<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, the Dark Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, the Dark Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.kieranyanner.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kieran Yanner</a></em></p> <p>Hello everyone! I’m Levi from <em>The Thought Vessel</em>, and this is <em>Hidden Gems</em>, the series that looks at commanders from across the format and finds cards for their 99 that might not be getting the love that they deserve.</p> <p>For a card to qualify as a hidden gem, it must appear in less than fifteen percent of all registered decks here on EDHREC. The idea is to highlight cards that are solid additions for a commander that the larger community may be overlooking for one reason or another.</p> <p>Today, we are looking for hidden gems in the depths of Mordor with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, the Dark Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, the Dark Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sauron, the Dark Lord"></div></div> <h2>What Does Sauron, the Dark Lord Do?</h2> <p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, the Dark Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, the Dark Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is currently the most popular <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/grixis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grixis</a> (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) commander on EDHREC, with over 30,000 decks to its name. That number alone tells you something. While a lot of those builds lean heavily into a <em>Lord of the Rings</em> theme, there’s more than enough raw power here to tempt players who have never read Tolkien a day in their lives.</p> <p>Sauron rewards us for doing something our opponents were already going to do: casting spells. Every time an opponent casts a spell, Sauron triggers amass Orcs 1, which either creates a 0/0 Orc Army with a +1/+1 counter or adds a +1/+1 counter to an Army we already control.</p> <p>Those counters stack up quickly. In a four-player game, spells fly around the table. Our Orc Army grows passively while everyone else advances their own plan. Before long, we’re staring at a creature that can one-shot someone out of nowhere. Some builds lean into an <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/aristocrats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aristocrats</a> strategy, sacrificing the Army repeatedly for value.</p> <p>The data, however, suggests that most players prefer the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/voltron" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Voltron</a> style approach: build one massive Orc Army and turn it sideways. That’s the direction we’re heading today.</p> <p>Sauron also has a few more tricks that push this deck from good to terrifying. Whenever an Army we control deals combat damage to a player, the ring tempts us. Then, whenever the ring tempts us, we may discard our hand and draw four cards. That sneaky and powerful ability means we can dump our hand onto the battlefield, attack, connect, and immediately reload.</p> <p>We get to overextend without fully committing to the consequences. If the board gets wiped, we will have four fresh cards. If it doesn’t, we’re even further ahead.</p> <p>On top of that, Sauron taxes interaction. Spells our opponents cast that target Sauron cost an additional sacrifice of a legendary artifact or legendary creature. That’s not nothing. It makes spot removal awkward and sometimes impossible. All together, this commander builds a board that snowballs fast and punishes hesitation.</p> <p>There are plenty of obvious inclusions for a list like this. The top played cards exist for a reason. But as always, we’re here for the overlooked tech. Let’s begin!</p> <h3>10. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teferi&#039;s Ageless Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Teferi&#039;s Ageless Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (9.2%)</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teferi&#039;s Ageless Insight"></div></div> <p>We’re starting with a blue staple that still somehow flies under the radar in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, the Dark Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, the Dark Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lists. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teferi&#039;s Ageless Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Teferi&#039;s Ageless Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doubles our card draw outside of the first in our draw step.</p> <p>The awkward part of Sauron’s wheel effect is that sometimes we discard six or seven cards and only draw four. That can feel like a net loss, especially if we were sculpting something specific. Teferi’s Ageless Insight erases that downside.</p> <p>When we discard our hand to draw four, we'll actually draw eight. <em>Eight</em>. That’s not refilling; that’s overflowing. It turns Sauron’s reload into a full-on card advantage engine.</p> <p>Instead of worrying about losing resources, we'll start looking for opportunities to trigger the ring tempt as often as possible.</p> <h3>9. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Reaver Cleaver" href="#" target="_blank">The Reaver Cleaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (9.4%)</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Reaver Cleaver"></div></div> <p>If we’re committing to building a single enormous Orc Army, we should squeeze every ounce of value out of it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Reaver Cleaver" href="#" target="_blank">The Reaver Cleaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives an equipped creature +1/+1 and trample, which already matters when we’re talking about pushing damage through blockers. The real prize, though, is the Treasure generation. For each point of combat damage dealt to a player by the equipped creature, we create that many Treasure tokens.</p> <p>Attach this to a 20-power Army, and we'll suddenly have twenty Treasures. That’s absurd. Even if we only connect for eight or ten damage, that’s still a massive mana swing. Sauron costs six mana, and recasting him costs eight or more after removal. Having a stockpile of Treasures means we can rebuild instantly after a board wipe.</p> <p>When we wheel into a fresh four cards, we'll often want to deploy multiple spells right away. Extra mana lets us do that. The Reaver Cleaver turns our combat step into a ritual effect that fuels the second main phase.</p> <p>That’s the kind of momentum swing that wins games.</p> <h3>8. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Monument to Endurance" href="#" target="_blank">Monument to Endurance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (8.8%)</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Monument to Endurance"></div></div> <p>If we’re discarding our hand regularly, we might as well profit from it. Monument to Endurance is built for exactly that. Whenever we discard a card, we can create a Treasure token, draw a card, or have each opponent lose three life. We only get each mode once per turn, but with Sauron’s ability to discard our hand, we’ll be able to hit all three.</p> <p>So our “discard our hand, draw four” becomes discard our hand, damage the table, make a Treasure, draw an extra card, then draw our four. That means we'll effectively draw five instead of four, chip away at life totals, and build mana reserves. It smooths the wheel effect and adds incremental pressure.</p> <p>This kind of layered value is what pushes a deck from strong to oppressive. Every action feeds another resource. Discarding stops feeling like a cost and starts feeling like an engine.</p> <h3>7. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breach the Multiverse" href="#" target="_blank">Breach the Multiverse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 6.5%</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Breach the Multiverse"></div></div> <p>When we’re constantly pitching cards to the graveyard, we’re going to lose some heavy hitters along the way. That’s fine; we can weaponize that. Breach the Multiverse mills each player for ten cards, then lets us reanimate one creature from each graveyard under our control.</p> <p>In a four-player game, that’s potentially four creatures entering the battlefield, one from us, three from our opponents. Because we’re already filtering our hand aggressively, there’s a good chance we’ve binned something powerful on purpose. Maybe a haymaker creature that we didn’t have time to cast earlier.</p> <p>Meanwhile, our opponents are unlikely to be thrilled about losing their best creature to our board. Stealing the table’s biggest threats in one swoop often shifts the balance beyond recovery.</p> <p>This card closes games; it turns the chaos of wheeling into inevitability.</p> <h3>6. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dauthi Voidwalker" href="#" target="_blank">Dauthi Voidwalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 5.35%</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dauthi Voidwalker"></div></div> <p>The Ring tempts you mechanic gives us a lot to work with. As the Ring progresses, our Ring-bearer becomes harder to block, loots on attack, forces sacrifices from blockers, and eventually drains each opponent for three life whenever it deals combat damage.</p> <p>That last ability is huge. If our Ring-bearer connects, the table bleeds. So having a small, evasive creature that can reliably connect is valuable. Dauthi Voidwalker is perfect here. A 3/2 with shadow for two mana means it can only be blocked by creatures with shadow. In most Commander games, that effectively reads as unblockable.</p> <p>It also brings graveyard hate. If a card would go to an opponent’s graveyard, it’s exiled with a void counter instead. Later, we can sacrifice Dauthi Voidwalker to cast one of those exiled cards without paying its mana cost. So for two mana, we get an evasive Ring-bearer, disruption against Reanimator and recursion strategies, and the ability to steal a spell.</p> <p>That’s efficiency. Easy inclusion.</p> <h3>5. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kazuul&#039;s Fury" href="#" target="_blank">Kazuul&#039;s Fury</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 3.6%</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards side-by-side"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kazuul&#039;s Fury"></div></div> <p>We all dream of the perfect game where our Orc Army survives, grows, and swings for lethal. Reality is... messier. Board wipes happen. Fog effects exist. Sometimes one opponent is dead on board, and another is just out of reach.</p> <p>Kazuul’s Fury solves those problems while barely costing us anything. As a modal double faced card (MDFC), it can enter as a land when needed. That alone raises its floor dramatically. When we do cast it as a spell, we can sacrifice a creature and deal damage equal to its power to any target.</p> <p>So, we can swing with a 20-power Orc Army and knock out one opponent. Before passing the turn, we cast Kazuul’s Fury and fling that same Army at a second opponent. Two players gone in one turn. Flexibility is king in Commander.</p> <h3>4. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Library of Leng" href="#" target="_blank">Library of Leng</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 1.7%</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Library of Leng"></div></div> <p>Discarding our entire hand is powerful, but it can also feel reckless. Sometimes there’s a specific card we want to keep. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Library of Leng" href="#" target="_blank">Library of Leng</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives us that control. When we discard a card, we may put it on top of our library instead of into our graveyard.</p> <p>With <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, the Dark Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, the Dark Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, that means we can choose which cards actually hit the graveyard and which ones we redraw immediately. Maybe we want to bin a big creature for reanimation, but keep our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animate Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Animate Dead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Maybe we want to preserve a counterspell for protection.</p> <p>This card subtly transforms our wheel effect from chaotic to curated. We’re no longer just dumping our hand. We’re sculpting our future turns. At under two percent inclusion, that level of control feels criminally underplayed.</p> <h3>3. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Likeness Looter" href="#" target="_blank">Likeness Looter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 1.5%</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Likeness Looter"></div></div> <p>Likeness Looter does a little bit of everything Sauron wants. It’s a small evasive creature that can carry the Ring effectively. It has an activated ability to loot, meaning draw a card and discard a card, which helps fuel our graveyard and smooth our draws.</p> <p>Late in the game, it becomes something much scarier as we can pay mana to have it become a copy of a creature card in our graveyard. That effectively turns it into a flexible reanimation spell stapled to an evasive body.</p> <p>Early game Ring-bearer, mid game filter, late game threat. That kind of scalability is exactly what this deck appreciates. We’re already filling our graveyard with options. Likeness Looter turns that pile into a toolbox.</p> <h3>2. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadowgrange Archfiend" href="#" target="_blank">Shadowgrange Archfiend</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 0.7%</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shadowgrange Archfiend"></div></div> <p>Nothing shifts a board state like an unexpected sacrifice effect. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadowgrange Archfiend" href="#" target="_blank">Shadowgrange Archfiend</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has madness, which means if we discard it, we can cast it for its madness cost instead of letting it go to the graveyard. In this case, three mana and eight life instead of seven mana.</p> <p>In a deck that discards regularly, that’s not magical Christmas land. That’s routine. When it enters, each opponent sacrifices the creature with the greatest power among creatures they control. We then gain life equal to the greatest power sacrificed this way.</p> <p>Sacrifice effects bypass hexproof, indestructible, and protection. They do not target. That makes them incredibly reliable. And because this specifically hits the largest creature, our opponents rarely have the luxury of sacrificing something expendable.</p> <p>After the dust settles, we’re left with an 8/4 Demon we can use to attack or as a threatening blocker.</p> <h3>1. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Devourer" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Devourer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 0.34%</h3> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dream Devourer"></div></div> <p>We’re finishing with one of my personal favorites in this series: Dream Devourer. Sometimes we don’t want to discard a card, but we also don’t want to hold it and risk losing it to our own wheel. Dream Devourer gives all our nonland cards foretell. That means for two mana, we can exile a card from our hand face down and cast it later for its foretell cost, reduced by two.</p> <p>Before triggering the Ring, we can stash the cards we want to protect into exile. Then we discard our hand and draw four, knowing our key pieces are safe. Later, we can cast them at a discount.</p> <p>It effectively expands our hand size beyond seven. We’re banking resources for future turns while continuing to churn through our deck. In a strategy built around discard and reload, that kind of insulation is invaluable. At a fraction of a percent inclusion, this is the definition of a hidden gem.</p> <h2>Wrapping Up</h2> <p>As popular as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, the Dark Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, the Dark Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is, there’s still room to experiment. <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> theme is flavorful, and it makes sense to build around it. With <em>The Hobbit</em> set on the horizon, interest in Sauron will likely spike again. But if we look past pure flavor, this commander is a flexible engine.</p> <p>In some ways, it reminds me of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Atraxa, Praetors&#039; Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Not in raw power level, but in design philosophy. The abilities point us in a direction without locking us into a single path.</p> <p>If you have a Sauron, the Dark Lord deck, what are the hidden gems in your list? The card that overperforms every time it hits the table? Let us know in the comments below. We’re here to celebrate clever deck building and underappreciated design.</p> <p>Until next time, happy brewing.</p> 

Hidden Gems for Sauron, the Dark Lord Commander Decks

Hosts of Mordor - Precon Primer

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, Lord of the Rings" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, Lord of the Rings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.alexbrockart.com/store" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Brock</a>)</h6>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello friends! And welcome back to EDHREC for another Scrap Trawlers Precon Upgrade Guide. Today we’re digging into the Hosts of Mordor precon from Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, and seeing what kind of jabs and insults we can hurl at it to make it pick up the pace.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">In my <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/hosts-of-mordor-precon-primer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Precon Primer</a>, we saw that the deck has an insufficient mana suite for casting our eight-mana commander and other high mana value cards in the deck. So with this upgrade guide we’re cutting some high-MV cards to lower our curve, and we’re adding more ramp so we can get our big creatures on the battlefield more quickly. We’re also throwing in some cards to make sure we Amass more often. And, since we’re the Scrap Trawlers, we’re gonna do it cheaply!</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But if you’ve been dreaming of having Sauron lead your deck ever since they announced the Lord of the Rings crossover, and you wanna toss a bit of extra money at it, make sure to stick around till the end.</span> </p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Long and Slow as Our Arts in the Great Tower Can Contrive</span></h2>
<p> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sauron, Lord of the Rings"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Leading this great host is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, Lord of the Rings" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, Lord of the Rings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a 9/9 Avatar Horror with trample. When you cast him, you Amass Orcs 5, mill five cards, and then bring a creature from your grave to the battlefield. Then whenever an opponent’s commander dies, the Ring tempts you.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Although <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Saruman, the White Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Saruman, the White Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is more efficient, I’m too excited to play the big bad Sauron as my commander. So we’re keeping him in charge, despite his massive cost. One reason why I’m not too worried about that is that his biggest effect is a cast trigger, like the Eldrazi of old. So even if he gets countered, or killed on sight, we still get to make an Orc Army and reanimate a creature. We’ll just have to wait a couple more turns to swing him at our opponents.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s the original deck list:</span> <div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Hosts of Mordor Precon" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander] *1 Sauron, Lord of the Rings [/Commander] [Creatures] *1 Anger *1 Cavern-Hoard Dragon *1 Corsairs of Umbar *1 Goblin Cratermaker *1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers *1 Grishnákh, Brash Instigator *1 Gríma, Saruman&#039;s Footman *1 Guttersnipe *1 Hostage Taker *1 Inferno Titan *1 Knollspine Dragon *1 Lord of the Nazgûl *1 Merciless Executioner *1 Monstrosity of the Lake *1 Moria Scavenger *1 Notion Thief *1 Orcish Siegemaster *1 Rampaging War Mammoth *1 Saruman, the White Hand *1 Scourge of the Throne *1 Shelob, Dread Weaver *1 Siege-Gang Commander *1 The Balrog of Moria *1 The Mouth of Sauron *1 Treasure Nabber *1 Troll of Khazad-dûm *1 Voracious Fell Beast [/Creatures] [Instants] *1 Arcane Denial *1 Bitter Downfall *1 Consider *1 Fact or Fiction *1 Forbidden Alchemy *1 Thrill of Possibility [/Instants] [Enchantments] *1 Fiery Inscription *1 In the Darkness Bind Them *1 Revenge of Ravens *1 Shiny Impetus [/Enchantments] [Sorceries] *1 Blasphemous Act *1 Boon of the Wish-Giver *1 Decree of Pain *1 Deep Analysis *1 Extract from Darkness *1 Faithless Looting *1 Feed the Swarm *1 Languish *1 Lidless Gaze *1 Living Death *1 Reanimate *1 Subjugate the Hobbits *1 Summons of Saruman *1 Too Greedily, Too Deep *1 Treason of Isengard *1 Wake the Dragon [/Sorceries] [Artifacts] *1 Arcane Signet *1 Basalt Monolith *1 Commander&#039;s Sphere *1 Everflowing Chalice *1 Mind Stone *1 Relic of Sauron *1 Sol Ring *1 Worn Powerstone [/Artifacts] [Lands] *1 Choked Estuary *1 Command Tower *1 Crumbling Necropolis *1 Desolate Lighthouse *1 Dragonskull Summit *1 Drowned Catacomb *1 Evolving Wilds *1 Field of Ruin *1 Foreboding Ruins *1 Frostboil Snarl *6 Island *7 Mountain *1 Path of Ancestry *1 Rogue&#039;s Passage *1 Smoldering Marsh *1 Sulfur Falls *1 Sulfurous Springs *1 Sunken Hollow *6 Swamp *1 Terramorphic Expanse *1 The Black Gate *1 Underground River [/Lands]"></span></div>  </p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surety You Crave! Sauron Gives None.</span></h2>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The precon’s biggest flaw is its mana. The average mana value is 4.16, which is too high for any deck that isn’t built specifically to be high-cost. So our first job with our upgrades is to beef up our ramp. In the primer I mentioned rituals, which are instants and sorceries that give you a one-time surge of mana. We’ll start there, by adding the original ritual, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Ritual" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Ritual</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as well as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seething Song" href="#" target="_blank">Seething Song</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Geyser" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Geyser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark Ritual Seething Song Mana Geyser"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;">To help smooth out the three colors a bit better, I’m also adding <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fellwar Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Fellwar Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exotic Orchard" href="#" target="_blank">Exotic Orchard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. And because we worked so hard to get him, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swiftfoot Boots" href="#" target="_blank">Swiftfoot Boots</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is jumping in to protect Sauron.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Since the deck is functioning best when we’re pumping up our tokens, the rest of the additions are here to help with that, starting with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This guy is </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">beyond </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">fun in this deck. Want to turn your Army into a treasure? Done. Want to turn it into a Myr so you can make another Army next time you Amass? Go for it. Brudiclad is going to turn our one-Orc Army into a multitude of tokens (just don’t turn a Myr into a 0/0 Orc Army; that doesn’t work so much). <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Roar of Resistance" href="#" target="_blank">Roar of Resistance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also joining the deck to make our attackers more powerful.</span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer Roar of Resistance Dreadhorde Invasion"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dreadhorde Invasion" href="#" target="_blank">Dreadhorde Invasion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will ensure that we always have an Army (that lifelink ain’t looking so bad either). And <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="March from the Black Gate" href="#" target="_blank">March from the Black Gate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, from the main LOTR set, punches up our Army every time it attacks.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mauhur, Uruk-hai Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Mauhur, Uruk-hai Captain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> increases the counters we add when we Amass. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Honor the God-Pharaoh" href="#" target="_blank">Honor the God-Pharaoh</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives us some card draw while Amassing, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lazotep Plating" href="#" target="_blank">Lazotep Plating</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives our stuff some protection.</span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mauhur, Uruk-hai Captain Honor the God-Pharaoh Lazotep Plating"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s 13 cards upgraded, all for under $6!</span> </p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Go Back to the Shadow</span></h2>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Cards go in, cards come out. We’ve added 13 cards to the deck and we need to get back down to 100 cards (or else the CAG will get us). </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The first cuts follow a small sub-theme in the deck of casting instants and sorceries. The problem with these cards is that there aren't enough instants and sorceries in the deck to make them valuable. I get that they’re supposed to work with Saruman, but he triggers off any noncreature spell, which includes artifacts and enchantments. So out comes <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guttersnipe" href="#" target="_blank">Guttersnipe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fiery Inscription" href="#" target="_blank">Fiery Inscription</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Guttersnipe Monstrosity of the Lake Fiery Inscription"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;">A few cards were cut to lower the average mana value of the deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voracious Fell Beast" href="#" target="_blank">Voracious Fell Beast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Subjugate the Hobbits" href="#" target="_blank">Subjugate the Hobbits</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="In the Darkness Bind Them" href="#" target="_blank">In the Darkness Bind Them</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Dark-Dwellers" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Dark-Dwellers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Monstrosity of the Lake" href="#" target="_blank">Monstrosity of the Lake</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Extract from Darkness" href="#" target="_blank">Extract from Darkness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> were all fattening up the high end of the mana curve, while not providing enough support to the deck’s main themes.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With Brudiclad and Roar of Resistance entering the deck, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anger" href="#" target="_blank">Anger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> feels like it doesn’t do enough, so it’s gone. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hostage Taker" href="#" target="_blank">Hostage Taker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is neither Orc nor Goblin, and only feels like expensive removal, so he’s getting left behind.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revenge of Ravens" href="#" target="_blank">Revenge of Ravens</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great card for life gain decks, but that is definitely not what we’re doing. And our last cut is one Swamp, to make way for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exotic Orchard" href="#" target="_blank">Exotic Orchard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hostage Taker Revenge of Ravens Subjugate the Hobbits"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;">With these changes, we’re down to an average mana value of a much more manageable 3.79, and we’re more reliably making giant Army tokens.</span> </p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lord of the Bling</span></h2>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Alright, so maybe you’re not as budget conscious as us Scrap Trawlers. No problem. Here’s some more </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">precious </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">goodies for the deck.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Keeping Sauron on the board is much easier to do if we’ve got some money to spend. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Command Beacon" href="#" target="_blank">Command Beacon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> frees us from the burden of commander tax one time if we sacrifice it, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can boot Sauron up the turn he comes out (no extra mana needed), and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cavern of Souls" href="#" target="_blank">Cavern of Souls</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> prevents him from getting countered.</span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Command Beacon Cavern of Souls Lightning Greaves"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The talk of the town from this set, aside from the Wonka-esque hunt for the <a href="https://articles.starcitygames.com/magic-the-gathering/bounty-for-mtgs-serialized-001-001-the-one-ring-passes-2-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One of One Ring</a>, is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orcish Bowmasters" href="#" target="_blank">Orcish Bowmasters</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Most people are excited to throw it into decks with wheels, but here it’s just further improving our Amass capabilities.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curiosity Crafter" href="#" target="_blank">Curiosity Crafter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> loves for us to punch face with tokens, which is exactly what our deck does.</span> <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orcish Bowmasters Curiosity Crafter Sauron, the Dark Lord"></div></div> <span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sauron, the Dark Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Sauron, the Dark Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, from the main set, Amasses all over the place, and is a perfect addition to the deck. But you know what’s even more perfect? He wants it, yes precious. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The One Ring" href="#" target="_blank">The One Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. He must have it.</span> </p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">All the Hosts of Mordor Trembled</span></h2>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s the final upgraded decklist:</span> <div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Hosts of Mordor Precon Upgrade" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander] *1 Sauron, Lord of the Rings [/Commander] [Creatures] *1 Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer *1 Cavern-Hoard Dragon *1 Corsairs of Umbar *1 Goblin Cratermaker *1 Grishnákh, Brash Instigator *1 Gríma, Saruman&#039;s Footman *1 Inferno Titan *1 Knollspine Dragon *1 Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain *1 Merciless Executioner *1 Monstrosity of the Lake *1 Moria Scavenger *1 Notion Thief *1 Orcish Siegemaster *1 Rampaging War Mammoth *1 Saruman, the White Hand *1 Scourge of the Throne *1 Shelob, Dread Weaver *1 Siege-Gang Commander *1 The Balrog of Moria *1 The Mouth of Sauron *1 Treasure Nabber *1 Troll of Khazad-dûm [/Creatures] [Sorceries] *1 Blasphemous Act *1 Boon of the Wish-Giver *1 Decree of Pain *1 Deep Analysis *1 Faithless Looting *1 Feed the Swarm *1 Honor the God-Pharaoh *1 Languish *1 Lidless Gaze *1 Living Death *1 Mana Geyser *1 Reanimate *1 Summons of Saruman *1 Too Greedily, Too Deep *1 Treason of Isengard *1 Wake the Dragon [/Sorceries] [Instants] *1 Arcane Denial *1 Bitter Downfall *1 Consider *1 Dark Ritual *1 Fact or Fiction *1 Forbidden Alchemy *1 Lazotep Plating *1 Seething Song *1 Thrill of Possibility [/Instants] [Artifacts] *1 Arcane Signet *1 Basalt Monolith *1 Commander&#039;s Sphere *1 Everflowing Chalice *1 Fellwar Stone *1 Mind Stone *1 Relic of Sauron *1 Sol Ring *1 Swiftfoot Boots *1 Worn Powerstone [/Artifacts] [Enchantments] *1 Dreadhorde Invasion *1 March from the Black Gate *1 Roar of Resistance *1 Shiny Impetus [/Enchantments] [Lands] *1 Choked Estuary *1 Command Tower *1 Crumbling Necropolis *1 Desolate Lighthouse *1 Dragonskull Summit *1 Drowned Catacomb *1 Evolving Wilds *1 Exotic Orchard *1 Foreboding Ruins *1 Frostboil Snarl *6 Island *7 Mountain *1 Path of Ancestry *1 Rogue&#039;s Passage *1 Smoldering Marsh *1 Sulfur Falls *1 Sulfurous Springs *1 Sunken Hollow *5 Swamp *1 Terramorphic Expanse *1 The Black Gate *1 Underground River [/Lands]"></span></div>  <span style="font-weight: 400;">We sped the deck up, and pumped up our Army’s capabilities. While Sauron might still have a hard time staying out, with our improved ramp package, we’re definitely going to be seeing a lot more of him.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but that’s where </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">you</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> come in. What would you add to this deck to ensure that Mordor’s armies cover the face of Middle-earth? Sound off below.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t forget to check out our <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/scrap-trawlers/">other precon guides</a> as well! We’ll see you again for Commander Masters. Until then, take care. And remember to budget…before you buy it.</span></p>


sauron

Hidden Gems for Sauron, the Dark Lord Commander Decks

Hosts of Mordor - Precon Primer

Hosts of Mordor - Upgrade Guide