It’s almost time for the spooky season, butMagic: The Gatheringis getting a head start withDuskmourn: House of Horror. This set brings players to the classic slasher horror films of the 80s and 90s, with haunted houses, masked terrors, and deadly claws rasping at windows while unknown horrors go bump in the night.
While the true power of Duskmourn will be found at higher rarities, you’ll still find some tasty uncommon creatures to build your next Pauper Commander deck around. This list selects ten of the juiciest, most deck-worthy Pauper commanders to be found in Duskmourn, so read on for some inspiration.
10Savior Of The Small
Good things come in small packages.
Savior of the Small fits neatly intoa classic white deck archetype: cheap creatures. All you need to do isattack or otherwise figure out a way of getting Savior of the Small tapped, and you’ve got yourself a lovely little recursion engine.
Attacking isthe obvious and easiest way to ensure Savior of the Small taps, but it’snot your only option. Akroan Jailer, Ardenvale Tactician, and Benalish Trapper are just a few ways to ensure Savior of the Small keeps tapping without taking the risk of attacking.
9Osseous Sticktwister
Bones and baskets, together at last!
Delirium isn’t the hardest thing to accomplish in Commander, whether it’s Pauper or otherwise. With the right deck construction, four cards of every type can easily be pushed to your graveyard, and black has the added advantage of being able to mill cards to hasten the process.
Once done, you’ve got an oppressive creature that will either force players to discard, sacrifice a permanent, or take damage from Osseous Sticktwister. And since this Scarecrow has lifelink, all damage dealt means life gained. Odds are that your opponents are just going to opt for the damage, but you can change their decision by giving Osseous Stocktwister a boost in power (like with Bonesplitter, for example).
8Altanak, The Thrice-Called
It’s hard to say that name three times.
Odds are you’re not going to discard Altanaka, the Thrice Called as it’ll be in your Command Zone. But,seven mana for a 9/9 trampler that also draws cardswhenever it becomes targeted by an opponentis a pretty good deal, and certainly powerful enough to be a Pauper commander.
There’s not a lot you’re able to do to force your opponent to target Altanak (at least in an all-common deck required by Pauper rules), but that’s okay. Justbuild a big green stomp deckwhere youramp out Altanak, and I’m sure you’ll be fine.
7Sawblade Skinripper
Jason is asking for his mask back, and also where you got that cool sword.
Sawblade Skinripper offers a few things. First, it’s anefficient creature with evasion(menace), which means you can sneak in some commander damage. Second, you geta simple sacrifice outletfor two mana to increase Sawblade Skinripper’s power. And finally,every time you sacrifice something, it causes that much damage to any target.
A recursion engine is a bit hard to do in Pauper, butgenerating a bunch of tokens to sacrificeis totally within the realm of common cards in black and red. Sacrifice them, make a big Sawblade, anduse that direct damage to ensure your victory.
6Arabella, Abandoned Doll
All you need to do is give a creepy doll teeth to make it really terrifying.
Alongside Savior of the Small, Arabella, Abandoned Doll is another card that likes small creatures. Only Arabella prefers them to be two power or less.Every time Arabella attacks, yougain as much life as you have small creatures, andevery opponent loses that much life.
It would be simple enough tofill a deck full of walls, and thengive Arabella some sort of evasionto allow her toattack with impunity. You’ll be gaining life safe and sound while your opponents stare in dismay at their dwindling life totals. Not bad for a creepy doll.
5Oblivious Bookworm
Morph is back, baby!
Oblivious Bookworm offers consistent card draw so long as you can play permanents face down or turn them face up every turn. This means if Oblivious Bookworm is at the helm,you’ll want a deckfull of morph, manifest, megamorph, cloak, and disguise cards.
With that, youmitigate Oblivious Bookworm’s discard requirementand you only draw a card at the end of every turn. Or maybe you want to discard cards? That’s fine, you may do that too. That Voracious Typhon isn’t going to escape without a little help.
4Fear of Burning Alive
Not the worst way to go, but it’s certainly up there.
If an all-black deck can get delirium going, red can do it too. Fear of Burning Alive offers an arguably better delirium trigger bydoubling the damage of all your burn spells, allowing you to burn both players and creatures at once. On top of that, Fear of Burning Alive deals four damage to each opponent as soon as it enters, which meansif you have delirium, it’s a board sweeper too.
Your deck would simply require a mix of self-sacrificing lands and artifacts, creatures that either offer discard or direct damage, and a bunch ofinstants and sorceries that do the same.With delirium achieved, burn your way to victory.
3Gremlin Tamer
Just don’t feed them after midnight.
There are plenty of enchantments to be found in white and blue, but do any of them produce Gremlins? Of course not. For that, you’ll need Gremlin Tamer, a 2/2 Human Scout thatmakes a 1/1 Gremlin every time an enchantment enters the battlefieldor you unlock a Room.
Duskmourn has exactly one Room at the common rarity, but that’s fine;focus on casting regular enchantments. All That Glitters, Aqueous Form, Ethereal Armor, and Journey to Nowhere are all excellent enchantments for a Gremlin Tamer deck.
2Patched Plaything
Not quite the most power you’ll ever get for three mana, but close.
Patched Plaything would normally enter the battlefield as a 2/1 double striker for three mana if you cast it from your hand. However,the Command Zone is not your hand, so playing with Patched Plaything as your commander means you justget a 4/3 double striker for three mana. That’s eight power to terrorize your opponents with on your third turn.
Taking advantage of that massive early-game power will be the key to successfor any Patched Plaything deck. Put some buffs on your deadly toy, maybe a little vigilance, and just watch your opponents wither in the face of your toy-based onslaught.
1Norin, Swift Survivalist
We found him!
Norin is back and better than ever! The timeshifted Coward is right at home in the horror-themed Duskmourn, and just like the old Norin, he runs away at the first sign of danger. And it’s not just Norin;every creature you control that becomes blocked can be exiled, and then you canre-play that creature from exile this turn.
The upside isdouble-casting creatures with powerful enters-the-battlefield effects. Those would be far more powerful if your deck could have anything better than a common, but even in Pauper, there are tons of creatures that would benefit from being re-cast. Think Goblin Bushwhacker, Insufferable Balladeer, Keldon Marauders, and Ardent Elementalist. Get all the value you can from running away—that’s the Norin way.
