Heavenly Inferno. Check. Mirror Mastery. Check. Political Puppets. Yep, check. That means Devour for Power is next. It’s no secret. My favorite deck in the Commander format is . This color combination dominates! It offers the refined player every temptation and necessity that a savvy magician might need to deconstruct and consume the Commander format.

The Ten Commanderments

10. Thou shalt ramp.

9. Thou shalt pack targeted and mass removal.

8. Thou shalt tutor.

7. Thou shalt counter thine enemies.

6. Thou shalt covet thy neighbor’s awesome permanents.

5. Thou shalt use graveyard recursion.

4. Thou shalt draw cards.

3. Thou shalt ramp even more.

2. Thou shalt cast huge spells.

1. Thou shalt kill.

Decks with access to the deep card pool are able to use the vast array of ramp, counter, removal, and card advantage to obliterate the competition. Before the preconstructed Commander products were released, the player base only had a single choice. It was a good choice, but The Mimeoplasm and Damia, Sage of Stone represent welcome options flanking Vorosh, the Hunter.

The Mimeoplasm combines the abilities and specifications of creatures in the graveyard, allowing players to innovate and employ their very own Frankenstein-esque Commanders. Not only can you remove opposing threats from graveyards, but The Mimeoplasm also provides the opportunity to make “new” Magic cards each time that it hits the battlefield.

Damia, Sage of Stone will keep your hand packed with seven cards in exchange for your draw step. She can be a proverbial breath of fresh air when you are low on the card count. When I was testing out today’s rebuild, my hand count dropped after a bitter removal and counter war. Damia hit the field with reinforcements and helped the army reload and win the war. She often represents the addition of multiple cards for the cost of a single Legendary Gorgon Wizard if she survives to see your upkeep.

Kickin’ It Old-School

In our first four deck modifications, we took the new Commander options and reconstructed the decks using a mix of the new cards and powerful existing strategies, and searched for original synergies and upgraded decks with enhanced playability and enjoyment. In some cases, we generated more competitive builds that folks might use for play at a Grand Prix side event or a local Commander league (e.g., Riku or Karador), while in others, we waxed casual with Goat Hug or Kaalia of the Vast. Today’s build will fall on the more competitive side of the competitive/casual continuum, but will depart from our previous rebuilds in a key aspect: We are kickin’ it old-school! Rather than jumping into the deck-building bed with the slimy Ooze or that scary Gorgon, we will cuddle up with one of the original Elder Dragons.

Rebuilding Devour for Power with Vorosh

The deck-construction goals for our build will be compliance to The Ten Commanderments. I want to build a really well-rounded, complex deck that uses the combination of ramping, key counters, tutors, card-draw, and impressive creatures to secure multiple win conditions. It would be a bonus if our deck was really controlling and often killed with Vorosh, the Hunter. Let’s review the card selections by purpose.

Thou Shalt Ramp & Thou Shalt Ramp Even More

• Dreadship Reef
• Seedborn Muse
• Temple of the False God
• Primeval Titan
• Solemn Simulacrum
• Yavimaya Elder
• Sol Ring
• Mana Crypt
• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth & Cabal Coffers
• Kodama's Reach
• Seedguide Ash
• Explosive Vegetation
• Wood Elves
• Sakura-Tribe Elder
• Coiling Oracle
• Mox Diamond

Total = 17 rampers

With almost 20% of your deck designed to promote mana-acceleration, this build is optimal for laying the foundation for casting fun, big spells. We are playing three colors, but fixing will rarely be a problem if you keep hands with a Forest, another land, and some ramp spells. Other considerations include Hunting Wilds, Journey of Discovery, or any of the mass amounts of Green ramp spells that folks tend to love. If you’re playing Green, you should play to your strength. Ramp it up!

Thou Shalt Pack Targeted and Mass Removal

• Decree of Pain (mass removal and card-draw)
• Pernicious Deed
• Duplicant
• Damnation
• Oblivion Stone
• Acidic Slime
• Trygon Predator
• Strip Mine

Total = 8 removers

While this section is a tiny bit thin, I have play-tested and cut out a great deal of the one-for-one removal spells. You might want to drop in Krosan Grip, but cards like Go for the Throat do not seem to do enough in large multiplayer games. You want cards that will typically be multiple-for-one effects.

Thou Shalt Tutor

• Buried Alive (Genesis/Eternal Witness/Big Fatty Creature usually does the trick!)
• Rune-Scarred Demon (M12 has arrived!)
• Vampiric Tutor
• Mystical Teachings
• Liliana Vess
• Mystical Tutor
• Trinket Mage
• Perplex
• Intuition
• Tolaria West
• Demonic Tutor
• Merchant Scroll

Total = 12

With 12% of the deck able to search through your Elder Dragon Toolbox, you should have a very playable deck with lots of timely plays. I typically search up Sol Ring with Trinket Mage, but we will include another target in Mox Diamond. Searching the Mox can be a great play if we have Life from the Loam active. Perplex can land a copy of Pernicious Deed or, most often, Eternal Witness, while Tolaria West can search up your pick of valuable utility lands or Pact of Negation.

Thou Shalt Counter Thine Enemies

• Cryptic Command
• Pact of Negation
• Dissipate
• Hinder
• Spell Crumple
• Trickbind
• Glen Elendra Archmage
• Mana Drain
• Force of Will
• Rewind
• Mystic Snake
• Mindbreak Trap

Total = 12

With this arsenal of counters, you should easily be able to push the Vorosh agenda while staving off opposing plans. Save the counterspells for high-impact threats, and this deck will be able to successfully wage a counter war with a majority of decks. You particularly might want to store up some of the free and cheap counters when you are about to unleash one of the deck’s multiple win conditions.

Thou Shalt Covet Thy Neighbor’s Awesome Permanents

• Bribery
• Blatant Thievery

Total = 2

I must admit, I am not a huge fan of stealing my opponent’s cards. However, Insurrection, Reins of Power, and, to a lesser extent, Bribery and Blatant Thievery can really win games. Until folks find out that Homeward Path is the stone nuts in a giant multiplayer game, I suspect that these cards are going to be effective. They will often paint a target on your head, so play them judiciously.

Thou Shalt Use Graveyard Recursion

• Eternal Witness
• Genesis
• Life from the Loam
• Yawgmoth's Will
• Restock
• Regrowth

Total = 6

Green offers Commander players an outstanding feature: Regrowth effects. When you pair this graveyard play with , you can typically come up with some pretty sweet synergies. Players have taken a clear stance against graveyard removal in this game. Very few players take the time to pack graveyard removal. Therefore, Vorosh capitalizes on this weakness by abusing the amazing effects in this deck. Yawgmoth’s Win—excuse me, Will—is one of the greatest cards of all time, and I can never understate my love for Eternal Witness and Genesis. They have become the cogs in my Commander machine, and I recommend them to everyone!

Thou Shalt Draw Cards

• Consecrated Sphinx
• Mulldrifter
• Concentrate
• Harmonize
• Stroke of Genius
• Visions of Beyond (This guy is made for multiplayer.)
• Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• Rhystic Study

Total = 8

Card-draw is the grease that keeps the Vorosh machine flying. While there are a number of cards that might fill out the card-draw, I think that the new Visions of Beyond earns a spot among battle-tested veterans. Late-game, this card can be a huge draw. At worst, it cycles, and at best, you’re slinging Ancestral Recall. Do you like playing with the Power Nine? Give Visions a chance.

Thou Shalt Cast Huge Spells

• Vorosh, the Hunter
• Rune-Scarred Demon (aforementioned)
• Stroke of Genius (aforementioned)
• Decree of Pain (aforementioned)
• Time Stretch
• Consecrated Sphinx (aforementioned)
• Primeval Titan (aforementioned)

Total = 2 new cards

There are a number of large threats and win condition cards in this deck. Eventually, you want to cast Vorosh, followed by a Time Warp or Time Stretch, and swing your Commander turn after turn. With each successful attack, his ability adds 6 +1/+1 counters; therefore, killing with Commander damage is a strong possibility. However, this interaction takes lots of mana. Once you have ramped up, you should be able to bring about the end of the world on the back of your emboldened Vorosh.

Thou Shalt Kill

• Exsanguinate

Total = 1

Aside from going infinite with Time Stretch/Eternal Witness recursion, swinging your giant Commander, and the occasional ultimate ability of Liliana Vess, you have access to a ton of mana once your Primeval Titan searches up Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. You can simply use this mana to power out Exsanguinate for a mass life-removal on all opponents. These synergies are relatively easy to assemble over the course of a long multiplayer game and make this deck an outstanding threat.

At this point, we have seventy-eight fantastic spells that aim at fulfilling The Ten Commanderments. Our finishing touch is the mana base. Aside from the cards that have already been mentioned, I would drop in the full triad of dual lands, shock lands, filter lands, and six to eight fetches that accompany our needs. Rather than roll out the entire land base, I would encourage folks to consider the essentials. There are thirty-two land spots with which to work; these have to go in to make our deck function.

Must-Include Lands

• Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• Cabal Coffers
• Dreadship Reef
• High Market
• Phyrexian Tower
• Temple of the False God
• Reliquary Tower
• Tolaria West

We have already covered the mana-ramp provided by Urborg/Coffers. Dreadship Reef has some interesting synergy with Seedborn Muse, and High Market and Phyrexian Tower both allow us to sacrifice Eternal Witness to set up her recursion with Genesis. Temple of the False God is a great mana-ramping land, and Reliquary Tower can make sure you have a giant hand on the back of Consecrated Sphinx. From there, I would encourage players to make the mana base work within the budget. The deck loves lots of basic lands and abusive duals with the name “Forest.” Try out Homeward Path, Maze of Ith, and the cycle lands for a more fluid and interactive mana base. I have started including Strip Mine in each deck to destroy opposing Cabal Coffers and troubling lands aimed at thwarting my plans.

This is, by far, my favorite Commander deck. I love the modifications and room for future changes in this type of build. The pool of outstanding cards is so, so deep that we can keep growing and regrowing this deck type for continual enjoyment. I don’t think these colors are ever stale.

If you want to tone down the list for a more casual environment, consider taking out Time Stretch. There have been several articles spelling out the centralizing nature of both Consecrated Sphinx and Primeval Titan. These two relatively new creatures are making a run at “Best in Class” of the available Commander ranks. It might be fun to play them a while and then give them a period of rest or retirement depending on the tolerance of your league or playgroup.

Thanks for reading the article series. Check back on some of the prior rebuild articles if you want to play around with some of the other preconstructed decks. I have had a great time working through these decks, consuming them in their out-of-the-box forms, and shaping them into my own. I would encourage you to do the same. Let me know about your own modifications and what you liked about the articles in the comments. Check back next Monday for more Commander content on GatheringMagic.