Ravnica is a phenomenal Magic: The Gathering plane for a range of reasons, but perhaps its most significant contribution was solidifying the game’s two-color combinations. With the guilds, Wizards clearly laid out the relationships between each pair, both flavorfully and mechanically. Gruul, or red/green, for example, is all about going big and going fast, and taking over the board before your opponents can react. This philosophy is embodied perfectly in Ulasht, the Hate Seed, a forgotten Ravnica legend that can seriously shake up your MTG Commander games.
Ulasht, The Hate Seed MTG
Thanks to its first ability, Ulasht, the Hate Seed is a Commander with a very high stat ceiling. If you’re able to go wide with red or green tokens, utilizing generators like Dragon Broodmother or Avenger of Zendikar, Ulasht can come down as a massive threat. You can take this even further using +1/+1 counter synergy pieces like Hardened Scales and Doubling Season, to really pump its numbers up. Once it’s good and big, cards like Chandra’s Ignition become legitimate win conditions in an Ulasht deck.
Of course, Ulasht is more than just a big pile of stats, with that activated ability forming a large part of its appeal. Converting counters into damage is fantastic for controlling the board, especially if you can give Ulasht Deathtouch with something like Basilisk Collar. You can also use this ability as an easy way to nab Enrage triggers on creatures like Polyraptor, without getting into the nasty business of combat.
Alternatively, you can sink Ulasht’s counters into Saprolings instead, making it a very reasonable Tokens Commander. You can build a board at instant speed with this ability, setting up for a lethal swing alongside cards like Tendershoot Dryad and Craterhoof Behemoth. If you’re going wide this way, cards that scale with your board presence like Xenagos, the Reveler and Shamanic Revelation are great additions, too.
Having access to a consistent stream of 1/1 tokens also makes Ulasht a decent Gruul Aristocrats Commander. Outlets like Skullclamp and Goblin Bombardment become truly terrifying with this much fodder available. You can also fill in for Blood Artist and friends with cards like Impact Tremors and Purphoros, God of the Forge, for a funky spin on the classic archetype.
Infinite Growth Mindset
While Ulasht, the Hate Seed is fun and flexible as-is, what really makes it terrifying is its infinite combo potential. When paired with Death’s Presence and Utopia Mycon, for instance, Ulasht can easily generate infinite enters and dies triggers.
Provided Ulasht has at least two +1/+1 counters, you can kick this combo off by paying one to make a Saproling. Next, sacrifice the Saproling to Utopia Mycon for a mana, placing a counter back on Ulasht thanks to Death’s Presence. You can repeat this as many times as you’d like for a quick Altar of the Brood win.
If you’d rather make infinite mana instead, Ulasht can do so alongside Ivy Lane Denizen and Ashnod’s Altar. Start by paying one to make a token with Ulasht, then place the +1/+1 counter back on Ulasht with Ivy Lane Denizen’s triggered ability. You can then sacrifice the new Saproling to repeat this process, netting one colorless mana each time. From here, you can sink the mana into something like Walking Ballista or Comet Storm to close out the game on the spot.
Ivy Lane Denizen and Ulasht can also help you build an infinitely large tokens board if you bring Earthcraft into the mix. By tapping the first Saproling Ulasht makes with Earthcraft for mana, you can pay to repeat the process again, with Denizen keeping your supply of +1/+1 counters up. Since you can pull off this combo at instant speed, it’s a great way to set up a lethal board right before your turn rolls around.
Time For A Resurgence?
Between its combo lines and its fair applications, Ulasht, the Hate Seed is an MTG legend with a lot going on. There are a bunch of viable directions you can build it in, from classic Tokens to Saproling Typal, and its solid base playability will do you well each time. It also offers a nice balance between going tall and going wide, helping to shore up decks that have a weakness on one of those axes.
Despite its widespread applicability, however, Ulasht barely sees any Commander play at all. Current EDHREC data reveals that just 762 players run Ulasht at the helm of their deck, which feels criminally low. Even in the 99, where you might expect the card to thrive due to its flexibility, only around 6,600 players choose to include it. Though the card has had several reprints over the years, it nevertheless seems to have slipped into obscurity.
Fortunately for those in the know, this means Ulasht is available to buy at bargain bin prices right now. You can pick up near-mint copies of this banger for as little as $0.14 on TCGplayer right now, and even the fancy foil etched version is only around $1.50. With prices this low, Ulasht is well worth adding to your collection, whether you want to brew around it or slot it into an existing deck.
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