Art by Matt Stewart
Commander deckBRU
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.
Asked for“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”
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
1Marchesa, the Black Rose
1UBRLegendary Creature — Human Wizard
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Card Draw
10
River Kelpie
3UUCreature — Beast
Horror with Persist that draws cards on recursion loops
Brainstealer Dragon
5BBCreature — Dragon Horror
Horror that steals opponents' cards and drains life
Mulldrifter
4UCreature — Elemental
repeatable draw engine when recycled with Marchesa
Grim Haruspex
2BCreature — Human Wizard
draws cards whenever your recurring Horrors die
Skullclamp
1Artifact — Equipment
draw engine paired with small creatures or tokens
Deadly Dispute
1BInstant
card draw and treasure creation that acts as a sac outlet
Removal
10
Ravenous Chupacabra
2BBCreature — Beast Horror
Beast Horror with repeatable creature removal on ETB
Sludge Monster
3UUCreature — Horror
Horror that neutralizes opponent creatures with slime counters
Toxrill, the Corrosive
5BBLegendary Creature — Slug Horror
Slug Horror that wipes boards with -1/-1 counters
Hullbreaker Horror
5UUCreature — Kraken Horror
massive Horror that bounces spells and nonland permanents
Threats/Wincons
24
Chasm Skulker
2UCreature — Squid Horror
Squid Horror that gains +1/+1 counters and creates tokens upon dying
Puppeteer Clique
3BBCreature — Faerie Wizard
Faerie Horror with Persist that steals creatures from graveyards
Captain N'ghathrod
3UBLegendary Creature — Horror Pirate
Horror lord that grants menace and steals milled cards
Consuming Aberration
3UBCreature — Horror
massive Horror that scales with opponents' graveyards
Phyrexian Obliterator
BBBBCreature — Phyrexian Horror
devastating Horror that forces opponents to sacrifice permanents
Spellskite
2Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Phyrexian Horror that protects Marchesa and key threats
Nemesis of Reason
3UBCreature — Leviathan Horror
Leviathan Horror that mills 10 cards on attack
Archfiend of Depravity
3BBCreature — Demon
Demon Horror that restricts opponent board width
Thing in the Ice // Awoken Horror
1UCreature — Horror // Creature — Kraken Horror
Horror that transforms to bounce non-Horrors
Yarok's Fenlurker
BBCreature — Horror
cheap Horror that forces opponents to exile cards on ETB
Kethek, Crucible Goliath
2BRLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Beast
Phyrexian Human Horror that cascades on end step end-of-turn sacrifices
Psychosis Crawler
5Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Phyrexian Horror that drains opponents as you draw cards
Roaming Throne
4Artifact Creature — Golem
Golem configured to Horror that doubles all triggered abilities
Metallic Mimic
2Artifact Creature — Shapeshifter
Construct naming Horror that gives entering Horrors instant +1/+1 counters
Chaos Defiler
3BRArtifact Creature — Demon Construct
Phyrexian Demon Horror that destroys nonland permanents on entering and dying
Spark Double
3UCreature — Illusion
enters as a copy of Marchesa or a Horror with a +1/+1 counter
Overseer of the Damned
5BBCreature — Demon
Demon Horror that destroys creatures and generates tokens
Grief
2BBCreature — Elemental Incarnation
Elemental Horror that discards opponent threats and recurs easily
Umbris, Fear Manifest
3UBLegendary Creature — Nightmare Horror
Nightmare Horror that grows massively off exiling opponent cards
Zellix, Sanity Flayer
2ULegendary Creature — Horror
Horror that generates tokens and mills opponents
Dauthi Voidwalker
BBCreature — Dauthi Rogue
Rogue Horror providing anti-graveyard hate and card stealing
Phyrexian Revoker
2Artifact Creature — Phyrexian Horror
Phyrexian Horror that shuts down activated abilities
Utility
8
Viscera Seer
BCreature — Vampire Wizard
free sacrifice outlet to trigger Marchesa loops and scry
Carrion Feeder
BCreature — Zombie
free sacrifice outlet that accumulates its own +1/+1 counters
Yahenni, Undying Partisan
2BLegendary Creature — Aetherborn Vampire
indestructible sacrifice outlet that grows when opposing creatures die
Uncivil Unrest
4REnchantment
grants Riot to entering Horrors for instant +1/+1 counter protection
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
haste and hexproof protection for the commander
Lightning Greaves
2Artifact — Equipment
free haste and shroud protection for Marchesa
