Hello Everyone! Welcome back to another installment of our Commander Kryptonite series! In recent weeks, we've embarked on thrilling adventures--slaying dragons, overwhelming elves, and even facing off against nimble ninjas. However, this time around, we're diving into a more intricate challenge: the undead, with Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver. We'll be examining this Blue/Black lord of the undead, the decks that use Wilhelt, their strengths and weaknesses, key cards to watch out for, and ultimately, how to defeat them. Let's begin!

The Commander: Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

At the heart of our exploration is none other than Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver. When we revisited Innistrad, we were introduced to two preconstructed decks--one for Humans and the other for Zombies. Wilhelt led the Zombie precon and quickly caught our attention, featuring a unique blend of a once-per-turn sac outlet, card draw, and Zombie token production. Despite other formidable Zombie commanders such as The Scarab God and Varina, Lich Queen, Wilhelt has emerged as a popular choice due to his versatility.

The Deck

Delving into the deck's core strategy is particularly interesting compared to many other commanders we've covered because Wilhelt isn't necessarily the key part of the deck--rather, the deck itself is. Does Wilhelt help execute the game plan? Absolutely. But you don't have to immediately use your spot removal on him. This is a Zombie Typal deck through and through, meaning we should expect plenty of lords that make all Zombies bigger, sacrifice outlets, removal spells, and ways to bring Zombies back from the graveyard. Here is an example of an average Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver you might see at the table.

Average Wilhelt | Commander | EDHRec Average List

• Commander (1)
• 1 Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver

• Creatures (32)
• 1 The Scarab God
• 1 Accursed Marauder
• 1 Archghoul of Thraben
• 1 Carrion Feeder
• 1 Cemetery Reaper
• 1 Champion of the Perished
• 1 Cleaver Skaab
• 1 Cryptbreaker
• 1 Death Baron
• 1 Diregraf Captain
• 1 Diregraf Colossus
• 1 Eternal Skylord
• 1 Fleshbag Marauder
• 1 Ghouls' Night Out
• 1 Gisa and Geralf
• 1 Gleaming Overseer
• 1 Gravecrawler
• 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1 Headless Rider
• 1 Hordewing Skaab
• 1 Lord of the Accursed
• 1 Lord of the Undead
• 1 Midnight Reaper
• 1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1 Noxious Ghoul
• 1 Poppet Stitcher
• 1 Ravenous Rotbelly
• 1 Tomb Tyrant
• 1 Undead Augur
• 1 Undead Warchief
• 1 Vengeful Dead
• 1 Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

• Artifacts (9)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Ashnod's Altar
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Crowded Crypt
• 1 Dimir Signet
• 1 Phyrexian Altar
• 1 Skullclamp
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Dominance

• Enchantments (6)
• 1 Curse of the Restless Dead
• 1 Dreadhorde Invasion
• 1 Endless Ranks of the Dead
• 1 Liliana's Mastery
• 1 Open the Graves
• 1 Rooftop Storm

• Instants (9)
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Cyclonic Rift
• 1 Dark Ritual
• 1 Entomb
• 1 Feed the Swarm
• 1 Go for the Throat
• 1 Lazotep Plating
• 1 Negate
• 1 Victimize

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Army of the Damned
• 1 Dark Salvation
• 1 Distant Melody
• 1 Empty the Laboratory
• 1 Reanimate
• 1 Zombie Apocalypse

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Liliana, Death's Majesty

• Lands (34)
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Choked Estuary
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Darkwater Catacombs
• 1 Dimir Aqueduct
• 1 Drowned Catacomb
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 4 Island
• 1 Mortuary Mire
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Shipwreck Marsh
• 1 Sunken Hollow
• 13 Swamp
• 1 Tainted Isle
• 1 Temple of Deceit
• 1 Unclaimed Territory
• 1 Underground River
• 1 Watery Grave

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Strengths

What sets this deck apart is its remarkable resilience. With the ability to cast Zombies from the graveyard, it consistently generates card advantage even without its commander in play. Non-combat damage effects add another layer of complexity, making it challenging for opponents to disrupt the deck's plans. Additionally, Zombies have numerous lords that provide +1/+1 buffs, allowing them to grow a wide board very quickly. Furthermore, the inclusion of Grave Pact effects ensures control by forcing opponents to sacrifice creatures.

Weaknesses

Like most Zombie-themed decks, Wilhelt struggles against graveyard hate. Effects that exile graveyards or creatures can severely disrupt its strategy. Individually, Zombies aren't very strong, which can make them vulnerable against decks with fewer but larger threats. The deck also has trouble dealing with flying creatures, as most Zombies lack evasion. Additionally, unlike other Black-aligned creature types such as Vampires, Zombies aren't great at gaining life. This can put the deck in an awkward position when using powerful Black cards like Bolas's Citadel, as overextending for value can become risky.

Cards to Watch Out For

1. Rooftop Storm - This card demands an immediate removal spell. It allows all Zombies to be cast for free, and if paired with Kindred Discovery, the resulting value can be absolutely backbreaking. Remove it on sight!
2. Gravecrawler - At first glance, a 2/1 that can't block doesn't seem like much. However, this card is a key combo piece with Rooftop Storm and Phyrexian Altar, and at worst, Wilhelt can use it every turn to draw cards and generate decayed Zombies without sacrificing a board presence.
3. Noxious Ghoul - This functions similarly to an Elesh Norn effect, wiping out smaller non-Zombie creatures as Zombies enter the battlefield. With proper sequencing, it becomes a devastating removal engine.
4. The Scarab God - Everything about this card in a Zombie deck screams red flag. It provides an insane amount of scrying, can reanimate opposing creatures as Zombies, and its upkeep drain can pile up quickly.
5. Grave Pact / Dictate of Erebos - With so many sacrifice outlets in the deck, these enchantments force opponents to sacrifice creatures constantly, making it nearly impossible to maintain a board state.
6. Necroduality - As mentioned in my Miirym article, doubling up on a creature type you already wanted to play can get out of hand incredibly fast. This is especially true for Zombie lords like Undead Warchief, which, when copied, can make all future Zombie spells cost two mana less and provide a massive +4/+2 boost.

How to Counter Wilhelt

To counteract Wilhelt's strategy, careful planning is key. Zombies excel in grindy games, so shorter matches tend to work against them. Using exile-based removal on key creatures prevents them from returning to the battlefield. Gravecrawler and sac outlets like Phyrexian Altar or Ashnod's Altar should be dealt with immediately, as they can enable infinite loops.

If you're playing a creature-based deck, prioritize evasive threats like flying creatures or trampling beaters rather than engaging in ground combat. Pressuring the Zombie player's life total forces them to reconsider how much value they can afford to generate each turn.

Commander Kryptonite: Silver Bullet Cards

If you need an extra edge against Wilhelt, consider adding these cards to your deck:

1. Rest in Peace - This enchantment exiles all graveyards upon entering the battlefield and prevents any new graveyard interactions. Dimir decks lack strong enchantment removal, so this can stick around for a while.
2. Relic of Progenitus - This versatile artifact provides targeted graveyard removal and a global exile effect with card draw upon sacrifice. Unlike Rest in Peace, it allows for more strategic graveyard control while being less oppressive to other players.
3. Farewell - Board wipes that exile creatures instead of destroying them can severely disrupt Wilhelt's reanimation plans.
4. Angel of Glory's Rise - While niche, this card can be a devastating counter in Human-based decks, exiling all Zombies while simultaneously reanimating Human creatures.

And there you have it--a comprehensive strategy to not only confront but conquer the undead! With the upcoming Aetherdrift set, we might see fewer Wilhelt decks in favor of new Esper Zombie builds. However, since these decks revolve around the Zombie creature type, they will share similar weaknesses. Exploit those, and the entire strategy will collapse. If you have a commander you'd like to see covered in Commander Kryptonite, send me an email at thoughtvesselshow@gmail.com. Until next time, happy gaming!