Art by Chris Rahn
Commander deckBG
Dina, Soul Steeper
Generate endless disposable chump blockers and sacrifice fodder, using death-triggered lifegain to drain opponents while Dina turns every point gained into direct damage.
Asked for“im looking for a great golgari deck, enough chump blockers and recursion that taking out my creatures shouldnt be the oppoonets goal, id like it to be lifegain too each creature death means i gain life”
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 · 61 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
1Dina, Soul Steeper
BGLegendary Creature — Dryad Druid
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Sakura-Tribe Elder
1GCreature — Snake Shaman
Ramps a land while sacrificing itself for death triggers
Wood Elves
2GCreature — Elf Scout
Puts an untapped Forest into play and leaves a body
Card Draw
10
Skullclamp
1Artifact — Equipment
Draws massive card advantage off 1-toughness chump blockers
Morbid Opportunist
2BCreature — Human Rogue
Draws a card on creature death each turn
Grim Haruspex
2BCreature — Human Wizard
Draws cards whenever nontoken creatures die
Midnight Reaper
2BCreature — Zombie Knight
Replaces dying nontoken creatures with fresh cards
Plumb the Forbidden
1BInstant
Instant-speed sacrifice outlet that draws huge hands
Moldervine Reclamation
3BGEnchantment
Draws cards and gains life whenever any creature you control dies
Shamanic Revelation
3GGSorcery
Refills hand based on wide boards and provides lifegain
Beast Whisperer
2GGCreature — Elf Druid
Draws cards simply for casting creature spells
Removal
10
Casualties of War
2BBGGSorcery
Blows out multiple opposing permanent types at once
Dictate of Erebos
3BBEnchantment
Forces opponents to sacrifice creatures whenever yours die
Butcher of Malakir
5BBCreature — Vampire Warrior
Repeatable creature edict engine attached to a large body
Threats/Wincons
22
Blood Artist
1BCreature — Vampire
Gains life and drains opponents whenever any creature dies
Zulaport Cutthroat
1BCreature — Human Rogue Ally
Drains the table and gains life on friendly deaths
Bastion of Remembrance
2BEnchantment
Resilient enchantment-based death drain and lifegain engine
Vindictive Vampire
3BCreature — Vampire
Drains opponents and heals you when your creatures die
Syr Konrad, the Grim
3BBLegendary Creature — Human Knight
Pumps out massive table-wide damage on deaths and milling
Poison-Tip Archer
2BGCreature — Elf Archer
Deathtouch blocker that damages foes on any creature death
Ophiomancer
2BCreature — Human Shaman
Provides a 1/1 deathtouch snake blocker on every upkeep
Woe Strider
2BCreature — Horror
Free sacrifice outlet that creates a token and escapes
Viscera Seer
BCreature — Vampire Wizard
One-mana sacrifice outlet that scrys your draws
Carrion Feeder
BCreature — Zombie
Grows into a massive threat while sacrificing blockers
Pawn of Ulamog
1BBCreature — Vampire Shaman
Generates Eldrazi Spawn chump blockers and mana on deaths
Sifter of Skulls
3BCreature — Eldrazi
Creates 1/1 Eldrazi Scion blockers on nontoken creature deaths
Scute Swarm
2GCreature — Insect
Explodes into hundreds of chump blockers with landfall
Avenger of Zendikar
5GGCreature — Elemental
Instantly floods the board with plant chump blockers
Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
2BBGGLegendary Creature — Elf Shaman
Spawns insect blockers based on your populated graveyard
Chittering Witch
3BCreature — Human Warlock
Enters with rat blockers and can sacrifice them to kill threats
Creakwood Liege
1BGBGBGCreature — Horror
Buffs your team and spawns a 3/3 worm blocker every turn
Deep Forest Hermit
3GGCreature — Elf Druid
Spawns a swarm of buffed squirrel chump blockers
Doomed Dissenter
1BCreature — Human
Cheap early blocker that leaves a 2/2 zombie behind
Carrier Thrall
1BCreature — Vampire
Early blocker that leaves behind a ramp-producing Scion
Golgari Germination
1BGEnchantment
Replaces dying nontoken creatures with saprolings
Meren of Clan Nel Toth
2BGLegendary Creature — Human Shaman
Provides free end-step creature recursion every turn
Utility
9
Eternal Witness
1GGCreature — Human Shaman
Retrieves any key card back from the graveyard
Phyrexian Reclamation
BEnchantment
Repeatable creature recursion for cheap mana and life
Victimize
2BSorcery
Sacrifices one chump blocker to revive two powerful creatures
Dread Return
2BBSorcery
Reanimates creatures and flashes back by sacrificing blockers
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
Protects the commander with hexproof and grants haste
Essence Warden
GCreature — Elf Shaman
Gains life whenever any creature enters to trigger Dina
