Deck 1 - Atraxa Poison

This deck is part of the Two-Headed Giant Commander decks, these are designed to be played 2v2 or 3v3 in the Commander format, but can also be played 1v1. 

Certain decks have certain themes, and will pair better with other decks, which decks work best have been listed below. These decks are on a higher skill level than most of the other decks in the club, with a lot of interacting mechanics. This can be overwhelming to learn and master but it is a whole lot of fun when you do.

The theme of the Villains box is Villains that have teamed up throughout the Multiverse to take down the heroes of the Realm. From Slivers to Phyrexians and Gods, there tactic is to empower each other and poison their way to victory. In a world teetering on the edge of chaos, the malevolent forces of the multiverse gather. Atraxa, the harbinger of Phyrexian perfection, leads an unholy crusade, seeking to spread her corrupted influence across the planes. Meanwhile, the Sliver Overlord, an ancient and cunning entity, awakens from its slumber, rallying its brood to assimilate all living creatures. These dark forces, along with ancient, malevolent gods, conspire to bring about the end of all that is good and just, plunging the world into an eternal darkness.

Atraxa was a former Mirran angel compleated through the combined efforts of four of New Phyrexia's Praetors. She had pale wings and clawed hands. Her voice was sharp and painful to mortals and even recently-compleated Phyrexians. She carried a spear, and controlled her forces through thought alone.

Atraxa, Praetors' Voice leads a deck focused on poison counters, leveraging the Infect and Toxic mechanics to quickly overwhelm opponents. In a Two-Headed Giant setting, this strategy is particularly potent as poison counters apply across the entire opposing team, meaning you can win by giving the team just 15 poison counters. The deck’s ability to proliferate those counters each turn, especially with Atraxa’s built-in proliferation, makes it easy to escalate the game in your favor. Atraxa serves as both an enabler and finisher, requiring strategic protection to keep the proliferation going.

Key Cards

• Atraxa, Praetors' Voice: As the commander, Atraxa’s end-step proliferate ability is the backbone of the deck. Once poison counters are on your opponents, Atraxa accelerates the game by adding more counters every turn.

• Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon: A lethal threat with Infect and haste potential, Skithiryx can quickly deliver multiple poison counters to the enemy team, and with regeneration, it’s difficult to remove.

• Bloated Contaminator: A powerful, high-impact card that has both Trample and Toxic 1, it proliferates on dealing combat damage, creating a snowballing effect.

• Thrummingbird / Grateful Apparition: Cheap, evasive creatures that proliferate on combat damage. These ensure consistent poison counter growth while being low-cost.

• Sword of Truth and Justice: Offers protection while furthering your proliferation strategy. Each combat hit adds another poison counter through proliferation and strengthens your creatures with +1/+1 counters.

• Triumph of the Hordes: A game-ending card that gives your entire board Infect. This can turn a modest board presence into a lethal attack that can eliminate the opposing team with just one combat phase.

• Grafted Exoskeleton: An equipment that turns any creature into a poison machine. Once equipped, even your non-Infect creatures become a deadly threat.

• Inexorable Tide: Proliferate every time you cast a spell, helping to steadily build poison counters as you continue to play cards.

Strategy

Early Game

The primary goal early on is to get your poison strategy rolling by placing at least one poison counter on each opponent. Key creatures like Blighted Agent, Glistener Elf, and Plague Stinger are low-cost Infect creatures that can quickly slip through and start the poison clock. If your opponents start building defenses, using Ichorclaw Myr or Bloated Contaminator with their Trample ensures that even small attacks can contribute to the poison strategy.

Ramp early to ensure you can cast your key pieces. Cards like Farseek, Birds of Paradise, and Fellwar Stone help fix your mana to ensure smooth transitions into mid-game.

Mid Game

Once you’ve established the initial poison counters, shift your focus to proliferation. Evolution Sage and Inexorable Tide are fantastic for ensuring that every landfall or spell you cast advances the poison clock. At this point, you’ll want to bring out Atraxa to capitalize on the proliferation and push the poison strategy into overdrive.

Use Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres to maximize your proliferation on entry, and keep Atraxa protected with cards like Swiftfoot Boots or Tezzeret's Gambit for card draw and additional proliferation. Keep the pressure on by casting spells like Tezzeret’s Gambit and Experimental Augury, which provide additional proliferation and card advantage.

If your teammate also uses a counter-heavy or poison-themed deck, your proliferation can significantly support their board, accelerating their win condition as well.

Late Game

By the late game, you should be close to locking in a win. Triumph of the Hordes is a finisher that can wipe out the enemy team in one explosive attack. Norn’s Choirmaster and Phyrexian Swarmlord can swarm the board, offering potent threats if the game drags on.

Leverage your high-impact proliferators like Vraska, Betrayal's Sting, Contaminant Grafter, and The Seedcore to continue the relentless proliferation. White Sun’s Twilight is a powerful option for clearing the board while creating a substantial force of toxic creatures that could win the game on the next turn.

Throughout the late game, Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon and Paladin of Predation act as massive finishers. Even if the opponent has strong defenses, their Infect abilities can punch through blockers to finalize the poison counter tally.

Mulligan Guide

A good starting hand includes at least one early Infect or Toxic creature, such as Glistener Elf or Blighted Agent, and a source of mana ramp like Sol Ring or Birds of Paradise. You also want to ensure you have a source of proliferation, such as Grateful Apparition or Evolution Sage, to keep the pressure on once poison counters are applied.

Avoid hands that are too top-heavy with late-game spells or too dependent on specific colored mana, especially in the early turns. Aim for balance with an Infect creature, mana ramp, and a mid-game proliferate option.