Omnath, Locus of All Commander Deck Guide

Last updated on November 29, 2023

Omnath, Locus of All | Illustration by Bryan Sola

You have a lot of options at your disposal when building a 5-color deck. While some 5-color commanders have a clear theme, like The Ur-Dragon or Sliver Overlord, others offer a bit more flexibility, like the new Omnath, Locus of All. It would’ve been relatively easy to just slap all the best Commander staples into this deck, but I decided to go in a different direction.

I realized this deck is relatively powerful after playtesting it a few times, but it's definitely not cEDH level. There aren’t any infinite combos or nasty interactions, so you likely won’t have to have any Rule 0 conversations with this one. I'd say this is a fun deck to use in more casual playgroups or at your LGS when the power level of your pod isn’t too high.

Let's get right into it!

The Deck

Maelstrom Archangel | Illustration by Cyril Van Der Haegen

I wanted to create a unique build that allowed me to play cards I don’t usually get to use with this Omnath, Locus of All deck. I made sure to include a lot of 5-color and multicolor cards that would help trigger Omnath's mana-generating ability to play into Omnath’s strengths. While not all of them necessarily fit super well, I also wanted to include all of the other versions of Omnath, which is something I’ve been looking forward to doing since it became clear that Wizards would keep adding colors to Omnath’s identity.

A good chunk of the creatures and other spells in this deck are three or more colors to make sure they synergize well with Omnath, Locus of All. That said, there are certain types of cards all 5-color decks need to operate well. These are mainly colorless or mono-color cards like Arcane Signet, Chromatic Lantern, and Skyshroud Claim that get you access to the colors you need. This increases your chances of being able to cast Omnath more quickly, or casting your other multicolor cards.

I also made sure to include some cards that support other multicolored spells like Rienne, Angel of Rebirth, along with cards like Ramos, Dragon Engine that give you extra benefits for casting them. While I didn’t lean too heavily into black mana sources in the mana base, I still included cards like Phyrexian Obliterator and Bolas's Citadel since Omnath produces a lot of extra black mana.

The Commander

Omnath, Locus of All is the completion—or should I say compleation—of the Omnath cycle. This version of Omnath is slightly easier to cast than some other 5-color commanders thanks to its Phyrexian mana. This means you can easily get it out turn 4 or even turn 3 as long as you have access to your other four colors.

Omnath helps you in a variety of ways once on the field. First, a consistent source of extra cards is always a nice thing to have. You’ll also likely also generate some extra mana every turn depending on the top card of your deck. Even if you aren’t able to spend that mana, Omnath stores it for you. This makes it easier to get to your high-cost cards more quickly than other decks might be able to.

As long as you can keep Omnath on the field, you’ll have a pretty strong advantage in the game.

Multicolor Support

Since this is a deck with so many multicolored cards, I wanted to include some ways to support that theme.

Rienne, Angel of Rebirth was a no-brainer since it gives you a way to bring back most of your creatures if they die. While Rienne will likely be a target for removal, that’s just another way it protects your other permanents.

Fallaji Wayfarer is a very useful card in a multicolor deck because it makes it easier to cast cards with more restrictive costs. Since creatures can convoke for mana of their own color, you’ll have a lot of multicolor mana dorks to help you with your 4- or 5-color spells.

Both Jodah, Archmage Eternal and Fist of Suns allow you to pay instead of the price for spells. This helps you cast big spells for cheaper, or multicolored spells like your Ultimatums without having the exact mana for each color.

Jared Carthalion offers some support to your multicolored creatures by providing them with a significant buff. It can also grab any of your multicolored cards out of your graveyard and drop them back in your hand. You’ll also likely get some added value out of its -6 ability if you use it since this deck runs a lot of 5-color cards.

Multicolor Payoffs

I’ve also added built-in ways to pay off the many multicolored spells you have in this deck.

Faeburrow Elder can generate more mana for you the more colors you have on the board.

The Mana Rig is another good way to get some extra mana out of your multicolored spells. Though Powerstone tokens aren’t the best way to generate mana, they do get a little better in this deck. If you tap your Powerstones and then move to a later phase in your turn, Omnath, Locus of All can turn the mana you'd otherwise only be able to spend on artifacts into black mana.

Another good payoff for your multicolored spells is Ramos, Dragon Engine. Not only does doing so buff Ramos, it also also gives you the opportunity to add a lot of mana for more multicolored spells in the future.

Extra Mana

Omnath, Locus of All creates a unique situation where certain niche cards become much more useful since it stores unspent mana for you.

While you’d usually need to spend the mana provided by Braid of Fire before changing steps, now you can store it for when you need it.

Similarly, Black Market would normally require you to spend the extra mana you’re given on your precombat main phase. But with Omnath you can save the mana for later on your turn, or even for future turns.

Removal

There isn’t too much targeted removal in this deck, so I chose ones that could more thoroughly remove permanents.

Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares allow you to exile creatures, so you won’t have to worry about something being indestructible.

Void Rend can hit a wide range of permanents, and it’s nice to know it goes through since it can’t be countered. It’s also three colors, so it triggers Omnath’s ability to make you some extra mana.

Both Plague Wind and In Garruk's Wake are nice one-sided board wipes, so you can remove just your opponent’s creatures. While they are pretty pricey, you’ll hopefully have a good amount of mana stored up through Omnath’s ability.

Ruinous Ultimatum is an even more powerful one-sided board wipe, and it has three colors in its cost as an added bonus.

While Iridian Maelstrom still hits some of your creatures, it allows you to keep Omnath and some of your harder-to-cast creatures while still clearing the board. Of course, it also won’t hit your opponents’ 5-color creatures, so this could be a bit hit-or-miss depending on your matchup.

Protection

It’ll be important that you can keep Omnah, Locus of All on the battlefield, so making it harder to remove can be a big benefit.

Equipment like Lightning Greaves and Darksteel Plate are a great options to help keep Omnath alive.

Heroic Intervention can be a great way to stop Omnath from being destroyed and protects the rest of your permanents if you’re using it in response to a board wipe.

Teferi's Protection pretty much covers all your bases if you’re in need of more comprehensive protection.

X Spells

A great way to use all the extra mana you're storing with Omnath, Locus of All is by using it to pump up X spells.

Banefire, Crackle With Power, and Lavalanche can all potentially take out a player if you’re able to do enough damage with them. Lavalanche has the added benefit of being able to act as a form of removal for planeswalkers and creatures.

Villainous Wealth can get you a good number of free spells from one of your opponents’ decks. While it’s possible to whiff, you’ll likely hit at least something with enough mana pumped into this card. It can also be a great spell to use against players who recently used a spell that puts a specific card on top of their deck.

White Sun's Twilight can be a great way to clear the board while also giving you a way to threaten your opponents. It can also help keep you alive a little while longer thanks to the extra life you’ll be gaining.

Torment of Hailfire is a great way to either clear out your opponents’ boards or cause them to lose a lot of life. You can even close out a game if your opponents are getting low on life with enough mana spent on this card.

The Mana Base

Making sure you have access to all five colors of mana is very important for this deck. I included a lot of Triomes and dual lands with basic land types to make sure that’s a little easier.

I put a special emphasis on Triomes with Forest in their type line, like Indatha Triome, Ketria Triome, and Ziatora's Proving Ground. This allows you to find them in your deck with cards like Nature's Lore and Skyshroud Claim.

As far as dual lands go I went with shock lands because they can be searched for with your fetch lands like Arid Mesa and Polluted Delta. Shocks like Overgrown Tomb and Temple Garden can also be found with the same spells that get your Triomes for you since they include Forest in their type line.

I’ve also included Command Tower and Mana Confluence, which both create mana of any color. While The World Tree can only initially tap for green, it’s one of the best forms of fixing in 5-color Commander decks thanks to its ability.

On top of your lands I also included a good number of mana rocks. Arcane Signet can tap for any color of mana and so can Chromatic Lantern, with the added benefit of allowing all your lands to do so as well. Timeless Lotus is especially helpful in this deck since it can allow you to easily cast Omnath or any of your 5-color spells.

Chromatic Orrery is perhaps the strongest mana rock in this deck thanks to its ability. You can spend the black mana stored up by Omnath in any way you want since it allows you to spend mana as though it were any color.

Birds of Paradise and Faeburrow Elder are both good mana dorks for a 5-color deck like this one. And while it can’t produce mana, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove fixes your mana. It can also act as a form of ramp if you have multiple lands in your hand.

The Strategy

The strategy for this deck is relatively straightforward; you’re basically just looking to cast powerful spells with the extra mana you store up with Omnath’s ability.

One important thing to note is that you should make sure you’re tapping any unused mana sources whenever you have Omnath, Locus of All on the field. I recommend leaving any unspent mana open until the player right before you takes their turn. Then tap any untapped lands or mana rocks on their end step to make sure you get that mana stored right before your turn. This will make sure you aren’t having any wasted turns even if you aren’t able to use all your mana since you’ll be able to use it in the future.

If you start with Darksteel Plate or Lightning Greaves in your opening hand, you might want to get one of them on the field before you cast Omnath. That way you can protect it from removal long enough to make use of its abilities. You’ll also want to be aware of what card is on top of your library if possible with Omnath out. You can do your best to make sure Omnath is producing mana by revealing a three-or-more-color card from the top of your deck using Sylvan Library or Bolas's Citadel.

There isn’t a single game-ending spell in this deck, though Torment of Hailfire could potentially end things if your opponents are low enough on both life and permanents. You’ll more likely be stuck taking out your opponents one at a time with cards like Crackle with Power and Banefire.

Of course, you can also finish off opponents with combat damage or even poison counters if you use a well-timed Torment of Hailfire.

Combos and Interactions

While there aren’t any infinite combos in this deck, there are still good bits of interaction to be aware of.

Sylvan Library makes it easier to make sure Omnath, Locus of All is being used to its full potential. When you draw your three cards, you can make sure one of the three-or-more-color cards from among them ends up on top. That way you’ll still get the card in your hand with Omnath’s ability along with some extra mana.

Doubling Cube normally requires a lot of mana to be made in a single turn for a minor gain. But you can use it to great effect when you’re storing up a lot of mana over the course of multiple turns with Omnath. It pairs well with any of your X spells, like Finale of Devastation. Using this interaction to find Blightsteel Colossus can be a pretty good way to eliminate a player when they don’t see it coming.

Budget Options

If you’re looking for the quickest way to cut down on cost for this deck, the easiest thing to do is run a less optimized land base. Land cards like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Polluted Delta, and Breeding Pool are all relatively expensive.

A quick fix for dual lands would be to replace your shocks with bond lands like Luxury Suite or Sea of Clouds. This also allows you to cut down on fetches since there aren’t as many things to fetch. You can increase the number of basic lands you have and use cards that find them, like Fabled Passage.

Teferi's Protection and Heroic Intervention have also been creeping up in price. If you don’t already have a copy, you can swap them out for different ways to keep Omnath safe. Sword of Sinew and Steel and Sword of War and Peace can grant Omnath protection from some of the most popular colors for removal spells. Whispersilk Cloak can also keep Omnath safe pretty effectively.

Blightsteel Colossus is a bit of a pet card of mine, but I admit it isn’t necessary for this deck. It basically fills the role of a big creature you can fetch with Finale of Devastation. You can either cut both cards and add more X damage spells like Fireball, or swap out Blightsteel for one of your favorite stompy creatures.

Other Builds

I didn’t really go for a specific theme with this build, I just put cards I wanted to play with together. If you want a more focused deck you can definitely build Omnath, Locus of All to fit a couple of different themes.

Omnath (Elemental) Tribal

If you really want to lean into using all the Omnaths in a way that works well together, you can go for an elemental tribal build. This allows you to keep cards like Horde of Notions and Muldrotha, the Gravetide, but you’ll also want to add other multicolor elementals like Illuna, Apex of Wishes and Sol'Kanar the Tainted.

X Spells

You can also lean more heavily into X spells. This could mean including ways to make even more mana with cards like Zendikar Resurgent and Nyxbloom Ancient. You can also include more ways to drain your opponents’ life like Debt to the Deathless.

Magus Lucea Kane would be a great addition to this deck, and it's surprisingly cheap for how helpful it can be.

Commanding Conclusion

Faeburrow Elder | Illustration by Raoul Vitale

I’m guessing that Omnath, Locus of All will become a relatively popular commander. Not only is it the completion of a popular creature cycle, it’s also just a powerful card in its own right.

I hope you give this build a try or allow it to inspire you to make your own 5-color deck. I love decks that just let me play with my cards that don’t usually get used, and I encourage you to try doing the same.

How would you build an Omnath, Locus of All deck? Do you prefer themed decks, or just playing with cards you like? Let me know in the comments below, or find us over on Draftsim’s Twitter.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you in the next one!