Radagast of RhosgobelRadagast of Rhosgobel | Art by Anna Podedworna

Hello everyone! I’m Levi from The Thought Vessel, and today we’re looking at one of my favorite legendary characters from The Hobbit, both as a character and as a Magic card: Radagast of RhosgobelRadagast of Rhosgobel.

Radagast has already received two printings in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, but neither really took off in popularity. This time, though, I fully expect to see Radagast both as a commander and in the ninety-nine of plenty of decks. Let’s take a look at what it actually does.

The Commander

Radagast of RhosgobelRadagast of Rhosgobel is a 2/5 legendary Avatar Wizard for . We likely won’t be attacking all that much with Radagast, since we have plenty of creatures to handle that. Instead, Radagast lets us cast one creature spell each turn as though it had flash, and the first creature spell we cast each turn costs two mana less to cast. If we’re able to cast a creature on each player's turn, we’re effectively saving a total of eight mana every turn cycle. That’s an incredible amount of value that only gets better as the game goes on.

I’m personally looking forward to adding Radagast to my The Sixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor and Susan ForemanSusan Foreman deck, and I’m sure Kadena, Slinking SorcererKadena, Slinking Sorcerer players are over the moon about getting another incredible card for their lists. Between Good Stuff piles, morph creatures, Dragons, and even artifact creatures, there are plenty of decks that will welcome Radagast with open arms.

Radagast is a very strong card, but it’s also a little controversial because it once again opens the conversation about power creep in Magic.

Comparisons

When Radagast was first revealed, my cohost had the same reaction I did: "Well, it looks like Yeva just got power crept."

In a way, that’s true. Yeva, Nature's HeraldYeva, Nature's Herald is a 4/4 Elf Shaman for with flash that lets us cast green creature spells as though they had flash. For the longest time, Yeva was the go-to commander for mono-green Draw Go or Flash decks. Playing against Yeva was always tricky, because the pilot could hold up mana and threaten to flash in almost anything at the perfect moment, forcing opponents into making mistakes.

That said, there are some important differences between these commanders that will have a big impact on how they play.

For starters, Radagast doesn’t have flash itself. That means we either have to wait until we have extra mana available to take advantage of the ability immediately, or cast it and hope it survives until our next turn. Radagast also lets us cast only one creature per turn, while Yeva lets us cast as many green creatures as we can afford. Because of that, Yeva decks often lean toward combo lines and Elf synergies, while Radagast wants to maximize its mana discount by playing larger threats.

Another important distinction is color identity. Yeva only grants flash to green creatures, while Radagast works with any creature spell. That opens the door for Constructs, Eldrazi, and other powerful colorless creatures that Yeva simply can't support.

The Game Plan

Our goal is simple. We want to take advantage of casting creatures with our discount at instant speed as often as possible.

One of the biggest strengths of flash decks is how often they force opponents into making mistakes. Flashing in a creature to counter a removal spell or protect our board from a sweeper not only saves our resources, but also wastes an opponent's card. Even when we don't have the perfect answer, simply representing one can change how our opponents play. Holding up mana forces everyone at the table to think twice before attacking, casting removal, or committing to a line of play because they never know what creature might suddenly appear.

We’re essentially combining a Draw Go strategy with a Stompy deck. Combat is our primary plan, with mass removal acting as a backup if the board gets out of control.

Key Cards

Casting Support

Since the focus of the deck is casting creatures, we want to squeeze as much value as possible out of every spell. Tribute to the World TreeTribute to the World Tree, Beast WhispererBeast Whisperer, and several other cards will draw us a card every time we cast a creature, keeping our hand full of options for future turns.

Silverback ElderSilverback Elder gives us a steady stream of utility by destroying artifacts and enchantments or ramping us if we reveal a land among the top five cards of our library. Over the course of a game, it can do some serious work against Enchantress and artifact decks, both of which continue to become more popular in Commander.

Rhonas's MonumentRhonas's Monument reduces our creature spells by another mana, bringing our total discount to three. Every creature we cast also lets us give another creature +2/+2 and trample until end of turn. That extra boost can punish chump blockers or turn what looked like a favorable trade into one where we keep our own creature.

Defiler of VigorDefiler of Vigor lets us pay life instead of green mana, which can occasionally make some of our creatures effectively free to cast. On top of that, every green permanent we cast puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature we control, allowing our board to snowball surprisingly quickly.

Traps

One of my favorite plays in this deck is flashing VigorVigor onto the battlefield. It's an incredibly difficult card to play around because any damage dealt to creatures other than Vigor is prevented and replaced with +1/+1 counters. I've been knocked out of games by players casting Vigor before following it up with Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act. Now imagine your opponents deciding to cast Blasphemous Act or gang block one of your creatures without knowing Vigor is about to appear. Things can get ugly in a hurry.

ManglehornManglehorn fits naturally into the deck by destroying an artifact when it enters while also causing every artifact our opponents play to enter tapped. With Treasure tokens and mana rocks showing up in nearly every Commander pod, that kind of tempo swing can be surprisingly impactful.

Along those same lines, Ohran FrostfangOhran Frostfang becomes downright nasty when flashed in after blockers are declared. Ohran Frostfang gives attacking creatures deathtouch rather than granting it as a trigger that fires at the start of the attack. That means after an opponent confidently blocks our Damage Control CrewDamage Control Crew with their commander, we can flash in Frostfang and suddenly trade up across the board. Any damage that gets through also refills our hand. After seeing this interaction once, most opponents will second-guess every combat step against Radagast for the rest of the game.

Because we're such a creature-heavy deck, we aren't relying on very many artifacts or enchantments ourselves. The ones we do play, like our mana rocks, are helpful but not essential to our game plan. That makes Bane of ProgressBane of Progress one of the most devastating creatures we can flash into play. Against an Enchantress deck or a Voltron player attacking with a heavily equipped commander, flashing in Bane can completely swing the game. We'll likely remove their commander, wipe away the rest of their board, and end up with a creature carrying a massive pile of +1/+1 counters. That's about as close to a best-case scenario as we can ask for, and it's a great time.

Other Notable Cards

AsceticismAsceticism is a staple in plenty of green decks that want to keep their creatures safe, and it fits naturally into a flash strategy. Since we often hold up mana to cast creatures on an opponent's end step, we'll usually have mana available to regenerate our creatures if a board wipe happens or we need to survive combat. Giving every creature we control hexproof is a huge bonus as well because there are plenty of attractive removal targets in this list.

Guardian AugmenterGuardian Augmenter is a sneaky inclusion because it catches a lot of players off guard. One of the perceived weaknesses of Radagast is that we can only cast one creature with flash each turn. An opponent may wait for us to use that creature before pointing removal at our commander, assuming we're out of tricks. Guardian Augmenter changes that equation. Since it naturally has flash, it doesn't rely on Radagast's ability to be cast at instant speed. If someone tries to remove Radagast, we can simply flash in Guardian Augmenter, giving our commander +2/+2 and hexproof while wasting their removal spell. Similar to a Blink deck led by Brago, King EternalBrago, King Eternal, we want our opponents to spend removal cards whenever possible without actually accomplishing anything.

We also have quite a few creatures with cast and enter-the-battlefield abilities, making Temur SabertoothTemur Sabertooth an easy inclusion. Being able to repeatedly return those creatures to our hand lets us cast them again and again, turning many of our best value creatures into repeatable engines.

Let's Talk Game Changers

This particular list isn't playing any Game Changers because the deck functions perfectly well without them. That said, there are a few that would be solid additions if you already own them.

The most obvious inclusion is Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse. Untapping all of our permanents during every player's untap step means we'll almost always have mana available to cast a creature on each turn. Getting the full benefit of Radagast's cost reduction every turn cycle can get out of hand very quickly.

After that, I'd probably look at Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor. The deck has a deep toolbox of creatures, and being able to find exactly the right answer for the situation is never a bad thing. Whether it's Bane of ProgressBane of Progress to punish an artifact deck or another silver bullet for the table, Worldly Tutor gives us access to whatever we need.

Finally, since it's thematically appropriate, there's The One RingThe One Ring. As powerful as Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle can be, I'd actually prioritize the steady stream of cards from The One Ring. Keeping our hand full means we always have another creature ready to flash in, and that's exactly where this deck wants to be.

How Do We Win?

Our primary path to victory is good old-fashioned combat. It isn't flashy, but it absolutely gets the job done. If the game reaches a point where life totals are simply too high to close things out through combat, Shaman of Forgotten WaysShaman of Forgotten Ways gives us another angle by setting everyone's life total to the number of creatures they control. We also have Eldrazi like Ulamog, the Infinite GyreUlamog, the Infinite Gyre that can keep pressure on opposing boards with annihilator while ending games in short order. If all else fails, as the mono-green slogan goes, "There's always Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth."

If we wanted to, the deck could also support a combo finish without much effort. There are plenty of directions you could take the list depending on your playgroup and personal preferences.

Wrapping Up

Mono-green is usually a very transparent color to play. Most of the time, everyone at the table knows what's coming. Big creatures, lots of mana, and turning those creatures sideways. Radagast changes that expectation by adding an entirely new layer of interaction to the color. Having access to flash lets us keep opponents guessing, punish greedy plays, and create some really memorable moments.

Flash decks are also a great way for newer players to become more comfortable with timing and the stack while still playing a strategy that feels familiar. You're still casting creatures and winning through combat, but you're learning when to play those threats instead of simply casting them during your own main phase. That's a valuable lesson that carries over into every other format and archetype in Magic.

The deck list is below. As always, feel free to make this list your own, use it as a blueprint for your next brew, or simply scrap it for parts. This list is here for you. If you're planning to add Radagast to one of your existing Commander decks, who will be leading that list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy brewing.

The Deck List