a powerful equipment that also has the life gaining component when needed. As we are gaining life anyways, it just seems natural for Ajani's Pridemate to make an appearance as well. Soul Warden into Pridemate can be a powerful play. And you could look at some ‘walkers to help out. Meanwhile, Gaddock Teeg is a powerful bit of antagonism. If your environment suits it, some hate Bears of various sorts might make the cut.

And that’s a little life-gaining aggro Lone Rider deck!

There we are folks! Five decks for y’all. So what did you think? Was there anything here that stood out or that you really, really liked? What decks are calling to you?