army by ericmuttick

Format: Commander

Commander: Saruman, the White Hand

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 18

Deck overview

This deck uses Saruman, the White Hand as a spell-triggered Army engine. Its normal plan is to deploy Saruman, cast several instants and sorceries, grow one Army, and convert that Army into combat pressure or mass damage with Assault on Osgiliath, Widespread Brutality, Chandra's Ignition, and Orcish Siegemaster. The mana base and two-mana rocks support the plan, but the deck is mana-hungry and has limited card flow at the point where the commander first becomes operational. Ringsight and Mystical Tutor improve access, though they do not consistently provide every required role together. Removal and a small counterspell package give it respectable midgame interaction. Its central weakness is closing: a large Army is not automatically lethal to three opponents, and the list has no compact deterministic combo or total lock. It is therefore a thematic, interactive midrange deck whose success depends on maintaining the Army and winning through combat over several turns.

Decklist (100 cards)

• 1 Along the Crooked Way
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Assault on Osgiliath
• 1 Azog, Moria's Ruin
• 1 Barad-dûr
• 1 Bitter Downfall
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Bolg of the North
• 1 Book of Mazarbul
• 1 Bothersome Noisemaker
• 1 Chandra's Ignition
• 1 Claim the Precious
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Commence the Endgame
• 1 Corsairs of Umbar
• 1 Crumbling Necropolis
• 1 Deceive the Messenger
• 1 Display of Power
• 1 Down, Down to Goblin-town
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 1 Fall of Cair Andros
• 1 Fearsome Goblin Pair
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Fiery Inscription
• 1 Fire of Orthanc
• 1 Flame of Anor
• 1 Foray of Orcs
• 1 Gandalf the Grey
• 1 Gathering of Darkness
• 1 Glamdring
• 1 Glamdring, Foe-hammer // Gleam of Death
• 1 Goblin Plate Mail
• 1 Gorbag of Minas Morgul
• 1 Great Goblin, Foul-Hearted
• 1 Grishnákh, Brash Instigator
• 1 Guttersnipe
• 9 Island
• 1 Lazotep Plating
• 1 March from the Black Gate
• 1 Maskwood Nexus
• 1 Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain
• 1 Mordor Muster
• 8 Mountain
• 1 My Precious // Allure of Power
• 1 Mystical Tutor
• 1 Negate
• 1 Orcish Bowmasters
• 1 Orcish Medicine
• 1 Orcish Siegemaster
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Rage into the Valley
• 1 Ringsight
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Saruman the White
• 1 Saruman's Trickery
• 1 Saruman, the White Hand
• 1 Sauron, Lord of the Rings
• 1 Sauron, the Dark Lord
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sulfur Falls
• 1 Summons of Saruman
• 9 Swamp
• 1 Talisman of Creativity
• 1 Talisman of Dominance
• 1 Talisman of Indulgence
• 1 The Black Gate
• 1 The Great Goblin
• 1 The Mouth of Sauron
• 1 The Torment of Gollum
• 1 Tidings of War
• 1 Treason of Isengard
• 1 Treasure Nabber
• 1 Uncover the Moon-Letters
• 1 Warg Rider
• 1 Widespread Brutality
• 1 Withering Torment
• 1 Wizard's Staff