Commander

Weapon of Choice – All Hallow’s Eve

Magic is no stranger to the eerie and the gruesome. Cards frequently depict images of violent death and supernatural torment. Take a look at the art for cards like [card]Macabre Waltz[/card], [card]Treacherous Urge[/card], and [card]Plagiarize[/card], then try to get a good night’s sleep.

Alongside these more abstract horrors, you have whole legions of creatures that could have stepped from the nightmares of a five year old who accidentally watched Night of the Living Dead on late-night TV. Not only are vampires, zombies, and demons common in the game, they are well-supported tribes.

Today, we’re gonna take a look at Magic’s spookiest creatures in Commander and some of the coolest options available for making them terrors on the battlefield, but we’re also going to do it from the monsters’ perspective…

From the diary of Lucy Van Harker (now Markov) of Stensia:

I got the chance to visit with Lord Edgar today. The others tell me that he must be fond of me. He keeps pulling me aside for history lessons. Lord Edgar says it is because I am always writing in this journal; he says that I have a “historian’s knack” and that he sees “great things” in my future. I am not sure what to make of that.

He told me about Sorin. I couldn’t believe it. The topic of his grandson is always off-limits for the others, I still do not know why.

Apparently, Sorin has visited far off lands and seen visions of our kind the likes of which are utterly alien to the great families here on Innistrad. Lord Edgar told me tales of clawed vampires on a world of iron, of vampires that feed on thoughts among an endless city, tales of lords of the night that flew in the same skies as angels and dragons and feasted on their blood.

I cannot imagine something on the scale that Lord Edgar described. I am just a neophyte and already the thirst is overpowering. I cannot imagine what a creature of such power would need to survive.

Lord of the Night

[display]Olivia Voldaren[/display]

I was finally allowed to attend a ball! While I was still mastering the thirst, I was not able to leave the grounds at all. I am so glad I finally got the chance!

I met one of the other great lords, [card]Olivia Voldaren[/card]. She was a wonder, possessed of such incredible insight. She told me that the right combination of wealth and fear is peerless camouflage. The masses expect nefarious deeds to be done by those who call themselves aristocrats, but they are never brave enough to investigate the rumours. As for those who might prove useful, immortality has a certain allure. Don’t be afraid to convert appealing prospects, the more you feed, the mightier you become.

Once you have built your network, you will find that for the right price, you can make a temporary ally into an eternal servant. The price may seem high at the time, but if you are patient, and make your investments with the right combination of caution and forethought, you will reap the rewards of power the likes of which you could barely imagine.

I will admit, such ambition is beginning to have an appeal. Maybe all of this attention is starting to go to my head.

A Refined Mask…

[display]Bloodline Keeper[/display]

Despite my tutor being satisfied with my grasp on the thirst, the lessons are still continuing. I think they’re piling extra on me. I do love writing, but this is getting ridiculous. History, in particular, is a constant theme. Every time I open a book, it seems to be telling me about my forebears and why they are the most important part of my new life.

I understand that this is mostly about learning from past failures. Our kind is powerful, but we are the minority; if we overstep our bounds, we will be persecuted into extinction. The burned-out husks of estates riddle Stensia’s countryside – testaments to families that let the hunger for power overcome their common sense.

Incremental growth, cultivating a persona of noble mystique, choosing wisely when to recruit – these are key parts of a successful family line. If one is judicious in the growth of one’s lineage, one can – over time – become a great household with a name like Markov or Stromkirk.

It seems like the message I keep hearing is: don’t be reckless, power is something that is grown, not something that suddenly appears.

…Hides a Brutal Hunger

[display]Feast of Blood[/display]

I understand the need for the training now.

It was all a blur. The screams. The blood. The lifeless eyes. It was terrifying, but it was glorious. It was intoxicating. I want to do it again.

I always thought of myself as shy, bookish, and soft. Back then, I suppose I was. Not anymore. My new family is one for which death is a way of life. We are killers, the gift makes us so. Not just anyone can slaughter with such… Efficiency. This power is a privilege and to squander it would be a waste.

Inside, a small voice is telling me that I should fall back on the lessons, listen to my reason. The rest of me is howling and hungry. My tutor is displeased. He and the some of the other elders are trying to decide what should be done with me.

Blood Rites

[display]Malakir Bloodwitch[/display]

My restlessness is growing. I have been confined since my incident and spending my time on this estate has become an exercise in tedium. It is not some glorious castle as I first thought, it is a monument to lassitude. We few have been gifted with the chance to live forever in exultation, it is a waste of our longevity to spend it contained.

I have discovered a few gems amongst the gathering dust. The manor estate goes as deep as it is tall; the passageways beneath the complex are labyrinthine. I have spent many hours exploring. My most precious discovery has been a library. It seems like it must have been old in Edgar’s time.

Within it, I have found some of his earliest notes, back when he was still mad with Shilgengar’s inspiration. They speak of blood magic far more potent than the watered-down cantrips our kind currently calls sorcery. Among the scribblings are those same whispers of other worlds I have heard mentioned before. Perhaps there is power to found beyond Innistrad. The notes here are detailed enough that I might be able to teach myself something…

The Old Ones Reborn

[display]Necropolis Regent[/display]

I haven’t fed for a week. Nor have I slept. I have only looked away from the pages to test the secrets they have revealed.

I was right, there is power here. Power beyond what the rest of the supposedly “great” families wield. Presumably, Edgar locked this place away out of panic. Those first few months after embracing the demon’s gift must have been terrifying – I can understand how one can fear such a gift at the same time as they embrace it.

I am not afraid, though. Quite the opposite. I am ready. I have let the growing hunger in my gut gnaw away at the last of my restraint. While the physical strength of my body has waned, the power in my blood has waxed strong. When I emerge from these catacombs, I will rise as something this world has never known – the rightful ruler of the night.

There is so much more to our supposed curse than the atrophied and complacent ruling clans know. But they will learn very soon. My instruction will be vigorous.

Excerpts from “Joy of Resurrection – Recipes for the Undead” by Faustus Grimm of Xathrid, Planeswalker:

Congratulations, dear reader – you have completed the basic sections. Assuming you have been following along with the practical exercises, you are now ready to start employing your rotting legions in unorthodox ways.

Many of the other schools of dark magic deride the simplicity of reviving the zombie, but they are pretentious, narrow-minded fools. The simplicity of your standard, humanoid zombie is its beauty. Simple ingredients are the most versatile.

The zombie is like the onion: common, cheap, and possessing of an eye-watering aroma. On its own, it is largely useless and unpleasant. When used with a little imagination – as a part of something greater – it becomes one of the most useful tools available to the aspiring necromancer.

Your exercises will have given you the skills to produce many onions at once, now it is time to learn the recipes that will put them to good use.

The Foes We Eat

[display]Feeding Frenzy[/display]

For this particular recipe, I recommend using at least ten zombies. During my travels, I have seen all sorts of mages who have hidden behind their golems and archangels, convinced that there was nothing that could be done to reach them. With only the smallest incentive, a horde of rotting teeth can be made to chew right through those supposedly impenetrable guardians.

Hord’euvre

[display]Unbreathing Horde[/display]

This is one of my personal favourite techniques, as it makes use of dross ingredients that might otherwise go to waste. Some zombies are not much use on their own – even by the usual standards of such things. It can frequently be hard to tell how much oomph you will get from a particular corpse before you revive it.

In the event that you find yourself with excess amounts of run-off and chaff, you can combine those leavings together to make yourself a hearty stew – one that will hold up well over time and under many less-than-ideal circumstances.

Grow Your Ingredients

[display]Lich Lord of Unx[/display]

We were all apprentices at one point, and we all know how most of us grew to become masters. Given that history, it can be tough to convince yourself that imparting a measure of will and intellect onto your servitors is a good idea.

However! If you get the ratios just right (go easy on the treachery), it can be possible to raise a small army with very little effort and even less risk. Besides, having a second decent mind around (even if it is half-rotten) can generate some ideas that may not have occurred to you alone. I have seen some truly twisted inspiration come from the minds of the undead.

The Foes We Keep

[display]Gravespawn Sovereign[/display]

Let’s be honest, practicing sorcery of any kind can be an exercise in envy. You have only so much time and talent to call your own and there are certain things you will never be able to do. For instance, summoning dragons will never be my thing. Luckily, if you gather enough necromantic energy in the right place, you can just revive all the cool things that belonged to your enemies.

This particular recipe summons something I would call a “conductor” of all the restless energy of the undead. This conductor will channel the power animating your zombies into the corpse of anything you wish and revive it under your command. See something you like? Kill it and take it – it’s that easy.

Sneaking

[display]Zombie Trailblazer[/display]

I like to employ this particular blend when dealing with an enemy whose numbers rival my own. It forms a nice counterpoint to the first spell I mentioned. When you can’t go through your foe’s defenses, you can go around.

The rotting presence of the zombies can help putrefy the land, which allows them to navigate through less-than-ideal terrain far more easily. Provided you have a decent stock available for the journey, you can deliver hungry jaws right into the waiting faces of your foes.

Conversation between Bram the Gullible and an Unknown Presence. Overheard by Nosy Neighbour. Recorded by Inspector Jaken Ariz of the Boros:

Inspector’s Note: Called to the rundown 15th district. Investigating cause of large-scale tenement fire. Appears to be arson. Began in three-room dwelling of man called Bram. Known Izzet affiliation.

Inspector’s Note: Bram’s dwelling contains evidence of ceremony – looks occult. Markings do not match known Rakdos iconography. Will send sketches to experts at precinct.

Inspector’s Note: Leads have brought me eye-witness. Elderly woman – Bram’s neighbour. Heard suspicious conversation on night of incident.

I take it you know why I have summoned you?

[display]Promise of Power[/display]

You found my name in some disused library and thought it would be a wonderful idea to conjure me. I can smell the weakness on you – you are desiring of strength, of real power. I can give you that.

For the right price, I could give you knowledge so potent it would burn a quarter of your lifespan from you. Or perhaps you would rather just have me step through this doorway and solve your problems for you?

You would need my permission for that, I consulted with an expert before assembling this ritual. I have safeguards in place.

[display]Blood Speaker[/display]

Hehehe, you would trust an “expert” in these matters to have your best interests at heart? You have indeed earned the title of Gullible.

How do you know they call me that?

[display]Rakdos the Defiler[/display]

Do not take me for the brutish demon that your whole world fears. I am far older and work in ways more subtle. [card]Rakdos the Defiler[/card] is an inferno – untamable and wild – burning all who come too close. I am a torch – controlled, illuminating in the dark, but still dangerous if mishandled.

And, my young friend, I am afraid that your so called “expert” has doused you in oil. Those safeguards you mentioned are anything but.

Wh-What are you doing?! That hurts… That hurts!

[display]Mark of the Oni[/display]

Hmm, this flesh is as weak as I suspected. I suppose it will have to do until I can find something better. Your mind… Is also weak, but there is some knowledge here that might be helpful to me.

Wh…Where am I? What have you done?

[display]Tomb of Urami[/display]

You are serving my sentence, little one. The price for my full release was too great, even for me. The bindings will have to be undone slowly. I was patient while imprisoned in stone and spell – I can be patient while imprisoned in flesh and frailty. I will come back for you, mortal. When the time comes to reclaim my body, you will once again have your freedom – and perhaps I will be feeling generous enough to repay you for mine.

Inspector’s Note: Came back to follow-up with witness. Found her and relatives she was boarding with dead. Cause of death appears to be exsanguination from neck. Strange marking carved into foreheads – stylized, lidless eye. Again – no known occult connection. Sending sketch to precinct experts.

Trick or Treat

I hope you guys enjoyed a little bit of a detour from the usual. There are a lot of cool and creepy cards waiting in the dark depths of Magic’s vast library. With any luck, some of the gems I uncovered for this column will get the wheels in your head turning.

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