At a glance
- Format: Brawl (100-card)
- Commander: Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
- Colors: Black / Green (BG)
- Archetype: Golgari -1/-1 counter Snakes / aristocrats
- Power tier: mid-high
- Competitive Brawl: ✅ Legal
Strategy
Golgari -1/-1 counter attrition built on Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons: whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature, make a 1/1 deathtouch Snake. -1/-1 sources double as removal on opponents (kill + Snake) and as free Snake-makers on your own +1/+1-buffered creatures (Ouroboroid, Hulk, proliferate via Evolution Sage, Germination Practicum) - put -1/-1 on a buffered body, Hapatra triggers, the counters cancel, and you net a free Snake with no board loss. Aristocrats payoffs (Zulaport Cutthroat, Bastion of Remembrance, Cauldron of Essence, Vein Ripper, South Wind Avatar, Blech) drain as the swarm dies and trades. Close with a go-wide deathtouch board plus trample/overrun (Garruk’s Uprising, Full Steam Ahead, Flopsie) or a one-sided symmetric sweeper (Darkness Descends) once your side is buffered. Card advantage from Midnight Reaper, Preacher of the Schism, Phyrexian Arena, Garruk’s Uprising keeps the swarm refueled.
Upgrade path
Fully owned, ZERO crafts. Recovered from a 2026-08-18 build; +evasion tune 2026-08-23 (operator): +Rogue’s Passage + Secret Tunnel (owned unblockable lands) over 1 Swamp + 1 Forest, +Swiftfoot Boots (hexproof+haste) over Barbed Bloodletter.
Cards
Decklist
Paste straight into MTG Arena (or Moxfield/Archidekt):
Commander
1 Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
Deck
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Druid of the Cowl
1 Woodland Mystic
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bile-Vial Boggart
1 Noxious Newt
1 Shambling Ghast
1 Creakwood Safewright
1 Gnarlbark Elm
1 Heirloom Auntie
1 Zulaport Cutthroat
1 Vampire Gourmand
1 Evolution Sage
1 Adaptive Sporesinger
1 Stinging Hivemaster
1 Dream Seizer
1 Midnight Reaper
1 Preacher of the Schism
1 High Perfect Morcant
1 Venomous Brutalizer
1 Blighted Blackthorn
1 Elvish Archdruid
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Blech, Loafing Pest
1 Killmonger, Scourge of Wakanda
1 Sidisi, Regent of the Mire
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 South Wind Avatar
1 Ouroboroid
1 Hulk, Brutal Brawler
1 Arbiter of Woe
1 Flopsie, Bumi's Buddy
1 Overlord of the Balemurk
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Vein Ripper
1 Witherbloom, the Balancer
1 Snakeskin Veil
1 Blight Rot
1 Bogslither's Embrace
1 Moment of Craving
1 Tragic Slip
1 Bitter Triumph
1 Feed the Swarm
1 Eaten Alive
1 Dose of Dawnglow
1 Courage in Crisis
1 Darkness Descends
1 Full Steam Ahead
1 Germination Practicum
1 Vampiric Rites
1 Deadly Dispute
1 Village Rites
1 Bastion of Remembrance
1 Cauldron of Essence
1 Sothera, the Supervoid
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Elemental Bond
1 Garruk's Uprising
1 Trystan's Command
1 Shared Roots
1 Tend the Sprigs
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Wastewood Verge
1 Temple of Malady
1 Foggy Bottom Swamp
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Karn's Bastion
16 Swamp
11 Forest
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Secret Tunnel
1 Swiftfoot Boots
Card images & data via Scryfall.