“I’ll take this one, and this one, and—throw it in your face!”
Art:Uglúk of the White Hand
by Bartlomiej Gawel
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Ugluk is an awesome commander who is the perfect general for on flavor deck for all of the creatures and denizens of Mordor. We are a Rakdos Goblin / Orcs deck that focuses on creating and subsequently sacrificing our smaller creatures for a ton of payoff from our commander. This deck is a ton of fun, and I enjoy how flavorful it is, as it feels like we are leading an army into battle. This deck has been doing very well at my LGS / Playgroup, and we have been having a ton of fun with it! Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
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Uglúk of the White Hand Denizens of Mordor!
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Why Ugluk of the White Hand?
Ugluk is the perfect commander for a Rakdos deck that focuses on sacrificing our smaller creatures for strong payoffs. Ugluk is right in the middle for the cost of an average commander but is also a well-stated creature that only gets better as the turns go on. It is great that we get a benefit for any creature dying, but since we are full of goblin and orcs, we get +2/+2 on Ugluk, and that can get out of hand very quickly.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! I also highlighted some of my favorite cards in the deck!
Creatures:
We are a goblin/orcs deck, but we have many more goblins since they are more common within the format. Some of my favorite goblins include Goblin General
, Goblin Battle Jester
, and Swarming Goblins
, which are all huge assets for the deck. We do create a ton of tokens in the deck, so Mirkwood Bats
was a natural auto-include for the deck. Mordor Trebuchet
is an awesome on-flavor card for the deck that can help us make more attackers for the deck that will also trigger Ugluk. We have a couple of strong sac outlets like Carrion Feeder
and Bloodflow Connoisseur
, which only get bigger and buff Ugluk up like crazy. Goblin Lookout
is an awesome sac outlet and payoff for our deck. It can allow us to get in a ton of damage with our goblin tokens and creatures as well. Caterwauling Boggart
is an expensive goblin, but they give all of our creatures menace, which is huge for the deck and Ugluk.
Instants:
Almost all of our removal is at instant speed, with some of the best being Go for the Throat
, Cast Down
, and Murder
. Terminate
is a big benefit for us being in Rakdos, one of the best in the deck. We actually do have some artifact removal in the form of Smash to Smithereens
and Abrade
, which can be a great way to slow down our opponents. Raise the Draugr
is an awesome way to get more of our creatures back.
Sorceries:
We have some strong draw spells like Read the Bones
, Night's Whisper
, and Sign in Blood
, which are all great since we have a pretty low overall casting cost and refilling our hand is often needed. We also have some strong sorcery speed token production like Hordeling Outburst
, Krenko's Command
, and Dragon Fodder
which are great ways to fill our board and we usually sacrifice our block with these pretty quickly so we can buff up Ugluk. We also have some strong recursion in the deck in Return from Extinction
and Macabre Waltz
, which are great for getting key creatures back after we sacrifice them for Ugluk.
Artifacts:
Most of our artifacts are mana rocks like Arcane Signet
and Rakdos Signet
, which can be great ways to get ahead. In addition, we have some equipment that can let us guarantee hits like Whispersilk Cloak
. We also have some other strong equipment like Vorrac Battlehorns
and Haunted Cloak
. Our artifact package helps us do a ton of damage.
Enchantments:
Our two key enchantments are Impact Tremors
and Raid Bombardment
since we can use them as huge damage payoffs and put a ton of pressure on our opponents. Eternal Thirst
is another very cool card that can help kill our opponent’s creatures, perfect when we have a buffed-up Ugluk. Kaya's Ghostform
is a great way to protect Ugluk from returning to the command zone. We can put it on whatever our primary threat is, but it is typically Ugluk. Last but certainly not least, we have Oubliette
, a pauper / PDH classic, and a cheap and efficient removal spell.
Land Base:
We have a pretty typical TNT land base with all of the cycling and draw that you would expect. One of my favorite lands in the deck is Mortuary Mire
since it is a black source and a strong piece of recursion. Beyond that, we have the typical formula as well as some basics. I almost always like 35 lands in my deck, and I have also found success with that number here.
Strengths of the Deck:
- Commander damage kill is very easy
- A decent amount of recursion
- A decent amount of removal
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Weak to graveyard hate
- Weak to control strategies
- Weak to artifact hate
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops in the deck. Whether we are attacking with our 1/1 tokens or a buffed-up Ugluk, we have a strong board presence usually by the mid-game, and then we can start swinging. We also have cards like Impact Tremors and Raid Bombardment, which are strong additional ways to damage our opponents.
Conclusion:
Ugluk of the white hand is a very fun commander who is the perfect commander for a deck that focuses on orcs and goblins. I love the flavor and feel of this deck, as it feels like we are leading an army against our opponents. We have all of the strengths and weaknesses of being in Rakdos and have a strong and fun deck overall. Thanks for checking this one out with us! Thanks for reading to the end and for all your support.