Overview

Witherbloom Witchcraft is a deck that cares about how much life moves around. Willowdusk, Essence Seer has an ability for {1} and a tap, usable only as a sorcery: choose another target creature and put a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the amount of life you gained this turn or the amount of life you lost this turn, whichever is greater. Gaining or losing a lot of life in a turn therefore makes a big counter boost.

The 99 cards are 23 creatures, 1 planeswalker, 12 artifacts, 6 enchantments, 4 instants, 13 sorceries and 40 lands. Many of the creatures grow or drain when you gain life, such as Ageless Entity, Bloodthirsty Aerialist, Defiant Bloodlord, Dina, Soul Steeper and Epicure of Blood, and the deck has a lot of ways to gain life, including Vampire Nighthawk, Leyline Prowler, Pristine Talisman and Pulse of Murasa. Cards like Alhammarret's Archive and Honor Troll make each gain bigger.

Key Cards

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Sanguine Bond
Drain Engine
An enchantment for {3}{B}{B}. Whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life. With the deck's lifegain sources it turns every gain into damage.
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Alhammarret's Archive
Life Doubler
An artifact for {5}. If you would gain life, you gain twice that much life instead, and if you would draw a card except the first one you draw in each of your draw steps, you draw two cards instead. Combined with Sanguine Bond it doubles the drain.
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Defiant Bloodlord
Flying Drain
A 4/5 for {5}{B}{B}. It has flying, and whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life. It is a seven-mana creature that does the same job as Sanguine Bond and also attacks in the air.
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Ageless Entity
Lifegain Payoff · Growth
A 4/4 for {3}{G}{G}. Whenever you gain life, put that many +1/+1 counters on this creature. Every point of lifegain makes it a larger threat, and Willowdusk can move the counters to another creature later.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about mana and cheap lifegain. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Talisman of Resilience, Pristine Talisman, Cultivate and Rampant Growth ramp you, Vampire Nighthawk and Leyline Prowler gain life with lifelink, and Honor Troll makes each gain bigger. Dina, Soul Steeper and Bloodthirsty Aerialist start paying off the first gain.

The middle of the game is about stacking lifegain triggers. Epicure of Blood, Defiant Bloodlord and Sanguine Bond drain on every gain, Trudge Garden makes a 4/4 Fungus Beast for {2} whenever you gain life, and Well of Lost Dreams draws cards for the life you gained. Veinwitch Coven and Tivash, Gloom Summoner get value from lifegain, Ezzaroot Channeler gains 2 life for a tap, and Blossoming Bogbeast gains 2 life and pumps your team when it attacks.

The late game is about huge creatures and drain. Sproutback Trudge, Verdant Sun's Avatar and Gyome, Master Chef are large threats, Sangromancer gains 3 life whenever an opposing creature dies, and Essence Pulse gives each creature -X/-X where X is the life you gained. Gaze of Granite, Deadly Tempest and Taste of Death clear the board, and Revival Experiment returns a card of each permanent type.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The deck has a lot of ways to gain life, strong payoffs for it, and a commander that scales with big life changes, so it can win through drain or through huge creatures. It also has a lot of removal and interaction, including Reckless Spite, Mortality Spear, Feed the Swarm, Noxious Gearhulk and Gaze of Granite.

Weaknesses: The deck is slow to start, and many of its payoffs need lifegain to be set up first, so a fast opponent can race it. Several cards, such as Greed, Ancient Craving and Reckless Spite, cost you life, and the sweepers hit your own creatures too.

Want to improve it? See the Witherbloom Witchcraft upgrade guide: twelve swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict
Witherbloom Witchcraft is a clear and satisfying lifegain deck with a lot of drain and plenty of ways to grow its creatures. It is a good choice for players who like Golgari and a deck that rewards tracking life totals.

Want to see what a fully optimised Willowdusk, Essence Seer build looks like? Try the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Witherbloom Witchcraft decklist?
The Witherbloom Witchcraft precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Willowdusk, Essence Seer. The full Witherbloom Witchcraft decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

When was Witherbloom Witchcraft released?
Witherbloom Witchcraft was released on April 23, 2021 as part of Strixhaven Commander.

Who is the commander of Witherbloom Witchcraft?
Witherbloom Witchcraft is led by Willowdusk, Essence Seer, a Golgari (B/G) legendary creature.

How many creatures are in Witherbloom Witchcraft?
The 99 cards besides Willowdusk, Essence Seer include 23 creatures.

How many lands does Witherbloom Witchcraft have?
Witherbloom Witchcraft has 40 lands in the 99 cards besides Willowdusk, Essence Seer, including basic lands.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Witherbloom Witchcraft precon, with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

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