EDH Optimizer
He Who Hungers
Legendary Creature — Spirit · 4B
Color identity: Black
He Who Hungers is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Flying
{1}, Sacrifice a Spirit: Target opponent reveals their hand. You choose a card from it. That player discards that card. Activate only as a sorcery.
Soulshift 4 (When this creature dies, you may return target Spirit card with mana value 4 or less from your graveyard to your hand.)
Reference price of the card: €0.27
Average lands in decks for He Who Hungers: 35
SpiritsDiscardGraveyardAristocratsReanimatorComboControlLifegain
Build your He Who Hungers deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for He Who Hungers 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average He Who Hungers deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: C (55/100)
- Consistency39
- Speed50
- Interaction24
- Resilience67
- Closing86
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 35 lands (12 nonbasic, 23 Swamp)
Thief of Hope · Junji, the Midnight Sky · Infernal Kirin · Sol Ring · Bloodghast · Nether Traitor · Geth's Grimoire · Waste Not · Crypt Ghast · Iname, Death Aspect · Baku Altar · Gravelighter · Moira, Urborg Haunt · Kyoki, Sanity's Eclipse · Syphon Mind · Arcane Signet · Jet Medallion · Myojin of Night's Reach · Megrim · Rend Flesh · Ashen-Skin Zubera · Dark Ritual · Ghost-Lit Stalker · Will-o'-the-Wisp · Banshee of the Dread Choir · Tormented Soul · Soulless Revival · Liliana's Caress · Death Denied · Raiders' Wake · Feed the Swarm · Graveshifter · Horobi's Whisper · Kami of the Waning Moon · Long-Forgotten Gohei · Sign in Blood · Starving Revenant · Akuta, Born of Ash · Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker · Kemuri-Onna · Seize the Soul · Victimize · Deathknell Kami · Kami of Empty Graves · Kokusho, the Evening Star · Myojin of Grim Betrayal · Painful Quandary · Patriarch's Bidding · Charcoal Diamond · Fell Specter · Footsteps of the Goryo · Songs of the Damned · Plagued Rusalka · Bontu's Monument · Reanimate · The Long Reach of Night // Animus of Night's Reach · Devouring Greed · Grave Pact · Mind Stone · Bandit's Talent · Gibbering Kami · Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire · Nether Shadow · Urborg Scavengers · Cabal Coffers · Bojuka Bog · Cabal Stronghold · Crypt of Agadeem · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Witch's Cottage · Geier Reach Sanitarium · Realm of Koh · Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx · Myriad Landscape · Mortuary Mire · Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
🃏 Recommended cards for He Who Hungers
The highest-synergy cards in decks for He Who Hungers, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Thief of Hope | 86% | +86% |
| Infernal Kirin | 79% | +78% |
| Junji, the Midnight Sky | 80% | +75% |
| Iname, Death Aspect | 67% | +67% |
| Baku Altar | 66% | +66% |
| Bloodghast | 78% | +65% |
| Geth's Grimoire | 70% | +63% |
| Nether Traitor | 72% | +63% |
| Moira, Urborg Haunt | 63% | +63% |
| Kyoki, Sanity's Eclipse | 62% | +62% |
| Gravelighter | 64% | +61% |
| Waste Not | 69% | +59% |
| Myojin of Night's Reach | 56% | +55% |
| Rend Flesh | 55% | +55% |
| Ashen-Skin Zubera | 54% | +54% |
| Will-o'-the-Wisp | 53% | +53% |
| Ghost-Lit Stalker | 53% | +53% |
| Banshee of the Dread Choir | 52% | +52% |
| Megrim | 55% | +50% |
| Syphon Mind | 62% | +50% |
| Kuroki, Thief of Talents | 50% | +50% |
| Soulless Revival | 49% | +49% |
| Tormented Soul | 50% | +47% |
| Death Denied | 47% | +46% |
💰 The best cards for your He Who Hungers deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Thief of Hope
- Infernal Kirin
- Junji, the Midnight Sky
- Iname, Death Aspect
- Baku Altar
- Bloodghast
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Geth's Grimoire
- Waste Not
- Liliana's Caress
- Patriarch's Bidding
- Crypt of Agadeem
- Andúril, Flame of the West
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Kokusho, the Evening Star
- Crypt Ghast
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with He Who Hungers
- Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose + Bloodthirsty Conqueror → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar → Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite storm count
- Sanguine Bond + Bloodthirsty Conqueror → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Exquisite Blood + Enduring Tenacity → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank → Infinite mill, Near-infinite lifegain, Near-infinite lifegain triggers, Near-infinite lifeloss
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is He Who Hungers's color identity?
He Who Hungers is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does He Who Hungers come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average He Who Hungers deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 35 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 4.8 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 94 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 36 % of the time and floods 15 %. Deck health: C (55/100).
How many lands should a He Who Hungers deck run?
Real He Who Hungers decks run 35 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for He Who Hungers?
The three highest-synergy cards are Thief of Hope, Infernal Kirin, Junji, the Midnight Sky. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in He Who Hungers decks.
What combos does He Who Hungers have?
He Who Hungers has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose + Exquisite Blood. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a He Who Hungers deck cost?
You can start cheap: Thief of Hope, Infernal Kirin, Junji, the Midnight Sky are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.