GrixisLegendary Creature — Avatar WizardSaruman, the White Hand
Mana value4Rank#3,822
The Commander
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, amass Orcs X, where X is that spell's mana value. (Put X +1/+1 counters on an Army you control. It's also an Orc. If you don't control an Army, create a 0/0 black Orc Army creature token first.)
Goblins and Orcs you control have ward 
.
Guide
Gameplan
Saruman turns your noncreature spells into a growing Orc Army, amassing counters equal to each spell's mana value while shielding your Goblins and Orcs with ward . Cast cheap-to-expensive instants, sorceries, and artifacts to balloon a single Army into a lethal threat, then push damage through with evasion or convert tokens via aristocrats. You spend the early game developing mana and card flow, the midgame slinging spells to grow your board, and close out with a swollen Army or burst damage.
Strengths
- Builds an enormous, hard-to-remove threat for free off spells you were casting anyway
- Ward on your Army (and any Goblins/Orcs) blunts targeted removal and combat tricks
- Grixis colors give access to the best card draw, removal, and tutors in the format
- Synergizes with both spellslinger and token/aristocrat shells for flexible win paths
Weaknesses
- Your win condition is concentrated in one Army token — board wipes and edicts hit hard despite ward
- Amass is slow if you flood on lands or creatures instead of noncreature spells
- No built-in evasion, so a single large blocker can stonewall combat damage
- High-curve spell-heavy builds can stumble without enough early ramp and interaction
Key Cards
- Rings of Brighthearth — Copies your noncreature spell triggers and works with activated abilities to double up value.
- Hatred — Pumps your Army for a one-shot kill, and its high mana value also amasses more counters.
- Fling — Throws your gigantic Army at a player's face for a surprise lethal swing.
- Brass's Bounty — Big-mana noncreature spell that ramps you and triggers a massive amass.
- Cut Down — Cheap, efficient interaction that still grows your Army a little when cast.
- Underworld Breach — Recurs your spells from the graveyard to keep amassing and enable combo finishes.
Upgrade Path
Tighten the curve with cheap interaction and efficient ramp (Signets, Talismans, fast mana) so you reliably amass while holding up answers. Add evasion and protection enablers (Rogue's Passage, trample sources, Lightning Greaves) so your single Army actually connects, plus copy effects like Rings of Brighthearth to double triggers. To push higher, lean into a combo or Fling/Hatred burst plan backed by tutors so you don't rely solely on grinding combat damage through removal.
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
- ▸Swing with a massively amassed Orc Army, optionally with trample or evasion
- ▸Fling or Hatred the Army for a one-shot kill
- ▸Aristocrats drain via sacrificing tokens with Blood Artist effects
- ▸Spell-based combo finishes (e.g., Underworld Breach loops into burst damage)
Archetypes
- Spellslinger — Every noncreature spell amasses Orcs, rewarding a dense instant/sorcery/artifact base.
- Voltron — You funnel all your counters onto one Army and suit it up with pump and evasion to one-shot opponents.
- Aristocrats — Orc Army tokens and any made Goblins fuel sacrifice engines for incremental damage and value.
- Big Mana Ramp — Ramping into high-mana-value noncreature spells maximizes the X on each amass trigger.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BRU), by popularity.
