Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain | Art by Javier Charro

Nasty Orcses

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Widespread Brutality is the only board wipe that creates an Army?)

Put simply, one of the best cards ever printed for the +1/+1 counter strategy is Hardened Scales. Well, buckle up, because we just got another version of it.

As a creature, Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain might be easier to remove than the classic Scales, but that's about where my complaints end. As a 2/2 for two, he's more than efficient enough to come down early and start making things huge, and having menace means that it's meaningful if the thing that ends up huge is him. What I haven't addressed, however, is that he's not as all-encompassing as Hardened Scales, instead following a typal path.

So, how about those Orcs and Goblins?

Top 10 "Orcs" That Care About +1/+1 Counters

If you're not familiar with the Amass mechanic, you're about to be. Originally printed in War of the Spark, it represented Nicol Bolas's Army of Eternals: Zombies that had been Lazotep Plated to be able to travel through the Planar Bridge without having all of their fleshy bits torn off. This time around, Amass Orcs is representing the vast Orcish armies of Sauron and Saruman within The Lord of the Rings universe, but it is essentially the exact same mechanic (and has been errata'd as such): Amass 1 would get you a 0/0 Zombie Army with one +1/+1 counter on it, Amass Orcs 1 would get you a 0/0 Orc Army with one +1/+1 counter on it, unless of course you did both, in which case you'd have a 0/0 Zombie Orc Army with two +1/+1 counters on it.

Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain is a flavorful chap, however, and cares about more than just Armies. In the vast stretches of Middle-earth, there are more than just the hordes of Sauron and Saruman. Indeed, just in the slim volume of The Hobbit, Bilbo and his Dwarven friends find themselves in the lair of the Goblin King, and the culminating Battle of the Five Armies sports not one, but two unaffiliated Orcish armies.

In other words, if you're considering building Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain, there's more than just Amass to work with.

Criteria: Cards which are or create Orcs, Goblins, or Armies that also have the words "+1/+1 counter" in their rules text. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

So, when we consider all of the Orcs, Goblins, and Amass cards out there, what exactly do we have to work with?

10. Mer-Ek Nightblade

(3,344 Inclusions, 0% of 1,340,405 Decks)

I've always wanted to like Outlast, but the sorcery-speed rider on it makes it very difficult to work with, especially when most Outlast cards weren't pushed much to begin with. Case-in-point: Mer-Ek Nightblade's 2/3 stats combined with its four-cost is not very inspiring, even after you put on the first +1/+1 counter and it also gets deathtouch. Five mana for 3/4 deathtouch is just not a good deal no matter how optimistically you want to look at it.

Things do get a bit more palatable with Mauhúr in play, with the first activation making the Nightblade a 4/5. More importantly, however, we're in a +1/+1 counters build, so now you've got a horde of creatures all sporting deathtouch, which is the true reason for liking this card. I do still wish you could keep Mer-Ek Nightblade up as a blocker and then put the +1/+1 counter on at end of turn, however...

9. Angrath, Captain of Chaos

(3,894 Inclusions, 1% of 599,574 Decks)

Even with due consideration toward the various Orcs and Goblins of the world, the likelihood that any Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain deck is going to end up stacking loads of counters onto a single Army is quite high. Angrath, Captain of Chaos does do exactly that, but more importantly, he makes the massive column of counters harder to block, as well. Giving all of your creatures deathtouch can be a solid defensive boon. Giving all of your creatures menace lets you swing in with impunity.

8. Lazotep Reaver

(4,168 Inclusions, 0% of 1,336,508 Decks)

A favorite of aristocrats decks everywhere, Lazotep Reaver's two-mana cost combined with making a token upon entering makes it an absolute body factory. Especially in black, the color of easy creature recursion, it's very easy to play this down, sacrifice both the Beast and the Army for an effect, and then bring them back to the battlefield or hand to do it all again.

In a +1/+1 counter deck, however, this hits a little differently. Don't get me wrong, you're definitely happy to stack two counters on an Army with Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain's ability, but if options weren't a bit scarce that would feel pretty underwhelming. Given the typal considerations, however, options are a bit scarce, so... there we are.

7. Grenzo, Dungeon Warden

(Helms 2,814 Decks, Rank #264; 2,706 Inclusions, 0% of 601,245 Decks)

No one has really ever considered the +1/+1 counter portion of Grenzo, Dungeon Warden to be the interesting part, but there is something to be said for a Hydra in the late game. Combine that with most +1/+1 counter creatures technically having a low power before they enter the battlefield, and I would say that Grenzo's second ability will see some solid use in the deck as well!

6. Vizier of the Scorpion

(8,413 Inclusions, 1% of 1,340,405 Decks)

Given Mer-Ek Nightblade and Lazotep Reaver's inclusions, I feel like we've already discussed this card. We haven't, however, because in a deck that doesn't actually care about the Zombie portion of original Amass, Vizier of the Scorpion is just kind of bad. A three-mana 1/1 that makes either a 1/1 deathtouch or gives your massive 12/12 Army a keyword that will let it kill creatures it was already going to kill is pretty underwhelming. Even with limited options, this card is specifically for Zombie decks, which is just not what we're doing here.

5. Legion Warboss

(26,751 Inclusions, 2% of 1,246,087 Decks)

If you haven't played with Legion Warboss, it can read a bit underwhelming at first. Anyone who has seen it in play will be able to fill you in: making a Goblin every turn, immediately giving it a +1/+1 counter, and then swinging in with it stacks up some damage pretty darn quick. Imagine, then, you could be making 3/3s every turn instead!

4. Bloodline Pretender

(31,832 Inclusions, 1% of 2,606,027 Decks)

There are only two Changelings that care about +1/+1 counters in Rakdos colors, and we'll be seeing both on the list today. Our first, Bloodline Pretender, will be making us consider an awkward choice between the three creature types we care about upon entering the battlefield, but that's not a deal-breaker. New Amass does let us choose either Orcs or Armies and be happy, and we have an Orcish commander. This means unless you have a particularly Goblin-heavy hand, you're probably happy most games just choosing Orcs, slamming down a 4/4 Mauhur for two mana, passing turn, and feeling that you already got your money's worth!

3. Dreadhorde Invasion

(40,421 Inclusions, 3% of 1,340,405 Decks)

When thinking about this list in the lead-up, I honestly assumed that Dreadhorde Invasion would be at the top of it. I've gone into extensive detail about why every version of Bitterblossom that's been made is excellent. While Dreadhorde Invasion may have an argument for being the worst of them (or maybe not, if you consider March from the Black Gate a Bitterblossom), it's still very, very good. Add in Mauhúr, to buff your Army with two more power and toughness each upkeep instead of one, and this thing just becomes a threat that can win the game if you have it in your opening hand.

2. Taurean Mauler

(42,930 Inclusions, 3% of 1,242,548 Decks)

I doubt that it was difficult for many of you to guess what the other Changeling on our list would be when I said there were only two that fit our criteria, but for those of you who haven't met Taurean Mauler yet, allow me to introduce you. It's a three-mana 2/2 with every creature type that I personally guarantee you will be at least a 7/7 by the time it loses summoning sickness. Doing some quick math, with a turn-two Mauhúr into a turn-three Taurean Mauler, it's likely you're untapping with a 12/12 "Orc" on turn four. Even if it's just going to get blocked, you can smile into the Fling in your hand while people continue to put counters on it.

1. Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin

(Helms 1,009 Decks, Rank #656; 64,921 Inclusions, 5% of 1,242,548 Decks)

Our most popular Orc proves to be not an Orc at all, but rather the Ravnican Goblin King himself, Krenko. Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin may be the less popular of the two Krenkos, but in this case his +1/+1 counter synergy makes him by far the preferred option. To do the math, as it were, normally Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin comes down on turn one and waits for summoning sickness to wear off. On turn two, he swings in for two, making two Goblin tokens. Turn three gets you three, and so on. With Mauhúr out, however, things double their speed. Turn two gets you three Goblins, turn three gets you five, turn four gets you seven, and so on. All of this is more than likely done without external sources giving Krenko more +1/+1 counters. In other words, this time the list gets it right! Krenko will be one of the most powerful cards you can include in a Mauhúr deck, and something you'll definitely want to pick up a copy of, no matter how you're building the deck.

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Honorable Mentions

There are not quite as many Orcs, Goblins, and Armies that care about +1/+1 counters as I had thought there would be, but there are still quite a few more that are worth considering, so let's fill out the list a bit, shall we?

Top 25 Orcses That Care About +1/+1 Counters

11. Honor the God-Pharaoh
12. Grim Initiate
13. Goblin Razerunners
14. Widespread Brutality
15. Goblin Banneret
16. Rigging Runner
17. Herald of the Dreadhorde
18. Dreadhorde Twins
19. Clamor Shaman
20. Knucklebone Witch
21. Ignition Team
22. Goblin Glory Chaser
23. Toll of the Invasion
24. Goblin Assault Team
25. Bleeding Edge

There's a ton of options here that I included in my build of Mauhúr, but before we get to that, we should also take a look at the new options out of Lord of the Rings, because they are good and plentiful:

First off, there's March from the Black Gate, which, as previously mentioned is a direct shout-out to Dreadhorde Invasion, itself a direct shout-out to Bitterblossom. As for where it falls in the running that now also includes Skrelv's Hive, I would unfortunately put it at the bottom. Whereas all of the others allow aristocrats decks to sacrifice a token every turn, if you do that with March from the Black Gate, you end up with no Armies to trigger it, an unfortunate circumstance. I do, however, like that you can get two counters from it the turn it comes into play if you either have an existing Army or a haste-enabler.

It's all too easy to think of a single Army token as separate ones and do your math wrong here, so let me lay it out: upon playing Book of Mazarbul, you get a 1/1 Orc Army. On its second chapter, that Army gets +2/+2, making it a 3/3, an on-rate transaction upon the turn that you're swinging in. On the final chapter, it and all other creatures you control get +1/+0 and menace until end of turn. In other words, this is a card that builds tall, then wants you to go wide, and as such can be a bit of a trap in the wrong deck. Keep this in mind!

Finally, a card I haven't been seeing much buzz about that I think is one of the best cards in the set is Fall of Cair Andros. Anyone that's ever played with or against Repercussion or Toralf, God of Fury should already have some idea of how good this card is, even without the tacked-on hyper-expensive activated ability. Put simply, your average Blasphemous Act is going to make a token in excess of 20 power and toughness, plopped down onto an empty board where someone won't have the gas to then come up with a blocker. Which is not to say that this should see play in every deck: astute readers will notice both the word "noncombat" hiding there in the text box and the fact that my decklist isn't playing it. Still, if you're the average Repercussion or Firesong and Sunspeaker deck looking to just throw Earthquakes down on an unsuspecting board, this is yet another effect that will take that strategy from being an annoying collection of board wipes that makes everyone roll their eyes to a means of easily winning the game.

Finally, here's my build of Mauhúr, Uruk-hai Captain. It's one of the quicker aggro decks I've ever put together, and if you can keep your commander out he'll definitely end up killing some folks with commander damage incidentally, while the rest of your Orcs, Goblins, and a massive Army take out the players he hasn't managed to hit yet.

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Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

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What Do You Think?

I almost scrapped this article at the beginning, because the top ten didn't feel very interesting at first look. I'm glad I didn't, however, as both +1/+1 counter support and Amass ended up being a lot more engaging than I suspected, and having a Hardened Scales in the command zone is just nuts!

What about you, what do you think of Amass Orcs?

And finally, what's your favorite "Orc"? Are you building Mauhúr, and if so, as an Orc deck, an Army deck, a Goblin deck, or all of the above? Perhaps you went all-in Voltron with him instead?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the dangerous-looking steel table with spikes coming out just where your knees are going to encounter them.