How to Mulligan Sauron, the Dark Lord
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Opening hand priorities
Amass-oriented zombie tokens with wheels and reanimation loops. The goal is not a pretty seven-card hand. It is a hand that develops mana, lines up colors, and actually points toward the deck first meaningful turns.
Ideal Early Script
- Turn 1: develop mana or the cheapest enabler for Grixis amass and wheel reanimation.
- Turn 2: add protection, card flow, or the support piece that makes Sauron matter.
- Turn 3+: commit the commander or bridge toward the first engine turn only when the board can use it.
Your opener should support
Hands to be suspicious of
- - generic control shells
- - lifegain packages
Mulligan decisions with Sauron, the Dark Lord start with role clarity: does your opener actually support a real Sauron, the Dark Lord game plan around amass and zombies? Amass-oriented zombie tokens with wheels and reanimation loops. Support with discard draw sevens and large payoff enchantments.
What a keepable hand looks like
Keep hands with stable Grixis mana, early interaction, and at least one card that sets up the discard-draw or Army plan. Cheap removal, card selection, and a clean path to cast Sauron on schedule matter more than a hand with big payoffs and no early plays.
When to ship a hand
Ship hands that rely entirely on Sauron untapping, or hands with no answer to fast creature starts. The commander is excellent at taking over a long game, but he still needs the early shell to get there.
Your first three turns
The first turns should trim opposing pressure and set up mana. Once lands, you want either a way to capitalize on the Army body immediately or enough protection that the first ring temptation meaningfully improves your hand.
Ready to test real opener quality for Sauron, the Dark Lord? Run your own list through the ManaTap mulligan simulator, compare play versus draw, and check how often your opener actually lines up with the plan above.
Related commander guides
FAQ
- What is the London mulligan?
- You put any number of cards from your hand on the bottom of your library, then draw back up to seven. In Commander, your first mulligan is free.
- How many lands should I keep?
- Most Commander decks want two to four lands in the opener. Low-curve decks can keep two; higher curves want three or four.
- Should I mulligan a hand with no ramp?
- It depends on your curve. If your deck needs early ramp to function, ship hands without it. If you have enough lands and cheap plays, you might keep.
- Does play vs draw affect mulligan strategy?
- Yes. On the draw you get an extra card, so you can sometimes keep slightly weaker hands.
- How can I test my mulligan strategy?
- Use the ManaTap mulligan simulator. Paste your decklist, set parameters, and run thousands of simulations to see keep rates.