Art by Grzegorz Rutkowski
Commander deckBUW
Alela, Artful Provocateur
Combine cute faeries and butterflies with dark artifacts and enchantments to build an army and overwhelm your opponents through sacrifice and combat.
Asked for“I'm new to mtg so I don't know my play style yet. What I want is a commander deck that is cute but dark at the same time. Think cult of the lamb.”
Deck anatomy
What this list actually runs on: how cheaply it casts things, and whether it has enough ramp, card draw and interaction to keep up at the table. Each block is one card — hover for its name.
Mana curve · 62 nonland cards
The working parts
Counted from Scryfall’s community card tags, not from the builder’s own labels. A card that does two jobs counts twice, so these add up to more than the deck. The hatched band is a common rule of thumb, not a law — combo decks run leaner, battlecruiser decks heavier.
Colored mana symbols
Commander
1Alela, Artful Provocateur
1WUBLegendary Creature — Faerie Warlock
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Smothering Tithe
3WEnchantment
Enchantment that generates immense treasure value
Card Draw
10
Bident of Thassa
2UULegendary Enchantment Artifact
Rewards attacking with our faerie swarm
Baleful Strix
UBArtifact Creature — Bird
Cute but deadly bird that replaces itself
Rhystic Study
2UEnchantment
Powerful enchantment that punishes opponents' spells
Esper Sentinel
WArtifact Creature — Human Soldier
Early creature that draws cards from opponent actions
Kindred Discovery
3UUEnchantment
Choose Faerie to draw cards whenever they enter or attack
Idol of Oblivion
2Artifact
Low cost artifact that draws cards since we make tokens
Removal
11
Threats/Wincons
22
Bitterblossom
1BKindred Enchantment — Faerie
The quintessential 'cute but dark' token generator
Ethereal Absolution
4WBEnchantment
Atmospheric enchantment that buffs ours and debuffs theirs
Mace of the Valiant
2WArtifact — Equipment
Grows massive with every token Alela creates
Spear of Heliod
1WWLegendary Enchantment Artifact
Buffs our team and provides deterrent removal
Empyrean Eagle
1WUCreature — Bird Spirit
Cute bird that acts as a lord for our flyers
Dictate of Heliod
3WWEnchantment
Flash enchantment that provides a massive power spike
Nykthos Paragon
4WWEnchantment Creature — Human Soldier
Turns lifegain into +1/+1 counters for the team
Shimmer Dragon
4UUCreature — Dragon
A dragon that uses our artifacts to draw cards
Blood Artist
1BCreature — Vampire
Punishes deaths, fitting the 'cult' sacrifice theme
Mirror Entity
2WCreature — Shapeshifter
Can turn all small tokens into massive threats
Utility
9
Bastion of Remembrance
2BEnchantment
Enchantment that drains opponents when we sacrifice creatures
