Agatha of the Vile CauldronAgatha of the Vile Cauldron | Art by Jason A. Engle
Welcome back to Wombo Combo, your (hopefully) favorite article series where we list Commander's best combo cards using data from EDHREC and Commander Spellbook. For this edition, we'll conjure up some witchcraft by looking at the best Warlock combos!
Warlock is a job creature type that was introduced in Throne of Eldraine as a more generic typing for the former Witch and Hag creature types, and others that revolve around practicing witchcraft. In Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Warlock was also designated an "outlaw" for cards like Back in TownBack in Town.
With Halloween right around the corner, let's bewitch ourselves into the mysterious world of Warlock to find their best combo brewers!
#10: Kaervek, the Spiteful
Deck Inclusions: 128 as commander (#2,569); 9,806 as card (0.28%)
We start our list with a rather interesting card in Kaervek, the SpitefulKaervek, the Spiteful, which simply gives all other creatures -1/-1. This effect can act as a de facto sacrifice outlet for creatures with toughness equal to one, such as those created by Animation ModuleAnimation Module.
Kaervek's effect is also a perfect asset for locks, where it's increasingly easy to lock opponents out of having creatures on the battlefield. Cards like Maha, Its Feathers NightMaha, Its Feathers Night work perfectly for this, or you can opt for a more sinister option with Urborg, Tomb of YawgmothUrborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Kormus BellKormus Bell, which destroys all lands.
#9: Vengeful Bloodwitch
Deck Inclusions: 43,202 decks (1.71%)
Vengeful BloodwitchVengeful Bloodwitch is a nearly functional reprint of the popular card Blood ArtistBlood Artist, causing lifeloss for opponents and lifegain for you whenever one of your creatures die. This is slightly worse than Blood Artist, which triggers on any creature dying, but it'll generally be the same for our purposes.
Vengeful Bloodwitch can counteract life payments made to Warren SoultraderWarren Soultrader or Yawgmoth, Thran PhysicianYawgmoth, Thran Physician, commit a crime to trigger Forsaken MinerForsaken Miner, or trigger cards like Trudge GardenTrudge Garden. It can also serve as an easy payoff card to capitalize on infinitely killing and/or sacrificing creatures, which will end the game in a flash.
#8: Prosper, Tome-Bound
Deck Inclusions: 12,847 as commander (#89); 39,459 as card (2.52%)
Prosper, Tome-BoundProsper, Tome-Bound joins a fleet of newer cards that center around casting spells from exile. Prosper creates a Treasure when you cast a spell from exile, helping to act as a de facto cost reducer. Prosper wants cards that can exile cards and allow you to cast them, allowing Ob Nixilis, Captive KingpinOb Nixilis, Captive Kingpin and Professional Face-BreakerProfessional Face-Breaker to shine.
Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top is a common card that works exceedingly well in Prosper combos, as it'll put itself on top of your library, which can then be exiled and cast from exile. The Treasure made will be the perfect amount of mana to cast Sensei's Divining Top again.
#7: Extus, Oriq Overlord
Deck Inclusions: 6,143 as commander (#307); 1,386 as card (0.18%)
Extus, Oriq OverlordExtus, Oriq Overlord has two sides, consisting of a legendary Human Warlock on the front and a sorcery on the back. The front side is the side with the most combo potential, allowing you a magecraft trigger that returns a nonlegendary creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage is the perfect option for this, as it can be returned by Extus while also causing Extus to trigger by copying a spell on the stack. Spells like Jeska's WillJeska's Will or Pyretic RitualPyretic Ritual can help pay for Dualcaster Mage's casting cost.
#6: Marina Vendrell
Deck Inclusions: 9,919 as commander (#145); 1,798 as card (0.6%)
Marina VendrellMarina Vendrell is all about Rooms, a new enchantment subtype introduced in Duskmourn: House of Horror, by tapping to either lock or unlock a Room. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are many Rooms who love the use of Marina's effect, including Unholy Annex // Ritual ChamberUnholy Annex // Ritual Chamber and Spiked Corridor // Torture PitSpiked Corridor // Torture Pit.
Marina also loves Ghostly DancersGhostly Dancers, who make tokens when an enchantment enters and whenever you fully unlock a Room, creating two opportunities for token generation for Rooms. With Marina able to both lock and unlock a room, you can trigger Ghostly Dancers over and over again for the same Room.
#5: Camellia, the Seedmiser
Deck Inclusions: 4,095 as commander (#506); 33,696 as card (3.06%)
Camellia, the SeedmiserCamellia, the Seedmiser gives you an army of 1/1 Squirrels whenever you eat a delicious snack. These creatures can also be Foods thanks to Ygra, Eater of AllYgra, Eater of All, making an infinite combo very achievable with a sacrifice outlet.
The Squirrel can also be changed to a Squirrel and a Food using Peregrin TookPeregrin Took, and further replaced by Academy ManufactorAcademy Manufactor. This gives additional results, and allows you to sacrifice both the Treasures and Foods to further the combo.
#4: Alela, Artful Provocateur
Deck Inclusions: 13,890 as commander (#77); 10,997 as card (1.32%)
If you love artifact and/or enchantment decks, then Alela, Artful ProvocateurAlela, Artful Provocateur is a perfect card to helm one, creating a 1/1 Faerie each time you cast an artifact or enchantment spell. This effect is a great payoff for Enchantress decks, but also fits well with Flickering WardFlickering Ward and other self-bouncing enchantments.
With a token doubler and Phyrexian AltarPhyrexian Altar, you can sacrifice the Faeries to pay for Flickering Ward and bounce it. On the artifact side, you can easily bounce OrnithopterOrnithopter or MemniteMemnite for infinite Faeries, or use the trusty Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top.
#3: Fain, the Broker
Deck Inclusions: 357 as commander (#1,946); 40,488 as card (1.16%)
[e]Fain, the Broker[/el] is a combo cornucopia with four abilities that all can have combo utility. You can remove counters from persist creatures like Puppeteer CliquePuppeteer Clique or Devoted DruidDevoted Druid type creatures to make Treasures. Pitiless PlundererPitiless Plunderer and Thornbite StaffThornbite Staff help to allow infinite usage of Fain's third ability, sacrificing the Treasure to create an Inking, which creates a Treasure again when it dies.
While Fain isn't a popular commander, its versatility gives you a large number of options for building a deck and executing combos alike.
#2: Geralf, the Fleshwright
Deck Inclusions: 2,088 as commander (#858); 15,380 as card (0.53%)
Geralf, the FleshwrightGeralf, the Fleshwright is a card that benefits both storm and Zombie decks, making tokens as you cast more spells and additionally putting +1/+1 counters on Zombies you control. Geralf's second ability perfectly counters Putrid GoblinPutrid Goblin's persist ability.
His first ability serves as the perfect method for repeated casting of Ebondeath, DracolichEbondeath, Dracolich by creating another creature token that can be sacrificed to Ashnod's AltarAshnod's Altar for mana. Adding in a Pitiless PlundererPitiless Plunderer covers Ebondeath's cost, and Geralf's second ability will progressively place more +1/+1 counters each time as you progress.
#1: Agatha of the Vile Cauldron
Deck Inclusions: 4,958 as commander (#423); 17,215 as card (1.15%)
The best combo Warlock is Agatha of the Vile CauldronAgatha of the Vile Cauldron, a card that greatly reduces the cost of your creatures' abilities. Agatha is similar to Training GroundsTraining Grounds, but has no upper limit to the reduction, as it's based on Agatha's power instead of being a set value.
A few cards that benefit from this (generally by reducing their costs to ) include Magus of the CandelabraMagus of the Candelabra, Silvanus's InvokerSilvanus's Invoker and Cogwork AssemblerCogwork Assembler.
Agatha's power can easily be boosted by anthem effects, Colossus HammerColossus Hammer, or other large boost cards (besides, who doesn't run ColossificationColossification anyways?). Reducing your ability costs is always beneficial, and with a good commander who can also enable combos, the cauldron is the limit with this card.
Honorable Mentions
Need another ingredient for your bubbling cauldron? Perhaps these cards can spice things up for you:
1. Sedgemoor WitchSedgemoor Witch: A card that capitalizes on magecraft triggers, creating creature tokens that gain you life when they die. Perfect to combo with Fury StormFury Storm or Chain of SmogChain of Smog.
2. Wick, the Whorled MindWick, the Whorled Mind: Wick creates Snails as Rats enter, which provides a perfect opportunity for cards like ConspiracyConspiracy to turn the Snails into Rats.
3. Hylda of the Icy CrownHylda of the Icy Crown: A unique card that thrives on tapping opposing creatures, and works well with OppositionOpposition-like cards.
Thank you very much for reading this edition of Wombo Combo, and don't forget to check out Commander Spellbook for more Commander combos and visit the Commander Spellbook Discord to vote on the next edition of Wombo Combo and to submit your own Commander combos.
Until next time, happy comboing!
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Ethan Coover
Ethan has been an avid EDH player since 2014 with the release of Core Set 2015. In 2021, he joined the Commander Spellbook project as an editor, and later a head-editor and moderator, and has assisted in the curation, updating and/or uploading of over 40,000 unique EDH combos and over 40 articles covering EDH's best combos.
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