Ardyn, the Usurper
Demons you control have menace, lifelink, and haste. Starscourge — At the beginning of combat on your turn, exile up to one target creature card from a graveyard. If you exiled a card this way, create a token that's a copy of that card, except it's a 5/5 black Demon.
How Ardyn decks play in EDH
Ardyn, the Usurper is a mono-black commander costing 5BBB, and its legendary creature - elder human noble line shapes the whole deck around it. It makes tokens, so the deck wants ways to pump a wide board and to turn spare bodies into cards or damage. Life gain is a resource here rather than a safety net, so cards that convert life totals into damage or draw belong in the list. The cards below are the ones Ardyn, the Usurper decks actually play most often, grouped by the job they do.
Most-played cards
20 cards · about $84.31Play rates from EDHREC. Prices from Scryfall, refreshed daily.
Ramp (1)
Card draw (4)
Creatures (13)
Synergy & payoffs (2)
Build the full 100
Grimoire generates a complete, Commander-legal Ardyn, the Usurper decklist with a written strategy, a full mana base and live prices — from the whole card pool, or only from cards you already own.
Start with ArdynArdyn deck questions
What colours can I use in a Ardyn, the Usurper deck?
Ardyn, the Usurper has a mono-black colour identity, so every card in the deck must be black or colourless. That includes mana symbols in rules text, not just casting cost.
What are the best cards for Ardyn, the Usurper?
The cards played most often in Ardyn, the Usurper decks include The Master of Lake-town, Avacyn, Angel of Horror, Troop of Ponies. The full list of staples above is grouped by the job each card does, so you can see the deck's skeleton rather than just a pile of names.
How much does a Ardyn, the Usurper deck cost?
The 20 most-played cards shown above come to roughly $84.31 at current market prices. A complete 100-card build costs more, and Grimoire can generate a budget version instead if you set a price ceiling.
Can I build a Ardyn, the Usurper deck from cards I already own?
Yes. Import your collection into Grimoire and choose "my cards" when you build. The generator will only use cards you actually own, and the Missing Cards page shows what you would need to buy to finish any list.