MTG: An Earthquake with Teeth – Top Five Wurm Commanders
Somebody go get Muad’dib because one of these chompy Commanders is just what he needs to beat the Harkonnens at Friday Night Magic.
Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander.
Wurms exist in several fantasy franchises, and they’re always a great equalizer. From the hyper-evolving Graboids of Tremors to the massive Shai-Hulud of Arrakis in Dune, you don’t want to mess with Wurms. However, if you want to point those living disasters at your enemy, there are plenty of MTG Commanders to help you lead the way. These are probably the stompiest of the stompy decks, so if you’re looking for a deep-thinking game, you might want to look elsewhere.
Baru, Wurmspeaker
Speaking of Dune, I think this guy would fit in on Arrakis perfectly. Baru buffs all your Wurm creatures to obscene levels, gives them Trample, and can start generating his own Wurms. Best of all, once you’ve made one Wurm with his ability, you can significantly reduce the cost for future activations. Pack your deck full of the smashiest Wurms and run over your opponent’s best defenses.
Atla Palani, Nest Tender
While normally associated with Dinosaurs, Atla Palani is happy to tend to the nest of any massive creature. Her ability to turn 0/1 Egg tokens into massive creatures is just as relevant in a Wurm deck, where you’ll want to save as much mana as possible as you chuck big wigglers at your opponent. Best of all, Atla gives you access to all the buff goodies that Naya provides, like Akroma’s Will, Overrun, and Aggravated Assault.
Mayael the Anima
Mayael is an interesting addition to this list, but she still brings the Naya thunder. She does have the ability to cheat out a big creature, but the mana cost is a bit prohibitive. However, if you have some cost reducers like Zirda and things that can double up your abilities, you can cheat out some big Wurms fast without having to worry about Mayael’s high cost.
Grothama, All-Devouring
Finally, a Wurm Commander for your Wurm Deck! Grothama is an interesting leader, possibly handing out card advantage at the cost of other creatures. Any player can fight Grothama, killing their own creatures for the chance to bring him down. However, if you can give him indestructible, first strike, or some other bit of evasion as an instant, you can off a bunch of creatures with little crack back. On your own turn, you can sacrifice him to your own creatures for card advantage, or have him plow through your enemy’s defenses.
Trostani, Selsnya’s Voice
Closing out our list, we have a trio of trees that care about big booties. Trostani gives you life according to the toughness of your creatures and can double up on any tokens you happen to make of your Wurms. Wurms are massive, so you’ll be gaining a ton of life any time one hits the field.
What do you think of these Commanders?
What is Commander?
For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering. You use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, your Commander.
Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory. EDHRec.com is an excellent source for Commander info and can give you ideas on how to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one.
