ardyn the wincon by user9391946

Format: Commander

Commander: Ardyn, the Usurper

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 33

Deck overview

This mono-black deck leverages heavy mana acceleration, tribal cost reducers, and graveyard recursion to field an army of overwhelming Demons led by Ardyn, the Usurper. The early game focuses on setting up mana rocks, cost reducers like Jet Medallion and Urza's Incubator, and land doublers such as Cabal Coffers and Crypt Ghast. Mid-game turns deploy card-advantage engines like Black Market Connections and Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber while stocking the graveyard using Entomb and Doom Whisperer. Once Ardyn, the Usurper enters the battlefield on Turn 6, its combat ability continually reanimates fallen creatures as 5/5 Demons with haste, menace, and lifelink. The deck closes out games across Turns 7 through 9 by overwhelming opposing boards with large evasive attackers, asymmetric wipes like In Garruk's Wake, and lethal life-drain bursts from Gray Merchant of Asphodel.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ancient Cellarspawn
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Ardyn, the Usurper
  • 1 Baleful Mastery
  • 1 Black Market
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Blasphemous Edict
  • 1 Bloodgift Demon
  • 1 Breach the Multiverse
  • 1 Buried Ruin
  • 1 Cabal Coffers
  • 1 Cabal Ritual
  • 1 Cabal Stronghold
  • 1 Caged Sun
  • 1 Cavern of Souls
  • 1 Cover of Darkness
  • 1 Crypt Ghast
  • 1 Crypt of Agadeem
  • 1 Culling the Weak
  • 1 Dark Petition
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Darkness
  • 1 Demonic Covenant
  • 1 Diabolic Tutor
  • 1 Doom Whisperer
  • 1 Emergence Zone
  • 1 Entomb
  • 1 Extraplanar Lens
  • 1 Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
  • 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
  • 1 Heartless Summoning
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 1 In Garruk's Wake
  • 1 Indulgent Tormentor
  • 1 Infernal Grasp
  • 1 Infernal Sovereign
  • 1 Jet Medallion
  • 1 K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Kaya's Ghostform
  • 1 Lethal Scheme
  • 1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
  • 1 Liliana's Contract
  • 1 Make an Example
  • 1 Malicious Affliction
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Not Dead After All
  • 1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
  • 1 Patriarch's Bidding
  • 1 Phyrexian Obliterator
  • 1 Profane Tutor
  • 1 Ral Zarek, Guest Lecturer
  • 1 Reanimate
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Rot-Curse Rakshasa
  • 1 Rune-Scarred Demon
  • 1 Sacrifice
  • 1 Salvager of Ruin
  • 1 Scourge of the Skyclaves
  • 1 Scrap Trawler
  • 1 Seizan, Perverter of Truth
  • 1 Shadowgrange Archfiend
  • 1 Sign in Blood
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sower of Discord
  • 1 Supernatural Stamina
  • 20 Swamp
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
  • 1 The Darkness Crystal
  • 1 Thrilling Encore
  • 1 Throne of Eldraine
  • 1 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Urza's Cave
  • 1 Urza's Incubator
  • 1 Valgavoth, Terror Eater
  • 1 Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire
  • 1 Vilis, Broker of Blood
  • 1 Virtus's Maneuver
  • 1 Withering Torment