Warhammer 40k x Magic the Gathering: ‘Universes Beyond’ Decklist Review
In the grim darkness of the far future, there are some strong candidates for EDH upgrades.
Wizards of the Coast has revealed all the decklists for the upcoming Universes Beyond commander set, and they’re sure to be spicy additions to the game. Veteran commander players will find a wealth of new cards and reprints to empower their builds, while newbies will get a powerful entry into the format. Now that we know what we’re getting, here are my thoughts on how you’ll want to play the deck, and some existing themes they’ll interact well with.
Tyranid Swarm
Like the Slivers of Magic lore or the Xenomorphs of sci-fi, the Tyranid bio army is a hive-based lifeform designed for one purpose: the consumption of all available biomass. To that end, they spawn countless evolutions to survive hostile environments or destroy the defenses of their prey. This makes them perfect for a Temur counter/token spam. Normally the purview of Hydras, the new Tyranid will reward you with powerful X spells, creatures that grow in power over time, and more keywords than you can shake a Bonesword at. If you want to bring the maximum stomp with the biggest creatures, this is the deck for you, and if you’re new to MTG, this is probably the easiest to grasp. When you’re ready to upgrade, a few Hydras, things that add extra keywords, or things that multiply your counters are the way to go.
The Ruinous Powers
While it’s hard to define good guys and bad guys in Warhammer 40k, the Forces of Chaos are certainly not in the galaxy’s best interest. Whether they’re summoning eldritch horrors, slaying planets’ worth of peoples, or just chilling in an awful alternate dimension, the Ruinous Powers are rarely up to anything helpful. Their EDH deck, which is a Grixis Cascade/Token deck, shows how varied and deadly their armies are. Whether you use Magnus to powerload your damaging spells, Be’Lakor to punish your enemy with an army of demons, or the big boss himself Abaddon to cast your nastiest hitters for basically free, there’s a lot to pick from in this deck. When you’re ready to expand, you can make a deadly Grixis Demon cascade deck and STILL have a few pieces left over to make an Izzet Spellslinger.
Necron Dynasties
The only monocolor offering, the Necron decklist combines two things the terrifying xenos are known for; machines, and refusing to stay dead. Eons ago, the Necron Empire enslaved their gods to power their great machines, allowing them to invent fantastic technology and even transcend death. However, their immortality came at a price, and as time passed the Necrontyr deteriorated. This deck is an absolutely perfect combo of sacrifice, recursion, and power mechanics. It has a little bit of everything, and even the non-artifact pieces are deadly. It won’t be hard to upgrade this one into an absolute monster, and though it isn’t my favorite, I have to admit this is probably the objectively strongest of the four.
Forces of the Imperium
Rounding out the four decks we have a coalition of all the Defenders of Humanity and the mighty Imperium of Mankind. The enhanced warriors of the Space Marines, the devout Sisters of Battle, the endless ranks of the Imperial Guard, and even the sinister Officio Assassinorum are all represented here, led by the enigmatic Inquisitor Greyfax. This deck wants to pump out tokens for value, and it rewards you for keeping the army well-stocked. Several of the board wipes skate your own token creatures, allowing you to take out your enemy without compromising your own war engine, just as the Emperor intended. There are a lot of powerful synergies in the deck, but it isn’t quite as outwardly insane as the others we’ve seen. Only time will tell how each fares.
You can find all the decklists here, and if you want to pick up the decks for yourself, you can preorder them here.
