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Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate

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Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate

At a glance

  • Commander: Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate
  • Archetype: Colorless +1/+1 counters go-wide/go-tall
  • Power tier: mid-high

Cards

Commander

Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate — , Legendary Creature — Spirit Snake (color identity: colorless)

Omarthis enters with X +1/+1 counters on it. Whenever you put one or more +1/+1 counters on another colorless creature, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Omarthis. When Omarthis dies, manifest a number of cards from the top of your library equal to the number of counters on it.

The scout paraphrase matched the printed Oracle text exactly — commander_oracle_ok = true.

Key rules nuance that shapes the build: the trigger fires when a counter lands on another colorless creature, not on Omarthis itself. So creatures that merely “enter with counters on themselves” (Clockwork Condor, Arcbound Bruiser, the sunburst beaters) do not trigger the engine on their own — they’re payoffs/bodies. The actual engine is counter-distribution: Modular death triggers that move counters onto another artifact creature, ETB/death effects that put a counter on a target creature, and repeatable counter placers. Each of those, when aimed at any colorless creature you control, also lets you grow Omarthis for free.

Gameplan

Cast cheap colorless artifact creatures, sprinkle +1/+1 counters around the board with distribution effects, and let every distributed counter quietly grow Omarthis on the side. Build a wide grid of artifact creatures, then push the damage through with cheap flying/evasion equipment. Omarthis snowballs into the biggest threat on the table, and because most of the deck is individually cheap it rebuilds fast after removal. The death clause (manifest cards equal to counters) means even killing a fat Omarthis hands you a pile of fresh permanents — there’s no clean answer at this power level.

Key Synergies

  • Counter distribution → Omarthis growth. Arcbound Worker / Stinger / Hybrid / Bruiser / Wanderer (Modular death triggers move counters to another artifact creature), Iron Apprentice and Sparring Construct (death → counter on target), Iron Bully (ETB counter on target), Myr Scrapling (sac → counter on target), Camera Launcher (repeatable). Every one of those, targeted at a colorless creature, triggers the Omarthis bonus counter.
  • Land-based counter placement. Captivating Cave and Cave of Temptation each sac for two +1/+1 counters on a target creature, and Forge of Heroes can put a counter on Omarthis the turn it’s cast — extra Omarthis fuel straight from the manabase.
  • Evasion package. Cliffhaven Kitesail, Mechanical Glider, Cobbled Wings, Fleetfeather Sandals, Skinwing, and Vorrac Battlehorns turn a single overgrown Omarthis (or any fat sunburst beater) into a one-shot clock.
  • Sunburst/converge bodies (Suntouched Myr, Skyreach Manta, Sawtooth Thresher, Arcbound Wanderer) get fewer counters on a colorless-mana base, but the Modular variants still hand off counters on death.

Role Breakdown (counts)

  • Lands: 37 — 10 Wastes + 27 colorless utility/fixing lands.
  • Ramp: 10 — Sol Ring, Mind Stone, Guardian Idol, Hedron Crawler, Prismatic Lens, Seer’s Lantern, Sisay’s Ring, Ur-Golem’s Eye, Everflowing Chalice, Pristine Talisman.
  • Card advantage: 9 — Mind Stone (sac-draw), Prophetic Prism, Mana Geode, Magnifying Glass (Investigate), Letter of Acceptance, Bonder’s Ornament, Clockwork Fox (LTB draw 2), plus Conduit/scry lands and Tocasia’s Dig Site as soft selection.
  • Spot removal / interaction: 10 — Scrap Compactor, Universal Solvent, Unstable Obelisk, Thaumaton Torpedo, Scour from Existence, Introduction to Annihilation, Runaway Boulder, Vial of Dragonfire, Scalding Cauldron, Bear Trap.
  • Mass / pseudo-wipe: 0 — no true board wipe exists at colorless common. Compensated with a deep (10-piece) spot-removal suite, several “destroy target permanent” catch-alls (Universal Solvent, Unstable Obelisk, Scour from Existence), and raw inevitability via Omarthis + recurring beaters.
  • Counter-synergy creatures + finishers: the remaining ~28 nonland slots — Modular line, counter-distributors, sunburst beaters, and top-end colorless fatties (Juggernaut, Ebony Rhino, Iron Giant, Eldrazi Devastator, Ulamog’s Crusher).

Manabase / Fixing Note

This is a mono-colorless deck, so “fixing” just means hitting land drops and producing . 37 lands: 10 Wastes plus utility. Fetches (Ash Barrens, Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Warped Landscape, Terminal Moraine, Promising Vein, Escape Tunnel, Shire Terrace) thin and find Wastes; the Urzatron (Mine/Power Plant/Tower) can spike big mana for the X-cost commander and 7+ drops; Cloudpost/Glimmerpost add Locus ramp/lifegain. Counter-lands (Captivating Cave, Cave of Temptation) and Forge of Heroes double as Omarthis enablers. Note several “Add one mana of any color” rocks (Prophetic Prism, Mana Geode, etc.) are colorless cards with empty identity and are legal here — their mana ability does not confer color identity.

Pilot Notes

  • Cast Omarthis for as much X as you can afford early-mid game; even X=3-4 is fine since distribution counters will keep it climbing. Don’t over-invest into a board with no protection — it dies and manifests, which is a fine floor, but you’d rather connect.
  • Always aim distribution counters (Modular deaths, Sparring Construct, Iron Bully, Myr Scrapling) at a colorless creature so you bank the Omarthis bonus.
  • Hold one piece of evasion for the alpha-strike turn; equip Omarthis or your biggest sunburst body and swing.
  • Sac-style removal (Scrap Compactor, Vial of Dragonfire, etc.) is slow — deploy them proactively as board presence so the mana is pre-paid when you need the kill.

Weaknesses

  • No board wipe. Against a faster go-wide deck you’re relying on spot removal and racing. Mulligan toward ramp + early bodies.
  • Counters are small. Without colored mana, sunburst/converge cards under-perform; the deck leans on Modular and distribution rather than huge individual stat lines.
  • Removal is mana-hungry. Most colorless common removal is “pay 6-7, sac” — clunky against a turn-fast table.
  • Evasion-dependent finish. If the equipment is answered or stranded, a wide board can stall behind blockers.

Decklist

⬇ Download as .txt — paste into Moxfield, Archidekt, or MTG Arena.

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