Thanks to Commander’s grindy nature, adding card draw to your 99 is an unspoken requirement. Unless you’re planning on knocking out the table in the opening turns, most Commander games can go on for dozens of turns. Without card draw, you’ll eventually be left without cards while the rest of the table pulls ahead.
Because of this, cards that can shut down card draw are incredibly powerful in Commander, even ending up as Game Changers. Thanks to this, many card draw deniers often either break the bank or impose some deckbuilding restrictions to use. Fortunately, Omen Machine helps here, offering a relatively budget, colorless option that can lock down the table.
MTG Omen Machine
Thanks to shutting down card draw, Omen Machine stops all kinds of Commander staples like Phyrexian Arena effects and Rhystic Study from doing much of anything. That said, in exchange, whatever Omen Machine exiles for any player can be cast for free.
Right off the bat, this makes Omen Machine a powerful inclusion in any deck with lots of big spells. Whether you’re running Maelstrom Wanderer or Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder, Commanders with massive Cascade effects can make the most with Omen Machine.
If you want to abuse Omen Machine’s free spells without hoping to hit it big, cards like Scroll Rack and Sensei’s Divining Top can do some incredible heavy lifting. Scroll Rack, in particular, is extremely effective with Omen Machine, getting around the draw clause while setting up massive spells at the top of your deck.
Because Omen Machine exiles everything that it casts, the artifact can also do some great work in exile-matters decks. Prosper, Tome-Bound is perhaps the best example of this, getting extra Treasure Tokens from Omen Machine’s exiled cards. Prosper, like Bell Borca, Spectral Sergeant, also provides card advantage by exiling cards, getting around the restriction of Omen Machine.
In fact, if you build around Omen Machine’s restriction, you can basically use card advantage unhinged while your opponents have theirs shut down. Cards like Stock Up, Ark of Hunger, and Dig Through Time that don’t directly draw cards get around Omen Machine. The same goes for Fact or Fiction effects, making this a funny addition to The Celestial Toymaker decks.
Alternatively, if you want to turn this effect against your opponents, Omen Machine can strip players of their hands when combined with discard effects. Wheel of Fortune and Windfall are particularly nasty here, forcing the entire table to discard their hand. This should put you in the driver’s seat, so long as you’ve built your deck to work with Omen Machine in play.
Locking Down the Table
While Omen Machine already puts a nasty restriction on the table when played normally, you can shut down the table from playing the cards that the Machine itself exiles. Using the artifact with Teferi, Time Raveler, Drannith Magistrate, or Lavinia, Azorius Renegade, all prevent opponents from using their Omen Machine cards in one way or another. Unless they can get around Omen Machine’s card draw clause, this means your opponents won’t be able to get any new cards at all.
If you aren’t in white, there are a few other options that can stop players from casting cards off Omen Machine, but they will affect the entire table, including you. Vexing Bauble and Void Mirror, for example, will counter any spells cast off Omen Machine. If you want to turn this into a one-sided lock, cards like Hexing Squelcher can unlock your Omen Machine spells by preventing them from being countered.
Surprisingly Cheap
While not every deck will be able to play Omen Machine, if you can build around its draw restriction, the artifact can become an extremely powerful lock piece. Thanks to the card’s potential, Omen Machine sees play in over 11,000 Commander decks according to EDHREC, primarily led by Lavinia as a two-card lock combo.
Fortunately, despite only having one printing as a New Phyrexia Rare, Omen Machine remains surprisingly affordable. Available for around $2.10 at the cheapest, you can pick up this artifact without breaking the bank. If you want to spend more money on the card, foils have a notable markup, starting at around $8 for heavily played or better copies. Considering this, so long as you don’t mind creating some nasty play patterns, Omen Machine can be an extremely powerful addition to your Commander deck.
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 brand new MTG Rocks Podcast!