Nurturing Pixie: The Best One Drop You Aren't Playing

Nurturing Pixie | Art by Iris Compiet

Hey nerds! I've been playing quite a bit of Canadian Highlander lately, and a new deck popped up recently featuring Nurturing Pixie — a card that was an absolute menace alongside Tithing Blade and Hopeless Nightmare. This concept even broke into Pauper thanks to Glint Hawk.

If it breaks two formats, why not a third? I firmly believe Pixie is an underexplored archetype in Commander. Between white's redundant Pixie effects and how cheap powerful ETB effects (enters-the-battlefield) on permanents have gotten, there's a ton of room to brew. So let's break down what makes Pixie good.

Exploring Nurturing Pixie

For starters, Pixie is a one-mana flyer with no downside. We've seen a similar effect on Shrieking Drake back in Visions. Unlike Drake, Pixie is a may trigger, it can return any nonland permanent, and if you do, it's actually a 2/2 flyer.

This normally wouldn't be an issue, but when combined with effects like Hopeless Nightmare it can be crippling. You're ripping your opponents' hands apart and chipping away their life totals. Sometimes multiple times in a single turn. Cards like Hopeless Nightmare are essentially sorceries that stick around, so being able to replay their effect can add up over the course of a game.

The Case for Underutilization

Pixie is only showing up in 0.11% of white decks. Of all the available commanders, God-Eternal Oketra has the most Pixie representation at 24% inclusion. But that's still a measly ~600 decks. This number is criminally low, especially given the power of Oketra.

However, that isn't the most surprising part. Alela, Artful Provocateur is one of the best commanders for Pixie and it's only included in 1.9% of decks. Pixie's effect is exactly what Alela is looking for. It's a cheap flying creature that can bounce artifacts and enchantments to recast.

Zinnia, Valley's Voice is another case where I'm surprised to see it so low, at only 0.6%. Giving Pixie offspring means you can always return your two creatures you've already given offspring to. Sadly, Pixie can't return itself since it excludes Faeries. And Chulane, Teller of Tales wants cheap creatures to draw cards and ramp. Pixie not only provides a cheap body, but can return other cheap creatures for additional value. These are just some examples of commanders that are underplaying Pixie massively.

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Key Packages

The next section isn't meant to be exhaustive but simply showcase some cards you should consider when building a Pixie deck. I believe Pixie is best when you're building around three colors, with a focus on Orzhov then splashing for a third color.

Card Draw

Cheap and replayable artifacts are the fuel you'll need for your Pixie engine. Arcum's Astrolabe is a great one-mana artifact that replaces itself and has the ability to filter your mana. Abundant Growth is basically the same, but is an enchantment, which is great if you're looking to build Abzan Enchantress Pixie.

And this shouldn't be a surprise, but The One Ring, which is already powerful, can become a win condition in Pixie decks. It's trivial to return The One Ring to your hand turn after turn gaining protection and drawing cards. If you wanted to include a single Game Changer, this is the card I'd add.

Additional Pixie Effects

For one additional mana, there are several Pixie effects with flash. Ambrosia Whiteheart, Rescuer Chwinga, and Sunpearl Kirin can all bounce permanents to replay for additional value and act as protection for key cards.

Shepherd of the Flock is an Adventure that can return a permanent for only one mana. Aviary Mechanic and Kor Skyfisher are two-mana options without flash. Finally, Night Nurse, Healer of Heroes and Samwise the Stouthearted, while not traditional Pixie effects, are great additions to return key pieces from the graveyard.

Black Payoffs

Aside from the aforementioned Tithing Blade and Hopeless Nightmare, there are some other great black options to include. Momentum Breaker is an enchantment version of Tithing Blade, that can also have opponents discard.

Nowhere to Run is not only removal, but gets rid of hexproof and stops ward from triggering. It's a great political piece that can set up removal for another player. Sarcomancy might seem weird, but one mana for a Zombie token is cheap enough to fill up the board.

Blue Payoffs

Most of the blue payoffs don't impact the board in the same way as the black payoffs, but instead are mostly card advantage engines. Cryogen Relic draws when it enters and leaves, which is a nice upgrade from Ichor Wellspring. You can sacrifice it for a stun counter, but I'd be hesitant to do that in most situations.

The recently banned-in-Standard Stormchaser's Talent is like a blue Sarcomancy, but instead of creepy Zombies, you get cute Otters. And my secret piece of tech is Zoetic Glyph. Every time you recast it, you discover 3, which adds up over time.

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Archetype Suggestions

To begin your Pixie journey, there are three archetypes I'd suggest building first. Those being Mardu Artifacts, Abzan Enchantress, and Esper Good Stuff.

Mardu can take advantage of Goblin Welder and Goblin Engineer along with Experimental Synthesizer and some potentially larger artifacts, along with powerful removal pieces like Chainsaw and Legion Extruder. Abzan Enchantress is a great value deck that draws tons of cards and controls the board. And Esper Good Stuff just plays the best removal, card draw, and value pieces.

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Conclusion

So are you Pixie-pilled now? Do you believe in the one-drop or do you think I'm overhyping it? I'd love to hear your thoughts below. Even if Pixie doesn't fit in every deck, this is an archetype that has so much room for brewing. It might be worth increasing the mana curve to play stronger enters triggers since we have much more life to work with. But I love the low to the ground deck just taking so many game actions each turn.

The biggest issue I foresee with this deck is turn time. If you're not familiar with the lines, your turns might take a few minutes. But once you're familiar with your particular list, I don't think that'll be an issue.

Alrighty nerds, I'll see you in the next one!