Magic The Gathering x Warhammer 40k: Tyranid Swarm

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! Last but not least is Tyranid Swarm, an inexhaustible colony of huge insectoid creatures. By stripping planets of their biomass materials to repurpose into even more Tyranids, you look to overwhelm your opponents with bigger and bigger monstrosities! 

At the helm of the Tyranid Swarm deck is of course The Swarmlord, the most autonomous extensions of the Hive Mind. Should The Swarmlord succumb to its enemies in battle, the Hive Mind simply reabsorbs its consciousness and regrows the monstrous predator for a new battle. This commander makes great use of dying and being recast repeatedly in a game, entering the battlefield bigger and bigger than before! Paired with the added benefit of drawing cards when creatures with counters die, The Swarmlord is ensuring you keep the pressure with a hand full of cards.

The Tyranids are the most aggressive of the four Warhammer decks, looking to explode out of the gate early game and fast track your way to the huge creatures at your disposal. The new Ravenous mechanic is the perfect ingredient for this style of play, allowing your creatures to have a greater power and toughness, the more mana you spend on them. Put 5 or more +1/+1 counters on these creatures and you can draw a card too! There is a huge amount of synergy with the counters theme in this deck and can quickly overrun a game if left unchecked.

There are some really interesting creatures available in the Tyranid deck, providing huge support for creatures and counters. Clamavus is doubling the strength of any +1/+1 counter, which when combined with plenty of Ravenous creatures is filling your side of the battlefield with an army on steroids. Genestealer Patriarch is another powerful card, taking a look at your opponent's best creatures and saying “yes please!”. Now with an army of grotesquely huge creatures, you need some way to get that damage through and Old One Eye is not only supplying trample to the team but also helping to stock it up with extra power on the board.

Just like the other three decks, Tyranid Swarm is nailing the flavour of a classic Warhammer army and even without the knowledge or passion for Warhammer, you quickly get a feel of what the Tyranids are all about. I think this first step into a Universes Beyond commander product is a resounding win on all fronts. They’re well crafted, super powerful and tell the stories of another game with depth and grace. I don’t say it lightly but these are an absolute must have for any lover of the commander format. You can grab yourself a deck or four over at /shop/card-games/magic-the-gathering/commander-magic