rat king

Format: Commander

Commander: Rat King, Verminister

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 44

Deck overview

This mono-black deck leverages 19 copies of Rat Colony alongside Rat King, Verminister to generate an overwhelming combat and aristocrats engine. The commander provides reliable end-step token production and an activated ability that reanimates all copies of Rat Colony simultaneously from the graveyard to the battlefield. Cost reducers such as Jet Medallion and Herald's Horn accelerate the deployment of redundant Rat threats, while Thrumming Stone allows the deck to ripple through the library and empty virtually all Rat Colony cards onto the board in a single turn. Evasion enablers like Cover of Darkness, Piper of the Swarm, and Marrow-Gnawer ensure the massive power scaling of the swarm translates into lethal combat steps. In parallel, card advantage engines like Skullclamp and The One Ring sustain hand size, while Blood Artist and The Meathook Massacre punish board wipes with lethal drain.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
  • 1 Ashnod's Altar
  • 1 Big Apple, 3 a.m.
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Bloodline Bidding
  • 1 Bolas's Citadel
  • 1 Bontu's Monument
  • 1 Cabal Coffers
  • 1 Cabal Stronghold
  • 1 Castle Locthwain
  • 1 Cavern of Souls
  • 1 Cover of Darkness
  • 1 Crypt of Agadeem
  • 1 Culling the Weak
  • 1 Damnation
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Deadly Rollick
  • 1 Defile
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Door of Destinies
  • 1 Eldrazi Monument
  • 1 Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
  • 1 Grave Pact
  • 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 1 Hero's Downfall
  • 1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
  • 1 Jet Medallion
  • 1 Karumonix, the Rat King
  • 1 Lord Skitter, Sewer King
  • 1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
  • 1 Marrow-Gnawer
  • 1 Mortuary Mire
  • 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
  • 1 Ogre Slumlord
  • 1 Pack Rat
  • 1 Patchwork Banner
  • 1 Patriarch's Bidding
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Piper of the Swarm
  • 1 Pitiless Plunderer
  • 19 Rat Colony
  • 1 Rat King, Pale Piper
  • 1 Rat King, Verminister
  • 1 Rat Out
  • 1 Ratcatcher
  • 1 Revenge of the Rats
  • 1 Ripples of Undeath
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Secret Tunnel
  • 1 Skullclamp
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 19 Swamp
  • 1 Swarmyard
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
  • 1 The Meathook Massacre
  • 1 The One Ring
  • 1 Three Tree City
  • 1 Thrumming Stone
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Village Rites
  • 1 Witch's Cottage
  • 1 Withering Torment