Mind Flayarrrs Decklist & Guide: Captain N'ghathrod Precon

Overview

Mind Flayarrrs is a mill deck that steals what it mills. Captain N'ghathrod gives Horrors you control menace, and whenever a Horror you control deals combat damage to a player, that player mills that many cards. At the beginning of your end step, you choose a target artifact or creature card in an opponent's graveyard that was put there from their library this turn and put it onto the battlefield under your control.

The 99 cards are 31 creatures, 11 artifacts, 5 enchantments, 5 instants, 9 sorceries and 38 lands. Every one of the creatures is a Horror, so the deck's Horror payoffs, such as Zellix, Sanity Flayer, Grell Philosopher, Uchuulon and Psionic Ritual, work with the whole deck. The mill cards include Nemesis of Reason, Fractured Sanity, Mindcrank and Consuming Aberration, and the stealing cards include Extract from Darkness, From the Catacombs, Mind Flayer and Brainstealer Dragon.

Key Cards

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Consuming Aberration

Mill Engine · Scaling

A creature for {3}{U}{B}. Its power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in your opponents' graveyards, and whenever you cast a spell, each opponent reveals cards from the top of their library until they reveal a land card, then puts those cards into their graveyard. It mills opponents and grows as it does.

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Mind Flayer

Steal Effect · Horror

A 3/3 for {3}{U}{U}. When it enters, gain control of target creature for as long as you control Mind Flayer. It is a five-mana Horror that steals the best creature on the table.

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Hullbreaker Horror

Flash Finisher · Tempo

A 7/8 for {5}{U}{U}. It has flash and can't be countered. Whenever you cast a spell, you may return target spell you don't control or target nonland permanent to its owner's hand, so every spell you cast can bounce something.

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Zellix, Sanity Flayer

Mill Payoff · Token Maker

A 2/3 for {2}{U}. Whenever a player mills one or more creature cards, you create a 1/1 black Horror creature token. For {1} and a tap it makes target player mill three cards, so it can turn mill into tokens on its own.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about mana and cheap Horrors. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Dimir Signet, Talisman of Dominance, Mind Stone, Thought Vessel and Everflowing Chalice provide mana, and Dauthi Horror, Chasm Skulker, Wharf Infiltrator and Zellix, Sanity Flayer are early Horrors. Phyrexian Rager draws a card, and Lightning Greaves protects your best creature.

The middle of the game is about milling and stealing. Mindcrank mills opponents whenever they lose life, Nemesis of Reason mills ten cards whenever it attacks, and Fractured Sanity mills fourteen. Extract from Darkness and From the Catacombs put creatures from graveyards onto your battlefield, and Ravenous Chupacabra, Dark Hatchling and Mind Flayer deal with or take opposing creatures. Uchuulon makes copies of itself while exiling creatures from graveyards.

The late game is about huge Horrors and a one-sided reset. Brainstealer Dragon lets you play opponents' cards, Dusk Mangler makes each opponent sacrifice a creature, discard a card and lose 4 life, and Hullbreaker Horror bounces something on every spell. Hex, In Garruk's Wake and Curtains' Call remove opposing creatures, and Crippling Fear gives each creature that isn't a Horror -3/-3 until end of turn.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: Almost every creature is a Horror and works with Captain N'ghathrod, and the deck is good at turning an opponent's library into resources. It also has a lot of interaction, including Drown in the Loch, Feed the Swarm, Memory Plunder, Fact or Fiction and Syphon Mind.

Weaknesses: The plan depends on creatures connecting, so a deck with lots of blockers or removal can slow it down, and milling opponents does not win the game by itself. Some creatures, such as Dross Harvester, cost you life each turn, and a few of the deck's best cards, such as In Garruk's Wake and Hullbreaker Horror, cost seven or nine mana.

Want to improve it? See the Mind Flayarrrs upgrade guide: eleven swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict

Mind Flayarrrs is an unusual deck that does something different with the mill archetype: it uses your opponents' graveyards as its own. It rewards careful play and a good read of the table, and it is a great choice for players who like blue-black decks and quirky themes.

Want to see what a fully optimised Captain N'ghathrod build looks like? Try the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Mind Flayarrrs decklist?
The Mind Flayarrrs precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Captain N'ghathrod. The full Mind Flayarrrs decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

When was Mind Flayarrrs released?
Mind Flayarrrs was released on June 10, 2022 as part of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.

Who is the commander of Mind Flayarrrs?
Mind Flayarrrs is led by Captain N'ghathrod, a Dimir (U/B) legendary creature.

How many creatures are in Mind Flayarrrs?
The 99 cards besides Captain N'ghathrod include 31 creatures.

How many lands does Mind Flayarrrs have?
Mind Flayarrrs has 38 lands in the 99 cards besides Captain N'ghathrod, including basic lands.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Mind Flayarrrs precon, with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

Fetching decklist…

Captain N'ghathrod (commander), Crippling Fear, Extract from Darkness, Feed the Swarm, Fractured Sanity, From the Catacombs, Hex, In Garruk's Wake, Psionic Ritual, Syphon Mind, Ash Barrens, Choked Estuary, Command Tower, Creeping Tar Pit, Darkwater Catacombs, Dimir Aqueduct, Drownyard Temple, Exotic Orchard, 9 Island, Myriad Landscape, Nephalia Drownyard, Path of Ancestry, Port of Karfell, River of Tears, Rogue's Passage, Sunken Hollow, 11 Swamp, Tainted Isle, Temple of Deceit, Temple of the False God, Aboleth Spawn, Brainstealer Dragon, Chasm Skulker, Consuming Aberration, Dark Hatchling, Dauthi Horror, Dross Harvester, Dusk Mangler, Forgotten Creation, Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar, Grell Philosopher, Guiltfeeder, Hullbreaker Horror, Hunted Horror, Mind Flayer, Nemesis of Reason, Nighthowler, Nihilith, Overcharged Amalgam, Phyrexian Rager, Phyrexian Revoker, Plague Spitter, Psychosis Crawler, Ravenous Chupacabra, Sewer Nemesis, Sludge Monster, Spellskite, Uchuulon, Wharf Infiltrator, Woe Strider, Zellix, Sanity Flayer, Arcane Signet, Dimir Keyrune, Dimir Signet, Everflowing Chalice, Herald's Horn, Lightning Greaves, Mind Stone, Mindcrank, Sol Ring, Talisman of Dominance, Thought Vessel, Black Market, Endless Evil, Haunted One, Leyline of Anticipation, Reflections of Littjara, Curtains' Call, Drown in the Loch, Fact or Fiction, Memory Plunder, Pull from Tomorrow.