CosmogoyfCosmogoyf | Art by Chris Rahn

As always, this year's Modern Pro Tour, Pro Tour Marvel Superheroes, was the most exciting competitive Magic event of the year for me to watch. Unlike Standard, Modern is a format that really rewards archetype specialists, and the range of viable decks is wide enough that every event is sure to have a handful of players that specialize in unconventional decks. This time around, the talk of the tournament was Jund () CosmogoyfCosmogoyf. While working on another deck for an installment of 60 to 100, I had an epiphany about Cosmogoyf and stopped everything to put it together. I'm really excited to tackle this deck, so let's get to work.

The Source Material

The basic premise of CosmogoyfCosmogoyf is really simple: put as many cards as possible in exile very quickly. This is accomplished with cards like Serum PowderSerum Powder and Devourer of DestinyDevourer of Destiny, both of which can start exiling cards before the first turn. Once the exile zone is fully stocked, Cosmogoyf can be deployed as an incredibly large creature for just two mana. From there, it's possible to win either through combat or using a FlingFling effect, like ThudThud, to burn your opponent out.

One tidbit about this deck's construction that fascinates me is its lands. There are no fetch lands or shock lands! Why? As far as I can ascertain, there are two answers. First, having a bunch of fetch lands and a small number of shock and surveil lands to find with them introduces a new point of failure. What if I exile all my Overgrown TombOvergrown Tombs to Devourer of DestinyDevourer of Destiny and Serum PowderSerum Powder before the game even starts? I may suddenly find myself unable to find the necessary colors to cast my spells with those fetch lands. Second, this deck isn't expecting to play more than a few turns in the majority of cases. Gemstone CavernsGemstone Caverns and a suite of fast lands, like Blackcleave CliffsBlackcleave Cliffs, are more than adequate in that scenario and don't cost any life to use. That extra life could easily be the difference between losing to Izzet () Prowess on turn three and surviving one more turn to kill them first.

The Commander

As a game plan, making a huge Cosmogoyf and flinging it at unsuspecting opponents encounters a small problem in Commander. Where are all the FlingFling effects that can hit all three opponents? It's bad enough that a huge two-mana creature doesn't make the cut in Commander, but I can't even win the game with ThudThud! Enter: Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord. Jarad is this deck's only way of converting a 40-power creature into a win. As such, I've placed him in the command zone. It's a little sad that this cuts off access to a lot of sweet red cards, namely ThudThud and Minsc & Boo, Timeless HeroesMinsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes, both of which I was initially very excited about when figuring out how to adapt this deck. Sadly, the benefit is too great to ignore.

A Collage of Archetypes

Building this deck was a blast due to how much other popular 60-card archetypes have seeped into its construction. You'll find components of Legacy Lands, DoomsdayDoomsday, and even Standard's Mightform HarmonizerMightform Harmonizer combo deck.

So, how am I putting enough cards in exile to make CosmogoyfCosmogoyf a 40/41? Serum PowderSerum Powder and Devourer of DestinyDevourer of Destiny are great, and they're still here. But the fun part of building the deck in Commander is that Commander's card pool gives me the opportunity to pull out bigger guns. That's where Tainted PactTainted Pact, Demonic ConsultationDemonic Consultation, and DoomsdayDoomsday come in.

Doomsday is the real star of the show, and is almost always going to be the first card I tutor for. For just three mana, Doomsday can put a grotesque number of cards in exile and act as a super-powered Vampiric TutorVampiric Tutor that can put Cosmogoyf and relevant interaction on top of my library in whatever order I need.

NecropotenceNecropotence and NecrodominanceNecrodominance get the job done in a slightly more cumbersome manner than Doomsday. Because both of these enchantments redirect cards that would go to the graveyard into exile, like a one-sided Rest in PeaceRest in Peace, it is possible to pay a bunch of life into them and ultimately wind up with a fully stocked hand and all the cards that would get discarded to hand size at clean up will be exiled.

It's important to have backup plans. There are two points of failure I need to prepare for. First, what happens if Cosmogoyf is exiled? Only having one creature that can be used to win the game is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Second, what if I can't get enough cards into exile to make a lethal Cosmogoyf? This isn't quite as big of a concern, but still a bottleneck that I'd expect to encounter every few games.

Formless GenesisFormless Genesis and Dark DepthsDark Depths are my solution to the first scenario. Formless Genesis is a kindred sorcery with retrace that complements this deck's ability to fill the graveyard via Hermit DruidHermit Druid. For just three mana, it makes a token with power and toughness equal to the number of lands in the graveyard. In the late stages of a game, this token should be large enough to end the game. Dark Depths, paired with Thespian's StageThespian's Stage and a lot of tutors, can produce an indestructible 20/20 Marit LageMarit Lage token. This is where the power amplification cards that solve the second problem come in.

Mightform HarmonizerMightform Harmonizer and BerserkBerserk can double a creature's power, turning any creature that isn't quite there into a lethal threat. Notably, doubling a Marit Lage token's power hits the magic number exactly, making the Dark Depths backup plan much more realistic.

During preview season for The Hobbit, I wrote about halflingcycling and mentioned that I had a perfect deck for Hobbit HoleHobbit Hole. Well, here it is! Hobbit Hole can be used to tutor Delighted HalflingDelighted Halfling, Chomping ChangelingChomping Changeling, and Formless GenesisFormless Genesis. To make things better, it can be recurred with Life from the LoamLife from the Loam, a card that has a miniature engine living within the deck's lands.

This deck is bizarre for many reasons, but chief among them is that it's a deck that both wants to put cards into exile en masse while also hosting a plethora of cards with graveyard synergy. My rationale is very simple: the games where most of the deck ends up in exile will be over before these graveyard synergies matter. Life from the Loam and its many accomplices are here merely as an additional gear the deck can shift into when a game gets weird.

All About Doomsday

Let's circle back to DoomsdayDoomsday. This card is notoriously complex to use correctly, and it comes with some pretty major risk. For that reason, prospective Doomsday casters deserve a little guidance.

First up is the "when." The ideal time to cast Doomsday is as early as possible. I'd feel totally fine curving a turn-two Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor into a turn-three Doomsday. From there, JaradJarad can be deployed on turn four, then turn 5 is as simple as casting CosmogoyfCosmogoyf and activating Jarad. An ideal opening hand for these scenarios is just five-mana sources and a tutor. That's a pretty low bar compared to many other combo decks.

A Common Doomsday Configuration

An average Doomsday for this deck will be setting up Cosmogoyf, Cavern of SoulsCavern of Souls, and a piece of protection, like Not of This WorldNot of This World, Sylvan SafekeeperSylvan Safekeeper or Veil of SummerVeil of Summer. Ideally, one or more of these components is already in my hand, but that's where a lot of Doomsday's complexity lies. Can I afford to wait an extra draw step?

The bottom two cards of the Doomsday Pile aren't likely to be seen at all. These slots are where I will hedge with a recursion piece, like Animate Dead, and maybe a second protection spell. It's also possible to put a tutor target at the bottom for some weird scenarios involving Crop RotationCrop Rotation or Green Sun's ZenithGreen Sun's Zenith.

Cosmogoyf Commander Deck List

Conclusion

This CosmogoyfCosmogoyf deck is, without question, in Bracket 4 (Optimized). There are more than three Game Changers and the deck can routinely win before Bracket 3's 6 turn guideline. It would be fairly trivial to tune the deck down for Bracket 3 (Upgraded) play, but I simply could not resist the temptation of Game Changers like NecropotenceNecropotence and my dragon's hoard of tutors.

The idea for this deck came to me while working on a deck built around TerravoreTerravore. My plan for that deck to overcome graveyard hate was to include a Cosmogoyf to fling at my opponents with JaradJarad, just as I intended to do with Terravore. While initially intended as a means of recovering from getting hit with Bojuka BogBojuka Bog, it turned out to be a stronger main plan than using Terravore. Then, I was hit with the big revelation: DoomsdayDoomsday puts all but five cards into exile, and works very nicely with Cosmogoyf. The rest is history.