Overview

Dimir Reanimator is the #5 deck in Standard right now at roughly 7% of the metagame, and this week's list comes straight from the winner's circle: JonMa went 6-0 at the Super Sunday RCQ at SCG CON Hartford on October 25, 2026 with this build, which MTG Goldfish tags as Dimir Deceit. It is a blue-black graveyard deck that fills its yard, then cheats value out of it with Superior Spider-Man, Uldaros Theorix, and Overlord of the Balemurk.

What makes this build fun is how many different jobs the same cards do. Overlord of the Balemurk is a two-mana self-mill engine on turn two and a five-mana 5/5 late. Deceit doubles as a free discard spell or a six-mana 5/5 that bounces or strips a card depending on how you pay for it. Superior Spider-Man turns the best creature in any graveyard, yours or theirs, into a 4/4 that keeps the original's abilities. Around that core sits a clean suite of cheap removal, discard, and counters that lets you survive long enough to get there.

Premium cost is about $492 in paper (258 tix on MTGO) per MTG Goldfish. Budget swaps are further down.

Full Decklist (60 Cards + 15 Sideboard)

Creatures (16)

4 Deceit
2 Overlord of the Balemurk
3 Seasoned Cryomancer
4 Superior Spider-Man
3 Uldaros Theorix

Planeswalkers (3)

3 The Theorist, Jace Beleren

Spells (16)

2 Bitter Triumph
2 Deadly Cover-Up
1 Duress
1 Intimidation Tactics
3 Requiting Hex
1 Spell Snare
1 Strategic Betrayal
2 Theorix Charm
1 Vraska's Final Mercy
2 Winternight Stories

Lands (25)

1 Cavern of Souls
4 Gloomlake Verge
1 Island
1 Multiversal Passage
3 Restless Reef
4 Shipwreck Marsh
5 Swamp
2 Undercity Sewers
4 Watery Grave

Sideboard (15)

2 Annul
1 Day of Black Sun
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Duress
2 Emeritus of Ideation
1 Flashfreeze
1 M.O.D.O.K.
1 Null Summoner
1 Requiting Hex
2 Strategic Betrayal
1 Terminal Criticism

Arena Import (Paste-Ready)

Copy this block, open MTG Arena, go to Decks, and choose Import.

Deck
2 Bitter Triumph
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Deadly Cover-Up
4 Deceit
1 Duress
4 Gloomlake Verge
1 Intimidation Tactics
1 Island
1 Multiversal Passage
2 Overlord of the Balemurk
3 Requiting Hex
3 Restless Reef
3 Seasoned Cryomancer
4 Shipwreck Marsh
1 Spell Snare
1 Strategic Betrayal
4 Superior Spider-Man
5 Swamp
3 The Theorist, Jace Beleren
2 Theorix Charm
3 Uldaros Theorix
2 Undercity Sewers
1 Vraska's Final Mercy
4 Watery Grave
2 Winternight Stories

Sideboard
2 Annul
1 Day of Black Sun
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Duress
2 Emeritus of Ideation
1 Flashfreeze
1 M.O.D.O.K.
1 Null Summoner
1 Requiting Hex
2 Strategic Betrayal
1 Terminal Criticism

Strategy Guide

Early game (turns 1-3)

Your first three turns are about disruption and setup. Duress and Intimidation Tactics clear the path (Tactics also cycles late), while Requiting Hex, Bitter Triumph, and Strategic Betrayal answer early threats. On turn two, Overlord of the Balemurk for its impending cost ({1}{B}) mills four and lets you return a non-Avatar creature or a planeswalker to hand. It is not a creature while it has time counters, so it dodges sorcery-speed removal, and it keeps triggering as it ticks down. Seasoned Cryomancer on three loots two cards deep and, if you discard a nonland card, taps and stuns attackers, which is great for filling the graveyard and protecting your life total at once.

Midgame (turns 4-5)

Four mana is where the deck starts to flex. Superior Spider-Man can copy a creature from any graveyard and exile it, so look at your opponent's dead creatures as well as your own. The Theorist, Jace Beleren draws you a card every opponent draw step, makes 1/1 Illusion chump-blockers with +1, and can bounce a blocker or threat with -2. Theorix Charm is your flexible counter, removal, or mill-and-draw, and Deadly Cover-Up is a sweeper you can fire when you are behind, ideally with evidence collected to exile a key card from their graveyard.

Late game (turn 6+)

Uldaros Theorix is the payoff. If you cast it, it exiles up to one nonland card of each card type from your graveyard, copies them, and lets you cast copies with total mana value 6 or less for free. A graveyard full of removal, a creature, and a planeswalker turns a single six-drop into a huge swing, all on top of a 5/5 flier. Deceit gives you another 5/5 body with bounce or discard on the way in. Restless Reef rounds things out as a manland with deathtouch, and Emeritus of Ideation from the sideboard (Ancestral Recall on its prepared side) keeps card flow going in grindy matchups.

Win Conditions & Key Interactions

  • Uldaros Theorix: a 5/5 flier that copies and casts spells from your graveyard for free (total mana value 6 or less). Stock your yard with different card types first.
  • Superior Spider-Man + Overlord of the Balemurk: self-mill four, return a creature to hand, or leave a juicy target in the yard and copy it as a 4/4 that keeps the original's abilities.
  • Deceit: cast it for UU or BB mana to get the matching enter trigger, or evoke it for two hybrid mana as a one-for-one discard or bounce.
  • Restless Reef: four mana turns it into a 4/4 deathtouch Shark that attacks through stalled boards.
  • The Theorist, Jace Beleren: passive card advantage plus 1/1 Illusions to protect itself.

Sideboard Guide

  • Against creature-heavy aggro: bring in Day of Black Sun, Terminal Criticism (against blue or red), M.O.D.O.K., and the extra Requiting Hex. Take out Intimidation Tactics and slower card-draw spells like Winternight Stories.
  • Against control and counterspell decks: bring in the second Duress, Null Summoner, and Emeritus of Ideation. Take out Deadly Cover-Up and some spot removal.
  • Against Reanimator mirrors and graveyard decks: Strategic Betrayal (two more in the board) exiles their yard and a creature at once; Null Summoner and Duress hit key spells.
  • Against red or green decks: Flashfreeze counters red or green spells cleanly, and Terminal Criticism handles blue or red threats.
  • Against artifact and enchantment strategies: Annul and a Disdainful Stroke for expensive threats are the flexible options.

Budget Notes

The full list runs about $492 in paper per MTG Goldfish. The priciest pieces are The Theorist, Jace Beleren (around $40 each), Cavern of Souls (around $51), Overlord of the Balemurk (around $20 each), Gloomlake Verge (around $10 each), Seasoned Cryomancer, and the dual lands. Here are functional swaps:

  • Cavern of Souls: replace with a basic Island or Swamp. You lose a bit of counter-proofing for Superior Spider-Man and Deceit, but the deck still works.
  • The Theorist, Jace Beleren: swap for Null Summoner (about $0.27) or extra Winternight Stories for a cheaper card-advantage engine.
  • Overlord of the Balemurk: swap for M.O.D.O.K. (about $3) as a top-end flying lifelinker. You lose the self-mill engine, so trim a reanimation-dependent card.
  • Gloomlake Verge: replace with extra Shipwreck Marsh and basics. The mana gets slightly clunkier but stays two colors.
  • Seasoned Cryomancer: swap for Winternight Stories or a cheaper cantrip-style spell.

Prices are approximate and move with the market, so check current prices before you buy.

TikTok / Shorts Script (45-60s)

  • HOOK (0-4s): "This Standard deck went 6-0 at an RCQ and it casts free spells out of its graveyard!"
  • CARD 1 (4-14s): Overlord of the Balemurk. Two mana, mill four, get a creature back.
  • CARD 2 (14-24s): Superior Spider-Man. Copy the best creature from any graveyard as a 4/4.
  • CARD 3 (24-34s): Seasoned Cryomancer. Loot two, stun their attackers.
  • CARD 4 (34-44s): Deceit. Evoke it for a cheap discard or cast it as a 5/5.
  • CARD 5 (44-54s): Uldaros Theorix. Copy and cast spells from your graveyard for free.
  • CTA (54-60s): "Full list and budget swaps at manariotgames.com. Follow Mana Riot Games, because a fresh Deck Tech Tuesday lands every week!"

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