Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Varina, Lich Queen
Varina, Lich Queen
Legendary Creature — Zombie Wizard · {1}{W}{U}{B} · Black/Blue/White commander
What Varina, Lich Queen actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Triggered ability · attackWhenever you attack with one or more Zombies, draw that many cards, then discard that many cards. You gain that much life.
- Activated ability{2}, Exile two cards from your graveyard: Create a tapped 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
What a Varina, Lich Queen deck needs
Plays as zombie typal. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- self-mill, discard and recursion (the graveyard is a resource its text reads)
- zombie creatures (its text counts them)
- a wide board that attacks every turn (the trigger fires on the attack)
The Varina, Lich Queen deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 27× A body of the exact type the commander's trigger requires — the wrong type is worthless here regardless of quality
- 7× Put your own cards into your graveyard as a resource
- 5× A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
Best cards for Varina, Lich Queen
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
A body of the exact type the commander's trigger requires — the wrong type is worthless here regardless of quality
- Carrion Feeder1 mana
- Gravecrawler1 mana
- Stitcher's Supplier1 mana
- Champion of the Perished1 mana
- Cryptbreaker1 mana
- Accursed Marauder2 mana
- Corpse Knight2 mana
- Nightscape Familiar2 mana
Put your own cards into your graveyard as a resource
- Takenuma, Abandoned Mire0 mana
- Stitcher's Supplier1 mana
- Ripples of Undeath2 mana
- Emry, Lurker of the Loch3 mana
- Eden, Seat of the Sanctum0 mana
- Port of Karfell0 mana
- Tomb Fortress0 mana
- Millikin2 mana
A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- Intangible Virtue2 mana
- Caretaker's Talent3 mana
- Inspiring Leader3 mana
- Prava of the Steel Legion3 mana
- Gideon's Memorial2 mana
- Hildibrand Manderville // Gentleman's Rise2 mana
- Mite Overseer4 mana
- Phantom General4 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- Reality Shift2 mana
- Pongify1 mana
- Rapid Hybridization1 mana
- Resculpt2 mana
- Defile1 mana
- Tragic Slip1 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Entomb1 mana
- Demonic Tutor2 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana
- Vampiric Tutor1 mana
- Imperial Seal1 mana
- Demonic Consultation1 mana
- Grim Tutor3 mana
- Tainted Pact2 mana
Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- Mindbreak Trap4 mana
- Fierce Guardianship3 mana
- Force of Negation3 mana
- Force of Will5 mana
- Flare of Denial3 mana
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- An Offer You Can't Refuse1 mana
- Arcane Denial2 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Damn2 mana
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Toxic Deluge3 mana
- Damnation4 mana
- Supreme Verdict4 mana
- Wrath of God4 mana
- Day of Judgment4 mana
- Bontu's Last Reckoning3 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Mystic Remora1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Curiosity1 mana
- Wizard Class1 mana
- Black Market Connections3 mana
- Braids, Arisen Nightmare3 mana
- Herald's Horn3 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Flowering of the White Tree2 mana
- Bastion Protector3 mana
- Gold-Forged Thopteryx2 mana
- Codsworth, Handy Helper3 mana
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope8 mana
- Lost in the Maze2 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
Combos with Varina, Lich Queen
Known combos from Commander Spellbook that Varina, Lich Queen is a piece of, and how many decks list them.
- Varina, Lich Queen + Altar Of Dementia + Ashnod's Altar + Anointed Procession157 decks
- Varina, Lich Queen + Altar Of Dementia + Ashnod's Altar + Mondrak, Glory Dominus58 decks
Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →
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