monarch by felipemw

Format: Commander

Commander: Garland, Royal Kidnapper

Bracket: 2

DeckCheck Threat Index: 30

Deck overview

This Dimir control deck uses Garland, Royal Kidnapper to turn opponents' resources against them. By introducing the monarch mechanic, Garland steals key opposing creatures and buffs them with +2/+2 while preventing opponents from sacrificing them. The deck reinforces this theft strategy with goad enchantments, such as Bloodthirsty Blade and Ghoulish Impetus, forcing opponents to attack each other and whittle down their own life totals. High-end reanimation spells like Sepulchral Primordial, Shark Shredder, Killer Clone, and The Cyber-Controller capitalize on loaded opposing graveyards to assemble a lethal combat board. The deck accelerates consistently thanks to 10 ramp pieces at 1–2 mana, but relies entirely on combat damage to close the game over multiple turns. While resilient against single-target destruction through instant-speed return effects, the deck remains vulnerable to mass exile sweepers and creature-light combo strategies.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aberrant Return
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Bloodthirsty Blade
  • 1 Bringer of the Last Gift
  • 1 Buzz Bots
  • 1 Chameleon, Master of Disguise
  • 1 Changing Loyalty
  • 1 Charcoal Diamond
  • 1 Charnel Serenade
  • 1 Chasm Skulker
  • 1 Choked Estuary
  • 1 Coercive Impetus
  • 1 Come Back Wrong
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Consuming Aberration
  • 1 Darkwater Catacombs
  • 1 Desertion
  • 1 Didn't Say Please
  • 1 Dimir Aqueduct
  • 1 Dream Harvest
  • 1 Endless Obedience
  • 1 Evolving Wilds
  • 1 Extract from Darkness
  • 1 Fake Your Own Death
  • 1 Feed the Swarm
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Fetid Pools
  • 1 Forgotten Creation
  • 1 Fungal Fortitude
  • 1 Garland, Royal Kidnapper
  • 1 Ghoulish Impetus
  • 1 Gyruda, Doom of Depths
  • 1 H.E.R.B.I.E. Scout Unit
  • 1 H.E.R.B.I.E., Lovable Robot
  • 1 Hithlain Rope
  • 1 Hostage Taker
  • 13 Island
  • 1 Kang Dynasty
  • 1 Keiga, the Tide Star
  • 1 Kitsune, Dragon's Daughter
  • 1 Millikin
  • 1 Mind Flayer
  • 1 Mind Stone
  • 1 Minion's Return
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Necrogen Communion
  • 1 Nephalia Smuggler
  • 1 Oft-Nabbed Goat
  • 1 Pain 101
  • 1 Parasitic Impetus
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Renegade Silent
  • 1 S.H.I.E.L.D. Flying Car
  • 1 Sepulchral Primordial
  • 1 Shark Shredder, Killer Clone
  • 1 Shield Broker
  • 1 Siphon Insight
  • 1 Sly Instigator
  • 1 Soaring Thought-Thief
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Solemn Simulacrum
  • 1 Spinal Embrace
  • 1 Subjugate the Hobbits
  • 1 Sunken Hollow
  • 14 Swamp
  • 1 Talisman of Dominance
  • 1 Taskmaster, Mercenary Mimic
  • 1 Terramorphic Expanse
  • 1 The Cyber-Controller
  • 1 The Master, Mesmerist
  • 1 Thief of Sanity
  • 1 Treacherous Urge
  • 1 Vislor Turlough
  • 1 Volatile Stormdrake
  • 1 Wayfarer's Bauble