The Commander
When The Swarmweaver enters, create two 1/1 black and green Insect creature tokens with flying.
Delirium — As long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, Insects and Spiders you control get +1/+1 and have deathtouch.
Guide
Gameplan
Flood the board with Insect and Spider tokens, then flip on Delirium to turn the whole swarm into +1/+1 deathtouch attackers that trade up and swing for lethal. Early turns you fuel the graveyard with diverse card types (creatures, lands, artifacts, enchantments, instants, sorceries) via self-mill and sacrifice, then go wide and overrun.
Strengths
- Free two-flyer value on every cast, so even a removed commander leaves bodies behind
- Deathtouch on the entire swarm makes blocking suicidal and trades up against bombs
- Cheap to recast at four mana and recurs its own token engine
- Operates well in the often-underexplored Insect/Spider tribal space with strong token payoffs
Weaknesses
- Delirium can be inconsistent early and graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Bojuka Bog) shuts off the anthem entirely
- Token swarms are vulnerable to board wipes and sweepers
- Reliant on tribal payoffs that are narrow if disrupted
- BG lacks evasion outside flyers and can stall against fogs or strong blockers
Key Cards
- Stinging Lionfish — One of several ways to support the niche, but more importantly any Insect/Spider lord stacks with the deathtouch anthem to push damage.
- Grist, the Hunger Tide — Generates a stream of Insect tokens and helps fill the graveyard for Delirium.
- Skullclamp — Turns your endless 1/1 (or 2/2 with Delirium) tokens into a relentless card-draw engine.
- Mesmeric Orb — Rapidly self-mills diverse card types to switch on Delirium reliably.
- Cathars' Crusade — Each token entering pumps your whole board, snowballing the go-wide plan out of control.
- Craterhoof Behemoth — The classic finisher that turns a wide swarm of deathtouch tokens into instant lethal.
Upgrade Path
Add reliable Delirium enablers (Mesmeric Orb, Satyr Wayfinder, fetchlands, cycling lands) so the anthem comes online by turn three or four. Layer in token doublers (Doubling Season, Parallel Lives) and a closing overrun (Craterhoof Behemoth, Triumph of the Hordes) for explosive finishes, plus Skullclamp and Grim Hireling for grind. Round out with protection like Heroic Intervention and a sacrifice-value subtheme to insulate against board wipes.
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
- ▸Overrun with a wide deathtouch Insect/Spider swarm, often via Craterhoof Behemoth or Overwhelming Stampede
- ▸Anthem stacking (Cathars' Crusade, Beastmaster Ascension) turning tokens into oversized attackers
- ▸Aristocrats drain through Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and sacrifice loops
- ▸Flying evasion damage chipping in unblockably with deathtouch deterring blocks
Archetypes
- Tokens — The commander generates flyers on entry and rewards going extremely wide with tribal Insects and Spiders.
- Aristocrats — Expendable tokens fuel sacrifice outlets while fattening the graveyard for Delirium.
- Graveyard/Delirium — The whole anthem hinges on stocking four-plus card types, pushing a self-mill and recursion shell.
- Counters/Go-Wide Aggro — With anthems and +1/+1 effects, the swarm becomes a fast aggressive board state.
Combos
- Nim Deathmantle + Ashnod's Altar + The Swarmweaver
→ Infinite LTB, Infinite colorless mana, Infinite creature tokens
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BG), by popularity.
