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Infect is an archetype in Commander based around poison counters. It offers a unique playstyle that doesn’t quite play like any other Commander deck. Instead, Infect decks don’t attack the life totals of your opponents, but try to get ten poison counters on them as quickly as possible.
What Is Infect?
Infect is a mechanic found on creatures. If a creature with infect deals damage to a creature, that many -1/-1 counters are put onto it. If they deal damage to a player, they get that many poison counters. In both cases, combat damage is not actually dealt. A player with ten or more poison counters automatically loses the game.
Infect has a fairly infamous reputation in Magic, so a nerfed version of it called Toxic was created. Unlike Infect, a creature with Toxic has a number given (such as Toxic 2) which, when it deals combat damage, the player hit will get that many poison counters. So, if a creature with Toxic 2 connects to a player for any amount of damage, they will get two poison counters. Unlike Infect, creatures with Toxic will still deal combat damage traditionally.
Creatures with Infect generally have low base stats, as seen on Blighted Agent and Glistener Elf. Creatures with Toxic tend to have more varied stats, as seen on Necrogen Rotpriest.
What Colors Is Infect In?
Infect is found in all five colors, but is most common in Black and Green . For cards with Toxic, this is also true with the addition of White (and the exclusion of Red entirely). Infect only appears on mono-colored cards like Ichor Rats. For Toxic, you can find them on multi-colored cards such as Slaughter Singer, Tainted Observer, and Voidwing Hybrid.
Infect Staples
Infect is a mechanic that hasn’t appeared too frequently, only featuring in the Scars of Mirrodin block from late 2010 and early 2011. Toxic has only appeared in the All Will Be One set, with a one-off card in Bloomburrow. Cards that give poison counters have been released sparingly in sets that feature Phyrexians.
Staples With Infect
If you can play it, you always want Blighted Agent in your deck. It’s an unblockable creature with Infect, so if you can give it a stat boost, it’s possible to take someone out of the game with just one attack. You can use Phyresis as a way to give any creature Infect, allowing a powerful creature to become significantly more threatening. Triumph of the Hordes is a great way to close out games through giving your entire battlefield infect.
Staples With Toxic
Even though you’re playing an Infect deck, you will want to make sure to have cards with Toxic as well. You should consider Toxic to go hand-in-hand with Infect. In some cases, Toxic is better, as so long as you do at least one damage to your opponent, Toxic will get the full amount of poison counters.
Venerated Rotpriest is by far the best card with Toxic. It discourages any opponent from trying to target any of your creatures or risk getting a poison counter. You can even target it with your own spells to get extra value out of it. It applies to any creature, not just itself, so if you have a spell that targets multiple creatures, such as March of Swirling Mist, you’ll get that many triggers. Necrogen Rotpriest helps creatures with Toxic to get extra poison counters on your opponent. Tyrranax Rex has a ton of protection and a high Toxic count, letting you get poison counters on your opponents dangerously high.
Poison Counter Staples
Certain cards put poison counters on your opponent directly. These are very good for you to run as it gets around ever needing to deal combat damage to your opponents in the first place.
Ichor Rats is both a card with Infect and one that will put a poison counter on all players when it enters the battlefield. Norn's Decree decentivizes your opponents from attacking you, as if they deal damage, they’ll get a poison counter. A player loses when they get ten, so unless they take you out quickly, you’ll be safe from them. Bloodroot Apothecary has Toxic and punishes any of your opponents who sacrifice a noncreature token (including Treasures) by giving them two poison counters. Treasure tokens are very common in Commander, so despite it being niche, you’ll run into plenty of situations where it’s relevant.
Proliferate Staples
Proliferate is an effect that lets you put one counter on all permanents and players that have them. This includes poison counters, so Proliferate is a way to get an extra poison counter on your opponents. Proliferate is much more common than cards that give poison counters, so you have a lot more options.
Evolution Sage is an easy way to Proliferate, as all you need to do is play a land. If you’re in Green , you can easily play multiple lands a turn for extra Proliferation. Contagion Engine is costly in mana, but worth it when it lets you essentially pay four mana to put two poison counters on everyone. Inexorable Tide is good to invest in, as it turns every spell you cast into Proliferation. They don’t even have to resolve, you just need to cast the spell to trigger Inexorable Tide
Complimentary Cards
Cards that put poison counters on players are the key cards of an Infect deck. However, you’ll want to make sure you include other cards to support the strategy. You don’t want to go all in, especially since combat is vital for an Infect deck to get to poisoning your opponents.
Nearly every card with Infect or Toxic is a Phyrexian, so you can take advantage of Phyrexian support cards in your Infect deck. Glissa, Herald of Predation is a way to make your Phyrexians much more threatening in combat by giving them first strike and deathtouch. Phyrexian Censor slows all your opponents down, making them unable to cast more than one non-Phyrexian spell each turn. It does affect you, but since most of your creatures are Phyrexians, you won’t feel this downside much. Brimaz, Blight of Oreskos Incubates when a Phyrexian is cast and Proliferates when one dies.
You need to deal combat damage consistently when playing an Infect deck. As such, cards that make a creature unblockable are vital for the strategy. Whispersilk Cloak is a great one, as it also gives the creature Shroud so that it can’t be targeted either. Trailblazer's Boots gives a creature nonbasic landwalk, and since nearly every Commander deck runs nonbasic lands, it’ll almost always be online. Aqueous Form is a one mana way to make any creature unblockable.
Cards that give +1/+1 counters are also very useful for Infect decks. You want your creatures with Infect to have high stats, and with all the Proliferating, you can make some massive creatures. Brokers Ascendancy constantly puts +1/+1 counters on all your creatures (and loyalty counters on planeswalkers). Innkeeper's Talent does a bit of everything, so you want to make sure you have room in your deck for it.
General Gameplay
An Infect deck has a rather simple game plan: get poison counters on your opponents as quickly as possible. You want to get one on every opponent before you do anything else to make the most out of your Proliferate effects. Cards that give a poison counter to everyone are the best way to achieve this, like Prologue to Phyresis, Infectious Inquiry, and Vraska's Fall.
Removal is very important to pack in an Infect deck, moreso than other archetypes. This is because of how vital combat is. To trigger Toxic and get poison counters on your opponents with Infect, you need to deal damage. Removal that also gives poison counters or Proliferates are the best option. Phyresis Outbreak can act as a one-sided board wipe depending on the board state. Infectious Bite is a fight spell that spreads poison counters. It is a bit costly in mana, but Atomize can be a useful way to get rid of a problem permanent while Proliferating.
How Infect Decks Win
There is really only one route to victory with an Infect deck, getting all your opponents to ten poison counters. By nature, you’ll be public enemy because of how easy this has become over the years. So, you want permanents to make it harder for your opponents to attack you. Cards like Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, and Norn's Annex
Cards that Proliferate quickly are a great way to push toward victory quickly. Radstorm, Tekuthal, Inquiry Dominus, and Patrolling Peacemaker are great ways to stack up counters fast.
Combos
Infect decks have a way to instantly take someone out of the game with Vraska, Betrayal's Sting. All you need is a card that doubles the amount of counters put on permanents such as a Level 3 Innkeeper's Talent. This makes it so
While it doesn’t guarantee everyone is removed from the game, Hydra Omnivore has the potential to take everyone out with one swing. All you have to do is give it Infect with cards such as Grafted Exoskeleton, Tainted Strike, or Phyresis. It deals its combat damage to all opponents, so if that number is ten, Hydra Omnivore will put ten poison counters on all your opponents to instantly make them lose the game.
Infect Commanders
Infect commanders come in every color. There are enough Infect commanders in just about every color combination (including mono-colored) that you can have any combination of colors you want. However, you probably want to leave behind Red , as there aren’t many reasons for Infect decks to play this color. There are a ton of options for Infect commanders, and we’ll be looking at three different ones here.
Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa
Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa is the face commander for the Corrupting Influence preconstructed deck. This allows you to get the base for the deck easily and remove the weaker cards in favor of stronger ones. The deck takes advantage of the corrupted abilities of permanents, which are active if any player has three or more poison counters. On top of Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa, you also have cards like Glistening Sphere and Glissa's Retriever
If a creature has multiple instances of Toxic, all of them will trigger. This means if a creature with Toxic 3 is given Toxic 2, both trigger if it connects for damage to put a total of five poison counters on the player it hits. As such, ways to give Toxic are great, and found on Necrogen Communion and Plague Nurse. These are especially good with Jawbone Duelist, which has double strike, which doubles all your Toxic triggers (one from first strike and one from the regular damage).
You also want some card draw in the deck. Infect decks can run out of steam quickly, especially after a board wipe. Ixhel, Scion of Atraxa is one of these, letting you steal your opponents spells. Ohran Frostfang is a way to draw a ton of cards if creatures connect for damage. Since it also grants deathtouch, it can make your opponents hesitant to block. Norn's Decree gives you card draw when players with poison counters are attacked. This includes you, which can be relevant as some of your own cards can give you poison counters.
A sample decklist can be viewed here. This decklist is built for the tier 3 bracket, but you can also bring an un-upgraded precon to a bracket 2 game if you simply buy Corrupting Influence. Playing the precon is the most budget option, but you can upgrade it for cheap.
Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
Whether you call it Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon or its nickname Skittles, it offers a unique form of an Infect deck. As opposed to focusing on multiple creatures, it plays a more Voltron strategy by loading up Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon with Equipment such as Fireshrieker and Genji Glove.
While Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon is the primary card you want to stack up with stat boosts, you have other options. Evasive creatures are the best choices to load up with Equipment. So if Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon isn’t available, other options are Whispering Specter, Phyrexian Crusader, and Plague Stinger.
There may be cases you can’t quite close out games with Infect. While Black doesn’t have access to a ton of Proliferate effects, it does have some. Drown in Ichor, Spread the Sickness, Contagion Clasp, and Contagion Engine are some of your options.
A sample decklist can be viewed here. The deck plays comfortably in bracket 3, but can handle itself in bracket 4 as well. Adding in some fast mana would let it be more consistently competitive in bracket 4.
Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice is one of the most popular commanders of all time. In the lore, Atraxa was an angel that was compleated and turned into a Phyrexian, making her a fitting commander to lead an Infect deck. With Atraxa, Praetors' Voice, it focuses more on Proliferating rather than straight Infect. Other cards that give you consistent Proliferation are Staff of Compleation and Brokers Ascendancy.
Since the cards that actually have Infect are on the lighter side in Atraxa, cards that grant Infect are crucial. Phyresis and Grafted Exoskeleton give Infect to whatever they’re attached to (in many cases Atraxa, Praetors' Voice itself). Although it only counts for one turn, Triumph of the Hordes and Tainted Strike are useful too.
You need ways to get that first poison counter on your opponents, or else Proliferation won’t amount to anything. Blighted Agent is great for this, as it’s unblockable. Skrelv, Defector Mite helps to make a creature unblockable from certain colors and gives them Toxic 1. In a pinch, you can target Venerated Rotpriest with a spell to trigger it. Auras will trigger it, so it’s a great target for Phyresis and Necrogen Communion.
A sample decklist can be viewed here. By nature, Atraxa, Praetors' Voice is a high-tier commander due to how good its effect is. You can get away with it in a higher level bracket 3 game, but it fits more comfortably in bracket 4. If you want a more budget-friendly version, you can cut the triomes and shocklands in favor of weaker dual and tri-lands.
In Conclusion
Infect is a very powerful archetype that can run away with games. In Commander, players have 40 life, but with Infect, you only need ten poison counters. This is much easier to achieve thanks to Proliferating and the many support cards for it. Infect and Toxic are both very powerful mechanics that entire decks can be built around.
You will be targeted if you choose to play an Infect deck. Your opponents have to target you, or else you’ll run away with the game. If you enjoy the challenge of being public enemy from the get-go, or winning through untraditional means, then Infect is the perfect archetype for you.
