I read Linden and see an aggressive deck that tries to win through going wide, but might just win via life gain, be it Felidar Sovereign, Test of Endurance, or blasting people with Aetherflux Reservoir. Even without those life-based wincons, a high life total can be enough to outlast other players until I cast Approach of the Second Sun twice. As a bonus, building my deck along these lines means I don't have to rely on Linden to be on the battlefield to win.
Since I want to go wide, I want tokens, and EDHRec agrees with me. Researching the various white creatures that bring two or more tokens into play with them or during combat, I own several: Captain of the Watch, Evangel of Heliod, Hero of Bladehold, Leonin Warleader, Knight-Captain of Eos, and Darien, King of Kjeldor (better in the 99 than as a commander).
There are other options, though, if I want to go all-in: Cloudgoat Ranger, Crested Sunmare, Reverant Hoplite, and Regal Caracal, which is a card that plays nice with White Sun's Zenith and Leonin Warleader. The 5-cmc slot is going to be clogged right quick.
In addition to creatures making tokens, there are several spells that make tokens. WSZ was mentioned above, but Finale of Glory, Ysgard's Call//Horn of Valhalla, Storm Herd, and Deploy to the Front are the ones I like the most. Martial Coup doubles as a sweeper of sorts, so that is in, too.
All these tokens in white means Soul Sisters. I own the basic four, but it appears that several more have been printed since last I checked, with the best (in my eyes) being Daxos, Blessed by the Sun because he gains life for creatures coming and going, while feeding white devotion.
Tokens also mean Throne of the God-Pharoah. Another fine artifact for tokens is Halo Fountain. It's heavy white investment in mana makes a card like this only worthwhile in white decks, but Resplendent Mentor pairs well with it, and she certainly only wants monowhite decks.
The fountain water consists of the tears of Magic players defeated by dumb 'I win' cards.
Commander being a game of ridiculous interactions, and white being white, I am wondering if Blinking is a worthwhile plan. The biggest drawback is that mass blink permanently banishes my tokens, and I don't want that. Ephemerate or Cloudshift are a compromise that double as protection of a sort.
Myriad is an alternative to blinking but weaker with the creatures that only make tokens upon attacking, like Hero of Bladehold or Leonin Warleader. Blade of Selves is wonderfully affordable, and I need one for my EDH collection, so this deck is a grand reason to pick one up. In addition, a friend has a Legion Loyalty set aside for me for additional myriad triggers. Helm of the Host doesn't provide myriad, but it does provide its own form of excess for the deck.
All this talk of tokens in White means Anointed Procession. Luckily, I grabbed one when it was new and affordable. Another card picked up new and cheap was Smothering Tithe - it even came in the Alena Brawl precon from Throne of Eldaine! Individually, both cards are strong, but together make an interesting team. While it can be easily argued that Smothering Tithe slips into any deck with white, making an argument for Anointed Procession (and its 4 or so Green cousins) requires a specific deck strategy, one that Linden makes and makes well.
I wonder if adding Academy Manufacturer is too much...
I keep showcasing the enchantments and artifacts that can take this deck to the next level. That means tutors might be called for, and that means Enlightened Tutor and Idyllic Tutor. Given the dearth of draw in monowhite (even with Mentor of the Meek, Well of Lost Dreams, and Endless Atlas), tutors seem a necessity in this deck. If white could muster Blue or Green (or even Black) mass draw-type spells, I could rely on drawing into what I needed; for now at least, I must tutor. That said, I can always tutor up this pair of cards for some wicked card advantage.
Land Tax and Scroll Rack, a tasty pairing since Tempest Block.
One card I am on the fence about is Cleansing. This trick helped out my Oloro deck immensely, back in the day, and with all the lifegain (and Flagstones of Trokair), Linden should be fine, but MLD leaves a bad taste in many players' mouths. At least Cleansing provides the option to not totally blow out land. Maybe I can compromise by warning folks that MLD is a possibility with this deck. Then it's on them to keep land in hand, rather than play it all automatically.
If this deck does what it should, then there will be lots of permanents in play at any one time, which makes Myojin of Blooming Dawn an incredibly awesome play. It's artwork almost makes it mandatory.
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As this is a monowhite deck, I want to take a moment to talk about my EDH box and white staples. My goal with the box is to have enough cards to build one type of deck at time. This is especially pertinent with the monetarily expensive cards that go in almost any deck, like the Tax-Rack pictured earlier.
I own the cards to make some strong decks (which I typically misplay, but that is another post), but only enough copies to run in one deck at a time. Since I do own these cards, it is foolish to not add them to the 99. Otherwise, what is the point in having them?
This goes for the niche cards that only fit in one or two decks, stuff like Mass Calcify, Blinding Light, and Crackdown. They're awesome cards that demand to be played, but need a special deck to justify running them. Frankly, I enjoy monocolored decks, at least partially due to the power of such otherwise limited cards.
Now I just need a playdate to see if this deck actually works.
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