Magic The Gathering x Warhammer 40k: The Ruinous Powers

Wizards of the Coast’s latest Universes Beyond release comes in the form of four commander decks showcasing the incredible world of Warhammer 40k. With a combined 160 brand new cards, these decks are a huge leap for preconstructed decks and have really ramped up the power and the flavour! Up first is The Ruinous Powers, an unpredictable and destructive homage to Chaos. As a loyal follower of the Chaos Gods, you look only to revel in the destruction of the Galaxy, regardless of if it brings you glory or damnation.

Abaddon is one of the first Space Marines to have rebelled against the Emperor and seeks to descend the galaxy into chaos. As the face card of the deck, Abaddon really embodies a chaotic playstyle by translating damage dealt to your opponents into BIG value. The Cascade mechanic that the deck is themed around allows you to play a spell and reveal cards from the top of the library until you find a permanent spell that costs less and put it onto the battlefield! You never know what you’re going to get and you don’t care, you just want to windmill slam as many free spells as possible onto the table and cackle at your opponents terror. 

Alongside the chaos of cascade, the deck has a simple game plan; play big instants and sorceries and spells that drain your opponents of life. Abaddon is a great utility for triggering his own ability with the combination of 5 power and trample, but you can get caught out easily if you are only relying on combat to inflict damage on your opponents. So Spells like The Ruinous Powers and Great Unclean One can really help fuel those explosive turns, casting something big and getting a huge freebie out of the library.

With all of the new cards brought into commander by these decks, it was no doubt that we would see some heaters. A massive standout card for me has to be Plague Drone, the anti-life gain effect is absolutely bonkers and could find a comfortable home in any deck ever running black. Another two cards that caught my attention are Kharn the Betrayer and Assault Suit, purely for the perfect encapsulation of chaos. I love passing creatures around the table to get 4 times the damage from them, especially if it’s commander damage!

In a personal conclusion, this is one of the most enjoyable commander precons I have ever played. The play design has nailed the theme of chaos in a way that not only takes gambles, but has the ability to recover when the gambles don’t go in your favour. The deck is flavourful, exciting and strong, so definitely worth picking up a copy to play straight out of the box or even strip apart for all of the powerful commander cards! If you fancy picking up a deck, head over to /shop/card-games/magic-the-gathering/commander-magic