Art by Matt Stewart
Saved commander deck
Marchesa, the Black Rose
Marchesa uses Dethrone and +1/+1 counter enablers to turn terrifying, high-impact Horrors—especially those with natural counters, death triggers, or Persist—into an unkillable, endlessly recurring nightmare engine.
Prompt: Build a Commander-legal Typal/Kindred deck around a creative and non-obvious interaction between the commander and a chosen creature type. The commander cannot be of the chosen creature type, and the creature type cannot appear anywhere in the commander's rules text. The commander should meaningfully support the chosen creature type through an unusual mechanical or thematic interaction. Avoid obvious or established pairings where the commander was clearly designed to support that tribe. A generic commander that merely happens to work well with the tribe is not enough. The deck should have a strong mechanical identity, with the chosen creature type being central to the strategy. The connection between the commander and tribe should be clever, unexpected, and easy to explain. Prioritize originality and unusual synergies over simply maximizing the tribe's conventional strategy. focus on horrors
Commander
1 cards
Marchesa, the Black Rose
{1}{U}{B}{R}Legendary Creature — Human Wizard
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10 cards
Card Draw
10 cards
River Kelpie
{3}{U}{U}Creature — Beast
Horror with Persist that draws cards on recursion loops
Brainstealer Dragon
{5}{B}{B}Creature — Dragon Horror
Horror that steals opponents' cards and drains life
Mulldrifter
{4}{U}Creature — Elemental
repeatable draw engine when recycled with Marchesa
Grim Haruspex
{2}{B}Creature — Human Wizard
draws cards whenever your recurring Horrors die
Skullclamp
{1}Artifact — Equipment
draw engine paired with small creatures or tokens
Deadly Dispute
{1}{B}Instant
card draw and treasure creation that acts as a sac outlet
Removal
10 cards
Ravenous Chupacabra
{2}{B}{B}Creature — Beast Horror
Beast Horror with repeatable creature removal on ETB
Mind Flayer
{3}{U}{U}Creature — Horror
Horror that steals and removes opposing threats
Sludge Monster
{3}{U}{U}Creature — Horror
Horror that neutralizes opponent creatures with slime counters
Toxrill, the Corrosive
{5}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Slug Horror
Slug Horror that wipes boards with -1/-1 counters
Hullbreaker Horror
{5}{U}{U}Creature — Kraken Horror
massive Horror that bounces spells and nonland permanents
Threats/Wincons
24 cards
Chasm Skulker
{2}{U}Creature — Squid Horror
Squid Horror that gains +1/+1 counters and creates tokens upon dying
Puppeteer Clique
{3}{B}{B}Creature — Faerie Wizard
Faerie Horror with Persist that steals creatures from graveyards
Captain N'ghathrod
{3}{U}{B}Legendary Creature — Horror Pirate
Horror lord that grants menace and steals milled cards
Consuming Aberration
{3}{U}{B}Creature — Horror
massive Horror that scales with opponents' graveyards
Phyrexian Obliterator
{B}{B}{B}{B}Creature — Phyrexian Horror
devastating Horror that forces opponents to sacrifice permanents
Spellskite
{2}Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Phyrexian Horror that protects Marchesa and key threats
Nemesis of Reason
{3}{U}{B}Creature — Leviathan Horror
Leviathan Horror that mills 10 cards on attack
Archfiend of Depravity
{3}{B}{B}Creature — Demon
Demon Horror that restricts opponent board width
Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror
{1}{U}Creature — Horror // Creature — Kraken Horror
Horror that transforms to bounce non-Horrors
Yarok's Fenlurker
{B}{B}Creature — Horror
cheap Horror that forces opponents to exile cards on ETB
Kethek, Crucible Goliath
{2}{B}{R}Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Beast
Phyrexian Human Horror that cascades on end step end-of-turn sacrifices
Psychosis Crawler
{5}Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Phyrexian Horror that drains opponents as you draw cards
Roaming Throne
{4}Artifact Creature — Golem
Golem configured to Horror that doubles all triggered abilities
Metallic Mimic
{2}Artifact Creature — Shapeshifter
Construct naming Horror that gives entering Horrors instant +1/+1 counters
Chaos Defiler
{3}{B}{R}Artifact Creature — Demon Construct
Phyrexian Demon Horror that destroys nonland permanents on entering and dying
Guiltfeeder
{3}{B}{B}Creature — Horror
evasive Horror that punishes milled graveyards
Spark Double
{3}{U}Creature — Illusion
enters as a copy of Marchesa or a Horror with a +1/+1 counter
Overseer of the Damned
{5}{B}{B}Creature — Demon
Demon Horror that destroys creatures and generates tokens
Grief
{2}{B}{B}Creature — Elemental Incarnation
Elemental Horror that discards opponent threats and recurs easily
Umbris, Fear Manifest
{3}{U}{B}Legendary Creature — Nightmare Horror
Nightmare Horror that grows massively off exiling opponent cards
Zellix, Sanity Flayer
{2}{U}Legendary Creature — Horror
Horror that generates tokens and mills opponents
Dauthi Voidwalker
{B}{B}Creature — Dauthi Rogue
Rogue Horror providing anti-graveyard hate and card stealing
Phyrexian Revoker
{2}Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Phyrexian Horror that shuts down activated abilities
Utility
8 cards
Viscera Seer
{B}Creature — Vampire Wizard
free sacrifice outlet to trigger Marchesa loops and scry
Carrion Feeder
{B}Creature — Zombie
free sacrifice outlet that accumulates its own +1/+1 counters
Yahenni, Undying Partisan
{2}{B}Legendary Creature — Aetherborn Vampire
indestructible sacrifice outlet that grows when opposing creatures die
Uncivil Unrest
{4}{R}Enchantment
grants Riot to entering Horrors for instant +1/+1 counter protection
Swiftfoot Boots
{2}Artifact — Equipment
haste and hexproof protection for the commander
Lightning Greaves
{2}Artifact — Equipment
free haste and shroud protection for Marchesa
