BlackLegendary Planeswalker — NixilisOb Nixilis of the Black Oath
Mana value5Rank#9,152
The Commander
+2: Each opponent loses 1 life. You gain life equal to the life lost this way.
−2: Create a 5/5 black Demon creature token with flying. You lose 2 life.
−8: You get an emblem with "
, Sacrifice a creature: You gain X life and draw X cards, where X is the sacrificed creature's power."
Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath can be your commander.
Guide
Gameplan
Cast Ob Nixilis, protect him, and grind opponents out with repeatable life drain and 5/5 flying Demon tokens while building toward his game-ending emblem. The deck plays as a mono-black attrition/aristocrats midrange shell that uses lifeloss, sacrifice value, and big lifeswings to outlast the table. You win by drowning opponents in tokens, draining their life with the +2, or going off with the ultimate's sacrifice engine.
Strengths
- Self-contained card advantage and life gain right from the command zone
- Mono-black gives access to the best tutors, removal, and reanimation in the format
- Demon tokens are evasive 5/5 bodies that double as voltron threats and sac fodder
- The emblem provides a near-unbeatable card-draw and life engine in long games
- Loyalty-based lifegain offsets aggressive mono-black mana sinks and pain
Weaknesses
- Planeswalker commanders are fragile and die to any creature attack or burn
- Slow clock—the +2 only drains 1 life per opponent and ticks toward a 5-turn ultimate
- Mono-black struggles with enchantment and noncreature permanent removal
- No card draw on the front face until you protect him for several turns
- Vulnerable to commander tax and getting blown out repeatedly if unprotected
Key Cards
- The Meathook Massacre — Board wipe that drains the table and synergizes with the deck's sacrifice and lifegain plan.
- Bolas's Citadel — Turns Ob Nixilis's lifegain into raw card advantage by paying life to cast off the top.
- Phyrexian Reclamation — Recurs sacrificed Demons and creatures to fuel the emblem and continuous value.
- Liliana of the Dark Realms — Another mono-black walker that fixes mana and gives loyalty redundancy to protect the plan.
- Dictate of Erebos — Punishes attacks into your walker by forcing sacrifices whenever your creatures die.
- Black Market Connections — Premier mono-black card advantage that pairs with the deck's life-as-resource theme.
Upgrade Path
Lean into protecting the walker with Ghostly Prison effects, fogs, and proliferate (Flux Channeler, Karn's Bastion) to reach the ultimate faster. Add fast mana and tutors—Dark Ritual, Cabal Coffers, Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor—to deploy him early and find your payoffs. For a higher ceiling, build the lifegain engine into a kill with Sanguine Bond, Exquisite Blood, and Bolas's Citadel for explosive turns.
Core Cards
- Jet Medallion
- Dregs of Sorrow
- Ghost Quarter
- Worn Powerstone
- Flesh Carver
- Disciple of Bolas
- Barren Moor
- Nekrataal
- Commander's Sphere
- Everglades
- Spoils of Blood
- Liliana's Reaver
Seeded from a single deck — rates appear once more public decks exist.
Win Conditions
- ▸Beating down with repeatable 5/5 flying Demon tokens
- ▸Whittling the table to zero with the +2 drain plus Sanguine Bond/Vito-style doublers
- ▸Activating the emblem to draw your deck and combo or out-grind everyone
- ▸Voltron pressure via an evasive Demon carrying equipment or auras
Archetypes
- Aristocrats — Demon tokens and the emblem reward sacrificing creatures for life and cards.
- Lifegain/Drain — The +2 drains all opponents while gaining you life, fueling payoffs like Vito and Sanguine Bond.
- Control/Attrition — Mono-black removal and recursion let you grind the table down while Ob Nixilis accrues value.
- Superfriends — As a planeswalker commander he supports a walker-heavy build with proliferate and protection.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (B), by popularity.
