Art by Arnie Swekel
Commander deckB
Hired Muscle // Scarmaker
Trigger Hired Muscle with Spirits and Arcane spells to flip into Scarmaker, then use fear granting to push through an aggressive mono-black beatdown supported by explosive ramp, devastating boardwipes, and lethal finishers.
Asked for“slicer hired muscle as commander, aggro, wincons, boardwipe, ramp”
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
1Hired Muscle // Scarmaker
1BBCreature — Human Warrior // Legendary Creature — Spirit
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Crypt Ghast
3BCreature — Spirit
Spirit creature that doubles swamp mana output and drains opponents
Black Market Connections
2BEnchantment
Generates treasure tokens, card advantage, and aggressive bodies
Card Draw
10
Ayara, First of Locthwain
BBBLegendary Creature — Elf Noble
Drains opponents on creature entry and draws cards
Erebos, God of the Dead
3BLegendary Enchantment Creature — God
Repeated card draw engine that stops opponent lifegain
Bolas's Citadel
3BBBLegendary Artifact
Card advantage powerhouse and potential combo wincon
Removal
11
Horobi's Whisper
1BBInstant — Arcane
Arcane removal spell that triggers Hired Muscle and has splice
Kindred Dominance
5BBSorcery
One-sided tribal boardwipe favoring your chosen creature type
Threats/Wincons
23
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3BBCreature — Zombie
Devastating life drain win condition in mono-black
Abhorrent Overlord
5BBCreature — Demon
Huge flying threat that generates a swarm of Harpies
Thief of Hope
2BCreature — Spirit
Spirit that drains life whenever Spirit or Arcane spells are cast
Iname, Death Aspect
4BBLegendary Creature — Spirit
Legendary Spirit that stocks the graveyard for massive payoffs
Kokusho, the Evening Star
4BBLegendary Creature — Dragon Spirit
Lethal Spirit dragon that drains each opponent upon death
Kyoki, Sanity's Eclipse
4BBLegendary Creature — Demon Spirit
Large Spirit that strips opponents' hands with Spirit/Arcane triggers
Nether Traitor
BBCreature — Spirit
Hasty recurring Spirit that attacks aggressively with shadow
Bloodghast
BBCreature — Vampire Spirit
Aggressive recurring Spirit that constantly pressures life totals
Dauthi Voidwalker
BBCreature — Dauthi Rogue
Aggressive unblockable attacker that hates on graveyards and steals spells
Spawn of Mayhem
2BBCreature — Demon
Cheap, aggressive flying trampler that rapidly chips away life totals
Rankle, Master of Pranks
2BBLegendary Creature — Faerie Rogue
Hasty flying attacker that controls hands and boards
Archfiend of Depravity
3BBCreature — Demon
Large flying beater that restricts opposing creature boards
Drana, Liberator of Malakir
1BBLegendary Creature — Vampire Ally
Aggressive flyer that pumps your attacking team with +1/+1 counters
Nirkana Revenant
4BBCreature — Vampire Shade
Doubles swamp mana and pumps herself into a lethal threat
Dread Presence
3BCreature — Nightmare
Provides repeated direct damage or card advantage on land drops
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
2BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
Punishes opponent draw steps while bolstering your own life total
Vilis, Broker of Blood
5BBBLegendary Creature — Demon
Massive top-end threat that controls the board and draws cards
Living Death
3BBSorcery
Symmetrical boardwipe and game-winning mass reanimation spell
Hatred
3BBInstant
Surprise instant-speed combat wincon that converts life into lethal commander damage
Vorpal Sword
BArtifact — Equipment
Early deathtouch weapon that functions as an alternate win condition late game
Utility
7
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
Grants haste and hexproof protection to your key attacker
Lightning Greaves
2Artifact — Equipment
Zero-equip haste and shroud enabling fast aggression
Whip of Erebos
2BBLegendary Enchantment Artifact
Provides team-wide lifelink to offset aggressive life payments and reanimates creatures
Soulless Jailer
2Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Golem
Aggressive artifact creature that stops graveyard abuse
Patriar's Seal
3Artifact
Mana rock that untaps your commander for repeated activations
Shadowspear
1Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Grants trample and lifelink while stripping indestructible and hexproof
Whispersilk Cloak
3Artifact — Equipment
Guarantees unblockable attacks and shroud protection for wincon creatures
