UNDEATH SPEAKER!!!

How I got here,

I came from mtg and learned that free things are always good. I gravitated to Scourge Zombies for that reason. I immediately looked for ways to get them straight to the bin because I never wanted to cast them. This was the middle/end of AL so all I could find that looked ok was Sisters of Avalon. Post Gothic there are so many goodies! Forgotten Tomb, Shallow Grave, Cemetery rats and of course Sisters.

With all of these options I am also playing 2 bone rabble and Hexham Haunts.

Game plan,

This list does not have a ton of high stat minions so it is important not to give anything to your opponent. Play around a deserts, don't leave minions isolated to get picked off by larger minions. Aggressively trade zombies then recur them. Place your sites very carefully. Land Surveyor lets you get more info in your hand on sites to be a bit more strategic. After a series of hopefully profitable trades you should be able to go on the offensive. Try to stick to attacking land sites with your mortals to help ensure if they are answered you get your scourge zombies.

Important cards,

How do I play my top performing cards?

Gnome Hollows,

Gnome Hollows is one of your best sites to guarantee profitable trades. Played forward you can keep your minions safe but ready to counter punch. I almost never play Gnome Hollows back unless diagonal to another Hollows to block off a flank. They are far more valuable creating a safe zone behind them than just as a safe site. Shaping the realm to create pinch points is crucial to win the attrition game.

Shield Maidens,

This list likes to stack minions up. Shield Maidens turn off poison nova. They don't die to Kobolds, they turn off skeleton token damage and warp combat. They are one of your most important units to protect. Be mindful of projectile lines and potential charge attacks. Try to never leave them unsupported. Absolutely not an early play. Let resources trade back and forth until you can play them to a protected position.

Sisters of Avalon,

Having a zombie stranded in hand sucks. Be patient with sisters and try not to play them without discarding a zombie. Playing all the other cards in your hand, being unable to discard and drawing is not a bad failsafe. When sisters are in your bin it is not hard to play other dead minions until you draw a zombie.

Land Surveyor and Apprentice Wizard,

It can be tempting to play a wizard on turn two off of a tower because it feels like a lost opportunity not to. I almost always play a surveyor first. I don't want a tower in my forward position and tower is usually more impactful for something like an early earthquake. The other aspect of this is that specific site placement matters a lot in this list. Land Surveyor first gives you more options for more optimal set up. Land Surveyor is probably my most preferred turn two play. Generally play both surveyor and wizard back to be able to get into combat if profitable while avoiding deserts and other dangers. Both are great projectile blockers later in the game for your higher impact units. Blocking a pudge butcher and drawing another site or spell from the bin feels great.

Earthquake,

This list wins by grinding resources and leveraging beneficially site placement. Earthquake does both of these things excellently. Creating a safe zone with defensive sites to correct less ideal placement from an early game with poor options can turn around a game. Moving a fields of phyxis in front of a Kor crematory or garden of Eden can save a game. If sites are placed correctly you can force enemy minions to stack up for game ending blow outs. This is especially true with Root Spiders.

Odd inclusions,

Why am I playing some of the more off meta choices in the list?

Scourge Zombies and Bone Rabble,

These are the most obvious off meta choices. The most common thing folks say about them is that four mana for two power is a disqualifying rate. Yes it is, I don't do that. There are 12 cards in the list to put them in the bin. In deathspeaker you get multiple goes with sisters and rats as well. Zero mana for recursive two power is excellent. They tilt combat math absurdly in your favor. When on the offensive it makes dealing with your threats feel impossible if you play correctly. Don't let a mortal get isolated and killed away from the action to divert your zombies.

Bone Rabble is worse. I landed on two. With the cemetery engine in the list you frequently have more in your bin than you can work through. Free value pulls you ahead. This feels like the correct number to not get stranded in hand but eek that extra board presence.

After more play I am cutting the last two Bone Rabble. They work sometime but get stuck in hand more than I would like.

Silver Bullet,

Because I am playing Skeleton Mage I want common sense instead of tool box. The down side of tapping is mitigated by having a large number of small minions as well as spiders and rats. They don't mind taking a break from lurking to tap. Make sure the spell you want to cast does not care about regions before giving a silver bullet to a buried minion. Having access to Daperyl Vampires and House Arn Bannerman is also huge. Vampires are one of the best ways to stabilize after an opponent has depleted resources on your dorks. Bannerman hits HARD out of nowhere to surprise counterpunch. I was unsure about including bannerman in the collection but it has been my most cast collection spell by far.

Wiccan Tools,

Vivien the Enchantress is the full reason. With all the high impact spell casters in this list Vivien is one of the highest impact single spells. Slap Wiccan Tools onto Scourge Zombies then chump attack with a mortal or Bone Rabble then play an Earth site. Vivien comes back with an avalanche of genesis triggers. Worst case it cycles. Can be found with common sense. There are lots of ways to get creative here too. Hexham Haunts lets you get all her Genesis triggers without banishing her for another round. Give her Prince text box, chump attack and replay to replay her triggers. Gargantula or Jack the ripper turn her into removal. I really thought this would be too cute and not play out but I have been surprised. The opportunity cost is super low and with common sense and Skeleton Mage you can pretty regularly find it when you want it.

Grasping Ground,

Testing this out. I want more removal and I think this might work with 7 burrowers between spiders and rats.

Did not quite get there. I did not want to buy a copy of Archangel Michael but opened one in a draft and it is hard to justify excluding him in the removal package.

Cemetery Rats,

You don't want to cast any of the zombies in this list. Maximizing effects like this lets you play more zombies without the down side. On deathspeaker one card putting four in the bin for only two mana is premium. They also protect your root spiders against other burrowers. This matters more than you might initially think. You can tutor for trinket or gift of the wolf to save spiders against most burrowing attackers other than hounds of ondaros. There is usually a good reason you have your spiders where you do though so attacking off the current site isn't great. Rats let you chump for a turn then attack on the same site with your combat trick. Cast early they can also follow around your opposing avatar to get a death blow.

Gift of the Wolf,

I included it as a fun of for testing and it has greatly over performed. One of the best parts about it is that no one plays around it. Spending two mana, drawing a card, trading a Land Surveyor with a three power minion, getting back scourge zombies feels great. Paired with Skeleton Mage it feels gross. Wolf, mage, Wolf leaves you with the same number of cards in hand and a board presence that will catch you opponent of guard.

Final thoughts,

This list requires reps to play optimally. Mulligans, site placement and minion placement are crucial. It is important to play patiently and have a good sense of when to counter punch. If you play too defensively your opponent will have to many opportunities to end you. If you play too aggressively your dorks will be picked apart by larger minions. I have a lot of fun with this list. I like that it follows play patterns your opponents will likely not be used to and has a lot of cute options.

Undeath speaker

@Beng