Can you believe Commander Legends is back after just two years? This time, all the action takes place in Dungeons & Dragons world of Baldur’s Gate! There are 4 new preconstructed decks, and in this review we’ll be taking a look at Mind Flayarrrs, a blue-black Mill deck with classic horror tropes and pirate looting.

Before we get started, a quick recap on our rating system:

Power Level: How likely can the deck hold its own and win against the other recent precon decks?

Value: How good is the deck in terms of financial value of reprints, as well as future potential gain?

Upgradability: How easily can this deck be upgraded and optimised with a small budget? A high potential for upgrades will lead to better scores.

Beginner Friendliness: How easily can a beginner pick up and learn the mechanics of the deck?

Are you Rrready?

“Mind Flayarrrs” Precon Commander Deck

Overview

Demonic Flayarrrs is offbeat in so many ways: it features a Commander – Captain N’ghathrod – that has a terribly hard-to-pronounce name, possesses a super quirky Horror Pirate Creature type, and we still can’t get over how many Rs are in the deck name.

On a gameplay level, N’ghathrod is all about Milling the opponents’ decks and then taking all that juicy loot and putting them into play under your control. To help with the Milling process, your Commander also gives Menace to all your Horror Creatures, making it doubly easy to get a trigger. It is classic blue-black trickery that counters, steals and misdirects.

Power Level

Because Mind Flayarrrs is focused on Horror Creature types, it’s put itself on a very narrow straight in terms of what Creatures can be put into the deck. Much like the Party Time precon deck, you’ll find the best Horror Creatures in Magic’s history stuffed into this box, but how powerful are they put together?

Ravenous Chupacabra, Hullbreaker Horror and Spellskite are great additions with lots of utility, and then you’ve got Consuming Aberration and Nemesis of Reason that fit perfectly well into the Mill theme.

The Horrors are big and scary, and slimy, and shouldn’t have a problem holding back any Creature from the other decks that come stomping their way. There are also a couple of Enchantments that synergise well with tribal themes. The new Haunted One Background can give all your Horrors +2/+0 when Captain N’ghathrod attacks, and then there’s Reflections of Littjara that just makes copies of whatever Horror you cast. Afraid yet?

If there is any weakness, it’ll be in its lack of option to react or interact with opponents’ threats. There’s Drown in the Loch, which is excellent for Mill decks, and Curtain’s Call in the early game. The good news is that most precon decks suffer in this regard, so it won’t impact the power level of Mind Flayarrrs that much.

Value

Mind Flayarrrs sits firmly in the lukewarm segment in terms of value. Its notable reprints are Lightning Greaves, Herald’s Horn and Leyline of Anticipation, cards that will continue seeing play in many other decks.

It does have the new Aboleth Spawn (US$8), which has the ability to copy opponents’ “Enter the Battlefield” triggers from Creatures. With such a wide range for use, it should keep pace with cards like Deep Gnome Terramancer or Black Market Connections from the other precon decks. The Background Enchantment Haunted One could also have future potential as it fits nicely into any tribal decks that run black, but as of now it’s sitting in the bulk Rare zone ($2).

Leyline of Anticipation and Hullbreaker Horror used to command higher prices, but after multiple reprints of the former and a lack of usage in the latter, demand has dropped and it would take a considerable amount of time before prices go up (if any). Overall, Mind Flayarrrs is not the best precon deck out there for hunting value.

Upgradability

One way to add more Horrors is by using Creatures that have Changeling, since they count as every Creature type. Changeling Outcast can’t be blocked and that means an automatic Mill.

Intellect Devourer from the main Commander Legends set would also be a nice addition to the Horror collection. Although its low 2/4 stats may not get through to the opponent, it steals opponents cards in its own way and doesn’t have to rely on Captain N’ghathrod. For the big daddy of Horrors, Toxrill, the Corrosive will be expensive, but it almost guarantees you’ll clear the board of opponents’ Creatures within a few turns.

Maskwood Nexus (ironically included in one of the other precon decks) would make any Creature you steal a Horror as well, and that will make the opponent Mill even more cards. While this isn’t a deck that specifically draws many cards, Psychic Corrosion is a great Enchantment to include, just in case none of your Creatures are able to land damage.

Our advice is also to include some cheap counter spells to tackle any big board wipes. Negate, Spell Piece and Sinister Sabotage are all cheap and easily available – they can go a long way to establishing presence on the Battlefield.

Beginner Friendliness

Chances are, beginners will love piloting this deck for flavour as well as the chance to steal the opponents’ things. On the flipside, no one appreciates being on the receiving end, and for new players the experience could be a tad more sour.

There are also a few key game aspects in this deck that beginners will need to be aware of, such as understanding the keyword Menace and how it affects your attacking strategy, Milling cards equal to the amount of damage dealth, and lastly deciding what Artifact or Creature to pull over to your Battlefield.

As the precon deck consists completely of Horror Creatures, there’s no worry whether Captain N’ghathrod‘s abilities will trigger. Once new players learn the nuances of Menace and how they can land combat damage to a player, the rest is pretty straightforward. In fact, the most tedious part of playing Mind Flayarrrs might be digging through each of your opponents’ Graveyards!

Final Verdict