The Ancient One
$1.95
Legendary Creature — Spirit God

Dimir self-mill and looting that turns every discard into a mill for an opponent, backed by counterspells and graveyard combos.
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The Ancient One costs only {U}{B} and is an 8/8, but descend 8 means it can't attack or block until you have eight or more permanent cards in your graveyard. Its activated ability, {2}{U}{B}, draws a card and then discards one, and the discard makes a target player mill cards equal to that card's mana value. Pitching an expensive card mills a lot, and every permanent you discard also counts toward unlocking the body. The deck plays self-mill, looting and control to make both halves work.
In the recorded games, the deck showed up only a handful of times and mostly played a careful control role, holding counterspells and filling its own graveyard. Out of the Tombs appeared as a long-term mill engine. Some lists went further with combo, using Hullbreaker Horror loops, Orcish Bowmasters and Demonic Consultation with Laboratory Maniac as ways to close. Board wipes and faster decks setting the pace were the main problems, and the commander often spent games as a looter rather than an attacker. Treat the sample as small.
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Commander gameplay videos featuring The Ancient One.
Death of cEDH
Every Commander EVER
The Ancient One enters the Idiot Gauntlet - CEDH Gameplay
TESTAMENT FEAT. JELLY MTG - cEDH - S20E3 - DEREVI v ANCIENT ONE v JIM/ELEVEN v MALCOLM/VIAL #mtg
DELTA FEAT. JELLY MTG - cEDH - S20E2 - ANCIENT ONE v MALCOLM/VIAL v SISAY v DEREVI - GAMEPLAY #mtg
How Many Treasures??? - Cedh Gameplay - Master Multiplied Vs Ancient One Vs Tivit Vs Bruse Thrasios
The Master v Ashnod v the Ancient One v Kutzil | Commander Melee E58 | EDH Gameplay MTG
Lost Caverns of Ixalan Home Brew Edition EP 26: Ojer Axonil v Gishath v Don Andres v Ancient One
RE-MATCH! Don Andres, Ancient One, Sovereign Okinec, Tetzin | Lost Caverns Commander Gameplay
Don Andres, Ancient One, Sovereign Okinec, Tetzin | Lost Caverns Commander Gameplay
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New Cards
Fresh cards from recent sets that players are experimenting with in The Ancient One decks.
High Synergy Cards
Cards that work exceptionally well with The Ancient One's abilities and overall game plan.
Training Grounds
Stitch Together
Wonder
Matzalantli, the Great Door
Cruel Somnophage
Dread Return
Likeness Looter
Millikin
The Everflowing WellTop Cards
The most popular and reliable cards that form the backbone of successful The Ancient One decks.
Training Grounds
Stitch Together
Wonder
Cruel Somnophage
Singularity Rupture
Victimize
Consuming Aberration
Reanimate
CounterspellGame Changers
Powerful cards that can single-handedly turn the tide of a game when resolved.
Thassa's Oracle
Ancient Tomb
Notion Thief
Demonic Tutor
Force of Will
Mystical Tutor
Fierce Guardianship
Vampiric Tutor
Rhystic Study
Cyclonic RiftCreatures
Essential creatures that complement The Ancient One's strategy through synergy, utility, or raw power.
Likeness Looter
Millikin
Obsessive Stitcher
Deranged Assistant
Dreadhound
Laboratory Maniac
Sepulchral Primordial
Starving Revenant
Fleet Swallower
Terisian Mindbreaker
Shadow of Mortality
Stitcher's Supplier
Grave Researcher
Archon of Cruelty
Bringer of the Last Gift
Ruin Crab
Hedron Crab
Shadowgrange Archfiend
Doomed Necromancer
Overlord of the Balemurk
Abyssal Harvester
Screeching Scorchbeast
Massacre Wurm
Dreadwing Scavenger
Ruthless Technomancer
Nighthowler
Doom Whisperer
Thassa's Oracle
Hullbreaker Horror
Duskmantle Guildmage
Nemesis of Reason
Solemn Simulacrum
Notion Thief
Dauthi Voidwalker
Baleful StrixInstants
Key instant-speed responses for protection, removal, and keeping The Ancient One safe.
Frantic Search
Drown in the Loch
Songs of the Damned
Overwhelming Remorse
Entomb
Dig Through Time
Stubborn Denial
Bitter Triumph
Thought Scour
Circular Logic
Fact or Fiction
Visions of Beyond
Tainted Indulgence
Confounding Riddle
Kitsune's Technique
Cabal Ritual
Archive Trap
Otherworldly Gaze
Drown in Dreams
Withering Torment
Didn't Say Please
Demonic Consultation
Waterlogged Teachings
Consider
Force of Will
Fell the Profane
Sink into Stupor
Malakir Rebirth
Deadly Rollick
Mystical Tutor
Mana Drain
Fierce Guardianship
Arcane Denial
Vampiric Tutor
Aetherize
Rapid Hybridization
Dark Ritual
Infernal Grasp
Cyclonic Rift
Reality Shift
Negate
Swan Song
Pongify
An Offer You Can't Refuse
Go for the Throat
BrainstormSorceries
Important sorcery spells that advance The Ancient One's game plan and control the board.
Dread Return
Breach the Multiverse
Rise of the Dark Realms
Windfall
Living Death
Persist
Extract from Darkness
Glimpse the Unthinkable
Cut Your Losses
Treasure Cruise
Buried Alive
Maddening Cacophony
Coiling Rebirth
Afterlife from the Loam
Exhume
Incarnation Technique
Deep Analysis
Traumatize
Zombify
Defossilize
Winternight Stories
Will of the Abzan
Unearth
Fractured Sanity
Demonic Counsel
From the Catacombs
Connive // Concoct
Agadeem's Awakening
Mind Grind
Dream Harvest
Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Damnation
Demonic Tutor
Toxic Deluge
Feed the SwarmUtility Artifacts
Versatile artifacts that provide ongoing value, card selection, or strategic advantages.
Matzalantli, the Great Door
The Everflowing Well
Mesmeric Orb
Crucible of Worlds
Riverchurn Monument
The Water Crystal
Perpetual Timepiece
Mindcrank
Palantír of Orthanc
The Enigma Jewel
The Grim Captain's Locker
Bonehoard
Extinguisher Battleship
Altar of Dementia
Mask of Griselbrand
Fell Gravship
Entropic Battlecruiser
Codex Shredder
Glamdring, Foe-hammer
Wayfarer's Bauble
Altar of the Brood
Lightning Greaves
Swiftfoot BootsEnchantments
Powerful enchantments that support The Ancient One's strategy and create lasting battlefield effects.
Animate Dead
Ripples of Undeath
Fraying Sanity
Oversold Cemetery
Necromancy
Virtue of Persistence
Cemetery Tampering
Court of Cunning
Psychic Corrosion
Out of the Tombs
Dance of the Dead
Phyrexian Reclamation
Search for Azcanta
Case of the Shifting Visage
Stillness in Motion
Sphinx's Tutelage
Memory Erosion
Bloodchief Ascension
Phyrexian Arena
Mystic Remora
Rhystic Study
PropagandaPlaneswalkers
Planeswalkers that work alongside The Ancient One to provide ongoing value and board presence.
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
Jace, the Perfected Mind
Jace, Memory Adept
Ashiok, Dream Render
Liliana, Death's MajestyBattles
Battles that give The Ancient One decks a second front to attack, plus a payoff for defeating them.
Invasion of AmonkhetUtility Lands
Non-basic lands that offer additional utility beyond just mana production.
Nephalia Drownyard
Restless Reef
Susur Secundi, Void Altar
Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
Drownyard Temple
Dakmor Salvage
Cephalid Coliseum
Echoing Deeps
Tomb Fortress
Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital
Tyrite Sanctum
Sunken Palace
Geier Reach Sanitarium
Lonely Sandbar
Barren Moor
Witch's Cottage
Mystic Sanctuary
Mortuary Mire
Academy Ruins
Rogue's Passage
Cabal Coffers
Ancient Tomb
Otawara, Soaring City
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Temple of the False God
Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Bojuka Bog
Reliquary TowerMana Artifacts
Artifacts focused on mana acceleration and color fixing for consistent gameplay.
The Soul Stone
Mox Amber
Mind Stone
Lotus Petal
Charcoal Diamond
Sky Diamond
Commander's Sphere
Dimir Signet
Fellwar Stone
Arcane Signet
Talisman of Dominance
Sol Ring
Thought VesselLands
The mana base foundation for The Ancient One decks, ensuring smooth and reliable mana development.
Undercity Sewers
Port of Karfell
Evolving Wilds
Terramorphic Expanse
Fetid Pools
Ash Barrens
Fabled Passage
Agadeem's Awakening
Shipwreck Marsh
Contaminated Aquifer
Boggart Trawler
Underground River
Gloomlake Verge
Prismatic Vista
Myriad Landscape
Bloodstained Mire
Dimir Aqueduct
Snow-Covered Island
Polluted Delta
Waterlogged Teachings
Darkslick Shores
Scalding Tarn
Misty Rainforest
Underground Sea
Island
Verdant Catacombs
Dimir Guildgate
Marsh Flats
Darkwater Catacombs
Swamp
Drowned Catacomb
Hidden Lair
Flooded Strand
Watery Grave
Tainted Isle
Hydroelectric Specimen
Sunken Ruins
Clearwater Pathway
Morphic Pool
River of Tears
Dismal Backwater
Sunken Hollow
Fell the Profane
Choked Estuary
Sink into Stupor
Malakir Rebirth
Temple of Deceit
Command Tower
Exotic Orchard
Path of AncestryThe Ancient One Deck Stats
Based on 3,647 The Ancient One decks.
| Mana value | Cards |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 20 |
| 3 | 13 |
| 4 | 6 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 4 |
| 8 | 2 |
| 9 | 1 |
| 12 | 1 |
- Creature 25
- Instant 10
- Sorcery 12
- Artifact 11
- Enchantment 6
- Planeswalker 1
- Land 34
| Card type | Cards |
|---|---|
| Creature | 25 |
| Instant | 10 |
| Sorcery | 12 |
| Artifact | 11 |
| Enchantment | 6 |
| Planeswalker | 1 |
| Land | 34 |
Lands: 19 basic, 15 nonbasic
| Month | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2024-10 | 419 |
| 2024-11 | 598 |
| 2024-12 | 559 |
| 2025-01 | 507 |
| 2025-02 | 678 |
| 2025-03 | 696 |
| 2025-04 | 688 |
| 2025-05 | 648 |
| 2025-06 | 833 |
| 2025-07 | 760 |
| 2025-08 | 769 |
| 2025-09 | 730 |
| 2025-10 | 753 |
| 2025-11 | 742 |
| 2025-12 | 756 |
| 2026-01 | 865 |
| 2026-02 | 796 |
| 2026-03 | 506 |
| 2026-04 | 700 |
| 2026-05 | 848 |
| 2026-06 | 811 |
| 2026-07 | 866 |
| 2026-08 | 881 |
| 2026-09 | 1127 |
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