Commander: Marrow-Gnawer
You could also have Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm or Karumonix, the Rat King be the commander too, but I find Marrow-Gnawer is great.
Reasons to Play:
- You are a fan of the exponential rat population growth in NYC
- You like making tokens
- You like sacrificing tokens
- You want your opponents to say "wow they're playing another rat"
Starting Hand-
You are bound to have some Relentless Rats in the starting hand unfortunately, but mulligan if you draw any more than 2 or 3. A realistic optimal hand should contain 3 lands, 2 relentless rats, either Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Intent, or Grim Tutor and any card besides an instant or sorcery.
Win Conditions-
These are ways I have won.
-Marrow-Gnawer- All rats having fear is nasty against all non-black decks. You will be creating an exponential number of rats each turn. Activate Marrow-Gnawer's tap ability on an opponent's turn if they attack you or at the end of their turn.
-Relentless Rats- Yeah... put these things down when you have extra mana but prioritize better cards first.
-Karumonix, the Rat King- If your rats have fear from Marrow-Gnawer, stacking poison counters on the enemy is sometimes easy and creates a chance to win a different way.
-Thrumming Stone- Your fastest and easiest win condition. Absolutely broken in this deck. I can't believe some other rat decks didn't put this card in it. If you can search your library for a card and place it in your hand or the top of your deck, this is the card to use it on (in most cases). If it is on the battlefield, cast Relentless Rats. Then you hopefully will get a chain reaction of casting Relentless Rats over and over. I personally stop at ten rats in case the opponent has a board wipe. The earlier you cast this card the better.
-Grave Pact- You are going to have chances to sacrifice/kill your own creatures, whether this be by Marrow-Gnawer, Piper of the Swarm, Skullclamp, or Ayara, First of Locthwain and more. When this happens, having Grave Pact is helpful when your opponent is not running a token deck. Very helpful when creatures are hexproof or indestructible. It's rare to happen, but Attrition and Grave Pact are a nasty combo too. By increasing your army and decreasing the opponent's, an opponent's weakness is bound to show itself.
-Coat of Arms or Mirror Box- Rats are powerful.
-Strixhaven Stadium- Just another way to win. Especially nice if your rats have fear via Marrow-Gnawer and the opponent has no black or artifact creatures.
Current Deck Problems-
Ramp plateaus at mid to late game. Currently trying to solve. - fixed thanks to Profet93
Note From the Maker-
Made by a dude who hasn't touched magic cards in 5 years but is slowly getting back into it. I made this deck cross-referencing many other rat decks, articles, and my own personal touch. Please suggest cards that I may not know about or suggestions in general as I am still making the deck. I personally play on online, and all cards are free. Hence, I truly hope you don't spend $500 making a silly rat deck.
