With Innistrad: Midnight Hunt now out, it’s about time we finally made a damn-good Werewolf deck in Commander. It’s fair to say that it’s just not been a wise thing to do up until this point, and the lack of a true leader for this pack has been infuriating.
Thankfully, we no longer have to make do with
Ulrich of the Krallenhorde
Ulrich of the Krallenhorde
Whenever this creature enters or transforms into Ulrich of the Krallenhorde, target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform Ulrich of the Krallenhorde.
, as we now have access to an actually good legendary creature. So, let’s dive into Werewolves in Commander, and what cards you should make sure you get for it.
Who is Tovolar, Dire Overlord
Our new pack leader is
Tovolar, Dire Overlord
Tovolar, Dire Overlord
Whenever a Wolf or Werewolf you control deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control three or more Wolves and/or Werewolves, it becomes night. Then transform any number of Human Werewolves you control.
Daybound
, who is a three-mana 3/3 that lets you draw a card whenever a Wolf or Werewolf deals combat damage to a player, and also lets you turn the day into night as long as you control three or more Wolves or Werewolves at the beginning of your upkeep.
The less human version is Tovolar, Midnight Scourge, who’s a 4/4 with the same card draw ability, but this time around you can pay X, one red, and one green, to give a Wolf or Werewolf you control +x/+0 and trample until the end of the turn, which is a great way to finish someone off.
Of course, an alpha is only as good as the pack at their back, so you’re going to need a fair few Wolf and Werewolf cards supporting you here.
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Introducing your pack
Mayor of Avabruck
Mayor of Avabruck
Other Human creatures you control get +1/+1.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
is a two-mana 1/1 that grants other Humans you control +1/+1 until they transform into
Howlpack Alpha
Howlpack Alpha
Other Human creatures you control get +1/+1.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
, when they grant +1/+1 to other Werewolf and Wolf creatures you control, and let you make 2/2 Wolf tokens to boot.
Duskwatch Recruiter
Duskwatch Recruiter
{2}{G}: Look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
lets you look through the top three cards of your library for a cost, and allows you to put creatures into your hand, but transformed they become
Krallenhorde Howler
Krallenhorde Howler
{2}{G}: Look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
, who makes creatures you control cost less to cast.
Instigator Gang
Instigator Gang
Attacking creatures you control get +1/+0.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
grants attacking creatures you control +1/+0, but transformed into Wildwood Pack grants +3/+0 instead. Then you’ve got
Breakneck Rider
Breakneck Rider
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
who isn’t much use as a human, but as
Neck Breaker
Neck Breaker
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
gives your attacking creatures +1/+0 and trample too, which is excellent.
Finally, there’s
Afflicted Deserter
Afflicted Deserter
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
, a four mana 3/2 that turns into
Werewolf Ransacker
Werewolf Ransacker
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform this creature.
, who destroys an artifact as they transform, and can then damage the controller of that artifact for three damage too. It’s nice to have a little bit of utility on your horror monsters.
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There are those sympathetic to the Werewolves
Of course, there are lots of good Wolves too.
Nightpack Ambusher
Nightpack Ambusher
Flash
Other Wolves and Werewolves you control get +1/+1.
At the beginning of your end step, if you didn't cast a spell this turn, create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token.
is a four-mana 4/4 with flash that grants +1/+1 to all other Wolves and Werewolves you control, but also makes 2/2 Wolf tokens sometimes. Then you’ve got
Immerwolf
Immerwolf
Intimidate (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it.)
Each other creature you control that's a Wolf or a Werewolf gets +1/+1.
Non-Human Werewolves you control can't transform.
, a three-mana 2/2 that also grants Wolf and Werewolf creatures you control +1/+1, but also makes it so that non-Human Werewolves you control can’t transform, which is excellent.
The powerful
Silverfur Partisan
Silverfur Partisan
Trample
Whenever a Wolf or Werewolf you control becomes the target of an instant or sorcery spell, create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token.
is a three-mana 2/2 that makes it so that people take damage if they target your creatures, and
Kessig Cagebreakers
Kessig Cagebreakers
Whenever this creature attacks, create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token that's tapped and attacking for each creature card in your graveyard.
create a horde of Wolf tokens whenever they attack too.
Then you’ve got
Beast Whisperer
Beast Whisperer
Whenever you cast a creature spell, draw a card.
, who is a four-mana 2/3 that lets you draw a card whenever you cast a creature spell, which should be happening a lot, given the nature of this beast of a deck.
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Control the day and night
With the way Werewolves now work, or at least the new ones, it’s good to have some control over both when you cast your creatures, and also the day and night itself.
The Celestus
The Celestus
If it's neither day nor night, it becomes day as The Celestus enters.
{T}: Add one mana of any color.
{3}, {T}: If it's night, it becomes day. Otherwise, it becomes night. Activate only as a sorcery.
Whenever day becomes night or night becomes day, you gain 1 life. You may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
is a three-mana artifact that lets you add mana, change day to night or vice versa, and even lets you gain life and draw a card too.
Then you’ve got lots of options for granting flash too.
Yeva, Nature’s Herald
Yeva, Nature’s Herald
Flash (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.)
You may cast green creature spells as though they had flash.
,
Arlinn, the Pack’s Hope
Arlinn, the Pack’s Hope
Daybound (If a player casts no spells during their own turn, it becomes night next turn.)
+1: Until your next turn, you may cast creature spells as though they had flash, and each creature you control enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
−3: Create two 2/2 green Wolf creature tokens.
,
Vedalken Orrery
Vedalken Orrery
You may cast spells as though they had flash.
all grant flash in various ways, and allow you to make sure you’re either casting no spells at all, or all of your spells as often as you want to turn night back to day.
Then you’ve got
Lurking Predators
Lurking Predators
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, reveal the top card of your library. If it's a creature card, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, you may put that card on the bottom of your library.
, which is a six-mana enchantment that reads, “Whenever an opponent casts a spell, reveal the top card of your library. If it’s a creature card, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, you may put that card on the bottom of your library.” Because you’re not casting these creatures, it doesn’t interfere with the time of day at all.
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Support the pack
You’ve then got a bunch of other support cards that can help out too.
Howlpack Resurgence
Howlpack Resurgence
Flash
Each creature you control that's a Wolf or a Werewolf gets +1/+1 and has trample.
is a three-mana enchantment that grants Wolf and Werewolf creatures you control +1/+1 and trample, which is nice, plus it has flash, which is even nicer.
Rhythm of the Wild
Rhythm of the Wild
Creature spells you control can't be countered.
Nontoken creatures you control have riot. (They enter with your choice of a +1/+1 counter or haste.)
can grant you creatures haste or give them a +1/+1 counter, and it stops your creatures being countered too.
Full Moon’s Rise
Full Moon’s Rise
Werewolf creatures you control get +1/+0 and have trample.
Sacrifice this enchantment: Regenerate all Werewolf creatures you control.
gives Werewolves you control +1/+0 and trample too, but you can also sacrifice it to regenerate all of your Werewolf creatures, which is great against board wipes
There’s also
Cult of the Waxing Moon
Cult of the Waxing Moon
Whenever a permanent you control transforms into a non-Human creature, create a 2/2 green Wolf creature token.
, which is a five-mana 5/4 that makes a 2/2 Wolf token whenever any permanent you control transforms into a non-Human creature, which should be happening an awful lot in this deck.
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Go for the kill
Finally, you need a way to make sure you can kill your opponents, and that’s what these spells are for.
Kindred Charge
Kindred Charge
Choose a creature type. For each creature you control of the chosen type, create a token that's a copy of that creature. Those tokens gain haste. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step.
is a six-mana sorcery that reads, “Choose a creature type. For each creature you control of the chosen type, create a token that’s a copy of that creature. Those tokens gain haste. Exile them at the beginning of the next end step.” It’s hard to argue against double the number of Werewolves you just had.
Then you’ve got the trample spells.
Triumph of the Hordes
Triumph of the Hordes
Until end of turn, creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain trample and infect. (Creatures with infect deal damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)
is a four mana sorcery that grants your creatures +1/+1, trample, and infect until the end of the turn, which is frankly obnoxious, and a little bit tricky. You could also just use
Overwhelming Stampede
Overwhelming Stampede
Until end of turn, creatures you control gain trample and get +X/+X, where X is the greatest power among creatures you control.
, which grants creatures trample and +X/+X, where X is the greatest power among creatures you control.
All of these cards form the skeleton of a Werewolf Commander deck that’s going to absolutely devour your opponents, and that’s really what this is all about, isn’t it?
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