EDH Optimizer
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin
Legendary Creature — Wraith Noble · 4BB
Color identity: Black
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Flying
Whenever Witch-king attacks, defending player sacrifices a creature with the least power among creatures they control.
Reference price of the card: €5.85
Average lands in decks for Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin: 35
AristocratsControlDredgeGraveyardMillReanimator
Build your Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (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: B (73/100)
- Consistency81
- Speed55
- Interaction59
- Resilience82
- Closing93
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 35 lands (12 nonbasic, 23 Swamp)
Sol Ring · Call of the Ring · Nazgûl · Night's Whisper · Dark Ritual · Nazgûl Battle-Mace · Ringwraiths · Sign in Blood · Arcane Signet · Jet Medallion · Witch-king of Angmar · Claim the Precious · Mind Stone · Sam's Desperate Rescue · Swiftfoot Boots · Feed the Swarm · Read the Bones · Voracious Fell Beast · Black Market · Deadly Rollick · Go for the Throat · Soul Shatter · Bontu's Monument · Echoing Return · Gollum, Patient Plotter · Morbid Opportunist · Sauron, the Necromancer · Wayfarer's Bauble · Inherited Envelope · One Ring to Rule Them All · Blood Artist · Charcoal Diamond · Crypt Ghast · Liliana of the Dark Realms · Merciless Executioner · Reanimate · Massacre Wurm · Phyrexian Arena · Solemn Simulacrum · Victimize · Vona's Hunger · Canoptek Wraith · Gray Merchant of Asphodel · Magus of the Coffers · Plaguecrafter · Revenge of Ravens · Sheoldred's Edict · Street Wraith · Commander's Sphere · Gollum, Scheming Guide · Lightning Greaves · Phyrexian Reclamation · Yahenni, Undying Partisan · Archon of Cruelty · Burnished Hart · Demonic Tutor · Dread Presence · Mithril Coat · Sangromancer · Troll of Khazad-dûm · The Soul Stone · Animate Dead · Bog Wraith · Damnation · Bojuka Bog · Myriad Landscape · Barad-dûr · Cabal Coffers · Cabal Stronghold · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · War Room · Witch's Cottage · The Black Gate · Castle Locthwain · Minas Morgul, Dark Fortress · Rogue's Passage
🃏 Recommended cards for Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Call of the Ring | 75% | +73% |
| Nazgûl | 72% | +71% |
| Ringwraiths | 63% | +62% |
| Nazgûl Battle-Mace | 63% | +62% |
| Witch-king of Angmar | 59% | +58% |
| Claim the Precious | 56% | +56% |
| Sam's Desperate Rescue | 56% | +55% |
| Voracious Fell Beast | 53% | +52% |
| Night's Whisper | 72% | +47% |
| Sauron, the Necromancer | 47% | +47% |
| Gollum, Patient Plotter | 47% | +46% |
| Echoing Return | 47% | +44% |
| Inherited Envelope | 44% | +43% |
| Barad-dûr | 47% | +43% |
| One Ring to Rule Them All | 44% | +43% |
| Soul Shatter | 50% | +38% |
| Read the Bones | 53% | +37% |
| Street Wraith | 34% | +34% |
| Vona's Hunger | 38% | +33% |
| Merciless Executioner | 41% | +33% |
| Revenge of Ravens | 34% | +32% |
| Wayfarer's Bauble | 47% | +32% |
| Canoptek Wraith | 34% | +32% |
| Gollum, Scheming Guide | 31% | +31% |
💰 The best cards for your Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin 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.
- Ringwraiths
- Claim the Precious
- Sam's Desperate Rescue
- Voracious Fell Beast
- Night's Whisper
- Sauron, the Necromancer
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Call of the Ring
- Nazgûl Battle-Mace
- Witch-king of Angmar
- Soul Shatter
- Vona's Hunger
- Canoptek Wraith
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Nazgûl
- Liliana of the Dark Realms
- Deadly Rollick
- Mithril Coat
- Minas Morgul, Dark Fortress
- Revel in Riches
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin
- Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar → Infinite death triggers, Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite sacrifice triggers, Infinite storm count
- Pitiless Plunderer + Reassembling Skeleton + Phyrexian Altar → Infinite death triggers, Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite sacrifice triggers
- Gravecrawler + Pitiless Plunderer + Viscera Seer → Infinite LTB, Infinite ETB, Infinite sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers, Infinite scry 1, Infinite storm count
- Gravecrawler + Pitiless Plunderer + Carrion Feeder → Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature, Infinite death triggers, Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB, Infinite sacrifice triggers, Infinite storm count
- Pitiless Plunderer + Reassembling Skeleton + Viscera Seer + Drivnod, Carnage Dominus → Infinite LTB, Infinite ETB, Infinite sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers, Infinite scry 1
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin's color identity?
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin 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 Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 35 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 5.5 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 91 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 23 % of the time and floods 11 %. Deck health: B (73/100).
How many lands should a Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin deck run?
Real Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin decks run 35 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 Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin?
The three highest-synergy cards are Call of the Ring, Nazgûl, Ringwraiths. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin decks.
What combos does Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin have?
Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin 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 Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin deck cost?
You can start cheap: Ringwraiths, Claim the Precious, Sam's Desperate Rescue 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.