🎃 Linda, Kandarian Queen — Pilot's Guide

High-power / fringe-cEDH Esper Zombies (Varina, Lich Queen)

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1. What the deck is trying to do

The deck has two modes, and every game you are deciding which one you're in:

1. Combo mode (primary): Assemble a Gravecrawler loop and drain the table in a single turn. The deck has four separate engines, a payoff in almost every creature slot, and six tutors to find the pieces.
2. Value / horde mode (backup): When the combo is disrupted or the table is holding up interaction, play a fair Zombie game. Attack with Zombies every turn to trigger Linda's loot, grind with recursion, and protect your board with counterspells until you can safely combo.

Linda is the glue for both modes. She is a Zombie on the battlefield, which is the condition that lets Gravecrawler recast itself, and her attack trigger is a repeatable looting engine that puts combo pieces in the graveyard and finds the missing ones.

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2. Know your commander

Linda, Kandarian Queen (Varina, Lich Queen) — , 4/4 Zombie Wizard Whenever you attack with one or more Zombies, draw that many cards, then discard that many cards. You gain that much life. , Exile two cards from your graveyard: Create a tapped 2/2 black Zombie creature token.

• The attack trigger counts Zombies, not attackers in general. Swing with as many Zombies as is safe to dig deeper. Zombies with "can't block" (Gravecrawler, Carrion Feeder) are free attackers since they weren't defending anyway.
• The loot is card selection, not card advantage. Use it to discard Gravecrawler, Relentless Dead, Stitcher's Supplier and other graveyard-friendly cards, and to discard extra lands late.
• The token ability is a mana sink, but never exile Gravecrawler, Relentless Dead, or anything you plan to rebuy with Phyrexian Reclamation, Living Death, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, or Unholy Grotto. Exile spent spells and dead lands instead.
• Linda being on the battlefield turns on Fierce Guardianship and Deadly Rollick for free.

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3. The combo — Gravecrawler loops

Gravecrawler (, 2/1, can't block): You may cast Gravecrawler from your graveyard as long as you control a Zombie.

The pattern is always the same: sacrifice Gravecrawler → get the back somehow → recast it from the graveyard → repeat. Each loop gives you:

• one Zombie spell cast
• one Zombie entering the battlefield
• one creature dying

You need a Zombie on the battlefield other than the Gravecrawler being recast. Linda, Carrion Feeder, Warren Soultrader and Grimgrin, Corpse-Born are all Zombies. Pitiless Plunderer (Human Pirate) and Viscera Seer (Vampire) are not, so pair them with Linda or another Zombie.

Engine A — Phyrexian Altar (cleanest)

Pieces: Phyrexian Altar + Gravecrawler + any other Zombie (Linda counts)

1. Cast Gravecrawler ().
2. Sacrifice it to Phyrexian Altar → add .
3. Recast it from the graveyard with that .
4. Repeat.

Mana-neutral, life-neutral, two cards plus your commander.

Engine B — Warren Soultrader

Pieces: Warren Soultrader + Gravecrawler + Linda (or another Zombie)

1. Pay 1 life, sacrifice Gravecrawler → create a Treasure.
2. Sacrifice the Treasure for , recast Gravecrawler.
3. Repeat.

Costs 1 life per loop. Have Wayward Servant or Blood Artist out first so every loop is life-neutral, or make sure your payoff will kill everyone before your life runs out.

Engine C — Pitiless Plunderer

Pieces: Pitiless Plunderer + Gravecrawler + a free sac outlet (Carrion Feeder, Viscera Seer, or Grimgrin, Corpse-Born) + a Zombie

Plunderer is not a Zombie. Carrion Feeder or Grimgrin, Corpse-Born as the outlet covers the Zombie requirement on its own; with Viscera Seer you also need Linda or another Zombie.

1. Sacrifice Gravecrawler to the outlet → Plunderer makes a Treasure.
2. Treasure → , recast Gravecrawler.
3. Repeat.

Engine D — Rooftop Storm

Pieces: Rooftop Storm + Gravecrawler + a free sac outlet + a Zombie

Rooftop Storm lets you pay for Zombie spells, so Gravecrawler is free to recast. Sacrifice, recast, repeat.

Payoffs — what actually kills them

You need at least one of these on the battlefield before you start looping:

Payoff	Triggers on	Effect per loop
Corpse Knight	creature enters	each opponent loses 1
Wayward Servant	Zombie enters	each opponent loses 1, you gain 1
Diregraf Captain	Zombie dies	target opponent loses 1
Blood Artist	creature dies	target player loses 1, you gain 1
Headless Rider	nontoken Zombie dies	1 damage to any target
Diregraf Colossus	Zombie spell cast	tapped 2/2 Zombie token (infinite board)
Champion of the Perished	Zombie enters	+1/+1 counter (arbitrarily large)
Carrion Feeder	used as the outlet	+1/+1 counter (arbitrarily large)
Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver	Zombie dies	decayed 2/2 Zombie token

Corpse Knight and Wayward Servant hit every opponent per loop, so they win immediately. Blood Artist, Diregraf Captain and Headless Rider target one player at a time, but the loop is unbounded, so you simply loop until everyone is dead.

Bonus synergies during a loop

• Diregraf Colossus + Phyrexian Altar = infinite mana. Each loop makes a token; sacrifice the token to the Altar for one extra mana of any color.
• Necroduality creates a token copy of Gravecrawler every time it enters, giving you an extra ETB trigger and extra sacrifice fodder each loop.
• Village Rites is a one-shot outlet if you just need to get Gravecrawler into the yard.

Assembling the combo

Need	Where to get it
Gravecrawler	Entomb (it's castable from the graveyard, so Entomb is effectively a tutor), Stitcher's Supplier mill, Linda's loot discard, Demonic Tutor/Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal
Phyrexian Altar / Rooftop Storm	Enlightened Tutor, Demonic Tutor/Vampiric Tutor, Imperial Seal
Sac outlets	Carrion Feeder, Viscera Seer, Grimgrin, Corpse-Born, Warren Soultrader, Phyrexian Altar
Finding tutors	Mystical Tutor fetches Entomb, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, or Imperial Seal

Protecting the turn: Cast Gravecrawler with Cavern of Souls naming Zombie so it can't be countered. Hold up Force of Will, Force of Negation, Fierce Guardianship, Swan Song or Flusterstorm to protect the noncreature piece (Altar, Storm) or to stop a removal spell aimed at your payoff.

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4. Mulligan guide

Keep a 7 that has:

• 2–4 mana sources (lands + rocks), and
• at least one of: a combo piece, a tutor, or a strong engine (Rhystic Study, The One Ring, Smothering Tithe), and ideally
• one piece of interaction.

Snap keeps: a tutor plus fast mana, or two combo pieces with mana to cast them.

Mulligan:

• One-landers without Sol Ring / Mana Vault / Chrome Mox / Mox Diamond.
• Hands that are all counterspells and no way to advance.
• Hands that are all Zombie beaters with no draw, tutor, or combo direction.

Mox Diamond needs a land to discard. Chrome Mox needs a colored nonartifact card to imprint, so pick the card you'll miss least.

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5. Turn-by-turn game plan

Turns 1–2: Set up

• Play fast mana and a mana rock or two. Talisman of Dominance and Arcane Signet fix all three colors.
• Prioritize an engine if you have one: Rhystic Study, Esper Sentinel, Smothering Tithe.
• 1-drop Zombies (Carrion Feeder, Cryptbreaker, Champion of the Perished, Stitcher's Supplier) are good early plays. They're attackers for Linda and pieces of the combo shell.
• Crack fetches early to thin and to fill the graveyard. Set Three Tree City to Zombie.

Turns 3–4: Commander and pressure

• Cast Linda when you can either protect her or afford to lose her. She costs 4 the first time.
• Start attacking with Zombies every turn to loot. Discard Gravecrawler and recursive threats; keep combo enablers and interaction in hand.
• If you have a tutor, decide which line you're going for and fetch the missing piece, usually Phyrexian Altar (Enlightened Tutor) or Gravecrawler (Entomb).

Turns 4+: Win window

• Combo when you can either protect it (counterspell or Cavern) or the table is tapped out.
• If an opponent is holding up interaction, make them use it first. Threats like Lord of the Undead, Death Baron or The Scarab God bait removal and counterspells.
• If you can't combo safely, keep building a lord-backed board and attacking. Linda's loot keeps your hand full of options.

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6. The fair game — when combo isn't on

You'll often win by attacking. The lords make a real army:

• Lord of the Undead (+1/+1, returns Zombies from graveyard to hand)
• Death Baron (+1/+1 and deathtouch)
• Diregraf Captain (+1/+1, deathtouch, drain on death)
• Undead Warchief (+2/+1 and cost reduction)
• Gleaming Overseer (Zombie tokens get hexproof and menace)

The Scarab God turns opposing creatures in graveyards into 4/4 Zombies and drains each opponent every upkeep for your Zombie count.

Grimgrin, Corpse-Born is a free sac outlet that destroys a blocker each time it attacks. Sacrifice your fodder to untap it.

Mikaeus, the Unhallowed gives non-Humans undying. Your creatures come back once when they die, which is excellent against spot removal and sweepers.

Recursion suite: Phyrexian Reclamation, Unholy Grotto (put a Zombie on top of your library), Takenuma, Abandoned Mire (channel), Gisa and Geralf (cast one Zombie from the graveyard each turn), Lord of the Undead, Relentless Dead.

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7. Interaction — what to spend it on

Counterspells

Free: Force of Will, Force of Negation (noncreature, only free on opponents' turns), Fierce Guardianship (needs Linda out). Cheap: Mana Drain, Counterspell, Swan Song, Flusterstorm, Mental Misstep.

Spend them in roughly this order:

1. Opponents' win conditions and combo pieces.
2. Mass removal and graveyard hate that would wreck your board or combo.
3. Stax pieces that shut off your plan (Rest in Peace, Grafdigger's Cage, Torpor Orb-style effects).
4. Card-advantage engines only if you have plenty of counters.

Mana Drain is best on expensive spells; the mana next turn can power Linda plus a combo piece.

Mental Misstep is narrow. Save it for a key 1-mana-value tutor or combo piece.

Removal

• Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Deadly Rollick (free with Linda), Pongify — use on creature combo pieces and must-answer engines.
• Cyclonic Rift — 2-mana bounce early; overloaded at end of the opponent's turn before yours to clear the way for a lethal attack or combo turn.
• Otawara, Soaring City / Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire channel abilities are uncounterable-by-Force removal that doesn't cost a card slot.

Sweepers

Toxic Deluge and Damn kill your board too. Use them only when you're behind on board, and ideally follow up with Living Death to bring back your Zombies while opponents get theirs back from a much smaller graveyard.

Teferi's Protection saves your board from a wipe or a lethal attack; cast it in response.

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8. Key rules and interactions

• Gravecrawler needs another Zombie, not itself; check before you sacrifice it with nothing else on board.
• Linda's token ability exiles from your graveyard, so be careful during combo setups.
• Cavern of Souls only makes creature spells of the named type uncounterable. Phyrexian Altar and Rooftop Storm still need counter backup.
• Gisa and Geralf lets you cast one Zombie creature spell from your graveyard each turn. It's a combo backup if Linda dies and Gravecrawler gets stuck in the graveyard.
• Unholy Grotto puts a Zombie on top of your library. Use it on non-Gravecrawler threats. Gravecrawler doesn't need it.
• Urza's Saga can only find artifacts with mana cost or : Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, Lotus Petal.
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers turns every land into a Swamp, making Coffers a huge mana source late.
• Three Tree City set to Zombie taps for one mana per Zombie you control.
• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed's undying only works on non-Human creatures.

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9. Threat assessment and table politics

• Look at who can stop your combo. A player with open blue mana or a creature-hate piece is your main obstacle.
• Linda's lifegain lets you absorb aggression while you set up.
• A wide Zombie board draws attention. If you're about to combo next turn, consider not overextending so you don't eat a wipe.
• Esper Sentinel, Rhystic Study and Smothering Tithe tax opponents. Keep track of who's paying, since the player who refuses to pay is accumulating mana.
• Don't announce your combo before you have protection. Bait out counters with fair threats.

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10. Quick reference — combo checklist

Before going off, confirm:

• Gravecrawler is in hand or the graveyard.
• Another Zombie is on the battlefield (Linda counts).
• An engine: Phyrexian Altar, Warren Soultrader, Pitiless Plunderer + free outlet, or Rooftop Storm + free outlet.
• At least one payoff: Corpse Knight, Wayward Servant, Blood Artist, Diregraf Captain, Headless Rider (or Colossus/Champion for an alpha strike).
• If using Warren Soultrader: a lifegain payoff so you don't pay yourself out.
• Protection up, or the table is tapped out.

Happy haunting. 🧟