Urgoros, the Empty OneUrgoros, the Empty One | Art by Daarken

As we enter October, it makes sense to lean into a spooky creature type. Specters in Magic art seem to resemble mounted grim reapers, reaping cards from players’ hands using claws, sickles, or any other apparatus that can carve cardboard from a grip like a Thanksgiving turkey.

Their pedigree goes all the way back to the feared “Hippie” of early Magic, Hypnotic SpecterHypnotic Specter. In an era when spells were far more powerful than creatures, Dark RitualDark Ritual into Hypnotic SpecterHypnotic Specter was one of the most devastating openings in the game.

A 2/2 flyer with built-in disruption on the first turn often meant doom for players, and, in the wild west of cheating in early Magic, could happen quite often.

Specters find themselves in an intriguing position in multiplayer formats, as discard strategies are often seen as oppressive even though, in the abstract, they’re not very powerful.

Similar to single-target removal, answering one threat means other threats go unanswered, and discard doesn’t even let the threats be known. The oppressive perception can also hinder the ability to play politics.

So why play Specters?

The key is to find common ground within the family. Quite a lot of our creatures are legendary and share surnames along with complementary abilities. The patriarch of the family is Urgoros, the Empty OneUrgoros, the Empty One, the centerpiece of today’s Commander deck.

What Does Urgoros, the Empty OneUrgoros, the Empty One Do?

Urgoros may be known as “the Empty One,” but what he does is make our opponents’ hands empty. Like most Specters, he's a mono-black flyer with a combat trigger that makes an opponent discard a card.

He has a few tricks up the sleeve of his hooded cloak, however, which make him a great leader.

Urgoros is bigger than other Specters, costing about twice as much but rewarding us with about twice the power of a Hypnotic SpecterHypnotic Specter. Additionally, while most Specters are useless against a "hellbent" opponent (i.e., no cards in hand), Urogoros draws us a card if the opponent can’t discard.

This makes him a card draw engine if we can achieve the right setup.

So what does the right setup look like? Urgoros is deceptively difficult to play in a pod because it can operate like an aggressive deck, but that risks making enemies at the table.

It’s more fun to play it like the Nath of the Gilt-LeafNath of the Gilt-Leaf deck a friend of mine ran in the nascent days of EDH: use Group Hug cards to load everyone’s hands and then pick them apart with Specters. I mean…people can’t be mad at you for taking away cards you gave them, right?

The key to assuaging concerns about fun and power level with Specters is to make sure you understand why your group has reservations, if they do. For example, some groups will see discard as similar to mill, even if you give them extra cards, because those cards represent fun they can’t have.

Key Cards for Urgoros, the Empty OneUrgoros, the Empty One

Group Hug effects are what opens the door for a deck like Specter typal. Howling MineHowling Mine and Temple BellTemple Bell are typical effects for strategies like this, providing everyone with extra cards every turn.

Rankle, Master of PranksRankle, Master of Pranks and Seizan, Perverter of TruthSeizan, Perverter of Truth are more unique to black, and they help to advance the game by also lowering life totals.

Speaking of lowering life totals, we want to pack discard payoffs, so our opponents aren’t sitting there hellbent and helpless. MegrimMegrim and Liliana's CaressLiliana's Caress effects make it so that we deal damage when opponents discard cards, helping us have more of a clock than just swinging with small flyers.

Since our creatures are small- to medium-sized flyers, they can get outclassed by Dragons, Sphinxes, and the like. As a result, we need ways to clear a path for our Specters to connect. “Dies to Doom BladeDoom Blade” is a common saying for a reason, and we have several analogues: TerrorTerror, Go for the ThroatGo for the Throat, and Infernal GraspInfernal Grasp all test opponents’ threat diversity.

Our nonbasic lands either ramp us or draw cards. The Cabal lands - Cabal CoffersCabal Coffers and Cabal StrongholdCabal Stronghold - give us a big boost for playing Swamps.

Geier Reach SanitariumGeier Reach Sanitarium and Castle LocthwainCastle Locthwain give us a sneaky way to draw cards and, in the case of the former, to trigger MegrimMegrim effects.

How Does This Urgoros, the Empty OneUrgoros, the Empty One Commander Deck Win?

Our primary aim is to attack with evasive threats while limiting our opponents’ options and dealing direct damage. We can play politics by feeding opponents cards and removing key permanents…but only when it benefits us.

Urgoros, the Empty OneUrgoros, the Empty One Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Specters are an iconic creature type, but have historically had a rough go in multiplayer formats. Staying true to a creature type and providing extra cards to discard can help. And it can be fun to be evil sometimes, right?

But how would you build Specters? And do you think discard can ever be a palatable strategy in Commander?

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