Death March

Blue/Black Zombie Armies

Herald of the Dreadhorde by Heonhwa Choe

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and we’ll all feel fine … as soon as we bow to our new zombie overlords and join the deathless march of the Dreadhorde!

When I read the poem “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats as a teenager, I could vividly imagine the Sphinx of Egypt rising from its desert home to devastate the world. Flash forward to the Amonkhet block, and we have a new “rough beast” in the form of Nicol Bolas. Originally, this deck and its companion The Second Coming were one oversized, zombie-fied homage to Yeats’s poem. But it was too big and unwieldy, so I split it in two: Death March (blue/black) and The Second Coming (white/blue).

Putting counters on your Zombie Armies are the core mechanic here. Nearly all the utility spells include Amass mechanics to boost existing Armies or replace those who have fallen in battle. Hour of Eternity, God-Pharoah’s Gift, and Clone Legion add regiments to the ranks. Bring in Yorion at the end to bounce all your creatures, triggering all their enter-the-battlefield Amass mechanics.

Creatures (20)

  • 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad
  • 1 God-Eternal Bontu
  • 1 God-Eternal Kefnet
  • 4 Lazotep Reaver
  • 4 Vizier of the Scorpion
  • 4 Gleaming Overseer
  • 3 Eternal Skylord
  • 2 Herald of the Dreadhorde

Artifacts (4)

  • 3 Gate to the Afterlife
  • 1 God-Pharaoh’s Gift

Enchantments (4)

  • 4 Dreadhorde Invasion

Sorceries (8)

  • 1 Clone Legion
  • 1 Hour of Eternity
  • 2 Enter the God-Eternals
  • 2 Callous Dismissal
  • 2 Contentious Plan

Instants (8)

  • 2 Commence the Endgame
  • 2 Lazotep Plating
  • 2 Crush Dissent
  • 2 Fuel for the Cause

Lands (24)

(I like War of the Spark and Hour of Devastation artwork for the basic lands)

  • 4 Temple of Deceit
  • 10 Island
  • 10 Swamp

Tokens

  • Copy
  • 0/0 Zombie Army
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