Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier | Art by Ryan Pancoast

Entering Valhalla

In this week of Commander Makeover, where we take older commanders and add recent cards to their decks, I've decided to skip around a bit. I'm doing this because this series felt like it was becoming "Kindred Makeover," and that's not the point of the series. Anyway, today, we're taking on an infamous five-color commander from only a few years ago.

There's surprisingly a number of ways to take Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier: Artifact creatures, a creature type with lots of legendary options (like Dragons), backgrounds. Even a version where every creature except Jodah has some form of partner. The point is that, as long as we've got a hefty number of legendary creatures, anything can be possible.

The ArkenstoneThe Arkenstone and The Mind StoneThe Mind Stone

While we're technically weeks, if not months, off from their respective sets coming out, I'd figure I'd cover these two anyway. The Arkenstone allows us to grab a legendary creature, then becomes a minor anthem with an end step trigger letting us draw a card. More often than not, I could see this being played strictly for the tutor effect. The rest of the card is just icing on the cake.

As for The Mind Stone, a Blink variant of Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier will definitely want this. Of course, if your name is Thanos, and you want to collect all the Infinity Stones, The Soul StoneThe Soul Stone is right up your alley, too. That being said, The Mind Stone provides a niche effect, so running it will depend on our 99. Otherwise, it'll be interesting to see what The Hobbit brings to the table.

As for Marvel Super Heroes, there are so many new cards for Jodah I'm not going to even bother covering them all (that's an article by itself), so pick and choose your favorites!

Quandrix, the ProofQuandrix, the Proof

Potentially, the value we can get from this while our commander's out is absurd. Cascade on top of pseudo-cascade is nothing to sneeze at.

However, where Quandrix begins to falter is, in order to keep cascading, we'll need to pack more instants and sorceries to maintain that value train. Not only that, but they'll need to be at a high enough mana value to even make the cascade worth it.

Tam, Mindful First-YearTam, Mindful First-Year

Her card is a strange one here, but it becomes clear why she's found a home in quite a few Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier decks. Having the ability to grant hexproof (at least to an extent) to our creatures is not too shabby.

Even Tam's tap ability ensures that the creature you target will be protected. That said, she's no Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention, so she will not save us from a board wipe. Still effective against targeted removal, though.

The SeriemaThe Seriema

This card has a lot going for it. It tutors when it enters, and, when we station it to full, we get to protect our board. However, the catch is that The Seriema will only protect our other tapped creatures, so we're incentivized to swing out completely.

Good thing we have Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier's buff to boost our combat confidence. Combined with the above card in the previous section, and we're mostly shields up. Note that The Seriema itself does not have indestructible, so it's liable to be blown up.

Anyway, who's ready for an entourage of Final Fantasy cards?

Serah FarronSerah Farron

She's frail, but make no mistake: Those abilities are really something. Serah will be incredibly easy to transform, and making our first legendary creature each turn easier to cast will matter.

Once she flips, she'll only be slightly harder to remove, but she'll grant an anthem on top of the cost reduction, making her a versatile card to run.

Venat, Heart of HydaelynVenat, Heart of Hydaelyn

Like Serah above, Venat provides a lot of value. The double white will be annoying, let alone paying a whopping seven mana to blow up something. However, for what we're getting, it's worth it. The front half alone is good, giving us a card each turn (even better with flash).

The back half is expensive to get to, but we get the draw (albeit during a different phase), and the ability to protect an attacker with both a buff and temporary indestructible.

Lightning, Army of OneLightning, Army of One

While her sister, Serah, provides value and buffs, Lightning is on the front lines, devastating creatures and opponents in her wake with a plethora of keywords that make her a deadly attacker. That, on top of her main ability makes Lightning a terrifying threat.

Under Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier's influence, she gets even more lethal. Her trigger is basically guaranteed, and any other creature swung at that opponent will receive a beating. Especially our own, considering that Lightning will hit first, triggering the ability, then regular combat damage applies, only doubled.

Clive's HideawayClive's Hideaway

I'll admit I was down on this card, but honestly? It's quite good here. It's easy to meet the requirements for casting the hideaway card. The Hideaway also takes up a land slot, which can impact colored sources, but not considerable enough to keep this off the chart.

On top of that, it's also a Town, so if our commander has a Town subtheme, then this will be worthwhile still. It just has a very niche home, but, thankfully, here is one of them.

BlitzballBlitzball

Don't let that common rarity fool you. I had included this in a Squall, SeeD MercenarySquall, SeeD Mercenary deck (it used only Final Fantasy cards), and it did work. That criterion for the activated ability is easier to achieve than people think, because it counts any legendary creature that deals combat damage to an opponent, not just our own.

Recur it repeatedly, and that's a value train. The mana production is, like an earlier card, icing on the cake.

Deadpool, Trading CardDeadpool, Trading Card

With that set out of the way, we have ourselves an interim. Deadpool has a very unique ability, and the best part is that it gets around almost every form of protection. Also, if the owner of the Deadpool'd creature sacrifices it, everyone but said owner gets a card.

On the other hand, it can just be destroyed or exiled, and no one gets the draw. Regardless, it's still a worthwhile card. Perhaps with all of the legendary creatures coming out in the Marvel sets, maybe we get a reskin of Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier to give them a home?

Havi, the All-FatherHavi, the All-Father

Turns out we have another parade of cards from one set. This time, it's Assassin's Creed! It's a much maligned set with lots of cool stuff, like Odin here. He'll very likely have indestructible much of the time, and the recursion ability makes his card a good consideration.

Also, Havi counts himself, so it's easy to get back a legendary utility piece. Writing this section, however, is also when I learned that he's a "Dreadmaw" creature (6/6 that costs six mana). Not that it matters much, but it's a neat little thing.

Basim Ibn IshaqBasim Ibn Ishaq

He's cheap to cast, so it'd be useless to drop him for our commander's pseudo-cascade, but he's also got some nifty uses.

For each historic spell (legendary, artifact, and/or Saga) we cast, we get a card, and Basim can't be blocked, so he will get bigger with each hit. Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier makes that buff largely useless, but an unblockable creature that hits like a truck will certainly scare some people.

DesynchronizationDesynchronization

Have you ever wanted to play Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rift, but want to stay within Bracket 2? Or maybe you find Rift unfair? This card is for you! I've gushed about this card and The Spear of LeonidasThe Spear of Leonidas in my Beyond the Multiverse series a fair few times, and it makes sense.

In this deck, Desynchronization is effectively a one-sided Cyclonic Rift with 100% less of the guilt, and for two mana cheaper. What's not to love?

Excalibur, Sword of EdenExcalibur, Sword of Eden

A Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier deck with an Equipment subtheme will gain mileage with this card. Giving our commander double strike equipped with this will outright kill people. Not to mention, it's going to be very cheap to cast, and two mana to equip is nothing.

Besides Jodah, I'm sure there are some other creatures worth equipping this with. Maybe we want to make Lightning, Army of OneLightning, Army of One look a lot more murder-y.

Crystal Skull, Isu SpyglassCrystal Skull, Isu Spyglass

A specific case of Future SightFuture Sight while also providing blue mana is not too shabby, especially when we save on a whole blue mana. Artifact variants will certainly enjoy this card.

That said, the best part is that we can see the top card, so we'll know what's coming when we cast a legendary spell while Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier is out.

Inducted Into the Hall of Legends

Like Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice before him, Jodah, the UnifierJodah, the Unifier is flexible enough to host a myriad of different game plans. It's just the case of which one(s) appeals to you, the deckbuilder, the most.

In any case, tune in next time when we return to our Precon Remastered series with a new entry.