Legendary Creature — EldraziUlamog, the Defiler
The Commander
When you cast this spell, target opponent exiles the top half of their library, rounded up.
Ward—Sacrifice two permanents.
Ulamog enters with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the greatest mana value among cards in exile.
Ulamog has annihilator X, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on it.
Guide
Gameplan
Ramp into a 10-mana threat fast, then beat down with a creature carrying annihilator equal to the biggest mana value in exile—often crippling a board in a single swing. Cast Ulamog from the command zone to exile half an opponent's library, then exploit those exiled cards (and your own) to grow its counters and annihilator number. You win by smashing face with a hard-to-remove, hard-to-block colorless monster while annihilator strips defenses.
Strengths
- Colorless identity slots into and supports any Eldrazi/big-mana shell with the strongest annihilator payoff in the format
- Ward—Sacrifice two permanents makes targeted removal expensive and punishing
- Cast trigger and ETB give value the moment it resolves, even if it's removed
- Annihilator X scales absurdly—exiling high-MV cards can make it a one-shot army-killer
- Self-mill/exile and graveyard hate effects feed its counter count
Weaknesses
- 10 mana means heavy ramp is mandatory or it arrives far too late
- Bounce, exile, and -X/-X effects sidestep Ward and reset the counters
- If little is in exile, it enters small with weak annihilator
- Wrath-based decks can answer it before it connects, and it doesn't protect your board
- Colorless gives no access to interaction, card draw, or counterspells beyond artifacts
Key Cards
- Eldrazi Temple — Doubles mana toward Eldrazi, dramatically accelerating Ulamog out.
- Sol Ring — Premier colorless ramp to hit double digits on schedule.
- Ugin, the Ineffable — Generates value and card advantage in a colorless shell that otherwise lacks draw.
- Kozilek, the Great Distortion — A huge-MV Eldrazi that refills your hand and pumps Ulamog's counters when exiled.
- Mind Stone — Early ramp that cantrips later, smoothing the long climb to 10 mana.
- Rogue's Passage — Pushes Ulamog through blockers to guarantee annihilator and lethal damage.
Upgrade Path
Prioritize fast, reliable ramp—Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Eldrazi Temple, Eye of Ugin, Ancient Tomb, and mana rocks—to land Ulamog several turns early. Add evasion and protection like Rogue's Passage, Whispersilk Cloak, and Lightning Greaves so it connects, plus high-MV bombs (Emrakul, Kozilek) to spike its counters. Round out with colorless interaction such as Karn, the Great Creator and Ugin to compensate for the lack of color-based answers.
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
- ▸Repeated annihilator triggers strip lands and blockers until you swing for lethal
- ▸Commander damage from a counter-pumped, evasive Ulamog
- ▸Casting multiple Eldrazi titans to overwhelm the table with size and triggers
Archetypes
- Eldrazi Ramp — Colorless big-mana shells naturally chain into Ulamog and other titans.
- Voltron/Beatdown — Annihilator plus evasion turns Ulamog into a fast, board-wiping clock.
- Mill/Exile Synergy — Cards landing in exile with high mana values directly boost its counters and annihilator.
- Stax-lite — Annihilator and forced sacrifices grind opponents' boards and resources down.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.