4 Billion Insects by Halowed

Format: Commander

Commander: Grist, the Hunger Tide

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 60

Deck overview

This Golgari deck is an engine-driven aristocrats and swarm deck led by Grist, the Hunger Tide. By leveraging Grist's unique status as a 1/1 Insect creature card outside the battlefield, the list maximizes creature-based tutors and reanimation spells. The game plan opens with low-mana acceleration to deploy Grist on Turn 2 or 3, establishing a continuous flow of 1/1 Insect tokens and self-mill. The graveyard fuels recursion engines such as Zask, Skittering Swarmlord and Dread Return, while draw engines like Skullclamp and Braids, Arisen Nightmare convert expendable tokens into card advantage. The deck rapidly ramps toward Turn 5, where it executes a decisive win by tutoring Craterhoof Behemoth onto a wide board via Natural Order or Finale of Devastation. Alternatively, it drains the table using Grist's ultimate alongside Bloodletter of Aclazotz or Aatchik, Emerald Radian.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aatchik, Emerald Radian
  • 1 Altanak, the Thrice-Called
  • 1 Amzu, Swarm's Hunger
  • 1 Ashes of the Fallen
  • 1 Assassin's Trophy
  • 1 Badgermole Cub
  • 1 Bayou
  • 1 Beseech the Mirror
  • 1 Birds of Paradise
  • 1 Blightbeetle
  • 1 Bloodletter of Aclazotz
  • 1 Bloodstained Mire
  • 1 Blooming Marsh
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Braids, Arisen Nightmare
  • 1 Brain Maggot
  • 1 Broodguard Elite
  • 1 Canoptek Scarab Swarm
  • 1 Canoptek Tomb Sentinel
  • 1 Carrion Grub
  • 1 Caustic Caterpillar
  • 1 Cavern of Souls
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Craterhoof Behemoth
  • 1 Cryptolith Rite
  • 1 Culling Ritual
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway
  • 1 Deathcap Glade
  • 1 Delighted Halfling
  • 1 Diabolic Intent
  • 1 Doubling Season
  • 1 Dread Return
  • 1 Dryad Arbor
  • 1 Elves of Deep Shadow
  • 1 Elvish Mystic
  • 1 Enduring Vitality
  • 1 Eternal Witness
  • 1 Evendo, Waking Haven
  • 1 Finale of Devastation
  • 2 Forest
  • 1 Forever Young
  • 1 Fumulus, the Infestation
  • 1 Gaea's Cradle
  • 1 Graveshifter
  • 1 Grist, Voracious Larva // Grist, the Plague Swarm
  • 1 Grist, the Hunger Tide
  • 1 Haywire Mite
  • 1 Hornet Nest
  • 1 Hornet Queen
  • 1 Icetill Explorer
  • 1 Idol of Oblivion
  • 1 Insidious Roots
  • 1 Liliana the Repentant
  • 1 Llanowar Elves
  • 1 Llanowar Wastes
  • 1 Marsh Flats
  • 1 Maskwood Nexus
  • 1 Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Molt Tender
  • 1 Natural Order
  • 1 Overgrown Tomb
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Realmwalker
  • 1 Regrowth
  • 1 Scute Mob
  • 1 Scute Swarm
  • 1 Seedship Broodtender
  • 1 Skullclamp
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sowing Mycospawn
  • 1 Species Specialist
  • 1 Spring-Leaf Avenger
  • 1 Springheart Nantuko
  • 1 Stitch Together
  • 2 Swamp
  • 1 Swarmyard
  • 1 Sylvan Library
  • 1 Three Tree City
  • 1 Tortured Existence
  • 1 Underground Mortuary
  • 1 Undergrowth Stadium
  • 1 Unearth
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Urza's Saga
  • 1 Utopia Sprawl
  • 1 Verdant Catacombs
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Wastewood Verge
  • 1 Webstrike Elite
  • 1 Windswept Heath
  • 1 Wooded Foothills
  • 1 Woodland Cemetery
  • 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
  • 1 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
  • 1 Zask, Skittering Swarmlord