FlamebraiderFlamebraider | Art by Pete Venters

A couple of weeks ago, I rebuilt Alela, Cunning ConquerorAlela, Cunning Conqueror with the new Faeries cards from Lorwyn Eclipsed. Now it's time Elementals received the same treatment!

Back in original Lorwyn, Elementals didn't dominate constructed formats to the same extent that Faeries did, but there was still a lot to love. MulldrifterMulldrifter, ShriekmawShriekmaw, and CloudthresherCloudthresher all saw play in control shells, and PlumeveilPlumeveil, my favorite Ambush ViperAmbush Viper variant, comes from this era.

In Lorwyn Eclipsed, Elementals were given a massive boost, thanks to the new cycle of Elemental Incarnations, some new mana accelerators, and the almighty SunderflockSunderflock. In this deck tech, I'm going to rebuild Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil using these sweet new cards!

What Does Omnath, Locus of the Roil Do?

Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil is a four-mana Temur() commander with two abilities. First, when Omnath enters, it deals damage to any target equal to the number of Elementals its controller has in play. Then, Omnath has a Landfall ability that puts a +1/+1 counter on target Elemental and, once its controller has eight lands in play, draws a card.

The direction that Omnath leads a prospective deck builder is quite clear: Omnath wants a board full of Elementals and is asking to put a lot of lands on the table in the process. As usual, I've put together a deck that does just that!

Key Cards for Omnath, Locus of the Roil

The New Additions

The first big boost Elementals got from Lorwyn Eclipsed is in the ramp. FlamebraiderFlamebraider and SmokebraiderSmokebraider are effectively just Sol RingSol Rings that can only cast Elementals. Ashling, RekindledAshling, Rekindled is a similar ramp piece that provides a rummage and then flips into a creature that adds two mana each turn. Importantly, all three of these ramp cards allow a smooth curve into a turn-three Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil. Curving into Omnath isn't always this deck's goal, but even in the games where it isn't, this deck has no shortage of expensive Elementals to spend this mana on.

Twinflame TravelersTwinflame Travelers is a second copy of Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne. Doubling up on Elemental triggers elevates the power level of nearly every creature in the deck, and Lorwyn Eclipsed has effectively doubled the chances of finding it. What's not to love?

Ashling's CommandAshling's Command is a kindred instant that's incredibly versatile. Copying an Elemental is fantastic, drawing cards or making treasures is perfectly fine, and PyroclasmPyroclasm-ing one player will come up every now and then. Add in the fact that this spell can be cast off mana from FlamebraiderFlamebraider and SmokebraiderSmokebraider and has its cost reduced by Gathering StoneGathering Stone and suddenly I'm interested.

One of my favorite Commander trends from the last couple of years is the shift away from symmetrical sweepers, like Wrath of GodWrath of God or FarewellFarewell, towards asymmetrical board wipes that take advantage of deck construction, and SunderflockSunderflock is the pinnacle of that sort of card. I cannot overstate the power level of Sunderflock. A one-sided EvacuationEvacuation that can often be cast for just two or three mana stapled to a 5/5 with flying is absurd.

There is no feeling quite like observing the horror on opponents' faces when, after they've begun to rebuild their boards post-Sunderflock, I cast Get OutGet Out, bouncing Sunderflock back to my hand and slam it back down to reset their progress once more.

The Elementals

This deck, like many Commander decks, is hungry for two things: mana and cards. Risen ReefRisen Reef provides both whenever an Elemental enters, something this deck should be doing multiple times per turn in the middle stages of a game. Risen Reef is able to create a resource spiral where spending mana and playing Elementals yields more mana and more cards to continue the process.

Tanufel RimespeakerTanufel Rimespeaker is a card draw engine that is arguably at its best in a deck with so many creatures that can have their mana cost subverted through evoke. This Wizard turns MulldrifterMulldrifter into Ancestral RecallAncestral Recall and staples card draw onto casting Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil, making it resemble its cousin Omnath, Locus of CreationOmnath, Locus of Creation even more.

Two of the Lorwyn Eclipsed Elemental Incarnations fit into Omnath's colors, and I'm incredibly happy to play them here. There's so much utility packed into WistfulnessWistfulness and VibranceVibrance, and I'm totally in love with the concept of modal evoke creatures. Vibrance in particular has a toolbox of utility lands to go fetch with its mode, like Otawara, Soaring CityOtawara, Soaring City and Cavern of SoulsCavern of Souls.

The Lands Package

Omnath, Locus of Creations demands that I do a little work to keep the Landfall triggers flowing. Icetill ExplorerIcetill Explorer is the complete package, providing a Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds and an ExplorationExploration all wrapped up into one package. The only limitation that I've encountered is that cracking a lot of fetch lands can be pretty costly on life total, and running out of lands to fetch can be extremely inconvenient.

The solution to those problems lies in one card: Bountiful LandscapeBountiful Landscape. Bountiful Landscape doesn't cost life to sacrifice, and it taps for mana. This means that, unlike the Onslaught and Zendikar fetch lands, Bountiful Landscape isn't a dead card once there aren't any fetchable lands remaining in deck. Playing and sacrificing Bountiful Landscape over and over again will hit each turn's Landfall quota, and it even triggers Titania, Protector of ArgothTitania, Protector of Argoth's token generation ability.

Life from the Loam is a multi-purpose tool that fits into this deck very easily. First, once Life from the Loam has been found, I no longer have to worry about hitting land drops. That's huge. But it gets better! Life from the Loam will fill the graveyard as it gets dredged back each turn, finding even more delicious lands to recur. Perhaps most importantly, this allows for the constant recursion of utility lands, like Tranquil ThicketTranquil Thicket, Otawara, Soaring CityOtawara, Soaring City, and Boseiju, Who EnduresBoseiju, Who Endures.

How Does This Omnath, Locus of the Roil Deck Win the Game?

The biggest additions to Omnath from Lorwyn Eclipsed lie in the win conditions. Champion of the PathChampion of the Path can do a lot of damage really fast, and this deck has a few tricks to amplify that damage. The first is MirrorformMirrorform, a six-mana instant that can turn all nonland permanents into copies of Champion of the Path. Then, just a couple Elementals entering the battlefield will be enough to close out a game.

Collective InfernoCollective Inferno amplifies damage from all Elemental sources, including Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil's enters trigger. Of course, doubling damage is far worse than using Mirrorform to make a bunch of copies of Champion of the Path, but unlike Mirrorform, Collective Inferno can sit in play for a couple turn cycles and get a lot of value.

Once one or more Champion of the Paths are in play, how is this deck putting enough Elementals in play to finish the game? Token generators! Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage, Titania, Protector of ArgothTitania, Protector of Argoth, and Titania, Nature's ForceTitania, Nature's Force all make 5-power Elemental tokens and are trivially easy to trigger repeatedly. In games where the Champion of the Path plan doesn't come together, these tokens can also be paired with the deck's haste enablers, like Temur AscendancyTemur Ascendancy and Frostcliff SiegeFrostcliff Siege, to create a burst of damage with these token generators.

It is important to note that Mirrorform will transform all of these token generators into copies of Champion of the Path if they're already in play as Mirrorform resolves. Getting full utility out of Mirrorform requires a little forethought!

Omnath, Locus of the Roil Commander Deck List

Conclusion

This build of Omnath, Locus of the RoilOmnath, Locus of the Roil will fall somewhere in the lower ranges of Bracket 3 (Upgraded). This is mostly due to how slow to get going this deck can be. I went through many iterations of the deck but I couldn't completely solve it. The win conditions Omnath is working towards require multiple cards in a deck with only a handful of tutors. As a result, the pacing ends up being on the slow end of what I'd expect to play against at a Bracket 3 table.

Just like in my Alela, Cunning ConquerorAlela, Cunning Conqueror deck tech, I've left the game changers out. Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor, The One RingThe One Ring, and Glacial ChasmGlacial Chasm are probably the best of the available options, but I'm going to leave that to the preferences of those who seek to build the deck for themselves. In truth, I don't think any of the cards on the game changers list would really add very much to the deck, but that doesn't stop me from jamming a Force of WillForce of Will into every blue deck in my collection.

This one was a blast to build! I didn't expect to feel the loss of white from Omnath, Locus of Creation as much as I did, particularly in the tutors department. This deck is practically begging for an Eladamri's CallEladamri's Call. It's very possible that Locus of Creation might be the optimal Omnath for this strategy, but I'm nevertheless happy with how this deck turned out.

This Omnath build is in the pool of potential Elemental commanders that I'm auditioning to add to my personal deck collection, as I'm practically frothing at the mouth to pull off the Champion of the PathChampion of the Path plus MirrorformMirrorform combo in paper. I'm looking forward to reading about all the cards I missed in the comments!