Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm
Color Identity
Details
Mana Value
4
Popularity
#793
of 3,466 commanders · via EDHREC
Card Text
Legendary Creature — Rat Warlock
Whenever Ashcoat attacks or blocks, other Rats you control get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of Rats you control.
At the beginning of your end step, you may mill four cards. If you do, return up to two Rat creature cards from your graveyard to your hand. (To mill a card, put the top card of your library into your graveyard.)
3/4
Playstyle
Aggro · Steady · Minimal interaction · Wins by combat
- Aggression
- 4 of 5
- Speed
- 3 of 5
- Interaction
- 2 of 5
- Combat
- 5 of 5
- Engine
- 4 of 5
- Complexity
- 2 of 5
Card Price
Strategy Guides
Aggro Strategy Guide
Aggro decks are for players who want to commit threats early, attack often, and make combat math matter every turn. This strategy wants to pressure all opponents with efficient attackers, using anthems, haste, attack triggers, extra combats, and aggro commanders, to win through repeated combat damage before slower engines stabilize. In Commander that still means pushing through 120 total damage, so go-wide aggro EDH decks need refueling and scaling damage rather than only fast starts. Aggro differs from Tokens because it focuses on attacking with the bodies, from Voltron because it spreads pressure across many creatures, and from Infect because it deals life-total damage instead of poison.
Tokens Strategy Guide
Token decks are for players who want one card to become many bodies and then decide whether those bodies attack, block, draw cards, or fuel another engine. This strategy wants to flood the battlefield with creatures, using token commanders, repeatable generators, and anthem effects, to win through a go wide attack or by converting the swarm into damage, drain, or mana. Tokens is different from Aristocrats because making bodies comes first, from Counters because it grows wide instead of tall, and from Voltron because it spreads pressure across many creatures. The best token decks EDH players build reward patience against sweepers and careful timing on the finishing turn.
Reanimator Strategy Guide
Reanimator decks are for players who want to turn the graveyard into a shortcut for creatures that should cost far more mana. This strategy wants to load its own graveyard with high-impact targets, using discard, self-mill, and Entomb-style tutors, to win by casting cheap reanimation spells that cheat creatures into play ahead of schedule. Unlike Graveyard value decks, Reanimator is less about recurring small resources every turn, and unlike Mill it is not trying to empty libraries as the primary weapon. The best reanimator commanders and graveyard commanders help discard threats, return them, or convert each reanimated creature into immediate pressure.
Infect Strategy Guide
Infect decks are for players who want life totals to matter less than reaching ten poison on each opponent. This strategy wants to connect with infect and toxic creatures, using pump spells, evasion, protection, and infect commanders, to win through poison counter decks EDH opponents have to answer early. In the Counters, Proliferate, and Infect overlap, Counters grows creatures, Proliferate multiplies many counter types, and Infect is the poison win condition that proliferate can accelerate. The social cost is real: once poison appears, the table often treats you as the first threat, and some pods restrict the mechanic before deck selection.
Appears in These Collections
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