Art: Zezhou Chen · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast

Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin

Legendary Creature — Demon · from $15.50

Flying, trample Whenever one or more opponents each lose exactly 1 life, put a +1/+1 counter on Ob Nixilis. Exile the top card of your library. Until your next end step, you may play that card.

Build with this commander Start with a starter shell Card details, printings & prices

A typical Commander deck

A starting template, not a rule — counts to fill in around the commander.

Lands3736–38 for most decks; fewer with cheap curves
Ramp10mana rocks, dorks, land ramp — mostly 2–3 mana
Card draw10repeatable engines beat one-shot cantrips
Targeted removal6answers for creatures AND artifacts/enchantments
Board wipes3sweepers reset boards you've lost
Synergy & win conditions33the deck's actual plan

Staples in these colors

The 100 cards that fit this color identity in the most EDHREC decklists (EDHREC rank via Scryfall).

Budget

57 of 100 at $5 or less · 39 at $1 or less

#	Card	Type	MV	Price
1	Sol Ring	Artifact	1	$1.07
2	Command Tower	Land	0	$0.26
3	Arcane Signet	Artifact	2	$0.34
4	Exotic Orchard	Land	0	$0.19
5	Reliquary Tower	Land	0	$4.28
6	Swiftfoot Boots	Artifact	2	$1.43
7	Lightning Greaves	Artifact	2	$3.86
8	Path of Ancestry	Land	0	$0.16
9	Fellwar Stone	Artifact	2	$0.47
10	Rogue's Passage	Land	0	$0.31
11	Evolving Wilds	Land	0	$0.09
12	Thought Vessel	Artifact	2	$2.23
13	Blasphemous Act	Sorcery	9	$0.72
14	Bojuka Bog	Land	0	$1.12
15	Terramorphic Expanse	Land	0	$0.10
16	Chaos Warp	Instant	3	$0.32
17	Myriad Landscape	Land	0	$0.25
18	Mind Stone	Artifact	2	$0.21
19	Dark Ritual	Instant	1	$0.44
20	Polluted Delta	Land	0	$19.85
21	Flooded Strand	Land	0	$12.78
22	Skullclamp	Artifact	1	$4.85
23	Solemn Simulacrum	Creature	4	$0.27
24	Misty Rainforest	Land	0	$35.98
25	Bloodstained Mire	Land	0	$14.54
26	Fabled Passage	Land	0	$0.65
27	Windswept Heath	Land	0	$11.19
28	Wooded Foothills	Land	0	$17.96
29	Verdant Catacombs	Land	0	$29.16
30	Scalding Tarn	Land	0	$36.86
31	Marsh Flats	Land	0	$32.04
32	Commander's Sphere	Artifact	3	$0.19
33	Reanimate	Sorcery	1	$6.56
34	Arid Mesa	Land	0	$31.40
35	Demonic Tutor	Sorcery	2	$62.80
36	Toxic Deluge	Sorcery	3	$5.04
37	Blood Crypt	Land	0	$8.68
38	Ancient Tomb	Land	0	$56.94
39	Deflecting Swat	Instant	3	$70.85
40	Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth	Land	0	$56.13
41	Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth	Land	0	$16.76
42	Temple of the False God	Land	0	$0.19
43	Dragonskull Summit	Land	0	$0.45
44	Chromatic Lantern	Artifact	3	$0.38
45	Feed the Swarm	Sorcery	2	$0.19
46	Smoldering Marsh	Land	0	$0.27
47	City of Brass	Land	0	$9.17
48	The One Ring	Artifact	4	$109.88
49	Faithless Looting	Sorcery	1	$0.36
50	Vandalblast	Sorcery	1	$1.74
51	Phyrexian Arena	Enchantment	3	$1.92
52	Jeska's Will	Sorcery	3	$39.58
53	Deadly Rollick	Instant	4	$26.52
54	Cavern of Souls	Land	0	$47.72
55	Vampiric Tutor	Instant	1	$48.13
56	Mana Confluence	Land	0	$34.75
57	Urza's Saga	Enchantment	0	$34.67
58	Lotus Petal	Artifact	0	$35.11
59	Wayfarer's Bauble	Artifact	1	$0.31
60	Talisman of Indulgence	Artifact	2	$0.47
61	Black Market Connections	Enchantment	3	$10.78
62	Victimize	Sorcery	3	$0.57
63	Deadly Dispute	Instant	2	$0.29
64	Roaming Throne	Creature	4	$47.06
65	Ashnod's Altar	Artifact	3	$8.15
66	Big Score	Instant	4	$0.41
67	War Room	Land	0	$0.79
68	Blood Artist	Creature	2	$2.78
69	Sulfurous Springs	Land	0	$0.49
70	Abrade	Instant	2	$0.17
71	Herald's Horn	Artifact	3	$2.88
72	Mana Vault	Artifact	1	$91.59
73	Chrome Mox	Artifact	0	$51.19
74	Lightning Bolt	Instant	1	$0.75
75	Luxury Suite	Land	0	$8.62
76	Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx	Land	0	$45.68
77	Reflecting Pool	Land	0	$5.50
78	Rakdos Signet	Artifact	2	$0.31
79	Three Tree City	Land	0	$29.09
80	Gemstone Caverns	Land	0	$62.05
81	Night's Whisper	Sorcery	2	$0.23
82	Command Beacon	Land	0	$7.99
83	Idol of Oblivion	Artifact	2	$2.40
84	Prismatic Vista	Land	0	$28.10
85	Buried Ruin	Land	0	$0.38
86	Phyrexian Tower	Land	0	$29.06
87	Thran Dynamo	Artifact	4	$1.94
88	Storm-Kiln Artist	Creature	4	$1.74
89	Fell the Profane // Fell Mire	Instant	4	$5.80
90	Cabal Coffers	Land	0	$20.77
91	Impact Tremors	Enchantment	2	$2.52
92	Patchwork Banner	Artifact	3	$1.52
93	Village Rites	Instant	1	$0.30
94	Mox Amber	Artifact	0	$86.45
95	Karn's Bastion	Land	0	$2.51
96	Professional Face-Breaker	Creature	3	$4.99
97	Ash Barrens	Land	0	$0.15
98	Thrill of Possibility	Instant	2	$0.17
99	Secluded Courtyard	Land	0	$0.31
100	Ornithopter of Paradise	Creature	2	$0.35

Curve of these staples

Most played with Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin

The 25 most-played cards in 229 settled top-16 lists running Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin at 16+ player events since Mar 6, 2026, ranked by lists played — top-4 counts shown for context. Results from Topdeck.gg.

#	Card	Played in	Top 4
1	Sol Ring	100% · 229 of 229	44
2	Command Tower	99% · 228 of 229	44
3	Dark Ritual	99% · 228 of 229	44
4	Kederekt Parasite	99% · 228 of 229	44
5	Arcane Signet	99% · 227 of 229	43
6	Blood Crypt	99% · 227 of 229	44
7	Lotus Petal	99% · 227 of 229	44
8	Vampiric Tutor	99% · 227 of 229	44
9	Agatha's Soul Cauldron	99% · 226 of 229	43
10	Badlands	99% · 226 of 229	44
11	Chrome Mox	99% · 226 of 229	44
12	Deadly Rollick	99% · 226 of 229	44
13	Deflecting Swat	99% · 226 of 229	44
14	Jeska's Will	99% · 226 of 229	44
15	Walking Ballista	99% · 226 of 229	43
16	Bloodstained Mire	98% · 225 of 229	43
17	Demonic Tutor	98% · 225 of 229	44
18	Gamble	98% · 225 of 229	44
19	Mana Vault	98% · 225 of 229	44
20	Rite of Flame	98% · 224 of 229	41
21	Ancient Tomb	97% · 223 of 229	43
22	Pyroblast	97% · 223 of 229	43
23	Cabal Ritual	97% · 222 of 229	42
24	Mox Opal	97% · 222 of 229	41
25	Red Elemental Blast	97% · 222 of 229	41

Combos with Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin

The 10 most popular of 21 combos (by EDHREC decklist count) using this commander that fit its color identity, from Commander Spellbook.

All Will Be One + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
Exile your library · Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature · Infinite damage
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Agatha's Soul Cauldron + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Walking Ballista
Exile your library · Infinite damage
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Prosper, Tome-Bound + Reckless Fireweaver + Sensei's Divining Top
Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature · Near-infinite damage · Near-infinite storm count · Infinite card draw · Infinite draw triggers
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Mayhem Devil + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Prosper, Tome-Bound + Sensei's Divining Top
Infinite card draw · Infinite draw triggers · Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature · Near-infinite damage · Near-infinite storm count
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Casey Jones, Back Alley Brute + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin
Exile your library with the ability to play the exiled cards until end of turn · Infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature · Infinite damage
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Prosper, Tome-Bound + Sensei's Divining Top + Weftstalker Ardent
Near-infinite damage · Infinite card draw · Infinite draw triggers · Near-infinite storm count · Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Ingenious Artillerist + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Prosper, Tome-Bound + Sensei's Divining Top
Near-infinite damage · Infinite card draw · Infinite draw triggers · Near-infinite storm count · Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Glaring Fleshraker + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Reckless Fireweaver + Sensei's Divining Top
Near-infinite artifact ETB · Near-infinite artifact LTB · Near-infinite damage · Near-infinite creature ETB · Near-infinite storm count · Near-infinite creature LTB · Near-infinite death triggers · Near-infinite creature sacrifice triggers · Near-infinite card draw · Near-infinite draw triggers · Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature · Exile a portion of your library with the ability to play the exiled cards until your end step
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Hedron Detonator + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Prosper, Tome-Bound + Sensei's Divining Top
Infinite card draw · Infinite draw triggers · Near-infinite +1/+1 counters on a creature · Near-infinite damage · Near-infinite storm count
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo
Agatha's Soul Cauldron + Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin + Triskelion
Exile your library · Infinite damage
How it works on Commander Spellbook
Build around this combo

Top finishes

The 8 most recent of 246 finishes placing top 16 at 16+ player events with this commander. Results from Topdeck.gg.

5th of 24 — Spellbook Reality Fracture CEDH Turner on Topdeck.ggOct 10, 2026 · 2–2–1 · by Lars Krüger
13th of 28 — Down Under Spring Scrimmage #1 on Topdeck.ggOct 10, 2026 · 1–3–0 · by Nyx Crosby
16th of 28 — Down Under Spring Scrimmage #1 on Topdeck.ggOct 10, 2026 · 1–3–0 · by Bradley Newman
13th of 29 — Urban Legends 4 on Topdeck.ggOct 9, 2026 · 1–2–1 · by Beau
15th of 16 — cEDH ITALY - One Shot Night on Topdeck.ggOct 9, 2026 · 0–2–1 · by Gabriele Divan
1st of 16 — 10.7 LuckyLab - Weekly PDXcEDH Bronze on Topdeck.ggOct 8, 2026 · 2–0–0 · by [Hooligan] Michael《UriePDX》
2nd of 69 — Mulligan Championship Series - October w/ Guaranteed Volcanic Island on Topdeck.ggOct 4, 2026 · 3–3–1 · by {{MYTHIC}}Carmen Hazard
3rd of 29 — cEDH Monthly - Reality Fracture Collector Box on Topdeck.ggOct 3, 2026 · 3–2–1 · by Jake Harper

All 246 finishes →

Card data and images courtesy of Scryfall; popularity ranking from EDHREC decklist data included in Scryfall bulk. Combo data courtesy of Commander Spellbook. Tournament results courtesy of Topdeck.gg. Deckwarden is unofficial Fan Content and is not endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.

Commanders