Brew For Your Buck - Zhulodok on a Budget

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raccoon Rallier" href="#" target="_blank">Raccoon Rallier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://borjapindado.com/">Borja Pindado</a>)</h6>
<h1>Rally The Troops!</h1>
<p>Chuck out those dual lands because <em>The Monolith</em>, the series in which I try to convince you that monocolored decks deserve your respect, is back! This week, it's time to do just that.</p>
<p>On our previous episode we looked through the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-where-did-all-the-monocolored-edh-decks-go">sorry stats for single colored decks</a> on EDHREC with horror, and tried to reason with their absence.</p>
<p>This week? We're being more proactive with a list of reasons why I believe monocolored decks to not only be fun and underappreciated, but also why it might be your next deck building challenge.</p>
<p>And what better way to do that than with an internet friendly numbered list? Here's why your next Commander deck should be monocolored.</p>
<h2>1. Less Is More</h2>
<p>I've always been an evangelist for the concept of restrictions breeding creativity. Outside of my <em>Magic</em> addiction I create a lot of art and design a lot of games.</p>
<p>I can say without a doubt that almost all of my best ideas came to me when I was working under a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High Noon" href="#" target="_blank">self-imposed restriction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stasis"></div></div>
<p>As we discussed in <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-where-did-all-the-monocolored-edh-decks-go">the last edition of <em>The Monolith</em></a>, modern commanders often hand out extra colors like free candy. Mono-red? Why not make it Boros(<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-rw" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) instead?</p>
<p>But when you introduce another part of the color pie into a commander's identity, a lot of the interesting questions the deck posed to you will be lost.</p>
<p>One of the classic problems with a mono-red deck is trying to remove an opponent's enchantment that's ruining your game. How do you get around that in the color that's worst at dealing with enchantments?</p>
<p>Well when you add in a color that has the best blanket removal in all of <em>Magic</em> you don't really have to think about it anymore.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Get Lost"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Banishing Light"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Generous Gift"></div></div>
<p>You miss out on the creative puzzle solving of the task. And one of the best things monocolored decks provide is a true deck building challenge from the get-go.</p>
<p>When your options are actually restricted and you don't have an obvious answer to all the classic steps of the deck building process (How do I ramp? How do I board wipe? How do I win the game?), the puzzle of picking your 99 cards is far more interesting.</p>
<h3>Creative Solutions</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom"></div></div>
<p>Here's a little example for you, and maybe a challenge for you to figure out in your own time. This is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom" href="#" target="_blank">Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a legendary shrine commander from <em>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</em>.</p>
<p>Now Shrines decks are pretty fringe as it is. There's only actually 17 Commander legal cards with the subtype. Mr. Lost Wisdom here wants us to assemble as many Shrines as possible to try and mill out your opponents on your end step.</p>
<p>But this isn't the five color <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Go-Shintai of Life&#039;s Origin" href="#" target="_blank">Go-Shintai of Life&#039;s Origin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that gives you unfiltered access to all of those cards AND the ability to create Shrine creature tokens. This is its weird, mono-blue cousin that less than 100 people have bothered to build according to EDHREC.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Honden of Seeing Winds"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sanctum of Calm Waters"></div></div>
<p>How many blue Shrine cards are there out of the aforementioned 17? Urm, three. And one of them we're already playing as a commander.</p>
<p>Okay, that's fine. How about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Amoeboid Changeling" href="#" target="_blank">Shapeshifters</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> then? They have all creature types and could count for our other Shrines on the board. The niche Typal dream lives on!</p>
<p>Well, actually no. Shrine isn't a creature type. It's an enchantment type.</p>
<p>We could maybe try cloning? Sure! Just have fun dealing with the fact that not only your commander, but also your two other Shrines are legendary. Because all Shrines are. Woof!</p>
<p>So how do you solve a problem like Lost Wisdom? <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/go-shintai-of-lost-wisdom">65 people have tried</a> before you.</p>
<h2>2. Back to Basics</h2>
<p>There's not just a benefit of challenge that comes from mono deck building, but also of simplicity. Let's be honest, there are a lot of cards in <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>. Sometimes it feels like too many.</p>
<p>When you open yourself up to more colors, you also open yourself up to more options. But that's a double-edged sword in <em>Magic's </em>massive card pool, especially for new players.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ad Nauseam"></div></div>
<p>The risk of analysis paralysis is real, and if you're a glutton for leaving half built decks around gathering dust then you may enjoy the freedom of a mono-mindset.</p>
<p>If it's got a gold border or doesn't match your commander's identity, it might as well not exist. Strip down your short-list and get that deck playable.</p>
<h2>3. The Simplest Mana Base You'll Ever Build</h2>
<p>It's not just a glut of card options you'll be cutting down on but also your time fixing mana. I don't know about you, but assembling a pile of lands to power my EDH decks is always an annoying final hurdle when it comes to finishing off my latest 99.</p>
<p>Sometimes I'll have all but finished building my decks, but there's a third of it sat as empty sleeves as I try and figure out a cheap and effective way to handle the multiple color costs I'll be using in the game.</p>
<p>Not to mention the rising cost in keeping multiple constructed decks with similar mana costs. Grabbing a single <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scalding Tarn" href="#" target="_blank">Scalding Tarn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> won't break the bank but if a whole heap of your decks require decent access to red and blue mana that cost might stack up. Not so in a mono deck. Game night is tonight? Chuck me 36 mountains and I'm good to go.</p>
<p>That's not to say you can't dip into the pile of non-basics to power up your mana base though. On the contrary, your lack of required mana fixing means that you can have even more utility lands at your disposal than the average deck.</p>
<p>As long as you draw a basic or two, you'll get the color you need to cast every spell in your deck. That means drawing a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rogue&#039;s Passage" href="#" target="_blank">Rogue&#039;s Passage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn&#039;s Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Karn&#039;s Bastion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> won't have you grumbling as you desperately root for a triome. The odds of you holding a spell you can't cast in hand are near zero.</p>
<p>There's plenty of lands that'll reward you for sticking to a single color in your deck as well, including those that synergize with the quantity of basics you've got on board or those that check your commander's color identity:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="War Room"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Oran-Rief, the Vastwood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cabal Coffers"></div></div>
<h2>4. Punish the Gluttons</h2>
<p>A glut of nonbasic lands that easily and reliably deliver any color you might need for very little downside in <em>Magic's </em>land pool has led to an incredibly small amount of actual basic lands making up the mana base of the average player's deck.</p>
<p>Even at precon level, there's enough dual or higher colored lands available for not very much money that you won't see a basic mountain very often. But, what if they were all mountains?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Moon"></div></div>
<p>Now I of course would never advocate for land destruction or hate in a casual game of Commander. It certainly won't win you any friends.</p>
<p>But I know that those who would immediately turn their nose up at mono decks due to their perceived lack of competitive power in comparison to your opponents are always looking for ways to get the upper hand over their pod.</p>
<p>Mono decks unlock the powerful but controversial strategy of punishing your opponents for playing too many non-basic lands.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Back to Basics"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Burning Earth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dryad Sophisticate"></div></div>
<p>One of the most common responses to my original question of '<a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-where-did-all-the-monocolored-edh-decks-go">Where did all the monocolored decks go?</a>', was that whilst building in mono makes for a fun restriction it doesn't rewards players enough to voluntarily miss out on more cards.</p>
<p>If you're willing to bear a little hate at your table though, there can be a pretty significant advantage to avoiding lands with rules text.</p>
<h3>Mono Mechanics</h3>
<p>You don't have to dip into the Stax dark side to seek a competitive advantage for your mono decks though. Whilst I do think <em>Wizards </em>would do the game a favor by printing more of their ilk, there are cards and mechanics in <em>Magic's </em>repertoire that specifically ask you to stick to a color to reap the most benefit from them.</p>
<p>Devotion is a great example both in mechanical workings <em>and </em>flavor as it specifically rewards you for flooding your board with the same color of pip in your mana costs.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gray Merchant of Asphodel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heliod, Sun-Crowned"></div></div>
<p>There's also <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cauldron&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">Determined</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that acts like a kicker cost in which the kicker is pumping enough of the right colored mana into your generic casting cost.</p>
<p>Or take a look at cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Throne of Eldraine" href="#" target="_blank">Throne of Eldraine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heraldic Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Heraldic Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that give specific bonuses to a single color of spell or permanent.</p>
<p>If you want to meet in the middle a little, you can also just use your monocolored status to turn symmetrical effects into ones that only hurt your opponents:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sunspine Lynx"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ravnica at War"></div></div>
<h2>5. Stand Out From the Crowd</h2>
<p>A final reason that matters most importantly to me is my innate hipster status. It's a tough life to lead but the more popular something gets, the less interested I tend to be in partaking in it.</p>
<p>I've always liked to play off-meta and strike my own path. The higher up a commander is in the rankings of most played, the more my brain shies away from wanting to play with it.</p>
<p>In my humble opinion, Commander as a format is one of the most personalized ways to play a card game that exists today. Almost every single card in <em>Magic's </em>history at your disposal and you picked this deck to play. This legendary creature to helm it. This strategy to take to the table.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Timmy, Power Gamer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spike, Tournament Grinder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Johnny, Combo Player"></div></div>
<p>Maybe it's the flavor of the card that drew you in, or the archetype it fits into. Perhaps this card has a special place in your heart from hours and hours of RCQs or warm memories of kitchen table <em>Magic </em>with friends. Maybe you just thought the art was cool or the combos it can produce are super busted.</p>
<p>But if there's one response I would always raise a skeptical eyebrow to when I ask why you built your Commander deck it'd be, "Well everyone else is playing it".</p>
<h3>Go Against the Grain</h3>
<p>As players en masse decide that mono decks are old-fashioned in a world where you can have a dual land never once come in untapped, I ask you to join me in proving them wrong.</p>
<p>Grab an unloved legendary that, "would have been playable if they added blue" and show the world there's life in these mono veins yet. If not for power then to build something truly unique.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thrun, the Last Troll"></div></div>
<p>Thanks for reading this week's edition of <em>The Monolith</em>! Let me know what reasons you think players should bear in mind when deciding if they should grab a mono deck. Maybe even list your favorite mono strategies! Don't forget to join us next week for more mono leaning madness.</p>


5 Reasons Why Your Next Commander Deck Should be Monocolored

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Katilda and Lier" href="#" target="_blank">Katilda and Lier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/justynadura">Justyna Dura </a></h6>
<p>Welcome back to <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>! This is a series where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the “bottom of the barrel.” This means that we look at the least played color-combinations and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around!</p>
<p>Today's episode is inspired by Saffron Olive over at MTGGoldfish - more specifically, inspired around a list he built for an episode of Commander Clash. The list itself seems strange, but he tried to sell it as "simic burn", and that gave me an idea.</p>
<p>Looking at the "burn" theme in EDHREC, to no one's surprise, Mono-red is the most popular color combination (with a whopping 22,000 decks!).</p>
<p>I really scraped the "bottom of the barrel" for this one because the least played color combination has 5 decks! Bant (green, white, and blue) is the least played color combination for the "burn" theme, and that makes a lot of sense. These three colors don't really care about dealing direct damage at all.</p>
<p>I'm sure you're wondering, "how can you build burn without red??"</p>
<p>Well, let me show you!</p>
<p>For our "burn without red" strategy, we will be enlisting the help of Katilda and Lier.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Katilda and Lier"></div></div>
<p>Katilda and Lier is a relatively overlooked commander from <em>March of the Machine</em>, and I can see why. The card itself asks for the player to focus equally on Humans AND instant and sorcery spells, which can be kind of tricky.</p>
<p>For today's deck, our major sources of burn are cards that we can flashback with Katilda and Lier in the late game, so this seemed like the perfect choice!</p>
<p>Unlike our usual explorations into the "bottom of the barrel", today's categories start with 3 specific gameplans with their own unique finishers.</p>
<h2>Category #1: "Swamps"</h2>
<p>When searching for cards that dealt damage, I came across a ridiculous card with a great name: Karma.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Karma"></div></div>
<p>Karma made me think about committing a cardinal sin in commander (in my eyes, anyway): running Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in a deck that <em>doesn't have black.</em></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth"></div></div>
<p>Urborg turns on Karma, which is one of the funniest interactions I have ever seen. Leaning into this idea, I added cards to find Urborg in many different ways (Expedition Map, Sylvan Scrying, and Pir's Whim are the main examples of this).</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Expedition Map"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sylvan Scrying"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pir&#039;s Whim"></div></div>
<p>Alongside Karma, Stern Judge does something similar, but we need to be very careful that we don't accidentally die from activating its ability.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stern Judge"></div></div>
<h2>Category #2: Deserts</h2>
<p>This category is inspired by Saffron Olive, especially because we are focusing on 3 deserts in particular: Lonely Arroyo, Lush Oasis, and Creosote Heath.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lonely Arroyo"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lush Oasis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Creosote Heath"></div></div>
<p>When these deserts enter, they deal 1 damage to an opponent, which is not nearly enough to win the game. This is why we are running every possible "copy land" effect that we can!</p>
<p>Doppelgang lets us pump our mana into copying any problematic permanent our opponents' may control, as well as copy our deserts; Replication Technique lets us copy any permanent we control and demonstrate it to make friends at the table.</p>
<p>Orvar, the All Form turns any "target" spells into ways to copy any of our permanents; Moritte of the Frost can copy any permanent we control.</p>
<p>For the Common Good allows to copy any tokens we already control (this is particularly great after a huge Doppelgang!); and Copy Land, well, copies a land.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doppelgang"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Replication Technique"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orvar, the All-Form"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Moritte of the Frost"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="For the Common Good"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Copy Land"></div></div>
<p>One of the best cards to enhance our "desert" strategy is Ancient Greenwarden, as it doubles the ETB effects of all lands we control while letting us recur any lands that go to our graveyard.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ancient Greenwarden"></div></div>
<h2>Category #3: "General" Burn</h2>
<p>In order for us to have any chance of winning outside of our first 2 gameplans, we need to deal damage in unique ways. For this reason, I am including cards like Scrawling Crawler to deal damage when our opponents draw cards; Storm Seeker to punish any greedy blue players; Ankh of Mishra to deal damage when lands enter the battlefield (be careful with this one!); and Jinxed Choker and Squallmonger to provide excellent mana sinks.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scrawling Crawler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Storm Seeker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ankh of Mishra"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jinxed Choker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Squallmonger"></div></div>
<h2>Category #4: Recursion</h2>
<p>Recursion is necessary to our strategy, as our pieces are mostly single-use spells or easily-destroyed permanents. With this in mind, I included things like Skullwinder to get something back while currying favor with an opponent; The Mirari Conjecture to get back instants and sorceries while providing an amazing way to copy a haymaker; Archaeomancer to pull double duty, as it gets back a spell while triggering our commander's ability; Lier, Disciple of the Drowned to give every instant or sorcery flashback <em>and</em> turn off unwanted counterspells; and Bala Ged Recovery to recur anything while acting as a land in a pinch.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skullwinder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Mirari Conjecture"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archaeomancer"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lier, Disciple of the Drowned"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bala Ged Recovery"></div></div>
<h2>Category #5: "Secret Spice" = Our Finishers</h2>
<p>If you look at my decklist below, you'll notice that I have <em>filled</em> this deck with ramp spells, as well as a staggering 40 lands. This is because of the deck's main finishers, and today's "secret spice": Hurricane, Squall Line, and Borrowing the East Wind.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hurricane"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Squall Line"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Borrowing the East Wind"></div></div>
<p>These are green's version of the "X Mana Burn Spells", but they aren't nearly as good because they damage <em>each player</em>. These spells really feel like we're "playing with fire" with this deck, and if that doesn't capture the spirit of burn, what does?</p>
<h2>Closing Thoughts</h2>
<p data-slot-rendered-content="true">Overall, this deck was a really fun thought experiment that turned into one of my jankiest brews yet! I can't wait to see the reactions from the table when I pull out a "non-red burn deck"!</p>
<p data-slot-rendered-content="true">This brings us to the end of our fifth edition of <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>! I hope you enjoyed exploring a lesser-played color-combination in the world of burn!</p>
<p>Check out my decklist below!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bottom of the Barrel - Katilda and Lier" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Katilda and Lier
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Ancient Greenwarden
*1 Archaeomancer
*1 Cathar Commando
*1 Eternal Witness
*1 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
*1 Moritte of the Frost
*1 Nyxbloom Ancient
*1 Orvar, the All-Form
*1 Scrawling Crawler
*1 Shefet Monitor
*1 Skullwinder
*1 Snapcaster Mage
*1 Spellseeker
*1 Squallmonger
*1 Stern Judge
*1 Venser, Shaper Savant
*1 Wizards of Thay
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary
*1 Borrowing the East Wind
*1 Dance of the Tumbleweeds
*1 Doppelgang
*1 Explore
*1 Farseek
*1 For the Common Good
*1 Hour of Promise
*1 Hurricane
*1 Map the Frontier
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Open the Way
*1 Pir&#039;s Whim
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Replication Technique
*1 Rootcast Apprenticeship
*1 Solve the Equation
*1 Sylvan Scrying
*1 Three Visits
*1 Urban Evolution
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Enlightened Tutor
*1 Growth Spiral
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Obscuring Haze
*1 Planar Genesis
*1 Squall Line
*1 Storm Seeker
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Amulet of Vigor
*1 Ankh of Mishra
*1 Expedition Map
*1 Jinxed Choker
*1 Shadowspear
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Copy Land
*1 Desert Warfare
*1 Karma
*1 Mirari&#039;s Wake
*1 Psychic Possession
*1 Spelunking
*1 The Mirari Conjecture
*1 Unbound Flourishing
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Arid Archway
*1 Bountiful Promenade
*1 Breeding Pool
*1 Command Tower
*1 Conduit Pylons
*1 Creosote Heath
*1 Desert of the Indomitable
*1 Desert of the Mindful
*1 Desert of the True
*1 Echoing Deeps
*1 Field of the Dead
*5 Forest
*1 Guildless Commons
*1 Hashep Oasis
*1 Ipnu Rivulet
*3 Island
*1 Lazotep Quarry
*1 Littjara Mirrorlake
*1 Lonely Arroyo
*1 Lush Oasis
*1 Maze of Ith
*1 Mirrorpool
*2 Plains
*1 Rejuvenating Springs
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Shefet Dunes
*1 Spara&#039;s Headquarters
*1 Sunscorched Desert
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Thespian&#039;s Stage
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
*1 Urza&#039;s Cave
*1 Vesuva
[/Lands]"></span></div>


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<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damia, Sage of Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Damia, Sage of Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.steveargyle.com/">Steve Argyle</a>)</h6>
<h1>Technically Playable - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damia, Sage of Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Damia, Sage of Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h1>
<p>Welcome to <em>Technically Playable</em>, where our mission statement is "Every commander is <em>Technically</em> playable" (the best kind of playable).</p>
<p>The way this works is every article will have a commander generated using EDHREC's random button, I'll talk through the card and then write about how we can build around it!</p>
<p>This week's random commander is <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Damia, Sage of Stone"></div></div></p>
<h2>Damia - 2011 Version</h2>
<p>The year is 2011,<em> Game of Thrones</em> dominates pop culture, there is another royal wedding, and the <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/cmd">Commander 2011</a> product is released.</p>
<p>With it comes some of the formats all-time favorite commanders, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaalia of the Vast" href="#" target="_blank">Kaalia of the Vast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (21,523 decks), <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animar, Soul of Elements" href="#" target="_blank">Animar, Soul of Elements</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (16,269 decks) and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zedruu the Greathearted" href="#" target="_blank">Zedruu the Greathearted</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (7,551 decks).</p>
<p>Among these decks was <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damia, Sage of Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Damia, Sage of Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the topic of today's <em>Technically Playable</em>.</p>
<p>Damia was an interesting commander at the time, seven mana for a card with no immediate impact seems fairly weak in today's Commander landscape, but 14 years ago the ability to refill your hand every turn was incredibly powerful.</p>
<p>Games went longer and some colour combinations were not as versatile as they are now meaning you were able to keep Damia alive fairly easily until your next upkeep.</p>
<p>Then, you would draw into more ways to protect Damia and then rinse and repeat until you hit something like the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadeye Navigator" href="#" target="_blank">Deadeye Navigator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Palinchron" href="#" target="_blank">Palinchron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> combo.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kaalia of the Vast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Animar, Soul of Elements"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zedruu the Greathearted"></div></div>
<p>If you look at Damia's EDHREC page, now it's dominated by cards that were not around when she was first released, but there are still some powerhouses that would have been in early iterations of the deck.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of these, seeing a dip in usage around 2013 when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prophet of Kruphix" href="#" target="_blank">Prophet of Kruphix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was legal but becoming more popular after the power of the Prophet became so obvious.</p>
<p>You can even build your own <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prophet of Kruphix" href="#" target="_blank">Prophet of Kruphix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> alongside cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leyline of Anticipation" href="#" target="_blank">Leyline of Anticipation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></p>
<p>Back in 2011, Sultai was definitely one of the most popular, powerful and common colour combinations. It gave you immense access to ramp in the form of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampant Growth" href="#" target="_blank">Rampant Growth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama&#039;s Reach" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama&#039;s Reach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Counterspell" href="#" target="_blank">Counterspell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s for protection, powerful finishers like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grave Titan" href="#" target="_blank">Grave Titan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and post-2014 utility from the delve cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dig Through Time" href="#" target="_blank">Dig Through Time</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tasigur, the Golden Fang" href="#" target="_blank">Tasigur, the Golden Fang</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Access to all of these tools meant you were able to get ahead of the table, protect yourself and easily close out games without much trouble.</p>
<p>But Damia wasn't just good with general utility cards, there were some that worked particularly well with her ability. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forbid" href="#" target="_blank">Forbid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was an incredibly powerful counterspell, allowing you to discard cards for the buyback ability and then drawing back up to seven every turn with Damia, meaning that you could soft lock your opponents from casting spells as long as you had the mana to pay for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forbid" href="#" target="_blank">Forbid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>This also played into the delve strategies to play incredibly powerful cards for cheap by discarding them and also allowing you to play expensive creatures like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur" href="#" target="_blank">Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sheoldred, Whispering One" href="#" target="_blank">Sheoldred, Whispering One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> by discarding them and using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reanimate" href="#" target="_blank">Reanimate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animate Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Animate Dead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to get them into play ahead of curve.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seedborn Muse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tasigur, the Golden Fang"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur"></div></div>
<h2>Damia - 2025 Version</h2>
<p>In 2025 Damia looks <em>very</em> different. The power level of cards now has almost eclipsed the majority of cards from when Damia was released.</p>
<p>There are a handful of cards that are still incredibly powerful like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Drain" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Drain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seedborn Muse" href="#" target="_blank">Seedborn Muse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> since there haven't been cards printed that fill in the same niche, but in terms of general power level cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are just simply better than their counterparts.</p>
<p>While some win conditions remain the same such as using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forbid" href="#" target="_blank">Forbid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to fuel powerful reanimation spells like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Living Death" href="#" target="_blank">Living Death</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> the sheer card draw from Damia works very well with finding combo pieces to create a one-tun win with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or even grinding a game out until you can win with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jace, Wielder of Mysteries" href="#" target="_blank">Jace, Wielder of Mysteries</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>If you're looking to reanimate creatures to win, while old powerhouses like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jin-Gitaxias, Core-Augur" href="#" target="_blank">Jin-Gitaxias, Core-Augur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are still totally viable, we can also use cards like Jin's newer version, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant" href="#" target="_blank">Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Koma, Cosmos Serpent" href="#" target="_blank">Koma, Cosmos Serpent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to end games very quickly.</p>
<p>But my choice of Sultai win condition will always be to make a ton of mana and drop a huge <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Villainous Wealth" href="#" target="_blank">Villainous Wealth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa&#039;s Oracle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Living Death"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Villainous Wealth"></div></div>
<p>The biggest changes are in the utility cards. Damia not having an immediate impact is a huge downside and since she has to survive until your next upkeep you need to be able to protect here for an entire turn cycle.</p>
<p>If you play Damia as a control deck that looks to control the board until landing Damia and then refuelling your hand constantly you may be able to make it to the next turn.</p>
<p>One very powerful option for this is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hullbreaker Horror" href="#" target="_blank">Hullbreaker Horror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which allows you to return both your opponents spells and any creatures they manage to resolve by casting something yourself.</p>
<p>This works amazingly with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Negation" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Negation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> which you can cast for free to counter a spell and bounce a creature, or with buyback cards that you can cast repeatedly to keep your opponent's boards clear.</p>
<p>Even cards as recently as <em>Bloomburrow</em> are finding their way into Damia decks. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glarb, Calamity&#039;s Augur" href="#" target="_blank">Glarb, Calamity&#039;s Augur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an amazing way to get a ton of value out of a deck that plays a little slower and aims to grind out a win in the late game.</p>
<p>This kind of "4-cost matters" effect is fairly prevalent in some recent sets and even opens the door for using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keruga, the Macrosage" href="#" target="_blank">Keruga, the Macrosage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a ton of value as the game progresses.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hullbreaker Horror"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glarb, Calamity&#039;s Augur"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Keruga, the Macrosage"></div></div>
<p>The beauty of a colour combination like Sultai is that it opens a lot of doors to different strategies and play styles to fit what you most enjoy.</p>
<p>Want to ramp into big creatures like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Koma, World-Eater" href="#" target="_blank">Koma, World-Eater</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? Go ahead. Want to combo out with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thassa&#039;s Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>? You do you (but not in a pod with me, please).</p>
<p>If getting back into Warhammer has taught me anything, it's that while it may seem like the "meta" of a format may tell you what you <em>should</em> be playing it's important to focus on playing what <strong>you</strong> like and want to play and not necessarily what is "good".</p>
<p>As with all <em>Technically Playable</em> articles, this was a very quick look at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damia, Sage of Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Damia, Sage of Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a commander, and a few of the cards that can really make a deck with Damia as the commander tick.</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments below if you play <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damia, Sage of Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Damia, Sage of Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, if you want to build a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Damia, Sage of Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Damia, Sage of Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck, or even if you just enjoyed this article!</p>


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