Drana, the Last Bloodchief

Gameplan

Drana is a mono-black reanimator that fills the graveyard, attacks, and reanimates a nonlegendary creature each combat with a +1/+1 counter—turning every swing into card advantage and board presence. You want big, impactful creatures (often ones with ETB or aristocrat value) in the yard so even the defending player's 'worst' pick is excellent. Grind opponents down with recursion while building toward a sacrifice or beatdown finish.

Key Cards

• Gray Merchant of Asphodel — A reanimation target whose ETB drains the whole table—great even when an opponent picks it for you.
• Massacre Wurm — Returns as a huge body that wipes opposing creatures and drains, punishing any pick the defender makes.
• Buried Alive — Stocks your graveyard with the exact reanimation targets you want for one mana of effort.
• Dauthi Voidwalker — Unblockable evasion plus graveyard hate and a free Praetor's Grasp effect when sacrificed.
• Whisper, Blood Liturgist — A second reanimation engine and reminder that you want strong nonlegendary creatures clogging the yard.
• Reassembling Skeleton — A low-floor body that ensures the defender always has something unthreatening to give back if you need it.
• Skullclamp — Converts the small bodies you reanimate into a relentless card-draw engine in mono-black.

Upgrade Path

Tighten the creature base so every nonlegendary card in your yard is a payoff the opponent hates to give you—prioritize ETB drains, board wipes on bodies, and recursive sacrifice fodder. Add fast mana (Dark Ritual, Jet Medallion, Bubbling Muck) and efficient discard outlets to set up explosive reanimation, plus protection like Lightning Greaves and Imp's Mischief to keep Drana swinging. Top-end picks like Sheoldred, the Whispering One or Razaketh's tutoring power push the deck toward a more consistent combo-aristocrats finish.