Istvan, Mono Black by Stormwinds

Format: Commander

Commander: Istvan, Butcher of Eln

Bracket: 2

Deck overview

Mono-black equipment-aggro deck built around Istvan, Butcher of Eln; Istvan is the dedicated voltron target and there is no hidden commander. He grows with every opponent creature death, while cheap equipment turns his 1/3 frame into a commander-damage clock. The deck wins by attaching evasion and double strike (Zephyr Boots, Fireshrieker), with Cranial Plating and Strata Scythe supplying the finishing power. Secondary paths grind with Phyrexian Arena, Ahriman, and Morbid Opportunist, then close via Massacre Wurm or Marionette Master. Interaction is removal-heavy but stack-light. If Istvan is never cast, the deck can still suit up other evasive creatures, just several turns slower. The heaviest weakness is artifact reliance with no artifact removal.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Accursed Marauder
  • 1 Ahriman
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archenemy's Charm
  • 1 Armory Automaton
  • 1 Assassin Initiate
  • 1 Barren Moor
  • 1 Bladed Battle-Fan
  • 1 Brass Squire
  • 1 Charcoal Diamond
  • 1 Consuming Corruption
  • 1 Corrupt
  • 1 Cranial Plating
  • 1 Crawlspace
  • 1 Crux of Fate
  • 1 Crypt Rats
  • 1 Daily Bugle Newspaper
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Death in the Family
  • 1 Deep-Cavern Bat
  • 1 Demonic Embrace
  • 1 Diresight
  • 1 Dissection Tools
  • 1 Dockside Chef
  • 1 Dreaded Bat-Cloud
  • 1 Explorer's Scope
  • 1 Fake Your Own Death
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Feral Deathgorger // Dusk Sight
  • 1 Fireshrieker
  • 1 Haunted Cloak
  • 1 Istvan, Butcher of Eln
  • 1 Kaya's Ghostform
  • 1 Lavaspur Boots
  • 1 Leyline Axe
  • 1 Life of Toshiro Umezawa // Memory of Toshiro
  • 1 Loxodon Warhammer
  • 1 Marionette Master
  • 1 Massacre Wurm
  • 1 Mithril Coat
  • 1 Morbid Opportunist
  • 1 Murder
  • 1 Mutilate
  • 1 No Mercy
  • 1 Obsessive Pursuit
  • 1 Opal Palace
  • 1 Patriar's Seal
  • 1 Pestilence Demon
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 1 Professor's Warning
  • 1 Revenge of Ravens
  • 1 Reverent Howl
  • 1 Risky Research
  • 1 Rooftop Assassin
  • 1 Rune of Mortality
  • 1 Scheming Silvertongue // Sign in Blood
  • 1 Shadowspear
  • 1 Shriekmaw
  • 1 Silent Arbiter
  • 1 Strata Scythe
  • 33 Swamp
  • 1 The Masamune
  • 1 The Speed Demon
  • 1 Troop of Ponies
  • 1 Wayfarer's Bauble
  • 1 Witch's Cottage
  • 1 Withering Torment
  • 1 Zephyr Boots