Turning “The Thing” Into A Commander Magic Deck

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that this will be my last article published on this site, as Star City Games is shifting their content strategy. Since this will be my final piece, I thought I’d go out with a bang and talk to y’all about one of my favorite adventures in creative deckbuilding. 

Move over, Bloomburrow summer, it’s time for Duskmourn fall. We are finally in the middle of previews of my most anticipated set of the year. All of the horror references make me feel incredibly giddy and excited. It got me thinking about what I would do to brew in Commander.

As I write this article, we have very few legendary creatures previewed, so I thought it would be fun to share with y’all a deck I brewed around my favorite horror movie a year ago. If you, dear reader, are unaware, my favorite horror movie of all time is John Carpenter’s The Thing. From the practical effects to the amazing whodunit plot, it is a timeless piece of art. I love this movie so much that I made a deck to reflect the plot. Put on your snowshoes and crippling suspicion, because we’re going to dive right in.

The Commander

The inspiration for this deck came from the Judge promo version of Morophon, the Boundless, though the side profile art from Commander Masters feels more fitting (and nightmarish). But why Morophon?

For those of you who have never seen The Thing (shame on you), the plot boils down to twelve men in a science outpost in Antarctica trying to evade and survive an alien that can absorb you and take your place. No one can trust anyone else because no one knows who’s really human and who’s a Thing. This got me thinking. What better way to build this deck than with a changeling at the helm? Morophon’s ability to reduce colored costs and buff its chosen form felt like the perfect fit to this idea I had been toying with for a while.

Twelve Humans and One Dog

When you take a peek at the list, you will notice that there are twelve Humans, eleven Shapeshifters, and one Dog. There is a reason for this! There are twelve Humans in The Thing. The cast is incredibly large, and yet it feels so intimate. You feel like part of the crew, trapped in the confined building alongside a being hellbent on consuming you.

Each Human in this deck is legendary, representing one member of the main cast. It’s definitely a weird spread, but their abilities make up for this wildness. Katilda, Dawnhart Prime helps with mana. Eowyn, Shieldmaiden and Adeline, Resplendent Cathar make tokens. Rick, Steadfast Leader; Beregond of the Guard; General Kudro of Drannith; Kamahl, Heart of Krosa; and Kyler, Sigardian Emissary buff your beefy Humans. You have to bolster your ranks somehow. The remaining Humans provide value, particularly Kenrith, the Returned King and Aragorn, the Uniter. 

But why is there a Dog? Well, the beginning of the film depicts a dog running through the snow. We then begin to notice that the dog is dodging bullets fired by two Norwegian men in a helicopter. The dog eventually makes its way into the American research base, starting the events of the movie because that dog isn’t a dog. It’s a Thing!

I chose Rin and Seri, Inseparable to represent the Dog in the movie due to its typal-dependent token generation. While the deck does have twelve Humans, it also has eleven changelings, which count as Dogs and Cats. Does it bother me that the Dog is also a Cat? A little, but the fact that it’s called Inseparable makes me chuckle a bit due to its thematic nature. 

“So, How Do We Know Who’s Human?”

Past the creatures, the remainder of the deck features some incredibly fun copy and Clone effects. Of course, you have the changelings, but the other copy spells add an extra layer of paranoia to our cast of Humans. Rite of Replication, Clone Legion, and Mystic Reflection serve as one-time creature copy spells. Maskwood Nexus and Conspiracy make sure every card in your deck is a Human (it infiltrated the deck, your hand, and your graveyard)!

Reflections of Littjara is probably the most consistent copier. When it enters, you choose Human, and suddenly you have a token copy of that Human. However, all the Humans in your deck are legendary. This means you have to play a game of, “Which legendary is the real legendary and which one is a Thing?” It’s a fun, flavorful minigame that makes me feel giddy every time a spell resolves. 

U.S. Outpost 31

When looking further down at my decklist, you will notice a lot of snow-themed cards. Because the movie takes place in an Antarctic research center, I thought it would be fun to build the world into the deck. That’s right. It means we get to use snow mana, baby!

Want to search for snow basics? Into the North! Want snow removal spells? Blood on the Snow and Blizzard Brawl have your back. Want a tutor? Search for Glory is here to get you even more snow or a legendary card (which is every Human in the deck).

While building this deck, I leaned heavily on Scryfall’s advanced search function to help me find some diamonds in the rough. Ever heard of Winter’s Chill? Probably not! But it is the weirdest Fog / removal spell I’ve ever seen. I think it’s hysterical.

While I am unsure if any of the main characters in the movie are married, Replicating Ring felt like a fun and thematic snow artifact that I could include in the list. Personally, I find the enchantments are some of the best pieces of this list. On Thin Ice serves as removal, Marit Lage’s Slumber gives you a big Thing token, Rime Transfusion makes your Thing commander unblockable, Glacial Crevasses (where the Thing was found) serves as a Fog, and Winter’s Night and Glittering Frost help ramp you even further.

Would it make the deck more streamlined to ignore this blatant piece of flavor? Of course, but there is something really exciting about being able to recreate the set and events of the movie using cards. 

Tell Your Favorite Stories

I can think of dozens of movies that can translate perfectly into Commander decks. That’s what makes me so excited about the future of Magic. It is constantly evolving, adding new bits and baubles that further expand the universe and push the envelope. I mean, Duskmourn is introducing televisions into Magic! If you’re a Poltergeist fan, a Hellraiser fan, or a fan of horror in general, this is the perfect opportunity for you to take a peek at what this set has to offer. I mean, they gave us a The Thing reference in the form of the new Duskmourn Secret Lair Phyrexian Metamorph (something I thought we’d never see).

My parting words to you all: be creative. Don’t limit yourself to the standard path of what is considered “optimal”. Explore other lines when deckbuilding. Avoid EDHREC‘s top recommended cards and instead take a trip to Scryfall’s advanced search function. You never know what gems you will find.

As always, happy brewing, deckbuilders!