EDH Optimizer
Marrow-Gnawer
Legendary Creature — Rat Rogue · 3BB
Color identity: Black
Marrow-Gnawer is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
All Rats have fear.
{T}, Sacrifice a Rat: Create X 1/1 black Rat creature tokens, where X is the number of Rats you control.
Reference price of the card: €11.59
Average lands in decks for Marrow-Gnawer: 34
Rat ColonyRatsTokensRelentless RatsAggroAristocratsComboSacrifice
Build your Marrow-Gnawer deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Marrow-Gnawer 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Marrow-Gnawer deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play per EDHREC (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: C (54/100)
- Consistency46
- Speed58
- Interaction35
- Resilience79
- Closing54
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 34 lands (13 nonbasic, 21 Swamp)
Sol Ring · Piper of the Swarm · Pack Rat · Ogre Slumlord · Karumonix, the Rat King · Rat Colony · Jet Medallion · Lord Skitter, Sewer King · Bontu's Monument · Dark Ritual · Skullclamp · Ayara, First of Locthwain · Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm · Herald's Horn · Arcane Signet · Ratcatcher · Village Rites · Thrumming Stone · Crypt Rats · Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni · Species Specialist · Vanquisher's Banner · Phyrexian Arena · Thornbite Staff · Feed the Swarm · Rat King, Verminister · Valley Rotcaller · Lightning Greaves · Patriarch's Bidding · Persistent Marshstalker · Typhoid Rats · Grave Pact · Gruesome Fate · Kindred Dominance · Coat of Arms · Deadly Dispute · Defile · Mirkwood Bats · Swarm of Rats · Tangled Colony · Black Market · Lord Skitter's Butcher · Voracious Vermin · Echoing Return · Haunted One · Sign in Blood · Burglar Rat · Demonic Tutor · Revenge of the Rats · Swarmyard Massacre · Gnat Miser · Foul-Tongue Shriek · Patchwork Banner · Patriar's Seal · Swiftfoot Boots · Crypt Ghast · Bolas's Citadel · Chittering Witch · Go for the Throat · Pestilence Rats · Door of Destinies · Rat King, Pale Piper · Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion · Rancid Rats · Throat Slitter · Swarmyard · Cabal Coffers · Bojuka Bog · Cabal Stronghold · Three Tree City · Mudflat Village · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Witch's Cottage · Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx · Path of Ancestry · Phyrexian Tower · Reliquary Tower · Cavern of Souls
🃏 Recommended cards for Marrow-Gnawer
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Marrow-Gnawer, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Piper of the Swarm | 82% | +75% |
| Pack Rat | 79% | +73% |
| Karumonix, the Rat King | 76% | +72% |
| Rat Colony | 75% | +69% |
| Ogre Slumlord | 77% | +68% |
| Swarmyard | 70% | +64% |
| Lord Skitter, Sewer King | 64% | +56% |
| Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm | 53% | +49% |
| Herald's Horn | 53% | +47% |
| Ratcatcher | 50% | +46% |
| Thrumming Stone | 44% | +40% |
| Crypt Rats | 43% | +39% |
| Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni | 42% | +39% |
| Species Specialist | 42% | +38% |
| Vanquisher's Banner | 42% | +38% |
| Thornbite Staff | 41% | +38% |
| Skullclamp | 60% | +38% |
| Valley Rotcaller | 40% | +38% |
| Rat King, Verminister | 40% | +37% |
| Persistent Marshstalker | 39% | +36% |
| Bontu's Monument | 63% | +35% |
| Patriarch's Bidding | 39% | +35% |
| Typhoid Rats | 38% | +34% |
| Gruesome Fate | 36% | +34% |
💰 The best cards for your Marrow-Gnawer deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Piper of the Swarm
- Pack Rat
- Karumonix, the Rat King
- Ogre Slumlord
- Crypt Rats
- Valley Rotcaller
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Rat Colony
- Swarmyard
- Lord Skitter, Sewer King
- Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
- Herald's Horn
- Ratcatcher
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Species Specialist
- Three Tree City
- Grave Pact
- Cavern of Souls
- Chronicle of Victory
- Thousand-Year Elixir
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Marrow-Gnawer
- Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Sanguine Bond + Bloodthirsty Conqueror → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Exquisite Blood + Enduring Tenacity → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar + Reassembling Skeleton → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
- Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank → Infinite mill, Near-infinite lifegain, Near-infinite lifegain triggers, Near-infinite lifeloss
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Marrow-Gnawer's color identity?
Marrow-Gnawer is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Marrow-Gnawer come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Marrow-Gnawer deck (the 99 most-included cards per EDHREC, with 34 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 5.0 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 95 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 34 % of the time and floods 12 %. Deck health: C (54/100).
How many lands should a Marrow-Gnawer deck run?
Real Marrow-Gnawer decks run 34 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Marrow-Gnawer?
The three highest-synergy cards are Piper of the Swarm, Pack Rat, Karumonix, the Rat King. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Marrow-Gnawer decks.
What combos does Marrow-Gnawer have?
Marrow-Gnawer has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Marrow-Gnawer deck cost?
You can start cheap: Piper of the Swarm, Pack Rat, Karumonix, the Rat King are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.