Monday MtG: Artisan Commander

To meet my goal of three posts per month, I've decided to resurrect an older feature of mine, Monday MtG.  As before, it will focus almost entirely on the Commander format and today is no exception.

It seems there is a format called Artisan Commander, where only cards that were printed at common or uncommon at some point may be used.  In theory, building these decks ties in with my desire to reduce spending on MtG, but we shall see.

Happily, much of the best removal and card draw show up in these rarities, so that shouldn't impact my deckbuilding too much.

The big change is that most of the combo-related wins and all of the alternate win cards are no longer options, leaving damage and mill as the main threats, perhaps the only threats.  Frankly, this is a wonderful thing for me, at least.

-----

Honestly, I suspect it's the limited commander choices that will stymie me.  Then again, Scryfall kicked back just under 400 Common and Uncommon legends.  Subtracting the Universes Beyond (I refuse to run such cards - if I want those IPs, I will play those games/watch those shows), I end up with 300ish options that are mostly one or two colors, with very few three-color outliers.  30 of these have Partner, and 20 allow for Backgrounds, opening up more options.

Still, that is too many options for me to absorb, so I will break it down by color and theme. 

Hearkening back to my Away Decks, I will go with two color pairs and a monocolor deck, to keep things interesting.

I think I want GW, BR, and U for my decks. I know that RW allows for several strong equipment-based commanders, as well as usable equipment and Boros Charm, but that seems too easy.  

-----

Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar is draw in the command zone, which is always welcome.  Yes, it is conditional, but that condition is easily met with cards that add +1/+1 counters, Giant Growth and Anthem variants, and equipment.  While I doubt I can go all-in on cat tribal, that won't stop me from trying.

I'm wondering how many hatebears I can find in these rarities.  Hopefully more than I can call to mind.

-----

Tor Wauki the Younger is a deck I have tried in the past, but it didn't gel.  With Firebrand Archer, Guttersnipe, Thermo-Alchemist, and Josh Lee Kwai's decklist as a start, this should be a playable spellslinger deck, quickly built out of what I have lying about.

That said, my favorite B and R (and BR) instants and sorceries tend towards rare, so maybe not.

-----

Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea effectively gives my critters Ward while encouraging me to go heavy on the devotion.  While I love the devotion mechanic, this deck will force the most research as my go-to heavy Blue devotion cards are all rares and mythics.  

To be honest, though, I am looking forward to it, if only because it gives me the best reason to run Thassa's Rebuff, as well as all the U enchantments that render opposing creatures harmless. 

-----

All that said, I don't know how these will fare against non-Artisan decks.  I guess only time will tell.

To the card boxes and binders!

Unicorns, the MtG Way

I have a confession.

I really like unicorns.

After all, I have sampled several unicorn-branded beers, own two unicorn t-shirts, and use a Squatty Potty every morning.

Mostly, though, I enjoy playing Commander with Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn Commander decks.

Because unicorns, man.

Such a beautiful card in both forms.

Note that if you only want images, jump to EDHRec. For decklists, scroll to the end of this post.

-----

Lathiel is a wonderful commander for several reasons.  First is colors - GW are allied colors and this card showcases what they do. A 2/2 for 4 cmc may not seem like much, even with lifelink, but its ability is what pushes it over the top.

At the beginning of each end step, if you gained life this turn, distribute up to that many +1/+1 counters among any number of other target creatures. (Emphasis mine).

Each end step means your opponents' end steps as well as your own.  So, if you've a means to gain life when it isn't your turn, you profit while Lathiel is in play.  

Note that Lathiel cannot place those +1/+1 counters on itself, but can place them on any other creatures, to include your opponents' critters.  

All of this means that Lathiel is a great commander for those wanting to play politics, in addition to being a great commander for steamrolling people with massive creatures.

-----

Having lots of life - even infinite life - won't win the game on its own.  

Even if you have infinite life, there are still ways around it: 21 Commander damage, 10 Poison Counters, running out of cards, a variety of 'if this, then victory' cards, and all of the combos that result in an opponent just winning the game.

Despite this, Lathiel has several routes to victory based on life totals.  Chief among them is smashing face with giant creatures, but there is also the time-honored option to use life as a shield until you can cast Approach of the Second Sun twice. Instead of defense, life can also be used in the offense with Aetherflux Reservoir. In addition to these methods are Test of Endurance and Felidar Sovereign.  With these, Lathiel has its own 'if this, then victory' cards.  

So whichever route you choose (and you have 100 cards, so choosing some or all is an option), Lathiel can win games.

But how to gain the life we need to fuel the counters?  Ideally, we are doing so every turn, passively.

By passive life gain, I mean not having to cast any spells or attack.  Just sit back, let the card trigger, and giggle.  Giggling is the important part.  Venser's Journal is my favorite, but not the only option.  The Soul Sisters gain life for each creature that enters play, regardless of who plays said creature.  

Lifegift provides a life for each land that enters play on any battlefield, while Courser of Kruphix, Druid Class, and Retreat to Kazandu only trigger when your lands enter play - note that even at 100 cards, you fast run out of room, so choose wisely. Crazy Shattered Angel triggers solely when opponents play land - ideal with Lathiel triggering on any turn.

Glorious Sunrise and Primeval Bounty are special, because they provide several options that work well with a Lathiel deck.  Hence this separate sentence.  If you've only room for one, though, Bounty does more and more often.

Do not forget the spells that provide a one-shot boost of life, often as an add-on to something else, but not always.  Three of my favorites are Momentous Fall, Lifeblood Hydra, and Pelakka Wurm.  While Lifeblood Hydra is pricey, the other two easily slip into a budget deck - and should.

More important are the evasive creatures with Lifelink.  If they aren't evasive, that's okay, but not as preferable.  White gives us flyers with Lifelink, but any deck can run Rogue's Passage, and Lathiel is no exception.

Related to the evasive lifelinkers are the cards that let you win the way Richard Garfield intended (maybe) - glorious combat.  

Bond of Discipline may be my favorite white sorcery.  A well-timed BoD can result in game over, be it by your creatures or someone else's.  True Conviction and Predatory Focus are two more cards to seal the win - I would even argue that Focus is even better than Overrun, at least in this deck.

-----

This being an article about Commander, the Magic format of over-the-top plays, I want to talk about how we gain MOAR life, which leads to MOAR counters, and therefore ridiculous amounts of damage.

Boon Reflection isn't the only life-doubler.  Rhox Faithmender and Alhammaret's Archive do so as well, and being permanents do it all the time.  Beacon of Immortality is an instant that can target any player, so it saves you or lets you politic.  Either way, it's a solid inclusion.  

Best of all is that this doubling counts as gaining life in the rules.

A second way to push lifegain over the top is with cards that add 'life plus 1 instead', like Cleric Class.

Angel of Vitality, Heron of Hope, Honor Troll, and Knight of Dawn's Light are other options here, but to be honest, I pulled most of these creatures from my budget list and didn't consider them for the nonbudget list.  Cleric Class made both because it provides life and counters. 

Other than that, you have a mix of spells that change life totals or add X life, which all can be considered based on budget or your whims.  One interesting card is Eternity Vessel, because all of its life changes count as life gain and it is a may effect, so it should never reduce your life total.  Note that Eternity Vessel looks at the counters on the card, so proliferating and other tricks (like Doubling Season, Vorinclex, or Quarry Hauler) means more life gain is possible with every Landfall trigger. 

Note that in many of these cases, Nykthos Paragon can be your creatures' best friend, but is only truly ridiculous in a go-wide build.  Speaking of go-wide, Congregate loves such a deck, especially when Storm Herd (with Soul Warden and/or Archon of Sun's Grace on the battlefield) is involved.  

Because stacking dice upon dice is fun!

Infinite or near-infinite combos fall into this category.  Adding Kitchen Finks, Archangel of Thune, and Spike Feeder to your Lathiel deck allows for this.  That said, depending on your final build, there are MANY ways to go infinite in Selesnya colors.  Many more than I realized!  Kitchen Finks is combo-licious, as I suspect most of the creatures with Persist are.

-----

In addition to lifegain, Lathiel is a +1/+1 counter deck.  Which means we want to capitalize on gaining ever more counters.

Hardened Scales, Conclave Mentor, Wildwood Scourge, Lae'zel, Solidarity of Heroes, Hydra's Growth, Vastwood Hydra, and Invigorating Surge are easily afforded and acquired.  For those with deeper collections or pockets, there is also Benevolent Hydra, Kalonian Hydra, Primal Vigor, Vorinclex, Doubling Season, and my favorite, Branching Evolution.

I likely missed some, but these are my go-to options. 

-----

Doubling Season, Vorinclex, and Lae'zel not only affect +1/+1 counters, but also loyalty counters on Planeswalkers, which makes it tempting to add Planeswalkers to the deck.  

Or at least to the nonbudget deck.  After all, doubling loyalty counters is why Doubling Season and Vorinclex cost so much. 

The standout planeswalker is Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, because 100 life in one shot is too fun to pass up, and his +1 plays well with the rest of the deck.

Other synergistic options are Basri Ket; Gideon, Champion of Justice (even without shenanigans, he can ult quickly); Ajani, Steadfast; Ajani, Strength of the Pride; ... really, any G, W, or GW planeswalker that can ultimate immediately with Doubling Season in play is a consideration.

-----

Synergies are important to a Commander deck. Well, most Commander decks.  Those built to race to combo are a different animal.

Sunscorch Regent and Managorger Hydra play into Lathiel's strengths, even when Lathiel isn't in play.  Add both to any Lathiel deck you build, because both are around $1 each. 

Authority of the Consuls slows opponents down while providing life. For W.  

This deck craves proliferation.  Even without running Planeswalkers, there are all the +1/+1 counters that want to grow.  Evolution Sage is my favorite method, but Karn's Bastion shouldn't be overlooked. 

Titania's Command plays into a few strengths of Lathiel, and is worth its 6 cmc.  Especially against a mill deck.

My last recommendation on strong synergies is Children of Korlis, who even passes the Sun Titan test.  Maybe it falls under lifegain, but it matters not.

Add it to your Lathiel deck.

-----

Lathiel typically wins via permanents, be they creatures or enchantments.  Both of which are easy to remove.

So what's a poor Unicorn to do?

Asceticism provides blanket protection for creatures from targeted attacks, with Boots and Greaves being the standard choices for individual protection.  Darksteel Plate and the various Swords of X and Y help creatures out, as well.

These work, but show our hand, so we need instants to save us.   Luckily, GW provides some of the best protective instants in the game: Teferi's Protection and Heroic Intervention.  GW doesn't stop there, though.  Wrap in Vigor, Akroma's Will, Flawless Maneuver, Make a Stand, and Unbreakable Formation all save the team, with the last playing nice with Lathiel's +1/+1 counter theme.

In addition, there is a plethora of G and W cards that render individual creatures indestructible or hexproof until end of turn (or both, in the case of Loran's Escape). Sheltering Word, Snakeskin Veil, and Tamiyo's Safekeeping synergize well with Lathiel's goals.

Given that this deck relies on creatures, Vigor works to keep your team around if you cannot make them indestructible.  

So we have lots of options to help our permanents survive, but eventually they will get destroyed.  It's how the game is played.

Luckily, returning cards to play or to hand is something that both White and Green do well.  

Faith's Reward, Sun Titan, Eternal Witness, and Pulse of Murasa are just a few options that Lathiel has access too.  Best of all is that most of your options can be added to budget decks - especially Sun Titan.

With our permanents safe, we need to look to saving ourselves.

Purity saves us from direct damage and Blunt the Assault from combat (for a turn).  Spike Weaver can save us from lots of attacks, presuming it survives.

-----

While your opponents are gunning for you, you are gunning for them.  After all, in Commander, there can be only one.  Happily, GW decks have access to some of the best removal in the game, both targeted and mass - and you will want both.

Fracturing Gust is arguably the ideal choice for Lathiel decks, right next to Damning Verdict.  That said, there several other solid sweepers, and if your decklist ends up enchantment-heavy, Fracturing Gust can be more dangerous to yourself than others, as can Wave of Vitriol, Austere Command, and Day of Judgment.  Still, sometimes the inconvenience is worth it.

StP, PtE, K-Grip, Beast Within, and Generous Gift are the go-tos for targeted removal in most GW Commander decks, but this being about Lathiel, I want to point out that Scryfall shows several options that destroy a permanent AND gain life.  Of note is Heliod's Intervention - double X lifegain can be tempting.

GW provides a strong suite of creature-based removal, as well.  Froghemoth, Scavenging Ooze, Haywire Mite, Whiptongue Hydra (can be dangerous to self), Bane of Progress (also potentially dangerous), all provide answers while improving your boardstate.  

-----

Many Magic players enjoy running obscure cards in their decks, and sometimes, such cards are so niche that they don't fit anywhere else.  Or perhaps these cards do fit, but are soon removed for more efficient cards that do similar things.

Take Celestial Force.  A 7/7 8-cmc elemental that gains you life every turn.  It doesn't even have vigilance like most other large White creatures.  Most decks won't and shouldn't consider this card.

But Lathiel decks can, because Lathiel hands out +1/+1 counters at the end of each turn, just like Celestial Force gives you life each upkeep.  

From experience, Lathiel decks really needs Lathiel in play to shine.  So in addition to protection, consider two more niche cards: Sunbond and Light of Promise.  Light of Promise even passes the Sun Titan test.

Rounding out the niche cards is Scale the Heights, doing a little bit of everything, including gain life.

-----

Way up in the beginning, I mentioned that Lathiel is a great commander for politicking games.  GW provides several other cards in this vein, from the synergistic Primal Vigor to Gluntch, the Bestower.  

Sometimes these politicking cards fall under niche cards, like Healing Technique.  Other times, they number among the regular suspects in group hug and politicking decks.

While there are many options, a few choice cards stand out: Nils, Discipline Enforcer; Evolutionary Escalation; Oath of Lieges; Secret Rendezvous; Selvala, Explorer Returned; Fertilid; and Tempt with Discovery.  Yes, gud players won't go for land, but I don't play with gud players, I play with good players.  There is a difference.

-----

Lands are a crucial part of any Magic the Gathering deck, because without them, the deck doesn't play.  

While Lathiel decks can get by on Plains and Forests, there are a handful of nonbasic lands that all Lathiel decks should include: Rogue's Passage for beats, Gavony Township for more +1/+1 counters, Karn's Bastion for proliferating all kinds of counters, and Glacial Chasm for protection - if the deck is working correctly, you should be able to pay (and maybe recover from the graveyard to play and pay again) the cumulative upkeep for multiple turns.

Krosan Verge, Myriad Landscape, and your other favorite fetchlands are worth considering (because they all pass the Sun Titan test), but aren't necessary.  That said, Krosan Verge is arguably the best of these because it can fetch nonbasic Forests and Plains. Riftstone Portal is interesting, because it helps GW decks immensely, but only from the graveyard.

Given that most Lathiel decks rely on Green's burst draw spells of Hunter's Insight, Rishkar's Expertise, Momentous Fall, and/or a dying Lifeblood Hydra, Reliquary Tower is nice, but not a necessity.

A type of land is the land that blows up other lands, such as Strip Mine, Ghost Quarter, or the huggy Field of Ruin.  This is not only because sometimes lands need to be destroyed, but because the best response to a Tempt with Discovery is to search up one of these land destroyers.  The fact that these lands pass the Sun Titan test is bonus.

Lands provide other types of answers as well, so if you need graveyards exiled, creatures to be targetable, boards to be cleared, cards to be drawn, spells to be not countered, artifacts to be returned, creatures to have haste, stolen creatures to be returned, or several other game mechanics, look to lands to help you out.

Oh, and Command Tower should probably be in here because Lathiel is two colors.

-----

The biggest problem with Lathiel decks is that they require life gain to work well.  Yes, creatures can still swing, but it is far more efficient to do so when those creatures are VAST in size.  So if  lifegain is regularly played in your meta, some folks may start running the anti-lifegain cards.

These cards are predominately Red and/or Black.  In addition to Rain of Gore (and its cousins False Cure and Tainted Remedy), are the cards that merely prevent lifegain: Archfiend of Despair; Erebos, God of the Dead; Everlasting Torment; Forsaken Wastes; Giant Cindermaw; Havoc Festival; Knight of Dusk's Shadow; Leyline of Punishment; Quakebringer; Rampaging Ferocidon; Roiling Vortex; Sulfuric Vortex; Tibalt, Rakish Instigator; and Witch Hunt.

Note there are also a handful of instants the prevent life gain for one turn, but I have never seen them played in Commander.

I hadn't realized that there were so many options to hate on lifegain.  Luckily, most are enchantments, which are easily handled by a well-made GW deck.  The rest being creatures and a lone planeswalker, which are also easily handled with GW.  

One Red card stands out as the bane to any deck wanting to gain life, and that card is Stigma Lasher.  

Stigma Lasher is dangerous because its anti-lifegain is permanent, even if Stigma Lasher leaves play.  At least it lacks haste - but most Red-based decks add haste-making, so watch yourself.  

-----

Wow, but I can blather on and on and on.  Thanks for reaching this part - we're almost done.

Yes, much of the above can be found by looking at cards on EDHRec or a dedicated Scryfall search (also Commander's Spellbook), but words are more my style.

Low Power Decklist - this is for a meta that doesn't do fast mana. It plays politics and is an away deck.

Budget ($100ish) Decklist - putting my words into practice.

Nonbudget Decklist - nonbudget, built with cards I own, hence no rocks that cost more than a few dollars and a preponderance of basic lands.

There you have it, way too many words on Lathiel.  Not quite a primer, but leaning towards one.

-----

Note that I drafted most of this before the whole Phyrexian Invasion or LotR sets were printed, so they aren't mentioned.  

Monday MtG: 5 Ways to Reduce a Deck's Perceived Power

Normally, Magic players are trying to improve their decks.  That said, sometimes social pressures result in a need to reduce a deck's power level.  Not necessarily its playability, just how fast and consistently it wins.

Especially in the Commander format.

So here are five ways to reduce your deck's perceived power level.

-----

1.  Remove nonland tutors.

Tutors not only slow the game down with searching and shuffling, but tutoring also effectively allows for multiple copies of a card in a format whose largest draw is the singleton format.  Tutors are really wild cards that can provide threats, answers, or anything else that is needed.

Removing nonland tutors means some Commanders, notably Zur, Arcum, and Magda, among others, become unusable.  Such is life.

To compensate for this lack of utility in the 99, replace your tutors with more draw, be it cantrips or bigger spells.  Every color has draw spells, just like every color has tutors, albeit some colors are better at drawing cards (and tutoring) than others.

2. Remove 0-cmc and 1-cmc rocks. 

Granted, Sol Ring or Mana Crypt are lackluster draws on turn 11, but the reason these cards and their ilk are in decks is for the early game - presuming your opening hand holds them, of course.

A turn 1 Sol Ring can speed the game immensely, especially when none of the other players answer it or play one themselves.  Slowing the opening turns just a small amount matters, and can make you appear as less of a threat.

Especially in an artifact or colorless heavy deck that untaps artifacts via this or these two.

There's a reason these rocks are banned in the Duel (or French) Commander format, after all.

3. Readjust your landbase.

Either go heavy on the basic lands or run the dual lands that enter play tapped - perhaps without Amulet of Vigor in the wings.

The inefficiency of basics and the lost turns from lands entering the battlefield tapped reduces your deck's options - and therefore power - immensely. 

An upside of heavy basics is that it saves you from people like me that run nonbasic land hate, such as Blood Moon and Ruination.  Why, if you go heavy basics, you could even run the nonbasic landhate yourself!

4.  Avoid extra turn cards, or at least the easily exploited blue ones.

Let's do the Time Warp again!

Red's extra turns aren't as obnoxious, because of the phrase 'Take an extra turn after this one. At the beginning of that turn's end step, you lose the game.' Yes, there are ways to get around this, but they require effort and rather telegraph themselves.

Blue - especially in a UG shell - can take all the turns with little effort.  It's neat the first time you see it, but after that it's just an opportunity for the rest of the table to grab food or pee while the UG plays with themself.

5.  Reconsider deck strategy.

This final option is admittedly a bit extreme.  If your deck is based around Mass Land Destruction (MLD), heavy Stax strategies, heavy chaos, or Poison, don't run that deck or at least pull those cards.  These strategies can be frustrating for veteran players, but are oppressive enough to make new players quit the game or even find a new hobby in smaller local metagames. 

If your local playgroup is small enough, decks like these can ensure you aren't included in games any more, shrinking your playgroup immensely.

-----

None of these recommendations mean you cannot run interaction, strong synergies, combos, or 'I win' cards, nor does it mean deliberately making bad plays despite answers in hand and untapped mana.  

These options just slow your game enough that less invested players are willing to stick around and keep playing, either with you or at all.  

I know, you want to play the objectively good cards in an objectively good deck, so your opponents need to step up their game.  But how to convince them to do so?

There are two actions you can take to build your local player base.

Ideally, you're willing and able to tactfully improve the newer players' threat evaluation skills.  

Being new, they are unlikely to realize the potential of some cards or know that a card in play is one half of a game-winning combo.  Remind the new player that there are other options for their targeted removal and take the time to explain why specific cards might need killing more than what the player initially targets.  

Even if the biggest threat is under your control.

Especially if it is under your control.  

The other simple way to improve your opponents' decks is to tactfully make card recommendations and, if possible, give, trade, or sell them said cards.  

If nothing else, generically encouraging more interaction in a deck is a must for better games.  If you've ever been the only person running answers in a pod, you know the pain of trying to forward your gamestate while everyone looks to you to prevent someone from winning.  

Everyone bitches about blue countermagic until it would be clutch, then blue wizards are the savior yet are harassed for not countering a spell!  Blue just cannot win the social game, no matter how many Magic games it does win.

-----

A bonus video, but not by me.  Command Zone recently provided this on YouTube about affordable replacements for the expensive Commander staples.  While this video doesn't quite fall along the lines of the rest of this post, the overlap is there.

So give it a watch.

Monday MtG: Away Decks II

A new year means a new set of Away Decks to ship off to Ohio.  From reports, last year's decks perform well and have a high win rate, which only encourages me.  

The Ohio games are typically multiplayer 20 life, creature-heavy affairs with decks ranging from precons to piles and all points in between, to include a massive Battle of Wits deck.  In truth, some of the decks haven't been changed in 20+ years, so there is no telling what may appear.  That said, there are favorites among the various players, so at some point, Bob's elves, John's slivers, or Lisa's lifegain decks are going to make an appearance.

Other house rules to keep in mind are that mana burn often still exists (depending on whose house we play at), and all players have the option to substitute a draw to instead reveal cards off the top of the library until they hit a land.  The revealed cards get placed on the bottom of the library in random order and the revealed land goes into the hand.  

This last rule lets folks actually play their decks.

Like last year, I'll build three decks using Commander rules, knowing that they probably won't be used for Commander games, just casual multiplayer games of 3-8 players. Unlike last year, I want to keep costs low on these decks, while still keeping them viable.  

Luckily, a local store has boxes of poorly sorted cards at great prices: .10 a common, .25 an uncommon, and .40 a rare (although a few rares are in a binder at higher prices).  All I need do is invest the time to sift through several 5-row long boxes.

In fact, I have already been sifting, leaving me with solid removal for a GW deck: Generous Gift, Swords to Plowshares, and Beast Within.  The same box provided several other sweet uncommons for well under market value, as well.

This means that one of this year's Away Decks is GW.  As I am using all the colors again, I am opting for UR and B as the other two decks.  Now that color choices out of the way, all I need do is choose Commanders and start building.

-----

The Commander solution lies in all of the partial decks I have neatly stacked in my MtG closet. Yes, I have an MtG closet. There are other things in there, but the closet's main purpose is Magic.  It saddens me that my closet does not open into another dimension.  I guess we'll have Narnia that in this house!  

Looking at the various piles of partial decks, I see Niv-Mizzet, Parun, as well as Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn and Ayara, First of Lochthwain.  

These meet my color needs and promise variety, so it looks like these are my Commanders.  As I have partial decks, that will save money as I already own many of the cards that will be going into each deck.  Ideally, the sleeves will be the largest expenditure for each deck.  

I kid.  Cards will be - and have already been - purchased.  My goal is just not as much as last year.

-----

My thoughts are to make Niv-Mizzet a steal other players' stuff deck, utilizing Stolen Strategy, Etali, Spelltwine, Diluvian Primordial, and the like. This means that the deck won't overly rely on comboing out with Niv in play.  Yes, some of those cards will be in the 99, but they won't be my main path to victory.

The flaw to the 'play others' decks' strategy is that it relies heavily on the other decks in the game, which can be a dangerous reliance.  Still, it will be fun and, more importantly, different.

And that is really the whole point of the exercise.  

Just in case the stealing whiffs, the deck's backup plan will involve chaos and Dragons.  I'm tempted to lean into the UR spell-slinging archetype, but that makes me uncomfortable in regular Commander games, so my trepidation for the Ohio meta is even higher.

Regardless of how I go about it, I want this deck to draw and draw and draw some more, which means Teferi's Puzzle Box, Mindmoil, and Arjun; maybe Teferi's Ageless Insight as well.  Alongside this strategy are the myriad cards that expand my handsize and Elixir of Immortality, so I can draw everything again.

An expectation of blue is countermagic. Personally, I am a terrible countermagic player; I tend to put my hand down and visit or do other things when it's not my turn, so I've lost count of the times I could have countered a game-changing spell, but failed to do so, because I wasn't paying attention. Still, this is a deck for counterspells, especially if I lean into the UR cost reduction spells.

Enough counterspells makes Haughty Djinn a consideration.  There are lots of ways this deck can go, and I am excited to see what the final list looks like.

-----

Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn almost builds itself - creature beat down, supported with lifegain.  

As there is no guarantee that Lathiel will see play each game in Ohio - although if these were standard Commander games, she'd see play all the time - I need to make sure each card has an impact related to her, but not dependent on her.

Granted, all decks should be built with the thought that each individual card can stand on its own (sorry combo decks), but Lathiel really wants to see lots of counters and life gain, so this deck will feature more synergistic cards than normal - normal for an Ohio game, but about right for a Commander game.

To compensate, I am considering adding cards that are group hug or at least some form of politics.  After all, GW lends itself to hugs, with Selvala and Gluntch in its ranks. It's a shame that Primal Vigor is pushing $30ish, as it would be a perfect addition.

If nothing else, this is the perfect deck and meta for Capricopian.  It even plays nice with the +1/+1 counter synergies in the deck.

-----

Last, but not least, is Ayara, First of Locthwain.  In truth, this deck is already in draft form, and I am now in the 'choose 28 individual swamps with the same border but different art that I find appealing' stage - a part of deckbuilding that I spend far too much time on: selecting the right basic lands.

It makes me regret that I didn't buy up the APAC basic lands for $3-$5 each when I was stationed in Korea back in the late '90s.  I can still picture that table lined with the individual lands, particularly this mountain.  

My thoughts at the time were 'who would pay $5 for a basic land?'  Lots of folks, it turns out.  Now that same basic land will set you back close to $100.

Such is life.

Anyhow, my Ayara deck is currently sitting at 40+ creatures, with hints of reanimation, EtB, and aristocrat tricks. I am vacillating between adding several demons and Liliana's Contract or cutting those for other cards - this would free up nearly 10 slots in the deck.

Two cards not in the deck are Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos.  I own both cards, but won't be giving them up, as they are beyond the budget of replacing, at $28 and $15, respectively.  If this deck were for my use alone, both would be present, alongside other monoblack staples Cabal Coffers and Torment of Hailfire. 

How selfish of me.

I'm on the fence about adding Skullclamp.  This equipment lives for token decks, which Ayara basically is.  That said, Skullclamp is closer to $10 than not, and I've already spent a bit on Cabal Stronghold, Nirkana Revenant, Magus of the Coffers, and Bubbling Muck (it IS monoblack) for the deck, so this may not make the cut to keep costs down.

Gray Merchant of Asphodel is here though, as are other EtB all-stars and the means to continually recast or replay them.  This is a black deck, after all, so such should be expected. 

-----

Cards not found in any of these decks, nor in the first set of Away Decks, are the expected mana rocks (beyond Thought Vessel and Decanter of Endless Water - both included for the no hand size limit).  The meta these decks are intended for is not one where folks are racing to combo or racing to do anything, and the houserule about lands means mana-fixing is minimized (and also that MLD is easily remedied).

Sol Ring.  

Cutting out rocks (and keeping decks to one or two colors) frees up lots of space in the 99, and frankly, I find it refreshing.  Nonland tutors are not present either.  I appreciate the power of a Demonic Tutor, but when decks are played a few times per year, likely by folks who didn't build the deck, a nonland tutor means every card in the deck is read.

While that does allow everyone time to pee, grab food, or have a smoke, tutoring unnecessarily extends an already long game.  To compensate, all the decks I build have strong draw power, be it through green's burst draw, black's life-for-cards and creature-for-cards, blue's cantrips, or red's wheels. 

The last reminds me, I should pick up a Reforge the Soul for Niv-Mizzet, it is such a lovely card.  

Then again, it is close to $10, so it may not make the 99, after all.

Monday MtG: Rashida Scalebane

The lone MtG-related FB group I frequent has me theorycrafting this deck, because that is what browsing that page often results in my doing.  The initial request was for a commander deck that is specifically good against Dragons.  While some will argue that building a deck expressly to defeat another deck is bad Magic, I see it as no different than sideboarding in 60-card competitive formats.

Anyhow, my suggestion was Rashida Scalebane.  As it happens, the best anti-dragon cards are mostly white, and mostly affordable.  

That said, a deep collection, deep pockets, or a deep-seated hatred for a dragon deck makes all suggested cards possible.

Rashida Scalebane

Being from Mirage, her templating is different.  Her errata is important, though, so here it is:

Legendary Creature — Human Soldier

{T}: Destroy target attacking or blocking Dragon. It can’t be regenerated. You gain life equal to its power.

The big takeaway being that she is part of two relevant tribes that have lots of support, so the deck might be able to leverage that. Otherwise, her ability is just clarified and templated to match current card wording. 

-----

The Ur-Dragon

What do dragon decks have in common?

Dragon decks contain Red, because the vast majority of playable dragons are at least partially Red.  

Dragon decks most often win through damage, be it EtB, combat, Dragon's Approach, or some combination of the three.  

Most playable dragons fly, have power of 4 or greater, and cmc of 5+.  

Now we know what to expect, and knowing is half the battle!

-----

In addition to Baneslayer Angel, white has two other creatures that inherently have Protection from Dragons: Dragon Hunter and Dragonstalker.  These are your options for specifically anti-dragon cards.

Protection from Creatures gives us Commander Eesha and maybe Riders of Gavony, depending on final deck build. There is also Serra's Emissary, who can save you from creatures.

I'll address Protection from Red later.

-----

To keep this deck firmly in jank territory, Hundred-Handed One may be an awesome inclusion, once made monstrous and the correct Aura or Equipment is placed on it.  

The trick is to find the correct Aura or Equipment.  

Spirit Mantle, Unquestioned Authority, and Holy Mantle help with the blocking, while Gift of Immortality keeps him around.  Darksteel Plate is a more versatile option.

Swords of Red and other colors provide both protection and evasion.  Fire and Ice, Sinew and Steel, War and Peace.  Plus, Sun Titan can bring them back from the graveyard.

Crown of Awe and Mask of Law and Grace are pretty focused jank.

Armored Ascension should be considered for every monowhite deck, although it is best on a double striker.

We also have the awesome art and one-time option of Spare from Evil, with its implied world of humans not being evil.  

One thing all these cards have in common is that they allow you to go on the offensive quickly.

-----

White has a rather unique card ability in Magic, the ability that lets the caster name a card, and then that card cannot be cast or played.  

Naming an opposing commander is simple. Play against any given deck a few times, and you learn which other key cards need to be named.

Gideon's Intervention, Nevermore, Null Chamber (group hug?), Voidstone Gargoyle - each of these can shut a commander out of play.  Given that most Dragon decks cannot handle enchantments makes three-quarters of these permanently awesome.

-----

Get an early German one named Gotterdammerung if you can.

Mass Land Destruction.  This polarizing strategy is an option, and one that White excels at - even moreso than Red.  It's bad reputation stems from players dropping an Armageddon and not being able to follow up with a win a turn or two later.  When used to seal the deal, MLD is just another tool for the victory-minded player's toolkit.

In addition to Armageddon, you have its functional reprint Ravages of War, the modal Catastrophe, the enchantment Fall of the Thran, and the related Cataclysm.  

All that MLD can be self-crippling, barring Teferi's Protection or Terra Eternal - but this one tips your hand.  Sun Titan and Crucible of Worlds allow for a consistent, slow rebuilding, and Planar Birth is an ideal recovery for your monowhite deck, but awful in the face of a monored Dragons build.  

Just have a plan before taking the nuclear option.

MLD is suggested because Dragons tend towards 5+cmc, so undercutting land is an option.  That said, Treasure tokens are a very real counter to land, and fittingly, several dragons create such tokens, getting around the threat of MLD.  In addition to Treasures, there are also all the mana rocks that will need to be handled.  I'll address direct removal later.

Stax is almost as contentious as MLD, but it works.  White excels at Stax, and what White cannot do, artifacts can.

Dragons (and Treasure tokens) need to be untapped to be useful. Stax can hamper that.

Blind Obedience, Loxodon Gatekeeper, Kill Switch, Kismet, Authority of the Consuls, Imposing Sovereign, Kinjalli's Sunwing, Thalia, Heretic Cathar.  

Stax can also just shut things off.  Humility, Null Rod, Stony Silence, Torpor Orb, Hushbringer, Hushwing Gryff, Tocatli Honor Guard, and Karn, the Great Creator just stop different aspects of the game. Just be aware that your tricks are shut down, as well.  

A note about Humility - Overwhelming Splendor is a terrible replacement.  I understand making it a curse, but 8 cmc? It's probably good alongside Bitterheart Witch and/or Curse of Misfortunes, but on its own... yech! Is 5-color curses a thing?

The final part of Stax is just making combat or spells cost more or have upkeeps.  Kataki, War's Wage hits both of you, but you're theoretically ready for it. 

Reidane, God of the Worthy; Archon of Absolution; Ghostly Prison; Windborn Muse; Smothering Tithe; Aura of Silence; Archangel of Tithes; Spelltithe Enforcer; Tithe Taker; Baird, Steward of Argive; Esper Sentinel; Norn's Annex.  Frankly, there may be more I missed, but this should provide a solid start.

Dragons can't do anything if they can't do anything, as it were.

-----

Given that most Dragon decks win through red-based damage, WW is a small price to pay to ensure your opponent hurts as much as you do.  Poetic Justice, if you will.  Plus, you've got that sweet Ruth Thompson art of a buff elf.  

Celestial Purge may not seem like much on the surface, but exiling a permanent at instant speed opens up all sorts of defensive opportunities.  It makes Devout Decree pale in comparison. Lightwielder Paladin, though, has the potential to ruin a Dragon player, given time and presuming it gets through.

Southern Paladin might be useful, presuming you get to untap with it.  Luckily, White has lots of ways to untap its team, or at least parts of it.  

Absolute Law bears mentioning, if only because the game can turn into a creature-heavy beatdown and Burrenton Forge-Tender, Disciple of Law, Fiendslayer Paladin, Kor Firewalker, Soltari Priest, Auriok Champion, and Voice of Law will only carry us so far.

-----

Teferi's Protection, Flawless Maneuver, Angel's Grace, Luminesce, Samite Ministration, Timely Ward, Bastion Protector, Brave the Elements, Make a Stand, Unbreakable Formation, Selfless Spirit, and Your Temple is Under Attack can all save you and/or your team from whatever nonsense the Dragon player may try.

Grand Abolisher and Myrel, Shield of Argive both keep the Dragon player honest and only doing things on their turn.

Alongside Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots are the auras and equipment mentioned in other sections that double as protection.  

-----

Austere Command, Cleansing Nova, Farewell, Slash the Ranks, Slaughter the Strong, Wrath of God, Martial Coup, and Mass Calcify all sweep the field of various things.  Farewell is best, though.  

Path to Exile, Generous Gift, Swords to Plowshares, Erase, Fate Forgotten, Forsake the Worldly, Crush Contraband - these are the targeted removal to first consider.  

In all cases, exiling is the best policy, but sometimes destroying is all you can do.  

If you need more targeted removal, White has several cards that aim at creatures with 4 or greater power, which is most playable dragons.  Collective Effort, Guiding Bolt, Intrepid Hero, Radiant's Judgment, Reprisal, Retribution of the Meek, The Wanderer, Valorous Stance, and Elspeth, Sun's Champion look to be the most useful and/or versatile.  

Take advantage of White's ability to take out enchantments and artifacts, because Dragon decks, especially Dragon decks containing Green and/or Blue, lean on enchantments for draw and EtB nonsense.   

Equipoise provides an interesting option.  Phasing out means phasing back in on the opponent's turn, so all you are doing is delaying the inevitable, unless you also have Disciple of Caelus Nin in play (if you could somehow flash in Disciple while an opponent is hiding behind Teferi's Protection, that would be hysterical!).

-----

People often call White the weakest color in Commander.  Those people are wrong.  That said, the solutions are rarely budget choices.

Land Tax + Scroll Rack and Smothering Tithe are the darlings of the higher-budget decks containing white, but there are other options.

Pearl Medallion, Archaeomancer's Map, Boreas Charger, Cartographer's Hawk, Keeper of the Accord, Knight of the White Orchid, Scouting Hawk, Loyal Warhound, Kor Cartographer, Gift of Estates, Tithe.  Most of the White options require an opponent to have more land than you, though. 

Endless Horizons is a two-edged card.  The upside is how it clears lands from the deck, ensuring you draw gas the rest of the game while still making steady land drops.  The downside is how an opponent's destroying it keeps those Plains away for the rest of the game.   I have been assured IN ALL CAPS that this is NOT a form of ramp - so now you know, too.

Endless Atlas is a boon to any monocolor deck, but mostly White and Red.

Enlightened Tutor can fetch them all, and many of your various stax pieces, as well.  

-----

This is monowhite, so of course there is a Sun Titan.  What all is Sun Titan returning to play, though?

Commander's Sphere, Aura of Silence, Children of Korlis, Expedition Map, Mind Stone, Myriad Landscape, any cycled lands, plus lots more mentioned throughout this post. 

-----

Finishers.  At some point, a deck needs to win.

Akroma's Will.  True Conviction.  Serra's Emissary - naming creatures.  Bond of Discipline.  All of these options demand you already have some creatures on the board.  

Felidar Sovereign is its own wincon, but is not the intended route to victory here.

Approach of the Second Sun may prove to be the best choice, provided you stall long enough to cast it twice!

-----

Plains. 24-28 (or more) and whichever nonbasics you enjoy.  I'd consider these ones, though.

Emeria, Sky Ruin.  Flagstones of Trokair.  Maze of Ith.  Myriad Landscape.  War Room.  Glacial Chasm. Strip Mine.

Nonbasics suggest Expedition Map, and they wouldn't be wrong.  Sun Titan lets you keep reusing the Map.  Sun Titan can also help you reuse lands in the graveyard, like Myriad Landscape.  

-----

Coming full circle, several of the presented options are Humans and/or Soldiers.  I don't think there are enough to justify most tribal cards, though. Don't get me wrong, there are some neat cards that care about Humans in mono-white, and more neat cards that care about Soldiers, but they dilute the anti-dragon theme.  

There are LOTS of cards that make Soldier tokens, so I have more cards to acquire for my Linden deck.

But it turns out that tribal is accidental, not on purpose with Rashida Scalebane.

Overall, an anti-dragon deck is a showcase of the best White offers alongside some niche and jank foolishness.