Sauron, Lord of the Rings costs {5}{U}{B}{R} and is a 9/9 with trample. When you cast it, you amass Orcs 5, mill five cards, then return a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Whenever a commander an opponent controls dies, the Ring tempts you. Casting him is a 5/5 Army and a reanimation spell before he even lands.
The precon already has the reanimation and the mana, including Relic of Sauron, The Balrog of Moria, Anger, Living Death and Reanimate. Each swap below pairs a cut with an add, and every card is scored with the same numbers the Oracle uses to build decks: synergy and inclusion from the Sauron decks, plus lift, which shows how much more often a card turns up in Sauron decks than in decks that could play it. Scores are low across the board, because this is a deck where most cards come from the precon.
Looking for the unmodified list first? Read the The Hosts of Mordor precon guide.
What is holding the deck back
Burn and Goblins in a reanimator deck
Guttersnipe pings opponents for casting instants and sorceries, and Siege-Gang Commander makes Goblins. Each is played in about one Sauron deck in five.
A life-gain enchantment that does not help
Revenge of Ravens drains attackers, and it is also played in about one Sauron deck in five.
No way to fill the graveyard cheaply
Buried Alive, Victimize and Barad-dûr put creatures in the graveyard, bring them back, or turn dead creatures into Orcs.
The 6 swaps
Each pair shows the numbers for the card coming out and the card going in. Click a card image to zoom.
Siege-Gang Commander is a five-mana 2/2 that makes three Goblins. It is played in about one Sauron deck in five.
Barad-dûr is a legendary land that enters tapped unless you control a legendary creature and taps for {B}. For {X}{X}{B} and a tap you amass Orcs X, if a creature died this turn. A land that turns a dead creature into an Army, and the highest-scoring card the precon leaves out.
Revenge of Ravens is a four-mana enchantment that drains a creature's controller when it attacks you. It is played in about one Sauron deck in five.
Victimize costs {2}{B}. Choose two creature cards in your graveyard, sacrifice a creature, and return both to the battlefield tapped. Two creatures back for one, in a deck that keeps its graveyard full.
Guttersnipe is a 2/2 Goblin Shaman for {2}{R} that deals 2 damage to each opponent whenever you cast an instant or sorcery. It is played in about one Sauron deck in five.
Buried Alive costs {2}{B}. You search your library for up to three creature cards and put them into your graveyard. Three targets for Reanimate, Living Death and Sauron's own cast trigger.
Goblin Cratermaker is a 2/2 for {1}{R} that can be sacrificed to deal 2 damage to a creature or destroy a colorless nonland permanent. It is played in about one Sauron deck in five.
Sauron, the Dark Lord is a 7/6 for {3}{U}{B}{R} with ward, sacrificing a legendary artifact or creature. Whenever an opponent casts a spell you amass Orcs 1, whenever an Army you control deals combat damage to a player the Ring tempts you, and whenever the Ring tempts you, you may discard your hand to draw four. A second Sauron that makes Armies and tempts the Ring.
Shiny Impetus is a three-mana Aura that gives +2/+2, goads and makes a Treasure when the creature attacks. It scores lower in the deck data than most of the precon's cards.
Witch-king of Angmar is a 5/3 flier for {3}{B}{B}. Whenever creatures deal combat damage to you, each opponent sacrifices a creature that dealt it, and the Ring tempts you. Discarding a card makes it indestructible. It tempts the Ring and punishes attackers.
Bitter Downfall is a four-mana instant that destroys a creature and makes its controller lose 2 life, and costs {3} less if the creature was dealt damage this turn. It scores lower in the deck data than most of the precon's cards.
Mount Doom is a legendary land that taps for {B} or {R} for 1 life, and for {1}{B}{R} and a tap deals 1 damage to each opponent. A land that fixes two colors and pings every turn.
The full swap list
Cut
- Siege-Gang Commander
- Revenge of Ravens
- Guttersnipe
- Goblin Cratermaker
- Shiny Impetus
- Bitter Downfall
Add
- Barad-dûr
- Victimize
- Buried Alive
- Sauron, the Dark Lord
- Witch-king of Angmar
- Mount Doom
What to keep
These cards are doing the deck's heavy lifting. Do not cut them.
- Relic of Sauron$8.57
Played in 83% of Sauron decks. Taps for two mana in blue, black or red, and loots for {3}. - The Balrog of Moria$0.76
An 8/8 with trample and haste that exiles a creature from each opponent when it dies, and can be cycled. - Anger$0.33
A 4 mana hasty creature that gives your creatures haste from the graveyard. - Living Death$3.32
Swaps the creatures on the battlefield for the creatures in all graveyards, a one-sided sweeper in a reanimator deck. - Reanimate$1.87
Returns any creature from any graveyard for {B}.
If you want to spend more
These are strong but sit outside a budget upgrade. Prices are the cheapest paper printing.
- Animate Dead$7.14
Returns a creature from any graveyard to the battlefield for two mana. - Archon of Cruelty$2.08
An eight-mana flier that drains and discards whenever it enters or attacks.
The Hosts of Mordor is a reanimator deck that most Sauron lists barely change, so six swaps are enough. They trade a Goblin maker, a drain enchantment and a burn creature for a land that makes Orcs and two cards that fill and use the graveyard. These six swaps cost about $32 in total.
Want a full 100-card list built around Sauron, Lord of the Rings from today's data?
Build with The Oracle →Frequently asked questions
What are the best upgrades for the The Hosts of Mordor precon?
Using data from 4,934 Sauron decks, the highest-scoring additions are Sauron, the Dark Lord (for Goblin Cratermaker), Barad-dûr (for Siege-Gang Commander) and Victimize (for Revenge of Ravens). The full list has 6 swaps, each scored with synergy, inclusion and lift.
How much does it cost to upgrade The Hosts of Mordor?
All 6 swaps cost about $31.73 at the cheapest paper printings (TCGplayer market prices via Scryfall, 2026-10-27). If you want to spend more, the guide also covers Animate Dead ($7.14) and Archon of Cruelty ($2.08).
What should I cut from The Hosts of Mordor?
The weakest cards for this commander are Siege-Gang Commander, Revenge of Ravens and Guttersnipe. The guide explains the reason for every cut, and swaps each one for a card that scores higher.
Which cards should I keep in The Hosts of Mordor?
Keep Relic of Sauron, The Balrog of Moria, Anger, Living Death and Reanimate. These are the cards doing the deck's heavy lifting.
What does Sauron do?
Sauron, Lord of the Rings costs {5}{U}{B}{R} and is a 9/9 with trample. When you cast it, you amass Orcs 5, mill five cards, then return a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Whenever a commander an opponent controls dies, the Ring tempts you. Casting him is a 5/5 Army and a reanimation spell before he even lands.
More Tales of Middle-earth Commander upgrade guides
How the numbers work
Inclusion is the share of Sauron, Lord of the Rings decks (4,934 of them when this was written, 2026-10-27) that play the card. Synergy is how much more often they play it than other decks in the same colours. Oracle score is synergy × 0.6 plus inclusion × 0.4, the same blend The Oracle uses to rank cards for a deck. Lift compares how often the card appears in these decks with how often it could, capped at 8× here; it is shown for context and does not change the score.
Two cautions. Players who run the precon unmodified count as Sauron decks, which flatters every card the precon contains. Lift is moderate for most of these cards because they are played in many reanimator decks, so use lift to compare cards, not to judge one in isolation. Prices are the cheapest non-foil paper printing on TCGplayer (via Scryfall), in USD, and move daily.