Deck of the Day: Post-Apocalyptic Tag Team
Abby & Ellie Primer
Ever wish you could step into a world where resourcefulness, grit, and a penchant for making the undead do your dirty work is the key to survival? This is your invitation. Today’s Deck of the Day is a journey through the fungal ruins and gutted cities of a post-pandemic multiverse, featuring the lethal synergy of Abby, Merciless Soldier and Ellie, Vengeful Hunter. Bring your best infected baseball bat—the graveyard is about to become the hottest club in town.
The Commander
Meet Abby and Ellie—the deadliest duo this side of an apocalypse. Thanks to the Friends Forever mechanic (think of it as “Partner with extra trauma”), you get both at your helm, their abilities intertwining like fungal tendrils through a city block.
- Abby, Merciless Soldier: A master of ruthless removal, Abby rewards aggressive creature combat with punishing edicts and targeted kills. She makes sure your enemies’ best survivors never stay standing for long.
- Ellie, Vengeful Hunter: Where Abby is direct, Ellie is devious—leveraging graveyard recursion, sacrificing creatures for value, and turning small losses into big swings. Ellie is your gritty, grindy value engine, ensuring the graveyard is always stocked and ready to abuse.
Their color identity opens up Black, Red, and Green (Jund)—the perfect palette for aggressive recursion, removal, and a bit of shameless value hoarding.
Game Plan
This deck isn’t about flashy infinite combos or storming off on turn four. It’s about leveraging the board, grinding out incremental value, and making your opponents wish they’d brought more graveyard hate.
1. Establish Board Control
Use Abby’s removal prowess alongside cards like Blasphemous Edict and Culling Ritual to keep opposing boards in check. Early ramp pieces like Arcane Signet, Golgari Signet, and Cryptolith Rite smooth your setup, while Ayara, First of Locthwain and Bastion of Remembrance punish every death for sweet, sweet value.
2. The Value Engine
Once the dust settles, it’s time to grind. Ellie thrives with a graveyard full of friends. Gravecrawler, Nether Traitor, and Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia give you endless fodder. Sacrifice outlets like Ashnod’s Altar and Goblin Bombardment turn the cycle of life (and un-life) into mana and damage. Blood Artist, Mayhem Devil, and Butcher of Malakir ensure your sacrifices sting everywhere.
Don’t sleep on Meren of Clan Nel Toth and Golgari Germination—they keep your board full and your graveyard stacked. Fiend Artisan and Fauna Shaman let you sculpt the perfect hand or board state, bringing threat after threat from your deck or bin.
3. Recursion Tricks
With so much dying, why not come back for more? Dread Return and Living Death turn a full graveyard into your own personal army. Eldritch Evolution and Diabolic Intent let you turn expendable tokens into your best creatures. Meanwhile, Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest rewards all this carnage by pumping your team into true apocalyptic threats.
4. Win Conditions
This deck isn’t about one-hit KOs. Instead, you nickel and dime your way to victory:
- Blood Artist/ Bastion of Remembrance/ Mayhem Devil drain life with every death.
- Korvold, Fae-Cursed King grows and draws cards as you sacrifice.
- Marionette Apprentice turns artifact fodder into an opponent’s worst nightmare.
- Field of the Dead quietly buries your friends in zombies as you ramp and recur lands.
Power & Bracket
At 0/10 power and firmly in Bracket 1, this deck is about learning, not crushing. It’s tuned for fun, resilience, and tactical play—not speed-running your table. There are no fast combos, no infinite loops, and no “Oops, I Win” buttons. Your victories are earned, not handed out like free samples at a Costco. Expect interactive, creature-focused games where combat and recursion reign.
Should You Build It?
If you want to live out your tactical, post-apocalyptic fantasies, or just love the interplay of sacrifice, recursion, and persistent value, this deck is your jam. It’s approachable for newcomers—teaching core Commander skills like resource management, timing removal, and leveraging the graveyard. Veterans will appreciate the subtle synergies and the satisfaction of out-valuing faster, flimsier decks.
Just don’t expect to dominate cEDH pods or power-hungry tables. This deck lives for the grind, not the quick kill. If you enjoy midrange brawls and the thrill of pulling victory from the jaws of defeat, Abby & Ellie are ready to lead you to the end of the world—and back.
Ready to stir up some trouble? Grab this deck, shuffle up, and show the table just how fun the end times can be.
