Show Me Your Generals: Animar, Soul of Wit
Last week I wrote about the multitude of Animar Commander decks I have seen played at the Encounter since I started playing the format, specifically mentioning that I would someday like to take a look at the Animar, Soul of Elements deck piloted by Ian Evans. For those of you who don’t know Ian, he is one of the few Encounter regulars packing about as many Commander decks as myself (my recent Glissa deck put me back in the lead). His Commanders include staples like Animar, Gisela, and Hanna, as well as less-used Commanders like Empress Galina (in merfolk tribal, no less!) However, even when his Commanders is one of the more popular legendary creatures in the format, his decks regularly surprise me with odd card choices and neat interactions. As such, I would like to spend today’s column talking about the aforementioned Animar deck or, as I like to call it:
Before I delve into Ian’s deck, I would like to correct one mistake made in last week’s article. It was brought to my attention that there have actually been six Animar decks at the Encounter since I started playing Commander. I failed to mention the Animar deck piloted by Mark Benning; unlike all the other decks, his is a hyper-competitive Animar combo deck that seeks to win as early as turn three and can do so with great regularity through the use of mana dorks and bounce creatures like Shrieking Drake. I apologize for missing Mark’s deck and thank him for reminding me that I do have people reading my articles.
All right, enough durdling, let’s dig in!
He That is Giddy Thinks the Animar Deck is Fair
Here is Ian’s list:
Gatecrashers |
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| Creatures (36) 1x Æ ther Adept 1x Aphetto Alchemist 1x Archivist 1x Cinder Pyromancer 1x Cunning Sparkmage 1x Deadeye Navigator 1x Dwarven Patrol 1x Goblin Medics 1x Goblin Sharpshooter 1x Horned Kavu 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 1x Laboratory Maniac 1x Malignus 1x Man-o’-War 1x Marsh Viper 1x Mist Raven 1x Mystic Snake 1x Nephalia Smuggler 1x Nettle Sentinel 1x Nightshade Peddler 1x Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind 1x Pestermite 1x Primeval Titan 1x Prodigal Pyromancer 1x Prodigal Sorcerer 1x Razorfin Hunter 1x Rootwater Hunter 1x Seeker of Skybreak 1x Shocker 1x Shrieking Drake 1x Suq’Ata Firewalker 1x Tandem Lookout 1x Thornwind Faeries 1x Veteran Explorer 1x Vulshok Sorcerer 1x Zealous Conscripts |
Lands (36) 1x Dryad Arbor 1x Evolving Wilds 1x Faerie Conclave 3x Forest 1x Ghitu Encampment 1x Gruul Turf 1x Hinterland Harbor 6x Island 1x Izzet Boilerworks 1x Kazandu Refuge 1x Misty Rainforest 5x Mountain 1x Mountain Valley 1x Reliquary Tower 1x Rootbound Crag 1x Rupture Spire 1x Scalding Tarn 1x Shivan Oasis 1x Simic Growth Chamber 1x Treetop Village 1x Tropical Island 1x Vivid Crag 1x Vivid Creek 1x Vivid Grove 1x Volcanic Island |
Enchantments (15) 1x Aluren 1x Arcane Teachings 1x Earthcraft 1x Equilibrium 1x Fertile Ground 1x Fire Whip 1x Fires of Yavimaya 1x Furious Assault 1x Hermetic Study 1x Intruder Alarm 1x Kyren Negotiations 1x Presence of Gond 1x Quicksilver Dagger 1x Splinter Twin 1x Squirrel Nest |
| Instant (1) 1x Artifact Mutation |
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| Artifacts (8) 1x Basilisk Collar 1x Gorgon Flail 1x Gruul Signet 1x Izzet Signet 1x Lightning Greaves 1x Quietus Spike 1x Simic Signet 1x Sol Ring |
Sorceries (3) 1x Hull Breach 1x Regrowth 1x Restock |
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There’s a lot to take in with a deck like this. First and foremost; Ian tends to build ridiculously silly combo decks, and this list is no exception. A number of competitive-caliber combos exist in this list; Aluren, Niv-mizzet-Curiosity, Kiki-mite, Nest-craft, and Intruder Alarm-Presence of Gond are all represented. What makes this deck particularly spicy is how Ian chose to supplement these combos; instead of adding a mass amount of tutors and card draw, he filled the remaining slots with pingers (creatures that tap to deal 1 damage to target creature or player), an ability that synergizes very well with things like Tandem Lookout and Basilisk Collar.
I spoke last week of the importance of redundancy in Commander. Unfortunately for Ian, there exists such a thing as too much redundancy, which is where I think his list suffers most. Too many of his cards do nothing because other cards in his deck do the same thing, only better. Hermetic Study seems like a pretty terrible card when your board is Cunning Sparkmage, Suq’Ata Firewalker, and Cinder Pyromancer! As such, let us cut the wheat from the chaff and see if we can’t improve on Ian’s framework.
The Play’s the Ping
First up, the lands:
Dryad Arbor – For the thousandth time, no! There is no potential upside to this card that would lead me to include it over a basic Forest, as Wrath effects are some of the most commonly-played spells in Commander.
Replacement: Forest
Faerie Conclave, Ghitu Encampment, Treetop Village – Man lands are great when the name of the game is equipment. Unfortunately for Ian, the name of the game in his deck is enchantments, which do not work well when the creature disappears at the end of turn. There is not enough inherent power in any of these lands to warrant their inclusion.
With that said, Raging Ravine is actually good on its own, as it can grow to ridiculous proportions with little to no effort. As for the other two slots, a basic Forest and a Sulfur Falls should fit the bill.
Replacements: Forest, Raging Ravine, Sulfur Falls
An Overflow of Good Converts to Bad
Well, that was easy; now it’s time to discuss some spells!
Arcane Teachings, Fire Whip, Hermetic Study, Kyren Negotiations – All of these cards grant the ability “Tap: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player.” The problem with this is that most of Ian’s creatures already have this ability, making all of these cards unnecessarily redundant. The only reason Quicksilver Dagger doesn’t make the list is that it draws Ian a card upon activation.
Speaking of drawing cards, enchantments like Ophidian’s Eye work very well in a deck full of creatures that tap to deal damage. As of right now, there are five cards that grant the “Ophidian effect” to other creatures: Curiosity, Keen Sense, Ophidian’s Eye, Snake Umbra, Tandem Lookout. Seeing as Ian is already running one of these, we can easily include the other four as replacements for the four cards we’re taking out!
Replacements: Curiosity, Keen Sense, Ophidian’s Eye, Snake Umbra
Fertile Ground – I understand that having the appropriate mana can sometimes be an issue when one does not have access to a ton of fetch- and dual lands, but putting yourself down a card just to fix your mana feels wrong in an Animar deck. This slot could easily be something that wins the game rather than a do-nothing enchantment!
What better way to win the game than Triumph of the Hordes? With Marsh Viper getting the axe due to the exclusion of the pinger-granting enchantments, Ian still needs a way to win with a lulz-y poison kill, and casting Triumph of the Hordes onto a board full of pingers is a great way to instantly kill one’s enemies!
Replacement: Triumph of the Hordes
F
urious Assault – The low cost of this spell almost makes me want to keep it in, but the fact that it can’t target creatures ruins the card for me. Barring shenanigans with Aluren and Shrieking Drake, I just don’t see Furious Assault being very good on its own.
Warstorm Surge, on the other hand, is an excellent card! It still allows for the combo kill with Aluren and Shrieking Drake while having the added benefit of being able to hit creatures on the way down, making Deadeye Navigator that much more deadly. The fact that it doesn’t trigger for your opponents is why it gets the nod over Pandemonium.
Replacement: Warstorm Surge
Restock – Restock is a fine card that has passed its prime. Back when it was first printed, a double Regrowth was the bee’s knees. Since its printing, cards like Eternal Witness, All Suns’ Dawn, Praetor’s Counsel, and Creeping Renaissance have outclassed Restock in terms of inherent power. This is not to say that I think Restock is unplayable in Commander; I just think there are other cards that should be considered before it.
That being said, Ian is playing cards like Horned Kavu and Man-o’-War, and that screams synergy with Eternal Witnes. There is rarely a green deck I build that doesn’t want Eternal Witness; it is the most powerful Gravedigger variant ever printed and a Commander staple for good reason!
Replacement: Eternal Witness
Combo is a Fearful Thing
Now that we’ve discussed the spells, it’s time to get to the meat of Ian’s deck: the creatures!
Aphetto Alchemist, Seeker of Skybreak – I appreciate the potential of these cards in tandem with cards like Archivist and Niv-Mizzet, but I don’t think the upside of drawing an additional card outweighs the cost of having a do-nothing creature that takes a turn to really impact the board. If Ian is in the market for an effect like this, he should look to non-creature cards to provide the benefit.
Enter Mind Over Matter, everyone’s (least) favorite combo-enabler. With Niv-Mizzet and Mind Over Matter in play, the world is your oyster, and everyone else gets to eat shit waffles. The fact that we’re adding redundant combo pieces like Snake Umbra and Curiosity make Mind Over Matter that much more potent in this list, turning every pinger into a possible three-card combo kill.
Thousand-Year Elixir is suspiciously absent from Ian’s list. Granting haste to activated abilities in a deck that relies on activated abilities to win seems like a no-brainer to me, and having the ability to untap any of Ian’s creatures is just icing on the deliciously evil cake.
Replacements: Mind Over Matter, Thousand-Year Elixir
Dwarven Patrol, Goblin Medics, Marsh Viper, Nettle Sentinel – All of these creatures are grouped together due to the fact that they all lose their ability to do anything by virtue of removing the pinger-granting enchantments from the deck. Even with said enchantments in the deck, most of these cards have little potential upside to warrant their inclusion. Commander is a 99-card singleton format, so each card has to impact that board state in some way or at least progress your game plan toward its logical conclusion. When these cards are good, they’re only marginal, but when they’re bad, they’re the worst cards one could possibly hope to draw.
As such, let us replace them with the pingers that Ian seems to have missed when building this deck! I noticed in perusing Ian’s list that he tried to keep all of his pinging creatures at converted mana cost of three or less, probably to synergize properly with Aluren. However, he failed to include Vithian Stinger, Zuran Spellcaster, and everyone’s favorite Weird, Gelectrode!
In addition, I think Ian would do well to include Frostwielder in his list. Though it costs four mana, the ability to exile a creature is very powerful in Commander, and putting a Basilisk Collar on Frostwielder is almost like having Swords to Plowshares on a stick (and we all know how good Swords to Plowshares is!)
Replacements: Frostwielder, Gelectrode, Vithian Stinger, Zuran Spellcaster
Malignus – Let’s be perfectly clear: I love Malignus. There is nothing funnier to me than having a Flayer of the Hatebound in play when I cast Cauldron Dance to bring this monster back from my graveyard and smack someone in the face for death. However, outside of combo shenanigans, I just don’t like this card for what it is; a giant vanilla beater. Even though I’ve suggested Ian add Warstorm Surge to his list, his opponents’ life totals are irrelevant to his overall game plan, so Malignus seems unnecessary to his strategy.
What is necessary, however, is Soul of the Harvest. Having already suggested Mind Over Matter and taking note of the fact that Aluren and Laboratory Maniac are both in Ian’s list, Soul of the Harvest can easily give Ian a win out of nowhere when Shrieking Drake is involved, combo killing the table by having Ian draw out his deck and drop Laboratory Maniac for the win. The fact that it is a 6/6 trampler just makes it all the more appealing.
Replacement: Soul of the Harvest
Mist Raven – Bounce creatures are great with Animar, as they provide a way to grow your Commander with relative ease. The problem with Mist Raven, however, is the fact that Ian already has a number of three-or-less costed bounce creatures to auto-win with Aluren, and Mist Raven simply doesn’t do enough for its cost.
Enter Venser, Shaper Savant. He’s a Mist Raven with all upside, bouncing creatures, lands, spells; whatever Ian wishes! Moreover, Venser can combo with Deadeye Navigator to Capsize-lock opponents in the late game.
Replacement: Venser, Shaper Savant
Nephalia Smuggler – In a dedicated blink deck, Nephalia Smuggler is the conductor of the train to Value Town. In Ian’s deck, he’s a do-nothing card that can combo with Intruder Alarm at a very inefficient price. He does what Deadeye Navigator does for a higher cost and with less upside.
Since we’ve already added Venser to the list of “unfair things to do with Deadeye Navigator,” we may as well suggest Draining Whelk to complete the trifecta. With a few counters on him, Animar will insure that the whelk is able to be cast with reasonable efficiency.
Replacement: Draining Whelk
Shocker – In a world where every Magic player doesn’t think like a five-year-old, I hope that Shocker gets the respect he deserves. As for us; we live in a world where everyone giggles when you “give someone the Shocker.” Ian was running the Shocker to combo with the enchantments that grant the pinging ability as a combo with Niv-Mizzet but, since we’ve removed said enchantments, his role has become null and void.
Deceiver Exarch is suspiciously absent from Ian’s list. He already has Zealous Conscripts and Pestermite to combo with Kiki-Jiki and Splinter Twin, so adding the last of the “ha-ha-I-just-killed-you-with-a-broken-combo” creatures should be a no-brainer!
Replacement: Deceiver Exarch
Veteran Explorer – I love me some Veteran Explorer. In Legacy, he lets you cast Grave Titan! In Commander, he makes everyone love you when secretly you’re just ramping up to that Primeval Titan with a Rite of Replication to kick the next turn. The problem, then, is that Ian doesn’t want to ramp in his deck. His is a combo deck; as such, he should leave the exploring to the dedicated ramp deck.
In the message sending me his list, Ian mentioned that he wanted to find room for Guilded Lotus in his 99 for the combo potential. For those of you who don’t know, if you have a Deceiver Exarch bonded to a Deadeye Navigator with a Gilded Lotus in play, you have infinite mana of any combination of colors. Here’s how it works:
1.) Tap your Gilded Lotus for UUU.
2.) Pay 1U to flicker Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite/Zealous Conscripts. (You have U floating.)
3.) The creature re-enters the battlefield, untapping Gilded Lotus. (You have U floating.)
4.) Tap Gilded Lotus for any color of mana. (You have XXXU floating.)
5.) Pay 1U to flicker Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite/Zealous Conscripts. (You have XX floating.)
6.) Repeat steps 1 – 5 ad infinitum.
For every two activations of Gilded Lotus, you net two mana of any one color. What’s even better about this combo is that it instantly wins Ian the game with Soul of the Harvest in play, as he draws out his entire deck, then casts Laboratory Maniac before drawing into an empty library. You know; for the lulz.
Replacement: Gilded Lotus
Fairwell, Fair Foresthead
Here is the updated list:
Gatecrashers v2.0 |
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| Creatures (34) 1x Æ ther Adept 1x Archivist 1x Cinder Pyromancer 1x Cunning Sparkmage 1x Deadeye Navigator 1x Deceiver Exarch 1x Draining Whelk 1x Eternal Witness 1x Frostwielder 1x Gelectrode 1x Goblin Sharpshooter 1x Horned Kavu 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker 1x Laboratory Maniac 1x Man-o’-War 1x Mystic Snake 1x Nightshade Peddler 1x Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind 1x Pestermite 1x Primeval Titan 1x Prodigal Pyromancer 1x Prodigal Sorcerer 1x Razorfin Hunter 1x Rootwater Hunter 1x Shrieking Drake 1x Soul of the Harvest 1x Suq’Ata Firewalker 1x Tandem Lookout 1x Thornwind Faeries 1x Venser, Shaper Savant 1x Vithian Stinger 1x Vulshok Sorcerer 1x Zealous Conscripts 1x Zuran Spellcaster |
Lands (36) 1x Evolving Wilds 5x Forest 1x Gruul Turf 1x Hinterland Harbor 6x Island 1x Izzet Boilerworks 1x Kazandu Refuge 1x Misty Rainforest 5x Mountain 1x Mountain Valley 1x Raging Ravine 1x Reliquary Tower 1x Rootbound Crag 1x Rupture Spire 1x Scalding Tarn 1x Shivan Oasis 1x Simic Growth Chamber 1x Sulfur Falls 1x Tropical Island 1x Vivid Crag 1x Vivid Creek 1x Vivid Grove 1x Volcanic Island |
Enchantments (15) 1x Aluren 1x Curiosity 1x Earthcraft 1x Equilibrium 1x Fires of Yavimaya 1x Intruder Alarm 1x Keen Sense 1x Mind Over Matter 1x Ophidian’s Eye 1x Presence of Gond 1x Quicksilver Dagger 1x Snake Umbra 1x Splinter Twin 1x Squirrel Nest 1x Warstorm Surge |
| Instant (1) 1x Artifact Mutation |
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| Artifacts (10) 1x Basilisk Collar 1x Gilded Lotus 1x Gorgon Flail 1x Gruul Signet 1x Izzet Signet 1x Lightning Greaves 1x Quietus Spike 1x Simic Signet 1x Sol Ring 1x Thousand-Year Elixir |
Sorceries (3) 1x Hull Breach 1x Regrowth 1x Triumph of the Hordes |
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Basically, I’ve cut all of the redundant enchantments for an effect of which I think Ian’s deck was sorely in need (card draw) and added some more protection in the form of countermagic as well as adding the game’s most ridiculous combo piece (Mind Over Matter) which should have been in his deck in the first place.
Until next time, I leave you with this message: go out there and kill everyone with poison!
Editor’s Note: Shortly after this article was uploaded, David Malafarina was picked up by the US government and sent to Guantanamo Bay for conspiracy to poison everyone in the world.
Show Me Your Generals: Reaper King
Let me tell you a little something about myself.
I love autumn. Where I’m from, autumn isn’t just about a return to classes or the end of the joy of summer. While people living in cities have just Halloween and Thankgiving to look forward to, when you live in the suburbs of a small city and the surrounding area is mostly farmland, autumn brings a whole slew of fun activities that the metropolitan citizens have to drive a few hours out of the city to take part in. When I was younger, I used to look forward to the various corn mazes that would appear in the farms to the north, and every so often my family would take a trip out to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to enjoy scenic train rides, haunted hayrides, and even pumpkin catapult-tossing (it’s exactly as redneck-y as it sounds).
More than anything, though; I loved the scarecrows.
I was (and still am) a bit of an odd-ball. I was the kind of kid who had a million books on insects, yet was deathly terrified to touch a real one. I was into the natural sciences, yet I didn’t really like to be outside. I just thought scarecrows were cool; they were like the autumn equivalent of snowmen!
Who was my favorite Wizard of Oz character? The Scarecrow! Who was my favorite Batman villain? The Scarecrow! What is my favorite creature type in Magic?
Zombies, of course! I hate scarecrows in Magic, and there’s one upon which I can rest all the blame.
Don’t Fear the Reaper (Obvious Joke is Obvious)
Okay, maybe you can fear him a little.
Reaper King is a beast of a commander. While other five-color decks use namby-pamby commanders like Progenitus or Child of Alara, the Reaper King player drops his commander on the table and says, “Alright, who’s ready to have some real fun.” While one can set out to make a Reaper King deck based solely on good cards and only use the Reaper for his colors, the best Reaper King decks actively seek to cast and get value out of the King. Let’s break down what makes him the king of five-color generals.
1.) His casting cost, both for its cheapness and how expensive it is. He is a 6/6 for five mana with a converted mana cost of ten, meaning he can do stupid things with cards that care about the converted mana cost of your spells, like Maelstrom Nexus, while also being a cheap beater on par with cards like Spiritmonger.
2.) He’s an artifact, which means there are plenty of cards that care about his supertype, like Mirrorworks, Sculpting Steel, and Phyrexian Metamorph. Why am I only referring to copy effects? Well, that brings me to my final point…
3.) He has the ability to be a repeatable Vindicate. Decks that can fully utilize the Reaper King’s ability to nuke any and all permanents are going to be the most threatening five-color decks around, making clone and blinking effects a top priority for any Reaper King deck.
With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the following Reaper King Commander deck, submitted by my friend, Matt Jackson:
Reaper King |
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| Creatures (29) 1x Antler Skulkin 1x Blazethorn Scarecrow 1x Chainbreaker 1x Changeling Berserker 1x Changeling Hero 1x Eternal Witness 1x Galepowder Mage 1x Grand Architect 1x Grim Poppet 1x Inferno Titan 1x Lockjaw Snapper 1x Lurebound Scarecrow 1x Magister Sphinx 1x Mirror Entity 1x Mothdust Changeling 1x Pili-Pala 1x Primeval Titan 1x Rattleblaze Scarecrow 1x Reveillark 1x Scarecrone 1x Scrapbasket 1x Scuttlemutt 1x Shapesharer 1x Sharuum the Hegemon 1x Shell Skulkin 1x Tatterkite 1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 1x Watchwing Scarecrow 1x Wicker Warcrawler |
Lands (38) 1x Ancient Ampitheater 1x Arcane Sanctum 1x Auntie’s Hovel 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1x Command Tower 1x Crumbling Necropolis 1x Crosis’s Catacombs 1x Crystal Quarry 1x Darigaaz’s Caldera 1x Dromar’s Cavern 1x Exotic Orchard 2x Forest 1x Gilt-Leaf Palace 3x Island 1x Jungle Shrine 1x Mosswort Bridge 3x Mountain 3x Plains 1x Rith’s Grove 1x Savage Lands 1x Seaside Citadel 1x Secluded Glen 3x Swamp 1x Treva’s Ruins 1x Vivid Crag 1x Vivid Creek 1x Vivid Grove 1x Vivid Marsh 1x Vivid Meadow |
Instants (8) 1x Brainstorm 1x Counterspell 1x Cryptic Command 1x Hinder 1x Oblation 1x Path to Exile 1x Spell Crumple 1x Swords to Plowshares |
| Enchantments (8) 1x Conspiracy 1x Cover of Darkness 1x Descendant’s Path 1x Maelstrom Nexus 1x Oblivion Ring 1x Phyrexian Arena 1x Prismatic Omen 1x Wheel of Sun and Moon |
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| Planeswalkers (3) 1x Chandra, the Firebrand 1x Tezzeret the Seeker 1x Venser, the Sojourner |
Sorceries (6) 1x Day of Judgment 1x Decimate 1x Diabolic Tutor 1x Idyllic Tutor 1x Patriarch’s Bidding 1x Praetor’s Counsel |
Artifact (7) 1x Birthing Pod 1x Cloudstone Curio 1x Conjurer’s Closet 1x Darksteel Ingot 1x Lightning Greaves 1x Sol Ring 1x Swiftfoot Boots |
Matt sent me this list with the caveat that I make this competitive but not broken. He specified that it should not seek to win as quickly as possible, but that as the game progresses the deck should have a lot of inevitability and be able to close out the game. As such, the deck seeks to utilize Reaper King as a value engine, which is why Matt chose to include so many actual scarecrows in the list, as well as a few changelings.
I will be approaching this list from three axes; it needs to be fun, it needs to be powerful, and it needs to be consistent. According to Matt, his playgroup is about as cutthroat as my own, but is prone to not wanting to play if someone’s deck is deemed to powerful. As such, I need to make Matt’s deck “deceptively” powerful.
He’s already given me a clear direction in which he wants to take this list, so I will be continuing along that path with most of my suggestions. As with previous installments of “Show Me Your Generals,” I will only be discussing the cards that I think need to be replaced, to save both myself and my readers the task of having to read how good Primeval Titan is in Commander for the umpteenth time.
King of the Hill (Another Home Run Heading!)
Thirty-eight lands seems like a good number for this deck, as Matt is looking to cast quite a few high-end, high-impact spells with some semblance of regularity. Because the deck is five-color, there isn’t as much room for utility lands as I would like, but Matt is running a high number of colorless creatures so it is not unreasonable to make a few replacements for some “spell” lands.
Boseiju, Who Shelters All – With 14 instants and sorceries, none of which are all that important to resolve, this land just seems like a wasted slot. While I will be suggesting must-counter spells like Rite of Replication, I think this land’s usefulness does not outweigh the tax it puts on a five-color manabase.
Enter Cavern of Souls, Avacyn Restored’s entry into the contest for “Lands Control Players Absolutely Hate.” It is important for Matt that his commander resolve, which means naming “scarecrow” for the Cavern is a huge deal when facing down a mono-blue player, as most blue players can’t actually deal with a resolved Reaper King. On top of that, it makes his commander easier to cast by producing whatever color he’s missing.
Replacement: Cavern of Souls
The Lair Lands – This includes Dromar’s Cavern, Darigaaz’s Caldera, and the ilk. Nevermind that these cards are, in most cases, worse than the Ravnica bounce lands. Every experienced Commander player knows one of the best ways to fight a five-color deck is attacking its manabase, so offering up a juicy target like the Lair lands that actively slow you down is just asking for trouble.
Rather than simply suggest the Ravnica bounce lands, I’d like to fill these slots with a combination of fixing and utility lands. First and foremost, Matt is high on the artifact and creature count and low on recursion, so three of these slots can go to all-stars Buried Ruin, Academy Ruins, and Volrath’s Stronghold, all of which carry a reasonable price tag (money-wise). Since we’re adding three colorless lands to a five-color deck, it’s only appropriate that the other two slots go to City of Brass and Reflecting Pool; both are excellent at fixing mana, and the damage from the City is more or less negligible in a 40-life format.
Replacements: Academy Ruins, Buried Ruin, City of Brass, Reflecting Pool, Volrath’s Stronghold
Outside of these six cards, the rest of Matt’s lands look pretty standard-issue. I especially like his use of the “tribal” lands, as he has a number of changelings to ensure that these lands can come into play untapped, if necessary.
Bow to the King (These Headings are so Easy!)
Now it’s time to discuss the meat of the deck. I am going to leave all of the scarecrows alone; each one is more or less a cheaper Angel of Despair when Reaper King is alive, and I will rarely cut Angel of Despair from any deck that can play it. Most of the changelings will pass through unscathed; though I think one of them could be replaced by clones or other changelings, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Let’s get started, shall we?
Inferno Titan – How did this get in here? Even outside of a Reaper King deck, Inferno Titan rarely makes the cut in any except the most aggressive red decks. Three damage is good but not great and having access to five colors makes me want to replace this with something more powerful.
Sun Titan could find a home in this list, reanimating some of the cheaper scarecrows and opening up the possibility of adding a few other utility permanents in addition to the Oblivion Ring he’s already included in the list. I particularly like it with Scarecrone and Reaper King active, creating a repeatable Vindicate that also cantrips.
Replacement: Sun Titan
Magister Sphinx – Oh, this card. Let me sum up how I feel about this card:
…yeah, suffice to say I don’t really care for Magister Sphinx. Sorin Markov I like, because it can ping off smaller creatures and it is more or less impossible for an opponent to reanimate. I don’t even run this in my Sharuum the Hegemon deck, and that deck runs the Disciple of the Vault/Sculpting Steel combo.
With Sharuum already in Matt’s deck and his general being such a big part of his overall strategy, I’d like to suggest Sphinx Summoner for this slot. It allows him to tutor up Sharuum the Hegemon to reanimate something from his graveyard, or find Reaper King if it’s been tucked into his library. There’s not much more that can be said about this card; it’s just a really solid tutor.
Replacement: Sphinx Summoner
Mothdust Changeling – Yeah, I’m not quite sure what Matt is trying to accomplish with this card. It gives flying, but who gives a flying…you know what. Its body is unimpressive and its effect is more or less irrelevant in the long game, especially since Matt isn’t trying to force through damage on a regular basis.
I see Changeling Berserker and Changeling Hero in Matt’s deck and I’m left wondering what happened to good ol’ Changeling Titan. It provides the same effect as the other two and has a gigantic body to boot. Moreover, tucking Sharuum the Hegemon underneath this card will make any opponent think twice about casting that Wrath of God.
Replacement: Changeling Titan
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir – While I like this card (and I really like this card), the three blue in its mana cost really kills me. I don’t think I can justify leaving this in Matt’s list, as it doesn’t actually do that much for him outside of keeping his opponents from countering his spells. I make the following suggestion with the caveat that if his playgroup is full of countermagic decks, by all means, keep Teferi in the list.
That being said, where is Chameleon Colossus? The big dumb green beater is the perfect fit for this deck, offering another “scarecrow” while also being a reasonable beatstick. An easy inclusion if I’ve ever seen one.
Replacement: Chameleon Colossus
Chandra, the Firebrand – Once again, I don’t think there are enough instants and sorceries to justify playing this card. While getting double tutors is always fun, Chandra is best when doubling cards like Time Stretch with reasonable frequency, and most of Matt’s targets amount to counterspells, wraths, or Praetor’s Counsel, none of which benefit from doubling.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, on the other hand, does plenty of useful things with Matt’s deck. In fact, this might be one of the best Tezzeret decks outside of Sharuum the Hegemon. He can draw Matt into more scarecrows, or upgrade his scarecrows into monstrous 5/5s that can do battle with even the mightiest of titans. On top of that, his ultimate isn’t completely unreasonable to achieve, and Matt has the requisite number of artifacts to actually make it good.
Replacement: Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Decimate – I’ve gone back and forth over my feelings about this card with my final decision coming down to whether or not people in my playgroup are playing a lot of enchantments, as that is the rarest card type to see on the battlefield. With a commander like Reaper King, I don’t think there’s much justification for this card, as Matt already has a high number of permanent-destroying effects.
However, in order for this suggestion to hold water, it is important that Matt be able to protect his commander from dying. As such, I’d like to propose Darksteel Plate as a suitable replacement for the Decimate slot. It’s tutorable with Tezzeret the Seeker and can protect his commander from wrath effects. Not the most exciting of equipment, but it fills a much-needed role in a deck like this.
Replacement: Darksteel Plate
Diabolic Tutor – Come on, man! Is Demonic Tutor really too expensive for you? The only justification for this pick over something else is cascade, and I don’t think Maelstrom Nexus is enough to warrant this tutor over the strictly better Demonic variety.
Replacement: Demonic Tutor
Brainstorm – Brainstorm has to be one of the most misunderstood cards in the history of Magic. I see it in a lot of Commander decks; when I do, I immediately check to see how often the player shuffles his or her deck. A lot of players think that because Brainstorm is such a defining card in Legacy that it must be a powerful card by its own merits, when its actual value comes from the ability to reset the top of your library with some degree of regularity. It’s the same reason that I don’t immediately jam Jace, the Mind Sculptor into every blue Commander deck, and I bring all this up because Matt does not have a deck that wants Brainstorm.
What Matt does have is a deck that wants to win with Pili-Pala and Grand Architect. For those of you who don’t know, the combo works like this: Grand Architect turns an untapped Pili-Pala blue, then taps the Pili-Pala to produce two colorless mana. The Pili-Pala then uses this two mana to untap itself, producing a mana of any color. Then the process is repeated ad infinitum, producing infinite mana.
What’s the best thing Matt can do with infinite mana? Deadeye Navigator!
I’ve found that players tend to look the other way when it comes to infinite combos that require more than two cards to “go off,” so requiring a grand total of four cards to go off seems like a reasonable hoop through which Matt has to jump. For reference, these four cards are Reaper King, Deadeye Navigator, Pili-Pala (paired with Deadeye Navigator), and Grand Architect. Once the combo has been assembled, Matt can simply destroy all of his opponents’ permanents! BOOM!
Replacement: Deadeye Navigator
Cryptic Command – Much like Teferi, I really like this card, but the three mana in its cost seals its fate as “too hard to cast” for this deck. On top of that, it’s a reactive card with a prohibitive cost, meaning that there will be plenty of times where Matt will have this in his hand and be unable to cast it at the necessary moment.
As with the Brainstorm slot, I’d like to replace this card with something that instantly puts Matt ahead of his opponents when not outright killing them. This suggestion is courtesy of my friend Joe Milia, who showed me just how busted Rite of Replication is with Reaper King. Rite is on the cusp of being ban-worthy in Commander, spared the banhammer only for the fact that it does exactly what Sheldon Menery and the rest of the Rules Committee feels Commander is about. With Reaper King, a kicked Rite of Replication equals twenty-five Vindicates; though it is susceptible to spot removal, I think the possibility of destroying twenty-five permanents makes this more than reasonable to include in Matt’s list.
Replacement: Rite of Replication
Cover of Darkness – So many cards that I love are showing up today! Cover of Darkness has made the cut in a number of my Zombie decks, but those were lord-driven beatdown decks where the creatures actually dealt a reasonable amount of damage with each swing. This Reaper King deck does no such thing.
Patriarch’s Bidding intrigues me. It makes me want to include some sort of sacrifice outlet to set up a big turn where Matt sacrifices all of his scarecrows, then uses Patriarch’s Bidding to bring them all back into play to destroy a ton of permanents. With that in mind, Greater Good seems like the prime target, as it is both a sacrifice outlet and a way to draw into more scarecrows that Matt can discard in preparation for the giant Patriarch’s Bidding. It also protects his Primeval Titan from copy effects and his commander from getting tucked by Condemn or Spin into Myth.
Replacement: Greater Good
Prismatic Omen – Another card I will rarely cut from five-color decks. However, Reaper King is not your normal five-color deck, as most of its creatures are colorless, and even Reaper King himself doesn’t require that Matt have every color of mana at his disposal.
Having already suggested cutting both triple-blue cards in Matt’s list, this slot becomes more about helping Matt cast his scarecrows rather than casting his other spells. As such, Urza’s Incubator will help this deck to go off the rails, making some of his scarecrows free and the rest ridiculously cheap. While the scarecrows don’t combo with Cloudstone Curio (due to them being artifacts), this does make bouncing the champion Changelings back and forth that much easier, which can get absolutely disgusting with Reaper King on the battlefield.
Replacement: Urza’s Incubator
Wheel of Sun and Moon – I have to admit; I’m at a loss as to why Matt is including this in his list. It’s semi-reasonable graveyard hate against people playing dredge or reanimator, but I have this sneaking suspicion that Matt is targeting himself with this to rebuy his creatures, which is a non-bo with Praetor’s Counsel and Scarecrone.
If this is the case, then Karmic Guide should solve all of Matt’s problems. It serves the same function as Sharuum with the added benefits of being able to return Grand Architect or Primeval Titan, and being absolutely disgusting with Reveillark.
Replacement: Karmic Guide
I Just Can’t Wait to be King (I Swear I’m Done Now)
Here is the updated list:
| Reaper King v2.0 | ||
| Creatures (31) 1x Antler Skulkin 1x Blazethorn Scarecrow 1x Chainbreaker 1x Chameleon Colossus 1x Changeling Berserker 1x Changeling Hero 1x Changeling Titan 1x Deadeye Navigator 1x Eternal Witness 1x Galepowder Mage 1x Grand Architect 1x Grim Poppet 1x Karmic Guide 1x Lockjaw Snapper 1x Lurebound Scarecrow 1x Mirror Entity 1x Pili-Pala 1x Primeval Titan 1x Rattleblaze Scarecrow 1x Reveillark 1x Scarecrone 1x Scrapbasket 1x Scuttlemutt 1x Shapesharer 1x Sharuum the Hegemon 1x Shell Skulkin 1x Sphinx Summoner 1x Sun Titan 1x Tatterkite 1x Watchwing Scarecrow 1x Wicker Warcrawler |
Lands (38) 1x Academy Ruins 1x Ancient Ampitheater 1x Arcane Sanctum 1x Auntie’s Hovel 1x Buried Ruin 1x Cavern of Souls 1x City of Brass 1x Command Tower 1x Crumbling Necropolis 1x Crystal Quarry 1x Exotic Orchard 2x Forest 1x Gilt-Leaf Palace 3x Island 1x Jungle Shrine 1x Mosswort Bridge 3x Mountain 3x Plains 1x Reflecting Pool 1x Savage Lands 1x Seaside Citadel 1x Secluded Glen 3x Swamp 1x Vivid Crag 1x Vivid Creek 1x Vivid Grove 1x Vivid Marsh 1x Vivid Meadow 1x Volrath’s Stronghold |
Instants (6) 1x Counterspell 1x Hinder 1x Oblation 1x Path to Exile 1x Spell Crumple 1x Swords to Plowshares |
| Enchantments (6) 1x Conspiracy 1x Descendant’s Path 1x Greater Good 1x Maelstrom Nexus 1x Oblivion Ring 1x Phyrexian Arena |
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| Planeswalkers (3) 1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 1x Tezzeret the Seeker 1x Venser, the Sojourner |
Sorceries (6) 1x Day of Judgment 1x Demonic Tutor 1x Idyllic Tutor 1x Patriarch’s Bidding 1x Praetor’s Counsel 1x Rite of Replication |
Artifact (9) 1x Birthing Pod 1x Cloudstone Curio 1x Conjurer’s Closet 1x Darksteel Ingot 1x Darksteel Plate 1x Lightning Greaves 1x Sol Ring 1x Swiftfoot Boots 1x Urza’s Incubator |
There’s not much to say about this deck that I haven’t already discussed. The new cards add a bit more resilience to the deck while also providing the possibility of combo kills in the late game, without forcing the deck to have to combo off as quickly as possible in order to win. Cards like Tezzeret and Birthing Pod are all-stars, both tutoring up all the scarecrows and triggering Reaper King’s ability for free, while cards like Venser and Conjurer’s Closet give the deck the potential for free triggers. I’m very interested in playing a few games against Matt with my decks to see how they stack up against this list; even his original list seems pretty solid.
In more general terms, when it comes to optimizing your Commander deck it’s important to make sure that your key cards are easily accessible and can be protected. In my Ghave, Guru of Spores deck, cards like Academy Rector and Eternal Witness are necessary in order to make sure that stuff like Cathars’ Crusade or Glare of Subdual can be easily accessed and brought back when destroyed. The most common thing I see in struggling Commander lists are cards like Matt’s Brainstorm; while it’s a powerful card in the abstract, it doesn’t actually do anything to further Matt’s game plan and he’s not using the card to its maximum potential. Compare that to a card like Conspiracy; the card is considerably less powerful than Brainstorm, yet it’s utilized fully in a deck such as this that cares about creature types.
Overall, it’s important to make sure that your cards actually do something when you’re looking for things to cut from your decks. Sure, Grave Pact and Butcher of Malakir may be awesome with an active Ghave, but if you’re already running Wrath of God and Damnation, do you really need to include both of them? When you run into these situations, your best option is to look at which card your deck can utilize more fully. In this case, I saw that Butcher being a creature made it better in my deck with cards like Survival of the Fittest and Genesis, so I ended up cutting Grave Pact to make room for other cards I needed to add to the deck.
However, what’s most important is to make sure you’re playing cards you actually like. I briefly threw Sundering Titan into my Sharuum the Hegemon deck before realizing that I utterly despise the card and immediately pulled it out in favor of a fun card like Sharding Sphinx. If you’re not able to play with the cards you like, then why not just play 100-card Vintage and play only the best cards? Commander is about playing the cards you love to play with, having fun with your friends, and doing lots of stupid stuff that just doesn’t fly in competitive Magic.
And don’t be scared to be a little mean every now and then. Your friends won’t fault you for killing them with Pili-Pala. I promise.
Archetype Rundown: Enchantress
I give up!
It happens to the best of us. You think you’re prepared to take on all challengers, to face all obstacles, to climb the highest ocean and swim the deepest mountain. Hold on, that doesn’t sound quite right…
Let me try this again.
This article was supposed to be another installment of “Show Me Your Generals,” this time analyzing my friend Mark Weiner’s five-color Progentius “enchantress” deck. But I can’t find anything wrong with it. It’s perfect. Leave it to Mark to come up with a ninety-nine card deck so chocked full of synergy that I fell to my knees and wept at the very sight of it. It’s just so…
…beautiful!
No, seriously, look what he gave me to work with:
Pro Enchant |
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| Enchantments (45) 1x Animate Dead 1x Aura of Silence 1x Aurification 1x Awakening Zone 1x Burgeoning 1x Collective Restraint 1x Copy Enchantment 1x City of Solitude 1x Crackdown 1x Debtor’s Knell 1x Enchantress’ Presence 1x Exquisite Blood 1x Fertile Ground 1x Ghostly Prison 1x Honden of Cleansing Fire 1x Honden of Infinite Rage 1x Honden of Life’s Web 1x Honden of Night’s Reach 1x Honden of Seeing Winds 1x Karmic Justice 1x Land Tax 1x Lethal Vapors 1x Leyline of the Void 1x Luminarch Ascension 1x Maelstrom Nexus 1x Mirari’s Wake 1x Necromancy 1x No Mercy 1x Painful Quandary 1x Phyrexian Arena 1x Polluted Bonds 1x Priveleged Position 1x Propoganda 1x Sanguine Bond 1x Sigil of the Empty Throne 1x Solitary Confinement 1x Spirit of Resistance 1x Sterling Grove 1x Stony Silence 1x Stranglehold 1x Sylvan Library 1x Teferi’s Moat 1x Thought Reflection 1x Trace of Abundance 1x Wild Research |
Lands (35) 1x Badlands 1x Bayou 1x Bojuka Bog 1x Breeding Pool 1x City of Brass 1x Command Tower 1x Exotic Orchard 1x Forest 1x Godless Shrine 1x Grand Coliseum 1x Hallowed Fountain 1x Island 1x Misty Rainforest 1x Mountain 1x Murmuring Bosk 1x Overgrown Tomb 2x Plains 1x Plateau 1x Reflecting Pool 1x Reliquary Tower 1x Sacred Foundry 1x Savannah 1x Scrubland 1x Serra’s Sanctum 1x Steam Vents 1x Swamp 1x Taiga 1x Temple Garden 1x Tropical Island 1x Tundra 1x Underground Sea 1x Volcanic Island 1x Volrath’s Stronghold 1x Watery Grave |
Creatures (7) 1x Academy Rector 1x Argothian Enchantress 1x Mesa Enchantress 1x Primeval Titan 1x Sun Titan 1x Verduran Enchantress 1x Zur the Enchanter |
| Sorceries (6) 1x All Suns’ Dawn 1x Demonic Tutor 1x Idyllic Tutor 1x Open the Vaults 1x Replenish 1x Rite of Replication |
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| Instants (2) 1x Enlightened Tutor 1x Vampiric Tutor |
Artifacts (2) 1x Null Rod 1x Torpor Orb |
Planeswalkers (2) 1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker 1x Karn Liberated |
While I could nitpick about a few of his land choices (what in the hell is Volrath’s Stronghold supposed to be returning in this deck?) I am at a loss when it comes time to critique this deck. This is exactly what a five-color enchantress deck should look like. Need card draw? Honden of Seeing Winds and Phyrexian Arena. Mana acceleration? Primeval Titan and Mirari’s Wake. Win conditions? His freakin’ commander is motherlovin’ Progenitus!
The soul of the world has returned is pissed off!
Rather than torment myself trying to improve upon Mark’s masterpiece, I have decided instead to use his deck as an excuse to discuss the “enchantress” archetype as a whole as it pertains to Commander, for those of you thinking about building an enchantress deck of your own.
So You Think You Can Enchant?
The enchantress archetype has been a part of Magic since the game’s inception, deriving its name from Verduran Enchantress in Alpha and all of the iterations that followed. An enchantress deck wins through a slow building of mana acceleration, card advantage, and board control via the use of enchantments, one of the hardest-to-remove permanent types in the game. It accrues card advantage through the eponymous enchantresses, which draw cards whenever their controller casts an enchantment spell; at the same time, most of the early enchantments an enchantress player casts are spells like Fertile Ground and Trace of Abundance, which help to accelerate mana to get the enchantress player to the late game quicker than his or her opponents. Once there, the enchantress player will lock other players out of the game with powerful spells like Teferi’s Moat and Solitary Confinement, then beat down with a single, gigantic threat a la Progenitus or Ulamog.
The reason that enchantress decks are so notorious in Commander is not because of these things; every deck runs card draw, acceleration, answers and threats (and if you’re missing any of these, shame on you). Their infamy comes from the inherent synergy between most enchantments mixed with the hard-to-deal-with nature of the permanent type. Seriously, how is a Grixis deck supposed to handle a resolved Priveleged Position?
You may be wondering, “David, if enchantments are so powerful, why doesn’t everyone just make an enchantress deck?”
First of all; call me Dave. Second; enchantress decks are not everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak. They are ponderously slow, involve a great deal of triggers and micro management, and a majority of the time it feels like you’re not actually doing anything. However, what enchantress can do is stay under-the-radar in a format where blazingly fast starts can get you killed in an instant, which gives it an inherent advantage over decks like Azusa, Lost but Seeking or Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, both of which scream “kill me now!”
The Colors of the Seeing Winds
Most enchantress decks are base white-green due to the namesake cards being relegated to those two colors (Verduran, Mesa, and Argothian Enchantress, to name a few), as well as the fact that both colors have some of the best enchantments in Commander (Mirari’s Wake, Mana Reflection). From there, splashes of black or blue are most common, as these two colors provide card draw and/or tutoring. My first enchantress deck used Jenara, Asura of War as the general, as I liked having access to draw spells like Rhystic Study or Honden of Seeing Winds, as well as Leyline of Anticipation, which allowed me to surprise block opposing creatures with cards like Academy Rector or Aura Thief. I have seen very successful Black-Green enchantress decks that use the power of Null Profusion and Recycle to draw through their entire decks in a single turn, and then cast a giant Exsanguinate via Cadaverous Bloom.
Some enchantress decks can completely eschew the namesake cards in favor of commanders that gain card advantage such as Zur the Enchanter or Damia, Sage of Stone. Zur in particular is notorious for his ability to tutor up powerful enchantments like Necropotence or Animate Dead, as well as the fact that he’s often in the company of “unfun” cards like Armageddon and Ravages of War. Likewise, Damia allows its player to include only the most powerful of enchantments in his or her deck, so long as a few of them can protect Damia once she’s on the field. (Totem armor, anyone?)
The odd man out is red, which is unsurprising, considering it is the color least associated with enchantments. Red’s only worthwhile enchantment is Stranglehold; most of the other good “red” enchantments have another color (a la Reins of the Deus). However, Red does have the benefit of being one of Uril the Miststalker’s colors; Uril is a hard-to-deal-with creature that asks its player to control plenty of enchantments, and can often one-shot opponents when enchanted with Reins of the Deus or Shield of the Oversoul.
What color you choose really depends on how you want to win; in Commander, enchantress decks will often have to rely on their commander to close out the game. Zur or Uril are ends unto themselves, which means the decks with them at the helm utilize enchantments designed to keep their commanders on the battlefield and swinging. Jenara plays well in a big-mana deck featuring Mirari’s Wake and Mana Reflection, meaning enchantments with activated abilities come at a premium (Sacred Mesa, Luminarch Ascension). However, if you’re playing an enchantress deck and your commander isn’t a finisher, it’s probably best to put as many card-drawing engines as you can in the deck so you can quickly reach the spells you need to close out the game.
All the World’s a Stage
For those of you unfamiliar with Magic stage theory, here is a brief summary: every Magic game, regardless of format, can be broken up into three stages, and each stage is defined by the number of resources available to each player. The early game is characterized by each player having few resources and more or less developing their hands and boards on the way to stage two. Players reach stage three when one player has successfully gained the upper hand and is dictating the pace of the game while the other player is left with very few options to regain control. Stage two is pretty much everything else.
How does this apply to enchantress? Simple; enchantress decks really want to get to stage three, but they tend to do so without committing creatures to the board, leaving them open to full-frontal assaults from more aggressive decks.
What this means is that the enchantress player needs to create a barrier between himself and his opponent’s armies. Ideally, this is done through enchantments, though a random Wrath of God or Damnation is not out of place for the mere surprise factor. However, most colors have enchantments that help to control the creature population, either through outright destruction (Pyrohemia, No Mercy) or by taxing the opponent’s resources (Propaganda, Pendrell Mists). This aspect of the deck is governed primarily by the color of the deck, but a good rule of thumb for any commander deck (not including those packing endless tutors) is to run at least seven cards for a specific purpose in order to reliably access said effect over the course of a game.
It is also important to understand that resource development is the key to moving out of stage one as quickly as possible. It’s all well and good to pack powerful enchantments like Mirari’s Wake and Mana Reflection, but if you’re unable to produce five mana by turn five, you’re going to fall behind very rapidly. Those decks with access to green should use the early turns playing spells like Fertile Ground, Rites of Flourishing, and Heartbeat of Spring, the last of which can be dangerous but easily propels the game out of the early stages. For non-green decks, it is more essential to lay down card-drawing enchantments like Land Tax, Phyrexian Arena, or Rhystic Study; while they don’t actively ramp your mana, they provide a steady flow of cards which should translate into hitting all of your land drops. They also provide a bit of redundancy for those times when you enchantress creatures are taken out by removal.
Once you’ve accelerated to the second stage, it’s time to take control of the board. If you’re playing black, No Mercy and Lethal Vapors will keep pesky creatures from surviving. In red, Stranglehold will keep your opponents from tutoring up their answers, and Smoke will keep creatures tapped down. Blue has access to powerful enchantments like Dream Tides, Flood, and Propaganda, all very good answers to the hordes amassing around your Moats. However, white and green are the best at protecting what’s yours; Karmic Justice and Martyr’s Bond are absolutely brutal against removal, and Priveleged Position, Sterling Grove, and Greater Auramancy all prevent your enchantments from getting destroyed by Acidic Slimes and their ilk.
From there, it’s simply a matter of picking your finisher and rolling it out. Luminarch Ascension is great in tandem with Propaganda effects, especially when there are three turns to tick up the counters. Exquisite Blood, Sanguine Bond, and Pestilence will end the game on the spot, and each piece is still good by itself. Even a big, dumb creature like Primeval Titan or Kozilek is a fine choice to take out your opponents while you sit comfortably behind a wall of untouchable enchantments. It’s really a matter of personal preference.
Package Deals
One of the reasons players love to build enchantress decks is the sheer number of enchantment combos there are in Magic. I’d like to close out this article by discussing some of my favorites (and maybe giving you some ideas for your own enchantress deck). We’ll start with the less convoluted combos; those that only require two cards to function. Most of these provide card advantage and should be serious considerations even outside of enchantress decks, as both cards are powerful by themselves.
Sylvan Library + Abundance
The first of these two cards should be an auto-include into every green enchantress deck, if not every green Commander deck in general. Any card that reads “draw three cards” can not be taken lightly, and Sylvan Library’s “drawback” is barely a drawback in a 40-life format. However, due to Abundance’s wording, it can be combined with Sylvan Library to draw three cards with no drawback. Because Abundance puts the cards into your hand instead of drawing them, you haven’t actually drawn any cards for your turn, so Sylvan Library has nothing to put back on top of your library!
Land Tax + Scroll Rack
I don’t know about most players, but I have a hard time not putting Scroll Rack into any deck that includes Land Tax, and vice versa. Much like the previous combo, this equates to drawing three cards a turn, so long as you have less lands than your opponents. Also, this combo will never run out of gas, as you keep putting the basic lands back into your deck with Scroll Rack, then searching them up with Land Tax on the next turn!
Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond
Done to death (literally)! Everyone already knows this combo, so I won’t bore you with an explanation. Suffice to say; if you’re playing black, give these two cards some consideration.
Bloodchief Ascension + Polluted Bonds
Everyone likes to make their land drops, regardless of the drawback. With these two cards out, a complete turn cycle at a table of four players means that you will have an active Bloodchief Ascension by your next upkeep.
Enchanted Evening + Anything
Enchanted Evening should be an auto-include in any enchantress deck that can support its colors. The amount of combos that this card enables is truly staggering, from more obvious inclusions like Opalescence (destroy all lands) or Aura Thief (steal everything), to lesser known cards like Calming Verse or Spring Cleaning (destroy everybody else’s stuff). However, this card is a double-edged sword if your opponents are packing enchantment hate.
While all of these two-card combos are great, it takes a skilled player to actually set up a multi-card combo in a game of Commander. If you find your deck is able to control the game long enough to where you can safely pull of either of these combos, feel free to slot them into your deck.
Recycle + Null Profusion + Cadaverous Bloom/Dream Halls
While this combo does require a very specific color combination, the turn you lay these cards out on the table, you should win the game fairly easily. Recycle and Null Profusion’s effects actually stack, so you will draw two cards for every one card you play. Add in Dream Halls or Cadaverous Bloom, and you have an engine that will draw out your entire deck. With Dream Halls, it’s as simple as casting a storm spell. For Cadaverous Bloom, you can kill the table with a giant Exsanguinate or pump all of your mana into a Helix Pinnacle to win the game.
Enduring Ideal + Humility + Dovescape + Night of Soul’s Betrayal + Necropotence + Near-Death Experience
Typing this out felt like performing a cheat code on an old NES game; actually using it in a game should feel very similar. Because this combo requires you to cast an Epic spell, it is important to make sure that your opponents are unable to interact with you after you’ve cast Enduring Ideal. However, once you’ve started up this chain, it equates to a six-turn clock for your opponents to find answers before you win. Ideally, you’ll already have Humility or Dovescape on the board to nullify either creature- or spell-based answers, then use Enduring Ideal to drop the other half of that combo. From there, you play Night of Soul’s Betrayal to kill all creatures, then the Necro/Near-Death Experience combo to win on your next upkeep. Warning: if you successfully pull off this combo, be prepared to be the target in every game thereafter.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed this archetype discussion en lieu of an actual deck analysis; enchantress is one of my favorite decks and I’m quite happy to provide my insight into the strategy behind it. Please, let me know if you enjoyed this column; I play a lot of commander, I’m familiar with a lot of different strategies, and I’d be more than happy to make “Archetype Rundown” a standard column in the future.
Show Me Your Generals: Edric, the Draw King
Welcome to another exciting installment of Show Me Your Generals, wherein I put on my +3 intellect Helm of Self-Importance and analyze one of my friends’ Commander decks so I can blindly criticize his card selection and make myself feel more intelligent than him! With my mighty +11 strength Sword of Inflated Ego, I will cut through the chaff and fill in the holes with wheat-y cards sure to enhance the power of his deck! And using my +99 charisma Cloak of Never-Ending Metaphors, I will annoy my readers so much within the first paragraph that they will be unlikely to continue further than this sentence.
In all seriousness, I would like to thank everyone for your positive reaction to the last time I wrote this segment. I’m glad to know you’re all at least taking an interest in my writing; if you could spread the word to any of your friends who are interested in Magic: the Gathering, I would greatly appreciate it. I really enjoy writing, and I’d like to know that I’m not just doing this to bolster my own ego. (God knows I don’t need to do that anymore than I already am.)
Without further ado, let me introduce today’s Commander, courtesy of my friend John Dreisbach…
I Like Big Hands and I Cannot Lie
Edric, Spymaster of Trest is one of my favorite legendary creatures to come out of Wizards’ Commander product. He has a lot going for him; he is a three-drop, he has a relevant creature type (Elf), he draws you cards, and he allows you to play politics by offering your opponents the opportunity to draw cards. All of these factors make him suitable for a variety of decks. When I first made an Edric deck, I went with a “group hug”-style deck using cards like Rites of Flourishing and Howling Mine to give everyone extra cards, while secretly hoarding Time Warp effects and token generators like Ant Queen to suddenly drop an army onto the board and then take an extra turn to kill everyone. I have to admit; for a long time, this was one of my favorite decks to play , until I grew less than enthusiastic about Time Warp effects in general and scrapped it.
But enough about my Edric deck; let’s take a look at John’s list. This is a column about other people’s decks, after all!
Edric, the Draw King |
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| Creatures (22) 1x Aeon Chronicler 1x Cold-Eyed Selkie 1x Descendant of Soramaro 1x Heartwood Storyteller 1x Kami of the Crescent Moon 1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth 1x Lorescale Coatl 1x Maro 1x Masumaro, First to Live 1x Myojin of Seeing Winds 1x Nantuko Cultivator 1x Oboro Envoy 1x Overbeing of Myth 1x Psychosis Crawler 1x Regal Force 1x Saprazzan Heir 1x Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant 1x Sharding Sphinx 1x Soramaro, First to Dream 1x Sphinx of Magosi 1x Sturmgeist 1x Vedalkin Heretic |
Sorceries (16) 1x Creeping Corrosion 1x Endless Swarm 1x Flood of Ideas 1x Minds Aglow 1x Mystic Speculation 1x Overrun 1x Overwhelming Stampede 1x Praetor’s Counsel 1x Predatory Focus 1x Recurring Insight 1x Rite of Replication 1x Rush of Knowledge 1x Soul’s Majesty 1x Spitting Image 1x Spontaneous Generation 1x Tranquil Path |
Artifacts (12) 1x Anvil of Bogardan 1x Empyrial Plate 1x Gauntlet of Power 1x Howling Mine 1x Ivory Tower 1x Lightning Greaves 1x Sol Ring 1x Soul Foundry 1x Spellbook 1x Teferi’s Puzzle Box 1x Venser’s Journal 1x Well of Knowledge |
| Instants (5) 1x Blue Sun’s Zenith 1x Hunter’s Insight 1x Inner Calm, Outer Strength 1x Momentous Fall 1x Plagiarize |
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| Planeswalkers (2) 1x Garruk, Primal Hunter 1x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage |
Lands (31) 1x Flooded Grove 14x Forest 14x Island 1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea 1x Reliquary Tower |
Enchantments (11) 1x Followed Footsteps 1x Greater Good 1x Infinite Reflection 1x Leafdrake Roost 1x Mind Unbound 1x Rhystic Study 1x Rites of Flourishing 1x Trade Routes 1x Words of Wilding 1x Words of Wind 1x Zur’s Weirding |
At first glance, I thought John’s deck was the same as my original Edric “group hug” deck, but the more I delved into the list, the more I realized that this deck is a hybrid combo/voltron deck. John uses card draw for more than just card advantage; he uses it to pump up his creatures to monstrous proportions! It’s really scary when your opponent is filling his or her hand with relevant spells and beating you down with a giant Cold-Eyed Selkie. At the same time, he’s using the massive amounts of card draw to dig for combo kills via Psychosis Crawler, which is something I can really get behind and will be trying to bolster with my suggestions.
However, there are quite a few things that jump out at me when looking over this list. First and foremost: thirty-one lands is suicidal! Even in the ramp-iest of ramp decks, thirty-five lands is the bare minimum. On top of that, there are a few cards that, while cute, are too easy for a prepared opponent to break (I’m looking at you, Soul Foundry). So while there’s a great deal of stuff in this deck that will remain untouched, there’s a lot that needs to be fixed.
Huge Tracts of Land
First thing’s first; let’s make some room for more land. While it’s easy enough to take out five cards and fill the slots with basic lands, I’d like to think I’m a bit more creative than that. Blue-green offers some excellent utility lands that will work wonders in a deck like this, and I think John could use a bit more in the free spell department.
Out:
Soul Foundry – This card is just begging for a two-for-one. I have run cards like Bottled Cloister in the past, and exiling any number of your own cards under an artifact is just asking for a Krosan Grip. The only reason cards like Mimic Vat are playable is that the resource is coming from somewhere other than your hand or the battlefield, with the exception being Extraplanar Lens, as you can slow roll that until you can fully utilize the ramp it provides.
Infinite Reflection – I understand that one of John’s win conditions is Psychosis Crawler and he really likes to copy it, but this is not the way to go. The nontoken clause really kills this card for me; without it, this would easily make the cut alongside cards like Words of Wilding. As is, he has much better options for copying his Crawler.
Followed Footsteps – Everything that I said about Soul Foundry applies to Followed Footsteps, with the added detriment of it not triggering until your next upkeep. Playing an enchantment like this immediately makes you the threat, making it unlikely that this card will survive long enough to do anything.
Leafdrake Roost – What the hell is this supposed to do? I like Squirrel’s Nest more than this, and that’s only because of the combo potential with Earthcraft. As it stands, this card ties down your mana and a 2/2 flying creature is not that relevant in Commander.
Endless Swarm – While I love this card, it’s more suited to decks that create a hard lock on the board before resolving the epic spell. It has the potential to be good with Edric, but so do a lot of other cards that don’t prevent you from ever casting another spell. John’s deck is trying to hover somewhere between “big dumb beaters” and “token swarms,” and I think his big dumb beaters are going to win him more games than this.
In:
Alchemist’s Refuge – Many have heralded Avacyn Restored as the best Commander set of all time, and with good reason. This card is absolutely bonkers! Anyone who’s played with Winding Canyons will agree that three mana is a small price to pay for instant speed spells. Moreover, a deck that uses cards like Howling Mine and Rites of Flourishing really benefits from playing those cards at the end of the opponent’s turn right before your own, ensuring that you’re the first to benefit.
Arena – John’s deck is lacking a creature removal and, while I am loathe to waste a land spot on a non-mana-producing land, he has a number of potentially huge creatures that can easily battle with other creatures and live.
Inkmoth Nexus – While I am not a fan of poison in most situations, John’s deck can really take advantage of a land like Inkmoth Nexus that can surprise kill opponents with cards like Empyrial Plate or Inner Calm, Outer Strength (of which I have been on the receiving end many times).
Miren, the Moaning Well – There are many players at our local shop that are prone to hair-trigger wrath effects, especially in the face of large, seemingly dangerous creatures. Miren allows John to turn his soon-to-be dead creatures into another valuable resource. This works especially well in conjunction with Alchemist’s Refuge, as both encourage you to leave mana untapped.
Mosswort Bridge – I believe every big creature deck with green should be running this card; it’s quite easy to turn on when your hand size is normally seven, meaning most of John’s creatures only need a little boost to activate the Bridge.
Other considerations for lands include Boseiju, Who Shelters All, due to John running threatening spells like Rite of Replication and Inner Calm, Outer Strength, and Academy Ruins to provide some insurance policy for his artifacts. However, I think this deck really wants to go big, so the utility lands should take full advantage of the awesome size of John’s creatures.
Drawing 101
With the lands taken care of, it’s time to talk about the rest of the cards in John’s deck. As with my last installment of “Show Me Your Generals,” I will only be discussing the cards that I think should be removed, as going over every card in this list is a waste of time when considering obvious inclusions like Myojin of Seeing Winds or Reliquary Tower.
Descendant of Soramaro – This card screams “bad Sensei’s Divining Top” to me. I’m under the assumption that John is keeping this list within a budget, so I won’t go suggesting the now-$15 uncommon, but this slot is begging for that type of effect. While the Descendant does dig deep for it’s activation cost, 2/3’s for four mana with no immediate effect on the board have never been relevant in Commander.
Most would suggest Crystal Ball as a replacement, but I think John has enough mana production to warrant Soothsaying, a criminally underplayed and cheap (money-wise) enchantment from Mercadian Masques. For one blue mana, you can pay X at any time to reorder the top X cards of your library, with the option of shuffling your library for 3UU. While it’s nowhere near as powerful as Sensei’s Divining Top, the ability to shuffle your library more than makes up for it.
Replacement: Soothsaying
Maro – Oh, Maro, you used to be so cool. I remember opening you in a Mirage booster pack and thinking that you were the best creature ever printed. Now look at you; at four mana, you’re usually worse than an Obstinate Baloth, albeit easier to cast.
In fact, this card was made obsolete within two blocks of its printing. Multani, Maro-Sorcerer works much better in tandem with the rest of the cards in this deck, as John is granting his opponents huge hand sizes in addition to his own. On top of that, Multani protects himself via shroud; this creature screams “wrath me or die.”
Replacement: Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
Oboro Envoy – This is not a Commander-worthy effect. Oboro Envoy is at best worse than Maze of Ith, which is not where you want to be as a creature. Rather than waste this slot on sub-par creature removal, let’s see if we can’t find something game-ending to replace it.
Uyo, Silent Prophet is a fun little moonfolk from Kamigawa with a rather impressive ability, especially when we consider that John’s creatures get bigger when there are more cards in his hand. Having a repeatable Fork on a stick is nothing to sneeze at, and my later suggestions will work wonders with this little girl.
Replacement: Uyo, Silent Prophet
Regal Force – “BLASPHEMY!” you may cry. Regal Force, the poster child for green card draw, not good enough for a green card draw deck? Yes, I say! This deck does not actually have that many green creatures, especially considering my replacements, so Regal Force will often act as a seven-mana Harmonize, which is not what this deck wants.
I’d like to use this slot to continue the plan started with Uyo, Silent Prophet. John is already utilizing Soramaro, so there is definitely space in this deck for Patron of the Moon, which synergizes so well with the “bounce lands to your hand” effects of the other moonfolk. On top of that, it’s a 5/4 flier that allows John to dump his lands into play after drawing a massive amount of cards with something like Flow of Ideas or Mjoyin of Seeing Winds.
Replacement: Patron of the Moon
Saprazzan Heir – This card is like a bad Infiltration Lens, and that card is only playable in decks featuring a heavy equipment or lure subtheme, if the latter even exists. It’s not even a Grizzly Bear!
Rounding out what was started with Uyo, Meloku the Clouded Mirror is feared by many, and rightly so. In the late game, it allows you to leave mana open while still threatening mass amounts of damage the following turn, which works so well with lands like Alchemist’s Refuge and Mikokoro, or sweeping spells like Overrun and Overwhelming Stampede. On top of that, the lands bounced to your hand can easily be brought back into play with Patron of the Moon. Meloku also helps to turn on Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant, bouncing seven lands back to John’s hand so he can flip the snake and produce massive amounts of mana.
Replacement: Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Sharding Sphinx – I love this card, but it does not belong here. There are few other artifact creatures in John’s list, so the Sphinx only triggers off itself, which is definitely not enough to warrant its inclusion.
I’d like to keep this slot with a Sphinx in it. Though I loathe suggesting it, Consecrated Sphinx is the obvious choice; it costs the same as Sharding Sphinx and fits the theme of DRAW ALL THE CARDS that John has so eloquently laid out. Moreover, Pychosis Crawler, Zur’s Weirding and Plagiarize act as deterrents for anyone hoping to copy Jin-Gitaxias’ pet.
Replacement: Consecrated Sphinx
Vedalken Heretic – For an Ophidian to be Commander-playable, it needs to have some form of evasion. Cards like Cold-Eyed Selkie and Lu Xun, Scholar General are playable because they are mostly unblockable; Vedalken Heretic, unfortunately, is not.
This slot has two replacements; the choice really comes down to personal preference. As previously stated, Lu Xun is an Ophidian with the bonus of being unblockable (unless one of your opponents happens to be playing horsemanship creatures) and, with the recent printing of From the Vault: Legends, he is now very cheap to acquire. However, my choice for this slot would have to be Ohran Viper, which can act as either an Ophidian or a deathtouch blocker, giving it a bit more utility than the Scholar General. Again, it comes down to personal preference.
Replacement: Lu Xun, Scholar General or Ohran Viper
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage – This is an interesting case of a good card not working in certain decks. Tamiyo has a lot going for her; she keeps any permanent locked down, she draws cards, and she has an ultimate that actually does end the game, even if it doesn’t outright say it. However, she’s a five-mana planeswalker, which means that, unless you’re ramping into her, there’s likely to be a board full of creatures ready to eat her as soon as she hits the battlefield. Without numerous board wipes to keep her protected, she’s definitely not what this deck is looking for.
I feel like my suggestions haven’t been touching on the combo aspect of this deck enough; now seems like the perfect opportunity to start! One card conspicuously absent from this list is Windfall; personally, I would always play Windfall if I’m playing Pychosis Crawler, as it has the best chance of ending the game immediately, especially with Consecrated Sphinx in the mix.
Replacement: Windfall
Soul’s Majesty – John has already included Garruk, Primal Hunter, Momentous Fall and Hunter’s Insight, making Soul’s Majesty seem like the redheaded stepchild of the family (apologies to John Gramme and my brother). While redundancy is always good in Commander (when not using a ton of tutors), having too many of this effect leaves John open to the risk of having dead cards in hand when his board is empty.
Rather than replace this slot with a spell, I think Jace’s Archivist could easily find a home in John’s deck. I’ve already mentioned all the benefits of running Windfall in this list; apply all of these arguments toward Jace’s Archivist.
Replacement: Jace’s Archivist
Gauntlet of Power – Silly John, Gauntlets are for mono-colored decks!
In all seriousness, this card is probably fine in this list. However, if John really wants this effect, he may as well use Caged Sun. Though it costs more, it has the added benefit of not helping his opponents, which is important when we consider that he’s letting them draw extra cards. Giving your opponents more mana and more cards is just begging for abuse.
Replacement: Caged Sun
Spellbook – Easily replaced with Library of Leng. They both have the exact same effect with regards to keeping your massive hand, but Library of Leng has the added benefit of hosing mass discard like Myojin of Night’s Reach or Amnesia.
Replacement: Library of Leng
Well of Knowledge – Cute, probably not effective. Most players like to utilize every bit of mana they have on any given turn, and there is inherent uncertainty in pumping mana to draw cards at the beginning of the turn. More often than not, this card will do absolutely nothing.
Font of Mythos is strangely absent from John’s list; it’s possible he cut it recently, as I know I’ve seen him play the accursed card on a number of occasions. This is me politely asking that he return it to his deck, as it is exactly the type of effect he is looking for.
Replacement: Font of Mythos
The Art of the Deck
Here is John’s Edric deck with my updates:
| Edric, The Draw King v2.0 | ||
| Creatures (22) 1x Aeon Chronicler 1x Cold-Eyed Selkie 1x Consecrated Sphinx 1x Heartwood Storyteller 1x Jace’s Archivist 1x Kami of the Crescent Moon 1x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth 1x Lorescale Coatl 1x Masamaro, First to Live 1x Meloku the Clouded Mirror 1x Multani, Maro-Sorcerer 1x Myojin of Seeing Winds 1x Nantuko Cultivator 1x Ohran Viper 1x Overbeing of Myth 1x Patron of the Moon 1x Pychosis Crawler 1x Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant 1x Soramaro, First to Dream 1x Sphinx of Magosi 1x Sturmgeist 1x Uyo, Silent Prophet |
Sorceries (15) 1x Creeping Corrosion 1x Flow of Ideas 1x Minds Aglow 1x Mystic Speculation 1x Overrun 1x Overwhelming Stampede 1x Praetor’s Counsel 1x Predatory Focus 1x Recurring Insight 1x Rite of Replication 1x Rush of Knowledge 1x Spitting Image 1x Spontaneous Generation 1x Tranquil Path 1x Windfall |
Artifacts (11) 1x Anvil of Bogardan 1x Caged Sun 1x Empyrial Plate 1x Font of Mythos 1x Howling Mine 1x Ivory Tower 1x Library of Leng 1x Lightning Greaves 1x Sol Ring 1x Teferi’s Puzzle Box 1x Venser’s Journal |
| Lands (36) 1x Alchemist’s Refuge 1x Arena 1x Flooded Grove 14x Forest 1x Inkmoth Nexus 14x Island 1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea 1x Miren, the Moaning Well 1x Mosswort Bridge 1x Reliquary Tower |
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| Planeswalker (1) 1x Garruk, Primal Hunter |
Enchantments (9) 1x Greater Good 1x Mind Unbound 1x Rhystic Study 1x Rites of Flourishing 1x Soothsaying 1x Trade Routes 1x Words of Wilding 1x Words of Wind 1x Zur’s Weirding |
Instants (5) 1x Blue Sun’s Zenith 1x Hunter’s Insight 1x Inner Calm, Outer Strength 1x Momentous Fall 1x Plagiarize |
John’s A game should always be the big creature beatdown strategy via monsters like Overbeing of Myth or Aeon Chronicler, as most of his spells are geared toward enhancing said strategy. However, the addition of Alchemist’s Refuge alongside Lightning Greaves changes the actual play style when seeking this strategy, as it benefits John to play more conservatively, waiting for the most opportune moment to unleash a giant Sturmgeist onto the board when his opponents are unable to answer it. The same holds true for Inkmoth Nexus; it is important when playing a one-hit kill card such as this to keep attention away from yourself, especially when your deck runs so few answers to what your opponents are doing.
However, my suggestions mainly bolster John’s backup plans. Endless Swarm is a rather awe-inspiring card, but my experience with it leads me to believe that it hurts its caster more than his or her opponents. Meloku of the Clouded Mirror, on the other hand, serves double duty as both token-generator and hand-enlarger, meaning that it bolsters John’s main plan while still offering the ability to swarm his opponents alongside other powerful cards like Words of Wilding or Spontaneous Generation (my personal favorite card from this list). Moreover, if John is able to land Meloku or Uyo with Patron of the Moon, the game tilts significantly in his favor almost instantaneously.
Pyschosis Crawler and Zur’s Weirding help to turn the “group hug” strategy into a legitimate win condition; while I have always considered Psychosis Crawler to be an effective win condition, I had never actually considered the merits of Zur’s Weirding. When John is casting a giant Recurring Insight, Zur’s Weirding creates this weird sub-game with his opponents where they must decide if two life is worth making John discard a card. At the same time, it offers John the ability to control his opponents’ hands without the use of counter magic. This is also why I like Words of Wind in this list; given enough mana, John can turn this into Upwelling and float mana through the effect to put lands back on the battlefield with Patron of the Moon.
The more I look at it, the more scared I become of John’s deck given the powerful synergies between his existing shell and the replacements I have suggested. The deck is still a combo/voltron deck at heart, but both elements have been bolstered by inherently powerful creatures like Meloku and Multani and combo pieces like Windfall and Jace’s Archivist. However, this is the kind of deck I love; it’s not broken, but it can easily run away with a game if left unchecked. I can only hope that John feels the same way I do.
General Information
I hope all of you who actually made it to the end of this article enjoyed my latest installment of “Show Me Your Generals.” As I’ve said before, I’m looking to make this segment a regular part of my blog, as I do enjoy looking at other people’s decks as well as feeling like people actually care about my opinions. Hopefully the positive reaction I received from the last column is proof enough, but please contact me to let me know whether or not you enjoy this segment.
As always, if you’d like me to critique your Commander deck, send me a link to your decklist uploaded to Tappedout.net. I’m always happy to provide my unique insight into deck building.
Until next time, may all your topdecks be something other than miracles (because that mechanic is stupid).
