Witherbloom Pestilence Precon Upgrade Guide: Dina, Essence Brewer
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SOC precon
Witherbloom Pestilence
- Commander
- Dina, Essence Brewer
- Colors
- Black, Green
- Released
- 24 April
- Card value
- ≈ $79.02
- Key cards
- Ohran Frostfang, Toxic Deluge, Stensian Sanguinist
Witherbloom Pestilence is the black-green deck from Secrets of Strixhaven Commander, led by Dina, Essence Brewer. Dina draws a card the first time you sacrifice a creature each turn, and can sacrifice creatures to gain life and grow another creature with +1/+1 counters.
Below you’ll find the full interactive decklist, what the deck does well, where it struggles and our recommended upgrades, split into budget ($6.60), mid-range ($31.83) and premium ($111.79). Start with the cheapest swaps and work your way up.
The decklist
Commander (1)
- 1Dina, Essence Brewer$2.28
Creatures (39)
- 1Beledros Witherbloom$1.33
- 1Blood Artist$3.74
- 1Bloodghast$1.04
- 1Blossoming Bogbeast$0.31
- 1Creakwood Liege$0.31
- 1Defiling Daemogoth$0.59
- 1Dina, Soul Steeper$0.26
- 1Eccentric Pestfinder$0.30
- 1Elvish Mystic$0.56
- 1Gilded Goose$0.35
- 1Gorma, the Gullet$1.79
- 1Gyome, Master Chef$1.17
- 1Haywire Mite$0.51
- 1Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia$1.44
- 1Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest$0.32
- 1Merchant of Venom$0.31
- 1Morbid Opportunist$0.33
- 1Mycoloth$0.58
- 1Nether Traitor$0.86
- 1Ohran Frostfang$7.81
- 1Ophiomancer$1.18
- 1Pawn of Ulamog$0.54
- 1Pest Rescuer$0.49
- 1Priest of Forgotten Gods$0.60
- 1Ribtruss Roaster$0.32
- 1Sakura-Tribe Elder$0.51
- 1Smothering Abomination$0.28
- 1Springbloom Druid$0.30
- 1Stensian Sanguinist$5.03
- 1Teacher’s Pest$0.25
- 1Tendershoot Dryad$1.25
- 1Umbral Collar Zealot$0.34
- 1Veinwitch Coven$0.32
- 1Viscera Seer$0.50
- 1Wight of the Reliquary$0.41
- 1Witch of the Moors$0.39
- 1Woe Strider$0.27
- 1Yahenni, Undying Partisan$0.36
- 1Zulaport Cutthroat$1.49
Instants (5)
- 1Assassin’s Trophy$1.16
- 1Infernal Grasp$0.33
- 1Mortality Spear$0.29
- 1Plumb the Forbidden$0.43
- 1Witherbloom Charm$0.34
Sorceries (11)
- 1Casualties of War$0.27
- 1Culling Ritual$0.56
- 1Cultivate$0.43
- 1Deadly Brew$0.30
- 1Final Act$0.36
- 1Immoral Bargain$0.52
- 1Night’s Whisper$0.38
- 1Ominous Harvest$0.37
- 1Pest Infestation$0.56
- 1Toxic Deluge$5.53
- 1Witherbloom Command$0.27
Artifacts (2)
- 1Arcane Signet$0.76
- 1Sol Ring$2.15
Enchantments (5)
- 1Awakening Zone$0.35
- 1Blight Mound$0.40
- 1Feral Appetite$0.32
- 1Moldervine Reclamation$0.37
- 1Trudge Garden$0.26
Lands (37)
- 1Bojuka Bog$1.44
- 1Command Tower$0.21
- 1Exotic Orchard$0.28
- 1Fabled Passage$0.94
- 1Festering Thicket$0.29
- 4Forest$0.15
- 4Forest$0.17
- 1Grim Backwoods$0.29
- 1Haunted Mire$0.28
- 1High Market$0.55
- 1Llanowar Wastes$1.08
- 1Necroblossom Snarl$0.44
- 1Path of Ancestry$0.63
- 1Study Hall$0.22
- 4Swamp$0.24
- 4Swamp$0.18
- 1Temple of Malady$0.34
- 1Terramorphic Expanse$0.31
- 1Titan’s Grave$0.20
- 1Turbulent Fen$8.38
- 1Twilight Mire$0.34
- 1Vernal Fen$0.47
- 1Viridescent Bog$0.33
- 1Witherbloom Campus$0.26
- 1Woodland Cemetery$1.05
Hover a card to see it (tap on mobile). Prices are for the precon printing, via Scryfall.
What the deck does well
- A deep pile of sacrifice outlets and payoffs like Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat and Viscera Seer.
- Pest tokens and Mycoloth give Dina plenty of fodder to keep drawing cards.
- Solid ramp and removal, including Toxic Deluge and Assassin’s Trophy.
Where it struggles
- Food cards like Gilded Goose and Gyome, Master Chef have little to do in a sacrifice deck.
- Combat-based cards such as Ohran Frostfang and Stensian Sanguinist clash with a deck that does not want to attack.
- Trudge Garden and other mana sinks are slow and need open mana the deck rarely has.
Recommended upgrades
Pick a budget tab. Every row tells you which card to take out and what to put in.
Cheap swaps (under $2 each): better sacrifice fodder and payoffs.
| Cut | Add | From | Why | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyome, Master Chef | Moseo, Vein’s New Dean | $0.68 €0.63 | Makes Pests and brings creatures back when you gain life; this isn’t a Food deck | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Gilded Goose | Talisman of Resilience | $0.36 €0.30 | Simple ramp in your colors instead of a Food engine | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Trudge Garden | Ravenous Squirrel | $0.25 €0.13 | Grows and draws every time you sacrifice something | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Witherbloom Command | Varolz, the Scar-Striped | $0.45 €0.60 | A free sac outlet that turns big sacrifices into counters | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Casualties of War | Jenova, Ancient Calamity | $1.32 €1.50 | Spreads counters around so Dina’s sacrifices hit harder | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Mycoloth | Bebop & Rocksteady | $0.23 €0.31 | Big power for three mana and its own sac ability | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Pest Rescuer | Bogwater Lumaret | $0.22 €0.10 | Gains life every time a creature enters | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Ohran Frostfang | Daemogoth Titan | $1.27 €1.36 | Eleven power for Dina to sacrifice; Frostfang needs combat this deck avoids | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia | Chittering Dispatcher | $1.82 €0.44 | Keeps making sacrifice fodder | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Total | $6.60 | |||
Stronger aristocrats engines ($2–$8 each).
| Cut | Add | From | Why | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodghast | Skullclamp | $4.69 €4.43 | Turns every 1/1 into two cards | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Stensian Sanguinist | Cauldron of Essence | $2.45 €2.40 | Drains on every death and reanimates your best creature | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Nether Traitor | Pitiless Plunderer | $2.91 €3.04 | A Treasure every time one of your creatures dies | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Moldervine Reclamation | The Gitrog, Ravenous Ride | $4.02 €1.77 | Turns big creatures into cards when it attacks | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Ophiomancer | Vein Ripper | $6.29 €6.53 | Drains whenever any creature dies | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Teacher’s Pest | Ayara, First of Locthwain | $3.88 €3.76 | Pumps your black creatures and Pests and draws cards | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Merchant of Venom | Savra, Queen of the Golgari | $3.41 €1.56 | Your Pests are black and green, so each sacrifice triggers both abilities | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Ominous Harvest | Illusionist’s Bracers | $4.18 €3.32 | Copies Dina’s sacrifice ability for double counters and life | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Total | $31.83 | |||
Premium upgrades for the strongest version of the deck. None of these are on the official Game Changers list, so the deck stays friendly for most casual tables.
| Cut | Add | From | Why | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beledros Witherbloom | Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER | $28.00 €29.42 | One of the best sacrifice payoffs printed lately | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Gorma, the Gullet | Doubling Season | $29.21 €19.37 | Doubles your tokens and every counter Dina hands out | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Witherbloom Charm | Heroic Intervention | $9.26 €9.55 | Protection the deck badly lacks | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Priest of Forgotten Gods | Liliana, Dreadhorde General | $9.32 €7.68 | Makes Zombies and draws a card whenever your creatures die | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Feral Appetite | The Skullspore Nexus | $10.39 €7.71 | Makes huge Fungus Dinosaurs out of everything that dies | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Deadly Brew | Enduring Tenacity | $12.91 €11.17 | Drains an opponent every time you gain life | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Night’s Whisper | The Earth Crystal | $12.70 €7.73 | Cheapens green spells and doubles your +1/+1 counters | TCGplayer · Cardmarket |
| Total | $111.79 | |||
Where to buy the precon
Don’t own the deck yet? Find Witherbloom Pestilence on TCGplayer or on Cardmarket.
Verdict
Witherbloom Pestilence has a grindy, fun engine and lots of good aristocrats pieces out of the box. Swap the off-theme Food and combat cards for repeatable value and life-drain payoffs, and it becomes a steady casual threat.