The Ancient One
Descend 8 — The Ancient One can't attack or block unless there are eight or more permanent cards in your graveyard. {2}{U}{B}: Draw a card, then discard a card. When you discard a card this way, target player mills cards equal to its mana value.
How The Ancient One decks play in EDH
The Ancient One is a Dimir commander in blue and black costing UB, and its legendary creature - spirit god line shapes the whole deck around it. It draws extra cards, so the deck can afford a lower curve and lean on volume. It fills graveyards, which can be a win condition on its own or fuel for recursion. The cards below are the ones The Ancient One decks actually play most often, grouped by the job they do.
Most-played cards
20 cards · about $63.13Play rates from EDHREC. Prices from Scryfall, refreshed daily.
Card draw (3)
Counterspells (1)
Creatures (7)
Synergy & payoffs (9)
Build the full 100
Grimoire generates a complete, Commander-legal The Ancient One decklist with a written strategy, a full mana base and live prices — from the whole card pool, or only from cards you already own.
Start with The Ancient OneThe Ancient One deck questions
What colours can I use in a The Ancient One deck?
The Ancient One has a Dimir colour identity, so every card in the deck must be blue and black or colourless. That includes mana symbols in rules text, not just casting cost.
What are the best cards for The Ancient One?
The cards played most often in The Ancient One decks include The Master of Lake-town, Dark Matter Manipulator, Avacyn, Angel of Horror. The full list of staples above is grouped by the job each card does, so you can see the deck's skeleton rather than just a pile of names.
How much does a The Ancient One deck cost?
The 20 most-played cards shown above come to roughly $63.13 at current market prices. A complete 100-card build costs more, and Grimoire can generate a budget version instead if you set a price ceiling.
Can I build a The Ancient One deck from cards I already own?
Yes. Import your collection into Grimoire and choose "my cards" when you build. The generator will only use cards you actually own, and the Missing Cards page shows what you would need to buy to finish any list.