EphemerateEphemerate | Art by Bastien Lecouffe Deharme

Greetings and salutations, mad brewers from around the world. I'm Arnaud, and I'm very happy to start a new series I like to call Inside Out. 

The premise is rather simple: take an archetype, find the least played color combination for it, and try brewing a deck that respects the spirit as much as possible.

The ones among you who've been around for a while may remember the most excellent Do Your Worst from Philomène Gratien.

It's been three years since the series ended, and since I found the concept really fun, I reached out to Philomène, who agreed to let me take over where she left off. There will, however, be a few differences with her work.

First, I will forego anything with three or more colors, as these are likely to include at least part of the staples in the chosen archetype.

Second, I will not revisit any commander, and ideally color combination she already covered, as this would be rather redundant.

Third, I will try to make a parallel, whenever applicable, to what she wrote about three years ago.

Right then, let's move to the actual brew. For this first iteration, I've decided to go with Blink.

Blink is a rather popular archetype, ranking #25 in the list of EDHREC's tags.

Before moving on to the actual build, let's have a look at the most popular colors:

• Azorius (): 8.4K decks, with the most popular commanders being Brago, King Eternal (1.8K decks), Niko, Light of Hope (1.6K), and Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward/Candlekeep Sage (1K).
• Mono- : 3.9K decks, with the most popular commanders being Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines (803 decks), Preston, the Vanisher (664), and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd (621).
• Orzhov (): 2.2K decks, with the most popular commanders being Ketramose, the New Dawn (524 decks), Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar (304), and Abigale, Eloquent First-Year (239).

At the other end of the scale, we get:

• Mono-: 59 decks
• Colorless: 56 decks
• Golgari (): 28 decks

So, the task is set. I initially wanted to go with Golgari, but since Philomène's paper on this archetype focused on Mono-, I'll take another route, lest our brews end up being too similar.

Instead, let's try going full colorless.

So What is Blink Actually?

As much as I'd like to dive into the card pool headfirst, I think the elephantelephant in the room needs to be addressed.

Blink refers to the action of getting a permanent to be exiled from the battlefield, and then it returning immediately. Flicker is very similar: exile something, but return it at a later time, usually the next end step.

This is a rather popular mechanic for a number of reasons.

First, it can be used to trigger anew any enter-the-battlefield effects. As the exiled permanents will effectively re-enter, their abilities will trigger again.

This is usually what people have in mind when building a blink deck: accrue a lot of value by repeatedly triggering EtB effects, swarming the board with stuff and gorging yourself with cards in the process.

Second, it's a great way to either dodge a bullet, or turn a regular board wipe into an asymmetrical massacre. Cards like GhostwayGhostway or Eerie InterludeEerie Interlude are excellent in most such builds.

With all this in mind, there's one commander that fits the bill rather well: Golden ArgosyGolden Argosy.

The rules change introduced with Edge of Eternities allowed using a Vehicle as a commander, and I'm surprised this one still only has 395 decks to its name – of which a puny teeny tiny 36 focused on Blink – at the time of writing.

Let's talk strategy.

First Brick – Blinking outlets

Let's be clear: blink outlets in colorless are few and far between, and I believe that without such an outlet in the command zone, it would be almost impossible to build both something playable and faithful to the idea.

This Golden ArgosyGolden Argosy opens the way to some spicy plays.

Truth be told, I was actually rather pleasantly surprised. While this is no territory, there are more outlets than I initially thought there would be.

Let's begin first with the commander, probably the best blinking outlet in the whole brew. Its Crew cost is dirt cheap, and it can basically flicker your entire board whenever it attacks.

I also like its rather sneaky nature. Aside from when it's actually crewed, it'll be a non-creature artifact the rest of the time, making it slightly more difficult for your opponents to remove.

With that being said, relying exclusively on your commander to achieve your goals is a bad idea. Once your engine gets going, it will become a juicy target for removal.

And since it has to attack to trigger its effect, it means you'll more often than not have to wait a whole rotation before doing The Thing.

In other words, you need alternative solutions to blink your stuff, possibly several at once. I've identified a few options, some excellent, some very janky.

• Sword of Hearth and HomeSword of Hearth and Home: Blink and Ramp all in one. One of the best Swords, period.
• Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet: Yes, it's only a single creature, but it triggers with the regularity of a metronome. Bear in mind it doesn't work well with the commander, as the exiled stuff won't be back by the time the Closet triggers. But it's a solid plan B nonetheless.
• Cold StorageCold Storage: This is a fun one. Pay three to exile one of your creatures, repeat ad nauseam, then sacrifice the artifact to bring them all back. Granted, four mana to cast and three more to activate is a hefty price to pay. But it's also a neat way to avoid a pesky removal spell, or even make sure your most precious trinkets dodge a board wipe.
• Endless SandsEndless Sands: Works pretty much like Cold Storage, but it's limited to a single activation per turn, and the payoff is more expensive. On the other hand, it's a land, so there's literally no drawback in playing it.
• Safe HavenSafe Haven and Northampton FarmNorthampton Farm: Same.
• Eldrazi ConfluenceEldrazi Confluence: Blink three things for ? Yes please!
• Colfenor's UrnColfenor's Urn: Not 100% blink, yet true to its spirit. There will be several valuable targets in the final brew, and this can ensure they return to the fray... assuming no one destroys it before it can trigger.
• Gerrard's Hourglass PendantGerrard's Hourglass Pendant: Yes, it requires you to keep four mana up. But it's also a great board wipe denial.
• HelvaultHelvault: I'm a bit torn on this one, as it requires an extra step. You need a way to get it out of the board to work its magic. Aside from that, it's cheap and reliable.
• PortcullisPortcullis: This one is mean. Efficient, but mean. I'm not sure Stax has any legitimate spot in a janky Bracket 2 deck.
• Voyager StaffVoyager Staff and Synod SanctumSynod Sanctum: Yes they're one-of effects. But they're also cheap and efficient.

I would also have considered Tawnos's CoffinTawnos's Coffin, were it not for its hefty $123 price tag.

And I suppose that, for the sake of completeness, I should mention Time Machine, although I've yet to find a way to make this actually work...

Second Brick – Payoffs

About ten-ish blinking outlets, one of which in the command zone, should be more than adequate for your needs.

The next step is what to actually blink. Fortunately, that's the easy part. There are currently 191 colorless creatures with the word enters, which should be more than enough for our needs.

There are basically two categories here: veggies, and payoffs.

Let's do the latter first. These are outlets that will allow you to take the victory home. You want stuff that can hold its own, but also provides interesting effects when entering, so you use and abuse that turn after turn.

The most obvious options in the room are the big boys.

You need damage to kill people, and you need creatures to deal damage. These three boys will generate wave after wave of tokens with your commander. The Gunship might require a bit more work, but the tokens it provides are also better in every aspect.

Of course, three massive bodies are but a drop in a 100-card deck, so you need to beef this section a bit more:

• Anticausal VestigeAnticausal Vestige: A rather recent outlet, and one that cares about leaving the battlefield rather than entering. Nevertheless, it's a solid body with card draw and cheaty plays all in one. And it virtually costs .
• Canoptek Scarab SwarmCanoptek Scarab Swarm: Not the best in all scenarios, but if one of your opponents relies on filling their graveyard, this will swarm the board in a jiffy.
• HexavusHexavus: Not a massive EtB, but being able to give flying to your creatures is no slouch, and it can then reabsorb them to become massive during a subsequent turn.
• PentavusPentavus: Mana intensive, yes, but also generates a bunch of annoying flyers.
• Precursor GolemPrecursor Golem: Two more golems a pop. Granted, it's a bit fragile, but it's also a very fun card, period.

Third Brick – Veggies

Let's now have a look at the veggies. For those of you not savvy in the Magic jargon, these include ramp, card draw, removal, and board wipes.

While I'm not going to list each and every card in these categories, I'd like to focus on their nature.

Colorless creatures that draw you cards on EtB are rather far and between, and I've stretched the definition a bit by including the various critters that fetch you a basic land upon entering.

However, the possibility to blink them repeatedly makes up for their scarcity. Getting one more card and a land to hand once is not great. Getting those on each of your turns is another story altogether.

Sandstone OracleSandstone Oracle is probably the MVP in this category, as it will usually refill your hand quicker than you can say draw. Circuit MenderCircuit Mender and SkyscannerSkyscanner are both cheap and efficient.

And then there are a few other outlets here and there that don't rely on blink to shine. Canoptek SpyderCanoptek Spyder is a masterpiece in that regard.

Removal in colorless is usually both scarce and expensive. I've decided to focus more on repeatable effects. While the first two are classics, Nautiloid Ship can be seen both as a card advantage engine and a way to remove those pesky graveyards. Just bear in mind that if you blink it, the exiled cards will be gone for good.

Board wipes are also rather lackluster, but efficient. All Is DustAll Is Dust is the best asymetrical wipe for colorless decks, and the more recent Selective ObliterationSelective Obliteration will lead to excruciating decision-making.

Finally, despite costing a hefty , I wanted to include Extinguisher BattleshipExtinguisher Battleship, which can easily turn into a massive beater.

The ramp package finally is rather hefty (18 spells), as is the land base (38). Again, there's no real point in detailing everything.

Instead, I'd like to show you this:

The mana curve in this deck is rather high, so you need to make sure you hit each and every land drop you can, and ideally a two-mana rock, to cast your ship a turn earlier.

Also, the more payoffs you can cast and use to crew the Golden ArgosyGolden Argosy in a single turn, the better the wow effect.

Final Brick – The Rest

There are still a few cards left to cover, all jumbled in a Misc. section:

• Amulet of VigorAmulet of Vigor: Yes, I know, it's frigging pricey. I wouldn't fault you not to include it. But being able to bring all your stuff untapped means you won't be left without any protection.
• Atraxa's SkitterfangAtraxa's Skitterfang: It gives evasion, lifegain or turns a token into a removal spell. And then you can reset it easily with your commander. A great Swiss-Army Knife.
• Echoes of EternityEchoes of Eternity and PanharmoniconPanharmonicon: Blinking twice is useless, as the second trigger will fizzle. But getting double activation on all EtBs is no slouch.
• Eldritch ImmunityEldritch Immunity: The closest you get to a decent protection spell.
• Glaring FleshrakerGlaring Fleshraker: Yes, you can play Aristocrats in colorless!

All this leads to:

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this new version of the Great Philomène's concept.

I'd love to hear your opinion on this renewal. Do you like the idea and the deck that emerged? Do you want more? What Archetype should I tackle next?

Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you next month!