This is an article about Undead Servant. That phrase should surprise precisely no one. My affection for decks based around graveyard synergies is no secret and Undead Servant appears to be a useful tool in these strategies. Undead Servant is one of the few cards from the past few years that has the capability to generate an effect far greater than its mana cost. The key of course is figuring out how to best set up the remaining 56 cards to get the most out of the Magic Origins common.

At its base level Undead Servant is a 3/2 for four mana, which is far too slow for Pauper. Back in the days when Standard featured Wrath of God it was often said that if a card cost you four or more it better win the game. While “win the game” is not a literal translation here, Pauper follows the axiom quite closely. Spells that actually cost four or more (Gurmag Angler and Spire Golem do not count) have to have a huge impact to warrant their slot. Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Mulldrifter are both examples of cards on the other side of the line that showcase exactly the sort of game breaking effect that is a prerequisite for the inclusion of costly cards.





Where Undead Servant gets interesting is when one is in the graveyard. At that point it is four mana for five power. Get two into the bin and now we are talking. To me this means trying to figure out the best way to get creatures into the graveyard. Luckily I have amassed quite a familiarity with cards of that nature.





The most logical place to look first is Dimir Delver.

The best home for Gurmag Angler at the moment, Dimir Delver already runs a decent amount of self-mill with both Mental Note and Thought Scour. Despite sometimes running as few as 16 land the deck also is capable of reaching the requisite mana to resolve expensive spells like Undead Servant. Servant may not be better than Stormbound Geist as a way to fight against (Chainer’s Edict), but it does represent quite a bit more damage.

Dimir Delver may not the right home for Undead Servant. The deck is far more focused on being efficient with its mana an aggressively using its graveyard as a secondary source of mana and Servant wants to rest comfortably it the graveyard. Conversations with Jason Sirichoke led me to another way to build Undead Servant into a Dismal Backwater deck.





The conversation actually started with trying to find a home for (Artificer’s Epiphany). Jason hypothesized that the best home could be a blue-white PauBlade deck. This deck, already featuring a Trinket Mage package, could easily find a home for the Catalog with upside. The deck also is home to Guardian of the Guildpact and Squadron Hawk. During the discussion I brought up the idea of replacing white with black and upgrading Guardian to Servant. The idea here is that Servant serves a similar role in that it is resilient to removal (in fact it gets better when its friends die) and that black removal is of a higher quality than black removal.

Trinket Mage held this deck together. The ability to have a toolbox tutor that also got lands was incredibly valuable. Artificer’s Epiphany was also fantastic as drawing two cards at instant speed is just great. Seriously - there have been so many times in recent history that I have been searching for this effect at three mana and my prayers have been answered. I fully expect Artificer’s Epiphany to become a regular feature of midrange and control decks.





Condescend is the smoothing spell of choice. Initially I was skeptical of including a counterspell in the so called Ponder slot but the fact is that Condescend is just fantastic. It helps to massage draws while also potentially stopping a key spell. Condescend is a card that deserves to see more play in Pauper. Sure Ponder and Preordain may actually draw you a card and are cheaper, but Condescend is an instant, so it does set up the next draw, and it acts as an answer. Considering how tight mana can be in the format, it is quite reasonable to snipe a spell with this all the way through the midgame.





In the end this did not prove to be the best home for Undead Servant. Most games were won on the back of Jeskai Sage and Gurmag Angler. Servant itself rarely was anything more than a 3/2. The deck lacked a way to fill the graveyard for value and at the same time does not want such cards. It is possible that Forbidden Alchemy or Looter il-Kor could work, but that smells of trying too hard.





So back to the drawing board. Of course I did not have to go very far. Instead I looked back to my favorite color pair - black and green. I have tried decks like this before - fueled by Satyr Wayfinder and Shambling Shell. Now, between Gurmag Angler and Undead Servant, I think there exists a critical mass to make this deck work.

The idea here is the fill the yard with resources. They are either mana for delve or boosts for Undead Servant. Grim Harvest, a powerhouse, lets this deck outlast removal. This list also packs an incredibly high density of powerful creatures - Wild Mongrel, Putrid Leech, Gurmag Angler and Hooting Mandrills all trade well above their cost.





(Tasigur’s Cruelty'0 is here for a tryout. So far when it works it has been an all-star. Decks will often trade their spells for your threats early, forcing them to hold their trumps in hand. Cruelty then uses those same cards they killed to force them to discard the end game. This only works when you are consistently applying pressure but between Leech and Angler that is not a problem.





Grisly Salvage shines here. Casting it at the end of your opponent’s turn only to untap and play a huge threat can be backbreaking. It also manages to dodge the popular method of nuking the graveyard in Bojuka Bog. Just remember to hold priority.



The five mana elves are a concession to trying to cast Undead Servant. Let me tell you -getting five power across two bodies on turn three is well worth the effort. I am interested in continuing to explore ways to make Undead Servant work. Clearly the card needs some help to make it something more than just a random creature. The payoff is there - it is just a matter of finding the right support.

Before I leave today I want to share one more list. I have been trying to make some non-Goblins, non-Burn red decks work for quite a while. Now, with Infectious Bloodlust, there may be a reason to try focusing on other small red creatures.

Keep slingin’ commons-

-Alex



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