Even with Wizards slowing down the MTG release calendar, we’re still dealing with a constant avalanche of new spoilers. Not only does this make it hard to keep up with all of the new cards, but it’s even harder to find time to remember the old ones. Considering how many stellar Commanders have fallen through the cracks over the years, this is a crying shame.
Thankfully, due to our obsessive searching, we have been able to find plenty of forgotten legends that are really worth remembering. Vhati il-Dal very much fits into this category, being an insane removal and combo engine. It might be a bit do-nothing on its own, but with the right support, this Commander can be an absolute menace.
MTG Vhati il-Dal
Originally released almost three decades ago in 1997’s Tempest, Vhati il-Dal is a very simple, yet effective, MTG card. At the very least, even without building around it, Vhati makes blocking an absolute nightmare for your opponents. Any chump block can be effortlessly turned on its head, and huge threats can be almost completely nullified.
While it is possible to use Vhati il-Dal fairly, realistically, this card has ‘constant removal engine’ written all over it. Alongside cards like Kaervek, the Spiteful or Night of Souls’ Betrayal, for instance, you can constantly pick off targets. You can even do the same with Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, or Screams of Within, as there’s tons of redundancy.
As powerful as removing a creature each turn is, untapping Vhati il-Dal with Thousand-Year Elixir or Seeker of Skybreak lets it really pop off. This then opens up synergies with cards like Chevill, Bane of Monsters that want creatures consistently dying.
Notably, while there are plenty of cards like Cuombajj Witches that can serve as removal, -1/-1 Counters are a stellar sub-theme. Since a single counter sets up removal later on, cards like Massacre Girl, Known Killer and Persistent Constrictor work wonders. You can even lean further into this with cards like Necroskitter to further have removal reward you.
Instant Kill Combos
While removing tons of creatures and having total control of the board is fun, Vhati il-Dal enables even more shenanigans. Alongside Tree of Perdition, for instance, you can leave an opponent in a hugely vulnerable spot. If you follow this up with something like Pestilence, you can kill an opponent outright.
If you don’t want to be quite so mean, you can instead just remove everything off the board by leveraging Thornbite Staff. Thanks to this card’s untap clause, you can easily chain removal together with Night of Souls’ Betrayal in play. While this combo is unlikely to win you any friends, it can easily set up a game-ending swing or unbeatable advantage alongside the right support.
A Truly Forgotten Gem
Considering its power as a constant source of removal, Vhati il-Dal is a genuinely solid build-around option. Despite this, in Commander, Vhati il-Dal barely sees any play, only helming around 420 lists. Bafflingly, it’s not even popular in the 99, either, with fewer than 2,700 decks running it.
Realistically, this low play rate may have something to do with the fact that Vhati il-Dal is a mean MTG card. Constantly removing creatures, or picking off an opponent each turn, certainly won’t win you any friends. In the right pod, however, this card should be a real hoot that can actually keep up.
Thankfully, despite being a decades-old MTG card, Vhati il-Dal isn’t even that expensive either. Both the original Tempest copies and the Time Spiral Timeshifted reprint sell for less than $1. At this price point, Vhati il-Dal is a real steal, and well worth considering as your next MTG Commander.
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