Marrow-Gnawer by Ghalta

Format: Commander

Commander: Marrow-Gnawer

Bracket: 2

DeckCheck Threat Index: 31

Deck overview

This mono-black swarm deck leverages Marrow-Gnawer and 23 copies of Rat Colony to overwhelm opponents with exponential creature growth and evasive combat damage. In the opening turns, the deck curves out by deploying multiple Rat Colony threats that continuously amplify each other's power. On Turn 5, Marrow-Gnawer enters to grant all Rats fear and act as a massive token multiplier. Left unanswered for a single turn cycle, Marrow-Gnawer doubles the board state, transforming modest attackers into lethal unblockable forces that can close out the game by Turn 7. Secondary powerhouses such as Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm, Karumonix, the Rat King, and Valley Rotcaller provide redundant aggression and alternate win conditions if the commander is removed. The deck's primary vulnerabilities stem from sorcery-speed interaction, lack of noncreature answers, and susceptibility to low-damage board sweepers.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
  • 1 Big Apple, 3 a.m.
  • 1 Blasphemous Edict
  • 1 Bontu's Monument
  • 1 Charcoal Diamond
  • 1 Crypt Rats
  • 1 Damnation
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Filth
  • 1 Final Parting
  • 1 Gauntlet of Power
  • 1 Gnat Miser
  • 1 Grim Tutor
  • 1 Guildless Commons
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 1 Heraldic Banner
  • 1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
  • 1 Jet Medallion
  • 1 Karumonix, the Rat King
  • 1 Kaya's Ghostform
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
  • 1 Marrow-Gnawer
  • 1 Metallic Mimic
  • 1 Mudflat Village
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion
  • 1 Ninja Teen
  • 1 Ogre Slumlord
  • 1 Pack Rat
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Persistent Marshstalker
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 1 Piper of the Swarm
  • 23 Rat Colony
  • 1 Rat King, Verminister
  • 1 Refurbished Familiar
  • 1 Revenge of the Rats
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 27 Swamp
  • 1 Swarmyard
  • 1 Swarmyard Massacre
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Temple of the False God
  • 1 The Darkness Crystal
  • 1 Throat Slitter
  • 1 Valley Rotcaller
  • 1 Vampiric Rites
  • 1 Vanquisher's Banner
  • 1 Wave of Rats
  • 1 Witch's Cottage
  • 1 Zombify