Art by Wayne Reynolds
Commander deckB
Marrow-Gnawer
Swarm the board with Rats that gain fear and use tribal synergies to overwhelm opponents with aggressive combat damage.
Asked for“An aggressive rat 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 · 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
1Marrow-Gnawer
3BBLegendary Creature — Rat Rogue
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Leaden Myr
2Artifact Creature — Myr
Mana dork that synergizes with artifact themes if needed.
Bontu's Monument
3Legendary Artifact
Reduces rat costs and drains opponents on cast.
Card Draw
10
Pact of the Serpent
1BBSorcery
Draws a massive amount of cards in a rat-heavy deck.
Vanquisher's Banner
5Artifact
Draws a card for every rat cast while buffing them.
Bolas's Citadel
3BBBLegendary Artifact
Allows playing cards directly from the top of the library.
Removal
11
Living Death
3BBSorcery
Wipes the board and returns all discarded or killed rats.
Threats/Wincons
14
Rat Colony
1BCreature — Rat
Aggressive scaling threat that allows multiple copies.
Piper of the Swarm
1BCreature — Human Warlock
Gives rats menace and steals opponents' creatures.
Ogre Slumlord
3BBCreature — Ogre Rogue
Gives rats deathtouch and generates more rats on death.
Karumonix, the Rat King
1BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Rat
Gives all rats toxic 1 and finds more rats.
Lord Skitter, Sewer King
2BLegendary Creature — Rat Noble
Generates tokens every turn and exiles graveyards.
Patron of the Nezumi
5BBLegendary Creature — Spirit
High-end threat that punishes opponents for permanents dying.
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
4BBLegendary Creature — Rat Ninja
Ninjutsu synergy to steal creatures from opponent graveyards.
Utility
16
Thrumming Stone
5Legendary Artifact
Cheats out every Rat Colony in the deck via Ripple.
Swiftfoot Boots
2Artifact — Equipment
Protects the commander from targeted removal.
Whispersilk Cloak
3Artifact — Equipment
Provides unblockable and shroud for Marrow-Gnawer.
Zulaport Cutthroat
1BCreature — Human Rogue Ally
Life drain synergy for a wide board.
Nezumi Graverobber // Nighteyes the Desecrator
1BCreature — Rat Rogue // Legendary Creature — Rat Wizard
Offers graveyard hate and late-game reanimation.
Nezumi Shortfang // Stabwhisker the Odious
1BCreature — Rat Rogue // Legendary Creature — Rat Shaman
Hand disruption that flips into a damage engine.
Diabolic Tutor
2BBSorcery
Budget-friendly way to find Thrumming Stone or Coat of Arms.
