Storm, WindriderStorm, Windrider | Art by Immanuela Crovius

Storm, WindriderStorm, Windrider is one of the most exciting designs I've seen in a long time. Flying is a fundamental building block to Magic - without flying, the gameplay feels flatter and the world is less vibrant. Storm rewrites what flying does, making it into a potent political tool to redirect aggression. And despite being in one of the least Magic-looking sets of all time, she does it in a way that feels straight out of an old core set.

Storm, WindriderStorm, Windrider starts off with a banger line: "Creatures with flying can't attack you or block creatures you control." That starts the juices flowing for sure, leaning into a world where we might want to give our opponents' creatures flying to incentivize them to attack each other. She also gives us a way to make that dream come true, giving each creature we target with a spell flying until end of turn. This pushes us even further into a wild new niche of targeting our opponents' creatures with spells that won't kill them, just make them someone else's problem.

Other cards have messed with flying before, from ChaosphereChaosphere way back in Legends to Katabatic WindsKatabatic Winds to Bower PassageBower Passage, and they have all been neat but niche. Storm offers the biggest payoff yet, and a way to enable that payoff, all while being a commander who leans into the multiplayer aspect of the format in a novel way.

Key Cards for Storm, WindriderStorm, Windrider

First of all, there are a couple of cards that combine incredibly well with Storm. Magus of the MoatMagus of the Moat and Island SanctuaryIsland Sanctuary (and for the high rollers out there, MoatMoat itself) make it so that only creatures with flying can attack. Storm says those creatures can't attack us. That's a powerful defense in just two cards, and is probably worth trying to tutor for aggressively. If you own a MoatMoat and want to slow the game down to a crawl, by all means fill the deck with Enlightened TutorEnlightened Tutors and Idyllic TutorIdyllic Tutors, but if not, having a single Magus of the MoatMagus of the Moat will give the deck some crazy draws without defining our play pattern.

What this deck needs is a sizeable package of cards that can target creatures efficiently, preferably at instant speed so Storm's end-of-turn flying ability can turn them away from us. Being in green and white, the natural place to turn is to Auras. The Enchantress package is so powerful and consistent that it almost doesn't matter what enchantments we cast: Gift of GraniteGift of Granite is no Sylvan LibrarySylvan Library, but it will still draw us cards off of Enchantress's PresenceEnchantress's Presence and Setessan ChampionSetessan Champion. We're playing ten cards that sit in play and draw us cards whenever we play enchantments, meaning we'll almost always have one in play, and each one we land helps get us closer to the next.

Cheap Auras now replace themselves as well as fueling Storm's engine, so we can load up without worry. We're playing a full sixteen Auras with flash, meaning we will almost always have a trick to stop a threatening attacker at the start of our opponents' combats. Some of these Auras rely on synergy to make the cut, like Mageta's BoonMageta's Boon or Spider ClimbSpider Climb, but even among the silliest of them we can pick up some incidental bonuses. Guardian's MagemarkGuardian's Magemark gives us the bonus, even if we attach it to a creature we don't control. Cho-Manno's BlessingCho-Manno's Blessing and Benevolent BlessingBenevolent Blessing can stop our opponents from targeting their own creatures with spells by responding with protection.

Besides these flash Auras that combine with Storm to grant flying when it's most relevant, we're also running every Aura for two mana or under that grants permanent flying. Angelic GiftAngelic Gift and Nimbus WingsNimbus Wings mean a creature of our choice can't attack us or block our creatures, so it becomes someone else's problem. And a few of the Auras in this vein provide in-built ways to reuse themselves, like Gryff's BoonGryff's Boon and Skyblade's BoonSkyblade's Boon which can return from the graveyard.

Besides our EnchantressEnchantress package to draw cards, we're running plenty of other rewards for spreading around all of our cheap Auras. Eidolon of Countless BattlesEidolon of Countless Battles and Katilda, Dawnhart MartyrKatilda, Dawnhart Martyr grow based on how many enchantments we control, no matter what they're attached to. Katilda's transformed face is even another Aura that grants flying in case we want to give our opponents leverage against each other. All That GlittersAll That Glitters, Ethereal ArmorEthereal Armor, and Sage's ReverieSage's Reverie similarly count what we control, even if our Auras are spread around the table. And Sanctum WeaverSanctum Weaver can turn our cheap Auras into a mana engine as well, helping us churn through our deck and neutralize our opponents' threats.

We also get to play some goofy one-off effects that grant flying repeatedly. Towering ViewpointTowering Viewpoint can point would-be attackers elsewhere at three mana apiece, and Predator, FlagshipPredator, Flagship can do the same for two mana each while also threatening to destroy anything that threatens us even if it can't attack us. Finally, Power MatrixPower Matrix is an awesome tool to pull out to give serious bonuses to leverage one opponent against another.

Given how much our strategy revolves around our commander, it's only prudent to include a couple of backup plans. Cho-Manno's BlessingCho-Manno's Blessing and Shardmage's RescueShardmage's Rescue can stop some removal, but we shouldn't put all our eggs in one Storm-shaped basket. Sandwurm ConvergenceSandwurm Convergence gives us the same pillowfort against flyers at twice the cost, while also giving us serious board presence over the course of a long game. The new Storm, Queen of WakandaStorm, Queen of Wakanda provides a different kind of defense, threatening to destroy any flyer that attacks us (especially if we can buff her with an Ethereal ArmorEthereal Armor effect first). And if we can amass enough mana, Predator, FlagshipPredator, Flagship is its own engine, destroying creatures and giving us leverage over combat.

How Does Storm, WindriderStorm, Windrider Win?

One of the best features of Storm is that she incentivizes our opponents to attack each other while also giving us a window to deal them a ton of surprise damage. Because none of their flyers can block our creatures, only creatures with reach would be able to block any flyers we can assemble. Engines like Sigil of the Empty ThroneSigil of the Empty Throne and Archon of Sun's GraceArchon of Sun's Grace can pump out nigh-unblockable creatures to take advantage of our opponents who have had no option but to attack each other. Sticking a big Aura like Strength of the HarvestStrength of the Harvest on any of our creatures will also temporarily give it flying, letting us deal more damage than our opponents will expect.

We're also playing a couple effects that upend the combat landscape. Elspeth, Storm SlayerElspeth, Storm Slayer has several modes, but first and foremost she can give our whole team flying and a +1/+1 buff for a turn cycle. Monstrous OnslaughtMonstrous Onslaught similarly has a range of utilities, letting us kill multiple creatures that might be causing us problems even without attacking us, but it also serves as a way to target a whole slew of creatures, giving them all flying and ensuring we can swing in unchecked. Heaven's GateHeaven's Gate and Sylvan ParadiseSylvan Paradise are also options to grant flying en masse, but this deck is already playing enough synergy-dependent cards and doesn't need more draws that are duds unless everything comes together.

The Deck List

I love a political deck. We can get into everyone's business and change plans until the game looks completely different from what anyone expected their decks to do. But the most fun thing about this deck isn't that it stops aggression towards us, but rather that it enables combat among our opponents, and even arms them against each other. Mechanics like goad make players feel like their options are being taken away, but casting Gryff's BoonGryff's Boon on an opponent's creature to deal with another threatening player is just good clean fun. We'll often want to use some of our "good" Auras like Ancestral MaskAncestral Mask on our opponents' creatures so they'll be able to do our dirty work for us.

This strategy is fun partly because we're playing with fire. If our commander gets removed in a key moment, then we might be staring down a bunch of big flyers that we helped create. But hopefully the benefits we dole out will lead to kind feelings rather than removal spells pointing our way, and we can hold on into the later game. Once players have taken some damage or if we can make it into a one-on-one situation, we have plenty of tools to close out a game quickly.

Storm, WindriderStorm, Windrider is a stellar new design that feels like an old-school commander already. She offers a combination of several popular strategies, from Enchantress to Group Hug to good ol' Flying, and gives each one a twist. I'm a sucker for any strategy that combines the absolutely ridiculous Enchantress package with weird or silly enchantments, so this is a commander I'll be excited to play with or against for a long time.