EDH Optimizer
Nihiloor
Legendary Creature — Horror · 2WUB
Color identity: Black · Blue · White · Esper
Nihiloor is Esper (black, blue and white): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
When Nihiloor enters, for each opponent, tap up to one untapped creature you control. When you do, gain control of target creature that player controls with power less than or equal to the tapped creature's power for as long as you control Nihiloor.
Whenever you attack with a creature an opponent owns, you gain 2 life and that player loses 2 life.
Reference price of the card: €0.30
Average lands in decks for Nihiloor: 36
TheftControlBlinkHorrorsMillClonesExileReanimator
Build your Nihiloor deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Nihiloor 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Nihiloor 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)
- Consistency40
- Speed41
- Interaction77
- Resilience81
- Closing45
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (26 nonbasic, 1 Plains, 5 Island, 4 Swamp)
Arcane Signet · Sol Ring · Mind Flayer · Extract Brain · Hostage Taker · Intellect Devourer · Agent of Treachery · Brainstealer Dragon · Swords to Plowshares · Thief of Sanity · Counterspell · Control Magic · Dimir Signet · Elder Brain · Gonti, Lord of Luxury · Azorius Signet · Fellwar Stone · Void Rend · Blue Sun's Twilight · Arvinox, the Mind Flail · Captain N'ghathrod · Orzhov Signet · Thieving Amalgam · Athreos, Shroud-Veiled · Sower of Temptation · Talisman of Dominance · Siphon Insight · Beguiler of Wills · Cloudshift · Path to Exile · Xanathar, Guild Kingpin · Soulherder · Baleful Strix · Conjurer's Closet · Despark · Ghostly Flicker · Commander's Sphere · Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar · Nightveil Specter · Solemn Simulacrum · Bribery · Fracture · Talisman of Progress · Gisa, Glorious Resurrector · Propaganda · Talisman of Hierarchy · Debtors' Knell · Dovin's Veto · Ephemerate · Inevitable Betrayal · Reanimate · Merieke Ri Berit · Mind Control · Chromatic Lantern · Corrupted Conscience · Mass Manipulation · Sepulchral Primordial · Blatant Thievery · Cunning Rhetoric · Daxos of Meletis · Lightning Greaves · Negate · Aboleth Spawn · Command Tower · Arcane Sanctum · Exotic Orchard · Sunken Hollow · Prairie Stream · Raffine's Tower · Watery Grave · Godless Shrine · Drowned Catacomb · Evolving Wilds · Glacial Fortress · Hallowed Fountain · Isolated Chapel · Reliquary Tower · Dimir Aqueduct · Port Town · Shipwreck Marsh · Morphic Pool · Temple of Deceit · Azorius Chancery · Choked Estuary · Deserted Beach · Sea of Clouds · Caves of Koilos · Vault of Champions · Bojuka Bog
🃏 Recommended cards for Nihiloor
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Nihiloor, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Mind Flayer | 67% | +67% |
| Extract Brain | 52% | +51% |
| Intellect Devourer | 50% | +50% |
| Hostage Taker | 52% | +50% |
| Brainstealer Dragon | 49% | +48% |
| Agent of Treachery | 49% | +47% |
| Thief of Sanity | 49% | +47% |
| Elder Brain | 47% | +47% |
| Control Magic | 47% | +46% |
| Gonti, Lord of Luxury | 44% | +43% |
| Blue Sun's Twilight | 42% | +41% |
| Captain N'ghathrod | 41% | +40% |
| Arvinox, the Mind Flail | 41% | +40% |
| Thieving Amalgam | 40% | +40% |
| Sower of Temptation | 39% | +38% |
| Siphon Insight | 37% | +36% |
| Beguiler of Wills | 36% | +36% |
| Athreos, Shroud-Veiled | 39% | +35% |
| Cloudshift | 36% | +34% |
| Xanathar, Guild Kingpin | 34% | +34% |
| Nightveil Specter | 31% | +31% |
| Soulherder | 33% | +31% |
| Conjurer's Closet | 32% | +30% |
| Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar | 31% | +29% |
💰 The best cards for your Nihiloor 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.
- Mind Flayer
- Extract Brain
- Intellect Devourer
- Hostage Taker
- Thief of Sanity
- Elder Brain
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Brainstealer Dragon
- Agent of Treachery
- Captain N'ghathrod
- Beguiler of Wills
- Conjurer's Closet
- Gisa, Glorious Resurrector
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
- Nautiloid Ship
- Zellix, Sanity Flayer
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Nihiloor
- Hullbreaker Horror + Sol Ring → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite storm count
- Demonic Consultation + Thassa's Oracle → Exile your library, Win the game
- Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Tainted Pact + Thassa's Oracle → Win the game
- Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter → Infinite magecraft triggers, Infinite mana nonland permanents you control can produce, Infinite storm count, Infinite untap of nonland permanents you control
- Bloodchief Ascension + Mindcrank → Infinite mill, Near-infinite lifegain, Near-infinite lifegain triggers, Near-infinite lifeloss
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Nihiloor's color identity?
Nihiloor is Esper (black, blue and white): its deck can only run cards of those colors 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 Nihiloor come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Nihiloor deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 4.7 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 95 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 26 % of the time and floods 21 %. Deck health: C (55/100).
How many lands should a Nihiloor deck run?
Real Nihiloor decks run 36 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 Nihiloor?
The three highest-synergy cards are Mind Flayer, Extract Brain, Intellect Devourer. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Nihiloor decks.
What combos does Nihiloor have?
Nihiloor has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Hullbreaker Horror + Sol Ring. 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 Nihiloor deck cost?
You can start cheap: Mind Flayer, Extract Brain, Intellect Devourer 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.