Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh| by Chris Seaman

Do you enjoy playing a blend of tempo and control, carefully balancing the cards in your hand against the messy stack-battles cEDH is known for?

Do you like building up resources, only to pounce at the last second? Do you like the broken shenanigans enabled by a zero-cost commander, but care little for the early-game pressure that can come with playing black?

If this sounds like you, then I have a cEDH deck for you; let me introduce you to the partner pair of Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh and Ishai, Ojutai DragonspeakerIshai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker.

What Do Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh and Ishai, Ojutai DragonspeakerIshai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker Do?

First up, Rograkh. For , this 0/1 legendary red Kobold Warrior creature with first strike, menace, trample, and partner doesn't do anything on its own, other than add red to your deck's color identity.

However, when you look at the roster of cEDH staples, you'll quickly find that red is a dominating color thanks to the likes of GambleGamble, Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach, Jeska's WillJeska's Will, and so much more. So, even though Rograkh doesn't do anything on its own, the contribution of red to this deck's color identity is already a worthwhile payoff.

Secondly, being a zero-cost commander is worth its weight in gold these days. From free interaction like Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat to guaranteeing that Mox AmberMox Amber is effectively a Mox RubyMox Ruby, Rograkh's mana cost of is a huge resource in and of itself.

Next up, Ishai. For , this 1/1 legendary Bird Monk creature with flying and partner has "Whenever an opponent casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker."

In practice, Ishai here works a lot like Silas Renn, Seeker AdeptSilas Renn, Seeker Adept, albeit with some late-game potential. That is, there will be plenty of games where Ishai never comes out of the command zone and all it offers is the addition of white and blue to the color identity, and that's more than enough.

In some games, however, Ishai will get cast early on when you have nothing else to do, then turns will pass, spells will be cast, and this initially-innocuous 1/1 flier will become a lethal attacker thanks to the triggered ability.

Key Cards for RogIshai

Rograkh Support

Like any good Rograkh deck, RogIshai is chock-full of spells that turn your zero-cost commander into a dangerously powerful resource.

Rocks like Mox AmberMox Amber, Springleaf DrumSpringleaf Drum, and Paradise MantleParadise Mantle are always live, Infernal PlungeInfernal Plunge is an excellent ritual to push through when you're in dire need of burst mana, and cards like Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship, Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat, and Flare of DuplicationFlare of Duplication are powerful, zero-mana interaction.

Engine Spam

As a midrange control deck that loves the late game, RogIshai is running just about every viable source of card advantage under the sun, as well as plenty of ways to snag a copy of whatever your opponents are running.

MirrormadeMirrormade and Copy EnchantmentCopy Enchantment are the premier Rhystic StudyRhystic Study clones, while Steal EnchantmentSteal Enchantment does exactly what's in the name.

Archivist of OghmaArchivist of Oghma is a solid way to draw extra cards whenever an opponent searches their library, despite falling slightly out of favor when an almost-strictly better version of that effect was printed via Wan Shi Tong, LibrarianWan Shi Tong, Librarian (which is, of course, also in this deck).

While the commanders themselves may not have a direct synergy with these cards, the deck as a whole is designed to extract as much as possible from them by running both a critical mass (as seen by the copy effects) and by churning them out as early as possible with the Rograkh-enabled mana sources.

Make no mistake, card advantage engines are always good, but RogIshai in particular does an excellent job at putting them to work.

How Does RogIshai Win?

Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach Combo

Once you've stacked your engines sky-high, drawn as many cards as your hand can handle, and sufficiently amassed a critical mass of interaction, the game all comes down to one combo: Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach.

This deck runs the classic Izzet package of Breach, Lion's Eye Diamond, and Brain Freeze, which presents a mana-positive loop that infinitely mills out any number of target players' libraries thanks to the increasing storm count which comes from each point in repeatedly escaping Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond and then Brain FreezeBrain Freeze from your graveyard.

Alternatively, the Underworld Breach loop enabled by Grinding StationGrinding Station and any mana rock that taps for a positive amount without enters-the-battlefield restrictions (such as Mox OpalMox Opal, Sol RingSol Ring, or Mana VaultMana Vault) can generate arbitrarily large amounts of mana and storm count while also churning through your deck (tap your mana rock for mana.

Sacrifice it to Grinding Station to mill three cards, escape-cast the mana rock by exiling three cards from your graveyard in addition to paying the mana cost.

Grinding Station will untap when it enters, then rinse and repeat. Eventually you'll find Brain Freeze, at which point a massive storm count usually serves as the closer.

Lastly, the deck has the mana-neutral Underworld Breach loop of Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune and Lion's Eye Diamond.

This will cause each player to discard their hand, draw seven cards, then rinse and repeat as you iterate through recasting both the Wheel and the Diamond.

Again, you'll eventually find Brain Freeze, at which point a massive storm count will close the game.

RogIshai cEDH Deck List

Wrap Up

Despite being a dedicated Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach deck, RogIshai really has solidified itself as one of cEDH's premier control decks.

If you've been looking for a Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh deck that takes a bit more of a measured approach to having a zero-mana commander, then this is the deck for you.