This mono-black Rat tribal deck races to ten poison counters. Karumonix gives every other Rat toxic 1, so a wide board of Rats, many of them cheap or token-generating, turns each combat into a spread of poison counters. Evasion, anthem effects and infect enablers stack the poison quickly, and proliferate effects push opponents the rest of the way. How it wins: The deck swarms the board with toxic and infect Rats, makes them hard to block, and tops off with proliferate until opponents reach ten poison counters. Key roles: - Rat swarm and token engines: These cheap Rats and token makers flood the board with bodies that all carry toxic 1 from Karumonix, so every attacker that connects adds poison. (Lord Skitter, Sewer King, Marrow-Gnawer, Pack Rat) - Poison amplifiers: Infect creatures, infect-granting tricks and stronger toxic auras turn a single connecting creature into a big chunk of poison. Global poison spells add counters to every opponent at once. (Phyresis, Necrogen Communion, Tainted Strike) - Proliferate finish: Repeatable and one-shot proliferate grows every opponent's poison count without attacking. Several of these effects double as removal, and the planeswalker's ultimate can jump an opponent straight to nine poison counters. (Vraska, Betrayal's Sting, Karn's Bastion, Grim Affliction) - Evasion and tribal anthems: Menace, fear, shadow and unblockability keep the small Rats connecting. Typed anthems and the commander-adjacent pump scale the swarm's damage and survivability. (Piper of the Swarm, Cover of Darkness, Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm) - Tribal one-sided sweepers: Effects that name a creature type, plus deathtouch Rats, wipe or freeze opposing boards while the Rats survive. (Kindred Dominance, Crippling Fear, Ogre Slumlord) - Rat card flow and sacrifice value: Tribal tutoring, cost reducers and repeat card advantage keep a steady stream of Rats coming. Expendable tokens feed sacrifice-for-cards effects. Glistening Sphere's corrupted mana rewards early poison. (Skullclamp, Ratcatcher, Vanquisher's Banner)

Karumonix, the Rat King decklist

• Arcane Signet
• Bontu's Monument
• Contagion Clasp
• Glistening Sphere
• Herald's Horn
• Jet Medallion
• Patchwork Banner
• Skullclamp
• Sol Ring
• Vanquisher's Banner
• Bojuka Bog
• Cabal Coffers
• Karn's Bastion
• Mudflat Village
• Path of Ancestry
• Rogue's Passage
• Swarmyard
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• Witch's Cottage
• Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
• Blightbelly Rat
• Crypt Rats
• Ichor Rats
• Lord Skitter's Butcher
• Lord Skitter, Sewer King
• Marrow-Gnawer
• Ogre Slumlord
• Pack Rat
• Persistent Marshstalker
• Piper of the Swarm
• Rancid Rats
• 13× Rat Colony
• Ratcatcher
• Septic Rats
• Stronghold Rats
• Tangled Colony
• Typhoid Rats
• Voracious Vermin
• Cover of Darkness
• Necrogen Communion
• Phyresis
• Phyrexian Arena
• Dark Ritual
• Defile
• Go for the Throat
• Grim Affliction
• Tainted Strike
• Village Rites
• Vraska's Fall
• Whisper of the Dross
• Withering Torment
• Vraska, Betrayal's Sting
• Crippling Fear
• Demonic Tutor
• Drown in Ichor
• Feed the Swarm
• Infectious Inquiry
• Kindred Dominance
• Night's Whisper
• 28× Swamp