Karumonix, the Rat King

Legendary Creature — Phyrexian Rat

Toxic 1 (Players dealt combat damage by this creature also get a poison counter.)

Other Rats you control have toxic 1.

When Karumonix enters the battlefield, look at the top five cards of your library. You may reveal any number of Rat cards from among them and put the revealed cards into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Pre-release	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Standard	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (4)

MistaMint on Has Toxic fixed poison counters?

1 month ago

I've had a major issue with infect ever since it came out. It's one of the playstyle I affectionately refer to as Simpleton Playstyle. It didn't take intelligence to use, all you needed to do was have an infection source and a way to pump it and that's game. It doesn't take much brainpower to do. I hold infect decks in the same regard as eldrazi titan decks: anyone who plays them is not a fun person to play with/be around, and all they want is the simplest ways to do things.

Infect was clunky from the get go, and I was happy when Toxic was spoiled because literally everything I said they should have done with Infect is what they did to it and called it Toxic. Having to keep track of multiple sources of -1/-1 counters on creatures is extremely annoying when you play in person and not online. Also one of the reasons I make no G/W decks, because I don't like having tokens and counters and other nonsense to keep track of in addition to playing the game.

I hate infect with a passion, but I use Toxic in a couple of my decks and even have a Karumonix, the Rat King deck that uses poison counters and people don't hate me for using it.

So to simplify it, Toxic is easily better than infect. It's not an OP wincon that everyone will have in their deck. While powerful, it can still be stopped and dealt with. And a Toxic deck draws noticeably less hate from the rest of the table than infect decks do.

Infect and eldrazi titans are fun killers that only sweaty tryhards use and try to defend using. They are for people who aren't good at a game but still want to win. They are training wheels used instead of brainpower

Quicksilver2785 on Marrow-Gnawer Goes Wide

5 months ago

I know you are going more budget with this but figured I could suggest a few Rats or cards that help a chosen creature type: Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm, Lord Skitter, Sewer King, Ratcatcher, Karumonix, the Rat King, Twisted Sewer-Witch, Skemfar Shadowsage, Kindred Dominance, Haunting Voyage, Crippling Fear, Aphetto Dredging.

legendofa on infinite rats

11 months ago

I leave this in your capable hands. Do you think the deck needs more removal? Sadistic Hypnotist or Feed the Swarm. Another win condition? Altar of the Brood, Altar of Dementia, or Karumonix, the Rat King. More card draw? Phyrexian Arena, Black Market Connections, Deadly Dispute, Bankrupt in Blood, or Village Rites. (I know I suggested some of these cards already; they've worked well for me.)

legendofa on infinite rats

11 months ago

Pulling from my own Rat tribal deck (Modern-ish casual, not EDH):

Karumonix, the Rat King gives you an out against lifegain-heavy decks. I don't recommend going deeper than that with poison (i.e. don't add Ichor Rats or Septic Rats), but Karumonix adds a layer to your attacks and keeps rats coming.

I haven't gotten Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm yet, but I want to. It looks amazing. If your budget can handle it, I'm recommending it just in theoretical grounds.

I personally am not impressed with Swarm of Rats (Rat Colony is pretty much all-around better) and Pestilence Rats, but they might work better in EDH, where you always have access to a fear-granting effect. How have they worked for you?

Ratcatcher is a free tutor for a rat every turn. Highly recommended.

Memoricide is a little odd, since it can only hit one card that isn't in play. Is this a meta choice? Do you have a specific target for it that you know you'll see?

Unless you see a bunch of Voltron, Battlecruiser, or other decks with one big creature, I would diversify the removal a little bit. You have a lot of single-target creature removal. I'm a big fan of discard, so I'm recommending based on what I like at this point. Cabal Therapist, Mind Slash, and Sadistic Hypnotist turn your rats into hand removal. Feed the Swarm offers enchantment removal with a very evocative name for this deck. Try some of these in place of Cast Down or Ultimate Price or something. Also, Despise isn't great if you're just fishing. If you want a T1 discard effect, Thoughtseize is best, Inquisition of Kozilek and Blackmail are solid, and Dread Fugue is pretty good.

Following up on that, I see a good set of mass removal and graveyard recursion, and Marrow-Gnawer lets you rebuild quickly. This part looks solid.