The Hour of Promise has arrived! Revel as our God-Pharaoh…

Oh.

Well, let’s make the best of this, shall we?

This week we’re jumping back into the Egyptian-themed Amonkhet block with a quick test spin in the new build of the White-Black Zombies deck. Amonkhet became well known for it’s speed by the end of the format and a big part of that were the powerful two drops, like Gust Walker or Binding Mummy in white. The question is, does this deck still pack the formidable punch it had in Amonkhet?

I’d never like to call a single test deck out as being definitive, but the beastly power this deck unleashed made me feel like I was in the driver’s seat the entire time. Mummy Paramount isn’t Binding Mummy – but it’s not as far off as it looked on paper. Swinging for 3-4 a turn from turn 3  made this card a force to be reckoned with in every game where I’ve resolved it early. Unsurprisingly, Accursed Horde and Unraveling Mummy were as good as advertised. The deck loses some of the ability to pick up Lord of the Accursed and Wayward Servant, but I wonder if the nature of a small set (meaning you’ll see more copies of Unraveling and Horde) actually powers up the deck anyway. Lord of the Accursed still seems like the best uncommon zombie across both sets in a dedicated deck, but both Unraveling Mummy and Accursed Horde make blocking a nightmare proposition for your opponent and unlike the Lord, I would value both of them fairly high in even a zombie-light deck since their abilities are usable (and relevant!) even on themselves.

The deck has been fast and consistent for me so far, so if you’re looking to capitalize on that same blistering speed that Amonkhet became known for, you could do a lot worse than hitting up some two-drop Zombies in Hour of Devastation. Last couple of recommendations; Jump into the archetype if it’s open (don’t force!), preferably after getting a Zombie lord (Unraveling Mummy or Accursed Horde), Mummy Paramount is good, but you can easily pair it with other colours and be very satisfied. Make sure you have some payoff before going all-in. Secondly, pick up deserts when you see them. I’ve run the format a few times and there’s enough incidental desert payoff to be worth it; I’ve been impressed with Wretched Camel as a two-drop if you have the right synergies, for example.

Thanks for watching this week and remember to vote for next week’s full force!

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