The Hive by Jrodfluff

Format: Commander

Commander: Xira Arien

Bracket: 2

Deck overview

This deck is a casual insect tribal build helmed by Xira Arien, a card-draw engine in the command zone. The strategy revolves around generating insect tokens, leveraging +1/+1 counters, and grinding out value through incremental advantage. Key synergies include Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest for counter growth, Grist, the Hunger Tide for token generation and removal, and Nest of Scarabs for token creation off -1/-1 counters. The deck lacks a dedicated fast win condition, instead aiming to overwhelm opponents with a growing board of insects and incremental life loss. Graveyard recursion via Victimize and Forever Young provides some resilience, but the overall plan is slow and reliant on combat damage. The mana base is heavily tapped, contributing to a sluggish early game.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Alesha's Legacy
  • 1 Angrath's Rampage
  • 1 Binding the Old Gods
  • 1 Branching Bolt
  • 1 Carrion Call
  • 1 Caustic Crawler
  • 1 Clockwork Beetle
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Copper Longlegs
  • 1 Crawling Sensation
  • 1 Crushing Canopy
  • 1 Darkmoss Bridge
  • 1 Deadly Insect
  • 1 Deathreap Ritual
  • 1 Delta Bloodflies
  • 1 Devouring Swarm
  • 1 Dross Scorpion
  • 1 Druid's Deliverance
  • 1 Evolving Wilds
  • 1 Expand the Sphere
  • 1 Fog
  • 9 Forest
  • 1 Forever Young
  • 1 Giant Caterpillar
  • 1 Giant Dustwasp
  • 1 Giant Spider
  • 1 Gilt-Leaf's Embrace
  • 1 Golgari Rot Farm
  • 1 Grim Backwoods
  • 1 Grim Contest
  • 1 Grist, the Hunger Tide
  • 1 Gruul Guildgate
  • 1 Hazardous Conditions
  • 1 Hidden Nursery
  • 1 Hoarding Recluse
  • 1 Infested Fleshcutter
  • 1 Iridescent Hornbeetle
  • 1 Jhoira's Timebug
  • 1 Join the Dead
  • 1 Jungle Hollow
  • 1 Lattice-Blade Mantis
  • 1 Lethal Exploit
  • 1 Llanowar Wastes
  • 1 Lord Dregg, Insect Invader
  • 1 Mammoth Spider
  • 1 Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
  • 1 Moldgraf Millipede
  • 3 Mountain
  • 1 Mulch
  • 1 Nantuko Cultivator
  • 1 Nantuko Husk
  • 1 Necroblossom Snarl
  • 1 Necrosquito
  • 1 Nessian Hornbeetle
  • 1 Nest of Scarabs
  • 1 Night's Whisper
  • 1 Prismatic Undercurrents
  • 1 Prophetic Prism
  • 1 Putrefy
  • 1 Red Sun's Twilight
  • 1 Rib Cage Spider
  • 1 Rugged Highlands
  • 1 Smelted Chargebug
  • 1 Stone of Erech
  • 1 Summon: Fat Chocobo
  • 7 Swamp
  • 1 Swarm, Being of Bees
  • 1 Tainted Wood
  • 1 Talisman of Resilience
  • 1 Temple of Malady
  • 1 Terramorphic Expanse
  • 1 Terrarion
  • 1 The Aesir Escape Valhalla
  • 1 The Hunger Tide Rises
  • 1 The Hunter Maze
  • 1 Thriving Bluff
  • 1 Thriving Moor
  • 1 Twilight Mire
  • 1 Undercity Uprising
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Watcher in the Web
  • 1 Woodland Cemetery
  • 1 Xira Arien
  • 1 You Find Some Prisoners