Sisters of Stone DeathSisters of Stone Death | Art by Donato Giancola

In 2018, Guilds of Ravnica was released, and as a relatively new Magic player at the time, it was my first look at the plane of Ravnica. The setting completely captivated me. From the laboratories housing mad experiments of the Izzet League to the overgrown decay of the Golgari Swarm's underworld, everything felt so perfectly crafted.

Alongside the set's release, Wizards of the Coast released a supplemental product called Guild Kits. These were fully playable 60-card decks built around each of the ten guilds on the plane. At the time, my local game store only had the Golgari Swarm one in stock, but I still grabbed it without hesitation. It was filled with your usual suspects: Deadbridge ChantDeadbridge Chant, Abrupt DecayAbrupt Decay, and Deathrite ShamanDeathrite Shaman, just to name a few.

It was a graveyard-focused deck at its core and functioned relatively well, but each game I would draw the same eight-mana card that didn't seem to really do anything: Sisters of Stone DeathSisters of Stone Death. Even then, the card seemed very weak for an eight-mana spell, but I always thought it might make a good commander someday.

Is that day today? Let's find out!

Sisters of Stone DeathSisters of Stone Death

On EDHREC, there are only 519 total decks in the database with this commander, and I don't blame players for overlooking this one. Not only is it eight mana, it requires even more mana to activate its abilities. Being in green means this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but why should we build this commander?

If we analyze this card closely, we'll see three things: it cares about blocking or being blocked, it cares about stealing things from our opponents, and it craves a ton of mana. These are three very different things, but that's what makes this commander so cool.

Playing Sisters of Stone Death requires a lot of setup, so let's take a look at how we can do that.

Category #1: Ramp

Ramp can be a boring piece of the deckbuilding process, but this deck thrives off of having a suite of ramp spells that can often serve multiple purposes. Looking at the stats, we have eighteen pieces of ramp, most of which pull double duty in some way.

• Awakening ZoneAwakening Zone is an older card, but getting a free blocker each turn that can be turned in for colorless mana later is very good.
• Bounty BoardBounty Board and Freestrider LookoutFreestrider Lookout will feed into our subtheme of "committing crimes" (I'll get into that later).
• Disorienting ChoiceDisorienting Choice is either a ramp spell for any land or it's a removal spell for a couple artifacts or enchantments (or both!).
• Nightshade DryadNightshade Dryad is a deathtouch blocker (need I say more?).
• Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse, while a Game Changer, lets us activate our commander if someone attacks us (not to mention it's crazy with Vedalken OrreryVedalken Orrery).
• Shriekwood DevourerShriekwood Devourer might the best creature in the deck, as our commander can attack and untap seven lands!
• Marshland BloodcasterMarshland Bloodcaster can let us cast out commander for eight life rather eight mana.
• Coveted JewelCoveted Jewel and Herd HeirloomHerd Heirloom can both provide card draw along with ramp.

The cards in this category can allow us to cast our commander, but what else can we do?

Category #2: Draw

Just like how ramp can be a boring piece of the deckbuilding process, draw isn't much better. We have 12 pieces of draw in this deck, and some of them I admittedly have never played before.

• Stinging StudyStinging Study is the spiciest piece of draw in the deck, as it draws us eight cards for the cost of five mana and eight life.
• Syphon MindSyphon Mind denies resources from our opponents while drawing us three cards, which is a great two-for-one.
• The Speed DemonThe Speed Demon has always seemed like a cool card, and it really shines in a deck like this. Watch out Phyrexian ArenaPhyrexian Arena, your days are numbered.
• Barbed ServitorBarbed Servitor can draw a card when it hits someone, but it's in the deck for a special reason that's coming up soon.
• Gix, Yawgmoth PraetorGix, Yawgmoth Praetor is an underrated group hug piece. Yeah, you heard me correctly: group hug. If your opponents want a "free card," they'll need to stop attacking you.
• Yes, I have used Damnable PactDamnable Pact to kill someone before. Is that why it's in the deck? Also, yes.
• Black Market ConnectionsBlack Market Connections is a staple in every black deck.
• Rishkar's ExpertiseRishkar's Expertise is amazing when you can draw eight cards and then cast something for free.

We have the mana, we have the resources. Now what?

Category #3: Lure

Sisters of Stone DeathSisters of Stone Death's first two abilities care about her (or they?) being blocked. The perfect complement to that? Lure effects. Lure effects are named after the card LureLure, and have a similar text box. The attacking creature "lures" each other creature to block it. If we have enough mana to sink into our commander, one lure effect = game over for our opponents.

• Shinen of Life's RoarShinen of Life's Roar is a way to lure our commander without it being countered, as channel abilities can't be countered unless someone has a StifleStifle effect.
• Tempting LicidTempting Licid starts as a creature, but can be turned into an Aura to act as a lure effect.
• Roar of ChallengeRoar of Challenge lures a creature, but then grants that creature indestructible.
• LureLure is the namesake of the effect, so it had to be included.

When every creature is blocking our commander, we can get in for some sneaky damage with our two Assassins: Virtus the VeiledVirtus the Veiled and Unstoppable SlasherUnstoppable Slasher. These creatures both halve an opponent's life total, and are the perfect includes to close out the game.

Category #4: The Secret Spice

Our first "secret spice" ties directly into our lure plan with Vicious BattleragerVicious Battlerager and Barbed ServitorBarbed Servitor. If a Lure effect is placed on either one of these creatures, we can deal massive amounts of damage to the defending player.

Vicious BattleragerVicious Battlerager's ability stacks with the amount of creatures that block it, so if we force our opponent to block with five tokens, they lose 25 life!

Barbed ServitorBarbed Servitor is similar, as it will deal damage equal to the amount that it is dealt (similar to Brash TaunterBrash Taunter or Stuffy DollStuffy Doll).

Our second "secret spice" is more of a "secret category."

As previously mentioned, we have a few things that care about crimes being committed, and our commander's first two abilities count as committing a crime! Because of this, we have included things like Rattleback ApothecaryRattleback Apothecary to grant our commander lifelink or menace, Gisa, the HellraiserGisa, the Hellraiser to create more bodies for our army, and Servant of the StingerServant of the Stinger to search for whatever we need.

This is a Golgari deck, so we'll be committing crimes outside of our commander, too.

Closing Thoughts

This deck is definitely on the slower side, but it lets you fly under the radar for long enough to get some sneaky wins. If you don't want to sink mana into your commander, I added some finishers like Morlun, Devourer of SpidersMorlun, Devourer of Spiders and Outrageous RobberyOutrageous Robbery to help get the job done.

Overall, this is not my usual style of deck, but I can't wait to test it out at my LGS.

Check out my deck list below!

Sisters of Stone Death Commander Deck List