Thorin, Mountain-king Commander Deck Tech

Thorin, Mountain-king | Art by Javier Charro

Greetings, Dwarf fanatics and mono-red devotees. Magic: The Gathering's upcoming set, The Hobbit (HOB), is a promising sequel to The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (LTR).

HOB follows Bilbo Baggins' journey from The Shire to The Lonely Mountain. Additionally, Bilbo Baggins and other notable characters from The Hobbit will appear as new-to-MTG cards.

An early preview of HOB gave players a glimpse of the set well before its August 2026 release date. Among the cards spoiled was Thorin, Mountain-king, a legendary Dwarf Noble.

I'm a sucker for mono-red legendary creatures, especially when they synergize with Equipment. As such, I'd like to explore Thorin, Mountain-king leading an Equipment-focused deck with you.

What Does Thorin, Mountain-king Do?

Thorin, Mountain-king is more than a measly 3/4 trampler. When Thorin enters the battlefield, you may equip a creature under your control with any number of Equipment you control.

Upon doing so, the equipped creature deals damage equal to its power to up to one target creature.

Ideally, the power of the newly equipped creature should take out any opposing threat and pave the way for attacking.

One alternative to Thorin is Final Fantasy's (FIN) Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms. Gilgamesh's ability differs from Thorin by putting any Equipment cards from the top six cards of your library into play.

As a limitation, you may only attach up to one Equipment card found this way onto a Samurai you control. Six mana is a lot to cast Gilgamesh, but its ability packs a punch.

Gilgamesh is an excellent commander for Equipment decks running living weapons such as Batterskull, Hexplate Wallbreaker, and Warrior's Sword. Otherwise, Thorin is likely a better candidate to lead a mono-red Equipment commander.

Key Cards for Thorin, Mountain-king

Thorin, Mountain-king's ability requests you to control multiple Equipment cards on the battlefield. Having many Equipment cards in the 99 helps, but casting them is another story.

To improve the consistency of controlling numerous Equipment cards simultaneously, you'll want to include Equipment with low mana values.

One-mana Equipment

Colossus Hammer, Bloodforged Battle-Axe, and Commander's Plate are outstanding Equipment for .

Each card possesses potent abilities that may turn the tide of battle in your favor. Moreover, Thorin's enters ability negates any high equip costs your Equipment may require.

There are other stellar Equipment cards in the grouping. Lavaspur Boots is an upgraded Boots of Speed that's climbing up the most-played Equipment ranking. I'm also a fan of Strixhaven: School of Mages' (STX) Zephyr Boots in the 99.

This budget-friendly Equipment grants flying and provides a looting effect upon dealing combat damage. While Cliffhaven Kitesail and Mechanical Glider are comparable to Zephyr Boots, their one-time free equip effect is less desirable than Zephyr Boots' repeatable looting in this deck.

Two hidden gems found in the Equipment list are Hidden Footblade and Diamond Pick-Axe. Hidden Footblade flashes onto the battlefield, giving a creature you control haste, +1/+0, and a temporary first strike effect.

That's insane value for ! Also for is the indestructible Diamond Pick-Axe. What's great about Diamond Pick-Axe (besides indestructibility) is that its Treasure token-producing ability triggers upon attacking. Don't underestimate the value of an extra mana source during combat.

Mana Ramp and Reduction

Speaking of mana, mono-red Equipment decks can be mana-intensive. It's not uncommon to cast a creature card, equip it, and run out of available mana for removal spells or interaction. Also, you don't want to face mana constraints when trying to put an opponent on their back foot.

Thus, mana ramp and reduction spells like Fire Diamond and Ruby Medallion help minimize mana-related roadblocks.

FIN introduced Freya Crescent, a fantastic mana ramp card for Equipment-themed decks. Since Freya's casting cost is only , you can start casting three-mana Equipment cards with Freya on turn two.

Furthermore, Freya lowers equip costs and gains flying on your turn. Although Freya's flying ability may seem irrelevant, Thorin can load Freya up with Equipment to fly over defenses.

Other notable ramp cards include Cursed Mirror, Sword of the Animist, and Sword of Hearth and Home.

Notably, Sword of Hearth and Home's flicker effect may save you mana by targeting Thorin. Upon returning from exile, Thorin can re-equip Equipment cards previously attached, plus any other Equipment cards you control for zero mana.

When it comes to reducing Equipment mana costs, Foundry Inspector is top of mind. Likewise, you can utilize Bladegraft Aspirant's abilities.

Not only does Bladegraft Aspirant reduce Equipment casting costs, but it also reduces the cost to equip it. When you're unable to cast Thorin, suiting up Bladegraft Aspirant isn't a terrible idea.

Power-boosting Equipment

There are plenty of Equipment cards in the 99 to increase your creatures' power levels to new heights. Besides the aforementioned Equipment cards, Golem-Skin Gauntlets and Improvised Arsenal are useful.

Interestingly, Golem-Skin Gaunlets cares about the number of attached Equipment, while Improvised Arsenal counts the total artifacts you control.

To double the power boost from Golem-Skin Gaunlets or Improvised Arsenal, copy either of them with Masterwork of Ingenuity.

Another approach to doubling a creature's power is with Two-Handed Axe. Gifting Thorin double strike at instant speed can devastate an opponent's blockers or deal lethal commander damage.

In addition, you get to double the power of a creature equipped with Two-Handed Axe on each attack. A combination of Two-Handed Axe and Golem-Skin Gauntlets or Improvised Arsenal equipped to Thorin poses a real threat to your opponents.

How Does Thorin, Mountain-king Win?

Commander Damage

Thorin, Mountain-king can deal game-ending commander damage with a little help from your Equipment. However, equipping multiple low-cost Equipment cards to Thorin isn't your only path to victory.

You also have access to several Equipment cards capable of single-handedly pushing Thorin's stats to lethal territory.

Adaptive Omnitool gives +1/+1 to Thorin depending on the number of artifacts you control, with a bonus effect.

Similarly, Nettlecyst counts artifacts and enchantments, while Thran Power Suit looks at attached Equipment and Auras.

A more intriguing Equipment is Bearded Axe, which gives +1/+1 based on the number of Dwarves, Equipment, and Vehicles you control.

Make sure you know what each Equipment card checks for stat boosts when calculating Thorin's damage output.

Some Equipment cards like Kaldra Compleat can outright end games. Kaldra Compleat comes with a keyword soup, including indestructible and +5/+5. It's extremely hard for your opponents to remove Thorin once Kaldra Compleat gets attached to it.

Moreover, Excalibur, Sword of Eden equipped to Thorin gets you two attacks away from game-ending commander damage. Also, casting Excalibur, Sword of Eden is relatively easy considering the plethora of historic permanents in the 99.

But what happens when Thorin is restrained by a Deep Freeze or Darksteel Mutation?

Backup Leaders

Thankfully, you have a team of creatures ready to step up if Thorin steps out. Second in command is Kazuul's Toll Collector, an Ogre Warrior with a equip ability. Just behind Kazuul's Toll Collector is Armory Automaton.

Akin to Kazuul's Toll Collector, Armory Automaton only lets you equip freely to itself. Although both creatures are missing evasive abilities, your multitude of Equipment cards can solve that issue.

The top end of your mana curve has a few more Thorin substitutes. Brash Taunter equipped with Sword of Vengeance and another power-raising Equipment is quite scary.

It's worth noting that Thorin's equipped creature damage-dealing ability can target any creature, including your Brash Taunter.

Additionally, five mana gets you Vulshok Battlemaster. Vulshok Battlemaster's enters effect is a double-edged sword as it takes all Equipment in play, including Equipment attached to your other creatures.

Last but not least is Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms. In true finisher fashion, Gilgamesh can immediately impact the game upon entering the battlefield.

Attaching a haste-enabling Equipment to Gilgamesh after it enters grants a second triggered effect when attacking. If left unchecked, Gilgamesh can grow into a wrecking ball as more Equipment enters under your control.

Thorin may be the star of the show, but Gilgamesh and its fellow substitutes aren't too shabby either.

Thorin, Mountain-king Commander Deck List

You can push the deck list to a higher Commander Bracket tier by adding a few infinite combos. Swapping in Akki Battle Squad opens up infinite combos with Helm of the Host and Sword of Hearth and Home, albeit with some prerequisite conditions.

Moreover, you may exchange an Equipment card for Blazing Sunsteel. Equipping Blazing Sunsteel to Brash Taunter creates an opportunity to deal infinite indirect damage to your opponents.

One other combo to explore is Brash Taunter and Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought. Although it's not infinitely loopable, Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought with 10 or more charge counters can transfer 100 damage to an opponent through Brash Taunter. When attacking won't win the game, consider pivoting to a combo finisher.

Read More

Tom, Bert, and William Commander Deck Tech

Building a Magnificent Commander Deck With Smaug the Magnificent

Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms Commander Deck Tech