nehebthewordy

[nehebthewordy]

Breena, the Demagogue

Hey everyone! Though it's been a while, I'm back today with another top-15 commander list. This time we're building Commander 2021's Breena, the Demagogue. This eloquent warlock serves as a solid political piece, card-draw engine, and beater, able to both keep you stocked for the long game and threaten commander damage.

My own take on this commander in particular started as an aggro deck helmed by Baldur's Gate's Lae'zel; after some playtesting, I eventually found that Breena can lead the same strategy with much greater reliability. In particular, I've had many games where opponents who haven't played with her before underestimate just how big she can become when they take her deal. Today we're going to look at 15 of my favorite cards to run with her, though the numbered list is entirely arbitrary: each of these is as good as another in the appropriate circumstances.

#1: Fetid Gargantua 4B, 4/4 Horror. "2B: Adapt 2 (If it had no +1 counters, give it two +1 counters.)" and "Whenever one or more +1 counters are put on it, you may draw 2 cards and lose 2 life." Modern Horizons 3 brought a number of high-power commons and uncommons to Magic, and Fetid Gargantua is an underrated but equally-powerful one. Though often overshadowed by it's green kin Evolutionary Witness, the Gargantua offers another strong benefit using the same method. Every time it gets one or more counters, you have the option of drawing two cards. (The life loss is irrelevant.) With Breena alone on board, if you can trigger her ability this sleeper common can immediately draw you three additional cards during combat (one for Breena's ability and two for itself.) Once you put other cards on board that distribute counters, it can draw you far more cards, and if an opponent chooses to trigger Breena to draw for themselves you have the option of drawing two additional cards by putting counters on the Gargantua.

#2: Elite Scaleguard 4W, 2/3 Human Soldier. "When it enters the battlefield, put two +1 counters on a creature you control with the least toughness." and "Whenever a creature you control with a +1 counter attacks, tap target creature defending player controls." This uncommon from Tarkir block lives again in Breena. While it's effect on an empty board is minimal, it offers you the ability to tap down creatures before they can be declared as blockers. Though a simple effect, it can be a devastating way to force damage through.

#3: Felidar Retreat 3W, Enchantment. "Whenever a land enters under your control, choose one: Create a 2/2 creature token, or put a +1 counter on each of your creatures and give them vigilance this turn. Felidar Retreat performed well for a while after its release in Zendikar Rising, but has largely been forgotten in favor of newer, more versatile cards (notably, cards that don't require either a tokens deck or a counters deck to function.) In Breena, however, the second option for its landfall ability provides immense utility: For every land drop, you can buff your entire board (potentially even triggering the ability on Fetid Gargantua, seen earlier on this list.) As an added bonus, vigilance will allow you to swing with impunity, keeping blockers available while getting your Breena triggers.

#4: Together Forever WW, Enchantment. "When it enters, put a +1 counter on each of up to two target creatures." and "1: When target creature with a counter on it dies this turn, return it to its owner's hand." Battlebond was perhaps one of my favorite sets of all time, and this enchantment showcases some of the set's greatest strengths. While Together Forever's first ability really only enables other effects, the latter is immensely valuable. For only a single mana per creature, you can protect it from standard removal, returning it to your hand to recast later. Though I haven't yet had the occasion pop up, you can also use it politically on your opponents' creatures, allowing them to more easily rebuild their boards.

#5: Promise of Loyalty 4W, Sorcery. "Each player puts a vow counter on one of their creatures and sacrifices the rest. Those creatures can't attack you for as long as they have vow counters." Promise of Loyalty (from Strixhaven Commander, like Breena) is perhaps one of my favorite board wipes. Rather than simply destroying the whole board, you let each player choose a creature to keep: unlike other similar effects however, Promise keeps those creatures pointed away from you. This not only allows the political angle of everyone keeping their best creature, you also get to choose a creature to keep. Most often this will be Breena, but many occasions may arise where another creature is overall more relevant to your game plan.

#6: Hagra Constrictor 2B, 0/0 Snake. "It enters with 2 +1 counters." and "Each creature you control with a +1 counter has menace." While you'll likely have many such creatures that benefit your creatures with counters, Hagra Constrictor has two main advantages that set it apart from the rest: It is one of two black cards that interact with your creatures in this way (the other is Mer-Ek Nightblade for deathtouch), and it is the only one that grants menace. On its own it makes blocking choices much more difficult, since Breena will often be huge (and naturally flies), but paired with Elite Scaleguard you can easily use it to make blocking completely impossible.

#7: Sparring Regimen 2W, Enchantment. "When it enters, you may discard a card to draw a card." and "Whenever you attack, put a +1 counter on target attacking creature and untap it." Sparring Regimen is often a silent bomb with Breena. Usually, other players won't even register it as a threat (making it much more likely to both resolve and dodge removal.) Once you start swinging however many change their tune, as the single-target pseudo-vigilance can keep Breena or whatever choice attacker you have also functioning as a reliable blocker. As a small added benefit, rummage-on-entry can help you dig through bad draws into the meat of your deck.

#8: Necropolis Regent 3BBB, 6/5 Vampire. Flying and "Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, put that many +1 counters on it." This is an amazing top-end card for Breena to win games with. As a finisher, a triple-black mana cost is barely enough to blink at in this two-color deck, and it essentially doubles the size of your creatures every time they get through for damage. Breena will usually hit for between 5 and 8 damage before Regent comes into play every turn in most late games; this can easily threaten death to any player foolish enough to ignore it.

#9: Noble Heritage (Honorable Mention: Orzhov Advokist) 1W, Enchantment. "Commander creatures you own have 'When this creature enters or at your upkeep, each player may put two +1 counters on a creature they control. You gain protection from each opponent who does until your next turn.'" (Honorable Mention): 2W, 1/4 Human Advisor. "At your upkeep, each player may put two +1 counters on a creature they control. Players who do can't attack you or your planeswalkers until your next turn." While both of these cards function extremely similarly, Noble Heritage gives you a slightly more powerful effect at a slightly lower mana cost, at the price of requiring Breena to be in play to function. Either protects you from players who take the deal for a turn, and you can do the effect at no penalty regardless of whether they do.

#10: Lethal Scheme (Honorable Mention: Closing Statement) 2BB, Instant. "Convoke (You can tap creatures to pay for this spell, counting each creature as either 1 generic mana or 1 mana of that creature's color.)" and "Destroy target creature. Each creature that convoked this connives. (For each of those creatures, draw then discard. Put a +1 counter on that creature if you discarded a nonland card." (Honorable Mention): 3WB, Instant. "It costs 2 less to cast during your end step." and "Destroy target creature or planeswalker, then put a +1 counter on up to one target creature you don't control." These cards both give you a strong benefit, even at their high cost: instant-speed removal that can also put counters on your creatures. Lethal Scheme is the better of the two, being able to convoke it and potentially throwing more counters around, but Closing Statement can easily be only 3 mana and hit planeswalkers as well.

#11: Citadel Siege 2WW, Enchantment. "As it enters, choose Khans or Dragons. As Khans, when you go to combat put two +1 counters on a creature you control. As Dragons, when an opponent goes to combat tap one of their creatures." I've always liked Fate Reforged's Siege cycle of enchantments, which in turn had a later pseudo-addition in the original Modern Horizons. Most important of them to this deck is Citadel Siege. Either mode can function well in the right situation, though for Breena I usually choose Khans. As with your other counter-distributing functions, Citadel Siege is just a reliable part of a hard-hitting engine, one made all the better for its presence.

#12: Mikaeus, the Lunarch XW, 0/0 Human Cleric. "It enters with X +1 counters", "Tap: Put a +1 counter on it", and "Tap, Remove a +1 counter from it: Put a +1 counter on each of your other creatures." Mikaeus gets more flexibility in Breena than most decks, many of which gladly run him regardless. Breena, however, can make his final ability only upside, as the deck has plenty of ways to replace those counters. With even a two-mana investment you can play Mikaeus as a 1/1, attack with anything to give him two counters, then shrink him down to buff your board. Each turn you can repeat this, quickly growing everything else to threatening proportions.

#13: Guardian Scalelord 4W, 3/4 Dragon. "Backup 1 (When it enters, put a +1 counter on a creature. If that creature isn't itself, that creature gets its non-backup abilities until end of turn", "Flying", and "Whenever this creature attacks, return target nonland permanent card that costs less than or equal to its power from your graveyard to play." While Guardian Scalelord's flying is redundant on Breena, it does offer consistent recursion for some of your best permanents. Though affected by summoning sickness like most other creatures, the Scalelord's backup ability can grant this recursion to another creature for a turn, giving you additional use even if the dragon never survives long enough to attack.

#14: Cauldron of Souls 5, Artifact. "Tap: Any number of target creatures gain persist until end of turn (When they die, if they had no -1 counters, they come back with a -1 counter.)" Cauldron of Souls has seen extensive commander use for years in any number of decks. With Breena, however, you have easy means to put +1 counters on your creatures, dispelling the -1 counters from Cauldron. At worst this will make Breena much harder to remove, since she can usually guarantee counters on herself (or another choice creature), but late game this can keep most of your board alive even through wraths every round.

#15: Carmen, Cruel Skymarcher 3WB, 2/2 Vampire Soldier. "Flying", "Whenever anybody sacrifices a permanent, you gain 1 life and put a +1 counter on her", and "Whenever she attacks, put up to one target permanent that costs less than or equal to her power from your graveyard into play." One of the alternate commanders for the somewhat-recent Ixalan Commander decks, Carmen is usually seen in heavy aristocrats and treasure-synergy decks. While we won't be using this aspect of her in Breena, she still flies. As an added bonus, Breena can easily buff her such that she can grab bigger things from your bin every turn.

While the newest of my pet decks, Breena has quickly earned her place. She's powerful, aggressive, and most of all fun, offering both individual strength and political power to colors which can often struggle to branch out from generic aristocrats strategies. Though she falls apart quickly when the game comes down to 1v1, you'll have a blast up until then, and with enough momentum you may yet claim victory. Win or lose, I hope to see you all on the battlefield.

[nehebthewordy]

Aminatou, the Fateshifter (Fall 2022 Update)

Hey everyone! It’s been a long while, but today I’ve got an update on my very best commander deck: Aminatou, the Fateshifter. When I first bought her precon not quite a year after it came out, I quickly stuck her into my collection and stripped the deck for parts. After a while though, when my old Vona deck grew old, I started looking into a new angle. Thus, the first iteration of Aminatou (or at least my version of it) was born.

She started as an amalgamation of a flicker deck (based around her -1 ability) and an old superfriends angle I’d been working on for some time. This origin remains a visible part of the deck’s identity even today, with a total of eight ‘walkers and nearly half a dozen planeswalker support cards. Today, we’re looking into the absolute 15 must-have cards for building her yourself. Though these cards a numbered for the sake of this list, the number assigned is entirely arbitrary and not related to the card’s relevance to the deck relative to each other.

#1: Felidar Guardian Card transcription: 3W, 1/4 Cat Beast. When it enters the battlefield, exile another permanent you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control. Those of you who played Standard during the early days of Aether Revolt will recognize this cat as the pivotal partner of the Saheeli Rai infinite cats combo, which functioned by using Felidar Guardian’s enter-the-battlefield effect to essentially “reset” Saheeli, allowing her to -2 to create a duplicate Felidar, with each duplicate gaining haste and repeating the process. It does the former with Aminatou, using her -1 to flicker the Felidar and then Felidar flickering Aminatou in turn. Combine this with Panharmonicon or Oath of Teferi for infinite flickers as either Aminatou flickers something else before flickering Felidar (Oath) or Felidar flickers Aminatou and something else when it enters (Panharmonicon). Add in anything that draw cards and you can have infinite mana and draw with which to seek your win condition. Alternatively, these two with either Vela the Night Clad or Corpse Knight allows you to win on the spot if an opponent can’t stop you.

#2: Panharmonicon Card transcription: 4, Artifact. If an artifact or creature entering the battlefield triggers a permanent you control, it triggers that permanent a second time. Panharmonicon has gained a sort of infamy in EDH, and for good reason. It can double any enter-the-battlefield trigger, from Acidic Slime to Gray Merchant of Asphodel. As stated above, it’s a key combo piece for Aminatou.

#3: Oath of Teferi Card transcription: 3WU, Legendary Enchantment. When it enters, exile another permanent you control until end of turn. and You can activate loyalty abilities of each of your planeswalkers twice each turn. While much more niche to planeswalker decks, Oath of Teferi is an absolute powerhouse, though it must be included in a deck that already runs both blue and white. Activating each of your planeswalkers twice each turn is amazingly powerful in a deck that has both a planeswalker commander and seven others, and with Aminatou specifically it essentially functions as a second Panharmonicon.

#4: Rings of Brighthearth Card transcription: 3, Artifact.Whenever you activate a non-mana ability, you may pay 2 to copy that ability. While the constant cost of 2 mana for each ability being copied (which becomes more pressing once Oath of Teferi hits the board), some of those abilities are certainly well worth the cost. If you choose to run Basalt Monolith (which will not be appearing on this list), Rings of Brighthearth can essentially grant you infinite colorless mana, paying for all the planeswalker ability copies.

#5: Callous Bloodmage (honorable mention: Charming Prince) Card transcription: 2B, 2/1 Vampire Warlock. When it enters choose one: Create a 1/1 Pest; You draw a card and lose 1 life; or Exile target player’s graveyard. Transcription (honorable mention): 1W, 2/2 Human Noble. When it enters choose one: Scry 2; Gain 3 life; or Exile another creature you own until end of turn. Charms have been historically appreciated for their flexibility, and modal creatures are essentially charms with repeatable effects in flicker decks. While both Callous Bloodmage and Charming Prince are amazing, our list will focus primarily on the latter. The Bloodmage’s token production is negligible, however the latter two options both have powerful options: drawing a card is always great and the third exiles an entire graveyard, severely hindering a reanimator deck (popular examples include Meren and Muldrotha) on its own. With the option to choose a different effect every time it enters, you have a one-card toolbox with a gadget for multiple occasions.

#6: Dakkon, Shadow Slayer Card transcription: WUB, Legendary Planeswalker. It enters with loyalty equal to the number of lands you control. +1: Surveil 2. -3: Exile target creature. -6: Put an artifact from your hand or graveyard into play. In the initial version of this deck, this variable slot was occupied by the 2nd Zendikar block Ob Nixilis. Dakkon, however, fills your needs at a lower mana value, has higher average starting loyalty, and can easily reanimate your artifacts (which, as you’ve no doubt noticed, there are quite a few that this deck loves). Even when you aren’t using his ult, his removal option is more powerful than Ob’s and gaining card selection rather than draw is a negligible difference.

#7: Liliana, Death’s Majesty Card transcription: 3BB, Legendary Planeswalker. 5 loyalty. +1: Mill 2 cards and make a 2/2 zombie. -3: Reanimate a creature from your graveyard. It becomes a zombie. -7: Destroy all non-zombie creatures. While her ultimate is largely irrelevant, Lili’s -3 ability is a substantial boon, allowing you to reanimate creatures while dodging expensive or color-intensive mana costs. Her plus is also moderately relevant, creating a blocker for herself while also digging for something to reanimate.

#8: Omen of the Dead Card transcription: B, Enchantment. Flash. When it enters, return a creature from your graveyard to your hand. This simple common from Theros 2 is easy to skip over, and that’s where its power lies. For 1 mana as an instant, you can recur a creature back to your hand, and your various flicker cards can abuse it to grab more creatures from your graveyard. Because it’s so simple, seemingly low-power, your opponents often won’t think to remove it at first. It’s just an ordinary common, right?

#9: Omen of the Sea Card transcription: 1U, Enchantment. Flash. When it enters, scry 2 and draw a card. The blue omen is good for essentially the same reason as the black. It’s cheap, it has flash, and it provides a moderate benefit. Really, the only one of this cycle that isn’t worth playing in Esper is the white one.

#10: Oath of Jace Card transcription: 2U, Legendary Enchantment. When it enters, draw three and discard two. and At the beginning of your upkeep, scry equal to the number of planeswalkers you control. This deck will likely want to run most, if not all, of the Gatewatch oaths it can. Oath of Jace, however, is a particularly powerful card advantage piece. As you accumulate planeswalkers on your board, it can scry deeper into your deck, and when in doubt you can just flicker it to immediately draw three. Discarding the two isn’t much of a problem with the amount of recursion that naturally fits into the deck.

#11: Restoration Gearsmith Card transcription: 2WB, 3/3 Human Artificer. When it enters, return an artifact or creature from your graveyard to your hand. Restoration Gearsmith’s effect is simple recursion, much like what you have plentiful access to. What makes it significant, however, is its ability to grab both creatures and artifacts, allowing it to retrieve Mulldrifters and Panharmonicons alike.

#12: Cloudblazer (honorable mention: Mulldrifter) Card transcription: 3WU, 2/2 Human Scout. Flying. When it enters, gain 2 life and draw two cards. Transcription (honorable mention: 4U, 2/2 Elemental. Flying. When it enters, draw 2 cards. You can cast it for 2U to sacrifice it immediately upon entering. Perhaps one of your best cards for draw (second to Oath of Jace), Cloudblazer’s ability to gain life as well helps buy more time with which to draw and play win conditions. Mulldrifter is nearly identical, but it trades the life gain for a cheaper casting option.

#13: Yorion, Sky Nomad Card transcription: 3HH (Hybrid: WU), 4/5 Legendary Bird Serpent. Flying. When it enters, exile any number of other nonland permanents you control until end of turn. While not a powerful combo piece like Felidar Guardian or a draw engine like Oath of Jace, Yorion certainly brings his own might to the table. On entering, you can use him to re-trigger the enter-the-battlefield effects of any permanent you control other than a land, and he can reset the loyalty of any of your planeswalkers. Since his effect also triggers on his own entry, you can flicker him to flicker your entire board at once.

#14: Gray Merchant of Asphodel Card transcription: 3BB, 2/4 Zombie. When it enters, each opponent loses life equal to your devotion to black. You gain life equal to the total life lost this way. As many of you who’ve played commander extensively know, Gray Merchant of Asphodel (or Gary) can be powerful even outside of mono black decks, making it the most versatile of the devotion cards. Besides Vela or Corpse Knight, Gary is your most reliable win condition, blasting each opponent from anywhere between three and eight life every time it enters and gaining you a bunch of life of your own. In a flicker deck, that difference adds up very quickly.

#15: Sanctum of Eternity Card transcription: Land. Tap: Add one colorless mana. 2, Tap: Return a commander you own from the battlefield to your hand (only during your turn). While it certainly feels weird finishing this list off with a land, Sanctum of Eternity deserves it. With the deck centering around Aminatou’s -1 ability, she’ll run out of loyalty very quickly; Sanctum allows you to bounce her back to hand before you spend her last loyalty counter, so you can replay her fresh to keep going.

She may have been a small child for the past four years, but Aminatou has grown a lot since I first built her deck. While the core identity hasn’t changed, she’s improved her approach significantly, and remains a blast to play even next to many commanders of today. So whether you want to have fun with my take on Aminatou or are simply looking to inspire your next brew, I hope to see you all on the battlefield.

[nehebthewordy]

Original art director of Magic: the Gathering only two years ago. Submitted without comment.

[nehebthewordy]

I really love the concept of these cards and wish charge counters were utilized in commander more often. That said, I’m concerned about the power level of some of them, notably Arcbound Salvager and Electroreplicator. I think both could benefit from the addition of the clause “This ability triggers only once each turn” (similar to Elvish Warmaster) without hindering its utility to the deck.

Hey everyone! Here are some cards i made meant to go in a hypothetical new commander precon. The precon would be blue/red artifacts with a heavy counter subtheme, and specifically charge counters in many cases. Here are some cards meant to supplement those subthemes- a backup commander, and some assorted other cards. I might make a follow-up collection of cards at some point, but these are the ones I have art for at the moment

Card transcription

Six cards

The first

Zzinx, Living Generator 1UR  

Legendary Creature- Elemental Artificer [mythic]  

Vigilance, haste  

Whenever Zzinx, Living Generator attacks, proliferate.  

T, Remove a charge counter from a permanent you control: Zzinx deals 2 damage to any target.  

1/3

The second

Arcbound Salvager 2  

Artifact Creature- Construct [rare]  

Modular 1  

Whenever you put one or more charge counters on a permanent, put that many +1/+1 counters on Arcbound Salvager.  

0/0

The third

Electroreplicator 1R  

Artifact [rare]  

1, T: Put a charge counter on another target permanent with a charge counter on it.  

Whenever you put one or more charge counters on a permanent, ~ deals that much damage to each opponent.

The fourth

Prophecy Engine 3U  

Artifact [rare]  

~ enters the battlefield with X charge counters on it, where X is one plus the number of counters on other artifacts you control.  

T, Remove a charge counter from ~: Draw a card.

The fifth

Swift Reaction 3U  

Instant [rare]  

Improvise  

Counter target spell. Put a +1/+1 counter on each artifact creature that improvised this spell, and a charge counter on each noncreature artifact that improvised it.

The sixth

Shrine of Fleshen Metal 2  

Artifact [uncommon]  

At the beginning of your upkeep or whenever you cast an artifact spell, put a charge counter on ~.  

1, T, Sacrifice ~: Another target artifact you control becomes a 0/0 artifact creature. Put a +1/+1 counter on it for each charge counter on ~.

End transcription

[nehebthewordy]

So since mtg is now a Restaurant, can we finally eat the delicious cards?

Don’t make me turn this blog around.

[nehebthewordy]

Asker isn’t talking about different arts. In standard right now we have the traditional 4/4 angels, 4/4 angel warriors with vigilance, and 3/3 angels. Three mechanically distinct angel tokens which cannot be interchanged

Could R&D please take more care with the token variations in the future? There are three different Angel tokens in Standard right now, it feels a little silly. Not saying you have to make all tokens into Saprolings, just asking for a little less Wild West Plane.

Why does it matter how many different tokens there are for a particular creature type? Pick the one you like best and use it. Why is having more options problematic?

[nehebthewordy]

can NOT get over this extremely Relatable™ Jace Beleren moment in which he's so mortified after sharing one (1) fact about himself that he's fully ready to wipe a man's memory about it

[nehebthewordy]

EDH DECK TECH: Numa + Kamahl

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another EDH deck tech. This week we’re looking at two of the new partners from Commander Legends: Numa and Kamahl leading Double-Green Elfbal. As always, priority will be given to lower-cost alternatives to popular commander cards.

Though Kamahl isn’t an elf and both of our commanders are green, these two complement each other quite well. Between Numa’s mana sink and Kamahl’s ability to end the game quickly once he hits the board, they play well into elf strengths.

First up, let’s take a look at RAMP. This will be mostly the same as most green decks, but with an added focus on creatures. Wood Elves, Farhaven Elf, and Springbloom Druid can each fetch lands directly into play, while Rampant Growth and Nissa’s Pilgrimage are efficient noncreature means of doing so. Additionally, Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, and Elvish Archdruid are all fairly standard elf dorks; Incubation Druid, Marwyn, the Nurturer, and Rishkar, Peema Renegade also play well with both our theme of +1/+1 counters and our tribe. Additionally, Blighted Woodland and Myriad Landscape are both must-have lands for any green deck.

Next, we need ways to DRAW into more creatures. Beast Whisperer is absolutely at the top of this package, followed shortly by Vanquisher’s Banner, Sylvan Messenger, and Harmonize. Armorcraft Judge and Inspiring Call both play well with our counters theme to refill our hand, the latter of which also protecting from a board wipe, and Voice of Many and Realmwalker further add to our draw power. Finally, Masked Admirers draws on ETB and can self-recur whenever you cast a creature, and with Numa you can expect Colossal Majesty to come online.

Now for green’s big struggle: REMOVAL. Artifacts and enchantments are easy with Reclamation Sage, Krosan Grip, Slice in Twain, Beast Within, Unstable Obelisk, and Desert Twister, the latter three of which hit creatures as well, but additional creature removal is more difficult. Thanks to Numa’s mana sink, this can be filled in with cards like Nature’s Way, Nissa’s Judgement, Ambuscade and Zendikar Rising’s Khalni Ambush. Additionally, Vow of Wildness and Brittle Effigy can present more steady removal.

With our core out of the way, we need to take a look into how to put COUNTERS on our creatures. Ivy Lane Denizen, Durable Handicraft, Immaculate Magistrate, and Loyal Guardian are effective at spreading counters around, aided by Path of Discovery and Gladehart Cavalry. Finally, Evolution Sage is an absolute powerhouse in any deck that throws counters around, and Oran Rief, the Vastwood can distribute counters on turns where it isn’t used for mana.

Next, let’s look at a combined package for TRIBAL shenanigans and FINISHERS. Lys Alana Huntmaster, Elvish Warmaster, and Imperious Perfect are exceptional at producing token bodies, while Dwynen, gilt-Leaf Daen consistently proves me wrong when I think about cutting her from the deck. Your post powerful single finisher, other than Kamahl himself, is Cultivator of Blades. For this section we do have two honorable mentions that exceed the price at which buying them is recommended, but if you happen to have them lying around they would be spectacular: Beastmaster Ascension and Joraga Warcaller.

Finally, you need to PROTECT your board. While direct protective measures like Heroic Intervention are too expensive to make a special trip for, Cauldron of Souls can protect your board from multiple wipes in conjunction with your counter abilities and Tajuru Preserver protects you from forced sacrifice. Additionally, Creeping Rennaisance, Gaea’s Blessing, Elvish Soultiller, and Seasons Past provide mass recursion while Bala Ged Recovery and Once and Future are effective spot recursive tools.

Though elf tribal decks have been around since the beginning of Magic, the partnership of Numa and Kamahl brings a fresh new take on the classic tribe. Just be careful not to advance your board too quickly: sitting down to the table with elves is enough of a target on your back. Thanks for sticking through another deck tech. If you’d like to see more, or even a particular commander, send in an ask. Until next week, see you on the battlefield.

[nehebthewordy]

EDH Deck Tech: Multani Lands

Hey everyone, welcome back for another commander deck tech. This week we’re looking at a mono-green lands build led by Dominaria’s original most-famous-elemental: Multani, Yavimaya Avatar. Though we aren’t bound by a specific budget on this list, we’ll prioritize cheap cards to their more in-demand counterparts.

As this is a lands deck, Multani will want tons of ramp and landfall synergies. Fortunately, Zendikar has come again and as always brought it’s customary lands-matter theme. Our main win condition, though, is Multani himself: not only is he pumped by the lands you control and those in your bin, but his second ability paragraph allows him to be resilient to removal.

As always, we’ll begin with our RAMP package. This can be sorted into two varieties which you can mix and match as you build: cards that fetch lands from your deck and cards that put lands from your hand directly into play. Starting with fetch we have Cultivate, Kodama’s Reach, and Nissa’s Pilgrimage, all of which not only put a land into play but also your hand, empowering cards that play additional lands. For additional landfalls, we can either put them directly into play with cards like Sakura-Tribe Scout, Llanowar Scout, Walking Atlas, Budoka Gardener, and Skyshroud Ranger or we can play additional lands with Wayward Swordtooth and Azusa, Lost but Seeking, the latter of which’s recent core set printing makes her a terriffic option.

Next up we need to generate CARD ADVANTAGE. Fortunately, green does this well in a variety of ways. On the expensive end you have cards like Tireless Tracker, or you can use more budget options such as Harmonize, Seer’s Sundial, Colossal Majesty, Garruk’s Packleader, and one of my personal pet cards Return of the Wildspeaker.

In mono green, REMOVAL tends to be more difficult, especially when dealing with creatures, however with Multani on board you’ll almost always have the biggest creature. Cards like Pounce, Nature’s Way, Ulvenwald Tracker, and Setessan Tactics can use his high power to deal lethal damage to creatures, or you can use Desert Twister, Beast Within, Duplicant, and Meteor Golem to outright destroy them. Your artifact/enchantment removal suite basically builds itself with Acidic Slime, Broken Bond, Krosan Grip, and Reclamation Sage, and to deal with graveyards you have the classic Scavenging Ooze and Selesnya Eulogist.

Next up we’ll take a look at LANDFALL synergies, which green is the undisputed leader of. You can gain life by playing lands with cards like Retreat to Kazandu, Lifegift, and Courser of Kruphix, the latter of which also allows lands to be played from topdeck, while Scute Swarm, Zendikar’s Roil, and Rampaging Baloths create a massive token army as you play lands. For additional creatures that grow with your land count, try implementing Territorial Scythecat, Oran-Rief Hydra, Ulvenwald Hydra, and Beanstalk Giant.

Now you need to be able to PROTECT your board. Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves do a good job for a single creature, while Heroic Intervention can shield your entire board for a turn. Once things are put into your graveyard, the famous Eternal Witness can fetch anything from your bin. Other slightly less well-known cards with similar effects are Once and Future, God-Pharaoh’s Gift, Artisan of Kozilek, Moldgraf Monstrosity, and Seasons Past.

Finally, you’ll want some lands with ETB triggers to reuse with Multani’s last ability. While not technically enter-effects, the cycling lands (Tranquil Thicket/Slippery Karst/Desert of the Indomitable) can be played early as a land and bounced-then-cycled later when you need draw. Fertile Thicket can dig for more lands to play, Gingerbread Cabin and Radian Fountain can gain incidental life, Khalni Garden can create a small token, Mosswort Bridge can stash a card to cast for free later, and Bala Ged Recovery and Khalni Ambush are spells that can be played as lands. Additionally, you can deliberately place Multani in your graveyard with Miren, the Moaning Well, Scourge of Skola Vale, Life Chisel, and Feed the Pack.

While this list is long, almost building the deck for you, it’s full of powerful cards for just this kind of deck. Whether you’re playing around Multani’s enormous P/T or dumping a token army onto the board, landfall can carry you through a powerful game at a comparatively low budget. Until next week, I’ll see you on the battlefield

[nehebthewordy]

I decided not to build the spider

Okay I know Wizards has been dropping the ball the last couple years, but I legitimately want to build that new spider

[nehebthewordy]

I used to enjoy participating in those, but for fairness I don’t think people should be allowed to vote for themselves like before

So guys, I've been thinking lately, especially after working again in proxys, and remembered how fun and engaging the Custom Commander Challenge was.

As I've been adding some cards to my custom cube, I was thinking that maybe I could resume the Custom Commander Challenge, so the cards and challenges fit the cube.

Would you guys be interested on this again? If you don't know what I'm talking about, search the #customcommanderchallenge hashtag, but in summary, I put a challenge each week for which you designed a card that fit the challenge. Then from all the participants we selected a winner and I made a custom card for them.

This is one of the winners.

(Of course they will be done again, with no typos hahaha)

Last time I stopped because doing the proxys and the custom tokens took too much time hahaha but now the plan would be to have the winners as part of the cube. The cube could be sold in the future, but I'm not sure how legal that is so... But still, I would make it aviable once it's finished.

Still, would you participate? The cube is pretty cool, and it's featuring some interesting cards, I could share some later so you get an idea ;)

Basically, the cube is designed based on Conspiracy, where you played a minigame during the draft. In this cube, the draft becomes a gamechanger in many aspects. The power level is also high, but balanced. If you are interested let me know, and if we get enough willing to participate we could start with the first challenge next monday.

[nehebthewordy]

[nehebthewordy]

Underrated EDH Cards #3: Behold! I Am Immortal!

Hello everyone, welcome back to our third selection of underrated cards to use in your commander decks. This week, we’re taking a look at my top favorite cards that continue generating value even after they’ve died (the first time.)

WHITE Starting us off, let’s look at my top pick for white. Originally from Amonkhet and only reprinted in the 2019 Ghired precon, Angel of Sanctions is a moderately-sized flier with an Oblivion Ring effect stapled onto it. What makes this one in particular useful is its embalm ability: for one mana more than its CMC you can create a token clone of it, which adds further functionality in a deck running populate effects.

BLUE Next up we’ve got blue. Now blue has tons of options for flashback, jump-start, and retrace, but we’re going a different angle with this one. Dragon Wings is a fairly simple aura: enchanted creature has flying. What makes it significant, however, is cycling paired with its final ability, attaching itself from your graveyard when a high-cost creature enters. While not particularly useful for your own large fliers, it can put a Blightsteel into the air or even be used politically to grant someone else’s beater flying.

BLACK Of all the colors, black definitely has its pick of graveyard interactions. From the combo powerhouse Gravecrawler to the simple and effective Reassembling Skeleton, it’s best known for creatures that continue to empower your board after they’ve died. Our pick, however, will be slightly higher on the curve: Scourge of Nel Toth. This 6/6 flier may cost seven mana, but for the small cost of two sacrifices and two mana you can cast it from your graveyard. This is useful both for throwing a large, recur-able beater onto the board and as a sacrifice outlet for your death triggers.

RED Finally, we’re at the top of the list. This one is the best Magic has to offer. Never have we been given such a boon. That’s right, our pick for red is Squee. All joking aside, this three-drop Dominarian legend is legitimately useful in both of his cards: Squee, Goblin Nabob returns himself to your hand from your graveyard on your upkeep, fueling all kinds of rummage shenanigans without losing value while Squee the Immortal can be cast from both your graveyard and exile, making him almost impossible to get rid of. Both can be pitched instead of a more useful card, Nabob almost infinitely, and as one-toughness creatures they play well with Skullclamp to grant your mono-red or white-red deck plenty of card draw.

GREEN And lastly, we have our pick for green. Seconding black for from-graveyard value, this pick was tricky, but finally came down to Genesis. This five-drop 4/4 isn’t particularly valuable for combat nor does it have any effect on board, but once it lands in your bin it’s value begins. On your upkeep, you can pay three to get a creature from your graveyard to your hand, including Genesis if you want.

[nehebthewordy]

Oathbreaker Deck Tech: Lili Waker

Welcome back everyone. It’s been a while, but today we’re taking a look at the how-tos of my latest production. Oathbreaker may be dead, but I still believe we can keep it going, and there’s no planeswalker better to resurrect the format than Liliana.

When Core 21 launched, this new ‘walker for Lili stood out to me more than the rest of the set. I’d been looking into a forced-discard commander to use with my Waste Nots and Geth’s Grimoires for a while and Liliana, Waker of the Dead provides. Yes, we will be focusing on her forced-discard ability, even using madness cards to take advantage of discarding our own things.

As always, let’s start with RAMP. Our deck mostly levels out at three-to-four mana, so we don’t need an abundance of this and we want practically no ramp above two mana. If you’re of a mind to grab one or already have it, Arcane Signet plays well into this mindset, and it can be supplemented well by Mind Stone and Charcoal Diamond. You likely won’t need more than this, but if you do there are an abundance of low-drop ramp cards (of which Wayfarer’s Bauble will always be a top pick.)

Next we’ll take a look at options for CARD ADVANTAGE. This includes both cards that outright draw and cards that mitigate Lili’s discard ability. My top picks for this are Asylum Visitor, Geth’s Grimoire, and circumstantially Waste Not or Bone Miser. To mitigate your discarding, madness cards like Grave Scrabbler and the brawl favorite Bag of Holding can offer you ways to hold on to your stuff. Additional top picks include Shadows over Innistrad’s Geier Reach Sanitarium and Amonkhet’s Wander in Death, the latter of which’s cycling ability plays well with Bone Miser to draw two cards at instant speed.

And for the meat of our deck, let’s take a look at CONTROL: this includes both removal and the means of otherwise diminishing your opponents’ board influence. As always, Ravenous Chupacabra is an eternal favorite of mine and Liliana’s Triumph plays well as a signature spell, while Cast Down is more powerful than in EDH because of the decreased relevance of legends. Plaguecrafter interacts well with Virtus’s Maneuver, while Archfiend of Ifnir turns your discards into a slow poison on your opponents’ boards.

Finally, let’s take a look at our win conditions. Faith of the Devoted and Quest for the Nihil Stone are your best bets, while Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage and cards like Liliana’s Caress further penalize your opponents for either playing their hands of choosing not to. Gravepurge can put the creatures in your graveyard on top of your library to restock for the long game, and  Syr Konrad, the Grim can turn this into a conclusive finisher.

Though Oathbreaker is a faster format compared to the high power of EDH, Liliana can effectively slow the game way down. Simply keep up the value and look out for those rogue Tamiyos and you’ll be well on your way to victory. Until next time, see you on the battlefield

[nehebthewordy]

Underrated EDH Cards #2: Vows and Impetuses

Welcome back for another collection of my favorite cards for commander that I just don’t see played that often. This week we’re taking a look at ten auras that I use as sort of political removal options, keeping a powerful creature pointed towards someone else. Unlike last week’s article, we’ll look at these by cycle.

Vow of (Color) First released in the original commander products way back in 2011, the vows are three-drop auras which provide a buff to the attached creature, give it a keyword, and prevent it from attacking you or your planeswalkers. While they eventually lock the creatures up as blockers once there are no more opponents in the game, they still serve a vital purpose of keeping large creatures (Galta, Blightsteel, etc) pointed away from you. In WUBRG order: Vow of Duty grants vigilance, Vow of Flight grants flying, Vow of Malice grants intimidate (which on a colorless creature only allows it to be blocked by artifact creatures), Vow of Lightning grants first strike, and Vow of Wildness grants trample. Among these, Duty may be the worst because vigilance leaves the creature up as a blocker, but all of them can be useful in a tight spot.

(Color) Impetus Released only this year in the Ikoria commander decks, the impetuses vary in size but each provide a small buff, goad the creature, and provide an additional buff or penalty (depending on the card) when the creature attacks. For those of you who don’t know goad, it essentially boils down to the goaded creature must always attack if able and can’t attack you if there’s another player or planeswalker it could attack. If you become the only player/planeswalker left for the creature to attack it can be a disadvantage for you (except for forcing a blocker out of the way), but early game they can force your opponents against each other or make a small utility creature like Zulaport Cutthroat swing into a board full of blockers. In WUBRG order: Martial Impetus gives all other attacking creatures that aren’t attacking you +1/+1, Psychic Impetus lets you scry 2, Parasitic Impetus drains the creature’s controller for 2 life and you gain 2, SHiny Impetus gives you a treasure, and Predatory Impetus forces the creature to be blocked if able.

Though susceptible to enchantment removal, I enjoy using these as a way to answer a threatening creature without drawing its controller’s ire. They play really well into a political deck and can give colors with few ways to deal with creatures. As always, keep a mind on threat assessment and you may snag a few more wins (or wacky, political games). Until next time, see you on the battlefield.

[nehebthewordy]

Underrated EDH Cards #1: Amonkhet Monuments

Hello again and welcome back. We haven’t done an article in a while so we’ll ease into it with the first in what I hope to be a series about my favorite cards that I never see played.

Heading up this series is the Gods’ Monument(s) cycle of three-drop artifacts from Amonkhet. At face value, you discount your creatures of a particular color and gain an additional benefit for casting them; a 1/1 vigilance token for Oketra, preventing a creature from untapping for Kefnet, draining each opponent for 1 life for Bontu, rummaging for Hazoret, and giving a creature a small pump for Rhonas. What is often missed about these five cards is that while the first ability only benefits a specific color, the second applies whenever you cast any creature regardless of color, and additionally none of them have any colored mana symbols so you can run them in literally any deck. Let’s take a look at them in WUBRG order.

Oketra’s Monument The monument to the god of solidarity often stands out most once players realize you can run it in any deck, because who doesn’t want to get an extra creature with their creatures? Any list with a high creature count or the ability to recast often can use this both to throw out tons of blockers and build a vigilant token army, ensuring a full swing never leaves you defenseless.

Kefnet’s Monument Probably the least I’ve seen of the bunch, Kefnet’s Monument can absolutely stall a voltron player out and even hamper anyone with so much as a tap ability. Rhys loses the ability to double your board. JVP stops being able to loot. Feldon stops cloning his owner’s graveyard. It’s particulaly effective if you include other ways to tap down creatures, making it especially good if you have white access. This effect seems small, but never underestimate how useful it can be on the right board.

Bontu’s Monument Bontu’s Monument is probably the second most used of this cycle. There’s not a lot to say here: cast creatures, your opponents lose life, you gain life. It’s most often played in mono black, but any reanimator deck such as Muldrotha or Chainer is likely to abuse it, and it can even see effective play outside black decks entirely.

Hazoret’s Monument This here is my favorite of the cycle. Overlooked next to more obviously powerful cards, the god of zeal’s monument can provide much-needed value in all kinds of decks. Mimeoplasm wants to fill his bin a little faster? Want to pitch those high-cost creatures to reanimate them later? Mono white card selection? It can do anything from providing Feldon more fuel to giving your Emeria a solid target while digging through that high-CMC finisher you probably won’t cast anyway.

Rhonas’s Monument Unlike the others, I don’t really see a place for this one outside green. Other colors can get stompy, sure, and any kind of voltron will welcome the trample, but the small temporary buff doesn’t seem like much to me. Then again, I may be wrong, and if any of you have any great stories to share with Rhonas’s Monument I’d love to hear them.

And that’s a wrap. At the time this article was written, each of these came in at 50 cents or less, and it’s entirely likely they’ll stay that way for a long time. Keep on getting that overlooked value and you’ll be one step closer to your next victory (or a fun game regardless). Until next time, see you on the battlefield.

[nehebthewordy]