When the Overlords were initially spoiled in Duskmourn, there were a lot of comparisons made between them and the original mythic Titan cycle from over a decade ago. After all, when you read Overlord of the Boilerbilges, it’s hard not to get Inferno Titan vibes. Both cards cost six mana, have a great damage-dealing enters-the-battlefield trigger, and also deal damage when they attack.
The difference, though, is that the Impending costs associated with the Overlords give them immense flexibility. On top of that, there are plenty of ways in Standard and Pioneer to get additional value out of your Overlords after Impending them. Many of these aren’t so obvious at first glance. One of the coolest ways to abuse the Impending ability of your Overlords is to pair them with Zur, Eternal Schemer.
Overlords and Zur
- Mana Value: WUB
- Rarity: Mythic
- Stats: 1/4
- MTG Sets: Dominaria United
- Card Text: Flying
Enchantment creatures you control have Deathtouch, Lifelink, and Hexproof.
1W: Target non-Aura enchantment you control becomes a creature in addition to its other types and has base power and base toughness each equal to its mana value.
Overlord of the Hauntwoods is a naturally strong card for traditional Domain strategies in Standard. At three mana, Overlord of the Hauntwoods essentially fills the role that Topiary Stomper used to. However, because the land you create has every basic land type, it enables Leyline Binding perfectly.
Normally, you’d then have to wait four extra turn cycles before you can attack with Overlord of the Hauntwoods. However, with Zur, Eternal Schemer in the mix, this is not the case. See, Zur lets you turn any of your enchantments into creatures for a turn for the low price of two mana.
With this in mind, a common play pattern is to play Overlord of the Hauntwoods on turn three. Then on turn four, you can play Zur, immediately animate your Overlord, attack, and make another Everywhere land token. Thanks to Zur, Overlord is immune to removal for the turn and even has Lifelink. This is an amazing synergy that made it to the finals of a Magic Online Standard Challenge, but it isn’t the only one that showcases the strengths of the Overlords.
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Overlords in Pioneer
- Mana Value: 2GU
- Rarity: Rare
- MTG Sets: Theros Beyond Death
- Card Text: At the beginning of your end step, you may sacrifice an enchantment. If you do, search your library for a creature card with converted mana cost equal to 1 plus the sacrificed enchantment’s converted mana cost, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle your library.
Another dominant shell that does a great job maximizing the Impending ability of the Overlords is five-color Enigmatic Incarnation. Once again, Overlord of the Hauntwoods is the primary Overlord that makes an appearance, fixing your mana and making Leyline Binding as efficient as possible. However, in this deck, you then have the added bonus of sacrificing Overlord of the Hauntwoods to Enigmatic Incarnation and grabbing a six-drop from your deck to put directly into play.
Well, what better six drop to get than Overlord of the Boilerbilges! You get to take out an opposing creature, and you’re left with a must-kill threat. Plus, on the following turn, you can upgrade your Overlord into an Atraxa, Grand Unifier or Overlord of the Mistmoors if you wish! The reality is, that the Overlords are quite versatile in this archetype. They’re fine to play on the cheap via Impending and they’re totally reasonable to hard cast. Above all, they synergize perfectly with Enigmatic Incarnation as cards to either sacrifice to it or tutor up with it.
Impending may only appear on this one cycle of mythic rares, but the mechanic has quickly showcased its power. Trust me, you don’t want to underestimate the Overlords, or your nonchalance may come back to bite you.
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