Rotcleaver (original) by Janus_Mertis

Format: Commander

Commander: Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 29

Deck overview

This Dimir Zombie Tribal deck is commanded by Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver. The strategy focuses on establishing early Zombie board presence, utilizing Wilhelt to convert nontoken creatures into card advantage and decayed Zombie tokens. The deck scales into the midgame through token generation engines like Diregraf Colossus and Endless Ranks of the Dead, supported by evasion and stat buffs from lords like Death Baron, Lord of the Accursed, and Eternal Skylord. It can close games through wide combat attacks, high-devotion life drains via Gray Merchant of Asphodel, or mass graveyard recursion with Zombie Apocalypse. While the deck contains strong sacrifice synergies and continuous creature attrition via Butcher of Malakir and Ruthless Deathfang, its reliance on four- to eight-mana spells and modest ramp package positions it as a resilient, synergistic midrange aristocrats deck.

Decklist (98 cards)

  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Army of the Damned
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Champion of the Perished
  • 1 Choked Estuary
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Crawl from the Cellar
  • 1 Crippling Fear
  • 1 Crowded Crypt
  • 1 Curse of Disturbance
  • 1 Curse of Unbinding
  • 1 Dark Salvation
  • 1 Death Baron
  • 1 Diregraf Captain
  • 1 Diregraf Colossus
  • 1 Dismal Backwater
  • 1 Distant Melody
  • 1 Dread Summons
  • 1 Dreadhorde Invasion
  • 1 Endless Ranks of the Dead
  • 1 Eternal Skylord
  • 1 Fabricate
  • 1 Fake Your Own Death
  • 1 Field of the Dead
  • 1 Fleshbag Marauder
  • 1 Ghoulcaller Gisa
  • 1 Ghouls' Night Out
  • 1 Gisa and Geralf
  • 1 Gleaming Overseer
  • 1 Gravecrawler
  • 1 Gravespawn Sovereign
  • 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
  • 1 Grimoire of the Dead
  • 1 Havengul Lich
  • 1 Heraldic Banner
  • 1 Hordewing Skaab
  • 10 Island
  • 1 Josu Vess, Lich Knight
  • 1 Jwar Isle Refuge
  • 1 Lazotep Plating
  • 1 Liliana's Mastery
  • 1 Liliana, Untouched by Death
  • 1 Lord of the Accursed
  • 1 Loyal Subordinate
  • 1 Murder
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Necromantic Selection
  • 1 Necrotic Hex
  • 1 Open the Graves
  • 1 Overseer of the Damned
  • 1 Phyrexian Altar
  • 1 Ravenous Rotbelly
  • 1 Rooftop Storm
  • 1 Ruthless Deathfang
  • 1 Sauron, the Necromancer
  • 1 Scourge of Nel Toth
  • 1 Sinister Sabotage
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Spark Reaper
  • 1 Sunken Hollow
  • 15 Swamp
  • 1 Temple of Deceit
  • 1 Tomb Tyrant
  • 1 Unbreathing Horde
  • 1 Undead Augur
  • 1 Undermine
  • 1 Vampiric Rites
  • 1 Vela the Night-Clad
  • 1 Victimize
  • 1 Vizier of the Scorpion
  • 1 Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver
  • 1 Withered Wretch
  • 1 Zombie Apocalypse
  • 1 Zombify
  • 1 Zul Ashur, Lich Lord