Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!
Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!
Come, dear folk, and welcome back to my little Commander corner of Cardsphere. As you’ve probably already guessed, today’s article is a deck tech around everyone’s favorite movie-absent character from The Lord of the Rings, Tom Bombadil. The master of wood, water, and hill leads an enchantment-themed deck, focusing specifically on Sagas. So let’s all sit a spell and hear Tom’s tale.
Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
Prior to the upcoming release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, our only true Saga commander was Satsuki, the Living Lore. Old Tom is a strict upgrade on Satsuki, as he covers all five colors, gets you new Sagas whenever your current Sagas hit their final chapter, and doesn’t have to die to do his best work.
Tom, a 4/4 God Bard, costs WUBRG, and has hexproof and indestructible as long as you have four or more counters on your Sagas, which is a powerful combination for a commander. And with his second ability, he makes sure the tales keep getting told. But how do we win with Sagas?
By water, wood and hill, by reed and willow,
Surprise, it’s a voltron deck! Well, not entirely. That’s just one of the ways to win. To get Tom big enough for the commander kill, we’re running pump effects, such as Nylea’s Colossus, All That Glitters, and Nettlecyst. Then send him in for lethal using Rogue’s Passage, which we’ll fetch up with Sylvan Scrying or The Cruelty of Gix.
Or we can draw into these winning cards naturally with our extra draw spells, which include Jin-Gitaxias from the upcoming March of the Machine, Tuvasa the Sunlit, Eidolon of Blossoms, Enchantress’s Presence, and many more.
For some additional pain, we’ve got Grim Guardian, which will drain our opponents whenever an enchantment hits our field. And with all the sagas we’ll be casting and bringing out with Tom, not to mention the Sagas that return to the board as enchantment creatures, the Guardian is sure to be a powerhouse in the deck.
But this isn't enough to ensure a voltron victory every time. What else does the deck do?
By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us!
One thing that Sagas do really well is make tokens, which is great for us because we can’t just rely on Tom to protect our life totals. Kiora Bests the Sea God gives us an 8/8, while also stealing an opponent’s precious. Historian’s Boon gives us 1/1s and 4/4 flyers. Archon of Sun’s Grace gives us 2/2 flyers whenever an enchantment enters our board. And there’s also Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Love Song of Night and Day, The Elder Dragon War, and more. In fact, you might have enough tokens to do more with them than just defend.
But maybe we need even more creatures on the field. Enter: Zur, Eternal Schemer. This new Zur can turn our Sagas into creatures with deathtouch, lifelink, and hexproof. Instant-speed hexproof sure sounds nice if an opponent is trying to take out one of your sagas. And instant-speed deathtouch is great for taking out incoming attackers.
Or maybe we want to use Zur to make a Saga army for a combat kill? For that, we’ll need more than just the Sagas from our deck. We’ll need to raid our graveyard too. So there’s a ton of recursion in the list, including Resurgent Belief, Hanna, Ship’s Navigator, and Dance of the Manse.
Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!
Here’s the full decklist*, with a link to Moxfield to take the deck for a test drive.
1 All That Glitters
1 Arcane Signet
1 Archon of Sun's Grace
1 Ascent of the Worthy
1 Azusa's Many Journeys
1 Befriending the Moths
1 Binding the Old Gods
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Blood Crypt
1 Boseiju Reaches Skyward
1 Breeding Pool
1 Cascading Cataracts
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Dance of the Manse
1 Destiny Spinner
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
1 Eidolon of Blossoms
1 Elspeth Conquers Death
1 Enchantress's Presence
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
1 Faeburrow Elder
1 Farseek
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Forest
1 Ghen, Arcanum Weaver
1 Godless Shrine
1 Grim Guardian
1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Hanna, Ship's Navigator
1 Hidetsugu Consumes All
1 Historian's Boon
1 History of Benalia
1 Indatha Triome
1 Inventive Iteration
1 Island
1 Jetmir's Garden
1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
1 Jhoira's Familiar
1 Jin-Gitaxias
1 King Narfi's Betrayal
1 Kiora Bests the Sea God
1 Love Song of Night and Day
1 Mana Confluence
1 Marsh Flats
1 Michiko's Reign of Truth
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Nettlecyst
1 Nylea's Colossus
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Phyrexian Scriptures
1 Plains
1 Plaza of Heroes
1 Raffine's Tower
1 Raugrin Triome
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Resurgent Belief
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Savai Triome
1 Search for Glory
1 Setessan Champion
1 Showdown of the Skalds
1 Smothering Tithe
1 Spara's Headquarters
1 Steam Vents
1 Sterling Grove
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
1 Sylvan Scrying
1 Sythis, Harvest's Hand
1 Teachings of the Kirin
1 Temple Garden
1 The Akroan War
1 The Cruelty of Gix
1 The Elder Dragon War
1 The Eldest Reborn
1 The Fall of Lord Konda
1 The First Iroan Games
1 The Kami War
1 The Phasing of Zhalfir
1 The Restoration of Eiganjo
1 The Triumph of Anax
1 The World Tree
1 Time of Ice
1 Tom Bombadil
1 Triumph of Gerrard
1 Tuvasa the Sunlit
1 Watery Grave
1 Weaver of Harmony
1 Windswept Heath
1 Zagoth Triome
1 Ziatora's Proving Ground
1 Zur, Eternal Schemer*Tom Bombadil and Jin-Gitaxias not listed.
So what do you think of this Tom Bombadil deck? It’s not high-powered by any means, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Full of Magic lore and flavor, and led by a beloved character from one of my favorite stories, this deck is just the thing if you’re looking to win with literal stories (a writer’s dream).
Hit me up on Twitter to give me your thoughts on this deck, or anything else Commander related. And check back again really soon, because we’re heading into preview season for March of the Machine, which means it’s time for more set reviews!
Until next time, take care, and don’t go a-meddling with old stone or cold wights. And play lots of games!
