How to Play Marrow-Gnawer in Commander

Bracket 3 · Our Marrow-Gnawer decklist · Rat Tribal

Our Marrow-Gnawer list is mono-black Rats with twenty-four copies of Rat Colony. Marrow-Gnawer gives every Rat fear and taps to sacrifice a Rat and make a new Rat for each one you control.

Rat Colony gets +1/+0 for every other Rat, so the swarm becomes huge fast. Grave Pact punishes every sacrifice, Mirkwood Bats drains on every token, and Thornbite Staff turns Marrow-Gnawer into an infinite Rat engine.

Strategy
Rat Tribal
Bracket
3
Avg. mana value
2.75
Lands
35
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01The Commander

Marrow-Gnawer is a five-mana 2/3. All Rats have fear, so only black or artifact creatures can block them.

Tap him and sacrifice a Rat to create X 1/1 Rats, where X is the number of Rats you control when it resolves. Five Rats becomes nine.

Equip Thornbite Staff to him and every Rat you sacrifice untaps him, because a creature died. He can keep going as long as you have Rats, which is forever.

02How This Deck Wins

  1. 1

    Flood the board with Rats

    Twenty-four Rat Colony, plus Pack Rat, Swarm of Rats and Piper of the Swarm, build the swarm fast.

  2. 2

    Multiply with Marrow-Gnawer

    Each activation doubles your Rats. Lord Skitter, Sewer King and Revenge of the Rats add even more.

  3. 3

    Swing or drain

    Rat Colonies get +1/+0 per Rat and have fear. Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm and Coat of Arms make the attack lethal, or Mirkwood Bats drains as you sacrifice.

03Deck at a Glance

Bracket 3 · Rat Tribal · 100 cards

Composition

  • Commander1
  • Creatures40
  • Instants & sorceries10
  • Artifacts & enchantments14
  • Planeswalkers0
  • Lands35
  • Tokens2

Mana Curve

00
51
342
103
64
65
26
17+

Color Split

70colored
symbols
  • Black 100%

By the Numbers

2.75avg. mana value
35lands (1 basic)
0Game Changers
2token types included

Cards by Role

Rats9
Rat Payoffs15
Sacrifice Payoffs7
Card Draw and Mana6
Interaction4

04Rats

Each Rat counts for Marrow-Gnawer and pumps every Rat Colony.

Rat ColonyGets +1/+0 for each other Rat. With twenty-four copies, each one hits hard.
Pack RatDiscard to copy itself, growing with every Rat.
Swarm of RatsPower equal to your Rat count.
Karumonix, the Rat KingGives every Rat toxic, and digs for more Rats.
Ink-Eyes, Servant of OniNinjutsu in and reanimate opponents' creatures.

Also in this role

Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion
Persistent Marshstalker
Tangled Colony
Crypt Rats

05Rat Payoffs

Make Rats, pump Rats, find Rats.

Ashcoat of the Shadow SwarmOther Rats get +X/+X on attack or block, where X is your Rat count.
Lord Skitter, Sewer KingA Rat token every combat and graveyard hate.
Piper of the SwarmMenace for Rats and a Rat token for two mana.
RatcatcherTutors a Rat every upkeep.
Ogre SlumlordRats get deathtouch, and nontoken deaths make Rats.

Also in this role

Revenge of the Rats
Haunted One
Door of Destinies
Coat of Arms
Vanquisher's Banner
Herald's Horn
Thrumming Stone
Echoing Return
Patriarch's Bidding
Swarmyard Massacre

06Sacrifice Payoffs

Marrow-Gnawer sacrifices a Rat every activation.

Thornbite StaffUntaps Marrow-Gnawer whenever a creature dies, so he loops.
Grave PactEach opponent sacrifices a creature whenever one of yours dies.
Mirkwood BatsEach opponent loses 1 whenever you create or sacrifice a token.
Species SpecialistName Rat and draw whenever one dies.
Ayara, First of LocthwainDrains for each black creature that enters, and sacrifices for cards.

Also in this role

Skullclamp
Bontu's Monument

07Card Draw and Mana

Black mana and card flow.

Phyrexian ArenaA card every turn.
Sign in BloodTwo cards for two.
Dark RitualThree black for one.
Jet MedallionBlack spells cost one less.

Also in this role

Sol Ring
Lightning Greaves

08Interaction

Black removal and a one-sided wipe.

Kindred DominanceName Rat and destroy everything else.
Hero's DownfallDestroys a creature or planeswalker.
Go for the ThroatTwo-mana creature removal.
Tragic Slip-13/-13 for one once a Rat has died.

09Combos and Key Interactions

+

Marrow-Gnawer + Thornbite Staff

Sacrifice a Rat, make Rats, and the death untaps Marrow-Gnawer. Repeat for as many Rats as you want.

+

Marrow-Gnawer + Mirkwood Bats

Every sacrifice and every token drains each opponent. With Thornbite Staff, that is unlimited drain.

+

Grave Pact + Marrow-Gnawer

Each activation makes every opponent sacrifice a creature.

10How to Play

Opening hand

Keep hands with two or three Swamps and a few Rat Colonies or Pack Rat. The deck is fast and cheap.

1

Early gameturns 1-3

Play Rat Colony, Pack Rat and Piper of the Swarm on curve.

2

Mid gameturns 4-7

Cast Marrow-Gnawer and start doubling Rats. Add Lord Skitter, Sewer King or Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm.

3

Late gameturn 8+

Equip Thornbite Staff for infinite Rats, drain with Mirkwood Bats, or swing with fear.

Tips

  • Marrow-Gnawer counts Rats on resolution, after the sacrifice.
  • Fear means only black or artifact creatures can block your Rats.
  • Haunted One gives your Rats +2/+0 and undying whenever Marrow-Gnawer taps.
  • Echoing Return gets back every Rat Colony in your graveyard at once.

Common mistakes

  • Sacrificing your best Rat Colony when a token would do.
  • Overextending into a wipe without a refill.
  • Forgetting Crypt Rats hits your own Rats too.
  • Attacking into black creatures that can block fear.

Watch out for

  • Board wipes.
  • Black creatures and artifact creatures that block fear.
  • Removal on Marrow-Gnawer.
  • Graveyard hate on Echoing Return and Revenge of the Rats.

11Bracket and Rule 0

1Exhibition
2Core
3Upgraded
4Optimized
5cEDH
Bracket3

Our list runs no Game Changers.

Marrow-Gnawer with Thornbite Staff makes unlimited Rats, so tell your table before the game.

12Full Decklist

Every card in our Marrow-Gnawer proxy deck (100 cards). Hover or tap a name to see the card.

Commander

  • 1Marrow-Gnawer3BB

Creatures (40)

  • 1Pack Rat1B
  • 1Persistent Marshstalker1B
  • 1Piper of the Swarm1B
  • 24Rat Colony1B
  • 1Swarm of Rats1B
  • 1Tangled Colony1B
  • 1Ayara, First of LocthwainBBB
  • 1Crypt Rats2B
  • 1Karumonix, the Rat King1BB
  • 1Lord Skitter, Sewer King2B
  • 1Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion1BB
  • 1Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm3B
  • 1Mirkwood Bats3B
  • 1Species Specialist2BB
  • 1Ogre Slumlord3BB
  • 1Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni4BB
  • 1Ratcatcher4BB

Instants (4)

  • 1Dark RitualB
  • 1Tragic SlipB
  • 1Go for the Throat1B
  • 1Hero's Downfall1BB

Sorceries (6)

  • 1Echoing ReturnB
  • 1Sign in BloodBB
  • 1Revenge of the Rats2BB
  • 1Patriarch's Bidding3BB
  • 1Swarmyard Massacre3BB
  • 1Kindred Dominance5BB

Artifacts (11)

  • 1Skullclamp1
  • 1Sol Ring1
  • 1Jet Medallion2
  • 1Lightning Greaves2
  • 1Thornbite Staff2
  • 1Bontu's Monument3
  • 1Herald's Horn3
  • 1Door of Destinies4
  • 1Coat of Arms5
  • 1Thrumming Stone5
  • 1Vanquisher's Banner5

Enchantments (3)

  • 1Haunted One2B
  • 1Phyrexian Arena1BB
  • 1Grave Pact1BBB

Lands (35)

  • 1Bojuka Bog
  • 1Cabal Coffers
  • 1Cabal Stronghold
  • 1Castle Locthwain
  • 1Cavern of Souls
  • 1Crypt of Agadeem
  • 1Mudflat Village
  • 1Swamp
  • 1Swamp 10
  • 1Swamp 11
  • 1Swamp 12
  • 1Swamp 13
  • 1Swamp 14
  • 1Swamp 15
  • 1Swamp 16
  • 1Swamp 17
  • 1Swamp 18
  • 1Swamp 19
  • 1Swamp 2
  • 1Swamp 20
  • 1Swamp 21
  • 1Swamp 22
  • 1Swamp 23
  • 1Swamp 24
  • 1Swamp 3
  • 1Swamp 4
  • 1Swamp 5
  • 1Swamp 6
  • 1Swamp 7
  • 1Swamp 8
  • 1Swamp 9
  • 1Swarmyard
  • 1Three Tree City
  • 1Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1Witch's Cottage
Marrow-Gnawer proxy deck cover

Get the deck

Marrow-Gnawer Rat Tribal proxy deck

Marrow-Gnawer turns a Rat pack into a plague. Swarm, multiply, sacrifice, and drain.

Every card in this guide is shown exactly as it prints in the deck you get, sleeve-ready, with tokens.

Shop the deck · $45

Every card named in this guide is in our deck, and every image is our own proxy card, rendered from the art in this deck.