How do you actually build Sauron?

How should you build Sauron the Dark Lord?
In this video, we seek to answer exactly that question. Come along with me as I make 10 different decks to tackle this commander from all directions.
PATREON - patreon.com/TempestOfficial
Zombie Tokens: 6:49
Wheels: 14:21
Aristocrats: 17:32
Treasure: 20:38
Reanimator: 24:20
Zombie Tokens: archidekt.com/decks/6815029/s...
Zombie Tokens BUDGET: archidekt.com/decks/6820245/s...
Wheels: archidekt.com/decks/6825043/s...
Wheels BUDGET: archidekt.com/decks/6875318/s...
Aristocrats/Sacrifice: archidekt.com/decks/6875954/s...
Aristocrats/Sacrifice BUDGET: archidekt.com/decks/6876674/s...
Treasure: archidekt.com/decks/7025246/s...
Treasure BUDGET: archidekt.com/decks/7065233/s...
Reanimator: archidekt.com/decks/7065240/s...
Reanimator BUDGET: archidekt.com/decks/7070753/s...
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Email: [e-mail]

[@BlakeTDavis64]

"Largest Deck Tech YT's ever seen" and certainly the best Sauron builds I've seen. You never disappoint!

[@ChiefPrime_]

This video was a nice change from the traditional commander deck tech. Even when I don't intend to build the commander I always learn a lot about deck crafting from your breakdowns and explanations.

[@Molker]

This video was tailor made for me, I bought Sauron for him to be my commander, but I didn't know which route to take with him, and with this video I have decided on the reanimation theme, thank you so much for showcasing all the possibilities and cool unknown cards!

[@Tempest-Official]

Reanimator is a great choice and I'm so glad you found the video helpful. *Cheers*

[@davidcrain453]

I love commanders that are as versatile in their strategies and builds as this one is…

[@user-mo4mi5mv3j]

this is exactly what i ended up doing while building my own sauron deck. i made 3 decks, one aristocrats, one reanimator, and one armies. i didnt do aristocrats because it ended up just being not my style, and hardly ever utilised sauron's wheel effect which i wanted to do at lest some of the time. then i really tried to make my reanimator list work, but i was working off a $100 budget and it was clear to me that i really couldnt make it how i wanted to under those restrictions, at least not without sacrificing stuff like manabase. i settled on the armies build, because it was the easiest to tune while staying semi-comfortable within my budget and just ended up being thematic, being able to mostly play cards from the LTR set itself.

[@user-mo4mi5mv3j]

honestly it was one of the most fun deckbuilding experiences i've had, i really hope wotc makes more creatures like this that can have 3+ incredibly viable directions to go

[@MortonFMurphy]

Totally agree, playing into armies with a little reanimator thrown in and I describe the deck theme to my friends as "Roleplaying as Sauron" for the feeling of enormous power (as well as the occasional crushing defeat)

[@zunittig5544]

can you share your decklist? wanted to go for the lord of the rings Theme as well. bought all nazguls but cant See it work in combination with sauron.

[@sifuseef]

This video got me so pumped so I decided to build out the aristocrats list you made with some few edits. Thanks again! You are by far my favorite EDH content creator.

[@Sawedoffsamurai]

I ended up here scouring for potential adds for my liliana heretical healer deck, but I’m subbing purely out of respect for how damn high quality and high effort this vid was. Awesome shit.

[@longinus7150]

Magnificent job, I will be viewing your other content and will consider subscribing. This video is exactly what I wanted, as I feel like everyone is building sauron like trash and I could not find anything that interests me. Your reanimator deck fits with how I wanted to run that commander and your suggestions for the wheel and treasure decks have helped me consider upgrades for Prosper and Nekusar as well, commendable work man.

[@NF-nn9ij]

I second the comment on the drip and depth of the video. The sweater was top tier and 10 deck lists is ambitious to say the least. Amazing job. I have a confused Sauron build, like you mentioned and it’s like a bard when I need a sorcerer. Can’t decide to convert what I have to aristocrat or reanimate, as both look punishing. I recently took your advice with Indominus Rex so wondering if reanimate will be too similar. Anyway, I look forward to your future content and your channel’s future. Well done 🎉

[@Tempest-Official]

I can't wait to break out the retirement button ups for my livestreams when we play Command Zone Bingo. Lol. I think the worst thing that happens is you try out one style and it isn't to your taste so you switch it up. Give it a go.

[@bradleytaylor7183]

Glad I found this channel, Keep up the fun videos brother.

[@WilhalmBrion]

Love the depth here. Always fresh too. None of your content feels recycled like some edh content creator’s. Gonna watch the rest of it for lunch!

[@Tempest-Official]

Hey, really appreciate that! Have a good lunch.

[@jasonmartin4687]

Huge fan of this video! I was already pretty happy with my deck (mix of leaning into the army and reanimate) but I got tons of ideas from your army game enders. I’d also recommend runed stalactite or maskwood nexus. These will turn Sauron into a changeling and he’ll put counters on himself. I also run flash speed protection for him so people get screwed from his ward ability.

[@MrCoschta]

Yes! Thank you! This is actually a build guide that is reasonable for the average edh player. Thank you for that!

[@kikin140979]

Te sigo, porque me gusto como explicas y encima pones toda la info a la mano. Gracias genio

[@highdark4]

From that intro, i was hooked. It's so true

[@Yomolink]

Thank you so much for this video, pure gold!! I highly recommend "Retribution of The Ancients", feels great to have a consistent removal on board.

[@Tempest-Official]

Oh ya. The artwork on that card is SWEET as well. Definitely going to give that card some love. :)

[@Docjacko]

awesome video, cant wait to see the Mothman haha

[@oxidegaming71]

Just pulled a poster Sauron, excited to build a deck with him!

[@brendanbice4199]

Built Sauron over the holidays without much of an idea of what it would do. Ended up building it as a LOTR only, ring tempts you deck. Not super maxed out, but really fun to play

[@Oz__MTG]

I went with ring temp as well, with amass being main focus. Got a lot of commander staples, even the one ring and bunch of mana rocks to watch this commander take off. It creates HUGE armies, which is what we want! But I did add some tweaks that make this commander scary! Added stuff like Quietus spike, Mithril coat and lighting greaves for the (Just in case) moments 😂 The quietus spike really pisses people off. Especially if they cannot block, BOOM, lose half your life.

[@nemexodus_]

One thing I have found is that Inherited Envelope is at least equivalent to Commander's Sphere in a Sauron deck, with better upside later in the game than sphere

[@Casual_BackPacking]

Nice bro great work

[@carldooley9344]

I recently got 9 nazgul for my deck , but Magar is a definite MVP

[@SilverAphelion]

Do Justice for Esix, Fractal Bloom!!

[@vgpatman9728]

My friend made a Sauron group hug deck which is pretty solid and fun

[@henriquecrizzomendonca4193]

I popped off when I saw Archfiend of Ifnir make an appearance. I’m revisiting/upgrading my own list and Ifnir is by far my favorite card. My build is a little bit of an all-rounder. Uses treasures for ramp, lots of ring temptation triggers to wheel (and to buff up my Wraiths), and for my reanimator payoffs I actually chose to go with some more midrangey but also more synergistic between themselves: dragons. I chose some of the best dragons (within my budget, no Ancient Copper Dragon) in the 4-6 range that snowball over time. Bonehord Dracosaur, Terror of the Peaks, Lathliss, Wrathful Red Dragon, etc. To top it all off, I play Maskwood Nexus. Everything is a dragon, an army, a wraith, an orc, etc etc. Dragon Tempest means each dragon piles up the damage, and so does TOTP, and Wrathful Red Dragon actually just turns your Blasphemous Act into a Win Button. It’s really fun and the average 5 cost means I don’t fully rely on my reanimates to pop off.

[@zunittig5544]

can you share your decklist i bought all nazguls and the one ring and try to make it Work. i added Sheoldred for the wheeling but i want to mainly stay in the lotr theme

[@natethompson1766]

Which build-type would you say feels the fastest? I always feel when I play mine it takes such a long time to have board state that can sustain itself.

[@ericr4677]

Note: Tainted Strike is also hilarious (player removal)when an Opponent swings at someone unchecked for 9.. it’s happens more times than not.

[@patrickghazarian2804]

Would you fit the nazguls in any deck? And if so which ones!

[@lovemagames]

what do you think about Phial of Galadriel over Commander's sphere? I think it's a neat deck tech that draws you an extra card whenever you wheel.

[@iHartzy]

If you already had an Orcish Bowmaster laying around, what card would you remove from the Zombie Tokens list to slot Bowmaster in (if you believe Bowmaster is the superior inclusion)?

[@zunittig5544]

i love this video. great job. Only thing i am missing. What would your deck Look like if you want to stay in the lord of the rings theme? No money restrictions, Only restriction is round about 70 cards need to add lord of the rings flavour . I made a eowyn Shieldmaiden deck with some powerful non-lotr humans and now i try to build the dark counter part. I bought Sheoldred, Meethook Massacre because they fit the dark theme. i wonder what your lotr versions would Look like

[@willparker8877]

Drip is immaculate today👌

[@Tempest-Official]

Can thank my fiance for that one. 😎

[@Crushanator1]

at @6:55 you mention an errata to Army Tokens i'm not familiar with and couldnt find. It sounds like it makes the armies both Orcs and Zombies from the way you talk around it. Can you elaborate on this?

[@iggykoopaa]

Hey, I love the way you build your decks and I was wondering if you would ever consider making a video on Lara Croft, tomb raider? I got the secret lair and I've been completely stuck on how to build her. I can't keep the deck cost below like 200$

[@Insomniac434]

Why no mention of the Nazgûl? I can understand why you might not put them in every deck, but I’m confused why you wouldn’t even mention them in the video.

[@lewi142]

I ran all of them in a build and the problem with them is that they take up 9 spots of your deck which realistically can just be spots for better cards. They're decent but when you're only seeing 1 or 2 a game anyway it's not actually that worth it unless you ran them with the actual nazgul commander

[@benoitconte8782]

hey, there is any reason u dont use nazguls in any of your list ?

[@Tempest-Official]

Cost is the only reason. Over 100 USD for 9 cards.

[@gravity-arbor]

Great content. Perhaps chapter marks on the video for people wanting to skip to a certain topic?

[@Tempest-Official]

Right in the description!

[@gravity-arbor]

@@Tempest-Officialohhh yeah.

[@rohacjustrohac3581]

Why would you run windfall and other wheels when your commander alredy does it for you?

[@StevenSonOfYawgmoth]

My first thoughs about sauron was.. wow this ophiomancer on Crack

[@CrazeTv2]

Where's the fast mana???

[@jeffscalise5927]

Skullclamp in zombie tokens?

[@Tempest-Official]

Thought about it. The problem is the amass trigger on sauron not being reliable enough and the other amass triggers not being "on demand" enough. I think that it's a reasonable include. It just didn't perform the way you'd expect skullclamp to actually perform in other decks that benefit from having it.

[@DavidGreeneMtgJudge]

I'm surprised you didn't take advantage of more "the ring temps you" effects. Being able to wheel your hand often is amazing. In my Sauron deck, I play all of the one-mana tempting cards. I also adopted the nine nazgul both because of how powerful the temptation trigger is, and because it's nice to have a wall of synergistic creatures on standby while your army gets in for damage. I've also prioritized removal spells over counter spells because removal can act as a counter spell when someone goes to Target Sauron with the ward trigger on the stack.

[@xaropevic7918]

Interesting, I went the other way around playing more counterspells because they paying the ward fulfill the role of using removal

[@DavidGreeneMtgJudge]

@@xaropevic7918 Sometimes you're faced with a question. Do you skip the wheel and keep the spell, or discard your spell for a fresh 4? Removal mitigates the question by allowing you to use your spell before you wheel. It's just slightly more versatile. I'm experimenting with 2 counterspell instead of 5, and I might just go down to 0.

[@Jay-xr8bi]

do you mind sharing your list? im having the same thought and strategy as yours but im pretty new and need some guidance

[@DavidGreeneMtgJudge]

I can't link it without it getting deleted. It's on moxfield, the url after the "com" is /decks/HE6oezZfS0KBdpBjKcMRYw

[@DavidGreeneMtgJudge]

@@Jay-xr8bi I can't post a comment even resembling a link without it getting removed. But it's on moxfield and it's named "Sauron - The Dark Lord" Edit: Lets see if I can post the url code via edit. HE6oezZfS0KBdpBjKcMRYw

[@MajesticGiant]

Reanimate deck. "This deck is mean, really mean". Thats cool. I'm still gonna build it anyway.😈

[@tobiasunbekannt3541]

what a weird room

[@dylancaravello5522]

Aristocracts>

[@Tempest-Official]

Careful. I'll start singing about the Aristocats

[@Vidious808]

Timestamps throughout the video would help a lot when watching these.

[@Tempest-Official]

Right in the description. :)

[@mugshotmoose]

Minion dollar man

[@Tempest-Official]

Not the minion! 😭

[@mugshotmoose]

Hahaha million

[@jaimelozano9641]

Why do you have 5 COD Modern Warfare 2?

[@Tempest-Official]

I host large LAN events. I also own 8 xbox 360s, 10+ copies or halo 2 and 3 and like 20 controllers. I have another LAN event coming up in April actually.

[@CrazeTv2]

It's for straight background fluff

[@gabrielkopp9248]

I think you may have misread skeletal scrying, I think you have to pay life and exile creatures. It sounds like you were saying exiling creatures could pay for the cost, like Delve.

[@gabrielkopp9248]

So to draw three you’d have to pay four mana total (X=3) as well as exile three creature cards. You said you can reload your hand for one mana and some creature exiling. Just a small correction, great video!

[@davidcrain453]

I’ll say this. You do a phenomenal job at making magic videos but I think you have skills that could be far more useful the way your style of presentation is you could do really hot topic controversial journalism and absolutely crush it. However, I doubt it’s as fun as doing magic videos although may be more satisfying…