Legendary Creature — Human Cleric

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons

Mana value2EDHREC#4,183

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The Commander

Whenever Hapatra deals combat damage to a player, you may put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.

Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature, create a 1/1 green Snake creature token with deathtouch.

Guide

Gameplan

Hapatra turns every -1/-1 counter into a deathtouch Snake token, so you flood the board with bodies while shrinking opponents' creatures. Deploy cheap -1/-1 counter sources, generate snakes, then convert that wide board into damage with anthems or sacrifice them for value. The deck is fast, resilient, and grinds opponents to death through removal and aristocrats.

Strengths

Generates explosive token value off cheap, repeatable -1/-1 counter effects
Built-in board control: shrinking and killing opposing creatures while building your own army
Deathtouch tokens make blocking and racing miserable for opponents
Low curve and cheap commander lets you rebuild quickly after wraths

Weaknesses

Relies heavily on Hapatra being on the board to convert counters into snakes
Vulnerable to board wipes despite cheap rebuilds—token strategies hate Wrath effects
Counters can be wiped by proliferate hate or hexproof/indestructible creatures
Can struggle to close games without a payoff engine or finisher in play

Key Cards

Nest of Scarabs — Doubles every -1/-1 counter event into extra tokens, stacking with Hapatra's own ability.
Black Sun's Zenith — Scalable board wipe that puts -1/-1 counters on everything, making a swarm of snakes while it does.
Crumbling Ashes — Repeatable engine that adds a -1/-1 counter each upkeep to slowly kill creatures and pump out snakes.
Hand of the Praetors — Anthem and infect synergy that boosts your snake army and punishes opponents.
Cryptolith Rite — Turns your wide board of snakes into a massive mana engine for explosive turns.
Devoted Druid — Combos with persist or counter-removal effects, and its abilities synergize with -1/-1 counter shenanigans.

Upgrade Path

Add infinite combos like Devoted Druid + Channeler Initiate or persist creatures (Murderous Redcap, Kitchen Finks) with sacrifice outlets to generate infinite snakes and drain. Tighten the mana base with fast lands and dorks, and include proliferate enablers and aristocrats payoffs like Zulaport Cutthroat and Pitiless Plunderer. Prioritize cheap, repeatable -1/-1 counter sources over one-shot effects to maximize Hapatra's 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

▸Wide board of deathtouch snakes pumped by anthems for a lethal alpha strike
▸Aristocrats drain via Blood Artist/Zulaport Cutthroat sacrificing snake tokens
▸Infinite combo with persist creatures (e.g. Kitchen Finks + sac outlet) for infinite snakes and drain
▸Proliferate-fueled board control choking opponents out while snakes chip in damage

Archetypes

Tokens — Every -1/-1 counter spawns a deathtouch Snake, naturally flooding the board with bodies.
Aristocrats — Endless expendable snake tokens fuel sacrifice outlets and drain effects like Blood Artist.
+1/+1 & -1/-1 Counters — The deck is built around -1/-1 counter synergies that proliferate and combo into wins.
Combo — Persist creatures plus -1/-1 counter removal (Hapatra triggers) enable infinite token loops.

Combos

Blowfly Infestation + Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
→ Infinite death triggers, Infinite ETB, Infinite LTB
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons + Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Obelisk Spider
→ Near-infinite lifeloss, Near-infinite lifegain triggers, Near-infinite ETB
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons + Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Blood Artist
→ Destroy all creatures opponents control, Destroy each creature that enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, Infinite -1/-1 counters
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons + Yawgmoth, Thran Physician + Zulaport Cutthroat
→ Destroy all creatures opponents control, Destroy each creature that enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, Infinite -1/-1 counters
Ivy Lane Denizen + Devoted Druid + Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
→ Infinite creature tokens, Infinite ETB, Infinite green mana