Tovolar, Dire Overlord | Werewolf Tribal | Commander | EDH | Budget | Cut-Rate Commander

Poll - / @grazzetmtg
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Cut-Rate Commander - Episode 33 - Featuring Tovolar, Dire Overlord
The Alpha of the Dire Howlpack is joining us in the latest episode of Cut-Rate Commander - leading his pack of werewolves in a tribal build that is far overdue.
Werewolves have had a lot of issues in this format and Tovolar does a very good job at fixing those weaknesses. Enabling the transformation of old and new werewolves alike, we will easily be able to get the more powerful side of our furry friends on our turns and even get card advantage as they swing in - which suites werewolves aggressive playstyle. And to make sure that no pesky blockers will get between them and our opponent's life totals, we'll be running plenty of trample enablers to ensure that our werewolves and claw through blockers and into their life totals with ease. Finally, we'll be running a decent number of protection sources to keep our commander in his packmates alive as long as possible to keep up their assault - until their savage attacks overwhelm our opponents.
Let me know if the comments below if you agree with my choices and/or what you would add to the deck instead. Also, let me know know who you would like to see next by voting on in the comments on the three choices of commander listed at the end of the video.
Decklist - www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/4440...
All art used is copyright of Wizards of the Coast

[@GrazzetMTG]

Be sure to Like, Comment and Subscribe if you liked the video and would like me to make content like this in the future. Also, go vote on the poll in the description for the commander you want to see in a upcoming episode and let me know in the comments who you voted for and what commanders you would like to see in an future poll.

[@starviper1813]

Edit: Nvm, I realized you have an upgrades section at the end. My bad

[@canadaraid2110]

I would have atleast included arlin planeswalkers it's flavor and can count as a werewolf

[@tylerbinder8698]

Amazing, well done with inclusion of the older wolves and the importance of what does and doesn't work

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed it - I strive to include as much info as possible on the decks stats and the inclusion of every card so I'm happy to hear you like it!

[@Galchoo1]

This might definitely be the Alpha Male of decks, made by Grazzet, the Sigma Male of EDH. Hopefully during testing I do not end up a weak Beta (though I kinda did that already with those puns...). That being said, I cannot help but love seeing the amount of raw, untamed passion you have put in making this deck. It is crystal clear that you loved every bit of effort you put in its creation, and that puts a smile on my face (unlike nearly the entire Crimson Vow...). My vote definitely goes to Halana and Alena, Innistrad's Lesbian Wolf-hunting Avengers since their competition is two MTG equivalents of the "Final Boss when they become a party member" meme. Granted, Edgar and Anje are interesting, but let's face it - they will probably remain in the shadows of their former selves. Day 113 of waiting for Grazzet's face reveal. Is there a behind the scenes video of sorts down the pipeline? Because I kinda suspect it, due to you not answering my question from last time. If there is, I am hyped to see it!

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed the build and thanks for voting! At this point there isn't a behind the scenes stuff in the works since I barely have enough time keeping up with the weekly releases - still, could be fun to consider if enough people are interested....

[@danielsalazar4642]

Great video. Thank you so much

[@nittybass10]

Built this deck and added some of the other werewolves I already had. So much fun to play EHD with it. Thanks for the Deck tech!!

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@loganestes2841]

I just finished my Tovolar build. I’ve always loved Arlinn, but sadly couldn’t legally use her as a commander. Awesome video, gives me some cards to consider for my deck. Looking forward to more content!

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed it and hope you have fun with your werewolves!

[@The_f.ART.y_Shed]

Solid build, I am tinkering with Tovolar on my desk currently.

[@GrazzetMTG]

Hope its turning out well!

[@ericmartin5344]

Bro, I love your videos. Good shit man.

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoy them!

[@dedpoptart]

Built my tovolar deck when midnight dropped. Now upgrading after popping our crimson vow boxes and this video is beyond invaluable. Subbed and thanks for the quality content minus the unneeded flash amd flair. Good content doesn't need a full studio and 12 person staff.

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad to here that the build helped you tune up your own Tovolar build and to hear that you're enjoying the content! Thank for the sub!

[@redwillow1853]

What cards would you personally cut to add in the suggested upgrades?

[@quezer0]

Still hope u'd go around to build will.

[@ne0komodo]

🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏽‍♂️

[@jasonmckeogh7376]

Another week and another great video! I really enjoy how your break your decks down it’s a refreshing take from other content creators. I would vote for Edgar but I feel like that would be a generic vampire deck so this week I’m voting for Halana. Looking forward to your Runo build!

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed the build and thanks for voting! Also thanks for the feedback regarding the more in depth breakdowns I do for my build - it ends up making the video's longer but I feel like they give a better understanding on what the deck is meant to do and how it does it.

[@daltonpeterie4181]

Can anyone help me with what I should swap out for the sideboard and the upgrades

[@heydrich7]

Hey man great video and deck, Wizards finally came through with a werewolf commander. I have just one question, my play group is mainly precons out of the box or with small updates, would you say this is good to play against them or too powerfull?

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed it! As far as power level - I would say that out of the box parecons are usually a power level 3 - 4 while this deck I would consider a 4 - 5, so while it may be slightly more optimized, it should still be fine to play against the precons out of the box or with some upgrades.

[@heydrich7]

@@GrazzetMTG Thanks you for the answer! Considering my friends have made some upgrades it should be fine then, a tribal only play group.

[@Darth_Man_X]

Naya Tovlar is great add some rule if law deafening silence

[@GrazzetMTG]

True, though this would only work in a werewolf build without Tovolar leading it... Maybe Morophon since he's the answer to 5 color any tribe.

[@carlanderson4701]

I was so pumped for midnight hunt and its ushering in of Tovolar, and am so happy that you have done him justice! I definitely went a littler pricier in my personal build for him and have unnatural growth, and all 3 Arlinn's. I also have the innistrad artifact-equip sword that transforms when its creature does, Neglected Heirloom (for flavor reasons.. I mean, he has a sword in human, and werewolf side due to being the Dire strain..). I love your videos and am excited every time I see a new one!! My vote is definitely going to Halana and Alena. As much as I would like either of the vamps, I have an Edgar Markov that I got from a friend when he gave me a bunch of cards and would rather just put both of those legendaries into his deck with my own twist than trying to buy/recreate his precon style deck from back in the day.

[@GrazzetMTG]

Glad you enjoyed the build and thanks for voting! The Arlinn's are certainly good additions and flavor wins for any werewolf build and Neglected Heirloom can be scary when combines with trample on Tovolar or any other werewolf! Halana and Alena certainly seem to be crowd favorites, so maybe this power couple has what it takes to take the first place spot.

[@erikwilliams1562]

I personally dropped Immerwolf (it hurts, I know!) due to the power of Tovolar’s Huntmaster and Huntmaster of the fells

[@GrazzetMTG]

That's a hard cut but hey, if it works for you - that's what matters!

[@shuggybacon]

there are so many werewolves and wolves in there worse than immerwolf i'd reconsider

[@HighScore-yh9vc]

I have a question? How am I supposed to transform human to werewolf when everybody plays a spell with the keyword DayBond ?

[@GrazzetMTG]

Tovolar, Dire Overlord immediately transforms all our werewolves into if we control 3+ of them on our upkeep - both by turning the phase to night to transform all our daybound/nightbound werewolves, and by just forcing all older werewolves to transform.

[@HighScore-yh9vc]

@@GrazzetMTG Okay so do I need to make sure my commander is out on the battlefield first? Thank you kindly

[@rileypowell5354]

immerwolf stops Tovolar from transforming your board more often than not

[@GrazzetMTG]

I think your mistaken - Immerwolf only prevents non-human werewolves from transforming, while Tovolar transforms human werewolves - with both of them onboard and another werewolf/wolf, Tovalar would still transform himself and all other werewolves on their human side onto thier werewolf side, where they would loose their human subtype and Immerwild would then lock them into that side (which is stronger) since they can't transform back. Hope that helps explain that interaction!

[@rileypowell5354]

@@GrazzetMTG no no. What happens is Tovolar gets stuck in his non-human side, day or night. When you play more wolves into tovolar's night side, he can't flip back to human during turn cycles when your opponents flip it back to night. So, when it comes to you, tovolar's human side can't make the upkeep trigger that flips your whole board. In other words, when you play new werewolves into immerwolf+ Tovolar, you're unlikely to have Tovolar flip them.

[@rileypowell5354]

@@GrazzetMTG if both of them are onboard, Tovolar is not allowed to transform back and forth, regardless of day/night cycles

[@rileypowell5354]

@@GrazzetMTG while we're at it it's also just bad because it's 3 Mana for a vanilla 2/2 Lord. The deck can do better

[@jameelkurabi]

@@rileypowell5354 So do you think the downside of Tovolar not being able to trigger future humans to transform is not worth the benefit of locking your werewolves? I think it's situational and might still a good choice. You just have to be smart when you play immerwolf. It can be more of an "all-in" play. Would also appreciate your thoughts on the matter @GrazzetMTG !

[@Jerhevon]

Still fussing with my Tovolar deck as it's been functioning, but doing a bad job working its way through creature stalls on the ground. (When the werewolves aren't that much bigger, and the opponent an push 2-3 times my number of creatures on board. Hemming and hawing on things, mana curves, speed, damage outpit, huff. I have been impressed by Key to the City. A cheap, non-mana intensive way to make a wolf unblockable, now I just need to make the wolf itself actively dangerous without a mana commitment.

[@GrazzetMTG]

True enough. Like many Gruul aggressive builds, werewolves tend to lose steam on stalled boardstates, which give our opponents more time to build up their boards and acquire resources while we start to fall behind. Making them unblockable is certainly one way of doing it, with cards like Key to the CIty which your using, or Whispersilk Cloak (which doubled as a protection effect) and/or Rogues Passage (which just takes up a land slot). As far as Wolves that get you the most value to swing in unopposed - Outland Liberator is a good option to tear apart our opponents backrow when transformed, while Sage of Ancient Lore can take huge chunks of life from our oppose on its werewolf - easily reaching 10+ power even if everyone has a average amount of cards in hand.

[@Jerhevon]

@@GrazzetMTG Definitely reviewing the beefier wolves in the moment. Just aggravating that even with Tovolar making the werewolves actually function, they're still pretty medium creatures. Trouble going wide like other tribes, easily smaller than typical EDH 6-drops.

[@Jerhevon]

Honorable mention to Bow of Nylea. Static ability deathtouch combines well with trample. Trying Realmwalker and Pyre of Heroes. Halana and Alena, Partners look promising on the damage output front. Permanent +2/+2 and haste to another creature is very good. And while most effects in the deck don't pump them (not *wolves, not attacking when trigger resolves) I still have some. So turning a pump from Ulrich, Mayor, or Glorious Sunrise into extra counters sound very useful.

[@Jerhevon]

*eyes Halana and Alena* .... *eyes Stormseeker* ... These are very comparable stats, and getting +2/+2 as counters... oh my. Those Partners seem very good for what the deck wants.

[@Jerhevon]

@Joshua Fischer Rune Bound Wolf seems fine. Shared Animosity is weird, fits the werewolf theme, but, with the tribe being two types, it's often 2 werewolves and some wolves. I'd rather a boost affect that can affect Halena and Alena while their trigger is on the stack. As for bigger werewolves, I suppose Burly Breaker is a maybe? Crimson Vow got a number of rare good beefy wolves. But otherwise it's Burly Breaker and Gavony Arsonists, and those still seem merely ok. A bunch of investment that still merely trades with a typical EDH creature. Still trying to find things that are like Xenagod but feel more werewolfy.

[@thesoymilk]

🗑

[@GrazzetMTG]

Harsh... Well, I suppose you can't please all the people all of the time.