Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh | Art by Chris Seaman | Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero | Art by Josu Hernaiz

Do you like hoarding resources? Is Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle one of your favorite Magic cards, enough so to build a deck around it? Well then, let me introduce you to RogThras, the biggest-mana deck in all of cEDH.

What Do Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh and Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero Do?

Starting off with Rograkh, this little guy does two things: it's a no-cost creature for Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle, and it's a no-cost commander/no-cost legendary creature for the likes of Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat, Mox AmberMox Amber, etc. So, while Rograkh doesn't do anything on its own, its mere existence on the board turns some of the best cEDH staples into more broken versions of themselves.

Tack on the partner mechanic, and that's easily enough value to make Rograkh one of the most broken commanders in the meta.

Moving on to Thrasios. This partner commander is an infinite mana outlet hiding behind a high-cost value engine. Thrasios itself just costs , but you'll only be getting value from it via paying into its activated ability, which lets you scry one, then reveal the top card. You'll draw it if it's a nonland card, and you'll put it onto the battlefield tapped if it's a land.

Any sort of activated ability cost reducer can allow for this to get out of hand pretty quickly, as we'll see in a later section.

So, taken together, what do these two commanders add up to? Well, think of Rograkh like the setup, and Thrasios like the closer; Rograkh boosts mana production and interaction from turn one onwards, while Thrasios is an infinite mana outlet that can convert excess mana into card draw before the game reaches its end.

That's a pretty perfect pair, if you ask me.

Key Cards for RogThras

Rograkh Synergy

With Rograkh as a commander, two packages of cards go from great to flat out broken: creature-based mana sources (the kinds of effects that require you tap a creature to provide mana, e.g., Mox AmberMox Amber, Springleaf DrumSpringleaf Drum, or EarthcraftEarthcraft), and commander-based interaction, such as Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat and Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship.

Since Rograkh costs , this means that all of these cards, which typically aren't online until turn two, are guaranteed to be usable on turn one.

Thrasios Synergy

As we established, Thrasios' activated ability cost is just too high to be worth it most of the time. These three cards, however, wholly break that barrier, either by providing a constant stream of mana turn-after-turn (Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse) or by reducing the activation cost itself (Training GroundsTraining Grounds and Biomancer's FamiliarBiomancer's Familiar).

Once they've taken effect, Thrasios becomes a real value engine, steadily supplying your hand until eventually you can close out the game.

Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle Synergy

These three cards are emblematic of the way Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle can win games here.

First, find it quickly, using cards like Crop RotationCrop Rotation or Sylvan ScryingSylvan Scrying. Second, flood the board with creatures, both the traditional nontoken army of mana dorks like Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise as well as via mass token generation, such as ChatterstormChatterstorm.

Finally, once you've set up a Gaea's Cradle that can add absurd amounts of mana, the only better thing to do is to untap it over and over again. Candelabra of TawnosCandelabra of Tawnos is a cheap (mana-wise, not money) way to do this once per turn cycle, while Emerald CharmEmerald Charm is a one-shot Gaea's Cradle-based ritual. When assembled properly, no deck can outcompete you on mana.

How Does RogThras Win

Infinite Mana

This deck has an insane number of ways to make infinite mana, so let's start off with one of the more ubqiuitous across cEDH: Floodcaller Combo.

This combo requires Valley FloodcallerValley Floodcaller, any mana-positive or mana-neutral mana rock, and either Banishing KnackBanishing Knack or Retraction HelixRetraction Helix.

• First, target Valley Floodcaller with your choice of Knack or Helix. If you just cast Floodcaller this turn, target another non summoning-sick Bird, Frog, Rat, or Otter you control, as whatever you target needs to be able to tap this turn.
• Use the ability granted by Knack/Helix to tap your creature, returning the mana rock to your hand.
• Cast the newly-returned mana rock. This will trigger Valley Floodcaller, untapping your recently-tapped Knack/Helix creature.
• Float mana off of the mana rock once it enters, then restart from step two.

The second combo requires Oboro BreezecallerOboro Breezecaller, Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle, Talon Gates of MadaraTalon Gates of Madara, and a total of six creatures in play (including commanders and Breezecaller itself).

• With Breezecaller in play and Talon Gates in hand, tap Gaea's Cradle for .
• Pay to put Talon Gates into play from your hand. You can choose to phase something out when it enters, but you don't have to.
• Tap Talon Gates for , then spend and return Talon Gates to your hand in order to activate Oboro Breezecaller, untapping Gaea's Cradle. You'll have leftover, and be able to rinse and repeat from step one.
  • As a side note, once you have an arbitrary amount of , you can begin filtering it into and as needed by activating Talon Gates' second ability throughout later iterations of the loop.

Finally, the third infinite mana combo requires Eternal WitnessEternal Witness, Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle, SnapSnap, and the capacity to tap two lands for a combined total of (this is doable through Gaea's Cradle with five creatures - not counting Eternal Witness - and an Island, for example).

• Start with both Eternal Witness and Snap in hand. Tap Gaea's Cradle for and your Island for .
• Cast Eternal Witness, leaving floating. The first instance of the enters trigger is meaningless (from a combo perspective) - grab whatever you wish.
• Cast Snap, returning Eternal Witness to your hand, leaving floating. Untap your Island and Gaea's Cradle.
• Tap Gaea's Cradle and your Island for another , bringing your sum total up to six and one . Recast Eternal Witness, this time using the enters trigger to grab Snap. Recast Snap, targetting Eternal Witness to bounce and Gaea's Cradle plus the Island to untap. Rinse and repeat for infinite mana.

Regardless of which line you choose, you'll end up with infinite mana which can then be spent on infinite Thrasios activations, drawing your deck. From there, you can cast a bunch of creatures and make them infinitely big with Finale of DevastationFinale of Devastation, or force your opponents to draw their decks with Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind while you guarantee that you always have an extra card in your deck by casting Green Sun's ZenithGreen Sun's Zenith (which shuffles itself into your deck), or even just assemble the next combo.

Underworld Breach

And of course, what would a deck with Izzet in its color identity be without the standard Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach package of Breach, Brain FreezeBrain Freeze, and Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond?

While it may not have the most synergy with our commanders, both the first and third infinite mana lines generate an infinitely high storm count, meaning that Brain Freeze is useful as a closer for a couple of combos, not just Breach.

Similarly, Underworld Breach is just a good card; to give each card in your graveyard escape until end of turn for just that card's mana cost plus exiling three cards is a ludicrously powerful effect. Lion's Eye Diamond is the only weak link here, and even then it still serves as a mana-neutral rock for the Floodcaller combo if you happen to have Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise in play.

RogThras cEDH Deck List

Wrap Up

Gaea's Cradle has come to define the cEDH meta these past few months, and no deck better breaks Gaea's Cradle than RogThras. If you like making mana and taking game actions but don't want to risk it all on closing the game by turn two, then this is the deck for you.