Despite lacking a regular retail release, Mystery Booster: Commander Edition is in contention for the set of the year. Even with only 60 new Commanders, each one is top-notch, offering deep cuts and insane abilities. Some of these cards even have impressive combo potential, like the new Homer, the Hermit. Beyond comboing off, this card also supports a beloved typal archetype that has steadily been picking up steam.
MTG Homer, the Hermit
While it might look rather simple on the surface, Homer, the Hermit is essentially three different decks in one. Obviously, there’s a big focus on seafood, or rather Crustacean Typal, but it’s also a Landfall and Mill-focused Commander. While this does let Homer attack from a lot of angles, it also makes filling out the 99 somewhat difficult.
Thankfully, there are a couple of cards that hit all three aspects at once, like Ruin and Hedron Crab. Beyond these two Commander titans, Mirelurk Queen is another strong Mill-focused Crab, and Sinister Starfish sets up Splendid Reclamation plays. While it’s more on the Crustacean Typal side of things, Uchuulon is also an auto-include, allowing you to deny recursion and build your board.
Sadly, despite arguably being the core of a Homer, the Hermit deck, there’s not a ton of Crustacean Typal options. Crabs like Charix, the Raging Isle and Crabomination can prove useful, but there’s basically nothing beyond that. Technically, you can run Rikala, Homarid King, but even with that, you’ll have to branch out and use Changelings like Mutable Explorer.
Thankfully, beyond just being another body, Mutable Explorer also makes lands to support that side of the deck. Here, you’ll want to run all of the classics, with Icetill Explorer coming in clutch alongside Azusa, Lost but Seeking. As usual, you’ll also want tons of ramp here, alongside staples like Tatyova, Benthic Druid and Aesi.
As for the Mill side of the deck, while the Crustaceans do most of the work, Bruvac the Grandiloquent doubles Homer’s potential. Similarly, naming Crab with Roaming Throne can supercharge your game plan. You can even run cards like Spark Double for a second Homer, ensuring maximum Mill.
A Compelling Crab Combo
Speaking of maximum Mill, Homer, the Hermit even enables a two-card ish combo that can Mill all your opponents out. Alongside Hedge Shredder, you can create a self-sustaining cycle of Mill triggers that create Landfall triggers. While this is technically a two-card combo, it only works so long as Homer Mills you a land for Hedge Shredder to instantly bring back.
With this in mind, realistically, you’ll want a bunch of Crustaceans in play to improve your odds of hitting lands. Additionally, having more Crustaceans makes winning with this combo easier, since you can stop targeting yourself with Homer sooner. Notably, while this combo does make Hedge Shredder a compelling addition to the 99, it’s technically a Bracket 4+ combo.
If you want to lean into this Bracket 4 combo angle, you can also run Singularity Rupture and Maddening Cacophony. Alongside Bruvac the Grandiloquent, either card will mill each opponent’s library, letting you win on the spot.
Notably, our decklist for Homer, the Hermit doesn’t include any of these cards, since we’ve built it for Bracket 3. If you do want to run these combos, however, you can cut Black Market Connections, Maskwood Nexus, and Rise of the Dark Realms for them. Additionally, you may also want to run more Game Changers, since Bracket 4 has no limit on those.
All in all, this flexibility makes Homer, the Hermit a surprisingly powerful Mystery Booster: Commander Edition card that’s well worth watching. When the set officially launches on November 13th, we can only hope that it doesn’t end up being too expensive.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew, and our MTG Rocks Podcast!