New York City by Reckoning

Format: Commander

Commander: Rat King, Verminister

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 48

Deck overview

Rat King, Verminister commands a relentless mono-black swarm deck powered by 22 copies of Rat Colony. The deck leverages Rat King's unique mass reanimation ability to return every Rat Colony from the graveyard to the battlefield simultaneously in a single activation. Supported by dense self-mill engines like Mesmeric Orb, Stitcher's Supplier, and Snarling Gorehound, alongside premier black tutors such as Buried Alive and Entomb, the deck rapidly stocks the graveyard with lethal rat threats. Once assembled around Turn 4, Rat King sacrifices three expendable Rat tokens to resurrect the entire colony tapped on Turn 5. On Turn 6, the massive swarm untaps to overrun the table with 100+ combat damage, grant evasion via Cover of Darkness and Marrow-Gnawer, or drain opponents out with Valley Rotcaller. Backup win conditions like Thrumming Stone ripple through the library for explosive same-turn swarms, making the deck exceptionally consistent and resilient against single-target disruption.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt
  • 1 Altar of Dementia
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
  • 1 Ashnod's Altar
  • 1 Ayara, First of Locthwain
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Blood Artist
  • 1 Boggart Trawler // Boggart Bog
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Buried Alive
  • 1 Cabal Coffers
  • 1 Castle Locthwain
  • 1 Cavern of Souls
  • 1 Cover of Darkness
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Deadly Rollick
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Diabolic Intent
  • 1 Entomb
  • 1 Fell the Profane // Fell Mire
  • 1 High Market
  • 1 Jet Medallion
  • 1 Karumonix, the Rat King
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Living Death
  • 1 Locket of Yesterdays
  • 1 Lord Skitter, Sewer King
  • 1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire
  • 1 Marrow-Gnawer
  • 1 Mesmeric Orb
  • 1 Mogis's Marauder
  • 1 Mudflat Village
  • 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
  • 1 Patriarch's Bidding
  • 1 Phyrexian Altar
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Pitiless Plunderer
  • 1 Plumb the Forbidden
  • 22 Rat Colony
  • 1 Rat King, Verminister
  • 1 Ripples of Undeath
  • 1 Skullclamp
  • 1 Snarling Gorehound
  • 1 Snuff Out
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Species Specialist
  • 1 Stitcher's Supplier
  • 21 Swamp
  • 1 Swarmyard
  • 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
  • 1 The Meathook Massacre
  • 1 Three Tree City
  • 1 Thrumming Stone
  • 1 Toxic Deluge
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Urza's Incubator
  • 1 Valley Rotcaller
  • 1 Withering Torment