Ragost, Deft GastronautRagost, Deft Gastronaut | Art by Zack Stella

I could go for a lobster roll right now...

Welcome once again to Fire and Ice! This is the 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, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article! As a reminder, the math that supports this series is detailed in this article.

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

Today, we're focusing on Ragost, Deft GastronautRagost, Deft Gastronaut. This Lobster Citizen is the 88th most popular commander on EDHREC, and is undeniably cool. They're the latest in a long line of Boros () artifact commanders, but this time with a nautical twist!

Ragost, Deft GastronautRagost, Deft Gastronaut

What's Hot and What's Not for Ragost, Deft Gastronaut?

For , Ragost is a 2/2 Lobster Citizen. They turn all of our artifacts into Foods, meaning that we can pay , them, and sacrifice them to gain three life. We can also pay , Ragost, and sacrifice a Food to deal three damage to each opponent. Also also, Ragost becomes untapped at the beginning of each end step if we gained life that turn.

That's a lot of abilities for just two mana! In summary, Ragost makes everything Food, lets us weaponize Food to whittle away opposing life totals, and can do so each turn if we're gaining life consistently. This super strong text box has led Ragost to be the most popular Boros artifact commander!

Among Ragost's most popular cards are Weapons ManufacturingWeapons Manufacturing (84% inclusion), Nuka-Cola Vending MachineNuka-Cola Vending Machine (79% inclusion), and Academy ManufactorAcademy Manufactor (79% inclusion).

What's Fiery for Ragost Decks?

Gleaming SplendorGleaming Splendor - Fire Score of 14.16

Gleaming Splendor's 14.16 is among the highest Fire Scores we've ever seen in this series, and it's easy to see why. This enchantment is a fantastic, powerful card that just so happens to synergize beautifully with our commander.

We'll be making tons of Treasure tokens and drawing a few extra cards, all for the low, low cost of . It's amazing how much value this two-drop can provide. The Treasures that Gleaming Splendor makes will also trigger effects like Ingenious ArtilleristIngenious Artillerist and Leonin ElderLeonin Elder, keeping our wheels spinning.

Getaway BarrelGetaway Barrel - Fire Score of 6.57

This artifact is a perfect target to sacrifice with our commander's ability. If we take that game action, we can ping our opponents for three damage and grab a powerful creature from the top of our deck.

We may occasionally whiff with this card, but the chance at paying just for a curve-topping creature is too enticing to pass up! Plus, with creatures like Myr RetrieverMyr Retriever on our side, we can crack this barrel multiple times per game.

Mjölnir, Hammer of ThorMjölnir, Hammer of Thor - Fire Score of 4.45

This is a damage doubler for our commander. It does cost a good bit of mana (total of to cast and equip), but this Equipment does provide some value upon entering the battlefield. I'd rather play this than something like Gratuitous ViolenceGratuitous Violence because of that ETB effect.

This Hammer does have a second effect, letting us pay and discard it to get a mini-wipe like PyroclasmPyroclasm. This won't be relevant often, but I'm all for cards that give us options!

Belladonna TookBelladonna Took - Fire Score of 4.04

This is another fantastic two-drop from the recent Hobbit set. We'll be making tons of Clues, Foods, and Treasures to keep Ragost well-fed, meaning we'll often get all three of Belladonna's abilities to trigger! It's nice that we only need one token to enter to gain a life, as that'll allow us to consistently untap Ragost!

It's a shame that her top-end ability just puts a +1/+1 counter on each of our creatures, as we're not often going to win through combat. It's certainly not a bad thing, as having a beefier board of creatures is never bad, but we're often aiming to win through noncombat damage.

Hawkeye's BowHawkeye's Bow - Fire Score of 3.96

This one-drop Equipment basically allows Ragost to ping our opponents for four damage instead of three. That cuts the number of activations of our commander needed for victory from 14 to 10! We'll, of course, have other pingers like Weftstalker ArdentWeftstalker Ardent that contribute to our game plan. But, this Equipment does a good bit to accelerate our clock.

This Equipment doesn't have many good creatures in our list to attach itself to other than our commander, so pilots should be aware that putting the Bow on Ragost will likely attract opposing removal.

What's Icy for Ragost Decks?

LifelinkLifelink - Ice Score of -1.12

This one-mana enchantment allows Ragost to gain us life whenever they ping our opponents, creating a simple way to untap our commander. This combination of cards will let us gain 27 life per turn rotation, assuming we've got and three artifacts lying around to activate our commander's ability. That's fantastic, and can really let us run away with the game.

But, much like Hawkeye's BowHawkeye's Bow, this enchantment puts a sizable target on our commander's back. Lifelink will go directly to the graveyard once Ragost is removed, and pilots that are cutting this card have likely become frustrated by this fact. Basilisk CollarBasilisk Collar is a nice replacement, as the Equipment will stick around even if Ragost doesn't.

Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum - Ice Score of -1.12

The Sad Robot is not a very good card. It does a little bit of everything we want, and is even a good sacrifice target for our commander, but is a lot to ask for a basic land on the field and a card in our hand.

I'd rather play Ichor WellspringIchor Wellspring and Mycosynth WellspringMycosynth Wellspring than this card. Solemn Simulacrum just isn't good enough anymore.

Toggo, Goblin WeaponsmithToggo, Goblin Weaponsmith - Ice Score of -1.11

It's neat to make some disposable artifacts whenever we play a land, but Ragost decks aren't exactly vomiting lands onto the field. Pilots would rather ramp with Treasure tokens than lands, so Toggo will probably make less than half a dozen Rock tokens over the course of a game.

While Toggo is great in his own list, he's an easy cut from a Boros deck like this one.

Apothecary WhiteApothecary White - Ice Score of -1.10

It's interesting to see Apothecary White declining in popularity, because it seems like exactly the kind of card that Ragost pilots would want. It makes disposable artifact tokens, and lets us tap our artifacts to go wide and make as many blockers as our heart desires.

It's possible that this creature's mana cost of is too much to ask, but beyond that I'm puzzled! If you know why this card is seeing less play recently, please let me know in the comments.

What's in a Ragost, Deft Gastronaut Deck?

Here's a Ragost deck with all of their hot cards included and all of their cold cards excluded:

Conclusion

Kooky, off-kilter creature types are what makes Magic magic. Ragost is a neat card, but I doubt they'd be nearly as popular if they were just a Human Artificer instead of being a Lobster Citizen. Flavorful designs are good designs, and I truly hope we see more silly type lines in the future.

What's your favorite creature type combination in Magic? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll be back next week with another Fire and Ice!