JundLegendary Creature — Goblin WarlockAuntie Ool, Cursewretch
Mana value4Rank#6,968
The Commander
Ward—Blight 2. (To blight 2, a player puts two -1/-1 counters on a creature they control.)
Whenever one or more -1/-1 counters are put on a creature, draw a card if you control that creature. If you don't control it, its controller loses 1 life.
Guide
Gameplan
Auntie Ool turns -1/-1 counters into a card-advantage and drain engine: load your own creatures to draw cards, sprinkle counters on opponents' boards to drain life. You play a Jund -1/-1 counters/aristocrats midrange deck that grinds incremental advantage, recurs counter sources, and eventually goes wide or burns the table down via mass counter effects.
Strengths
- Built-in card draw and life drain make every -1/-1 effect double as value, so you rarely run out of gas
- Ward—Blight 2 is a real deterrent since opponents must hurt their own board to target her
- Jund gives access to the best removal, recursion, and tutors to assemble engines
- Mass -1/-1 sweepers double as one-sided board control plus a massive draw/drain burst
Weaknesses
- Many payoffs are creature-dependent and fold to sweepers, especially exile or sacrifice effects that bypass Ward
- Counter-doublers and proliferate engines are a bit slow and telegraphed; without them the deck can be grindy
- Vulnerable to graveyard hate slowing the recursion package
- Relies on the commander herself for the draw engine, so repeated commander tax can pinch you
Key Cards
- Black Sun's Zenith — Scalable one-sided sweeper that drains the table and draws you a card per counter placed on your own board.
- Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons — Spits out snake tokens every time you place -1/-1 counters, feeding both Ool's draw triggers and a sacrifice engine.
- Nest of Scarabs — Pairs with Ool so each counter spree makes insects while drawing cards and draining life.
- Grim Affliction — Cheap removal that also proliferates, multiplying triggers and drain across the board.
- Crumbling Ashes — Repeatable annual counter placement that grinds opponents out while feeding Ool's drain.
- Kulrath Knight — Locks down any creature with a -1/-1 counter, turning your engine into a soft prison.
- Cauldron of Souls — Persist machine that lets your own creatures collect counters on demand for guaranteed draws.
Upgrade Path
Add proliferate enablers (Inexorable Tide, Evolution Sage) and counter-doublers to multiply Ool's triggers, plus efficient tutors (Demonic, Diabolic Intent) to find Hapatra or your combo pieces. Tighten the mana base with fast rocks and dual lands, and lean into a persist/sac-outlet infinite loop (Cauldron of Souls plus a free sacrifice outlet) for a clean win. Cut clunky high-cost cards for cheaper interaction so the engine comes online by turn four or five.
Core Cards
- Dragonskull Summit
- Grave Venerations
- Hoarder's Greed
- Cinder Glade
- Dread Tiller
- Contagion Clasp
- Painful Truths
- Flourishing Defenses
- The Reaper, King No More
- Lasting Tarfire
- Chain Reaction
- The Scorpion God
Seeded from a single deck — rates appear once more public decks exist.
Win Conditions
- ▸Incremental life drain from sprinkling -1/-1 counters across opponents' creatures, amplified by sweepers
- ▸Token swarms from Hapatra/Nest of Scarabs going wide with an anthem or sacrifice payoff
- ▸Combo loops (persist + Cauldron-style effects + a sac outlet) for infinite drain or insect/snake tokens
- ▸Out-grinding the table on cards until you deploy a finisher like Torgaar or a mass burn spell
Archetypes
- -1/-1 Counters Midrange — Ool rewards every counter you place, making the whole counters theme a value and removal engine.
- Aristocrats — Tokens from counter payoffs like Hapatra and Nest of Scarabs fuel sacrifice loops alongside the drain.
- Attrition Control — Repeatable -1/-1 removal grinds opponents' boards while you bank cards and life.
- Combo — Persist plus counter-removal loops or Hapatra token engines can generate infinite triggers for draw or drain.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BGR), by popularity.
