EDH Optimizer
Infect Commander decks
Infect swaps 40 life for 10 poison counters, so it kills far faster than any normal damage plan. The trade-off is a giant target: the table knows two connections are enough.
Cards that define the archetype
Ranked by how much MORE they are played inside the archetype than in the rest of Commander. Generic staples (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet…) fall out for exactly that reason: they are played everywhere equally.
| Card | Commanders | Avg. inclusion | Excess |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karn's Bastion | 25 | 58% | +45 pts |
| Contagion Clasp | 12 | 50% | +23 pts |
| Infectious Inquiry | 11 | 59% | +22 pts |
| Vraska's Fall | 11 | 56% | +22 pts |
| Blightbelly Rat | 10 | 55% | +20 pts |
| Drown in Ichor | 10 | 52% | +19 pts |
| Evolution Sage | 11 | 61% | +18 pts |
| Thrummingbird | 9 | 67% | +16 pts |
| Infectious Bite | 8 | 49% | +16 pts |
| Ichor Rats | 8 | 54% | +16 pts |
| White Sun's Twilight | 8 | 57% | +16 pts |
| Venerated Rotpriest | 8 | 50% | +16 pts |
| Bloated Contaminator | 8 | 52% | +16 pts |
| Cankerbloom | 8 | 57% | +14 pts |
| Norn's Decree | 7 | 49% | +14 pts |
| Plague Myr | 7 | 50% | +14 pts |
| Myr Convert | 7 | 40% | +14 pts |
| Contagion Engine | 7 | 47% | +14 pts |
| Vraska, Betrayal's Sting | 7 | 49% | +13 pts |
| Unnatural Restoration | 7 | 60% | +13 pts |
| Skrelv, Defector Mite | 7 | 57% | +13 pts |
| Experimental Augury | 7 | 61% | +13 pts |
| Contentious Plan | 7 | 57% | +13 pts |
| Inexorable Tide | 7 | 64% | +13 pts |
| Metastatic Evangel | 7 | 54% | +13 pts |
| Tezzeret's Gambit | 7 | 67% | +13 pts |
| Flux Channeler | 7 | 65% | +12 pts |
| Prologue to Phyresis | 6 | 58% | +12 pts |
| Crawling Chorus | 6 | 45% | +12 pts |
| Plague Stinger | 6 | 51% | +12 pts |
Commanders for Infect
Ranked by how central this archetype is to their decks and by how played each commander is, according to EDHREC data.
By color identity
Black Best cards by color →
Green Best cards by color →
Black · Green Best cards by color →
Blue Best cards by color →
Blue · Green Best cards by color →
White Best cards by color →
Paste your list and we tell you whether the deck actually does what it wants to do: curve, ramp, interaction and a 10,000-game simulation.
🛠️ Build a deck like this 📥 Analyze my deckFrequently asked questions
What is the best commander for a Infect deck?
The most-built commanders for this archetype are Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, Glissa Sunslayer, Vishgraz, the Doomhive. EDH Optimizer has the full list of 164 commanders with their recommended cards, ranked by how central Infect is to their decks.
Which cards are must-haves in a Infect deck?
The three most characteristic are Karn's Bastion, Contagion Clasp, Infectious Inquiry. They are not the most-played cards in the format, but the ones that appear far more inside this archetype than in the rest of Commander — which is what actually makes them essential here.
What colors is Infect played in?
The most common color identities are Black, Green, Black · Green. The "By color identity" section groups the commanders and links to the best cards for each combination.
How much does a Infect deck cost?
It depends on the price cap PER CARD you set. Each commander page lists the best cards in three tiers (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.