Sasaya, Orochi AscendantSasaya, Orochi Ascendant | Art by Christopher Moeller

Greetings and salutations my dear brewers, and welcome to a new Trim. I'm Arnaud, and I'm thrilled to take you on a journey of abundant mana, more abundant mana, and then some abundant mana.

Before I get into the build proper, let's address the poll from last time, where I asked you whether you wanted this format to continue. Well, the answer is a vibrant and unequivocal Yes, with 86 votes (87%). A few of you took the middle path, saying you'd like to see the format evolve. To those 10, I'd love to hear what kind of evolutions you have in mind. This is by no means a template set in stone, and I'm all ears for ideas to make it better. And for the sake of completeness, three of you thought it had been around enough.

So from the bottom of my mana pool, thank you for your confidence, it really means a lot. Now, let's move on to this week's commander.

With 1,567 decks, Sasaya isn't exactly leading the pack. Ranked #1,137 overall and 46^th among mono-green options, she's barely above what one could consider a niche commander. And yet, I strongly believe she deserves much, much more love than she currently does.

Sasaya has a unique ability, and a unique plan as well: she wants to fill your hand with lands, flip over, and make insane quantities of mana thereafter. I'm talking 60 to 90-ish with the proper setup, if not more.

In case you don't feel like standing on your head to read the text for Sasaya's Essence, here it is: Whenever a land you control is tapped for mana, add an additional one mana of any type that land produced for each other land you control with the same name as it.

When I play this deck, there are two definite categories of players: those who look at it without a second glance, and those who know what the strategy is all about, and eye it carefully, with a gun cocked and ready to go off. If timed carefully, and barring any counterspells, you're bound to get a massive payoff the minute she flips over.

Let's get to work. I'll grab each and every card from both the regularregular and budget options from EDHREC, and throw them all into Archidekt.

253 cards. Hmmm, that's rather a lower total than usual. I hope this won't come back to bite further on. Let's trim.

First Trim – Cutting off the Golden Leaves

To any newcomers, a warm welcome! And to the old-timers, welcome too! This series is all about building very budget constrained decks, with no cards worth $1.11 or more, trimming massive lists of cards down to a neater 100.

First things first, let's cut every card that's above the $2 mark. There are a few outlets that would be right at home in here. I regret Helix PinnacleHelix Pinnacle in particular, because it's a hilarious way to end the game.

This leaves a puny 179 cards to work with. This is a much lower count than usual, and the bling axing is not over yet.

Before removing them, let's take a quick look at some interesting outlets in the $1.11-$2 range, just in case you'd like to ease the noose a bit:

• Praetor's CounselPraetor's Counsel: A lovely payoff. Eight mana is nothing in this deck, and this gives a great second breath to the deck.
• Animist's AwakeningAnimist's Awakening: Interesting but slightly win-more. If you have enough mana to sink into a massive X, I'm not sure you need more lands.
• Planar PortalPlanar Portal: Expensive but reusable tutor. And expensive is a loose word in here.
• Tooth and NailTooth and Nail: Classic finisher.
• Rampaging Yao GuaiRampaging Yao Guai: Another version of the classic staple Bane of ProgressBane of Progress, with vigilance and trample to boot.

This leaves the following in the $1-$1.10 range:

• AbundanceAbundance: Easily one of the best cards in the deck, guarantees that you find whichever type of card you need the most when drawing.
• Shared SummonsShared Summons: A weaker Tooth and NailTooth and Nail, but not a real issue given the amount of mana available.
• Early HarvestEarly Harvest: More mana, mooooooooooore!
• Credit VoucherCredit Voucher: Fun and underrated outlet, to tuck lands away once Sasaya has flipped.
• Eternal WitnessEternal Witness: Classic recursion outlet.
• Collective ResistanceCollective Resistance: Versatile removal and/or protection outlet.

After this initial cleanup, the list is down to 162 cards. Let's move on.

Second Trim – Curated Veggies

This is a weird situation. Usually at this stage I'm all about dissecting the cards between card advantage, ramp, removal, board wipes, and protection. I like my ramp and card draw to be in the 12-14 range, removal around six to eight, and wipes two to four.

And indeed, the figures for most of these categories are egregious:

There's a catch though. Most of the ramp package is actually going to leave. I'm reluctant to keeping anything in here that does not put lands into your hand, barring a few exceptions.

Pure draw is important, but there are actually other outlets that will complement it rather nicely. So the final count in this section may seem a bit lower than usual.

Removal, I'll keep low. The relevant options are few and far between, and this is all about getting the most explosive turn ever when you go off.

As for the land base, I kept it simple: 42 Forests. Since flipped Sasaya cares about lands with the same name, you don't want to risk lowering that count, especially since there aren't that many justifiable options to choose from in this budget.

157 cards, time to get into the more difficult choices.

Third Trim – Lands in Hand and Sparkier Finishers

Let's talk strategy for a while. The goal is rather simple:

• Assemble seven lands in hand, through various means, be it draw or dedicated spells.
• Cast Sasaya, and immediately activate her ability while holding priority, potentially reactivating it if someone tries to kill her with creature removal.
• Make up to x² mana every turn, where x is the number of Forests you control.
• Use said mana to fuel massive payoffs, and win the game.

When meeting this commander for the first time, players often recoil at the assumed difficulty of assembling seven lands in hand. However, there are several mitigating factors.

• The sheer land count. 42 is an absolute minimum for this deck. I've seen lists go even higher, up to 60 in some cases. While this may seem a bit extreme, I can see the appeal. When each and every card you draw has more than one chance in two of being a land, getting to seven is an easy task.
• The number of "Lands to Hand" cards. These are critical for the deck to work well. But to be efficient, they need to fetch at least a couple lands. I'm not a big fan of playing one-for-one outlets, since I might as well replace them with, well, more lands.

Great, you've managed to flip Sasaya. Now you need payoffs. You may have 100 mana at your disposal, but if you don't have anywhere to sink it efficiently, it won't do you any good. This is also why the list packs an uncanny number of recursion outlets. If and when your threats are managed, getting the outlets back from the graveyard allows you to rebuild in no time, and thus become the menace once more.

With that being said, cutting down cards should be a somewhat easier task (huge emphasis on the somewhat). There are currently 42 '"Lands to Hand" cards, 29 finishers, eight recursion outlets, and seven tutors.

Let's cut.

And just like that, the list is down to 110 cards. Onwards for the final cuts!

Final Trim – A Matter of Personal Taste

The title says it all folks! These final cuts are a matter of preference. There aren't really any bad choices left.

This is what I would cut:

• Silvanus's InvokerSilvanus's Invoker: I get it. If you have nine lands, you go infinite. But even in this build, that's a long way to go.
• Kamahl, Fist of KrosaKamahl, Fist of Krosa: Looks appealing on paper, but also looks like a win-more outlet to me.
• Caravan VigilCaravan Vigil, Lay of the LandLay of the Land, Renegade MapRenegade Map: All one for one. Not bad, but not great.
• Journeyer's KiteJourneyer's Kite: Soooo mana intensive!
• Timeless WitnessTimeless Witness: Slightly underwhelming compared to the other recursion outlets.
• Shared SummonsShared Summons, Primal CommandPrimal Command, and Threats UndetectedThreats Undetected: Face it, you're always going for the combo with these.

And it's done! I give you:

Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant Commander Deck List

Additional Trim – A Look Into the Past

Finally, let's have a quick look at a past Trim. Today, Odric, Lunarch MarshalOdric, Lunarch Marshal takes the test of time and...

...it's not good, not at all. There are, at the time of writing, 14 cards worth more than $1.10, some by quite a margin:

• Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares: $1.14
• Path to ExilePath to Exile: $1.15
• Hour of RevelationHour of Revelation: $1.21
• Sejiri ShelterSejiri Shelter: $1.21
• Angelic OverseerAngelic Overseer: $1.28
• Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid: $1.31
• Sol RingSol Ring: $1.31
• Spear of HeliodSpear of Heliod: $1.36
• Finale of GloryFinale of Glory: $1.40
• Endless AtlasEndless Atlas: $1.89
• Tyrite SanctumTyrite Sanctum: $2.25 (!)
• Basilisk CollarBasilisk Collar: $3.29 (!)
• Heliod, God of the SunHeliod, God of the Sun: $5.06 (!!)
• Oketra the TrueOketra the True: $7.34 (!!!)

Let's find some suitable replacements.

• Crystalline GiantCrystalline Giant: Cheap outlet, that will share his increasing abilities with the rest of the group. The randomness adds to the fun.
• Angel of InventionAngel of Invention: Three very relevant keywords, with two additional bodies to boot.
• Heraldic BannerHeraldic Banner: Boost and mana all in one.
• Mind StoneMind Stone: Draw and mana all in one.
• Brave the ElementsBrave the Elements: Some protection never hurt anyone.
• Blacksmith's SkillBlacksmith's Skill: Same as above
• On Serra's WingsOn Serra's Wings: Sure, it's an Aura, but with many, many relevant keywords.
• Precinct CaptainPrecinct Captain: An easy way to build a board presence early on.
• Kinscaer SentryKinscaer Sentry: A late addition from Lorwyn Eclipsed, and a great way to cheat in a surprise attacker. The keywords are gravy on top.
• Jackdaw SaviorJackdaw Savior: Since Odric provides flying to everyone, this means that basically any creature dying will bring something back.
• Selfless SpiritSelfless Spirit: This excellent protection outlet has never been cheaper. Finally a great card made affordable for everyone!
• Idyllic GrangeIdyllic Grange: To replace the lost land.
• 2 PlainsPlains: To bring the total to 36.

You can find the updated list here.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this journey in what mono- has best to offer: an avalanche of mana.

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the list, your own pet cards and/or win-cons, and your hidden gems.

See you in two weeks!

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