In the competitive Commander format (CEDH), deck building is all about efficiency, synergy, and the ability to win quickly while navigating powerful disruption. While many top-tier decks rely on staple commanders like Thrasios, Tymna, or Kinnan, Omnath, Locus of the Roil offers a unique and underexplored strategy in Temur colors. Though not considered a top-tier staple, Omnath presents interesting angles through landfall synergies, explosive draw potential, and interaction with Elementals. With the right optimization, Omnath can hold its own in competitive pods by combining control, ramp, and combo elements in a streamlined, tempo-based package.
Understanding Omnath, Locus of the Roil
Omnath, Locus of the Roil is a four-mana Legendary Elemental with a powerful enter-the-battlefield effect and landfall synergy. Its core abilities revolve around dealing damage based on the number of Elementals you control and drawing cards when landfall triggers occur with enough Elementals on board. While most CEDH decks aim for quick combos or hard locks, Omnath uses tempo, resource advantage, and occasional Elemental loops to grind out or combo opponents in clever ways.
- Mana Cost: 1URG (4 CMC)
- Power/Toughness: 3/3
- Abilities: When Omnath enters the battlefield, it deals damage to any target equal to the number of Elementals you control. Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, if you control eight or more Elementals, draw a card.
Core Strategy in CEDH
Tempo Control and Value Engine
Unlike traditional fast-combo CEDH decks, Omnath excels in creating a board presence and controlling tempo. The main strategy revolves around generating value through landfall, creature-based ramp, and minor interactions that scale as the game progresses. Because Omnath requires Elementals to fully capitalize on his abilities, the deck builds around token generation, land ramp, and synergistic creatures that either generate or count as Elementals.
Elemental Tribal and Landfall Synergies
Omnath isn’t your typical Tribal commander, but the deck includes several efficient Elementals that synergize with land drops and combat phases. Landfall payoffs such as Lotus Cobra, Avenger of Zendikar, and Tireless Tracker help generate momentum. While the eight-Elemental requirement for card draw may seem steep in CEDH, token producers and clones help push the board past that threshold when needed.
CEDH Deck Components
Ramp and Acceleration
Fast mana is essential in CEDH, and Omnath runs all staples in this category:
- Mana Crypt
- Chrome Mox
- Mox Diamond
- Arcane Signet
- Fellwar Stone
- Nature’s Lore, Three Visits, and other 2-mana ramp spells
Additionally, creatures like Lotus Cobra and Dryad of the Ilysian Grove serve double duty as ramp and landfall enablers.
Landfall and Elemental Support
To maximize Omnath’s abilities, the deck incorporates efficient landfall triggers and Elemental synergy cards:
- Risen Reef: One of the best payoffs for Elemental synergy, enabling draw and land acceleration.
- Avenger of Zendikar: Massive token generator and win condition when paired with Craterhoof or Scapeshift.
- Zendikar’s Roil: Generates Elemental tokens with every landfall, synergizing with Omnath’s draw condition.
- Young Pyromancer (honorary inclusion): Not an Elemental, but works well in spell-heavy builds to generate board presence.
Win Conditions
Though not a hyper-fast combo deck, Omnath has access to several win lines suited for CEDH speed and consistency:
- Dockside Extortionist + Temur Sabertooth: Infinite mana loop when paired with sufficient artifacts on opponents’ boards.
- Scapeshift + Valakut: A classic combo that allows you to sacrifice lands to deal lethal damage across the board.
- Avenger of Zendikar + Craterhoof Behemoth: Wide board + pump effect = one-turn kill.
- Food Chain Package: With Eternal Scourge or Misthollow Griffin for infinite mana into Omnath cast loops.
While Omnath doesn’t have as compact wincons as some tier-1 CEDH decks, the ability to generate board advantage and protect win lines through layered interaction helps it maintain presence in competitive pods.
Interaction and Defense
Countermagic Suite
As with any serious CEDH build, running protection and control elements is non-negotiable. Omnath’s blue access provides excellent counterspell choices:
- Force of Will
- Force of Negation
- Mana Drain
- Fierce Guardianship
- Flusterstorm
- Swan Song
These spells allow you to disrupt fast combo attempts, protect your board, and stall the game until you can assemble your engine.
Spot Removal and Utility
With access to red and green, Omnath runs flexible removal like:
- Nature’s Claim
- Chain of Vapor
- Abrade
- Rapid Hybridization
- Lightning Bolt (also thematic with Omnath)
These help answer early threats, shut down combo pieces, and control stax elements that may hinder your game plan.
Stax and Hate Piece Navigation
One of the biggest challenges for Omnath in CEDH is dealing with stax-heavy tables. Cards like Rule of Law, Collector Ouphe, and Drannith Magistrate can shut down key win lines or stall development. Fortunately, the deck includes diversified threats and flexible removal to respond:
- Bounce spells: Chain of Vapor and Cyclonic Rift are critical for removing stax pieces.
- Combat pressure: A wide Elemental board or pumped creatures can clear stax opponents out through combat.
- Spell-based removal: Red offers targeted damage and burn to remove problematic creatures.
While Omnath is vulnerable to certain lockdowns, its color access and midrange pressure allow it to shift strategies and adapt to hostile metas better than many linear combo decks.
Commander Role and Timing
In CEDH, your commander must often serve more than just a thematic function. Omnath, Locus of the Roil acts as a utility piece rather than a primary win condition. It’s typically cast midgame when Elementals are already in play to remove a threat and draw cards via landfall. You don’t want to cast Omnath too early unless you’re trying to trigger an ETB to remove a low-toughness combo piece.
Timing Omnath correctly allows you to gain incremental advantage, especially when followed by fetch lands or bounce lands for extra landfall triggers. Treat Omnath as a backup value engine and pressure tool, not a central combo piece.
Pros and Cons in a CEDH Meta
Advantages
- Access to powerful color identity (Temur)
- Versatile game plan with backup win conditions
- Strong against grindy, midrange pods
- Combines value, removal, and tempo in one shell
Disadvantages
- Slower than top-tier fast combo decks
- Vulnerable to graveyard hate and stax
- Commander not central to win line efficiency
- Requires more setup than turbo-naus or Thrasios decks
Omnath, Locus of the Roil may not be a top-tier CEDH commander, but in the right hands and pod settings, it becomes a viable and enjoyable alternative that leverages ramp, landfall, and value-based tempo. With flexible tools, access to powerful interaction, and a surprising number of combo outlets, Omnath offers a unique Temur-flavored experience for competitive Commander players seeking a deck that rewards skill, planning, and adaptive strategy. While it requires careful construction and pilot familiarity, Omnath is a solid contender in the evolving landscape of CEDH.
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