The Vampire's Bite by Buddadragon

Format: Commander

Commander: Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats

Bracket: 2

Deck overview

This Rakdos deathtouch/pinger deck helmed by Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats focuses on building a party (Rogues, Warriors, Wizards) to reduce Zagras's cost while granting deathtouch to all creatures and destroying planeswalkers on combat damage. The primary game plan deploys pingers and deathtouch creatures to trigger death payoffs like Blood Artist, Mayhem Devil, and Mahadi, Emporium Master for Treasures and value, then closes via combat or Revel in Riches. Secondary paths include reanimation with Gisa, Glorious Resurrector and Animate Dead, or alt-win conditions via Treasure accumulation. Zagras is essential as the deathtouch anthem and PW hate engine; the deck functions poorly without it due to reliance on the anthem for efficient damage and removal. No hidden commanders; the strategy is linear value-combat with sacrifice synergies.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Abrade
  • 1 Animate Dead
  • 1 Arcane Lighthouse
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archetype of Finality
  • 1 Azra Oddsmaker
  • 1 Basilisk Collar
  • 1 Big Score
  • 1 Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Blood Crypt
  • 1 Blood Cultist
  • 1 Changeling Outcast
  • 1 Chaos Warp
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Coveted Prize
  • 1 Crypt Rats
  • 1 Cunning Sparkmage
  • 1 Dagger Caster
  • 1 Deathbringer Thoctar
  • 1 Demand Answers
  • 1 Detection Tower
  • 1 Diabolic Tutor
  • 1 Dragonskull Summit
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Faithless Looting
  • 1 Feed the Swarm
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Fireslinger
  • 1 Foreboding Ruins
  • 1 Gisa, Glorious Resurrector
  • 1 Goblin Chainwhirler
  • 1 Grafted Exoskeleton
  • 1 Graven Cairns
  • 1 Grim Haruspex
  • 1 Harvester of Souls
  • 1 Haunted Ridge
  • 1 Hooded Blightfang
  • 1 Illicit Shipment
  • 1 Inferno Titan
  • 1 Judith, the Scourge Diva
  • 1 Lavaspur Boots
  • 1 Light Up the Stage
  • 1 Liquimetal Torque
  • 1 Magus of the Wheel
  • 1 Mahadi, Emporium Master
  • 1 Mari, the Killing Quill
  • 1 Mayhem Devil
  • 1 Midnight Reaper
  • 1 Mind Stone
  • 1 Morbid Opportunist
  • 10 Mountain
  • 1 Night's Whisper
  • 1 Ogre Slumlord
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Phyrexian Arena
  • 1 Rakdos Charm
  • 1 Rakdos Ickspitter
  • 1 Rakdos Signet
  • 1 Read the Bones
  • 1 Restless Vents
  • 1 Revel in Riches
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Shriveling Rot
  • 1 Smoldering Marsh
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Sting, the Glinting Dagger
  • 1 Sulfurous Springs
  • 9 Swamp
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Syphon Mind
  • 1 Syr Konrad, the Grim
  • 1 Tainted Peak
  • 1 Talisman of Indulgence
  • 1 Tarrian's Soulcleaver
  • 1 Thrilling Encore
  • 1 Vandalblast
  • 1 Viridian Longbow
  • 1 Viscera Seer
  • 1 Vulshok Sorcerer
  • 1 Wayfarer's Bauble
  • 1 Wojek Embermage
  • 1 Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats