<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghost of Ramirez DePietro" href="#" target="_blank">Ghost of Ramirez DePietro</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormod, the Desecrator" href="#" target="_blank">Tormod, the Desecrator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.greg-rutkowski.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grzegorz Rutkowski</a></em></p>
<p>Today we're trying building around a commander I thought was unsavable. I remember watching the spoilers when the original <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/cmr" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Commander Legends</em></a> was coming out, and being acutely disappointed by Tormod's first ever character card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormod, the Desecrator" href="#" target="_blank">Tormod, the Desecrator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tormod, the Desecrator"></div></div>
<p>Tormod's a fellow who's been referenced as far back as <em>The Dark, </em>with the iconic card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormod&#039;s Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Tormod&#039;s Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Although he was never truly a relevant character, every player who'd every wanted to combat an obnoxious <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck knew him very well, thanks to that little artifact.</p>
<p>So yeah, it was pretty sad to see that his card sucked. I mean, seriously? The best they could come up with was a guy who makes a Zombie when a card leaves your graveyard? He barely even synergizes with his own Crypt, because exiling your entire graveyard at once nets you literally just a single 2/2. And it's tapped!</p>
<p>However, Tormod does have one redeeming quality: He has partner! Perhaps we can make up for his disappointing text box with some slightly less underwhelming abilities on the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghost of Ramirez DePietro" href="#" target="_blank">Ghost of Ramirez DePietro</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. All this spectral Pirate does is return cards that were discarded or milled, but hey, he takes them out of the graveyard and therefore synergizes with Tormod.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghost of Ramirez DePietro"></div></div>
<h2>Aye Aye, Captain</h2>
<p>Anyone can see that these two are a disappointing duo, but they do actually work nicely together. Ghost serves as an attacker and card advantage, while Tormod fills out the board pretty well. Plus, Tormod can be played the turn after Ghost is played, ready to make a Zombie as soon as Ramirez attacks and triggers.</p>
<p>Nothing spectacular, but Pauper decks win through consistency and card advantage, which this setup does provide. So let's give it a shot!</p>
<h2>Churning Up a Storm</h2>
<p>Ok, here's our engine. The <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghost of Ramirez DePietro" href="#" target="_blank">Ghost of Ramirez DePietro</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> attacks, deals combat damage, and returns a card that was discarded or milled that turn. Then, Tormod makes a tapped Zombie. The two things we need to do for this to work is ensure that Ramirez can go unblocked, and we have to discard or mill something.</p>
<p>Should be pretty easy!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aqueous Form"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloak of Mists"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whispersilk Cloak"></div></div>
<p>In blue and black, evasion is trivial. I almost added a bunch of wings, and then I remembered, blue just has a million ways to make a creature 100% unblockable. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aqueous Form" href="#" target="_blank">Aqueous Form</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloak of Mists" href="#" target="_blank">Cloak of Mists</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Security Bypass" href="#" target="_blank">Security Bypass</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, yeah, this will be no problem. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Protective Bubble" href="#" target="_blank">Protective Bubble</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispersilk Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Whispersilk Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> even give our commander shroud, practically guaranteeing that he's untouched for the whole game.</p>
<p>Fittingly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thieves&#039; Tools" href="#" target="_blank">Thieves&#039; Tools</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also an effective option here, because our commander is quite small. But even if we can't scrounge up some form of evasion, our commander has his own, a clause preventing creatures with toughness three or greater from blocking. Not bad at all.</p>
<h2>Into the (Ship) Graveyard</h2>
<p>What most of our deck will be committed to is either discarding cards or triggering Tormod directly. There's a million ways for us to mill every single turn, starting with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chronic Flooding" href="#" target="_blank">Chronic Flooding</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of the Bloody Tome" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of the Bloody Tome</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scion of Halaster" href="#" target="_blank">Scion of Halaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. These enchantments are just incredible, giving us two or three options to choose from with Ramirez.</p>
<p>We're also going to play some instants and sorceries like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forbidden Alchemy" href="#" target="_blank">Forbidden Alchemy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to mill ourselves and draw some cards whenever we like. Simple but versatile utilities.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chronic Flooding"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scion of Halaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forbidden Alchemy"></div></div>
<p>Then, we'll have a few smaller mill engines like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deranged Assistant" href="#" target="_blank">Deranged Assistant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell" href="#" target="_blank">Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cathartic Adept" href="#" target="_blank">Cathartic Adept</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Screeching Sliver" href="#" target="_blank">Screeching Sliver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. All very well priced, and very effective. We can even throw in a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vizier of Tumbling Sands" href="#" target="_blank">Vizier of Tumbling Sands</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to untap them and do it twice in a turn!</p>
<p>Speaking of untapping things, we also have some tappers that just exile from a graveyard. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merrow Bonegnawer" href="#" target="_blank">Merrow Bonegnawer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> skip the middle man and trigger Tormod with just a tap. We can combine these guys with all the mill machines to build an engine where we're dumping multiple cards a turn, returning the best of them with Ramirez, and exiling the rest to make a heap of Zombies and earn spectacular card advantage.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deranged Assistant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vizier of Tumbling Sands"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merrow Bonegnawer"></div></div>
<h2>Hidden Treasure</h2>
<p>That's the bulk of the deck, but there are some specific cards that we can abuse with the discard to create some pretty unique advantages. Take any card with transmute, for instance. They're tutors that we just so happen to be discarding, meaning we can return them with Ramirez. The same principle applies to cycling, where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lonely Sandbar" href="#" target="_blank">Lonely Sandbar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> becomes an extra draw or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lórien Revealed" href="#" target="_blank">Lórien Revealed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> becomes a consistent land tutor.</p>
<p>And even when Ramirez isn't online, it's always a good deck building principle to have cards that you can pitch for something new.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Muddle the Mixture"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lonely Sandbar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lórien Revealed"></div></div>
<p>Finally, some highlights of the deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coffin Purge" href="#" target="_blank">Coffin Purge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a piece of tech that can make three Zombies for just two black mana, exiling itself and two other cards. Great, but doing the same thing with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rotten Reunion" href="#" target="_blank">Rotten Reunion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will make five Zombies for just three mana! That's a horde in just one card.</p>
<p>Continuing the theme of Zombies, cycling <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gempalm Polluter" href="#" target="_blank">Gempalm Polluter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be used to deal a sizeable amount of direct damage to any opponent. (Or yourself, if you wanted to.)</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Coffin Purge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rotten Reunion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gempalm Polluter"></div></div>
<p>Finally, the crowing jewel is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tortured Existence" href="#" target="_blank">Tortured Existence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Any number of times, you can pay one black mana to make a tapped Zombie with Tormod. That's it. You need a creature in hand, and a creature in the graveyard, and then you can just swap them over and over to trigger your commander a million times. I swear, I've never seen that card used fairly, especially in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imotekh the Stormlord" href="#" target="_blank">Imotekh the Stormlord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. My friend has traumatized me with that interaction way too many times.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tortured Existence"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Imotekh the Stormlord"></div></div>
<h2>Sharpening the Saber</h2>
<p>We'll polish off the deck with the expected removal and counterspells: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unsummon" href="#" target="_blank">Unsummon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snuff Out" href="#" target="_blank">Snuff Out</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Negate" href="#" target="_blank">Negate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, whatever's necessary. Because this deck is about card advantage, and because it's in black and blue, it just naturally becomes a control deck. There's no way around it, I swear!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unsummon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Logic Knot"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Perplex"></div></div>
<p>To counter this effect, we'll include some more synergistic, if less effective, removal to make it a tad bit nicer. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Logic Knot" href="#" target="_blank">Logic Knot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is objectively worse than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Counterspell" href="#" target="_blank">Counterspell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but significantly cooler, and does trigger our commander. Then, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Perplex" href="#" target="_blank">Perplex</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a weird response, but like I mentioned before, its transmute ability makes it very valuable.</p>
<h2>Tormod, the Desecrator and Ghost of Ramirez DePietro Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Tormod and Ramirez" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ghost of Ramirez DePietro
*1 Tormod, the Desecrator
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Coffin Purge
*1 Consider
*1 Corpse Churn
*1 Counterspell
*1 Dihada&#039;s Ploy
*1 Forbidden Alchemy
*1 Logic Knot
*1 Muddle the Mixture
*1 Negate
*1 Not Dead After All
*1 Perplex
*1 Rotten Reunion
*1 Snuff Out
*1 Thought Scour
*1 Undying Malice
*1 Unsummon
*1 Vapor Snag
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Dimir Signet
*1 Executioner&#039;s Capsule
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell
*1 Honored Heirloom
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Relic of Progenitus
*1 Thieves&#039; Tools
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Compulsive Research
*1 Deep Analysis
*1 Dread Return
*1 Lórien Revealed
*1 Pieces of the Puzzle
*1 Syphon Mind
*1 Tasigur&#039;s Cruelty
*1 Treasure Cruise
*1 Unearth
[/Sorceries]
[Creatures]
*1 Cathartic Adept
*1 Deranged Assistant
*1 Dimir Infiltrator
*1 Drift of Phantasms
*1 Faerie Macabre
*1 Gempalm Polluter
*1 Merrow Bonegnawer
*1 Nightscape Familiar
*1 Screeching Sliver
*1 Shepherd of Rot
*1 Stinkweed Imp
*1 Street Wraith
*1 Vizier of Tumbling Sands
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Aqueous Form
*1 Chronic Flooding
*1 Cloak of Mists
*1 Curse of the Bloody Tome
*1 Oubliette
*1 Protective Bubble
*1 Scion of Halaster
*1 Security Bypass
*1 Tortured Existence
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Barren Moor
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Command Tower
*1 Dimir Aqueduct
*16 Island
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*1 Mystic Sanctuary
*15 Swamp
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>And that's it! I actually like this deck way more than I expected to. No, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghost of Ramirez DePietro" href="#" target="_blank">Ghost of Ramirez DePietro</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormod, the Desecrator" href="#" target="_blank">Tormod, the Desecrator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are not good commanders. They're severely underpowered, even as partners, and I still think Tormod's design is lame. But... The deck they incentivize you to make is very synergistic, and one of the best at making engines I've ever seen in Pauper.</p>
<p>There's a lot of moving parts, but everything in here has a purpose, and the deck plays very smoothly. That redeems these commanders in my eyes.</p>
<h3>Read More:</h3>
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discard commander dimir mill

Pauper Commander - Tormod and Ramirez