Taking control of an opposing creature is one of the most powerful game actions you can take in Magic. Removing a problem while creating a threat of your own is an innate two-for-one, and can often lead to big value swings. Unfortunately, cards that let you do this are few and far between, and most of them don’t let you keep the stolen creature for good.
Havengul Lich, however, is an MTG card that solves this problem. With this Dark Ascension classic at your command, you can raid opponents’ graveyards for new minions. Add in a wide array of combo lines, and this is a card that deserves a shot in your next Dimir Commander deck.
Havengul Lich MTG
While it’s a little pricey at five mana, Havengul Lich pays off that investment in spades once it hits play. For one mana a pop, it lets you cast any creature from any graveyard. You still have to pay the mana cost, but this is still an incredibly flexible ability.
Naturally, this is great in any deck with a strong self-mill angle, as it gives you easy access to an extra suite of creatures. That the creatures are cast means you can get full value from the likes of Deceit, which most reanimation effects don’t allow. You also get to hang on to creatures cast this way permanently, whether they be yours or your opponent’s, without the pesky finality counters we’ve come to expect.
It also allows for some pretty surprising plays when paired with a Flash granter like High Fae Trickster. With this set up, your opponents suddenly need to be aware of all graveyards at all times, which is a tall order indeed. Throw in some table-wide mill like Syr Konrad, the Grim, and you’ll have a deep bag of tricks to draw from.
Zombie Combo Corner
Potent as it is when played fair, Havengul Lich is even more deadly as an MTG combo enabler. When paired with Ashnod’s Altar, for instance, the card lets you pull off easy infinite sacrifice loops with any cheap colorless creature.
Sacrifice an Arcbound Worker to Altar for two colorless mana, for example, then you can pay one for Lich’s ability and one more to recast Worker. Repeat this as many times as you like for infinite enters and dies triggers. With a Blood Artist or Altar of the Brood in play, this will close things out on the spot.
If you use a zero-mana creature instead, like Ornithopter, you can make infinite mana with this combo as well. This can then be funneled into something like Walking Ballista for an instant win. If you add in Rooftop Storm, which plays great with Havengul Lich anyway, you can use any Zombie in place of Ornithopter. Gray Merchant of Asphodel is a particularly good choice, since it wins without any other support.
There are plenty of other combos available in the ability area as well. With Mirror-Mad Phantasm, for instance, you can mill your entire deck to set up a Thassa’s Oracle win. You can also cast both Triskelion and Phyrexian Devourer to convert your entire deck into direct damage. While these combos are mana-intensive, they’re great to have in your back pocket in long games.
Worth Digging Up
Havengul Lich isn’t a total hidden gem, seeing play in around 23,000 MTG Commander decks according to EDHREC. For a two-color card, that’s a pretty respectable rate. That said, given how flexible and powerful it is, it still feels surprisingly low. The card mainly sees play in Zombie decks currently, under Commanders like Wilhelt, the Rotcleaver, but its potential extends far beyond that.
Any Dimir deck with a graveyard or mill theme can make great use of this card. While it may be a little clunky for some curves, the long-term value potential here more than makes up for that. It’s also an incredibly affordable card, too. You can grab near-mint copies of the Starter Commander Decks printing for just $0.74, and even the fancy Retro Frame Secret Lair foil version of the card is in range for budget players, at just $1.32.
At these prices, there’s very little risk to giving Havengul Lich a try in your next Dimir Commander brew. It’s unique, it offers utility that you can’t find anywhere else in Magic, and it can win out of nowhere to boot. Frankly, it’s hard to ask for more from a 14-year-old design.
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