It’s been quite a ride, but we’re finally at the end of the road when it comes to Duskmourn previews. Much like Bloomburrow, this is a set with few obvious ‘broken’ cards, which means its true potential will likely come to light over time. That said, WotC picked a hell of a card to end on. Not only is Overlord of the Balemurk a great MTG card in its own right, but it’s also a stellar encapsulation of Duskmourn as a set, both mechanically and flavorfully.
Overlord Of The Balemurk MTG
- Mana Value: 3BB
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 5/5
- Card Text: Impending 5—1B (If you cast this spell for its impending cost, it enters with five time counters and isn’t a creature until the last is removed. At the beginning of your end step, remove a time counter from it.) Whenever Overlord of the Balemurk enters or attacks, mill four cards, then you may return a non-Avatar creature card or a planeswalker card from your graveyard to your hand.
Let’s break this bad boy down. As with the rest of the Overlord Cycle, Balemurk comes with the Impending keyword. This essentially lets you Suspend it, but have it enter as an enchantment first, so you still get the etb effect without waiting five turns. Said effect is also an attack trigger, for when the Overlord arrives fully later.
In this case, the effect is a nice bit of self-mill and recursion. You mill four cards, then return a creature or planeswalker to your hand. A couple of things to note here. Firstly, the card you return doesn’t have to be part of the four cards you milled, which opens up your options. Second, you can’t grab Avatar creatures with this, which prevents you from recurring other copies of itself or the other Duskmourn Overlords. Honestly, that doesn’t sound like a super-powerful interaction, but the potential for extremely grindy decks to loop powerful threats like this would exist without it, so it’s probably for the best.
This ability is great in a vacuum, but it can also help fuel Delirium, one of the key mechanics in Duskmourn. Milling four cards can actually turn it on in one fell swoop if you’re lucky. Not only this, but Overlord of the Balemurk is an enchantment, which turns on Eerie effects and other synergies in MTG Duskmourn. Throw in the twisted art, and you have a card that feels like a tribute to the set as a whole. Moreso even than the rest of its Overlord buddies.
Overlord Of Standard
So Overlord of the Balemurk is a great ambassador for MTG Duskmourn, but is it a playable card to boot? I think so, in both Standard and Commander. As mentioned above, this is a fantastic Delirium enabler, and some of the new Delirium cards we’ve seen are legitimately excellent. Drag to the Roots and Demonic Counsel are Modern-level bangers with Delirium online, while cards like Patchwork Beastie and Wildfire Wickerfolk could be legitimate threats in a new Jund Aggro deck. Of all the self-mill options available in Standard, Overlord is one of the best, and therefore it will likely be a staple in any deck relying on these Delirium cards.
Speaking of self-mill, there’s been a kind of Dimir self-mill deck slowly building itself up over the past few sets. Cards like The Ancient One, Urborg Lhurgoyf, and Souls of the Lost all power up when you have a full graveyard. You can also run Squirming Emergence to further supplement this strategy. This deck hasn’t managed to break out in Standard yet, but a quality piece like Overlord may be just what it needs.
Beyond these more speculative options, the card could also find a home in one of the many black Midrange decks in Standard right now. Both Dimir and Golgari Midrange are putting up great results at the moment, and Overlord can do a lot of work in either. The planeswalker clause won’t feel so niche when you recur a Liliana of the Veil with it, and there are always creatures to get back in Midrange. Grindy decks like these also have a good chance of actually waiting out the five turns required for Overlord to make an appearance in play after you cast it with its Impending cost, which is another upside worth considering.
Seizing Command
Overlord of the Balemurk may not be a guaranteed hit for MTG Standard, but Commander is another story. There are countless strategies that would appreciate this card in the format, from Reanimator to Enchantress. The former loves any kind of well-costed self-mill effect, especially a repeatable one. The fact that Overlord can be both a setup card for Reanimator decks and a valid reanimation target in itself gives it a lot of value in such lists.
For Enchantress strategies, this is simply a cheap enchantment that provides card advantage. Nothing more, nothing less. You can easily slot it into a turn to load up your hand, then a few turns later you’ll get a ‘free’ 5/5 as well. The high Impending value here is balanced out by the low casting cost. Even if you never get to use the creature half, a cheap enchantment in play can power a lot of different synergies.
There are plenty of other homes for Overlord, too. Dedicated self-mill decks, like those led by Syr Konrad, are viable in the format. This card may not be as reliable as options like Altar of Dementia or Mesmeric Orb, but it’s still a solid choice. The flexibility it offers is extremely valuable, and it’s not even difficult to hardcast in Commander. While the rest of the Overlord cycle looks more flashy on the surface, I predict Balemurk will surprise everyone and be the most playable of the lot in the end. It’s not broken, but it certainly is efficient. Oftentimes, that’s all it takes to carry a card to glory.
Read More: MTG Duskmourn Vehicle is a Premium Source of Permanent Removal
