“Smeagol brings them up secret ways that nobody else could find… And he guides them and he searches for paths… Very nice friends, O yes my precious, very nice.” This quote perfectly encapsulates the mischievous yet surprisingly effective nature of Smeagol, Helpful Guide as a Commander in Magic: The Gathering. While the Lord of the Rings Universes Beyond set brought many exciting cards, Smeagol stands out as a commander capable of truly unique and disruptive strategies. Forget about gentle hobbits; with Smeagol at the helm, prepare to delve into the darker, more acquisitive side of Middle-earth, where your opponents’ lands become your precious prizes. This isn’t just another deck; it’s a masterclass in resource denial and graveyard manipulation, all wrapped in a flavorful and thematic package.
[](/p/Magic%3A+The+Gathering/Smeagol,%20Helpful%20Guide)
The Allure of the Ring and Landfall Mayhem
Smeagol, Helpful Guide is a Golgari (Black/Green) commander that thrives on being “tempted by the Ring.” This mechanic, introduced in the Lord of the Rings set, becomes the engine of your deck. Smeagol ensures you are tempted by the Ring every single turn, triggering a cascade of powerful effects. What makes him truly special? When you become tempted, Smeagol doesn’t just gain a minor advantage; he pilfers a land from an opponent and throws cards from their library into the graveyard. This combination is simply game-changing in Commander.
For players who enjoy resource denial and graveyard strategies, Smeagol is a dream come true. Imagine the satisfaction of consistently depriving your opponents of mana while simultaneously fueling your graveyard-centric game plan. This deck masterfully blends these two potent strategies, creating a synergistic powerhouse that is both fun to play and incredibly frustrating to play against (for your opponents, at least!). If your Commander playstyle leans towards graveyard recursion and leveraging your opponents’ resources against them, Smeagol is ready to guide you down some very profitable secret paths.
Stealing Lands: The Precious Resource
The core of Smeagol’s strategy revolves around taking your opponents’ lands. This isn’t just about mana denial; it’s about fueling your own landfall triggers and enhancing other cards in your deck. Remember Herald of Leshrac? This classic card from Coldsnap, once too slow for traditional Magic formats, finds a perfect home in a Smeagol Commander deck.
[](/p/Magic%3A+The+Gathering/Herald%20of%20Leshrac)
Herald of Leshrac becomes an absolute monster when paired with Smeagol. As you amass stolen lands, Herald grows in power and toughness, quickly becoming a resilient threat. Reaching 14 toughness, for example, allows it to survive common board wipes like Blasphemous Act, ensuring your land-stealing engine remains online. The synergy is undeniable: Smeagol provides the lands, and Herald reaps the rewards, creating a snowball effect that can quickly overwhelm opponents.
Landfall Triggers: Synergistic Payoffs
Taking lands isn’t just about disruption; it’s also about generating value through landfall triggers. The more lands entering the battlefield under your control (even if they were previously your opponents’), the more benefits you reap. Cards like Retreat to Hagra transform from minor life drain effects to serious threats when triggered repeatedly.
Don’t be afraid to aggressively ramp and play your own lands. Even if you empty your hand with cards like Boundless Realms, Smeagol ensures you have access to a continuous stream of new lands from your opponents. Cards like Amulet of Vigor and Tiller Engine further amplify this strategy by allowing stolen lands to enter the battlefield untapped, maximizing your mana advantage and landfall triggers each turn. With Smeagol, every “tempted by the Ring” trigger becomes a double threat: land theft and a landfall opportunity.
Sacrifice and Reanimation: Completing the Cycle
To consistently trigger Smeagol’s land-stealing ability, you need a creature to die on your side of the battlefield each turn. In Golgari colors, this is hardly a drawback; it’s an opportunity. Enter Perilous Forays, a seemingly unassuming card that becomes a powerhouse in this deck.
[](/p/Magic%3A+The+Gathering/Perilous%20Forays)
Perilous Forays allows you to sacrifice a creature to search for a basic land and put it onto the battlefield tapped. This not only fulfills Smeagol’s trigger condition but also provides additional ramp and landfall opportunities. The apparent “downside” of sacrificing creatures is easily mitigated by the abundance of cards that generate creatures upon landfall triggers. Furthermore, you’ll be stealing creatures from your opponents’ graveyards, ensuring a constant supply of fodder for your sacrifice outlets. This creates a beautiful cycle: sacrifice creatures, gain lands, trigger landfall, generate more creatures, and repeat.
New Allies in the Shadows
The Lord of the Rings set itself provides excellent support for Smeagol. Dunedain Rangers becomes a valuable piece, allowing you to sacrifice creatures to avoid being tempted by the Ring when needed, providing flexibility in managing the Ring’s ongoing effects.
[](/p/Magic%3A+The+Gathering/Dunedain%20Rangers)
Gollum, Patient Plotter is another flavorful and functional inclusion. As a sacrifice outlet and a way to be tempted by the Ring, Gollum synergizes perfectly with Smeagol, both mechanically and thematically. Having both Smeagol and Gollum on the battlefield adds a delightful touch of Middle-earth intrigue to your Commander games.
[](/p/Magic%3A+The+Gathering/Gollum,%20Patient%20Plotter)
And who could forget the Nazgûl? Playing multiple copies of Nazgûl provides a consistent source of creatures that benefit from being tempted by the Ring. Their deathtouch ability makes them relevant in combat, and their self-pumping ability ensures they remain a threat throughout the game. Having nine Nazgûl in your deck is not just flavorful; it’s strategically sound.
[](/p/Magic%3A+The+Gathering/Nazgul)
Decklist: Secret Paths to Victory
This Smeagol decklist showcases the synergy and strategy discussed:
Secret Paths | Commander | Jason Alt
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Commander (1)
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Planeswalkers (2)
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Sorceries (8)
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Artifacts (9)
This deck is packed with synergy and offers multiple paths to victory, from grinding out opponents with resource denial to overwhelming them with graveyard recursion and landfall-fueled threats.
Cards Considered, But Not Included
While many cards could fit into a Smeagol deck, some popular choices were deliberately excluded to maintain focus and synergy. Rampaging Baloths, for example, is considered less effective than more streamlined landfall creatures. The One Ring, despite its thematic relevance, doesn’t directly contribute to the deck’s core strategies of land theft and graveyard manipulation. Similarly, sacrifice outlets like Evolutionary Leap and Greater Good, while powerful, are less synergistic than Perilous Forays and Attrition in this specific build. Every card in the deck is chosen to maximize the effectiveness of Smeagol’s unique abilities and create a cohesive and potent Commander experience.
Final Thoughts: Embrace the Precious
Smeagol, Helpful Guide is more than just a flavorful Commander; it’s a powerful and unique strategy that can dominate Commander tables. By leveraging the “tempted by the Ring” mechanic, stealing your opponents’ lands, and capitalizing on landfall and graveyard synergies, you can build a deck that is both disruptive and rewarding to play. So, embrace your inner Gollum, gather your precious lands, and lead your Smeagol Commander deck to victory!
Let us know your thoughts! Are there any cards you think are essential for a Smeagol, Helpful Guide deck? Share your ideas and deck tech suggestions on social media!
TAGS articles, casual, edh, commander, decklist, jason alt, golgari, 75% commander, 75% theory, black green, [the lord of the rings](/a/?tagged%5B%5D=the%20lord%20of%
