Ashaya's Enduring BondAshaya's Enduring Bond | Art by Anato Finnstark

The Planting of Seeds

Hello, and welcome! This week we have a special deck tech centered on a brand new commander that was very recently revealed in an upcoming release. That set, Mystery Booster: Commander Edition, has a number of sweet new options for all of us to try out.

A number of these cards got my attention for more personal reasons (Remember that five-color deck from the Duels of the Planeswalkers games? I managed to somewhat recreate it, thanks to this set!).

That said, there was one that got my attention. One that's sure to cause no small number of eye rolls because of rules shenanigans. Without further ado:

A sorcery? In the command zone? What heresy is this? Why, you guessed that right. We have a sorcery as our Commander today. What a time to be alive! Anyway, the effect is very simple:

We discover equal to the amount of mana spent to cast the card, but we need a legendary creature or planeswalker in order to cast it.

As the game goes on, this'll mean that we get to discover three, then five, etc. So, in order to make this work, we need to keep casting this card over and over. But first, we cover the main obstacle.

Legends Abound

We'll need a lot of ramp to keep consistently casting our, umm, commander. That said, we also need at least one legendary creature or planeswalker to be able to cast it.

Fortunately, there's a number of legendary options in our colors that have both. Azusa, Lost but SeekingAzusa, Lost but Seeking will let us play two additional lands on each of our turns. On the other hand, cards like Selvala, Heart of the WildsSelvala, Heart of the Wilds will ramp us to great heights, assuming we have a big creature out.

We also have access to other effects like Mina and Denn, WildbornMina and Denn, Wildborn, which not only let us play an additional land each turn, but they can give one of our creatures trample for the turn.

There's also a number of bigger creatures that can help us get there. If you want to lean hard into the creature count, Nikya of the Old WaysNikya of the Old Ways will double our mana, making stuff easier to cast.

If we can buff her, Photon, Mighty MarvelPhoton, Mighty Marvel will give us quite a boost. Another option is Hugs, Grisly GuardianHugs, Grisly Guardian. He'll let us play extra lands, but also exile stuff that we can cast until our next turn ends. Speaking of Exile...

A Sojourn Through Exile

Since discover lets us cast stuff via exile, we can take advantage of that in a burgeoning number of ways. Cards like NalfeshneeNalfeshnee and Spider-VerseSpider-Verse will allow us to copy anything we cast from exile.

In addition, we can lower our opponent's life totals with Passionate ArchaeologistPassionate Archaeologist and Nico Minoru, RunawayNico Minoru, Runaway. In addition, the last level of Bard ClassBard Class will let us cast stuff from exile on top of ramping us and buffing our creatures through its other two stages.

However, I do want to stress that this is just one way to build this deck. A deck with Ashaya's Enduring BondAshaya's Enduring Bond can lean into an exile-matters deck, but it also needs a good chunk of legendary creatures and planeswalkers to be able to cast it.

Forms of Fellowship

A lot of legendary creatures and planeswalkers have plenty of utility, so it is best to mix and match to our tastes. For example, Hajar, Loyal BodyguardHajar, Loyal Bodyguard will protect our board in the event of a wipe. Jeska, Thrice RebornJeska, Thrice Reborn will do some incredible damage with her tripling ability.

Meanwhile, Knuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the Echidna will ramp us, and do some damage. That alternate win condition will often be irrelevant here, as we won't likely be amassing enough artifacts to pull it off.

Other options include Ojer Kaslem, Deepest GrowthOjer Kaslem, Deepest Growth, which can ramp us and put a creature into play if she deals damage. Loot, Exuberant ExplorerLoot, Exuberant Explorer gives us a second land drop and, with enough mana, can out a creature into play as well.

In addition, both Etali, Primal StormEtali, Primal Storm (or Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror, if you're so inclined) and Plargg and NassariPlargg and Nassari can cast stuff from exile each turn. If you're tapping into the exile theme (or as a subtheme), both cards would be good includes to consider.

That said, my list for this week doesn't play into the exile theme so much. In fact, I was building this deck, and came up with this list purely by accident.

The Deck List

Closing Out

Quite the accident, huh? The 99 of this list has nothing but lands, creatures, and planeswalkers. This, in turn, ensures that our commander is easy accessible, limited only by the amount of mana we have.

And that's the other bit of good news: We've got a ton of ramp in the list, so we can cast our commander much of the time, most of the time.

If you want to end games, it's simple. This is a Gruul deck, after all. We just simply need to smash, smash, and do even more smashing. Firstly, cards like Xenagos, God of RevelsXenagos, God of Revels and Absorbing Man and TitaniaAbsorbing Man and Titania amplify the damage output, putting our opponents on a clock.

Meanwhile, we have Anzrag, the Quake-MoleAnzrag, the Quake-Mole and Karlach, Fury of AvernusKarlach, Fury of Avernus, both of which give us extra combat steps while dealing chunks of damage.

We can't win by commander damage, so we pummel our opponents into a pulp instead.

Everlasting Bonds

And there we have it. A unique deck for a unique commander (not so sure about the former). And now, I turn to you, the readers. What commanders from Mystery Booster: Commander Edition, are you looking to build, be they online or for real?

Which ones make your eyes roll? Let me know in the comments. Next week, we return to normal with a remastered precon I've been itching to publish for some time now.