The Serpent SocietyThe Serpent Society | Art by Rimas Valeikis

There are countless iconic Heroes and Villains from Marvel that have now entered the game of Magic. Plenty of players have built around fan favorites like Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Nick Fury and of course the... The Serpent SocietyThe Serpent Society?

That's right, this unlikely group of characters has become one of the most built-around commanders from this set, and seeing as how deathtouch is my personal favorite keyword, I knew I needed to put a budget list together for this crew.

My name is Tyler 'Savesya' Bucks, and today we're looking over a $35 deck (based on TCGplayer prices) that'll surely be nicer to your wallet than it will be to your opponents.

What Does The Serpent Society Bring to the Table?

Slithering in from the Marvel Universe is a band of snake-adjacent Villains known as The Serpent SocietyThe Serpent Society. This commander doesn't just feature one of the wildest ward costs I've ever seen, it's also centered around two incredibly dastardly deck themes: deathtouchers and forcing people to sacrifice their nontoken creatures.

I built this deck to be focused on loading up the board with scary threats, and being in control of when the members of your team leave the battlefield. This build will be a lot of fun for you to pilot, but will definitely put a target on your back, so continue at your own peril!

Key Deathtouchers

• Fynn, the FangbearerFynn, the Fangbearer: Here's one of the important creatures in the deck. It puts your opponents' time in the game on a scary ticking clock, because every creature they let get through adds up quickly when it comes to poison counters.
• Aveline de GrandpréAveline de Grandpré: A lot of the deathtouchers in this deck have a smaller power, which makes this legend so useful. It can buff up your board as the game goes on, which could possibly force people to make painful blocks in order to stop your team from growing.
• Hooded BlightfangHooded Blightfang: Sure, killing planeswalkers is nice, but that drain effect is the true star here. Now whenever you throw your creatures into combat, you're already changing up life totals.

• Archpriest of ShadowsArchpriest of Shadows: Since your commander causes your opponents to sacrifice their creatures when your deathtouchers bite the dust, having a way like the Archpriest to bring them right back into play can help ensure that you're consistently staying ahead of the rest of the table.
• Poison-Tip ArcherPoison-Tip Archer: This creature can be absolutely devastating in the deck. Whenever one of your creatures dies, that causes upwards of three more to get sacrificed around the table, which in turn would drain everyone else's life total by four, thus helping you quickly close out your games.
• Vraska, the SilencerVraska, the Silencer: As your opponents sacrifice their creatures, Vraska will steal them in order to add them to your board as Treasures. This'll allow you to utilize some different effects, while also ramping you into the late game.

Card Advantage

• Harvester of SoulsHarvester of Souls: Here's a perfect top end card draw engine for a deck this brutal. Not only does it have deathtouch itself, but it also lets you refill your hand as things die around the table.
• Deathreap RitualDeathreap Ritual: This is an enchantment that I'm always looking to add to lists, but it sometimes feels like it isn't reliable enough. However, it fits perfectly in with this one, since it checks on each end step, and allows you to draw if you block someone's ill-advised attack.
• Morbid OpportunistMorbid Opportunist: As I've said many times already, there's going to be a lot of creatures dying because of this deck's gameplan. Which means that you could be drawing a card on each turn around the table, making you barely notice that once per turn clause on this Rogue.

• Plumb the ForbiddenPlumb the Forbidden: Having the control over when your creatures die is important, and this is one of the best versions of that type of effect in the deck. With this spell, you can choose exactly which members of your team you'll let go, and replace them with a new card in the exchange.
• Witherbloom CharmWitherbloom Charm: Removing a small permanent and cashing in a creature for two cards is great of course, but I actually do want to highlight that life gain option here. This deck is going to make you the enemy at the table, so believe it or not, spending two mana at instant speed to gain five life could buy you one more turn in order to close things out.
• Vampiric RitesVampiric Rites: This enchantment is so useful in the deck, since it acts as an onboard threat that you get to utilize at any time. Leaving up two mana as you pass the turn means that the other players at the table have to factor in your ability to cause everyone else to sacrifice a nontoken creature, especially when it's the most opportune time for you.

Removal & Protection

• PrizefightPrizefight: A fight spell is such a rough thing for an opponent to deal with in this list, since not only will their creature die, but yours likely will as well, meaning there'll be another round of sacrificing that happens after that.
• Acidic SlimeAcidic Slime: Back when I first started playing Commander, this Ooze was in every green deck around, so being able to include it here is a treat. Plus, it's still a solid creature after all these years, hitting play and dealing with a problematic permanent, while also having deathtouch itself.
• Immoral BargainImmoral Bargain: Now here's a very tricky board wipe in this list. Say you have four deathtouch creatures that you aren't too attached to; well, just cash them in for this spell, destroy four problematic things, and force each opponent to sacrifice four nontoken creatures in the process...that's pretty brutal if you ask me.

• Undying MaliceUndying Malice: Here's the perfect type of protection piece for this kind of deck. Blocking with a deathtoucher and then targeting it with this spell will allow you to remove the attacking creature, make people sacrifice something, and still get your own creature back even better than ever.
• Revitalizing RepastRevitalizing Repast: Giving a member of your team a counter and indestructible is so amazing for this strategy, since it protects what you need as it enters combat or gets targeted by removal, while also still just being a two-color land on the other side.
• Golgari CharmGolgari Charm: The first two modes on this card are great in their uses, but that last mode to regenerate your board is the thing that'll mess with your opponents the most, since one of the biggest ways to deal with this deck is to just cast a sweeper to try and remove everything at once. Note: regeneration is a replacement effect, so if your creatures would die, instead they do not. So, this won't cause your opponents to sacrifice their creatures, but it's still a powerful way to maintain your own board state.

A Few More Highlights

• Full Steam AheadFull Steam Ahead: Combining trample with deathtouch is such a nasty combination, since trample just asks you to assign lethal damage to a blocker, and deathtouch makes only a single point of damage lethal, allowing the rest of your creature's power to go through. Full Steam Ahead forcing people to only choose one blocker ensures that even more power will get across during an attack.
• UnearthUnearth: I love including this card in any deck that has a commander with mana value three or less, since it could be a way to get around the tax of recasting it. Plus, this deck is filled with smaller creatures, which means this'll have plenty of targets when you need them.
• Ogre SlumlordOgre Slumlord: Here's a truly wild top end threat for this deck. As more creatures die around the table, you're making Rats with deathtouch, and if they die, more creatures will get sacrificed, and so on. Not only does this Ogre build you a board, but it also pushes your main plan forward in order to take over the game.

The Deck List

My Final Thoughts on The Serpent Society

So, there you have it, my $35 list for The Serpent SocietyThe Serpent Society. I hope you enjoyed my take on this commander, but I still want to hear from you: did I miss anything extra mean for this one? Let me know in the comments below.

If you're looking for more budget content from me, you can find it right here on EDHREC as well as on my YouTube channel The Pillow Fort, where I do everything I can to make Magic more accessible for everyone.