"This Tovolar is no brainless brute. He sends his howling minions to terrorize a village for months. Sleepless nights and fear take their toll. Only then, when morale is at its worst, does he strike." -Barnes, Village Watch
~
At daybreak, from the highest mountaintop to the densest forest, all is warm with tranquil sunlight. The serenity is stirred only by woodsmen laboring away and huntsmen tracking their quarry. On cursed nights however the full moon emerges, washing the forests in silver haze and the mountains in a desolate shade of red. The darkness brings with it a host of howls and wretched beasts. The world outside transforms and terrified humans shutter away in their cabins hoping to live to see the sunrise. yet even when faced with very tangible horrors, for some the true fear is what lurks just beneath the skin.
Much like the world itself, some cursed humans take on a new form under the cover of moonlight. They become werewolves with bloodied claws sharper than any wood axe of hunting knife. They become outcasts, even to themselves, as they lose their humanity. Only one thing remains: a primal urge to hunt. Regardless if they're stalking foxes by day or townsfolk by night, these savage hunters invariably snare their prey. With Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge
on the prowl the night is never safe, and those that dare to brave it never stand a sporting chance of survival.
The Hunt Is On:
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The state of your werewolves depends on the unique “Daybound & Nightbound” mechanic. Day and night is tracked for the rest of the game once you cast any werewolf, and the full moon comes out when a player casts no spells during their own turn-- transforming your afflicted humans like Hinterland Hermit
and Tireless Hauler
into dangerous werewolves. Your werewolves will turn back when a player casts at least two spells during their turn. Tear up the opposition with werewolves and wolves (Somberwald Alpha, Brazen Wolves, etc.) before your hunting party transforms back.
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Take full control of the day and night cycle yourself through skillful resource management and cards like Into the Night and Tovolar, Dire Overlord
(who should hit the field early and often), which can directly change the state of the game from day to night without the need for you or an opponent to experience a turn where they cast no spells. Cards with Flash (Howlpack Resurgence, Nightpack Ambusher, etc.) can flexibly be cast at instant-speed during your opponents turns instead of your own.
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In addition to the wolves prowling around in the deck, wolf tokens can also swarm the field late game thanks to cards like Wolfcaller's Howl, Hollowhenge Overlord, and Feed the Pack. The wolf tokens that these cards generate can serve as blockers while your werewolves go on the offensive. Howling Moon creates a wolf token each time an opponent casts two spells in one turn, which may even persuade them not to change the state of the game to day.
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This deck is packed with targeted removal that utilizes your wolfpack's brute strength: cards like Prey Upon, Rabid Bite, and Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha
allow you to tear an opposing creature to shreds outside of combat. Halana, Kessig Ranger excels at this strategy and will allow you to pick off weaker prey every time you cast a creature-- and her effect is even more deadly at night when your werewolves enter the battlefield transformed.
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Lycanthropy isn’t the only curse at this deck’s disposal. Lay different curses on your opponents to uniquely affect their actions: Curse of Stalked Prey can entice everyone to attack the cursed player while potentially diverting opposition away from your field when its vulnerable, Curse of the Nightly Hunt will leave an opponent wide open for attacks, and Curse of Bloodletting will drastically reduce an opponent’s survivability. Finally, Curse of Clinging Webs will strengthen your field every time the cursed player's creatures die. What a horrible night to have a curse!
Sub-Commander Option
Halana and Alena, Partners: Despite not being werewolves themselves, Innistrad’s premier partners-in-arms and commonwealth defenders Hal and Alena can track their hunting patterns and movements with startling accuracy. They’ve honed this skill after being forced to work alongside them in the past, a dark truth kept secret by the two foresters.
With Hal and Alena as your commander, the transformation aspect of your werewolves plays slightly less of a role. Hal and Alena can permanently empower your creatures, making the human forms of your werewolves just as strong as their transformed state would be in Tovolar’s version of the deck. It’s a much slower, if perhaps safer and more adaptive, approach to the deck. Hal and Alena’s effect is more potent the stronger they are, making them an ideal target for the various strengthening cards and effects within the deck. Hal and Alena also lack the immediate threat that Tovolar poses, allowing you to play under the radar.
Part of a 5-way Innistrad Pentagram/ Commander series:
1) Leinore’s Witching Hour- Humans assemble to outlive opponents, escalating in formability and bolstering their ranks.
2) Saint Traft's Lost Army- Spirits and Angels attack effortlessly from above to slowly grind opponents to the bone.
3) Wilhelt's Graveyard Smash- Zombies rise from the grave to overwhelm opponents, entirely overrunning the field.
4) Florian's Sanguine Soiree- Vampires strengthen themselves and swarm the field to strike opponents when they're vulnerable.
5) Tovolar's Full Moon Slaughter- Werewolves transform to butcher opponents and curse them to manipulate the state of the game.