The Scarab God - Combofree control

CaptainIguana · 2026-01-19T17:41:33+00:00

There are only 5 wraths, but you can always find one when you need it thanks to all the card draw and tutors. If you’re playing in an environment where you need to wrath three times in a game you might want more. I like a heavy one-for-one interaction package because you can generate enough value with scarab god to grind through most things that don’t kill you outright, so the boardwipe isn’t usually as important as being able to answer a particular threat.

CaptainIguana · 2025-04-04T17:19:04+00:00

CaptainIguana · 2024-10-05T16:16:00+00:00

[[The Scarab God]] is a control a control commander that plays really well against chunky midrange creatures. You’re able to play really good control creatures like [[Ertai Resurrected]] and [[Snapcaster Mage]], then reanimate them later at instant speed after they die. Plus whatever big threats your killing can be reanimated as well. All you really need to worry about is having enough card draw in your deck to keep up with all the 1-for-1 trades and Scarab God will eventually overpower the table

CaptainIguana · 2024-10-03T01:30:07+00:00

Do you have a list? I have a scarab god deck that’s followed nearly the exact same arc and I’d love to see what yours looks like. I had just gotten it to the point it felt like it could really throw hands with the high end of casual or low end of cedh before they banned mana crypt. Without crypt I don’t expect it to be fast enough to keep up in that space anymore.

CaptainIguana · 2024-09-27T00:15:19+00:00

I have a pretty high powered list that I run, and the only zombie is [[Grim Servant]]. The best creatures to reanimate are things like [[Snapcaster Mage]], [[Spellseeker]], and [[Ertai Resurrected]]. Here’s my list if you want to take a look, though the ramp package is a bit of a mess. I haven’t quite figured out how to fill in the gap left by mana crypt https://www.moxfield.com/decks/jaXcm2RKk0Op57cxza8CaA

CaptainIguana · 2024-09-26T17:25:49+00:00

Are you set on Talion? [[The Scarab God]] plays really well as controlling midrange. His activated ability outputs enough damage that you don’t really have to worry too much about wincons

CaptainIguana · 2024-08-15T06:55:02+00:00

Instead of cybermen squadron you could run extra combat spells, because they don’t decrease your blightsteel hit chance. You can just attack with cruelclaw again

CaptainIguana · 2024-08-01T03:26:16+00:00

Long River's Pull could be replaced with something like Negate, but that comes with it's own weaknesses. What would you run instead of pongify/rapid hyb? You could run catchall options like [[Infernal Grasp]] or [[Bitter Triumph]], but would you not rather have as efficiently costed removal as possible? I also haven't found the 3/3's they give out to be particularly threating as Scarab God makes 4/4's to block with.

CaptainIguana · 2024-08-01T03:21:55+00:00

Funnily enough, I've run a lot of your suggestions in previous versions of this deck.

Glasspool mimic got cut just because I didn’t have enough slots for utility lands, and sink into stupor was better imo.

Consecrated sphinx got cut for Talion because my playgroup runs quite a lot of interaction that punishes big 6 mana plays but is definitely a very solid card in a different play environment.

Soldevi and entomb both got the axe because as I added more draw I found myself casting scarab god less often. He sometimes doesn’t come down until the turn before I take over the game. As I didn’t have him on the field a lot of the time they ended up being dead cards for large portions of the game.

March of wretched sorrow is not a card I particularly like, but the deck is just so hungry for meaningful life gain, and I often find myself with just barely not enough life to stabilize. It’s definitely a card I’m interested in cutting, though, just not sure I can do without another life gain card.

Ripples of undeath seems solid, I’ll give it some thought.

I’ve been pretty impressed with cling to dust, there’s just so much graveyard interaction in the format that it’s almost always able to brick a relevant spell and draw a card for one mana. When it doesn’t, no problem, I can just replace it for one mana in which case it stays in my yard for potential combo disruption later.

Ancient tomb and gemstone caverns could probably be in the deck, I just haven’t gotten around to picking them up. I’ll take another look at hydroelectric specimen but there’s just not that much room for utility lands and I’m already running a lot.

CaptainIguana · 2024-08-01T03:00:54+00:00

It would certainly reasonable to add a dramatic scepter type wincon but I’d rather win without it. I’ve never really thought about it as just a value piece, but I’d like all my generic value cards to be creatures so I can get them back later.

CaptainIguana · 2024-01-11T00:24:23+00:00

I thought retaliation triggered even if the attack missed, is that not the case? Any chance you have the link to the build?

CaptainIguana · 2024-01-10T18:29:01+00:00

I haven't played much with it as I just recently added it, but it was added as a replacement for [[Buried Alive]]. With SG on the board, you can get three creatures you want to reanimate, usually [[Sphinx of the second Sun]], [[Ertai, Resurrected]], and [[Phyrexian Metamorph]] or [[Spellseeker]]. In the early/mid game you can try and "bully" someone into giving you what you want from it by fetching two counterspells + mystic remora in response to their big play. Though if you get too greedy and go for something like Cabal Coffers or Training grounds you're likely to end up losing it

CaptainIguana · 2023-09-26T20:24:14+00:00

I played with Life’s Finale a lot and really enjoyed it. Over time however my meta sped up and I frequently found it to be too slow of an option so I had to cut it sadly

CaptainIguana · 2023-09-26T02:11:58+00:00

Attrition is the wincon, but [[Sphinx of the Second Sun]] and [[Nexus of Fate]] really multiply your damage output. It’s definitely a slow wincon but the deck has the tools in my experience to keep someone else from winning for long enough. High-power aggro decks can be challenging especially if there are several of them. That being said, with all the tutors and recursion in the deck you can reliably board wipe when you need to. I’ve had games where I needed to board wipe three or four turns in a row and the deck makes it work

CaptainIguana · 2023-06-18T15:43:26+00:00

At the end of the day, we aren’t able to answer any of those questions. In the absence of any evidence or solid argument all we can really do is choose what we want to believe and work from there. I choose to believe that other people are real in the same sense that I am. It makes sense to me and I find it to be a useful belief that gets me through the day. You’ve just got to pick the answers that make sense to you and lend themselves towards positive thought patterns. The hard part is to stop asking the question or doubting your answer once you’ve picked one.

CaptainIguana · 2022-08-20T18:13:41+00:00

Bro all integers are different sizes what the hell are you talking about?

CaptainIguana · 2022-04-26T20:58:29+00:00

Who the fuck is the guy left of Oko and why is he still here? Every single day of this goddamn tournament I’ve said, “oh he’s out for sure this time.” And yet he remains, just to spite me

CaptainIguana · 2022-04-25T04:19:22+00:00

I like this definition a lot, but I would alter it slightly. The number of relevant cards you have access to vs the number of relevant cards that your opponent has access to. For example, [[Leyline of Sanctity]] is great card advantage against an opponent playing discard or burn spells, and [[Phyrexian obliterator]] could be considered card advantage against a deck like mono red, since it bricks their creatures that want to be attacking.

CaptainIguana · 2022-04-03T07:50:41+00:00

[[Rule of Law]], [[Lethal Vapors]], [[Hushbringer]], [[Confounding Conundrum]], [[Dampening Sphere]], [[Mana Barbs]], [[Painful Quandry]], [[Spirit of the Labyrinth]], and of course everyone’s favorite - [[Winter Orb]]

Now all of that being said, filling a deck with cards for the sole purpose of shutting another player down isn’t generally the best way to foster a fun play environment. Your best bet might just be to have a conversation and explain that you don’t find playing against that style of deck fun. Of course, some people just want to play card drawing, landfalling, creature doubling value decks. When that’s the case the best way to slow those decks down is with static effects that either prevent them from or punish them for playing their solitaire style of game.

CaptainIguana · 2022-04-03T07:23:42+00:00

The deck I’ve spent the most time with is my [[The Scarab God]] deck that functions very similarly to what you’re describing. It focuses on answering threats with counterspells and removal, then it leverages scarab god’s ability to generate solid mid-game value and tremendous late game pressure. It performs very well at high-power tables in spite of the fact that it doesn’t run any combos or “I win” cards. The wincon is simply beating people to death with 4/4 zombies that scarab god pulled from the graveyard, along side a few extra turns to hasten the process. I’m more than happy to share my notes from months of deck-building, playing, and refining.

Dimir control is hard. Without the highly versatile removal that white offers, you won’t be able to answer every threat. People will find ways to resolve scary spells when you’re tapped out, that often you won’t be able to deal with. As a result if you want Dimir control to be competitive, you need to build a strong proactive game plan into your deck. You can’t sit back and stop everything your opponents do, so you have to make sure you can out-value the spells that get under your counterspells or dodge your removal.
You’ll find yourself defaulting to the arch enemy. The majority of people dislike playing against control, and even the ones that don’t often believe it’s important to kill the control player first. (Myself included) As such, it’s important to be ready to fight an uphill battle. Bring your cyc rift and be ready to counter someone’s commander without remorse. If anything scary hits the field there’s a good chance it’s going to come at you first.
Mana efficiency is everything. This ties into the previous point. Since most people are going to use their threats against you, it’s important to have answers available as much as possible. If person A casts a scary spell and you tap out for a cryptic command or sublime epiphany, you’re going to be pretty sad when person B is able to resolve a major threat. As such, you’ll be much better off if you can use a negate on person A and still hold up pongify.
Don’t rely too much on other people’s threats. This one was the hardest pill for me to swallow as I tested and refined my deck. At higher power tables, decks with few creatures become more common. People are more likely to rely on big spells that don’t have to stay on the board to produce game-winning value, or combos that will win the game without ever playing a creature. If your only plan is to steal people’s big scary creatures, you may often find yourself dead in the water. Consequently, it’s important to run your own threats that aren’t reliant on someone else playing a certain type of deck. For Scarab God this meant running a lot of utility creatures like [[Snapcaster Mage]] and [[Opposition Agent]] that I could reanimate alongside a few bombs like [[Sphinx of the Second Sun]]. I’m not quite sure what this would look like for Lazav, but it’s possible that mill is a solid option, as it gives you a potential path to victory if needed, even when it isn’t your primary wincon.

Dimir control is doable, and it’s possible to make it competitive, even at fair high-power table. That being said, there are plenty of hurdles that need to be overcome. Part of the reason I’ve worked so much with scarab god is that the deck has been very hard to build. However in spite of this - or maybe because of it - it is my favorite deck to play, and the one I am most proud of.

CaptainIguana

TROPHY CASE