Mondo GeckoMondo Gecko | Art by Mael Ollivier-Henry

Some commanders are fun because they give so much and ask so little. Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice is the perfect example: She can play tons of colors and lead tons of strategies, and will never be bad. Other commanders, however, are fun because they ask so much from the deck builder. Mondo GeckoMondo Gecko is one such commander.

He has high potential, protecting himself and drawing up to five cards whenever he hits an opponent, but the puzzle he presents is quite the head-scratcher. How are we going to get five colors of permanents in a mono-blue deck? This is a commander that will make us feel that we've earned every ounce of value we can squeeze out of it. So let's brew it.

The Strategy for Mondo GeckoMondo Gecko

Mondo Gecko marks the second commander in back-to-back sets that cares about going beyond its color restriction. Sanar, Innovative First-YearSanar, Innovative First-Year from Lorwyn Eclipsed also rewards us with cards if we can find ways to control permanents in colors we can't put into our deck, and so it is a great place to look for inspiration.

High synergy cards for Sanar include token-producers like Mysidian ElderMysidian Elder and Exhibition MagicianExhibition Magician that create permanents in other colors, and Mondo Gecko will certainly lean on similar effects, but there are also other ways to stretch color identities.

Clone decks and Theft decks are also great places to look for ideas, since both of those strategies can end up with colorful battlefields after mimicking opponents' strategies. Don Andres, the RenegadeDon Andres, the Renegade and Gonti, Canny AcquisitorGonti, Canny Acquisitor are the two most popular Theft decks, and will have plenty to draw from, and Gyruda, Doom of DepthsGyruda, Doom of Depths is sure to contain all of the best CloneClones in the game.

Key Cards for Mondo GeckoMondo Gecko

Starting with the goofiest cards in the deck, we're playing a suite of effects that directly change the color of permanents in play.

Most of these cards are extremely niche and have almost never seen the light of day, but that's what makes them exciting. Where else are we going to be thrilled to draw Distorting LensDistorting Lens or Tidal VisionaryTidal Visionary?

Lorwyn Eclipsed gave us two potent new additions to this package in Puca's EyePuca's Eye and Foraging WickermawForaging Wickermaw. Prismatic LacePrismatic Lace, Sway of IllusionSway of Illusion, and QuickchangeQuickchange are all cheap spells that push us in a Spellslinger or Prowess direction, which fits well with our commander who rewards tempo gameplay.

These cards may feel a little underwhelming on their own compared to the high power level of today's format, but they do let us run a few more sleepers that can help us catch up on power by offering synergy.

HydroblastHydroblast and Blue Elemental BlastBlue Elemental Blast will often be able to hit any permanent we want in this deck, becoming super-cheap removal. Jaded ResponseJaded Response can act as a second copy of CounterspellCounterspell (although funnily enough it can never counter a colorless spell).

And Well-Laid PlansWell-Laid Plans can cause chaos in combat, making everyone reevaluate how their creatures will interact, especially since we're the only ones who have any control over it with our color-changers.

The next option we have to get multiple colors on the battlefield is making tokens. Value includes such as Aether ChannelerAether Channeler, PongifyPongify, and Rapid HybridizationRapid Hybridization hold their own as interaction, but gain an added layer of flexibility as potential off-color token makers in this deck.

Cards like Xerex Strobe-KnightXerex Strobe-Knight, Geralf, the FleshwrightGeralf, the Fleshwright, and Wingblade DiscipleWingblade Disciple reinforce this deck's identity as a tempo strategy that tries to cast a bunch of cheap spells. Poppet StitcherPoppet Stitcher and Deekah, Fractal TheoristDeekah, Fractal Theorist push in that same direction by making tokens whenever we cast instants and sorceries.

Rise from the TidesRise from the Tides and Serpentine CurveSerpentine Curve are our big payoffs after we've cast a ton of spells over the course of the game.

As long as our opponents are playing colors other than blue, we can also get what we want by stealing their permanents.

Tempted by the OriqTempted by the Oriq is a great option for when we care more about getting something from everyone than about stealing anyone's best creature. WillbreakerWillbreaker combines extremely well with all of our targeted color-change effects, and can stock our board with all colors of creatures.

Vedalken ShacklesVedalken Shackles is a house in mono-blue, as it offers so much flexibility at a low cost. And OvertakerOvertaker is a wild creature that I had never seen before building this deck. It even overlaps nicely with Mondo Gecko's discard ability.

If we can't steal an opponent's card, the next best thing is to copy it. Phantasmal ImagePhantasmal Image, Flesh DuplicateFlesh Duplicate, and Imposter MechImposter Mech all act as CloneClones for only two mana, and while they all have their downsides, they'll do just fine if all we really need is to copy off-color creatures.

MockingbirdMockingbird scales with any threat we want to copy, and is a great deal whether it's copying a Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves or a Grave TitanGrave Titan. Chameleon, Master of DisguiseChameleon, Master of Disguise fits in with Mondo Gecko's discard ability by letting us cast it for a discount with mayhem.

Speaking of our commander's discard ability, it's not every day that we'll get a repeatable one-mana way to discard, so we might as well make use of it.

Scrounging SkyrayScrounging Skyray, Circular LogicCircular Logic, and Monument to EnduranceMonument to Endurance are all good enough to make the cut with little synergy, but there are also some cards like Chameleon, Master of DisguiseChameleon, Master of Disguise that fit multiple niches in this deck. Currency ConverterCurrency Converter is a great Treasure-maker, but also creates black tokens to fill out our colors.

Welcome to the FoldWelcome to the Fold is both a madness payoff and a theft effect. Security BypassSecurity Bypass helps Mondo Gecko get through blockers while also giving us an additional way to discard cards.

Winning the Game With Mondo GeckoMondo Gecko

One of the joys of decks that involve copying or stealing our opponents' cards is that we can win in tons of different ways. We can become a Dragons deck when we play against The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon, or an Aristocrats deck when we play against Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov. But unlike some of these theft and copy decks, we have a strategy of our own, and it's a tried and true one.

We're playing a ton of efficient spells, including a lot of cheap interaction, and we're running creatures that give us an advantage off of those spells. Most of our token-producers care about keeping up our spell-casting velocity, which makes Mondo Gecko a great tool as a way to recoup cards to keep the chain going.

In order to double down on our commander's strengths, we're running a package of analogs that offer the same types of rewards. Surrakar SpellbladeSurrakar Spellblade can draw even more cards if we can get it to hit a player, as can Katara, Waterbending MasterKatara, Waterbending Master with a little work. Jhessian ThiefJhessian Thief can scale with the game, and also keeps the cards flowing.

Finally, StarwinderStarwinder can give us a grip of cards, coming down early with warp and then threatening to become a potent engine later on.

While this plan is all about incremental value and keeping our opponents off balance, we're also running an incidental two-card "combo" that can gain control of the entire battlefield.

If we have WillbreakerWillbreaker in play, we can cast Sway of IllusionSway of Illusion targeting all of our opponents' creatures, stealing them all. If any opponent has a removal spell for the WillbreakerWillbreaker they all get their creatures back, but sometimes they just don't have it, and we won't give them much time to find it.

In a deck that can draw upwards of three to five extra cards per turn, it's nice to have a couple cards that we'd play anyways but that can end the game together.

Mondo Gecko Commander Deck List

If you want to feel clever, this is a great deck to play. The tempo game plan relies on timing our interaction to always stay on the front foot, and we need every little advantage we can get if we want to snowball. Because of the goofy cards we're playing, we'll probably have to put in a good amount of work for our synergy engines to keep pace with regular midrange threats, so every win will feel like we earned it.

Plus, we're playing a five-color deck in mono-blue! Overcoming self-imposed challenges has always been a core aspect of Commander, and this deck overcomes with flying colors (all five flying colors!).

Mondo Gecko himself feels strong enough to be worth the effort. His protection ability means that no one will ever mess with him while we have a single mana up, and it's easy to get him to connect with players. Drawing four or five cards per turn can really help us catch up from our lower-impact enabler spells, and since they're cheap we can turn that "quantity over quality" pattern into a plan rather than a downside.