(Yarok, the Desecrated | Art by Daarken)

... is Triggers are Wonderful Things!

Hey everyone! Kya here once again! Welcome back to Bringing Magic to Life, the series where I appease my corporate overlords and justify my existence here on EDHREC. Here we’re going to turn our gaming table into more than just a cardboard throwdown: here we're going to bring our decks to life!

This month we're bringing to everyone's attention another talented soul who's taking the EDH world by storm! He has in his wares the one thing every Commander player needs - but we'll have to wait until later in the article for that! Before we get to our fantastic creations, we have to create a fantastic deck!

Yaroks, Shaggy!

Normally I make commander decks with older legends. I usually want to see the commander in action once or twice before I determine if I like them or not and commit to a deck. After all, why put my money down testing a legendary when I can watch my local victims - I mean, friends - do it for me? However, one new release stood out to me immediately!

Isn't this the cutest little Horror you've ever seen? It has deathtouch! It has lifelink! And it gives you an extra trigger from enter the battlefield effects? Sold! Oh, what fun this commander will be!

You don't have to be much of a deck brewer or theme crafter to understand the value behind this little beauty. Heck, that's going to be today's point. I'm not really going for anything special. Like a Meren of Clan Nel Toth player, I just want to enjoy the value of everything entering the battlefield! Let's get started, shall we?

Typically, I'd save my ultimate move for the end of the article, but this time, we're going to start strong. Spark Double. Mirror Gallery. That's what I want to do with this deck. Imagine it: seven copies of Yarok! All those copies going off! Imagine a board full of Yaroks before playing just a simple Grave Titan and getting all those lovely Zombies.

Yes... this is exactly what this deck is meant to do. This deck will contain plenty of ETB triggers, but it will also feature copy effects for our beautiful new commander.

Let's add in some new cards while we're at it. Look at all these goodies that make our commander mean, and do it quick. Stealing two things instead of one is just too hard to pass up.

Let's also imagine that our ultimate move went off and we have a bunch of Yaroks on the field - that's a lot of stuff you'll be able to steal. Frankly, you could steal a player's entire land base with Agent of Treachery! Or get back every spell in your graveyard with Scholar of the Ages (I suggest retrieving that Rite of Replication). As you can see, this quickly gets quite silly.

Folks may wonder at first why Yarok decks are likely to run so many fetch lands. Time to take out your wallets and shake them hard, because with a Yarok deck you'd be unwise not to invest in a few Landfall cards. Yarok doesn't just double the triggers from creatures entering - he counts lands too. Just think of the benefits you could get from cards like Lotus Cobra! If budget is your thing, don't worry. You still have plenty of Terramorphic Expanse-style options.

Since this particular deck spends some slots on making copies of Yarok, I've mostly limited the Landfall cards to big finishers. Avenger of Zendikar has always been a little crazy, but this is just absurd. Roil Elemental is one more awesome way to steal people's stuff! The value from these is enough to always keep you a step ahead in the game. PS: whether we manage to get multiple Yaroks or not, doubling the trigger from a Craterhoof Behemoth will indeed leave a crater in the rest of the table.

Now it's time for my silly deck. Remember, the goal here is just to enjoy the nonsense!

An Organized Command Zone is a Deadly Command Zone

Now for the part we've all been waiting for, this month's new Commander Creation: Command Zone Trays by Game Jeser! His Etsy store can be found here, and definitely give it a look when you can! Just look what came in for this happy author:

Isn't it beautiful? What I love most is that you have spots for your dice to keep track of everything that's important. I've seen a lot of other trays, including my own work, that typically lacked this type of extra detail and finesse. Literally the only issue I've had at all with this is that I keep debating whether I'd like to paint and highlight the words and logo. I'm too scared to tamper with perfection!

Instead of giving my own account on this month's artist, I wanted to provide a direct quote from him instead. His story is amazing and truly motivating for anyone indecisive about showing off their own work to the world:

I made the first Commander Tray for my own personal use because sometimes I would lose track of which person had how much commander damage. My first Tray was BAD - it didn't have clean lines, there were sharp corners, and wasn't that nice to look at. It was much different than it is today, but it got the job done. I took my tray to a large Commander event I was playing in and everyone asked me where I got it and if they could get one. Then the light bulb turned on.

After a month and a half of tweaking and redesigning, I had the first production version of the Commander Tray. It took just under four hours to print one Tray.

I created my Twitter and Etsy in January of 2019, and by end of February I had found a way to make the Trays faster to keep up with demand. I was making two versions of the tray at that time, one that used two D20s for life totals, and one that used the Arsenal Click Counters. It was a pain keeping track of how many I had of each type and of each color, but I wanted to make both of these styles were available for whatever each player used.

After a few big orders from LGS's asking for X of one type and X of the other, I thought to myself, "There has to be a better way." So after a few days of thinking about it, I decided to do another redesign: one Tray that could hold both the D20s and the Click counters, so I only had one product to make, and I only had to keep track of how many of each color there were in stock. While I was redesigning I also addressed some other small items to make printing more efficient. After around 15-20 hours of work, we have the current Commander Tray that is being sold:

This tray takes just under three hours to print, and I don't have to keep track of different models, so it made my life a LOT easier.

All Trays can be customized. I have LGS's who want their names or basic logos printed on them, people who want their commander or planeswalker's name, or people who want their own name! The process does take additional time because I have to add the customization into the design and get the approval before printing. If anyone wants a custom designed tray, please email me. I used to have them available on Etsy, but due to designing and getting approvals the shipping deadlines are to tight.

Isn't it great when your biggest problem is having to adapt to keep up with demand? Speaking of adapting, he even makes trays for Oathbreaker as well, giving you cozy room for both your commander and your signature spell!

I don't know about you, but I think that Yarok deck up above would love to have a Commander Tray to call home. The only thing is, if we try to make him one, he'll double the trigger and we'll wind up with two!

Closing Thoughts

So what did you think of the trays? I thought they were amazing. If you have work that you'd like the EDH world to see, email me at kyavess@gmail.com. Your work may appear in future articles!

Speaking of future articles, there has been some debate at the EDH round table as to whether I should unleash the bonkers levels of chaos for which I'm known onto the world. Would you like to see a deck who's single purpose is to create 50 Timesifters? Let me know!

Until next time,

Kya

Kya Vess

Never fear! Kya's here! Kya has been a long time EDH player and hobbyist. With an extended history of blacksmithing and 3d printing various MTG related items for fun, she has turned her attention to sharing her mad scientist brews to the public. Although a competitive player by nature, her aim is to provide fun and silly deck ideas to those looking to spice up their play groups. Kya is here to scratch that demented individual's itch for pure chaos and show everyone that a Warp World can be a fun experience! Except when you have a Hive Mind and Eye of the Storm out...