Introduction Like many, I was a big fan of the Spider Spawning Deck in the original Innistrad draft format. I created many EDH versions of that deck in the past, but I was never really happy with the result. The problem I always had with the Memory's Journey & Runic Repetition version was that while there are many good Sultai commanders, none of them were on-theme. In this version, Krosan Reclamation & Riftsweeper replaces Runic Repetition and allows you to cut blue and Ishkanah, Grafwidow brings it all together. And finally, spice up the theme with Swarmyard to create something entirely new, and you end up with the deck below.
A Tale of Four Tribes Each of the four Swarmyard tribes (insect, rat, spider, and squirrel) have the ability to swarm the board in addition to many cross-tribe combos.
Insect
Hex Parasite - This is one of my pet cards that's very narrow and used to shut down planeswalkers. As the only artifact creature in the deck, it can also give an early boost in activating delirium. And it's always funny to try and sneak in win, eating counters off your own Black Market. Combos with Glacial Chasm.
The Rat Colony The inclusion of Rat Colony was a late addition to the deck. Much like the Spider Spawning draft decks from original Innistrad, this deck doesn't care which creatures are in your graveyard; it only cares that there are a high number of them in the graveyard. The problem with the insect, rat, spider, and squirrel tribes is that the vast majority of them are just bad. Rat Colony helps fill out the creature count while staying on-theme and there is alway the potential of a big, splashy Living Death win. With Nantuko Shrine, there is also cross-tribe synergy, which I love. Bazaar of Baghdad, Slate of Ancestry, and Skullclamp help cycle through them quickly. Also, the rats create a high enough density of black creatures for Crypt of Agadeem to generate worthwhile value.
Graveyard Matters Nothing mills faster than Bazaar of Baghdad or Greater Good with dredge. The deck's strategy is simple; fill your graveyard as fast as possible to swarm the board while threatening Ishkanah, Grafwidow activations. Spider Spawning almost makes it unfair if your opponents don't draw into any graveyard hate. Creeping Renaissance can be used for both 'enchantment' or 'lands' (Cadaverous Bloom fuel). And Riftsweeper ensures that nothing ever stays exiled.
Combo all of the above cards together and turns can get real stupid, real quick. For example, you can vomit most of your combo pieces onto the battlefield after self-mill and cast Spider Spawning with Gaea's Cradle or Crypt of Agadeem in play. Style points for having either Deserted Temple or Candelabra of Tawnos online. You can even drop a Slate of Ancestry and Cadaverous Bloom if you have enough cards in your library. From there, you can almost do whatever you want depending on the board state and how much graveyard hate your opponents have hit you with -- and all of this with zero cards in hand. Life from the Loam makes sure self-mill never really hurts and Volrath's Stronghold saves you from decking yourself.
For Your Consideration
Doubling Season - This was cut because it was win-more. Also, early versions of the deck had more token synergy cards, but it wasn't really necessary. Cadaverous Bloom took its slot in later versions. This also has anti-synergy with Glacial Chasm. Crypt Rats + Glacial Chasm is a legit alternate win-con for this deck.
Earl of Squirrel - I have a copy of this on the side, in the off chance a group will allow silver bordered cards.
Bloodbond March - Since damage from Rat Colony isn't a main win condition, this ended up being very similar to Nantuko Shrine. After some testing, two of these effects was too much. Decided to stick with the shrine for theme, it's instantly repeatable, and this deck actually wants to keep as many creatures in the graveyard at all times. Rat Colony wins are still possible with Living Death.
Cabal Coffers - Removed the coffers because this deck already gets insane mana generation from Gaea's Cradle and Crypt of Agadeem and with only 7 swamps in the deck, without Urborg, Tomg of Yawgmoth, it was almost a dead card. (Cradle and crypt are more on-theme anyway, where creatures matter.)
Comments & Suggestions I have a big stack of "maybe" cards ready to be swapped in-and-out and I'm opening to any suggestions. I'm really happy with this version of the deck, but there is always room for improvement. Keep in mind, the only non-tribal creatures are strictly for utility and I want to avoid any infinite combos.
Like many, I was a big fan of the Spider Spawning Deck in the original Innistrad draft format. I created many EDH versions of that deck in the past, but I was never really happy with the result. The problem I always had with the Memory's Journey & Runic Repetition version was that while there are many good Sultai commanders, none of them were on-theme. In this version, Krosan Reclamation & Riftsweeper replaces Runic Repetition and allows you to cut blue and Ishkanah, Grafwidow brings it all together. And finally, spice up the theme with Swarmyard to create something entirely new, and you end up with the deck below.
1 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
Creatures (30)
1 Hex Parasite
1 Xantid Swarm
1 Pack Rat
20 Rat Colony
1 Riftsweeper
1 Crypt Rats
1 Hornet Nest
1 Genesis
1 Golgari Grave Troll
1 Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
1 Hornet Queen
Instant (6)
1 Crop Rotation
1 Entomb
1 Grisly Salvage
1 Krosan Reclamation
1 Moment's Peace
1 Gnaw to the Bone
Sorcery (11)
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Explore
1 Life from the Loam
1 Mulch
1 Regrowth
1 Far Wanderings
1 Dread Return
1 Creeping Renaissance
1 Living Death
1 Spider Spawning
1 Decree of Pain
1 Exploration
1 Seal of Primordium
1 Nantuko Shrine
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Song of the Dryads
1 Grave Pact
1 Greater Good
1 Black Market
1 Cadaverous Bloom
Artifact (6)
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Candelabra of Tawnos
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Slate of Ancestry
Nonbasic Land (17)
1 Arena
1 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Bayou
1 Blasted Landscape
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Crypt of Agadeem
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Maze of Ith
1 Pendelhaven
1 Polluted Mire
1 Slippery Karst
1 Swarmyard
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Wasteland
14 Forest
6 Swamp
A Tale of Four Tribes
Each of the four Swarmyard tribes (insect, rat, spider, and squirrel) have the ability to swarm the board in addition to many cross-tribe combos.
- Hex Parasite - This is one of my pet cards that's very narrow and used to shut down planeswalkers. As the only artifact creature in the deck, it can also give an early boost in activating delirium. And it's always funny to try and sneak in win, eating counters off your own Black Market. Combos with Glacial Chasm.
- Xantid Swarm - Great when getting off a combo-win. Combos with Swarmyard and Maze of Ith.
- Hornet Nest - Good defensive creature. Combos with Swarmyard, Arena, and Crypt Rats.
- Izoni, Thousand-Eyed - The best target for Dread Return when setting up a Gaea's Cradle combo-win. Also an alternate commander that can be swapped with Ishkanah, Grafwidow, if you're tired of leaning into the combo-win too much.
- Hornet Queen - All around amazing creature. Combos with Swarmyard, Arena, and Crypt Rats.
Rat- Pack Rat - Just a fun creature that can get out of control if left unchecked.
- Crypt Rat - Alternate win condition and board wipe. Combos with Hornet Nest, Swarmyard, Basilisk Collar, and Glacial Chasm.
Spider- Spider Spawning - The best card in the deck. Combos with Ishkanah, Grafwidow.
- Ishkanah, Grafwidow - The perfect commander for this deck; ensures you always have access to a combo-win.
SquirrelThe Rat Colony
The inclusion of Rat Colony was a late addition to the deck. Much like the Spider Spawning draft decks from original Innistrad, this deck doesn't care which creatures are in your graveyard; it only cares that there are a high number of them in the graveyard. The problem with the insect, rat, spider, and squirrel tribes is that the vast majority of them are just bad. Rat Colony helps fill out the creature count while staying on-theme and there is alway the potential of a big, splashy Living Death win. With Nantuko Shrine, there is also cross-tribe synergy, which I love. Bazaar of Baghdad, Slate of Ancestry, and Skullclamp help cycle through them quickly. Also, the rats create a high enough density of black creatures for Crypt of Agadeem to generate worthwhile value.
(Note: Rat Colony over Relentless Rats strictly because of Skullclamp.)
Lands Matter
This deck wouldn't work without the nonbasic lands. Many of them are essential and unfortunately, some are very expensive and will price some people out of playing the deck. Swarmyard, Bazaar of Baghdad, Arena, Gaea's Cradle, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Deserted Temple, Volrath's Stronghold, and Crypt of Agadeem are all necessary. Together with land synergy cards like Life from the Loam, Candelabra of Tawnos, and Crucible of Worlds, this deck can generate a stupid amount of mana while swarming which allows it to win from two different angles.
Graveyard Matters
Nothing mills faster than Bazaar of Baghdad or Greater Good with dredge. The deck's strategy is simple; fill your graveyard as fast as possible to swarm the board while threatening Ishkanah, Grafwidow activations. Spider Spawning almost makes it unfair if your opponents don't draw into any graveyard hate. Creeping Renaissance can be used for both 'enchantment' or 'lands' (Cadaverous Bloom fuel). And Riftsweeper ensures that nothing ever stays exiled.
Combo all of the above cards together and turns can get real stupid, real quick. For example, you can vomit most of your combo pieces onto the battlefield after self-mill and cast Spider Spawning with Gaea's Cradle or Crypt of Agadeem in play. Style points for having either Deserted Temple or Candelabra of Tawnos online. You can even drop a Slate of Ancestry and Cadaverous Bloom if you have enough cards in your library. From there, you can almost do whatever you want depending on the board state and how much graveyard hate your opponents have hit you with -- and all of this with zero cards in hand. Life from the Loam makes sure self-mill never really hurts and Volrath's Stronghold saves you from decking yourself.
For Your Consideration
Comments & Suggestions
I have a big stack of "maybe" cards ready to be swapped in-and-out and I'm opening to any suggestions. I'm really happy with this version of the deck, but there is always room for improvement. Keep in mind, the only non-tribal creatures are strictly for utility and I want to avoid any infinite combos.
Thread | Draft