Alania, Divergent StormAlania, Divergent Storm | Art by Joshua Raphael

This Alania, Divergent StormAlania, Divergent Storm Commander deck tech will attempt to combine Otter Typal with Spellslinger elements to create a tempo deck that plays out a bit like a combo deck. It’s a delicate balance, and it will be unlike any deck we’ve built so far.

But first...

Otter History

One of the greatest moments in Otter history happened just last week: the unbanning of Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser (albeit not as a companion). Otters haven’t been in Magic for very long, and they have been few and far between. Still, what few Otters have been printed have been powerful and adorable.

In fact, Otters were introduced as a supported type in arguably the most adorable set, Bloomburrow. In that dual-color-themed set, Otters were the Izzet-colored option. They had a focus on noncreature spells, many of whom shared the evergreen ability prowess. That ability was also stapled onto Otter tokens, making the creatures function like the storm mechanic on a body.

The dependence on noncreature spells creates an interesting problem for an Otter Typal deck. Typal decks need a certain amount of creatures of the type to work together and unlock their Typal synergies, while Spellslinger decks (decks that rely on noncreature spells) need a certain number of noncreature spells. There is limited overlap, so the deck winds up struggling to make sure both strategies are supported.

The unbanning of Lutri provides the type with a couple of intriguing boons. First, Lutri is a commander that cares about instants and sorceries, so it could helm an Otter deck ably. Second, Lutri provides another relevant creature for any Otter deck, sharing the type and synergizing well with the game plan. While we won’t be using Lutri as commander, since there is a better option, Lutri will still serve an important role in the deck.

But how do we combine Typal and Spellslinger decks? And will it mesh the two well or feel like oil in water?

What Does Alania, Divergent StormAlania, Divergent Storm Do?

As a 3/5 for five mana, Alania is an expensive creature with defensive stats. On its base, it’s an awkwardly-costed creature that likely isn’t winning games in combat. That means that its abilities - well, the one ability - needs to be sufficiently strong in order for it to be an effective centerpiece.

And it doesn’t disappoint.

The first instant, sorcery, or Otter we cast each turn can be copied for the price of letting an opponent draw a card. If Alania can stay on the field for any duration of time, the value accrued can easily take over the game. Additionally, since Alania specifies “each turn,” we can use other players’ turns to copy our spells, as long as we have instants or spells with flash, so we value those highly.

But what kinds of instants are worth it? And what nonlegendary Otters are we looking to copy?

Key Cards for Alania, Divergent StormAlania, Divergent Storm

Otters, in card or token form, care about instants and sorceries. Some have prowess, while others are merely spellslinging enthusiasts. Admittedly, there are some Otters that predate Bloomburrow and don’t mesh as well with the plan, but are there to shore up numbers and be copied by our commander. The synergies are powerful enough that they’re still worth including.

Both Coruscation MageCoruscation Mage and Stormcatch MentorStormcatch Mentor give strong payoffs for casting noncreature spells, with the Mage burning opponents and the Mentor providing a hasty prowess threat. The Mentor also acts as a Goblin ElectromancerGoblin Electromancer, reducing the cost of our instants and sorceries, which stacks when we can copy it.

While there are limited offerings for Otter creature cards, there are other ways to make Otters, which is, in some ways, preferable. Stormchaser's TalentStormchaser's Talent is a Standard staple, making a prowess creature, returning an instant or sorcery from grave to hand, and then making an Otter whenever we cast an instant or sorcery.

Otterball AnticsOtterball Antics is a sorcery our commander can copy, which makes an Otter token and can be flashed back (which counts as casting and can be copied by our commander again).

But what are we using to trigger prowess?

Outside of our Otters, the next biggest nonland card grouping in our deck is card draw. We want to be churning through our deck, using spells that dig us deeper in order to smooth over the different pieces and stack prowess triggers.

Pearl of WisdomPearl of Wisdom is a cheap draw spell that cares about Otters, while Frantic SearchFrantic Search is an effectively free draw spell, which can actually generate mana if our commander is out and able to copy it. When the stars align, these are the types of cards that make the deck exciting.

We want our removal to be cheap and able to be copied whenever possible, and PongifyPongify is the poster child for that kind of effect, removing threats and replacing them with Apes. An Offer You Can't RefuseAn Offer You Can't Refuse is similar, giving the offending player a peace offering in exchange for being a cheap interactive tool.

Offer can also help to protect our Otters when looking cute just isn’t enough deterrent.

Many Otters, our commander included, are Wizards and can be protected with Riptide LaboratoryRiptide Laboratory. Desolate LighthouseDesolate Lighthouse, on the other hand, provides us with a card draw engine in the mana base.

While we’re not a dedicated Graveyard deck, we can still use the card filtering, especially when we’re trying to find instants to copy with our commander.

How Does This Alania, Divergent StormAlania, Divergent Storm Commander Deck Win?

Our primary win condition is prowess-based aggro. We want to get into the red zone early and often with cheap threats that we then grow.

Bria, Riptide RogueBria, Riptide Rogue gives layers of prowess to our creatures, which stack, and grants unblockablility to a creature for each noncreature we cast. StormsplitterStormsplitter makes hasty copies of itself for each instant or sorcery we cast that go away at end of turn, making a fun minigame. It can really get out of hand fast, going wide in a single turn.

Prowess aggro can only get us so far, though, and we do run the risk of getting outclassed by big green decks. The lack of evasion, Bria notwithstanding, means that we need to find other ways of finishing games when we get stonewalled. We can remove singular blockers, but there are other ways to get damage in, which work well with what our commander does.

Price of ProgressPrice of Progress is an instant-speed burn spell that blasts each player for the amount of nonbasics they’re running. As an instant, we can copy it with our commander, and we’re not playing many nonbasics to risk hurting ourselves.

Gandalf's SanctionGandalf's Sanction is another spell that can one-shot an opponent, especially when we copy it with our commander. It deals X damage to a creature, where X is the amount of instants and sorceries in our grave, letting our cantrips set up to a massive turn. I’ve waited a while for a noncreature spell to have trample, and this effectively does, dealing excess damage to the creature’s controller.

Alania, Divergent Storm Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Otters are a relatively new and undersupported type, but they are fun, exciting, and cute. As time goes on, they’ll likely get more support, which will make them a better type and give them more of a focus. Still, merging Typal with Izzet’s most well-known strategy, Spellslinger, creates explosive turns that few other types can match.

Huge attacks and big burn spells make it so we can win games out of seemingly nowhere, as opposed to the massive boards Typal decks usually present. This also makes Otters less likely to get swept away by wrath effects. Oh, and did I mention they’re adorable?

But how would you merge Otters and Spellslinger? And what do you think is the cutest creature type?