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Roon of the Hidden Realm

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Roon of the Hidden Realm

At a glance

  • Commander: Roon of the Hidden Realm
  • Colors: Bant
  • Archetype: Bant blink/ETB value control
  • Power tier: mid-high

Cards

The Commander (real printed text)

Vigilance, trample , : Exile another target creature. Return that card to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.

Roon is a repeatable, mana-only blink engine on a 3/3 vigilance/trample body. Each turn his ability re-triggers an enter-the-battlefield ability on one of your creatures (or resets a creature you control to dodge removal). Aimed at an opponent’s creature, the “return at the next end step” timing means it leaves their board for your whole turn cycle — a tempo/defensive tool — and it permanently strips any +1/+1 counters, Auras, or attached Equipment from the exiled creature. Note the discrepancy with the scout text: the scout said “exile-and-return blinks a creature each turn re-triggering ETBs” which is accurate, but Roon costs per activation (not free) and only blinks one creature per turn — the deck is built around that real rate.

Gameplan

Out-card and out-tempo the table, then lock the game with repeatable ETB soft-removal and inevitability engines.

  1. Early: ramp + fix into Roon on curve while dropping cheap ETB-draw bodies (Elvish Visionary, Thraben Inspector, Sea Gate Oracle).
  2. Mid: Roon goes online. Each turn you blink a value creature for card advantage (Mulldrifter, Cloudkin Seer) or aim Roon at an opposing blocker/threat to bounce it for the turn. Bounce-ETB creatures (Man-o’-War, Mist Raven, Frost Lynx) become recurring removal.
  3. Late / inevitability: Stonehorn Dignitary blinked every turn = a chosen opponent never gets a combat phase again. Archaeomancer re-buys Ghostly Flicker / Cloudshift / Ephemerate, and Ghostly Flicker on Archaeomancer + a value creature is a hard card-advantage loop. You grind the table out and close with a wall of evasive flyers.

Key synergy lines

  • Roon + any ETB creature = a value engine: pay end of turn (or on your turn) to re-trigger draw/ramp/removal.
  • Roon + Stonehorn Dignitary = combat lock on one opponent (skip their combat every turn).
  • Ghostly Flicker + Archaeomancer (+ an ETB creature) = recur Ghostly Flicker and re-trigger ETBs; with a second value ETB this buries the table in cards.
  • Ephemerate / Cloudshift / Momentary Blink protect your creatures from removal AND re-trigger an ETB for 1 mana — cheap instant-speed engine fuel.
  • Bounce-ETBs (Man-o’-War, Mist Raven, Aether Adept, Bigfin Bouncer) + Roon/flicker = repeatable tempo “removal” the color pair otherwise lacks.
  • Frost Lynx / Frost Trickster / Watertrap Weaver / Kor Hookmaster = repeatable tap-down lock when blinked, a pseudo-Fog that stops attackers and key blockers.

Role breakdown (with counts)

  • Lands — 36. Fixing-heavy three-color base (see manabase note).
  • Ramp — 10: Sakura-Tribe Elder, Wood Elves, Farhaven Elf, Coiling Oracle, Fertilid, Llanowar Visionary, Borderland Ranger, Kodama’s Reach, Cultivate, Commander’s Sphere (+ Manalith as the 11th, listed under fixing). Most double as color fixing.
  • Card advantage — 11: Mulldrifter, Sea Gate Oracle, Cloudkin Seer, Elvish Visionary, Inspiring Overseer, Skyscanner, Spirited Companion, Augur of Bolas, Thraben Inspector, Novice Inspector, Merchant of Secrets (Generous Stray, Aven Fisher, Pilgrim’s Eye add more).
  • Spot removal / interaction — 11: Man-o’-War, Aether Adept, Mist Raven, Bigfin Bouncer, Frost Lynx, Frost Trickster, Watertrap Weaver, Kor Hookmaster, Banishing Light, Conclave Naturalists, Last Breath (+ Pillar of Light, Swift Response, Crib Swap, Pounce, Prey Upon, Arcane Denial — interaction overload to compensate for no wipes).
  • Mass / pseudo-wipe — 0 true wipes (WUG commons offer none). Compensated with: repeatable tap-down lock (4 tappers), Stonehorn combat lock, Fog + Aerial Assault, and a dense interaction suite — the inevitability plan replaces the wrath.
  • Blink engine — 5: Ephemerate, Cloudshift, Momentary Blink, Ghostly Flicker, Displace.
  • Inevitability — Archaeomancer (recursion loop) + Stonehorn Dignitary (combat lock).
  • Finishers / payoffs — evasive flyers: Inspiring Overseer, Cloudkin Seer, Aven Cloudchaser, Azure Drake, Alabaster Kirin, Abbey Griffin, Aven Fisher, Mulldrifter, plus walls (Wall of Roots, Wall of Mist) to stabilize.

Manabase / fixing note

36 lands: Command Tower, Path of Ancestry, Cryptic Spires, Tranquil Landscape, Crystal Grotto, Painted Bluffs, Unknown Shores, Skybridge Towers, all three guildgates (Azorius/Selesnya/Simic), 9 pair-duals (one per WU/GW/GU), Tangled Islet, 3 basic-fetch (Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, Bant Panorama) and 12 basics (4/4/4). Add Commander’s Sphere + Manalith + ~8 green basic-fetch ramp creatures/spells → ~30+ effective fixing sources, comfortably above the 17–19 target; all three colors are reliably castable.

Pilot notes

  • Hold Roon activations for end of opponent’s turn when you only want value; use them on your own turn when blinking an opponent’s blocker to push damage.
  • Save Ephemerate/Cloudshift to dodge targeted removal AND re-trigger an ETB — don’t waste them purely as engine fuel if a threat is on the stack.
  • Prioritize Stonehorn Dignitary against the table’s biggest aggressor; once you have Roon + Stonehorn, that player is effectively out of combat.
  • Archaeomancer wants a Ghostly Flicker or a key removal spell in the yard before you blink-loop it.

Weaknesses

  • No board wipes. A wide go-wide deck that gets under you can be a problem; rely on tap-down lock, Fog, and bounce to buy time.
  • Engine is mana-hungry ( per Roon activation); enchantment/artifact removal aimed at Roon or graveyard hate on Archaeomancer slows the inevitability plan.
  • Grindy, not explosive — you win late, so racing combo decks is the hard matchup.

Decklist

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

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