Our last adventure with a colorless commander came in the form of an insatiable death machine. One that shared his lawnmower-like tendencies with the rest of your army. While Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut's strategy of ramp-n-smash was straightforward, today's legendary general requires more finesse. Sure, we could simply pour a million mana into his flexible casting cost and call it a day, but to get the maximum benefit, we'll want to pile on synergy. Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate wants as many counters as he can get, and fortunately for us, he's not the only colorless card that cares about a copious collection of counters.

Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate's scalable mana value, ability to grow himself, and power to generate an army upon death allows us to pivot strategies. We can bulk up Omarthis via +1/+1 counters and something like Luxior, Giada's Gift for commander damage, but if that fails, we shift into a go-wide approach with a legion of 2/2s. Once we go from massive commander to massive army, cards like Eldrazi Monument and Forsaken Monument go from good to great. These manifested creature cards also act as creature-centric card advantage, as once they're in play, we're able to pay their mana value and flip them into their true selves.

So, who is this serpentine spirit and how did he join the Ugin fanclub?

Despite his legendary status, we don't know much about Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate. His moniker indicates membership in the Ghostfire Warriors, a sect of Tarkir's Jeskai Monks. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon taught these fortunate fighters the secret of his invisible flame before the events of Fate Reforged. Though with the timeline change brought about by Sarkhan Dragonspeaker, it's unclear whether any Ghostfire Warriors still exist. At the conclusion of Fate Reforged, Jeskai leader Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest made a heroic deal with Ojutai, Soul of Winter. The war for Tarkir had finally tipped in the dragons' favor. While Ugin slumbered with Sarkhan's Crucible of the Spirit Dragon, his Dragon Tempests began to birth the winged reptiles at an uncontrollable rate, significantly boosting their numbers. With the downfall of his people imminent, Shu Yun promised Ojutai that he and his fellow Ghostfire Warriors would forfeit their lives to protect the rest of the Jeskai. Ojutai accepted, slaying Shu Yun in one icy blast. The Jeskai would live on, though now under the dragons' rule as the Ojutai Clan. Among the Ghostfire warriors, only a young monk by the name of Tae Jin was confirmed to have escaped sacrifice. This likely means that Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate met the same frozen fate as Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest, but no one knows for sure.

In his artwork, Omarthis can be seen coiled around a fraction of the Crucible of the Spirit Dragon, perhaps hinting at an attempt to contact the sleeping planeswalker? Were the forces of Ojutai closing in and this was one last attempt to save the Ghostfire Warriors from annihilation? The mystery stands. In the future, I would like to see this character's past explored moreso, as the Naga species was more affiliated with the Sultai Brood than they were the Jeskai, so Omarthis must've had an interesting personal journey on his quest towards monkhood.

Special thanks to Magic: The Gathering Loremaster Jay Annelli@jay13x) for his insight into Ghostfire Warriors!

Crucible of the Spirit Dragon by Jung Park

Jumping from myth to mechanics, enlisting a general who synergizes with counters makes Proliferate appealing, as it'll not only boost up our commander, but many of the other cards in our deck. Plenty of artifacts (among other colorless cards) come with +1/+1 counters included. Or have the ability to accumulate counters over time. Heck, the entire Modular mechanic (Arcbound Ravager, Arcbound Crusher, etc.) revolves around this idea. Using Proliferate to steadily increase our soldiers' stats is already appealing, but because the ability allows us to grow all counter-types, horizons expand past the realm of simple +1/+1 boosts. Many colorless cards power up via Charge counters, which provide a plethora of increasingly-useful effects as we stack them.

Let's dive into the specifics and investigate further!

Omarthis's Colorless Counters | Commander | Matthew Lotti

• Commander (1)
• 1 Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Arcbound Crusher
• 1 Arcbound Ravager
• 1 Arcbound Slith
• 1 Arcbound Stinger
• 1 Arcbound Worker
• 1 Chronomaton
• 1 Cryptic Trilobite
• 1 Drillworks Mole
• 1 Endbringer
• 1 Hangarback Walker
• 1 Hexavus
• 1 Iron Apprentice
• 1 Liberator, Urza's Battlethopter
• 1 Mindless Automaton
• 1 Patchwork Automaton
• 1 Scrapyard Recombiner
• 1 Skittering Cicada
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Steel Overseer
• 1 Towashi Guide-Bot
• 1 Triskelion
• 1 Walking Ballista
• 1 Wandering Archaic // Explore the Vastlands

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 1 Ugin, the Ineffable
• 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

• Instants (1)
• 1 Warping Wail

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 All is Dust

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Ugin's Mastery

• Artifacts (35)
• 1 Animation Module
• 1 Astral Cornucopia
• 1 Banshee's Blade
• 1 Blade of the Bloodchief
• 1 Coalition Relic
• 1 Contagion Engine
• 1 Dollhouse of Horrors
• 1 Ebony Fly
• 1 Eldrazi Monument
• 1 Empowered Autogenerator
• 1 Endless Atlas
• 1 Energy Chamber
• 1 Everflowing Chalice
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Forsaken Monument
• 1 Gavel of the Righteous
• 1 Geometric Nexus
• 1 Glistening Sphere
• 1 Hedron Archive
• 1 Liquimetal Torque
• 1 Luxior, Giada's Gift
• 1 Network Terminal
• 1 Power Conduit
• 1 Reckoner Bankbuster
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Staff of Compleation
• 1 Sword of Hours
• 1 Sword of Truth and Justice
• 1 The One Ring
• 1 The Ozolith
• 1 Throne of Geth
• 1 Transmogrifying Wand
• 1 Treasure Map
• 1 Worn Powerstone
• 1 Umezawa's Jitte

• Lands (36)
• 11 Wastes
• 1 Ancient Tomb
• 1 Arcane Lighthouse
• 1 Arch of Orazca
• 1 Blast Zone
• 1 Bonders' Enclave
• 1 Buried Ruin
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Crawling Barrens
• 1 Drannith Ruins
• 1 Forge of Heroes
• 1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
• 1 Inventors' Fair
• 1 Karn's Bastion
• 1 Mage-Ring Network
• 1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
• 1 Mirrex
• 1 Nesting Grounds
• 1 Ruins of Oran-Rief
• 1 Sea Gate Wreckage
• 1 The Mycosynth Gardens
• 1 Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
• 1 Tyrite Sanctum
• 1 Urza's Saga
• 1 War Room
• 1 Zhalfirin Void

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1. We've already touched upon Modular creatures, and while our army is made up of a large supply of other artifact creatures who can receive the +1/+1 counters once a Modular creature dies, note that Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate will need help (Liquimetal Torque). While Modular creatures help their buddies grow, other artifacts like Librator, Urza's Battlethopter, Chronomaton, and Patchwork Automaton consistently enhance themselves as the game progresses. Drillworks Mole will also help Omarthis along the way. Though Omarthis will only gain a single +1/+1 counter whenever another colorless creature gets any, be they one counter or many in a single instance, if we instead go-wide and hand out a +1/+1 counter to a whole bunch of creatures, Omarthis will get one for each, piling counters up quickly. In that regard, Steel Overseer is only too happy to oblige. We can also use our counter collection for more than simple damage output, as we run a variety of ways to recycle them into different tools. Triskelion and Walking Ballista become removal machines. Mindless Automaton and Towashi Guidebot start drawing us cards. Hangerback Walker and Hexavus enable aerial armies. And Scrapyard Recombiner fires up the tutor engines for Constructs, which make up half of our total creature count.

One final note: Modular creatures enter the battlefield with their counters, so if they enter play as face-down 2/2 creatures from Manifest, turning them face-up will only kill them. They'll stay 0/0's, and because they never got counters to begin with, won't give any other artifact creatures counters from their Modular ability once their non-existent stats ship them to the graveyard. So be careful what 2/2's you flip.

2. Much like how our +1/+1 counters can be used for more than simply smashing face (though that's fun, too), our copious Charge counters play a variety of roles. Some work to enhance mana output, with Empowered Autogenerator, Everflowing Chalice, Astral Cornucopia, and Coalition Relic all increasing in power as we pile on the charges. The more mana we generate, the bigger an Omarthis we can cast, resulting in a subsequently bigger army of 2/2's to swarm opponents. For more destructive applications, we also use Charge counters to keep Transmogrifying Wand ever-ready to turn opposing threats into cattle, or to help scale up Blast Zone to the optimal number of dynamite sticks. Gavel of the Righteous, Banshee's Blade, and Geoemetric Nexus grow all the more dangerous. Reckoner Bankbuster keeps the cards coming. And for added flexibility, Energy Chamber is included to provide either +1/+1 counters or Charge counters, whichever best fits the situation.

3. Though he can't join our deck, Perrie the Pulverizer would be proud, as an assortment of other counter flavors are available to Omarthis. Though asleep at the time, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and Ugin, the Ineffable are happy to lend their Loyalty counters to the 99. Mage-Ring Network's storage counters stack up like a mana battery. Treasure Map quickly jumps from scrying to ramp n' draw as you stack on Landmark counters. The One Ring's Burden counters become painful in the longterm, but bestow ample cards along the way. And if you're really feeling ambitious, a few Poison counter bites off Mirrex Mite tokens might even pave the way to an alternate win condition. While slaying opponents via Toxic is admittedly a stretch, the odds are helped a great deal by...

4. Proliferation is one of the most powerful effects our deck wields, as not only will it naturally buff Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate, but each one of our other creatures that gets an additional +1/+1 counter will result in Omarthis picking up an extra along the way. With a few modular creatures out, it doesn't take long for Omarthis to grow Voltron-size. Multiplying +1/+1 counters is only half the equation, as we'll also be boosting Charge counters, in addition to some of the random varieties (Loyalty, Poison, etc.) discussed above. Most of our Proliferate effects are also repeatable (Sword of Truth and Justice, Karn's Bastion, Contagion Engine, Staff of Compleation), meaning this mass-growth can occur turn after turn. Throne of Geth has the additional benefit of providing a sacrifice-outlet to cash in Modular creatures for profit.

5. The Ghostfire Warriors strove to master the secrets of Ugin's invisible flame, so it's no surprise a deck led by Omarthis would specialize in colorless philosophy. All is Dust and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon provide one-side Wrath effects to control the board. Ugin, the Ineffable serves multiple roles as mana cost-reducer, targeted removal, and creature generation. Skittering Cicada speeds up our spells while threatening a lot of damage. Warping Wail will occasionally snipe a 1-power/toughness creature, but it's primary use is defensive, as nearly all mass-removal spells operate at sorcery speed. Finally, Endbringer does a little bit of everything, firing off repeated damage, altering combat, or simply drawing cards. Wandering Archaic // Explore the Vastlands generates card advantage off opposing spells, or in rare cases, lets everyone dig through the top of their library.

In summation, our goal is to enhance Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate passively via boosting the other troops in our army. Along the way, we'll be charging up additional colorless cards for value. These engines will ultimately result in a massive commander taking out opponents in a few mighty swings, or a legion of 2/2 face-down creatures to overwhelm opponents. All the while, our foes will be fending off increasingly-large artifact creatures that'll grow bigger each turn, further pressuring their life totals. Not having to rely on color-fixing allows us to generate counters from even our mana base via cards like Drannith Ruins, Tyrite Sanctum, Forge of Heroes, Karn's Bastion, and Crawling Barrens.

Another bonus is how our deck is largely on-budget, with only six cards above the twenty-dollar mark: Ancient Tomb, The One Ring, Urza's Saga, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Sword of Truth and Justice, and The Ozolith. While all these cards are powerful, a plethora of colorless lands (Myriad Landscape, Ghost Quarter, Homeward Path, etc.) and utility cards (more Modular creatures like Arcbound Reclaimer & Arcbound Overseer, Liquimetal Coating to help your non-artifact creatures pick up +1/+1 counters from fallen Modular creatures, and Contagion Clasp for repeatable Proliferate) can readily fill the gaps. If you'd rather shore up your supply of mana rocks, plenty of other options like Mind Stone, Prismatic Lens, and Fellwar Stone are inexpensive inclusions. Just note with that Fellwar Stone, much like our maindeck Empowered Autogenerator, will only produce colors of mana, so it can't help pay for cards like Endbringer and Warping Wail.

Ugin's Mastery by David Astruga

Though the ways of the Ghostflame are mysterious, we can use that to strategic advantage. Artifact-synergies are one thing, but Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate packs a whole lot more colorless shenangians into the mix. Opponents won't know what to expect, other that it'll involves lots and lots of counters. The +1/+1-variety may be the most obvious, but ample Charge counters will be stacking up behind the scenes to take our mana production, and subsequent threat level, into overdrive.

Thanks for reading, and may you always have plenty to proliferate!

-Matt-

@Intrepid_Tautog