Art by Wayne Reynolds
Commander deckB
Marrow-Gnawer
Swarm the battlefield with relentless rodent hordes, buff them with tribal synergies, and use Marrow-Gnawer to multiply your rat army exponentially to overwhelm opponents with evasion.
Asked for“Rat commander deck,”
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
1Marrow-Gnawer
3BBLegendary Creature — Rat Rogue
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Dark Ritual
BInstant
Explosive burst mana for early commander or threat deployment
Crypt Ghast
3BCreature — Spirit
Doubles swamp mana output and provides drain with extort
Black Market Connections
2BEnchantment
Provides consistent treasure ramp, card advantage, and changeling rat tokens
Bontu's Monument
3Legendary Artifact
Discounts creature casts and drains opponents upon creature entry
Card Draw
10
Skullclamp
1Artifact — Equipment
Turns 1/1 rat tokens into massive burst card advantage
Species Specialist
2BBCreature — Human Warrior
Refuels your hand whenever any rat dies
Ayara, First of Locthwain
BBBLegendary Creature — Elf Noble
Drains on black creature entry and converts excess rats into card draw
Morbid Opportunist
2BCreature — Human Rogue
Draws cards steadily off combat deaths and sacrifices
Village Rites
BInstant
Cheap instant-speed draw trading a disposable token for fresh cards
Read the Bones
2BSorcery
Digs four cards deep to find key combo pieces or answers
Removal
10
Hero's Downfall
1BBInstant
Versatile answer to troublesome creatures and planeswalkers
Deadly Rollick
3BInstant
Free instant-speed exile removal while your commander is out
Tragic Slip
BInstant
Easily kills massive indestructible threats with morbid active
Bitter Triumph
1BInstant
Flexible cheap answer for both creatures and planeswalkers
Threats/Wincons
24
Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
3BLegendary Creature — Rat Warlock
Massive tribal lord that pumps rats and recurs them from the graveyard
Karumonix, the Rat King
1BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Rat
Grants rats toxic 1 and refills your hand with rat cards
Ogre Slumlord
3BBCreature — Ogre Rogue
Generates rat tokens on non-token deaths and grants rats deathtouch
Chittering Witch
3BCreature — Human Warlock
Enters with multiple rat tokens and sacrifices them for targeted removal
Pack Rat
1BCreature — Rat
Snowballing threat that can turn dead cards into copies of itself
Piper of the Swarm
1BCreature — Human Warlock
Grants menace to rats and steals opposing creatures by sacrificing rats
Lord Skitter, Sewer King
2BLegendary Creature — Rat Noble
Generates rat tokens every turn and exiles cards from opponents' graveyards
Tangled Colony
1BCreature — Rat
Punishes blocking or damage by flooding the board with rat tokens
Ratcatcher
4BBCreature — Ogre Rogue
Repeatedly tutors for your best rat creatures every upkeep
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
4BBLegendary Creature — Rat Ninja
Ninjutsu threat that steals creatures from opponents' graveyards
Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion
1BBLegendary Creature — Rat Ninja
Ninjutsu utility rat that casts cards from libraries using life
Wave of Rats
3BCreature — Rat
Aggressive blitz threat that recurs whenever it deals combat damage
Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator
1BCreature — Rat Rogue // Legendary Creature — Rat Wizard
Targeted graveyard hate that flips into reanimation on a stick
Drainpipe Vermin
BCreature — Rat
One-drop rat that disrupts opposing hands upon death
Gnat Miser
BCreature — Rat Shaman
Early drop that constricts opponents' maximum hand sizes
Burglar Rat
1BCreature — Rat
Forces discard from each opponent upon entering the battlefield
Chittering Rats
1BBCreature — Rat
Stalls an opponent's draw step by putting a card back on top of their library
Okiba-Gang Shinobi
3BBCreature — Rat Ninja
Devastating ninjutsu trigger forcing two card discards
Throat Slitter
4BCreature — Rat Ninja
Ninjutsu assassin that destroys nonblack creatures on combat damage
Gnawing Vermin
BCreature — Rat
Fills the graveyard, shrinks opposing attackers, and adds a cheap rat
Nezumi Bone-Reader
1BCreature — Rat Shaman
Sacrifice outlet that converts spare rat tokens into targeted discard
Mukotai Ambusher
3BArtifact Creature — Rat Ninja
Ninjutsu creature that provides lifegain stabilization
Utility
8
Thornbite Staff
2Kindred Artifact — Shaman Equipment
Combos with Marrow-Gnawer to create infinite rat tokens
Patriarch's Bidding
3BBSorcery
Mass reanimation spell that brings back your entire fallen rat army
Lightning Greaves
2Artifact — Equipment
Gives commander haste and protection to activate immediately
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
Grants hexproof and haste to keep your commander safe
Herald's Horn
3Artifact
Discounts rat creature spells and provides card selection
Vanquisher's Banner
5Artifact
Tribal anthem that draws a card for every rat creature cast
Whip of Erebos
2BBLegendary Enchantment Artifact
Grants entire army lifelink to offset life-loss card draw and allows reanimation
