Art by Cristi Balanescu
Saved commander deck
Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar
Synergize Shadowheart's card draw with Master Chef's +1/+1 counters to generate massive value from sacrificing tokens and beating down with a buffed board.
Prompt: "I want to build a deck with Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar and Master Chef as my commander. I enjoy card draw and creature beatdown, aiming to win by going wide with a large board of creatures in combat."
Commander
1 cards
Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar
{3}{B}Legendary Creature — Human Elf Cleric
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10 cards
Mind Stone
{2}Artifact
Consistent mana rock that can be sacrificed for a card if needed later.
Jet Medallion
{2}Artifact
Reduces the cost of all black spells, enabling faster board development.
Wayfarer's Bauble
{1}Artifact
Reliable land-to-battlefield ramp within mono-black's color identity.
Thought Vessel
{2}Artifact
Provides mana and eliminates hand size limits for Shadowheart's massive draw triggers.
Black Market
{3}{B}{B}Enchantment
Generates huge amounts of mana as creatures die, perfect for go-wide strategies.
Charcoal Diamond
{2}Artifact
Simple and effective budget-friendly mono-black mana acceleration.
Fellwar Stone
{2}Artifact
Efficient mana rock that usually provides black in multi-player games.
Crypt Ghast
{3}{B}Creature — Spirit
Doubles mana from swamps while providing a drain effect via Extort.
Card Draw
7 cards
Midnight Reaper
{2}{B}Creature — Zombie Knight
Consistent draw from creature deaths.
Grim Haruspex
{2}{B}Creature — Human Wizard
Efficient draw engine for sacrifice themes.
Read the Bones
{2}{B}Sorcery
Excellent card filtering and advantage for low mana cost.
Sign in Blood
{B}{B}Sorcery
Efficient, low-cost black draw spell to keep the engine moving.
Pact of the Serpent
{1}{B}{B}Sorcery
Can draw a massive amount of cards in a go-wide board state or kill an opponent.
Removal
6 cards
Feed the Swarm
{1}{B}Sorcery
Crucial black removal that can deal with enchantments.
Hero's Downfall
{1}{B}{B}Instant
Versatile instant-speed removal for both creatures and planeswalkers.
Infernal Grasp
{1}{B}Instant
The gold standard for efficient, unconditional creature removal in black.
Defile
{B}Instant
Scaleable removal that becomes more powerful as the game progresses in mono-black.
Threats/Wincons
9 cards
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
{3}{B}{B}Creature — Zombie
Devotion-based lifegain and burn that can end games in token-heavy decks.
Ayara, First of Locthwain
{B}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Elf Noble
Drains opponents when black creatures enter and serves as an extra draw outlet.
Abhorrent Overlord
{5}{B}{B}Creature — Demon
Creates a swarm of Harpy tokens based on black devotion, perfect for go-wide.
Army of the Damned
{5}{B}{B}{B}Sorcery
A high-impact spell that creates thirteen tapped zombies to flood the board.
Endless Ranks of the Dead
{2}{B}{B}Enchantment
Creates a snowballing zombie army that grows every turn.
Ophiomancer
{2}{B}Creature — Human Shaman
Guarantees a sacrifice target for Shadowheart on every single turn.
Sengir, the Dark Baron
{4}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Vampire Noble
Grows quickly as other creatures die and provides a massive flying threat.
Chittering Witch
{3}{B}Creature — Human Warlock
Provides multiple bodies upon entering and offers a removal ability.
Dreadhorde Invasion
{1}{B}Enchantment
Constant token generation for a low investment, great for sacrifice fodder.
Utility
12 cards
Blood Artist
{1}{B}Creature — Vampire
Drains opponents when creatures die for Shadowheart.
Zulaport Cutthroat
{1}{B}Creature — Human Rogue Ally
Redundant drain effect for sacrifice outlets.
Dictate of Erebos
{3}{B}{B}Enchantment
Forces opponents to sacrifice creatures whenever your tokens or threats die.
Bastion of Remembrance
{2}{B}Enchantment
Enchantment-based drain effect that is harder to remove than creatures.
Whispersilk Cloak
{3}Artifact — Equipment
Protects Shadowheart and ensures your largest threat can attack unblocked.
Dread Return
{2}{B}{B}Sorcery
Graveyard recursion that can be cast for free by sacrificing tokens.
Victimize
{2}{B}Sorcery
Sacrifice a token to bring back two high-impact threats from the graveyard.
Animate Dead
{1}{B}Enchantment — Aura
Premium, low-cost recursion for getting your best creatures back into play.
