Blue Elemental BlastBlue Elemental Blast | Art by Slawomir Maniak

Welcome to Fire and Ice! I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to talk about which cards are gaining and losing popularity for Massacre Girl, Known KillerMassacre Girl, Known Killer decks!

This is the data-driven series where I'll go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity.

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. Here, I'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

We'll be focusing on the newer version of Massacre Girl today, as she beat out Octavia, Living ThesisOctavia, Living Thesis and Ghyrson Starn, KelermorphGhyrson Starn, Kelermorph in last week's poll. Let's jump in and see what this Murders at Karlov Manor legend has in store.

Massacre Girl, Known KillerMassacre Girl, Known Killer

What's Hot and What's Not for Massacre Girl, Known Killer

Massacre Girl encourages pilots to play a control-heavy mono- deck. She encourages us to reduce the toughness of our opponents' creatures to less than one, and helps us get there by giving our creatures wither. She also carries the same 4/4 statline and menace keyword that the previous Massacre GirlMassacre Girl did, which is a nice reference.

Among her most popular cards are NecroskitterNecroskitter with a 74% inclusion rate, Massacre WurmMassacre Wurm with an 86% inclusion rate, and Blood ArtistBlood Artist with a 61% inclusion rate. These three creatures paint a pretty clear picture of the deck's game plan: Kill our opponents' creatures and ensure that their life totals plummet just as fast as their creatures' toughness.

What's Fiery for Massacre Girl Decks?

Blood on the SnowBlood on the Snow - Fire Score of 3.67

First, I'd like to point out that this board wipe is currently only in 12 Massacre Girl decks. But, it's here, so let's talk about it! If you spring for Snow-Covered SwampSnow-Covered Swamps in place of regular SwampSwamps, this card becomes one of the best casual board wipes available in Commander. If you'll forgive the clunky metaphor, it staples DamnationDamnation and ReanimateReanimate together, at the cost of one extra mana.

But, most Commander players aren't willing to spring for snow lands. They cost significantly more than regular basics, which can often be found for free, and are rarer on online marketplaces. If you're willing and able to include those fancy basics, go for it! Blood on the Snow will serve you well. Otherwise, I'd recommend looking towards LanguishLanguish or Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge.

Forsaken MinerForsaken Miner - Fire Score of 3.64

I love when Wizards of the Coast gives us 2/2s for just one mana. It's clear that this is a design boundary they've been purposefully pushing over the past few years, and it's very interesting to see the creative ways they add drawbacks to these over-statted creatures.

Forsaken Miner is a great card; we'll be committing lots of crimes, given the high amount of removal present in our 99, so this Skeleton Rogue won't stay dead for long. He can be used in combat to add -1/-1 counters to opposing creatures or chip in damage, and can also be sacrificed for Village RitesVillage Rites style effects repeatedly.

This creature is a fantastic include for many decks, so its popularity is nice to see.

OverkillOverkill - Fire Score of 3.61

Is this the most efficient piece of removal ever printed? No. But, it's a thematic kill spell that can be cast at a reasonable rate. Plus, it can kill indestructible creatures and be cast at instant speed.

It's far from a mortal sin to include this spell in your Massacre Girl deck, but there are certainly lower costed MurderMurder variants available for players looking to optimize their gameplay.

Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top - Fire Score of 3.05

This artifact has a spot in only 23 Massacre Girl, Known Killer lists, and I suspect that it's mostly there to combo off with Bolas's CitadelBolas's Citadel. But, it does have utility outside of comboing with a Game Changer.

Massacre Girl lets us draw a lot of cards, so it's reasonable to want to control those draws. Top is never a bad include, but I suspect that more synergy-oriented players would rather run another kill spell or aristocrats payoff in its place.

Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim - Fire Score of 2.48

A classic for any deck that cares about the graveyard, Syr Konrad will deal out plenty of damage as we kill more and more opposing creatures.

This Human Knight has been a staple of Aristocrats lists since his release, and fits in perfectly as a payoff for all the removal we'll be throwing around.

Liliana VessLiliana Vess - Fire Score of 2.29

Lili's first two abilities are pretty standard for decks. She can +1 to cast Raven's CrimeRaven's Crime and -2 to cast Imperial SealImperial Seal. But her ultimate is what's really of interest here. If we -8 her, we get to cast Rise of the Dark RealmsRise of the Dark Realms. That fits pretty well with our game plan, as our opponents will have graveyards full of creatures we removed.

But, paying for Liliana, then +1-ing her for three turns, and using her ultimate on the fourth turn after we cast her (assuming she didn't get removed or attacked) is a high cost. If I'm really craving mass reanimation, I'd prefer to just pay for Rise of the Dark Realms.

NecropotenceNecropotence - Fire Score of 2.28

One of the best cards available to Commander players, Necropotence turns life points directly into card advantage. In our 40-life format, that's incredibly strong. It's no wonder this card is a Game Changer.

For any Massacre Girl pilots looking to play in Bracket 3 or higher, this enchantment is almost an auto-include. Plus, we can bolster our life total with the many Blood ArtistBlood Artist-style effects we're running in our 99.

Force of DespairForce of Despair - Fire Score of 2.22

This is an interesting include. This instant, from the same cycle as Force of NegationForce of Negation, is underplayed. But I'm not sure if this is the right spot for it. We want our opponents' creatures to die, but we'd rather kill them by reducing their toughness.

This free spell is a nice "panic button" if an opponent manages to land a bunch of hasty creatures on the battlefield, but I'm not sure if I want to draw it in any other game state.

Barbed ServitorBarbed Servitor - Fire Score of 2.19

This creature was actually printed in the same set as our commander, which may be contributing somewhat to its popularity. It puts our opponents in a Catch 22: If they block this creature, they lose life and we get to put -1/-1 counters on at least one of their creatures; if they let it connect, we get to draw a card.

It's certainly an interesting design, and a fun mini-game to introduce to the combat step, but it costs four mana. That's the same amount our commander costs, and I'd much rather either cast Massacre Girl or spend that mana killing things immediately to trigger Massacre Girl's abilities. I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze here.

Vein RipperVein Ripper - Fire Score of 2.18

It's like you stapled a bunch of Blood ArtistBlood Artists together! Vein Ripper is a great card, and one of very few Aristocrats payoffs that triggers off of any creature dying. Its ward cost is also neat, as our opponents have to trigger its ability to interact with it meaningfully.

Yes, is a lot to ask for, but this Vampire Assassin is worth every mana we spend on it.

DismemberDismember - Fire Score of 2.01

This removal spell costs . I'm not sure that I've ever seen someone pay for this spell! Mana cost aside, Dismember is a perfect fit for this deck. It's essentially a cantrip that removes a creature when we've got our commander on the battlefield, which is frankly insane.

What's Icy for Massacre Girl Decks?

Nest of ScarabsNest of Scarabs - Ice Score of -4.50

While having a mass of 1/1 creature tokens to attack and block with is certainly neat, it doesn't actually drive our game plan forward very much. Some players may be replacing this enchantment with more ways to actually distribute -1/-1 counters, rather than just profiting off of their placement.

Black Sun's ZenithBlack Sun's Zenith - Ice Score of -3.22

This card seems like a perfect fit for Massacre Girl decks, until you realize that Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge does the same thing for much less mana. This board wipe may have a slot in budget decks, or decks that focus more heavily on -1/-1 counters than on giving -1/-1 until end of turn, but it's been outclassed by one of Commander's premiere mass removal spells.

Blowfly InfestationBlowfly Infestation - Ice Score of -2.92

This enchantment, in theory, can chain kill a bunch of our opponents' small creatures before putting a mettlesome -1/-1 counter on a larger creature. That would net us a lot of cards and Blood Artist triggers.

But this is Commander; most creatures are bigger than X/1, which heavily limits Blowfly Infestation's effectiveness. If you draw it against a Zinnia, Valley's VoiceZinnia, Valley's Voice player, you'll have a fantastic time. But against most other decks, it just won't shine.

Black Sun's TwilightBlack Sun's Twilight - Ice Score of -2.90

If we cast this instant as a removal spell, we'll often be overpaying to kill just one creature. If we cast it as a removal and reanimation spell, we'll still be overpaying for the effect. It's certainly nice to staple these two effects together, but we need to pay a minimum of to remove something and bring something else back from the dead.

It's a cute card, but not a very good one.

Slaughter SpecialistSlaughter Specialist - Ice Score of -2.43

I'm sad to see this Slaughter Specialist declining in popularity. It checks so many boxes for Massacre Girl: It costs just two mana and can be cast before our commander, it gives our opponents some ultimately meaningless creature tokens that can be swept up easily when we get out a Kaervek, the SpitefulKaervek, the Spiteful-type effect, and it grows into a game-ending threat if we manage to get it on the board early enough.

Midnight BansheeMidnight Banshee - Ice Score of -2.29

This creature reminds me of Persistent ConstrictorPersistent Constrictor, which is admittedly high praise. I like Midnight Banshee, but its high mana cost is keeping it out of many lists. One of the largest reasons for Persistent Constrictor's strength is its ability to protect itself through persist. This Spirit has no protection, and we need to untap with it to get any sort of benefit from it.

This card is sadly showing its age.

Blackblade ReforgedBlackblade Reforged - Ice Score of -2.13

This Equipment is only in 31 Massacre Girl lists, so I won't pay it too much mind. I assume its here to allow our commander to spread more -1/-1 counters around via wither, and possibly to make her a Voltron threat. But it has no real relevance to our game plan and should be removed from lists whenever possible.

What's in a Massacre Girl, Known Killer Commander Deck?

Conclusion

That's all for this week! There's not a poll to vote on this time, as we'll be taking a few weeks to examine some of Commander's most popular cards. Look out for commanders that sit firmly in the top 300 on EDHREC for the next few editions of Fire and Ice!