(Plagon, Lord of the Beach | Art by GOSSAN)

I Like Big Butts And I Cannot Lie

- Plagon, Lord of the Beach

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Market Gnome was the only one-mana creature with more toughness than power that cantrips, until Phantasmal Shieldback was printed alongside Plagon?)

Hey, did you know that every zero-mana creature that isn't Memnite or an X creature has more toughness than power?

From the classic Ornithopter to the new kid on the block, Phyrexian Walker, all three of the zero-cost creatures that aren't Memnite draw you a card with Plagon, Lord of the Beach's enter trigger.

Which doesn't seem like enough, does it?

Top 10 One-Mana Azorius Creatures With More Toughness Than Power

Plagon is a weird little dude, and I dig it. More than that, however, he is one of the best card draw engines I've ever seen in the command zone.

Even without zero-mana creatures like Shield Sphere, if you just went turn one, play a one-mana creature, turn two, play two one-mana creatures, turn three, play Plagon, then you're drawing four cards. That's not magical Christmas-land thinking, that's just "I build a deck made almost entirely out of one-drops."

So, with that goal in mind and a quick Scryfall search, we know that we have 126 different options to do exactly that brew out of. Seems like we have a bit of wiggle room to be picky, doesn't it? So what do we want to exclude?

Well, Plagon is a bit of a conundrum, outside of the "drawing all of the cards" thing. It wants to go wide with a whole bunch of little creatures with more toughness than power, but it also only allows for you to spend mana on a handful of them to make them go aggro with all that booty.

For me, that means that we're not looking for any more hurdles when it comes to combat. That means, with the exception of Shield Sphere as a rare zero-cost that we can't say no to, we're going to go ahead and say no to the walls.

In Azorius, there are only two cards aside from Plagon that allow for creatures with defender to attack en masse: High Alert and Walking Bulwark.

The first is bound to be the card we're digging for with Plagon (aside from maybe E Honda), while the second can only affect walls and costs even more to activate than our commander does.

In other words, it's going to be way too much of a pain to get walls rolling, and they don't even meet the sea creature theme anyhow.

Eliminate some extraneous Kindred cards we're not interested in, and we're ready to go! Let's take a look at the list.

Criteria: One-mana creatures within the Azorius color identity that have more toughness than power, but don't have defender and do not mention a creature type (get outta here, Kinjalli's Caller!). As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

10. Spectrum Sentinel

(14,529 Inclusions, 0% of 4,875,040 Decks)

"Protection from multicolored" often translates to "protection from commanders", which isn't a bad deal. If we're being honest, however, the reason most folks are playing Spectrum Sentinel is for the lifegain.

With the abundance of nonbasics in the meta at this point, it's not uncommon for Spectrum Sentinel to gain you three life with every turn cycle, which adds up quickly. Even better for lifegain decks, those triggers all happen seperately, so if you have any kind of payoff that cares about you gaining life, it will trigger on each opponent's turn, more than likely.

In a very in-character inverse, however, Plagon probably doesn't at all care about the lifegain here. The protection from multicolored, however? That's aggro on a one-mana body, baby! Join the sea-creature crew, weird rainbow robot!

9. Hopeful Initiate

(16,092 Inclusions, 1% of 2,226,375 Decks)

A huge boon in +1/+1 counter decks, Hopeful Initiate gets counters when it attacks with stuff bigger than it, and then can remove those counters to Disenchant things. That's a lot of work for a one-mana creature, so the fact that it's also a 1/2 shows you just how pushed creatures tend to be these days.

It's also an interesting moment for us looking at Plagon's dichotomy of wanting to go wide, but having an activated ability that says to go tall. So, with that in mind, let's see how doable a "go-wide, one-mana-guys-who-have-a-bigger-butt-than-front, but also care about +1/+1 counters" brew is:

Top 10 One-Mana Azorius Creatures With More Toughness Than Power That Also Care About +1/+1 Counters

1. [REDACTED] (Further up the list)
2. [REDACTED] (Further up the list)
3. Hopeful Initiate
4. Progenitor Exarch
5. Mysterious Egg
6. Arcbound Javelineer
7. Cloudfin Raptor
8. Warden of the Inner Sky
9. Enduring Bondwarden
10. Hada Freeblade

At first glance, this seems promising, especially with two cards being further up the list. When you take a closer look, however, most of this list is just not going to gel with what we're trying to do.

Progenitor Exarch needs to be three mana to even get a single Incubator token, we aren't mutating for Mysterious Egg, Arcbound Javelineer only hands out counters to artifact creatures, and Cloudfin Raptor might be worth it as an evasive creature but it's unlikely to get bigger than a 1/2.

In fact the only creatures that I feel like are slam dunks here are Warden of the Inner Sky, which feels like it was designed for Plagon, and Enduring Bondwarden, which just has a single +1/+1 counter stick around.

Things do get a bit better further down the list, but suffice it to say, we're already trying to do enough right now, and there's just not enough stuff out there to make a pivot to +1/+1 counters work without giving up on the whole "one-mana creature Storm" thing. Which means that Hopeful Initiate is getting left on the outside of the 99, looking in.

8. Giant Killer

(16,581 Inclusions, 1% of 2,226,375 Decks)

Giant Killer, on the other hand, feels like a slam dunk. Yeah, we may never actually use the tap ability, but it's there if we do run into a Voltron deck and we need it. What really makes Giant Killer great in a deck that's going to be mostly small creatures, however, is Chop Down.

Being able to Radiant's Judgment the biggest threat at the table before you move on to playing more creatures is just a great option to have. And if you don't need it? Well run that bad boy out on turn one, no one's stopping you!

7. Signal Pest

(17,492 Inclusions, 0% of 4,875,040 Decks)

Signal Pest is another card that really highlights how awkward the line is that Plagon is trying to stretch. On the one hand, it's everything that Plagon wants: A cheap, evasive creature that can swing in and do some damage once it gets bigger.

Even better, it makes other creatures bigger! Just... not on the side of the power-toughness slash that we're looking for. Ultimately, though, I think that's okay. It will feel awkward once we get a "all creatures use toughness instead of power" effect out, but in the early turns, this is just going to take a whole bunch of 0/4s that weren't gonna do any damage, and make them into 1/4s to add a little pressure. It's not much, but when you're going as wide as we plan to, it'll add up.

6. Ingenious Prodigy

(20,420 Inclusions, 1% of 1,769,096 Decks)

So, as with all X-cost creatures, Ingenious Prodigy asks the question: What does this do for us at any given mana cost? For what we're trying to do with Plagon, the most important mode there is at one mana, where this comes out as a 0/1 with Skulk.

That doesn't blow me away, but it is getting through unblocked, in all likelihood, so it's not a deal-breaker, either. Where this really shines is in the late-game, however, where if our commander has been removed enough times that it's not an easy "pay three, draw ludicrous amounts of cards" any more, then this is a great backup plan to get our hand filled up again.

And trust me, people will be coming after Plagon once we draw four cards for three mana the first time, then immediately do it again with the Essence Flux we drew.

5. Guide of Souls

(21,436 Inclusions, 2% of 889,823 Decks)

In similar fashion to Spectrum Sentinel, we're not really that interested in becoming a Soul Sister deck. Luckily, however, Guide of Souls has another mode that we do like quite a bit.

Getting to three energy with the amount of creatures we're gonna be pumping out should be no big deal, and then on attack, we can make a creature into an Angel, complete with +2/+2 and a flying counter.

Tack that onto an Aegis Turtle and activate Plagon, and you've got a threat that the table is gonna have to pay attention to!

4. Hedron Crab

(28,209 Inclusions, 1% of 2,388,677 Decks)

Now, at first glance, Hedron Crab for this deck appears to be a bad Kraken Hatchling. After all, we don't have any reason to be milling, do we? Well, maybe? You see, we're in Azorius colors, which are well known for their blink strategies, which we will absolutely be using to abuse Plagon's enters effect. What's less well known but equally plentiful, however, is white's ability to recur things directly to the battlefield.

In other words, Hedron Crab and the more general mill strategies available throughout the one-mana sea creature department allow you to play these recursion cards that will keep your oft-targeted commander returning to the battlefield, and to have them be useful for grabbing other effects you've milled, as well.

3. Slither Blade

(54,211 Inclusions, 2% of 2,388,677 Decks)

For those that are familiar with the old Edric, Spymaster of Trest Flying Men deck, the temptation to replicate its fun and success with Plagon has got to be overwhelming. And you could.

Slither Blade is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to evasive 1/2's, and with the amount of card draw Plagon provides, it would be easy to throw in a bevy of extra turn spells and attempt to draw one every turn until you aggro folks to death with tiny fliers.

The question is: Do you want to be that guy? Because I've got news for you, if you're looking to build Plagon to be mean, ComedIan already top 16'd a cEDH tournament with his brew, and it wasn't with extra turn spells.

2. Giver of Runes

(55,079 Inclusions, 2% of 2,226,375 Decks)

What was in that cEDH deck? Giver of Runes, of course! That's right, the Mother of Runes knock-off has a bigger butt, along with being able to protect from colorless (and not being able to protect itself).

And with how much of a target Plagon is sure to become, we're going to need the protection. I'll not mince words, this will be one of the best cards in the deck, and probably the best turn one play you can ask for. Just like it is everywhere else.

1. Ruin Crab

(56,713 Inclusions, 2% of 2,388,677 Decks)

It's good that we were so into Giver of Runes, because the top of our list is a total flop. Don't get me wrong, Ruin Crab is one of the best one-drops you can ask for in a mill deck. When you're not trying to kill opponents with mill, however, milling folks for a little bit is in all likelihood just helping them out.

Even worse, newer players that don't realize that will actively hold it against you as their precious treasures hit the graveyard. Combine all that with the sub-par 0/3 stats, and there's really just no reason to be playing Ruin Crab in Plagon.

Honorable Mentions

Plagon is begging for blink effects to abuse its enters trigger, but given that we know our Starfish friend will be targeted into the ground whenever possible, it's going to be a good idea to find other stuff to blink, too. With that in mind, let's take a look at the options with ETBs that didn't quite make our list.

Top 10 One-Mana Azorius Creatures With More Toughness Than Power And an Enters Ability

1. Thraben Inspector
2. Progenitor Exarch
3. Overwhelmed Apprentice
4. Novice Inspector
5. Sidisi's Faithful
6. Icatian Moneychanger
7. Inquisitive Puppet
8. Hada Freeblade
9. Thriving Turtle
10. Hinterland Sanctifier

The two Thraben Inspectors are as big a slam dunk as we could ask for, and will provide some card draw after our commander gets too expensive.

Maybe even better is the Scry 2 from Overwhelmed Apprentice, however, even if it's tacked onto some opponent mill we don't really want or need.

Maybe the best of the lot here is smack dab in the middle, however. With the amount of creatures we're planning on laying down, Sidisi's Faithful will be able to Exploit them at will, bouncing either other's creatures or Plagon if we lack for blink effects.

After that, the pickings get scarce, although Thriving Turtle does have some slight synergy with Guide of Souls, and is decent in its own right.

If we are going to go aggro with things, however, then it couldn't hurt to have some huge rear-ends to do it with, whether or not they come with abilities. So, what are the biggest butts out there at one-mana?

Top 10 One-Mana Azorius Creatures With the Most Toughness

1. Aegis Turtle
2. Merfolk Secretkeeper
3. Sidisi's Faithful
4. Kraken Hatchling
5. Yoked Ox
6. Armored Armadillo
7. Tasseled Dromedary
8. Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
9. God-Pharaoh's Faithful
10. Shorecomber Crab

Aegis Turtle is the only one-mana 0/5 in the game, making it our biggest aggressor we can draw. With that said, there are also a ton of 0/4's that will do in a pinch, the only question is which are best? Well, it turns out we can't rely on the EDHREC data for that, because it has a bunch of the vanilla ones seeing more play than the ones with abilities.

Maybe that's based on creature type considerations, but I think it's honestly more likely that it's just the creatures people had lying around. With that said, Armored Armadillo likely keeps on moving up this list on its Ward 1 alone, even if it will take some work for Lagonna-Band Trailblazer and God-Pharaoh's Faithful to make it up there.

Of the two, for Plagon purposes, I think the one we help out a bit is God-Pharaoh's Faithful. Lagonna-Band Trailblazer's Heroic ability doesn't really work with blink effects, whereas the life gain ability of God-Pharaoh's Faithful does push it past the likes of Tasseled Dromedary.

Which just leaves showing off what else made the decklist!

The deck plays well, repeatedly dumping out its entire hand of cheap creatures and then replenishing it with Plagon.

This allows you to dig for your few High Alert effects to then swing out for the win, although in an extended game, it's also possible to win via Thassa's Oracle, between all the mill and card draw.

There is still some concern about board wipes at the inopportune time, but if you're keeping your hand well-stocked as you should be, you probably recover more quickly than anyone else does.

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

I think especially with the splash Plagon is currently making in cEDH, along with the ease with which it draws cards, most decks will lean more in the control direction than the aggro direction. While I personally would caution against this if you aren't trying to play in the high power realm, it will make for a heck of a high-powered brew. The question is much more what sandbox you're wanting to play in:

And finally, what is your favorite bereared, cheap creature? Does it fit in Plagon? Are you brewing this delightful little Starfish? If so, how?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the series of tiny footstools we've constructed into individual playmats.

DougY

Doug has been an avid Magic player since Fallen Empires, when his older brother traded him some epic blue Homarids for all of his Islands. As for Commander, he's been playing since 2010, when he started off by making a two-player oriented G/R Land Destruction deck. Nailed it. In his spare time when he's not playing Magic, writing about Magic or doing his day job, he runs a YouTube channel or two, keeps up a College Football Computer Poll, and is attempting to gif every scene of the Star Wars prequels.