{"ops":[{"insert":"How the Deck Plays"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Bracket 2"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Commander: The Serpent Society"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Playstyle: Golgari Sacrifice Control / Deathtouch Aggro"},{"insert":"\n\n🐍 "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Early Game — Fill the Board!"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The main goal early on is to get as many low-cost creatures onto the battlefield as possible, especially small 1/1 creatures with deathtouch. These creatures might not look threatening on their own, but they become extremely valuable once your commander is out and you can start sacrificing them for value.\nRather than investing in a few massive creatures, you're looking to build a wide board of expendable bodies. Each creature becomes another resource you can use to draw cards, steal opponents' resources, or apply infect pressure depending on what your board looks like.\nThe deck wants to establish a steady supply of creatures while preparing to turn their deaths into an advantage. You aren't necessarily trying to win immediately; you're setting up the sacrifice engine that will make playing against you increasingly difficult.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Priority:"},{"insert":" Build a wide board of cheap creatures, establish your mana, and prepare your sacrifice engine."},{"attributes":{"blockquote":true},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"☠️ Mid Game — Everything Has a Price"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Once The Serpent Society is on the battlefield, your creatures become much more than disposable attackers or blockers. They become resources that help you generate value while disrupting your opponents' boards.\nThis is where the deck begins to feel like Golgari control. You can sacrifice creatures to fuel your synergies, draw additional cards, and potentially steal valuable resources from opponents. Your deathtouch creatures also make combat awkward for anyone trying to attack you, since even a tiny creature can threaten to trade with something much larger.\nDepending on your available pieces, you can shift between card advantage, theft, and infect pressure. The goal is to keep your opponents answering your threats while you continue replenishing your board and making their own creatures increasingly difficult to keep around.\nYour opponents should constantly feel like they're losing resources while you are still developing yours.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Priority:"},{"insert":" Keep sacrificing creatures for value, disrupt opposing boards, and maintain a steady supply of expendable creatures."},{"attributes":{"blockquote":true},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"👑 Commander — The Serpent Society's Advantage"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The Serpent Society is the centerpiece of the deck. Your strategy revolves around using your commander to turn a swarm of cheap creatures into meaningful advantages.\nInstead of protecting every creature you play, you want to make the most of each one before it disappears. Your 1/1 deathtouch creatures are particularly useful because they can threaten larger creatures in combat while remaining excellent sacrifice fodder when their job is done.\nThe commander also helps create a difficult choice for your opponents: allow your board to grow and let you accumulate value, or spend resources trying to stop you while you continue generating more creatures and sacrifice opportunities.\nAnd then there's the threat of infect. With Toxic 5 on your commander, opponents can't afford to ignore the possibility of a sudden poison-counter kill. Even if your main game plan is controlling the board, your commander can make every attack a potentially dangerous decision.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Tip:"},{"insert":" Don't sacrifice creatures without considering what you're gaining in return. Prioritize sacrifice effects that generate cards, remove opposing resources, or advance your win condition.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Priority:"},{"insert":" Keep your commander online and turn every expendable creature into the greatest possible advantage."},{"attributes":{"blockquote":true},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"⚔️ Late Game — The Board Belongs to You"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Once you've established your sacrifice engine, the deck aims to keep opponents on the back foot. By repeatedly generating creatures and forcing sacrifices, you can prevent opponents from maintaining the large boards they need to execute their own strategies.\nThis is where "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest"},{"insert":" becomes especially dangerous.\nWith The Serpent Society and Mazirek working together, sacrifices across the table can turn into opportunities to grow your own board through +1/+1 counters. Whenever a player sacrifices a permanent, Mazirek's ability can put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. That means your opponents' attempts to pay sacrifice costs, activate abilities, or survive your control effects can help turn your small creatures into a much larger threat.\nYour goal is to keep the pressure on while making it difficult for opponents to rebuild. You can continue sacrificing your own creatures for value, punish opponents who lose their permanents, and gradually turn a board of disposable 1/1s into an overwhelming force.\nHowever, you don't need to rely exclusively on combat. Theft, card advantage, and infect pressure can give you alternative ways to close out a game when the battlefield develops differently than expected.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Priority:"},{"insert":" Keep opponents low on resources, grow your board with Mazirek, and turn your accumulated advantage into a win."},{"attributes":{"blockquote":true},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"💥 Primary Win Condition 💥"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The primary game plan is to establish The Serpent Society, flood the battlefield with cheap creatures, and repeatedly sacrifice those creatures to generate value while restricting your opponents' ability to maintain a board.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest"},{"insert":" is one of your strongest payoff cards. When opponents sacrifice permanents, Mazirek rewards you by putting +1/+1 counters on your entire creature board. The more creatures you have, the more threatening this becomes.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The game plan is simple:"},{"insert":"\nFlood the battlefield with cheap 1/1 creatures, preferably with deathtouch."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Get The Serpent Society onto the battlefield and turn your creatures into resources."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Draw cards, steal resources, and disrupt opponents through sacrifice synergies."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Play Mazirek to capitalize on sacrifices and grow your entire board."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Keep opponents from rebuilding while your creatures become increasingly threatening."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Primary Win:"},{"insert":" Sacrifice-based control into a massive +1/+1 counter board with Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Alternative Win:"},{"insert":" Use your commander's Toxic 5 and other available infect-related pressure to threaten poison-counter victories while opponents are distracted by your sacrifice engine.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Additional Value:"},{"insert":" Avacyn, Angel of Hope's counterpart, Avacyn, Angel of Horror, and Archpriest of Shadows can support recurring combat pressure and creature-reanimation strategies, depending on the exact effects and interactions available in your build.\n\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"🪽 Supporting Threats — Never Let Them Rebuild"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Avacyn, Angel of Horror"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Avacyn supports the aggressive side of the deck by encouraging repeated attacks and making opponents think carefully about how they defend their boards. Your goal is to keep applying pressure, take advantage of creatures returning to the battlefield when your effects allow it, and turn those creatures into sacrifice resources again.\nThe important idea is to make your creatures useful more than once: attack with them, recover or recur them when possible, and sacrifice them when doing so provides additional value.\nArchpriest of Shadows"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Archpriest of Shadows helps support the same general plan by rewarding successful combat damage and providing a way to bring creatures back from the graveyard. Creating an opening for the Archpriest to connect can give you access to another useful creature, allowing you to rebuild your board or recover a valuable piece of your sacrifice engine.\nTogether, these threats help keep your opponents under pressure while giving you ways to recover resources instead of relying entirely on the creatures already in play.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Priority:"},{"insert":" Find opportunities to connect in combat, recover valuable creatures, and reuse your resources whenever possible."},{"attributes":{"blockquote":true},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"🛡️ Core Weakness — Wipe the Board, Break the Engine"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The biggest weakness of this deck is its dependence on maintaining a functional battlefield.\nBoard wipes can remove your swarm of sacrifice fodder before you get enough value from it. Targeted removal aimed at The Serpent Society can also disrupt your engine, especially if you have invested several turns in setting up your board around the commander.\nIf your creatures disappear before your sacrifice payoffs are established, you may struggle to rebuild quickly enough to keep up with opponents who have retained their resources.\nThe solution is to avoid overcommitting without a reason. Generate value before your creatures are removed, preserve important engines when possible, and use recursion to rebuild after a wipe. Your cheap creatures help you recover, but they don't make you immune to repeated board resets.\nOf course, your commander having Toxic 5 means opponents may have to think twice before ignoring you. If they let your commander connect repeatedly, the poison counters can become a serious threat even when your board isn't particularly large.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The weakness:"},{"insert":" Board wipes and targeted removal can dismantle your engine.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The answer:"},{"insert":" Extract value early, rebuild efficiently, and force opponents to respect both your sacrifice synergies and your poison-counter threat.\n\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"⭐ Why Was This Deck Made? ⭐"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ngl, I looked at the commander, thought it looked like actual cancer, and went, “Yeah, let’s mess with it.”\n\nThis deck was thrown together in a few hours, so the focus is on testing the commander’s core idea rather than exploring every possible “what if?” scenario against other players.\n\nWill I personally play this deck? No. This is absolutely one of those decks that'll make your friends request a different deck.\n\nIt’s been semi-tested to make sure the core mechanics work, but the time to kill is pretty slow, andddd... nobody really gets to play creatures, so the games can get a little boring.\n\nI haven’t tested it against actual people yet, though, so I’m sure there’s plenty of interaction that could shut the deck down. For now, consider it a proof of concept for a commander that looked absolutely miserable to play against, and I just had to see what I could do with it.\n\n\n"}]}