B/REDHREC #8136

Orcus, Prince of Undeath

Legendary Creature — Demon

Flying, trample When Orcus enters, choose one — • Each other creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. You lose X life. • Return up to X target creature cards with total mana value X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield. They gain haste until end of turn.

5 / 3

Build with Strategy Build from Scratch

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“Flexible board wipe or reanimation demon that scales with mana spent.”

PlaystyleMidrange

DifficultyIntermediate

Wins viaCombat damage, Token swarm

ThemesReanimator, Sacrifice, Aristocrats

Strategy

How this commander wants to play

Orcus, Prince of Undeath is a flexible demon that scales with the mana you invest, giving you two powerful modes on entry. You can use it as a board wipe that also drains opponents, or as a reanimation engine that puts creatures straight into combat. The real power is in Orcus's repeatability—flicker effects, sacrifice outlets, and bounce spells turn him into a recurring engine that either clears the board or fills it with hasty threats.

Your core gameplan centers on maximizing value from Orcus's ETB trigger. Early game, you ramp and fill your graveyard with creatures, then use Orcus to either stabilize against aggressive decks or pivot into a reanimation strategy. Late game, you're either swinging with a hasty army or using the -X/-X mode to force through damage while clearing blockers. The deck thrives on decks that naturally generate discard or mill, turning the graveyard into a resource rather than a mistake.

Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.

Key Synergies

Cards that especially shine here

Budget Build

Same gameplan, less money

Skip expensive flickers like Soulherder; use budget options like Ephemerate, Ghostly Flicker, or Teleportation Circle instead. Cheap reanimation like Animate Dead and Reassembling Skeleton do heavy lifting without breaking the bank.