Yeah, the old avatar is better.
Meow

Welcome! and I feel your pain not having the right stuff out of Zendikar packs - I'm down to 20 packs left and can't pull a single Nettle Drone and I'm dying to try a deck around them!

Anyhow, on the topic of Tainted/Lurker - I loved the combo but thought it was very unpredictable because you only have 2 Tainted in the deck. Yes there's plenty of ways to dig thru cards, but I felt I didn't have many with other things in the deck.

So I'm working on a build with Willbreaker to supplement the Tainted Remedy. Either of those with the Lurker is great.

For Zendikar, I ended up looking at Bloodbond Vampire, which led me to Kalastria Healer as a bit of a theme. Still working on the details.

Rising Miasma also seems more useful to this combo than Languish - it won't kill your own Lurkers, and with the Tainted combo the big guys aren't the problem, it's the flood of little guys.

Breaker of Armies would be hilarious with Tainted/Lurker.

Funny

Finally I got my last rare, and it was Sire of Stagnation and of course I jumped to make a deck for him, just trowing cards that seemed to make sense (it started with Blight Herders...)

After like 6 games of tunning agains AI and another six against players, this is the result, and looks very similar to yours, with just a big difference, the Network pack, which i find almost indispensable to maintain the advantage/pressure

1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
3 x Eldrazi Skyspawner
3 x Whirler Rogue
2 x Thopter Spy network
1 x Drowner of Hope

3 x Perilous myr
2 x Alchemist's vial

1 x Vampiric Rites
2 x Bone Splinters
1 x Shadows of the past
3 x Carrier Thrall
1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 x Fleshbag Marauder
4 x Nantuko Husk
2 x Smothering Abomination
2 x Priest of the blood rite
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited

1 x Sire of Stagnation

5 x Island
7 x Swamp
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Mire
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Foundry
4 x Dimir Guildgate


I really don't need Rites most of the time...and never want to see two, so...that's another difference, I guess...and the minor one of the Priests

Works pretty well

Really thinking about your idea of adding Tutelages...the secondary wincon is nice, but above all, I want them as lightning rods, to protect the Networks

Running tutelage in Dimir crats is great, but it's only good in certain matchups. I don't really recommend it for general play. It's probably a great sideboard card - but we don't get sideboards. :-)

That build looks a lot like what mine morphed to. I don't run the spy network stuff though, opting for a more straightforward, let's see how fast we can make it, kind of a deck.

Tutelage with spy network and thopters sounds pretty epic to me though, so you may find it to be much better in your build than it was in mine. Sad to tell you though, your first cut is probably Sire of Stagnation. Sorry. It comes out too late to be valid as a 1 of, Shadows is also problematic. It's very good, but I feel like it's low power level in this deck.

Noooooooo...

Haha, happens a lot...same as with my Bloodlord deck, for example...first card to cut are those two ...just in a Willbreaker deck I did I think the "main" card can stay, lol

Networks are amazing in this deck, they don't slow down it much, you can always wait to cast them after the rogues/abos etc...and when you can't get the rush through, they become your salvation.

Yeah, that's what I though...2 Networks and 2 vials can make Tutelages that bit more effective...pity that the vials aren't there anymore, hehe...I look up the maths and changed them for two Eye's...to have that BB/UU consistently on turn 4...and it shows just in a handful of games, more consistent...a bit less resilient than vials, but more agressive and useful and anyways, I have 15 potential artifacts for the networks...

And already cut the Shadows...I have all the draw I want, between Rites (put a second, ahem) abos and networks
Sire...I'll let him there for a while, I can't help...and sometimes he comes turn 5 and is nice

I take for granted that you have tried something along that line, with Networks and the lot...

I have not, but it sounds good to me.

Oh, it's fun...give it a try if you have some time to spare, I'd love to hear your opinion

The Aristocats 2.1

4 x Thornbow Archer
4 x Sludge Crawler

4 x Welkin Tern
3 x Carrier Thrall

3 x Dominator Drone
4 x Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 x Nantuko Husk
3 x Spell Shrivel

3 x Whirler Rogue
2 x Adverse conditions

2 x Clutch of Currents

8 x Island
10 x Swamp
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Rogue's Passage

That looks brutal. Good job.

Probably my only suggestion... Myrs for Terns.

hmm what about -2 adverse -2 clutch?

makes the curve a bit better that way

heck if I went that far down I could probably afford to cut some lands at that point

Personally I clutch and I haven't played with adverse. I'm totally playing this list later tonight, so let me get back to you.

whaat about something more like this?
The Aristocats 2.2

4 x Thornbow Archer
4 x Sludge Crawler

4 x Welkin Tern
3 x Carrier Thrall
4 x Perilous Myr

3 x Dominator Drone
4 x Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 x Nantuko Husk
3 x Spell Shrivel

3 x Whirler Rogue

2 x Clutch of Currents

8 x Island
10 x Swamp
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Drowned Catacomb

- 1 Sludge Crawler, -1 Welkin Tern, +2 Smothering A-bom? Also if you don't have Liliana in a crats deck you have lost your mind

This is my Cratastrophe deck:

4 x Thornbow Archer
3 x Bone Splinter

2 x Sigil of Valor
3 x Carrier Thrall
4 x Perilous Myr

1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer
4 x Dominator Drone
4 x Eldrazi Skyspawner
4 x Nantuko Husk
2 x Smothering Abomination

3 x Whirler Rogue

2 x Thopter Spy Network

8 x Island
10 x Swamp
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Drowned Catacomb
2 x Mortuary Mire


Basic crats but enhanced with the Sigil Network combo so you have plenty of power even without Husk.

Pretty similar to my current version, changed from the posted above...just that I put Eyes instead of the sigils, to help with the mana (UU/BB by turn 4 with 90%) Telling time is there for same reason (count as a land for the maths, more or less...) Also two foundries to have activation post-sweeper and more reach/husk food.
I really hate to se the two Sigils in my hand, tried it and meh... maybe one is a good compromise, i'll try that

1 x Telling time
3 x Eldrazi Skyspawner
3 x Whirler Rogue
2 x Thopter Spy network
1 x Drowner of Hope

4 x Perilous myr
2 x Pilgrim's eye

2 x Vampiric Rites
2 x Bone Splinters
3 x Carrier Thrall
1 x Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 x Fleshbag Marauder
4 x Nantuko Husk
2 x Smothering Abomination
2 x Priest of the blood rite
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited

6 x Island
7 x Swamp
2 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Foundry of the consuls
2 x Drowned Catacomb
1 x Evolving Wilds
4 x Dimir Guildgate


Playing with the idea of adding a Languish, but not sold. Thoughts?

One version I'm trying right now it's -2 Priest -2 foundries -1 telling time - 1 myr / + 2 willbreaker + 2 Rogue's passage + vial (or sigil, ey ) + Jace

Passages, Jace, Vial, Drowner and Whirlers (in fact, even myrs) can ping opponent's creatures for Willy, and Husks/Rites make the steal without possible comeback. Also, Passages are nice with Husk when Whirlers don't appear. And stealing and saccing is so aristo...

Looks promising...but i dunno if better than 2 x flying 5/5 + food

My fav crat build...although the Orzovh one that DJ just dawned on looks really funny too

Whats wrong with 2 Sigils, it means your one flyer is attacking for double the amount of creatures you have? Sigils are great because they keep your factory running when wipes happen.

I think this is probably my most powerful deck.

Your list is also fine but just much slower.

But it can mean that you also have half the creatures in the board by then...better to draw another Eldrazi or something. In your deck, with so many cheap creatures, makes more sense.

I like to have more late game than you, you go more agressive...different approaches...I find that crats can't compete in rush with the best out there, I see it more as mid-range, and my build reflects that, I guess

Loving the Willbreaker version for the moment, btw...against green/selesnya ramp, is grotesque haha

my deck is too aggressive for Lily

maybe smothering abom but I'd need to find room for more land

I bet 8 early colorless are way better to secure the Dominators utility...

Why the Shrivels? Looks counter-intuitive in a deck so fast...Antisweepers? Even so, I dunno...why not Telling Times (or even Epiphanies!) instead? You have just 12 U sources, and that means that it's (or should, lol...the shuffler has a huge favoritism for dual lands, in my experience...) really difficult to have double blue in turn 4 consistently...you are 6! sources down from the ideal number, that's a lot...you need fixing there, imho, and that would do

you have to choose, being able to play rogue on curve (which you don't anyways because rogue is only for recovering from sweepers and setting off the combo) or being able to play your 1 drops. yes shrivel is for anti sweeper, or for punishing slow starts from slow decks, frequently I have countered a ramp decks turn 4 play then just swong in for lethal on turn 5