{"id":189,"date":"2024-06-11T12:47:46","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T12:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/?p=189"},"modified":"2026-06-25T06:44:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T06:44:34","slug":"magic-the-gathering-rat-deck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakenthemeta.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/11\/magic-the-gathering-rat-deck\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Rat Commanders in MTG + How to Build a Rat Deck (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Magic: The Gathering rat deck is one of the format’s most iconic underdogs: a mono-black swarm that buries opponents under a tide of cheap 1\/1s, then turns that horde into lethal damage through token doublers, anthems, and sacrifice payoffs. Rats reward you for going wide and going low to the ground — and because most of the archetype’s best cards are cheap, it’s one of the friendliest decks for a new Commander player to build. This guide ranks the best rat commanders in MTG<\/strong> for 2026, lists the staples every rat deck wants, and walks you through building one from scratch — including a budget version under $50. (All prices verified June 2026 via Scryfall; cards shift over time.)<\/p>\n\n

\n \"Marrow-Gnawer,\n
Marrow-Gnawer — the definitive rat-swarm commander. Art by Wayne Reynolds. © Wizards of the Coast; image via Scryfall.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Best Rat Commanders in MTG (2026, Ranked)<\/h2>\n\n

Almost every rat deck lives in mono-black — it’s the color with the best token generation, sacrifice outlets, and graveyard recursion, all of which rats love. Here are the commanders actually worth building around, with current prices and what each one does best.<\/p>\n\n\n \n \n
Commander<\/th>Colors<\/th>Mana<\/th>~Price (Jun 2026)<\/th>Best for<\/th><\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
Marrow-Gnawer<\/strong><\/td>Mono-Black<\/td>{3}{B}{B}<\/td>$27<\/td>The iconic swarm engine — fear + token doubler<\/td><\/tr>\n
Karumonix, the Rat King<\/strong><\/td>Mono-Black<\/td>{1}{B}{B}<\/td>$1<\/td>Best budget \/ beginner pick — lord + card advantage<\/td><\/tr>\n
Vren, the Relentless<\/strong><\/td>Dimir (U\/B)<\/td>{2}{U}{B}<\/td>$0.35<\/td>Value\/control — punishes opponents’ creatures dying<\/td><\/tr>\n
Rat King, Verminister<\/strong><\/td>Mono-Black<\/td>{1}{B}<\/td>$0.85<\/td>Token + recursion engine; loves Relentless Rats<\/td><\/tr>\n
Lord Skitter, Sewer King<\/strong><\/td>Mono-Black<\/td>{2}{B}<\/td>$5<\/td>Grindy sacrifice + graveyard hate<\/td><\/tr>\n
Wick, the Whorled Mind<\/strong><\/td>Grixis (B\/R\/U)<\/td>{3}{B}<\/td>$0.30<\/td>Most-played by the “rats” tag — but a snail-aristocrats deck (see note)<\/td><\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Marrow-Gnawer<\/strong> is the archetype’s beating heart: all your Rats gain fear (nearly unblockable), and you can tap-and-sacrifice a single Rat to create X<\/em> tokens equal to the number of Rats you control. One activation can double your board, then you swing with evasion. It’s the most expensive option on this list (~$27) because it’s that good.<\/p>\n\n

Karumonix, the Rat King<\/strong> is the best place for a beginner to start. At roughly a dollar it gives all your Rats toxic, makes early Rats cheaper, and lets you dig several cards deep for more Rats when it enters. Cheap, resilient, and self-refueling — everything a budget swarm wants.<\/p>\n\n

Vren, the Relentless<\/strong> bends the archetype toward control: it exiles your opponents’ dying creatures and then hands you<\/em> a pile of scaling rat tokens at each end step for doing it. In a meta full of removal and combat, Vren turns every kill into your army. A bargain at under 50 cents.<\/p>\n\n

Rat King, Verminister<\/strong> is the newest darling — a two-mana engine that drips out rat tokens (with +1\/+1 counters) whenever a permanent leaves your battlefield, and can sacrifice three Rats to mass-reanimate same-named cards. It’s tailor-made for a Relentless Rats<\/a> build.<\/p>\n\n

A quick honesty note on Wick, the Whorled Mind:<\/strong> data aggregators list Wick as the single most-played commander under the “Rats” tag, which makes it look like the default pick. It isn’t a classic rat deck. Wick is a Grixis (black-red-blue) commander that makes Snail<\/em> tokens and sacrifices them for damage and cards — an aristocrats deck that happens to be a Rat. If you want the mono-black, go-wide rat-swarm experience most people mean by “rat deck,” start with Marrow-Gnawer or Karumonix. Wick is excellent, just a different deck.<\/p>\n\n

Core Rat Staples Every Deck Wants<\/h2>\n\n
\n \"Pack\n
Pack Rat — copies itself and pumps the whole team. Art by Kev Walker. © Wizards of the Coast; image via Scryfall.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n

These cards form the backbone of nearly every rat deck regardless of which commander sits at the helm. Check live prices anytime with the KrakenTheMeta card price tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n \n \n
Card<\/th>Mana<\/th>~Price<\/th>Why it’s in the deck<\/th><\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
Pack Rat<\/strong><\/td>{1}{B}<\/td>$3.30<\/td>Discard a card to copy itself; every copy buffs the whole team. A one-card army.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Relentless Rats<\/strong><\/td>{1}{B}{B}<\/td>$5.30<\/td>Ignores the singleton rule — run as many as you like; each pumps the others.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Rat Colony<\/strong><\/td>{1}{B}<\/td>$6.50<\/td>Same “any number” trick; +1\/+0 per other Rat. Cheaper bodies than Relentless.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Piper of the Swarm<\/strong><\/td>{1}{B}<\/td>$3<\/td>Gives Rats menace, makes a token each turn, and can steal a creature for three Rats.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Ogre Slumlord<\/strong><\/td>{3}{B}{B}<\/td>$0.45<\/td>A Rat token whenever any nontoken creature dies, and deathtouch for the whole swarm.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Crypt Rats<\/strong><\/td>{2}{B}<\/td>$0.50<\/td>A repeatable Pestilence on a stick — board wipe insurance and a finisher.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Nezumi Bone-Reader<\/strong><\/td>{1}{B}<\/td>$0.40<\/td>Sacrifice fodder into repeatable hand disruption.<\/td><\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Anthems, Engines & Payoffs<\/h2>\n\n

A wide board of 1\/1s does nothing without a way to make them big or unblockable. These are the cards that convert “a lot of rats” into “I win this turn”:<\/p>\n\n