Rage into the ValleyRage into the Valley | Art by Antonio José Manzanedo

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Widespread BrutalityWidespread Brutality is the only board wipe that makes you an Army?)

Amass started in Amonkhet, but since then, it has become the domain of Lord of the Rings.

More importantly, The Hobbit has brought us a third (fourth?) type of Army we can amass in Goblins, which raises the question: what is the best type of Army? Actually, that's not the right question. The right question is "what are the best token-creators for each type of Army?"

Well, let's find out.

Top 10 Army Makers of Each Type

Criteria: Cards which can create Army tokens. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

10. Enter the God-EternalsEnter the God-Eternals vs. The Mouth of SauronThe Mouth of Sauron vs. Tidings of WarTidings of War

(Mouth: 21.8K, Enter: 9K, Tidings: 793 Inclusions)

The most popular of our initial bunch is The Mouth of SauronThe Mouth of Sauron, seeing play in double the decks of the other two cards combined, and while I could see The Mouth being okay if a deck was built around it, almost none of its inclusions are from decks it's leading. Instead, its EDHREC page is a smorgasbord of other Lord of the Rings commanders, none of which care about milling and most of which care about amassing huge Armies. My problem with that? Enter the God-EternalsEnter the God-Eternals is much better at creating a huge Army than The Mouth of Sauron is. Sure, a Zombie Orc Army isn't on theme for your LotR deck, but if you're just looking for the huge token, why not take the free removal, mill for yourself, and the guaranteed 4/4? Honestly, though, if I was looking to do Army things at all costs, I would actually go with the new entry in Tidings of WarTidings of War. One mana for a 1/1 Army early, then tack on another three +1/+1 counters late. What's not to like?

9. Lazotep ReaverLazotep Reaver vs. Corsairs of UmbarCorsairs of Umbar vs. Rage into the ValleyRage into the Valley

(Corsairs: 23.7K, Reaver: 9.66K, Rage: 947 Inclusions)

Corsairs of UmbarCorsairs of Umbar rightfully deserves its spot at the top here, given that it's one of the few noncommander options that will repeatedly make an Army, and it can make it unblockable. I will say, however, that I'm surprised to see Lazotep ReaverLazotep Reaver with as few inclusions as it has. A two-mana 1/2 that immediately makes a 1/1 Army is pretty great, even if you're not doing Army things at all. Aristocrats decks the world over run on cards like that, although there are admittedly already a lot of them. Still, the Zombie type carries a lot of weight, so I do feel like folks are sleeping on this one a bit. Phyrexian RagerPhyrexian Rager, however, isn't seeing a lot of play these days, so I don't see a future where Rage into the ValleyRage into the Valley suddenly pops off.

8. Commence the EndgameCommence the Endgame vs. Treason of IsengardTreason of Isengard vs. Great Goblin, Foul-HeartedGreat Goblin, Foul-Hearted

(Treason: 25K, Endgame: 15.3K, Great Goblin: 931 Inclusions)

The LotR bias holds strong, and Treason of IsengardTreason of Isengard is at the top of the pile in our eight slot. Being a Call to MindCall to Mind with upside for the same cost, I can see the appeal, especially since the Amass commanders out of LotR have a slight mill theme (as we already encountered). All that said, I'd rather have something worse. Commence the EndgameCommence the Endgame is too expensive. No one is fooled by you holding up six mana to "surprise" them. That said, it actually tends not to matter, as Commence is uncounterable. In other words? Drawing two and then plopping down a huge Army as a blocker can't really be stopped, no matter what it is that your opponent thinks you're up to.

That said, my favorite card of this bunch is easily Great Goblin, Foul-HeartedGreat Goblin, Foul-Hearted. At first glance, he looks overcosted at five mana, but then you think about it for a moment. This five-mana commander immediately gives you six power and toughness, and half of it has trample. Once you actually swing with him? Then you make that 3/3 trampler into a 6/6 trampler, meaning you're more or less getting a 9/9 for five at the end of the day, and that's if he doesn't stick around and really make that Goblin Army into a game-ending threat.

7. Widespread BrutalityWidespread Brutality vs. March from the Black GateMarch from the Black Gate vs. Fearsome Goblin PairFearsome Goblin Pair

(March: 25.6K, Brutality: 17.1K, Pair: 980 Inclusions)

Once again the LotR entry leads the pack, and once again, deserved. With similar math to Great Goblin, Foul-HeartedGreat Goblin, Foul-Hearted, it makes a 1/1 that's already a 2/2 by the time you get around to swinging with it, and then that Army only gets bigger if it sticks around. Of course, if it doesn't stick around, then this enchantment does nothing until you manage to make another Army in a different fashion. In other words? March from the Black GateMarch from the Black Gate is atop this heap not because it's good, but because the other entries are worse.

Widespread BrutalityWidespread Brutality can be a board wipe of epic proportions if you're already sitting on a huge Army. On its own, however, it's a four-mana PyroclasmPyroclasm that gives you a 2/2. Whoop-di-doo. As for Fearsome Goblin PairFearsome Goblin Pair? Three mana for a 1/1 that makes a 4/4 upon dying is not something Aristocrats decks are clamoring for, and Army decks are unlikely to be able to sacrifice the Pair as readily. In fact, the biggest question here is how this whole pile ended up here at the number seven slot, when everything we just saw at number eight was better!

6. Lazotep ChancellorLazotep Chancellor vs. Summons of SarumanSummons of Saruman vs. Gathering of DarknessGathering of Darkness

(Summons: 25.8K, Chancellor: 19.7K, Gathering: 1.03K Inclusions)

While our LotR cards remain in pole position, Amonkhet is starting to make a move with the likes of Lazotep ChancellorLazotep Chancellor, a two-mana 1/3 that can amass 2 any time you discard. Yes, you have to pay to do that, which is disappointing, but is honestly still a great rate. The real problem there is there are few either Army or Zombie decks that care about discarding, although notably among them is Sauron, the Dark LordSauron, the Dark Lord, currently the most popular Army commander. Even in that example, however, I would rather have Summons of SarumanSummons of Saruman in the deck. Milling X and amassing an X/X while also getting to cast an instant or sorcery out of the cards you milled is just a lot of stuff all on one card, and that's only the first time around. Even better, when you do flash Summons back in the late game, it only costs five to do so, and you can gleefully exile everything you don't need out of your graveyard to see a bunch of cards. Best of all, though? You'll just put that many cards right back in the graveyard. You don't even lose anything!

Disturbingly, however, The Hobbit is not keeping up with the competition with Gathering of DarknessGathering of Darkness. Don't get me wrong, I love GravediggerGravedigger. It's got nostalgia, and it's decent in Limited, but I'm not playing one in a Commander deck, especially not in the current environment where Bracket 1 is on life support.

5. Vizier of the ScorpionVizier of the Scorpion vs. Moria ScavengerMoria Scavenger vs. Misty Mountains RaiderMisty Mountains Raider

(Scavenger: 26.9K, Vizier: 20.1K, Raider: 1.07K Inclusions)

Orcs keep the lead, at least for now! Moria ScavengerMoria Scavenger is actually one of the best rummagers available in the game today, as a three-mana 1/4 with haste and deathtouch that also amasses whenever you discard a creature with it. That means it's broken through the barrier and is seeing play well beyond Army or LotR decks. In fact, if it was just red or just black, I would guess it would be near the 100K inclusions mark with more decks having access to it.

That's a lot for Vizier of the ScorpionVizier of the Scorpion and Misty Mountains RaiderMisty Mountains Raider to keep up with, and only one of them is coming anywhere close. Don't get me wrong, in similar fashion to Great Goblin, Foul-HeartedGreat Goblin, Foul-Hearted, Raider is doing a bit better than it reads by amassing 2 whenever it attacks. Giving all your Zombies deathtouch, however? That's just an effect every Zombie deck would take even if it didn't come with an Army attached.

4. Eternal SkylordEternal Skylord vs. Orcish MedicineOrcish Medicine vs. Rhovanion RampagerRhovanion Rampager

(Skylord: 33K, Medicine: 30.1K, Rampager: 1.08K Inclusions)

And just like that, Amohkhet takes the lead! Like Vizier of the ScorpionVizier of the Scorpion, Eternal SkylordEternal Skylord enters and amasses a Zombie horde, but then instead of deathtouch, it gives your Zombies flying. As you might imagine, evasion comes at quite the premium, and a late-game Skylord can just end a game outright for a Zombie deck run amok. As for how good it is in an Army deck, however? It'll let one big creature fly, which is great, but probably not worth the five mana.

Our other two contenders at the four spot, however, are great contributors to your Army nonsense. Orcish MedicineOrcish Medicine is a little pricey for a temporary indestructible trick, but if you want Amass and protection, it does the job. If I had to pick a winner out of these three, however, I think it would be The Hobbit's entrant for the first time. Rhovanion RampagerRhovanion Rampager will gradually get bigger as you feed things that aren't big enough to survive in combat to it, then when it also inevitably dies from swinging each turn, throw a bunch of counters onto an Army, ensuring you always have a combat presence.

3. Gleaming OverseerGleaming Overseer vs. Saruman's TrickerySaruman's Trickery vs. Bolg of the NorthBolg of the North

(Overseer: 54.6K, Trickery: 31.2K, Bolg: 1.35K Inclusions)

Sure, you can give all your creatures evasion with Eternal SkylordEternal Skylord, but what if you could give them evasion and protection instead? Gleaming OverseerGleaming Overseer makes that deal, and brings a big butt to the table as well. This makes it fairly easily the best lord effect for Armies there is, and it's not really a contest.

As for our other two, I must admit that I'm surprised to see Saruman's TrickerySaruman's Trickery here, but maybe I shouldn't be. After all, there's no way that I am the only person who wants to both play all my vegetables, and stay on theme. If you're that person, then yeah, you're going to put Trickery in your Army deck so you can both have interaction and keep on stacking counters. Finally, Bolg of the NorthBolg of the North is more expensive than anyone would like, but essentially brings Flametongue KavuFlametongue Kavu with a ton of power and toughness stapled to it. I'm not sure that that deal is good enough that it should be up here at the top, but then again, The Hobbit's Army effects do leave a lot to be desired overall.

2. Lazotep PlatingLazotep Plating vs. Gothmog, Morgul LieutenantGothmog, Morgul Lieutenant vs. Bothersome NoisemakerBothersome Noisemaker

(Plating: 55.7K, Gothmog: 34.9K, Noisemaker: 1.94K Inclusions)

Well, The Hobbit may not have the depth of Amonkhet or LotR when it comes to Army effects, but Bothersome NoisemakerBothersome Noisemaker makes the case for it having the best effect overall. Now, most folks are going to assume that the decks that want this are spellslinger, but let's nip that in the bud right here: Spellslinger decks are drowning in these "cast a noncreature spell" effects, and almost all of them do direct damage, rather than just making a fragile-but-huge token. No, this was made for Army decks, and they will love it and hug it and squeeze it and trigger it four times a turn cycle. You just watch.

You know what's just about as good as a counterspell, in most situations? Giving you and all your permanents hexproof. In other words, why play Saruman's TrickerySaruman's Trickery when Lazotep PlatingLazotep Plating will work in most situations? The answer? ¿Por qué no los dos?

Finally, Gothmog, Morgul LieutenantGothmog, Morgul Lieutenant does an excellent Vizier of the ScorpionVizier of the Scorpion impression, but hands it out to all tokens, instead of just a specific creature type or just your Army. This makes it worse in the Army deck overall, but a lot better in other token decks.

1. Dreadhorde InvasionDreadhorde Invasion vs. Saruman, the White HandSaruman, the White Hand vs. Azog, Moria's RuinAzog, Moria's Ruin vs. Lazotep SliverLazotep Sliver

(Dreadhorde: 103K, Saruman: 40.3K, Sliver: 19.8K, Azog: 1.94K Inclusions)

That's right! I foreshadowed it a bit in the intro, but yes, there is a fourth type of Army you can create! Lazotep SliverLazotep Sliver gives all of your Slivers an obscure keyword from Amonkhet called afflict, making the defending player lose life anytime any of them are blocked. "That doesn't have anything to do with Armies", I hear you saying, and you're right. There is a second line of text, however, that amasses Slivers whenever one of your nontoken Slivers dies. Now, is any of this good in your Army deck? Not a chance. Is it still really fun and cool if you're into the Sliver thing? Absolutely.

In my Sliver excitement, however, I abandoned the ongoing saga of which set was winning the inclusion battle! The overall most popular amass card of all time is... Dreadhorde InvasionDreadhorde Invasion! Sure, it may be a bad BitterblossomBitterblossom, but even a bad version of a great effect can do work, and if you're into Armies? You'll play Invasion over Bitterblossom, any day of the week.

The rest of the top contenders I'm actually not crazy about. Saruman, the White HandSaruman, the White Hand protects your huge Army and grows it, but it doesn't do the most important thing of giving it evasion. Azog, Moria's RuinAzog, Moria's Ruin is expensive sorcery-speed removal that gives an Army to your opponent, or it can draw you a card and give you an Army for destroying your own creature. I do like the flexibility here, but both modes are pretty bad. Which is not to say I'd never play Azog, but I definitely wouldn't feel good about it.

Honorable Mentions

Angrath, Captain of ChaosAngrath, Captain of Chaos does do the most important thing for your Army: giving it evasion. He also amasses two every turn, but can only do it for two turns before he runs out of loyalty without outside assistance. That's nothing to write home about, amassing four over two turns, but if you're including counter synergies in your Army deck, which isn't a big ask, then this here Minotaur is worth pursuing.

Mordor MusterMordor Muster takes all the Phyrexian RagerPhyrexian Ragers we talked about today and puts them to shame the same way that Dusk Legion ZealotDusk Legion Zealot did: by costing one less. It's not much, but it's honest work.

The most disappointing thing about The Hobbit's entries, however, is that there are just so few of them. While both Amonkhet and LotR went deep on the amass mechanic, it's more of an afterthought in our newest chapter, with only 13 cards total. Even more disappointing, of those 13, I would classify less than half as playable in Commander. So with that, you'd expect that all of the good cards ended up in the top 10, yes? Well, no, as it turns out. I'm actually pretty high on Goblin Plate MailGoblin Plate Mail, which will give you a 2/1 Goblin Army with menace early, or be even better late when it comes down and just gives your huge Army menace and a new creature type. People are sleeping on this one!

Okay, well that's all the Army types. Or is it?

That's right, technically, changeling tokens are Armies! Combine that fact with the fact that your Army can now have five different total creature types, and it seems like there's more than enough room in several different Army decks for a few changeling shenanigans. The best of them, then, is easily Black Market ConnectionsBlack Market Connections. It will not only make you a Shapeshifter, it will also draw you a card and make you a Treasure, all for the low, low cost of six life a turn as the full send chants intensify. Will you probably kill yourself? Yep! Will you have a lot of fun while doing it! Absolutely.

Most of the other changeling token makers aren't in the popular amass colors of Grixis, but there are two notable exceptions that can both do something very unique. The first is Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus, which can give your Army every creature type. This might not seem like much, but in a deck that is full of various Lord effects for Zombies, Orcs, and Goblins, giving your Army all three types could go a long way. The other is Orvar, the All-FormOrvar, the All-Form, which doesn't fit our criteria at all. It doesn't make Army tokens or changeling tokens, but it also... does? Orvar will copy any permanent you target, which means that if you target your Army with it, you can actually get a second Army. Now, will that Army die immediately to state-based effects if you don't have a separate ability giving it some toughness? Yes, yes it will. But think of it! Two Armies!

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

To be abundantly clear, amass is not that popular a mechanic. It only has 1693 decks total, with the most popular commander being responsible for half of those. So my question is simple:

And finally, what is your favorite Army creator? What type of Army does it make? What do you think of amass Goblins, and is the new type inspiring you to make an Army deck?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the prep table in the armory.