Card Spotlight
Obeka, Brute Chronologist
A 4-mana Grixis Ogre whose only ability is "{T}: The player whose turn it is may end the turn." On your own turn, that erases end-step drawbacks like the loss clause on Final Fortune or the sacrifice on Sneak Attack.
Commander Spotlight
Obeka, Brute Chronologist ↗
A 4-mana Grixis Ogre whose only ability is "{T}: The player whose turn it is may end the turn." On your own turn, that erases end-step drawbacks like the loss clause on Final Fortune or the sacrifice on Sneak Attack.
See Obeka, Brute Chronologist's full stats and printings →
Strategies it goes well with
- Extra turns with a loss clause. Final Fortune and Last Chance give you an extra turn and make you lose at the beginning of that turn's end step. Tap Obeka during the extra turn, either before the end step or in response to the trigger, and the loss never happens.
- Keeping temporary creatures. Sneak Attack and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker sacrifice their creatures at the beginning of the next end step. Let that trigger go on the stack, then end the turn: the trigger is exiled and does not come back next turn, so the creature stays.
- Protecting your turn. Ending the turn exiles every spell and ability on the stack, including ones that can't be countered. On your turn she can stop a removal spell or counterspell aimed at your plan, though opponents can respond to her ability.
How it does in Commander
As the commander
As the commander, Obeka is a build-around rather than a value engine. Her ability needs {T}, so without haste she does nothing the turn she comes down, and a 3/4 body draws removal before she untaps. The deck exists to set up an end-step drawback and have her ready to cancel it.
In the 99
In someone else's 99 she's a narrow include. She belongs only in a Grixis deck already running Final Fortune, Sneak Attack or similar cards, and Sundial of the Infinite does the same job on your own turn for {1} in any deck.
Formats it's strong in
- Grixis decks built around end-step drawbacks. Extra-turn spells with a loss clause and creatures that are sacrificed at the end step become cards with no drawback.
- Decks that cheat creatures in temporarily. Sneak Attack and Kiki-Jiki tokens stay on the battlefield when she cancels the sacrifice trigger, which is a direct upgrade to a plan that already exists.
Formats it's weak in
- Fast, interaction-heavy cEDH pods. She needs to survive until your next turn before she can tap, and a card that does nothing on its own is too slow against a table trying to win by turn four or five.
- Any deck without end-step drawbacks. With nothing to cancel, she's a vanilla 3/4 that cost four mana to do very little.
Synergistic cards
Final Fortune ↗
An extra turn for {R}{R}. Ending that turn before its end step, or in response to the trigger, removes the loss clause.
Sneak Attack ↗
Puts a creature onto the battlefield with haste. Ending the turn with the sacrifice trigger on the stack lets you keep it.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker ↗
Each hasty token copy is sacrificed at the next end step unless Obeka ends the turn with that trigger on the stack, so the copies accumulate.
Sundial of the Infinite ↗
A second end-the-turn effect for your own turn, so the plan still works if Obeka is removed.
Is it worth the price?
Obeka's original Commander Legends printing is inexpensive. She's worth picking up for the specific deck she leads, and not worth a slot anywhere else: buy her when you're building around end-step drawbacks, skip her otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
Is Obeka, Brute Chronologist good as a commander?
Yes, for the specific deck she leads: Grixis cards with a drawback that happens at the end step. Ending your own turn skips the end step, and if a delayed trigger such as Final Fortune's loss clause is already on the stack, ending the turn exiles it. Without those cards she is a 3/4 for four mana that rarely matters.
What decks want Obeka, Brute Chronologist?
Decks running extra-turn spells that make you lose at the end of the extra turn (Final Fortune, Last Chance), cards that give you a creature only until the end step (Sneak Attack, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker), and anything else that wants the turn to stop before the end step. She pays off a plan built around those cards. She is a poor reason to start one from scratch.
Can Obeka end an opponent's turn?
Only if that opponent agrees. The ability lets the player whose turn it is choose whether to end the turn, so on an opponent's turn the choice is theirs. In practice she does her work on your own turn.