Tier roguecontrol

Zombie Infestation Control

Discard Engine Control

Featured list~$1933Jornada Mensual Liga Granada 2026 - Abril @ Granada (Spain)

Overview

"Zombie Infestation Control builds a recursion engine around Zombie Infestation: Squee, Goblin Nabob returns to hand every upkeep, and Krovikan Horror brings back a discarded creature each turn, supplying a steady stream of cards to pitch for 2/2 Zombie tokens at instant speed. Buried Alive seeds the graveyard with those engine pieces in one stroke, while Cabal Therapy and Duress strip the opponent's answers and disruption. Phyrexian Arena and Skeletal Scrying keep the hand stocked, and the accumulating Zombie tokens close the game through combat."

Game Plan

Deploy Zombie Infestation, then land Standstill, create tokens at instant speed without casting spells, never breaking your own Standstill. Accumulated Knowledge refuels your hand for more tokens.

Key Cards

Core engine & flex

Polluted Delta

$124.65

TCG MP CK

Gush

$5.23

TCG MP CK

Underground River

$10.15

TCG MP CK

Intuition

$343.15

TCG MP CK

Foil

$15.81

TCG MP CK

Signature

Squee, Goblin Nabob

$30.74

TCG MP CK

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Sample Decklists

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Jornada Mensual Liga Granada 2026 - Abril @ Granada (Spain)

1st PlaceApr 25, 2026

Carlos Fernandez Baillo Nuñez

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Carlos Fernandez Baillo Nuñez

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$1641

Creature (6)

$143

1Krovikan Horror

$16.303B

4Squee, Goblin Nabob

$1232R

1Wonder

$3.583U

Instant (21)

$815

4Accumulated Knowledge

$11.881U

$31.70U

$7.71UU

$47.432UU

$1.091UU

$20.924U

$6862U

$7.961B

Sorcery (7)

$16.09

4Duress

$14.80B

3Portent

$1.29U

Artifact (1)

$76.15

1Powder Keg

$76.152

Enchantment (4)

$25.80

4Zombie Infestation

$25.801B

Land (21)

$565

1Cephalid Coliseum

$2.96

11Island

$32.01

4Polluted Delta

$499

2Swamp

$0.84

3Underground River

$30.45

Sideboard (15)

$292

1Arcane Laboratory

$1.402U

1Blue Elemental Blast

$1.57U

$20.822

$1891U

$10.283BB

$0.992U

$8.88U

$5.251

$42.634

$9.491UB

$1.310

Est. Total$1933

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Spring 1K @ Top Deck Games (Cherry Hill, NJ)

2nd PlaceApr 11, 2026

Zac Clark

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Zac Clark

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$1636

Creature (6)

$143

1Krovikan Horror

$16.303B

4Squee, Goblin Nabob

$1232R

1Wonder

$3.583U

Instant (21)

$815

4Accumulated Knowledge

$11.881U

$31.70U

$7.71UU

$47.432UU

$1.091UU

$20.924U

$6862U

$7.961B

Sorcery (9)

$17.66

1Deep Analysis

$1.143U

4Duress

$14.80B

4Portent

$1.72U

Artifact (1)

$76.15

1Powder Keg

$76.152

Enchantment (4)

$25.80

4Zombie Infestation

$25.801B

Land (19)

$559

10Island

$29.10

4Polluted Delta

$499

2Swamp

$0.84

3Underground River

$30.45

Sideboard (15)

$240

$5.26U

$23.222B

$4.44U

$1.751

$44.703UU

$4.002B

$13.031

$76.152

$0.853U

$66.582

Est. Total$1876

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VIII Liga Madrileña - Jornada 6 @ Madrid (Spain)

2nd PlaceMar 28, 2026

Martin Epszteyn

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Martin Epszteyn

TCG

Mainboard (60)

$1641

Creature (6)

$143

1Krovikan Horror

$16.303B

4Squee, Goblin Nabob

$1232R

1Wonder

$3.583U

Instant (21)

$815

4Accumulated Knowledge

$11.881U

$31.70U

$7.71UU

$47.432UU

$1.091UU

$20.924U

$6862U

$7.961B

Sorcery (7)

$16.09

4Duress

$14.80B

3Portent

$1.29U

Artifact (1)

$76.15

1Powder Keg

$76.152

Enchantment (4)

$25.80

4Zombie Infestation

$25.801B

Land (21)

$565

1Cephalid Coliseum

$2.96

11Island

$32.01

4Polluted Delta

$499

2Swamp

$0.84

3Underground River

$30.45

Sideboard (15)

$121

1Arcane Laboratory

$1.402U

2Blue Elemental Blast

$3.14U

$20.822

$10.283BB

$0.992U

$4.44U

$3.501

$0.542UB

$9.491UB

$66.582

Est. Total$1762

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Archetype Anatomy

Based on 11 decks with known dates2025-06-21 to 2026-05-30

Mana Base

Average21.8lands

Median21lands

Range19–25lands

Spells38.2avg non-land

Based on 11 decks (All-time)

core Cards(>80%)

Polluted Delta

100%

4.0x

Gush

100%

3.7x

Underground River

100%

3.0x

Intuition

100%

2.2x

Foil

91%

2.8x

Accumulated Knowledge

82%

4.0x

Squee, Goblin Nabob

82%

4.0x

Zombie Infestation

82%

4.0x

flex Cards(30-80%)

Psychatog

73%

2.8x

Smother

73%

2.4x

Wonder

64%

1.0x

Chain of Vapor

55%

1.8x

Deep Analysis

55%

1.2x

Portent

45%

3.6x

Duress

45%

3.4x

Counterspell

45%

3.0x

Circular Logic

45%

2.8x

Krovikan Horror

45%

1.2x

Powder Keg

45%

1.0x

Cabal Therapy

36%

3.3x

Fact or Fiction

36%

3.0x

Forbid

36%

1.0x

fringe Cards(<30%)

Fire // Ice

18%

4.0x

Mox Diamond

18%

4.0x

Nightscape Familiar

18%

4.0x

Bloodstained Mire

18%

2.0x

Infest

18%

2.0x

Repulse

18%

2.0x

Cephalid Coliseum

18%

1.0x

Shivan Reef

18%

1.0x

Sulfurous Springs

18%

1.0x

4.0x

3.0x

3.0x

3.0x

2.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

1.0x

Sideboard Anatomy

core Sideboard Options(>80%)

Engineered Plague

81.1%

2.2x

flex Sideboard Options(30-80%)

Hydroblast

74.8%

1.6x

Annul

73.9%

2.6x

Blue Elemental Blast

63.9%

1.9x

Tsabo'S Web

55.4%

2.0x

Ivory Tower

55.3%

1.7x

Duress

44.8%

2.2x

Perish

43.4%

1.4x

fringe Sideboard Options(<30%)

Phyrexian Furnace

29%

1.3x

Psychatog

28.8%

1.0x

Hibernation

28.7%

1.0x

Cursed Totem

26.1%

2.0x

Masticore

19.4%

1.0x

Powder Keg

19.2%

1.5x

Arcane Laboratory

18.9%

1.0x

Haunting Echoes

18.9%

1.0x

Back To Basics

18.1%

2.0x

Withered Wretch

18.1%

2.0x

Red Elemental Blast

17%

1.0x

Pyroclasm

17%

2.0x

Pyroblast

17%

1.0x

Slice And Dice

17%

1.0x

Tormod'S Crypt

16.7%

1.0x

Chain Of Vapor

9.9%

1.0x

Chill

9.8%

1.0x

Smother

9.7%

1.0x

Gilded Drake

9.6%

1.0x

Morphling

9.5%

1.0x

Rainbow Efreet

9.5%

1.0x

Lobotomy

9.3%

2.0x

Coffin Purge

7.2%

1.0x

Parallax Tide Banned

7.2%

3.0x

Stifle

7.2%

1.0x

Recent Events Featuring this Archetype

Technoliga Valenciana @ Valencia (Spain)

2026-05-30•Valencia, Spain•20 Players

Highest Finish: 3rd

VIEW EVENT

From The Vault: Premodern 8 @ The Mana Vault (Saint Francis, WI)

2026-05-16•Saint Francis, USA•25 Players

Highest Finish: 5th

VIEW EVENT

2026 Nationals @ Singapore

2026-05-09•Singapore, Singapore•40 Players

Highest Finish: 3rd

VIEW EVENT

Jornada Mensual Liga Granada 2026 - Abril @ Granada (Spain)

2026-04-25•Granada, Spain•17 Players

Highest Finish: 1st

VIEW EVENT

Spring 1K @ Top Deck Games (Cherry Hill, NJ)

2026-04-11•Cherry Hill, USA•30 Players

Highest Finish: 2nd

VIEW EVENT

Quick Facts

Tierrogue

Stylecontrol

Avg Lands21.8

Est. Price~$1933

Colors

Deck Weaknesses

Enchantment dependency — the token plan requires Zombie Infestation in play; without it, discarding cards produces nothing and the deck falls back on a lone slow Psychatog with no redundant token engine.
Hand — size fragility - each token burns two cards, so the deck must constantly refuel through Accumulated Knowledge, Gush, and Deep Analysis; any pressure that strips the hand leaves it with far fewer tokens than it needs to stabilize.
Graveyard reliance — Squee, Goblin Nabob, Intuition piles, and Deep Analysis flashback all lean on the graveyard, so static graveyard hate dismantles the recursion loop that keeps the token stream cheap and sustainable.
Tempo cost of holding up mana — to make tokens at instant speed and keep countermagic live the deck must leave mana open and commit little to the board, so a fast aggressive draw can threaten lethal before the token wall forms and force it off its plan.

How to win with it

Mulligan any hand without Zombie Infestation or Gamble to find it, plus enough fuel to feed it: a keeper wants Zombie Infestation, two lands, and at least two cards you are happy to pitch each turn (Squee, Goblin Nabob plus a second body or spell), because each token costs you TWO discards, not one. A hand of Duress and Cabal Therapy with no enchantment and no recurring discard does nothing and should go back.
Lead with Cabal Therapy or Duress on turn one to strip removal or a key answer, then resolve Zombie Infestation as early as possible; Dark Ritual on turn one powers it out a turn ahead so your discard engine comes online before the opponent sets up. Hold Buried Alive until Zombie Infestation is in play so the creatures you bin immediately become discard fodder rather than dead cards.
The real free-token loop is two self-returning cards: Squee, Goblin Nabob comes back from the graveyard to your hand each upkeep, and Krovikan Horror returns itself to hand at the end step whenever a creature card is directly above it in your graveyard. Discard BOTH to Zombie Infestation in the same turn for one 2/2 Zombie token, then let them recur and repeat, so the activation costs you no real cards over time.
Hold Squee, Goblin Nabob rather than jamming it as a 1/1 attacker; its value is as one half of a renewable discard pair for Zombie Infestation. Likewise keep Krovikan Horror in the bin to recur, and only sacrifice it to its own ability to ping a blocker or finish the opponent when you no longer need the discard engine. Skeletal Scrying and Firestorm are extra outlets and refuels when you draw a glut of lands or need to dig.
The dream draw is Dark Ritual into Zombie Infestation on turn one with Squee, Goblin Nabob and a second creature in hand, giving you a token every turn while the opponent is still developing; from there each 2/2 Zombie chips them down and your hand never runs dry. The grind plan trades that fast start for Phyrexian Arena to bury the opponent in cards while Duress and Cabal Therapy clear sweepers and the threats that answer your tokens, then assembles the engine over several turns.
When the opponent stabilizes against a slow token clock, pivot to Buried Alive stacking creatures into the yard followed by Living Death to slam the whole graveyard into play at once for a lethal alpha strike or a rebuilt board after a wrath. Track Squee, Goblin Nabob's exile risk: if it gets removed from the graveyard, lean on Krovikan Horror's self-recursion as your repeating discard body and use Skeletal Scrying or Firestorm to keep feeding Zombie Infestation.

How to beat it

Answer Zombie Infestation with instant-speed artifact/enchantment removal: it is the only discard outlet, so without it every card the deck pitches generates nothing and the token plan collapses to a slow Psychatog clock.
Race by going wide rather than tall. Each Zombie token costs two cards in hand, so the more tokens they must make to stabilize, the faster Accumulated Knowledge, Gush, and Deep Analysis run dry; a board of several small threats demands resources they cannot replace.
Apply a threat that forces an immediate answer so they must spend countermagic or removal and tap out. The deck wants to sit with mana up making tokens and holding permission, and denying that open-mana window is how you break its tempo.
Bring graveyard hate to strand Squee, Goblin Nabob in exile. The recursion loop returns it to hand each upkeep as free discard fuel, and removing it forces them to feed Zombie Infestation with real cards, draining their hand far faster.
Hold an edict effect (forced sacrifice) until Psychatog is the lone creature. A field of Zombie tokens normally absorbs the sacrifice, but an edict ignores creature size and needs no target on the threat, so timing it when the swarm is gone strips their only real win condition.

Last Updated: May 2026