Kykar, Wind's FuryKykar, Wind's Fury | Art by G-host Lee

Welcome back to your regularly scheduled Fire and Ice programming! This is EDHREC's data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, your Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article!

Using EDHREC's large collection of Commander data, we'll draw conclusions from about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list. For some information on the math that supports this series, check out this article.

Today, we're focusing on Kykar, Wind's FuryKykar, Wind's Fury! This Bird Wizard knits together spellsinging synergies, typal themes, and big mana strategies in one elegant package. It seems like Kykar gets a great new card in every set, so I'm super excited to see what players have been including in their 99s!

Kykar, Wind's FuryKykar, Wind's Fury

What's Hot and What's Not for Kykar, Wind's Fury?

Kykar decks want to cast lots of noncreature spells, flood the board with 1/1 Spirit tokens, and use those Spirits to take progressively more impactful game actions.

This deck's Jeskai () color identity gives pilots access to some of the best value engines in commander, from Game Changers like Rhystic StudyRhystic Study to synergy pieces like Whirlwind of ThoughtWhirlwind of Thought.

Among Kykar's most popular cards are SkullclampSkullclamp (58% inclusion rate), Jeskai AscendancyJeskai Ascendancy (48% inclusion rate), and Frantic SearchFrantic Search (44% inclusion rate)

What's Fiery for Kykar Decks?

Hexing SquelcherHexing Squelcher - Fire Score of 6.39

This card is great in every -based deck. Making all of our spells uncounterable is quite strong, and can ensure that our most powerful cards have a chance to truly impact the game! The ward cost that this Goblin Sorcerer lends to our creatures isn't relevant in most decks, but it's certainly nice to have in a deck like this that runs very few creatures in its 99.

It's good to discourage our opponents from removing our Elsha of the InfiniteElsha of the Infinite or Longshot, Rebel BowmanLongshot, Rebel Bowman, even if a cost of two life isn't much of a deterrent.

Harmonized CrescendoHarmonized Crescendo - Fire Score of 6.22

We'll often name Spirits with this spell, drawing cards for each token that Kykar has created for us over the course of the game. But, interestingly, we've got no Spirit creatures in our 99! Our commander is the only way that we can make more of those ghostly creatures.

This is a fantastic piece of card advantage, and can usually be cast for very little mana. We won't often have enough blue creatures on the battlefield to fully cover this spell's convoke cost, so we'll often be spending or to get Harmonized Crescendo onto the stack, which is still a great rate for the amount of cards it'll allow us to draw!

Impolite EntranceImpolite Entrance - Fire Score of 3.97

This is the latest (and most powerful) red cantrip available to Commander players. It combines the effects of ExpediteExpedite and Crash ThroughCrash Through, with the minor drawback of being a sorcery (instead of an instant). But, we'll often want to give a creature haste on our turn regardless!

The best target for this spell will frequently be our commander, as its flying body can pose a game-ending threat against other players who we've hit a few times already.

Rimefire TorqueRimefire Torque - Fire Score of 3.43

This card seems purpose-built for Kykar decks. We'll have tons of Spirits entering the battlefield as we cast noncreature spells, which will load this artifact up with charge counters.

Then, we can use those counters to copy our highest impact spells! If we manage to copy the aforementioned Harmonized Crescendo, for example, we'll have enough cards to last us the rest of the game.

We can also copy Jeska's WillJeska's Will to create a super strong turn or Path to ExilePath to Exile to get rid of several problematic permanents. This two-mana artifact is a great include for Kykar pilots, and fits well in other decks that care about instants, sorceries, and specifically-typed creatures.

Expressive IterationExpressive Iteration and Stock UpStock Up - Fire Scores of 3.07 and 2.79

Kykar pilots often want to string together multiple noncreature spells on their turn, keeping their hand full of powerful spells. Both Expressive Iteration and Stock Up are perfect, then, as they let us select the right cards out of a larger group.

Sure, straight up drawing cards with a copy of DivinationDivination is good, but instead choosing the correct cards for the current game state when presented with a few options is often stronger.

That lets us access removal spells when there's a threat on the board, lands when we need extra mana, or more card advantage when we've got to keep digging through our library!

What's Icy for Kykar Decks?

FarewellFarewell - Ice Score of -4.09

This is one of the strongest board wipes in Commander. It lets us basically reset the game, stopping all four players in their tracks. But, this spell sets us back a bit too far. The average Kykar deck runs some powerful artifacts and enchantments, like Rimefire Torque and Warleader's CallWarleader's Call, so we often won't want to remove those from the field. And if that's the case, is a lot to pay if we're just planning to sweep away creatures. We'd be better off casting Wrath of GodWrath of God for or Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act for .

BrainstormBrainstorm and Faithless LootingFaithless Looting - Ice Score of -4.07 and -2.92

I'm a bit puzzled here. Much like Expressive Iteration and Stock Up, Brainstorm lets us see a lot of cards. This instant even lets us stack the top of our library for future use! It's true that we can "Brainstorm Lock" ourselves by drawing into bad cards and being forced to put them back on top of our library, but that's a risk I'd be willing to take given the power level this spell often operates at.

I've got similar thoughts about Faithless Looting. We won't be making use of our graveyard much, so the cards that we discard from this card's effect are functionally out of the game. But, spending just to see two extra cards is a really good rate.

We can even access Faithless Looting again for using its flashback cost! This spell can even be cast from our hand by sacrificing just one Spirit to Kykar, making its Ice Score even more confusing!

If you've got a reason for these spells' drop in popularity that I'm not seeing, please do let me know in the comments.

Generous GiftGenerous Gift - Ice Score of -3.67

Generous Gift is a safe card to include because it can destroy any permanent. Most removal spells hit just one or two card types, and this one can hit all of them! But is a lot to spend to get rid of just one permanent. Flexibility is a desirable trait for interactive spells, but we're overpaying for it here.

If the ability to hit multiple permanent types is that important, we'd be better served by playing Unexplained AbsenceUnexplained Absence. It costs just one more mana, and removes multiple threats.

Electro, Assaulting BatteryElectro, Assaulting Battery - Ice Score of -3.22

Our Spirits make and Electro lets us store between steps and phases. This seems like a perfect fit! But, we can just choose to not sacrifice our Spirits until we need the mana in order to gain the same mana storage effect. Electro's Birgi, God of StorytellingBirgi, God of Storytelling-esque mana creation effect is nice, admittedly, but we'd be better served by just playing Birgi if we want to storm off. Electro only triggers off of instants and sorceries, but we've got a bunch of artifacts and enchantments in our 99 too!

Electro may seem like a good inclusion for Kykar pilots, but there are better value engines available.

What's in a Kykar, Wind's Fury Deck?

Here's a Kykar list that's got all of his Fiery cards and none of his Icy cards.

Conclusion

Because he prints Spirits for us when we cast noncreature spells, there's lots of different ways to build Kykar. I've seen some really interesting builds focused more heavily on artifacts or enchantments, with a few voltron builds that run lots of Auras!

If you've got a Kykar list of your own, how did you build it? What's your favorite noncreature spell to cast with this Bird Wizard on the field? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll be back next week for more Fire and Ice!