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