DimirLegendary Creature — Merfolk WizardAraumi of the Dead Tide
Mana value3Rank#10,685
The Commander
, Exile cards from your graveyard equal to the number of opponents you have: Target creature card in your graveyard gains encore until end of turn. The encore cost is equal to its mana cost. (Exile the creature card and pay its mana cost: For each opponent, create a token copy that attacks that opponent this turn if able. They gain haste. Sacrifice them at the beginning of the next end step. Activate only as a sorcery.)
Guide
Gameplan
Fill your graveyard fast, then use Araumi to grant encore to creatures, making a token copy targeting each opponent that triggers powerful enter/attack/death effects before being sacrificed at end step. You loop value engines repeatedly while building toward an alpha strike or combo finish.
Strengths
- Repeatable, commander-based recursion that doesn't require casting the creatures from hand
- Token copies generate triple ETB/attack/death triggers in a 4-player pod
- Synergizes deeply with self-mill, sacrifice, and aristocrats payoffs
- Can rebuy bombs every turn without paying full price beyond the encore cost
Weaknesses
- Sorcery-speed and taps Araumi, so it's slow and easy to disrupt with removal
- Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Bojuka Bog) shuts the deck down hard
- Tokens must attack and are sacrificed, so they're vulnerable and impermanent
- Encore cost can be mana-intensive for big creatures, and exiling graveyard cards is a real resource cost
Key Cards
- Gravecrawler — Cheap encore target that endlessly refuels your graveyard and aristocrats triggers.
- Grave Titan — A devastating encore target that floods the board with zombies and big attackers across all opponents.
- Blood Artist — Turns every sacrificed token at end step into multiplied life drain, a primary win path.
- Stitcher's Supplier — Self-mill on a body you can repeatedly encore to dig deep and stock targets.
- Rooftop Storm — Makes zombie encore costs free, letting you encore expensive bombs without paying mana.
- Buried Alive — Tutors three creatures straight to the graveyard to set up Araumi's encore targets.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana and graveyard tutors (Entomb, Buried Alive) to set up Araumi turn after turn, and prioritize creatures with strong ETB/death triggers over vanilla beaters. Include cost reducers like Rooftop Storm and protection for Araumi, plus your own graveyard hate insurance; cutting slow value cards for tighter aristocrats payoffs and counterspell backup raises the ceiling considerably.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Aristocrats drain via Blood Artist / Zulaport Cutthroat from mass token sacrifices
- ▸Repeated Grave Titan / Massacre Wurm style ETBs grinding opponents out
- ▸Wide encore alpha strikes with evasive or large creatures
- ▸Combo loops like Gravecrawler with sacrifice and drain outlets
Archetypes
- Aristocrats — End-step token sacrifices feed drain effects like Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat for multiplied damage.
- Reanimator — Araumi acts as a recurring reanimation engine, looping powerful creature ETBs without casting them.
- Self-Mill Value — Filling your graveyard fuels both encore targets and the exile activation cost.
- Zombie Tribal — Cheap recurring zombies plus Rooftop Storm and Gravecrawler make for relentless encore loops.
Combos
- Araumi of the Dead Tide + Panharmonicon + Gray Merchant of Asphodel
→ Near-infinite lifegain, Near-infinite lifegain triggers, Near-infinite lifeloss
- Araumi of the Dead Tide + Vizier of Tumbling Sands + Mesmeric Orb
→ Infinite self-mill
- Araumi of the Dead Tide + Fatestitcher + Mesmeric Orb
→ Infinite self-mill
- Araumi of the Dead Tide + Mirror-Mad Phantasm
→ Infinite self-mill
- Araumi of the Dead Tide + Kelpie Guide + Mesmeric Orb
→ Infinite self-mill
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BU), by popularity.
