Art by Helge C. Balzer
Commander deckB
Karumonix, the Rat King
Swarm the board with Rats that gain toxic from Karumonix, supplemented by infect creatures, wither effects, and proliferate tools to quickly eliminate opponents with poison counters.
Asked for“A mono black rat deck with emphasis on infect and wither”
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
1Karumonix, the Rat King
1BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Rat
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Thought Vessel
2Artifact
Ramp that eliminates hand size limits when drawing mass Rats.
Bontu's Monument
3Legendary Artifact
Reduces creature costs and drains opponents on creature casts.
Card Draw
10
Morbid Opportunist
2BCreature — Human Rogue
Consistent card draw off constant creature combat/deaths.
Removal
10
Black Sun's Zenith
XBBSorcery
Board wipe that uses -1/-1 counters, synergy with wither.
Skinrender
2BBCreature — Phyrexian Zombie
Creature removal via -1/-1 counters for wither synergy.
Blowfly Infestation
2BEnchantment
Spreads -1/-1 counters across enemy creatures when they die.
Threats/Wincons
24
Ogre Slumlord
3BBCreature — Ogre Rogue
Gives Rats deathtouch and creates Rat tokens when nontoken creatures die.
Piper of the Swarm
1BCreature — Human Warlock
Grants menace to Rats and creates tokens or steals creatures.
Lord Skitter, Sewer King
2BLegendary Creature — Rat Noble
Creates Rat tokens turn after turn while hating graveyards.
Ichor Rats
1BBCreature — Phyrexian Rat
Gives every player a poison counter on ETB to initiate infect pressure.
Septic Rats
1BBCreature — Phyrexian Rat
Rat creature with infect that gets stronger against poisoned targets.
Blightbelly Rat
1BCreature — Phyrexian Rat
Toxic Rat that proliferates when it dies.
Plague Stinger
1BCreature — Phyrexian Insect Horror
Cheap evasion infect creature.
Phyrexian Vatmother
2BBCreature — Phyrexian Horror
Bulky infect creature for quick poison application.
Hand of the Praetors
3BCreature — Phyrexian Zombie
Buffs infect creatures and deals poison counters on cast.
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
3BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Dragon Skeleton
Hasty flying infect threat that acts as an alternate win-con.
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
4BBLegendary Creature — Rat Ninja
Ninjutsu Rat threat that reanimates opposing creatures.
Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator
1BCreature — Rat Rogue // Legendary Creature — Rat Wizard
Cheap Rat that flips into graveyard recursion.
Wave of Rats
3BCreature — Rat
Resilient Rat threat that returns to hand after combat.
Chittering Skitterling
2BCreature — Phyrexian Rat
Sacrifice outlet Rat that grows and draws cards.
Vector Asp
1Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Snake
Cheap creature that can temporarily gain infect.
Core Prowler
4Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Infect creature that proliferates when it dies.
Corpse Cur
4Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Dog
Infect creature that recurs another infect creature from the graveyard.
Whispering Specter
1BBCreature — Phyrexian Specter
Flying infect threat that strips hands when dealing combat damage.
Utility
8
Lightning Greaves
2Artifact — Equipment
Free haste and shroud for commander or key creatures.
Throne of Geth
2Artifact
Sacrifices artifacts or Rat tokens to proliferate poison/wither counters.
Contagion Clasp
2Artifact
Applies a -1/-1 counter and offers repeatable proliferation.
Contagion Engine
6Artifact
Massive wither debuff and double proliferation engine.
Coat of Arms
5Artifact
Massively pumps all Rats for lethal poison/combat damage.
Nest of Scarabs
2BEnchantment
Creates Insect tokens whenever -1/-1 counters are placed.
