MTG: Top Five EDH – Grixis ‘UBR’ Commanders
In Grixis, death is temporary, and so are board states, hand size, and even game phases. Flaming Zombies, however…
Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander. For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering, where you use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, your Commander.
Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory. EDHRec.com is a great source for Commander info and can give you ideas to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one.
If Esper is the Shard of politics, Grixis is the Shard of punishment. The combination of Blue, Red, and Black makes for Commanders that burn down the whole board and build an empire from the ashes. Discard, burn, and graveyard magic all combine into a nasty cocktail of fire and death. If you want to play a combo that feels like the “villains” of Magic, Grixis is the place to be. It’s no surprise, then, that two of the most notorious villain commanders AND the new Doctor Who villain deck are in these colors.
Nekusar, the Mindrazer
In almost every instance, drawing extra cards is an advantage, but Nekusar is here to ruin that. Whenever your opponent draws, they take damage, and since Nekusar graciously gifts them another card, they take another one. Add in some burn or draw enhancers like Ghyrson and Niv-Mizzet, and your opponent will be left with a full grip and a board of ashes. Just make sure you don’t feed them their answers.
Marchesa, the Black Rose
Just like Nekusar, Marchesa takes something that should be great and turns it against your opponents. This time, it’s having the most life at your table. Marchesa gives all your creatures counters whenever they attack the healthiest players. Should a creature you control die with a counter, it comes back at the next end step. This gives you almost unfettered board wipe immunity, and makes a Blasphemous Act a lot more enticing.
Kess, Dissident Mage
Kess is a bit of an odd duck, but she’s definitely a nasty one. She’s a 3/4 with flying that let’s you cast one of your instant or sorcery spells from your graveyard. If you do, it’s gone forever, but that’s not a huge ask. Casting a cataclysmic spell like Cyclonic Rift or Armageddon from your graveyard can turn the tide of the game, and Kess is happy to provide the ridiculous.
Obeka, Brute Chronologist
Obeka is another strange card, and she fits into a slightly tighter niche. While ending the turn seems like a bad thing to do, it lets you avoid “at end of turn” effects. That makes blitz and dash a lot nastier. Obeka is out here controlling time and defying card effects.
Sauron, the Dark Lord
This is definitely my favorite Grixis Commander, and not just because I’m a LotR and Magic the Gathering nerd. Sauron is packed with nasty triggers, and his very specific ward effect makes him hard to deal with. Amass Orcs is a phenomenal ability at the worst of times, and Sauron uses it as a threat over your enemy’s head. Even better, he gets Ring triggers whenever the Army you’ve made cracks a player. He’s the whole package, and I think only his cost is keeping him out of the top spot.
