Celebrating the many potential creature types coming to MTG from Middle-earth, The Hobbit has some extremely strong Typal themes, getting players excited. While it’s still early in spoiler season, so far, Elves seem to have the upper hand when it comes to promising build-arounds. This comes in the form of an exciting new Commander for the creature type that can go infinite with ease.
MTG Thranduil, the Elvenking
While its mana cost is higher than other traditional Elf Commanders, Thranduil’s abilities pay you back in a big way. With a high density of other legendary Elves at your disposal, this creature threatens to generate plenty of card advantage. You can even abuse the power of Leyline of Singularity, which turns all of your mana dorks and token makers into card draw machines.
Beyond just sculpting your hand, though, Thranduil’s second ability also serves as a discard outlet to enable the first ability. We all know how powerful Necrotic Ooze is, and while Thranduil is obviously more restrictive, there’s no shortage of things you can do.
Early in the game, gaining activated abilities of mana ramp engines like Elvish Archdruid helps you build out your board quickly. Elvish Piper offers even more upside in your graveyard, especially when combined with a tutor like Fauna Shaman. As you continue to build out a big board, buff effects like Immaculate Magistrate become more appealing to help close games.
The only downside is that these activations all require tapping your Commander to maximize. Luckily, any untap engine like Intruder Alarm or Seedborn Muse can let Thranduil activate multiple times per turn. All you need to do from there to run away with the game is protect your Commander, which is exactly what Tyvar, the Pummeler and Underrealm Lich do from your graveyard.
Given that Thranduil continues to get better as more impactful Elves enter your graveyard, you’re heavily incentivized to incorporate Mill effects like Ripples of Undeath. Graveyard-based tutors like Buried Alive are especially powerful, offering maximum flexibility. Plus, if you want to go a more combo-centric route, Buried Alive can singlehandedly set things up.
Infinite Mana and Damage Combos
As powerful as Thranduil is as a value machine, it’s even stronger as a combo piece. As some content creators have already found, the simplest combos revolve around Devoted Druid, allowing you to untap your Commander for free in your graveyard.
By then adding Immaculate Magistrate, Timberwatch Elf, or any other Elf that taps to buff your Commander, you can make Thranduil and your whole team infinitely large. In the event this isn’t enough to win you the game, you also get to generate infinite mana to set up a win with Walking Ballista.
While this is definitely the easiest combo to pull off, there are others you can pull off with more pieces involved. For example, with Ashaya, Soul of the Wild in play, getting Argothian Elder into your graveyard sets up infinite mana and infinite untaps of all your creatures. This way, Elves with prominent activated abilities on the battlefield can take over the game.
Notably, Maskwood Nexus, Ashes of the Fallen, and similar effects also open the door for more non-Elf Necrotic Ooze-style combos. While these cards don’t do a ton otherwise, they can make for fun inclusions for those looking to go above and beyond.
On the Rise
It’s still very early in The Hobbit spoiler season, but it’s safe to say Thranduil is receiving a ton of hype. Despite being revealed just three days ago, there are already 324 Commander decks to Thranduil’s name according to EDHREC.
Obviously, there’s a lot of competition for Elves Commander, and beating out Lathril, Blade of the Elves in popularity may be an insurmountable challenge. Regardless, Thraunduil has the making of a top tier legend, and hopefully The Hobbit continues to reveal more bangers.
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