Felisa, Fang of SilverquillFelisa, Fang of Silverquill | Art by Sara Winters

As I typically enjoy doing when a new set releases, I’m setting out on a quest to cover creature types that gained substantial support. The last couple of weeks, we’ve looked at Wizards and Warlocks, two of the more prominent classifications of students at Strixhaven. Starting this week, we’re going to tour the mascots of the different colleges. Since we’ve already covered Elementals in Lorwyn and Spirits in Innistrad, we’ll start with a mascot that was a vague idea before Secrets of Strixhaven.

Have you guessed it? It’s Inklings!

I love the name Inkling, as it refers to the beginnings of a thought as well as putting a diminutive suffix on the term ink. The idea that a college known for doing damage with their words literally damages opponents with the means of writing them conjures a hilarious mental image. Add in the pedigree of characters like Naruto’s Sai, and the role-play aspect of bringing one’s art to life seems really cool.

Unlike Pests, which changed their functionality, Inklings only changed their stats between appearances in Strixhaven and Secrets of Strixhaven. They lost a point of power, going from 2/1 to 1/1 fliers, likely due to the need to balance them out with a larger focus. Both have flying, however, which is key to how an Inkling deck would win its games. Until Secrets of Strixhaven, however, building such a deck would have been impossible. As it is, the membership is a bit scarce, so it’ll be interesting to try to build a deck around them.

Inkling History

Inklings are anthropomorphic manifestations of the creativity of Silverquill students. They seem birdlike, with their owl-like legendary incarnation resembling the eponymous owls that contributed their name to Strixhaven University. The membership is a bit of a stretch, as there are only a couple of actual Inklings. Most of the Inkings we are going to include are Inkling producers, including creatures that are not Inklings themselves.

The original Strixhaven featured 2/1 flying Inklings, which were fairly powerful evasive creatures. They weren’t used on aggressively-costed cards, however. For the most part, the original Inklings were tacked on to political and tactical cards, including Sheldon Menery’s beloved InkshieldInkshield.

The new Inklings are another in a series of 1/1 flying tokens, with little to set them apart in and of themselves. What is interesting about them, however, is that they aren’t all created under the control of the caster. This, along with the previous political and tactical usage, starts to create a through-line.

But how do we differentiate Inklings from other fliers? And how do we use what they do well to win the game?

What Does Felisa, Fang of SilverquillFelisa, Fang of Silverquill Do?

Felisa is a decent midrange commander, as a four-mana 3/2 flying Vampire Wizard. Without help, that’s a seven-turn evasive clock - but we plan on giving it some help. And Felisa helps itself, too, with a mentor trigger on attack. This adds counters to smaller creatures, such as our Inklings.

Felisa also has a death trigger: when a nontoken creature we control dies, if it had counters on it, we create X 2/1 flying Inklings, where X is the number of counters on it. Mentor adds counters, but white is also a color known for putting layers of counters on creatures.

Merging old and new Inklings is a simple task: they’re both small-to-medium evasive creatures. Adding layers of counters makes those creatures bigger and bigger, while also allowing us to turn nontoken creatures that die into Inklings. This gives us a degree of resiliency against removal, which go-wide strategies need.

But what do Inkling producers look like? And do they work with this framework?

Key Cards for Felisa, Fang of SilverquillFelisa, Fang of Silverquill

Inklings are small-to-medium flying creatures, but they don’t often exist as a typeline on creatures. Instead, they are often tokens produced by creatures, through a variety of means.

Blot Out the SkyBlot Out the Sky and InkshieldInkshield are defensive spells that turn the opponent’s aggression against them. InkshieldInkshield makes 2/1 fliers equal to the damage prevented when it FogFogs an opponent, resembling ArachnogenesisArachnogenesis, while Blot Out the SkyBlot Out the Sky wipes the board and makes a fleet of Inklings, resembling Martial CoupMartial Coup.

Both are capable of ending the game in short order after flipping it on its head.

Combat CalligrapherCombat Calligrapher and Shadrix SilverquillShadrix Silverquill are intriguing, as they make Inklings under different players’ control. This enables a range of political plays, giving Inklings a different feel from more straightforward flying tokens, like Birds and Spirits.

But how do we keep control with the Inkling type?

Harsh AnnotationHarsh Annotation is a newer Inkling card, trading a big threat for a little flier. Crib SwapCrib Swap does a similar job, and is indicative of our need to dip into changelings for membership. Thankfully, the job it does fits the roles our deck already plays.

Collective EffortCollective Effort is an interesting modal spell that scales with the size of our board. We can even use the layer of counters politically if we want, but growing our fliers seems a bit more proactive.

Speaking of being proactive, Unbreakable FormationUnbreakable Formation allows us to attack with impunity, but it also gives us another defense against board wipes.

Sign in BloodSign in Blood is one of my favorite spells of all time, as it is a political draw spell that can be burn in a pinch. Pact of the SerpentPact of the Serpent takes that to another level, as we can draw a lot of cards or take advantage of an opponent with a wide board for either massive card draw or massive life loss.

Decorum DissertationDecorum Dissertation is a new addition to the repertoire, allowing us to do it every turn!

Like Harsh AnnotationHarsh Annotation, the rest of our removal suite is political. Generous GiftGenerous Gift is a staple catch-all removal spell, while Bovine InterventionBovine Intervention turns the biggest threat into a cow. No matter what, we’re in the business of replacing threats with disappointment.

Vault of the ArchangelVault of the Archangel is a solid card for Orzhov decks that are racing, giving our creatures deathtouch and lifelink. This can help us swing without fear of a crackback attack or block and trade with opposing threats.

Abandoned Air TempleAbandoned Air Temple saw some play at the recent Pro Tour, adding layers of counters to creatures and giving decks something to do with excess mana while they're trying to draw into game-ending cards.

But what are we buying time for?

How Does This Felisa, Fang of SilverquillFelisa, Fang of Silverquill Commander Deck Win?

Our primary means of winning the game is to attack with fliers. We can hasten this by adding layers of counters to our tokens, as well as by growing our nontoken creatures to explode into a spray of ink that would make a Cephalid jealous.

Tempt with GloryTempt with Glory adds multiple layers of counters, and can win the game on the spot if opponents are greedy and we have a removal spell or two. Practiced OffensePracticed Offense can give a couple of layers of counters, as well a lifelink for winning a race or double strike for closing a game out.

Dramatic FinaleDramatic Finale gives our tokens a permanent buff, and replaces our nontoken creatures with an Inkling. This can get particularly nasty with our commander around, as both death effects will trigger, and we’ll get even more Inklings.

Mirror EntityMirror Entity happens to be an Inkling (and everything else), and is a time-honored finisher, making our entire board huge for whatever mana we spend. Plus, it modifies base stats, so the counters still grow our creatures!

Felisa, Fang of Silverquill Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Inklings are a relatively new creature type, but represent the Silverquill college well. They’re fun and play in interesting ways, including having a few different options at commander.

But how would you build Inklings? And which commander would you choose?