DimirLegendary Creature — Human Scientist VillainDoctor Octopus, Master Planner
Mana value7Rank#11,031
The Commander
Other Villains you control get +2/+2.
Your maximum hand size is eight.
At the beginning of your end step, if you have fewer than eight cards in hand, draw cards equal to the difference.
Guide
Gameplan
Doctor Octopus is a Dimir Villains-tribal commander that keeps your grip stocked to eight cards every turn, turning that overflowing hand into card advantage you can convert into board presence and disruption. Deploy Villains to benefit from the +2/+2 anthem while you durdle behind interaction, then close with a wide tribal swing, a big spell, or an unfair combo fueled by your refilling hand. Early game you stall and develop; mid-to-late game your draw engine snowballs uncontested.
Strengths
- Built-in, no-strings card advantage that refills you to eight every end step
- Anthem effect pumps a Villain tribal board for fast clocks
- Blue-black gives the best interaction, removal, and tutors in the format
- Hand refill synergizes with wheel, discard-outlet, and reanimation strategies
- Hard to run out of gas in long, grindy games
Weaknesses
- Seven mana and no immediate board impact makes him slow and easy to ignore until late
- Villain typeline is narrow, limiting genuine tribal payoffs in non-Marvel pools
- No evasion or protection built in—removal-heavy tables can keep him off the board
- Drawing into a full hand does nothing if you can't deploy threats fast enough
- Vulnerable to graveyard hate and counterspells when leaning on combo finishes
Key Cards
- The Locust God — Turns your guaranteed end-step draws into a flying token army every turn.
- Sheoldred, the Apocalypse — Punishes opponents while rewarding your own constant card draw, a clock and a wall in one.
- Notion Thief — Steals card-draw effects and converts your draw-heavy build into a backbreaking lockout with wheels.
- Windfall — Refills everyone to a smaller hand while you immediately draw back to eight on your end step.
- Thassa's Oracle — A clean blue wincon that pairs with self-mill or empty-library payoffs your draw engine enables.
- Glint-Horn Buccaneer — Converts excess cards and rummaging into direct, repeatable damage across the table.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Sol Ring, Dimir Signet, Arcane Signet) and protection (Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots) so the seven-drop sticks and impacts the board sooner. Tighten toward a draw-punisher core—Notion Thief, Sheoldred, Underworld Dreams, The Locust God—plus wheels like Windfall and Echo of Eons to weaponize your guaranteed refills. Finish by adding a compact combo backup (Thassa's Oracle plus Demonic Consultation) and premium interaction so you can win even if the tribal plan is answered.
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
- ▸Wide Villain tribal beatdown buffed by the anthem
- ▸Token swarms from draw-payoffs like The Locust God
- ▸Damage triggers from Sheoldred, Glint-Horn Buccaneer, or similar punisher pieces
- ▸Library-empty or combo finishes such as Thassa's Oracle
Archetypes
- Tribal Aggro (Villains) — The +2/+2 anthem makes a board of Villain creatures hit hard and fast.
- Spellslinger/Control — Endless card flow lets you hold up interaction and out-resource the table.
- Wheels/Card Advantage — His end-step refill abuses symmetric draw and discard effects in your favor.
- Combo — A full grip every turn helps assemble and protect combos like Thassa's Oracle finishes.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BU), by popularity.
