Offering players lots of moving parts that create consistent value, Aristocrats is one of the most beloved archetypes in MTG Commander. As a result, Wizards of the Coast has printed tons of support for it, giving players all kinds of different angles to try. Among the more scarce and underplayed options, Fumulus, the Infestation may be one of the most powerful and unique angles for Aristocrats.
MTG Fumulus, the Infestation
Creating an Insect whenever a player sacrifices a creature, Fumulus, the Infestation creates tons of value with double-sided Edict effects. Cards like Accursed Marauder that make everyone sacrifice a creature create four Insects with Fumulus. This is particularly nasty with Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos, essentially creating three Insects whenever one of your creatures dies.
Notably, Fumulus doesn’t have the dreaded ‘one or more’ clause, which makes sacrificial board wipes like Blasphemous Edict or Season of Loss absolutely ridiculous. On top of wiping your opponent’s boards, you’ll have an army of Insects at your disposal ready to buff with Bad Moon.
Since you’ll be sacrificing creatures en masse, Blood Artist effects are at a premium, letting you get tons of value off your tokens. Of course, Fumulus’s Insect tokens open the door for more narrow payoffs like Mirkwood Bats and The Sackville-Baginses to take over the game.
Interestingly, there are a fair few Insect sacrifice outlets like Mortician Beetle and Devouring Swarm that can support Fumulus’s game plan while benefiting from other typal payoffs. The creature type also offers recursive effects, like Endless Cockroaches and Brood of Cockroaches, to churn out tons of insects while giving sacrifice outlets inevitability.
After building a board with your recurrable Insects, Fumulus’s attack trigger can drain tons of life, bringing your opponents dangerously low. Damage-doublers like Bloodletter of Aclazotz and trigger-doublers like Roaming Throne can accelerate this process immensely. Since these triggers gain you life, you can even play other Aristocrats and Insect payoffs like Witch of the Moors and Moseo, Vein’s new Dean.
Creating Infinite Insects and Infinite Mana
While Fumulus already has a powerful Aristocrats game plan at its disposal, the card even has a few infinite combos that fit perfectly in the archetype. Using Nether Traitor with Phyrexian Altar, for example, allows Fumulus to net infinite mana. Since Fumulus will create an Insect whenever Nether Traitor is sacrificed, you can throw that token into Phyrexian Altar to bring Nether Traitor back.
If you’ve gained life this turn by attacking with an Insect, another infinite combo can be opened up with Phyrexian Altar and Oathsworn Vampire. Ozox, Clattering King offers the same combo without the lifegain, but requires a bit more mana to set up. Both combos can easily be made lethal with Blood Artist effects, draining your opponents infinitely.
Scarcity Tax
Thanks to creating tons of Insects with already powerful Aristocrat cards, Fumulus, the Infestation can make for a great Commander that your opponents haven’t seen before. With just 2,374 decks to its name and 27,600 appearances in the 99 according to EDHREC, Fumulus could easily see a lot more play for how powerful it is.
Unfortunately, despite being rather unpopular, Fumulus isn’t cheap, demanding $8.35 at the absolute minimum. This is because the card only has one printing as a rare in Jumpstart 2022, making it rather scarce. Even with this in mind, Fumulus is well worth its price point as a Commander, or in the 99 of your other Aristocrat decks.
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