The Commander
: Destroy target enchanted creature.
Guide
Gameplan
Ramses Overdark turns Auras into removal: stick a cheap, sticky Aura on an opponent's creature, then tap Ramses to destroy it for free every turn. Build a Dimir control shell that strips threats, ramps into Ramses, protects him, and grinds the board down while you advance your own value engine to victory. Pair Ramses with ways to force Auras onto enemies and untap effects to multi-kill in a turn.
Strengths
- Repeatable, color-agnostic, indestructible-and-hexproof-ignoring creature removal that costs no mana once set up
- Lives in Dimir, giving access to the best counterspells, card draw, and tutors to find Ramses and his Aura enablers
- Auras like Faith's Fetters and Pacifism double as removal even before Ramses lands, providing redundancy
- Untap effects let you destroy multiple creatures per turn, dominating creature-heavy tables
Weaknesses
- Engine requires two pieces (an Aura that can target opponents' creatures plus Ramses), making it slow and fragile to disruption
- Sorcery-speed Aura placement and a six-mana commander means a clunky, vulnerable setup
- Useless against decks that win without creatures (spellslinger, planeswalkers, alt-win combos)
- Ramses is a removal magnet; losing him repeatedly to spot removal cripples the plan and triggers commander tax
Key Cards
- Faith's Fetters — A cheap removal Aura you can place on enemy creatures, then immediately destroy with Ramses for a two-for-one.
- Thief of Sanity — Provides a self-sufficient win/card-advantage engine while Ramses handles the board.
- Thousand-Year Elixir — Untaps Ramses and gives him haste so he can destroy two creatures the turn he enters.
- Lignify — A green-free way to enchant any creature and turn it into a Treefolk you can then blow up.
- Rancor — A recurring Aura you can attach to opponents' creatures and reuse as endless Ramses fuel after destruction.
- Swiftfoot Boots — Protects your six-mana commander from targeted removal so the engine keeps running.
Upgrade Path
Add fast mana (Sol Ring, Signets, Dimir Signet) and tutors (Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Diabolic Intent) to assemble the Ramses-plus-Aura engine sooner and more reliably. Lean into protection (Lightning Greaves, counterspell suite) and untap enablers (Aphetto Alchemist, Kiora's Follower) to push toward a board-locking combo, and round out with a compact, non-creature-dependent win like Thassa's Oracle or Torment of Hailfire so you aren't reliant on opponents having creatures.
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
- ▸Grinding the table out of creatures, then closing with an evasive threat like Thief of Sanity or a commander beatdown
- ▸Mill or theft from Dimir card-advantage engines once the board is locked
- ▸An untap-loop with Ramses to wipe all opposing creatures, followed by an alpha strike
- ▸Big payoff finishers such as Torment of Hailfire or Aetherflux Reservoir backed by control
Archetypes
- Control — Ramses provides inevitability as repeatable removal while Dimir counters and card draw keep you ahead.
- Auras / Enchantress — The deck naturally wants Aura density, so cantrip-on-enchant payoffs and offensive Auras synergize.
- Stax / Pillowfort — Pairing Ramses's board control with tax effects and fog walls lets you grind opponents out of resources.
- Combo — Infinite untap loops with Ramses can clear every opponent's board, enabling a controlled finish.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BU), by popularity.
