Art by Björn Barends
Saved commander deck
The Frightful Four
Punish opponents with heavy life-loss taxes whenever they cast spells, utilizing damage amplifiers and group slug effects to rapidly deplete life totals.
Prompt: The Frightful Four commander deck
Commander
1 cards
The Frightful Four
{3}{B}Legendary Creature — Villain
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10 cards
Crypt Ghast
{3}{B}Creature — Spirit
doubles swamp mana and provides extort life drain
Black Market Connections
{2}{B}Enchantment
flexible mana, card advantage, and board presence
Card Draw
10 cards
Sign in Blood
{B}{B}Sorcery
cheap card draw that can also target opponents for lethal
Morbid Opportunist
{2}{B}Creature — Human Rogue
steady card draw from inevitable creature deaths
Braids, Arisen Nightmare
{1}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Nightmare
forces sacrifices or draws cards while dealing damage
Ayara, First of Locthwain
{B}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Elf Noble
card draw engine and passive life drain
Skullclamp
{1}Artifact — Equipment
exceptional card draw off small creatures and tokens
Pact of the Serpent
{1}{B}{B}Sorcery
draws cards or can be pointed at an opponent to burn them
Removal
11 cards
Withering Torment
{2}{B}Instant
instant-speed black removal for creatures and enchantments
The Meathook Massacre
{X}{B}{B}Legendary Enchantment
scalable board wipe that drains opponents on death
Hero's Downfall
{1}{B}{B}Instant
flexible removal for creatures and planeswalkers
Threats/Wincons
23 cards
Painful Quandary
{3}{B}{B}Enchantment
brutal tax on spellcasting that stacks with the commander
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
{2}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
punishes opponent card draw and sustains our life total
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
{3}{B}{B}Creature — Zombie
massive life swing based on black devotion
Bloodchief Ascension
{B}Enchantment
rapidly activates and drains opponents for card churn
Archfiend of Despair
{6}{B}{B}Creature — Demon
prevents opponent lifegain and doubles life lost
Bloodletter of Aclazotz
{1}{B}{B}{B}Creature — Vampire Demon
doubles life lost by opponents on your turn
Kokusho, the Evening Star
{4}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Dragon Spirit
flying threat that drains the table upon dying
Massacre Wurm
{3}{B}{B}{B}Creature — Phyrexian Wurm
wipes small boards and burns opponents for lost creatures
Tergrid, God of Fright // Tergrid's Lantern
{3}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — God // Legendary Artifact
steals cards discarded or sacrificed from tax effects
Torment of Hailfire
{X}{B}{B}Sorcery
game-ending mana sink that decimates life and boards
Twilight Prophet
{2}{B}{B}Creature — Vampire Cleric
drains the table while drawing extra cards with ascend
Vilis, Broker of Blood
{5}{B}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Demon
huge flying threat that converts life loss into draw
Syr Konrad, the Grim
{3}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Human Knight
continual table-wide damage on graveyard transitions
Rankle, Master of Pranks
{2}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Faerie Rogue
hasty threat providing discard, sacrifice, and draw
Underworld Dreams
{B}{B}{B}Enchantment
steady life tax for every card opponents draw
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
{1}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
encourages opponents to attack each other and refuels hand
Professor Onyx
{4}{B}{B}Legendary Planeswalker — Liliana
magecraft drains the table and provides card selection
Spawn of Mayhem
{2}{B}{B}Creature — Demon
early aggressive flyer that damages every player each upkeep
Kaervek, the Spiteful
{2}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Human Warlock
suppresses token strategies and small creatures
Utility
8 cards
Swiftfoot Boots
{2}Artifact — Equipment
hexproof protection for key tax creatures
Opposition Agent
{2}{B}Creature — Human Rogue
shuts down opponent tutors and steals their best cards
Dauthi Voidwalker
{B}{B}Creature — Dauthi Rogue
graveyard hate that steals an opponent's high-impact spell
Imp's Mischief
{1}{B}Instant
surprise black redirection for counterspells and removal
Phyrexian Reclamation
{B}Enchantment
repeatable recursion for key utility and threat creatures
Defense Grid
{2}Artifact
taxes off-turn noncreature spells into lethal commander triggers
