Art by Kevin Sidharta
Saved commander deck
Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary
Maximize Crossbones's once-per-turn Villain burn ability using Changelings, flash enablers, and Maskwood Nexus to continuously deal damage on every player's turn.
Prompt: Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary commander deck
Commander
1 cards
Crossbones, Malicious Mercenary
{3}{B}Legendary Creature — Human Mercenary Villain
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10 cards
Wayfarer's Bauble
{1}Artifact
Puts an extra basic Swamp directly onto the battlefield
Crypt Ghast
{3}{B}Creature — Spirit
Doubles Swamp mana and provides Extort drain
Black Market Connections
{2}{B}Enchantment
Provides mana, card draw, and Changeling token bodies
Card Draw
10 cards
Morbid Opportunist
{2}{B}Creature — Human Rogue
Triggers once every turn when creatures die
Species Specialist
{2}{B}{B}Creature — Human Warrior
Draws cards whenever your chosen creature type dies
Pact of the Serpent
{1}{B}{B}Sorcery
Bursts of cards based on your Villain or Changeling count
Skullclamp
{1}Artifact — Equipment
Turns recurring tokens and small bodies into raw cards
Removal
10 cards
Feed the Swarm
{1}{B}Sorcery
Essential mono-black enchantment and creature removal
Toxic Deluge
{2}{B}Sorcery
Flexible, cheap board wipe that bypasses indestructible
Hero's Downfall
{1}{B}{B}Instant
Deals with problematic creatures or planeswalkers
Bitter Triumph
{1}{B}Instant
Versatile cheap removal for creatures and planeswalkers
Lethal Scheme
{2}{B}{B}Instant
Convoke removal that grows creatures and filters cards
Withering Torment
{2}{B}Instant
Instant-speed answer to both creatures and enchantments
Threats/Wincons
22 cards
Maskwood Nexus
{4}Artifact
Turns every creature and token into a Villain to trigger Crossbones
Roaming Throne
{4}Artifact Creature — Golem
Counts as a Villain and doubles all Crossbones triggers
Changeling Outcast
{B}Creature — Shapeshifter
Unblockable one-drop Villain that triggers Crossbones early
Graveshifter
{3}{B}Creature — Shapeshifter
Villain that enters and recurs another creature to hand
Skeletal Changeling
{1}{B}Creature — Shapeshifter
Resilient Villain that can regenerate and trigger Crossbones
Ghostly Changeling
{2}{B}Creature — Shapeshifter
Villain creature type holder that can pump its stats
Cairn Wanderer
{4}{B}Creature — Shapeshifter
Changeling Villain that inherits powerful keyword abilities
Grave Titan
{4}{B}{B}Creature — Giant
High-impact token generator that swarms the board
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
{3}{B}{B}Creature — Zombie
Massive life drain finisher scaling with black devotion
Bloodline Pretender
{3}Artifact Creature — Shapeshifter
Villain that grows larger whenever your team expands
Marionette Apprentice
{1}{B}Creature — Human Artificer
Drains opponents upon death and provides an extra body
Zulaport Cutthroat
{1}{B}Creature — Human Rogue Ally
Synergizes with repeated creature sacrifices and drains table
Blood Artist
{1}{B}Creature — Vampire
Punishe opponents for all creature deaths across the board
Ayara, First of Locthwain
{B}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Elf Noble
Drains when black creatures enter and offers card draw
Ophiomancer
{2}{B}Creature — Human Shaman
Generates a creature every single upkeep for continuous triggers
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
{1}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
Rewards aggressive attacks and offers massive late-game card theft
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
{2}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
Stabilizes life total while punishing opposing card draw
Chittering Rats
{1}{B}{B}Creature — Rat
Disrupts opponents' hands while developing the battlefield
Cryptbreaker
{B}Creature — Zombie
Creates tokens and draws cards in conjunction with Changelings
Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
{2}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Vampire Warrior
Exiles opposing threats and produces Zombie tokens
Ravenous Chupacabra
{2}{B}{B}Creature — Beast Horror
Creature-based removal that benefits from reanimation
Dreadhorde Invasion
{1}{B}Enchantment
Consistent creature generation every turn to maintain pressure
Utility
10 cards
Necromancy
{2}{B}Enchantment
Instant-speed reanimation to trigger Crossbones on opponents' turns
Animate Dead
{1}{B}Enchantment — Aura
Cost-effective recursion aura to bring back key threats
Vedalken Orrery
{4}Artifact
Enables flashing Villains into play during each opponent's turn
Lightning Greaves
{2}Artifact — Equipment
Protects Crossbones with shroud and grants haste
Swiftfoot Boots
{2}Artifact — Equipment
Hexproof and haste protection for your commander
Whip of Erebos
{2}{B}{B}Legendary Enchantment Artifact
Grants whole board lifelink and recurs dead creatures
The Meathook Massacre
{X}{B}{B}Legendary Enchantment
Scalable board sweeper with continuous drain upside
Bolas's Citadel
{3}{B}{B}{B}Legendary Artifact
Turns life total into explosive card advantage and win condition
