Roon of the Hidden RealmRoon of the Hidden Realm | Art by Steve Prescott

Today we're looking at a possible new way to build an old favorite: Roon of the Hidden RealmRoon of the Hidden Realm. In fact, Lorwyn Eclipsed gave us plenty of new cards that RoonRoon can play around with. So, let's see if they'll be enough to give new life to a somewhat forgotten commander.

The first half of my build revolves around the main strategy usually associated with RoonRoon: Blink.

Blink Strategy Staples for Roon

For this reason, we run a bunch of staple cards for this strategy, especially those that allow for multiple flickering. Examples of such an effect are Teleportation CircleTeleportation Circle, Thassa, Deep-DwellingThassa, Deep-Dwelling and Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet, all of which assure us one blink per turn.

On top of this, we can also count on some generally synergistic cards, like MulldrifterMulldrifter and its huge draw potential, Eerie InterludeEerie Interlude's board-wide blink-and-protect effect, and Kiora's FollowerKiora's Follower's positive interaction with RoonRoon.

But we aren't here for the same old stuff; we're trying to revamp this commander, aren't we? If that's the case, look no further than Lorwyn Eclipsed! The set gives access to a good amount of new targets for our shenanigans, both at a low mana value and as heavy-hitting curve toppers.

New Blink Cards for Roon from Lorwyn Eclipsed

In the first group we can mention Dundoolin WeaverDundoolin Weaver, an interesting piece of recursion that will almost always be active, considering how creature-focused this deck is. Then, still on the creatures-matter theme, Formidable SpeakerFormidable Speaker is another homerun card. In fact, it combines a tutor ability upon entering the battlefield and an untap ability, both of which work extremely well with RoonRoon.

Lastly, we can't forget the lovely Mutable ExplorerMutable Explorer, which will provide us with an additional land whenever we blink it.

Now then, what if we wanted to really impact the board late in the game? JubilationJubilation is here for you (and your creatures) to make sure you'll be smacking your opponents' faces. But we can also count on Aurora AwakenerAurora Awakener to cheat on mana and get a bunch of permanents onto the battlefield.

Last but not least, as long as we blink Curious ColossusCurious Colossus, we'll always have an opponent who's more open for combat damage.

-1/-1 Counter Strategies

Up to this moment, everything has been kind of standard. Sure, some new cards do fit well in this strategy, and there are even more of them I didn't mention explicitly here, but I also wanted to give this deck a twist.

One card that caught my attention was Rhys, the EvermoreRhys, the Evermore and its ability to make our creatures stick around infinitely if paired with RoonRoon's activated ability.

This also lead me to consider -1/-1 counters as a theme in general. As I was doing so, I encountered Flitterwing NuisanceFlitterwing Nuisance and Loch MareLoch Mare, both of which can be sweet to play with if we reset their counters.

So, I started to look more into the archetype, adding cards like Burdened StonebackBurdened Stoneback for protection, Glen Elendra GuardianGlen Elendra Guardian for interaction and Moonlit LamenterMoonlit Lamenter for card draw.

What's neat about all of these cards is how well they interact with our general. In fact, we can virtually activate them an infinite amount of times, as flickering them will reset their counters.

This nice interaction made me conceive this deck as a Blink strategy with a clear -1/-1 counter subtheme. In this way, we get access to a variety of unexpected benefits.

We can ramp using Devoted DruidDevoted Druid, Channeler InitiateChanneler Initiate, and Wall of RootsWall of Roots, which we can keep on resetting to get more and more mana out of them.

Or use Glen Elendra ArchmageGlen Elendra Archmage, Wickerbough ElderWickerbough Elder, and Grim PoppetGrim Poppet to interact with our opponents on different levels.

And even combine Defiant GreatmawDefiant Greatmaw and Ornery KuduOrnery Kudu with RoonRoon to manipulate the counters as it pleases us.

Additionally, there are several cards that interact with our creatures having counters placed on them or removed.

In the first group, we can find Kodama of the West TreeKodama of the West Tree for even more ramp, Mutational AdvantageMutational Advantage for protection and some additional -1/-1 if we ever needed it, and Chocobo KnightsChocobo Knights for additional damage.

Instead, if we want to remove counters from our creatures to make them bigger again, O'aka, Traveling MerchantO'aka, Traveling Merchant can provide some card draw, whereas Falco Spara, PactweaverFalco Spara, Pactweaver will let us play cards from the top of our library. Similarly, Sanctuary WardenSanctuary Warden will also net us cards, but it'll also slowly grow our forces.

Updated Roon of the Hidden Realm Commander Deck List

The end result is a deck that is based on a solid Blink foundation, but with a twist that makes it steer away from the usual. The obvious problem with this build is that it can be clunky at times, just like any deck built with two clear halves in mind. In other words, if we only draw Blink spells or -1/-1 spells, then the deck could have a hard time functioning.

All in all, I think this is a fun build to try out at lower-Bracket tables, where we might have enough time to cast all the pieces needed to get our engine going.

But now it's on to you! What do you think? Do you like this deck concept? How would you change it? Let me know in the comments below!