The Commander
, Guide
Gameplan
Fain turns counters, creatures, and artifacts into one another, letting you fuel sacrifice payoffs, ramp via Treasure, and grow threats on demand. You build a value engine that loops fodder into counters, counters into Treasure, and Treasure into Inklings, then untap Fain with 
to do it all twice in a turn. You grind the table out with relentless incremental advantage and convert it into a big swing or a sacrifice/aristocrats finish.
Strengths
- Extremely flexible engine that bridges +1/+1 counters, artifacts, and Treasure ramp
- Untap ability means his abilities aren't once-per-turn — huge with mana
- Mono-black gives deep access to tutors, recursion, and reanimation
- Generates value from spare counters and tokens that would otherwise sit idle
Weaknesses
- Each ability is slow and incremental without an untapper or mass token production
- Heavily reliant on Fain himself, so commander removal and tax stunt the deck
- Vulnerable to graveyard hate when leaning on recursion/aristocrats
- Can fold to fast combo decks since the engine takes time to assemble
Key Cards
- Pitiless Plunderer — Each sacrificed creature makes a Treasure, exploding Fain's sacrifice ability into mana and loops.
- Ashnod's Altar — Free sacrifice outlet that turns Fain's tokens and fodder into mana to repeatedly untap him.
- Disciple of the Vault — Treasure and artifact churn drains the table for the win as tokens enter and leave.
- Cabal Coffers — Mono-black ramp powers the untap and lets you chain abilities all turn.
- Skullclamp — Equip to a token, sacrifice for two cards, refilling fodder for Fain endlessly.
- Crested Sunmare — Counters from Fain feed indestructible Horses, but more importantly counter synergies turn Fain's outputs into board presence.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana and untap enablers (Sol Ring, Cabal Coffers, Nyxbloom Ancient) plus free sac outlets like Ashnod's Altar and Phyrexian Altar to break Fain's per-turn limit. Build toward a dedicated combo line such as Pitiless Plunderer plus an altar and a drain payoff, and tighten the deck with black tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Diabolic Intent) to find pieces. Round out with proliferate (Inexorable Tide, Tezzeret's Gambit) to overflow the Treasure side of his engine.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Disciple of the Vault, Blood Artist, and Zulaport Cutthroat
- ▸Infinite mana/token loops (Pitiless Plunderer + free sac outlet) into a drain or X-spell
- ▸Going wide with Inkling fliers and overwhelming with counter-pumped attackers
- ▸Reanimating a big finisher and buffing it with +1/+1 counters for lethal swings
Archetypes
- Aristocrats — Fain is a built-in sacrifice outlet that rewards converting creatures into counters, Treasure, and tokens.
- Artifacts/Treasure — He both makes and consumes artifacts, fueling treasure-matters and artifact-sacrifice payoffs.
- Counters — Fain distributes +1/+1 counters and can also cash in proliferated counters for Treasure.
- Combo — With free sac outlets and Treasure makers like Pitiless Plunderer, Fain enables infinite token/mana loops.
Combos
- Fain, the Broker + Puppeteer Clique + Ashnod's Altar
→ Infinite colorless mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite ETB
- Fain, the Broker + Necrotic Ooze + Devoted Druid
→ Infinite colored mana, Infinite creature tokens, Infinite death triggers
- Fain, the Broker + Necrotic Ooze + Cinderhaze Wretch
→ Infinite colored mana, Infinite creature tokens, Infinite death triggers
- Fain, the Broker + Ashnod's Altar + Haunted One + Relic of Legends
→ Infinite death triggers, Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB
- Fain, the Broker + Thornbite Staff + Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar
→ Infinite LTB, Infinite ETB, Infinite sacrifice triggers
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (B), by popularity.
