Penumbra Zoo
By Grim13 on September 2, 2001
//NAME: Penumbra Zoo, V0.99b
// Lands
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Elfhame Palace
6 Swamp
6 Plains
2 Forest
// Total: 26 lands
// Creatures
2 Llanowar Dead
4 Voice of All
4 Penumbra Bobcat
4 Penumbra Kavu
4 Spiritmonger
// Total: 18 creatures
// Spells
4 Life/Death
4 Death Grasp
2 Armadillo Cloak
2 Diabolic Intent
4 Necra Sanctuary
// Total: 16 spells
SB: 4 Pernicious Deed
SB: 4 Phyrexian Arena
SB: 1 Overgrown Estate
SB: 2 Necravolver
SB: 4 Spectral Lynx
Very well. For starters, this deck has way too many cards that are dependent on other cards
- Necra Sanctuary, Diabolic Intent, Life/Death, Armadillo Cloak. Necra Sanctuary,
specificly, seems out of place - there are only 6 white permenants in the deck. The creature
mix is good but overpriced - I think 8 5cc creatures may be pushing it. The sideboard is
odd - I fail to see why you'd SB in most of these cards in the first place. With this in mind, here's:
//NAME: Penumbra Zoo, V1.0
// Lands
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Elfhame Palace
6 Swamp
5 Plains
2 Forest
// Total: 25 lands
// Creatures
2 Llanowar Dead
4 Voice of All
4 Penumbra Bobcat
2 Penumbra Kavu
1 Penumbra Wurm
4 Spiritmonger
1 Sabertooth Nishoba
// Total: 18 creatures
// Spells
2 Night/Day
3 Phyrexian Arena
4 Life/Death
4 Vindicate
4 Death Grasp
// Total: 17 spells
SB: 4 Pernicious Deed
SB: 3 Dodecapod
SB: 3 Spectral Lynx
SB: 3 Orim's Chant
SB: 2 Sabertooth Nishoba
As always, card by card analasys:
Lands: Cut a land b/c 26 is just too many in IBC.
Llanowar Dead: Either more mana and a bear, or removal magnet. Regardless, you get a good
deal.
Voice of All: His WW2 casting cost scares me, but he's perfect when you need to come in for
the kill, not to mention he's pretty durned good on defense.
Penumbra Bobcat: wholesome two-for-one goodness.
Penumbra Kavu: More of the same.
Penumbra Wurm: He's just so phat I couldn't leave him out.
Spiritmonger: I'm inclined to take one out, because this deck already is too slow. However,
I'm not sure what I'd put in so I left 4 for now - opponents should have a hell of a time
dealing with all of them.
Sabertooth Nishoba: Can't bounce him. Can't burn him. Can't chump block him. Unless they
have Vindicates, he's safe from just about anything.
Night/Day: Either spot removal against pesky blockers (Apprentices, Lynx) or some extra
damage to seal the victory.
Phyrexian Arena: I dislike this card in a deck like yours, but you need card advantage.
Therefore, this guy moved from the SB to the maindeck.
Life/Death: Once again, a card I'm not sure about. I love the thought of moving a Penumbra
guy back to play, but having to pay anywhere from 3 to 7 life seems risky. For now, they
stay.
Vindicate: Remove anything nasty getting in your way, slow down the other guy by killing
lands, whatever you need to kill, this should be able to do it.
Death Grasp: Extra damage lategame, plus some life for you. With all the creatures, this
should go uncountered for a fair bit of life.
-----
Sideboard stuff:
Pernicious Deed: All around removal. Very usefull with Penumbra guys. Also takes out pesky
bears and such while you set up the heavy-duty zoo guys
Dodecapod: If they want to hit you with discard, good for them. 5/5 turn 2 is some good I hear.
Spectral Lynx: Slow the bleeding against R/G or anything rush oriented
Orim's Chant: Protect your guys from countermagic, or just fog the other guy.
Sabertooth Nishoba: Did we mention how hard to kill he is yet?
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Didn't make the cut:
Armadillo Cloak: While it fits the zoo theme, most of your creatures are too easy to deal
with. Also, by the time it kicks in, you shouldn't need it anymore.
Diabolic Intent: No reason to waste a much-needed creature when there's nothing in your deck
you need to tutor for.
Necra Sanctuary: Like I said, this deck lacks white guys. The extra few points of damage you
might get with this just won't compensate for the removal you can play in the same slot.
-----
Overall, I think this deck isn't half bad. Good luck playing it.
Or Shoham
Grim13 on IRC
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