Masks of Nihiloor-thotep

Commander / EDH Bracket 4 Control Horror Mill WUB (Esper)

steelangel

Creature (27)

• 1x Archfiend of Ifnir
• 1x Arvinox, the Mind Flail
• 1x Brainstealer Dragon
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Captain N'ghathrod
• 1x Consuming Aberration
• 1x Fleet Swallower
• 1x Geth, Lord of the Vault
• 1x Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar
• 1x Guiltfeeder
• 1x Havengul Lich
• 1x Intellect Devourer
• 1x Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
• 1x Liliana's Standard Bearer
• 1x Mind Flayer
• 1x Nemesis of Reason
• 1x Notion ThiefGC
• 1x Opposition AgentGC
• 1x Phenax, God of Deception
• 1x Sepulchral Primordial
• 1x Sewer Nemesis
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Sludge Monster
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Uchuulon
• 1x Wrexial, the Risen Deep
• 1x Zellix, Sanity Flayer

Instant (5)

• 1x Archive Trap
• 1x Cyclonic RiftGC
• 1x Despark
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Teferi's ProtectionGC

Land (35)

• 1x Arcane Sanctum
• 1x Azorius Chancery
• 1x Choked Estuary
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Darkwater Catacombs
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Dismal Backwater
• 1x Dreadship Reef
• 1x Esper Panorama
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Geier Reach Sanitarium
• 5x Island
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 7x Plains
• 1x Port Town
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 7x Swamp
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Animate Dead
• 1x Bloodchief Ascension
• 1x Dance of the Dead
• 1x Kindred Discovery
• 1x Mind's Dilation
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Psychic Corrosion
• 1x Rhystic StudyGC

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ashiok, Dream Render

Commander (1)

Artifact (13)

• 1x Altar of Dementia
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Keening Stone
• 1x Mesmeric Orb
• 1x Mindcrank
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1x Talisman of Progress

Sorcery (9)

• 1x Beacon of Unrest
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Extract Brain
• 1x Fractured Sanity
• 1x Fraying Omnipotence
• 1x Glimpse the Unthinkable
• 1x Mind Funeral
• 1x Mind Grind
• 1x Traumatize

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When the deep awakens, sanity itself is the first to drown.

The Commander

At the center of this abyss lies Nihiloor, the Mind Flayer Tyrant, a creature that embodies domination and parasitic control. Every combat step, Nihiloor twists your enemies’ strength into your own, ensuring that no ally remains truly loyal to those who dare face you. Like Lovecraft’s masked horror Nyarlathotep, Nihiloor is not merely a monster – it is a force of will that bends all minds into submission.

The Strategy

This deck thrives on control, attrition, and inevitability.

• Mill and Drain: Cards like Mesmeric Orb, Mindcrank, Altar of Dementia and Consuming Aberration turn libraries into fragile resources, while payoffs like Syr Konrad, the Grim, Geth, Lord of the Vault or Fleet Swallower punish opponents for every lost card.

• Steal and Reanimate: With Sepulchral Primordial, Animate Dead, Beacon of Unrest and Sheoldred, Whispering One, the creatures you mill do not remain dead – they join your ranks.

• Draw and Filter: Tools like Rhystic Study, Kindred Discovery and Phyrexian Arena keep the flood of knowledge going, while Notion Thief twists your opponents’ plans into your own advantage.

• Control and Survival: Cyclonic Rift and Damnation reset the board when madness peaks, while Teferi’s Protection preserves your sanity against the apocalypse.

The Win Conditions

• Overwhelm with Horrors: Endless Illithids, Horrors, and Zombies generated through Nihiloor and reanimation crush your foes.

• Mill to Madness: Engines like Traumatize + Keening Stone or Archive Trap turn entire libraries into dust.

• Steal the Battlefield: Reanimate the best of what has been milled or destroyed, until your army is no longer your own, but a twisted mirror of everyone else’s.

The Flavor

This deck was built as a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft’s vision of cosmic dread – a place where knowledge becomes poison, and the ocean’s depths hide ancient things that no mortal was meant to see. Nihiloor is the mask of Nyarlathotep: a being that manipulates, devours, and enslaves. Your victory is not loud, but inevitable – a creeping tide of horrors that swallows all light and reason.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	1 day
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 0 Rares 21 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.77
Tokens	Copy Clone, Horror
Folders	03_ THREE Color Commanders