(Zhuge Jin, Wu Strategist | Art by Song Shikai)

Inspiration: Least Played, but Not Terrible

Welcome to Rally the Ancestors, a series devoted to giving a modern coat of paint to classic or less-played commanders. This week we're going a little older and a little more obscure.

Let's face it, there are a lot of legendary creatures from Magic's early days that are simply not playable in 2023, but this series is about exploring the past, after all, so I thought it would be fun to push the limits of "unplayable". I came up with the question: what is the least-played commander on EDHREC that still might actually be playable? Thankfully, this is possible with a bit of help.

Scryfall has a nice feature that lets you sort your search by the cards' EDHREC ranking. In this case, I used the search query "game:paper is:commander is:old -is:funny" to give me all the cards that could be a commander, printed with the original card frame (a good proxy for screening out newer stuff), and not from an Un set. Then, I sorted by EDHREC rank, descending, to see the cards that next to nobody is playing. Now, Scryfall isn't tracking actual usage as a commander, but usage in general. Still, I figured this was a good indicator to work from.

Nope, nope, nope.

After sifting through vanilla legends and more references to landwalk abilities than I thought possible, I found this gem:

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Why Zhuge Jin?

Okay, so Zhuge Jin, Wu Strategist is overcosted for his power/toughness, but his ability is actually somewhat relevant in Commander. Are there worse cards that I could technically build with? Yeah, sure. Would I ever cast these awful commanders? Would they make for an interesting build? Mmm, probably not. Zhuge's ability to tap and make a creature unblockable actually has some utility. Commander games can often have gridlocked boards where attacking is unsafe, so a commander that can help you push damage through without worrying about overcommitting to an attack isn't so bad. While Zhuge Jin isn't the most exciting, he's far from useless.

Hopping over to Zhuge's EDHREC page, it appears that Zhuge Jin has had a whopping 10 decks in the past few years. Oof. While I can't discount the fact that Zhuge's rarity-driven price caused by being a part of the Portal Three Kingdoms set may have something to do with his low deck count, the card itself is certainly part of why. He's a bit fragile and clunky. But unplayable? No, not at all.

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Choosing a Theme

First things first, we're playing a blue commander that makes a single creature unblockable with a flick of the wrist. "Human Advisor" is his Oracle creature type, which is probably irrelevant. So what should we be trying to do? Caring about combat damage seemed like a good place to start, as did effects that give single creatures a quick power boost (Equipment, Auras, etc.). Ninjas was certainly an option, as Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow has shown that Ninjutsu can be a pretty powerful ability in this format. That said, being limited to blue might limit this strategy's effectiveness. However, blue has a lot of support for artifacts, so an Equipment strategy jumped out at me. Mono-blue Equipment? Crazy enough to work.

Also, as a Wu-Tang Clan fan, running the Wu Strategist himself, a blue card, with an Equipment theme... Liquid Swords, anyone? Anyone?!

Anyway!

This idea seemed less than ideal to me at first. While Equipment themes can certainly be powerful in Commander, mono-blue isn't exactly where my head goes right away. However, mono-blue has tons of support for artifact-driven strategies in general, so options quickly presented themselves. Several of the game's more recent sets, like Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and The Brothers' War, actually gave this strategy a lot of excellent new tools.

Just to name a few...

Then Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machine came out, giving us even more new toys.

...and a few more.

Okay, so, maybe this will be pretty good after all!

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Deck Goals

I like to try to identify what my deck is trying to do up front before searching for cards. In this case, I want to:

1. Put together an Equipment package that offers utility and plenty of additional damage.
2. Have a few creatures that benefit from combat damage triggers to maximize the use of Zhuge Jin's ability.
3. Not focus too hard on my commander; he's useful but not strong enough to be the sole focus of the deck.
4. Take advantage of blue's inherent strengths: other colors and combinations (looking at you, Boros) may do Equipment themes better, so how do we make this feel like a blue deck? I'm thinking artifact synergy and tutors, drawing lots of cards, and a healthy amount of disruption.
5. Be able to push damage through without Zhuge Jin, if needed. There's a good chance that casting him multiple times might not be the ideal gameplan, so we'll need ways to get through for damage without relying on his ability alone; thankfully, cards like Thassa, God of the Sea and Keeper of Keys exist to help out.

Leave it to blue to enable unblockable attacks while drawing/scrying. Love it.

As mentioned in my first article, I also try to avoid cards in EDHREC's top Salt Score list for the sake of fun, but oh, boy, there's a lot of things on that list that could've fit in here, Urza, Lord High Artificer being the newest offender.

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Tips for Building and Playing Zhuge Jin

Tip #1: EDHREC lets you get granular with deck themes. It's possible to zoom right into a mono-blue Equipment theme, so by all means do that. It's also worth checking out the mono-blue artifact theme as well. Mono-blue is the second most popular color identity for this very popular theme, just behind Esper.

Tip #2: Remember, you're a blue deck. This isn't a deck that will be as flat-out aggressive as other Equipment builds, but that's okay. This deck is more about chipping away and accumulating value while helping keep other players in check than being the table's aggressor.

Tip #3: Include a healthy portion of Equipment, but don't go overboard with it. Because of Zhuge Jin's ability to help push damage through, you don't necessarily have to build giant, unstoppable Voltron creatures to swing safely. While some Equipment-focused decks will run 20+, it's possible to get away with a few less here. I opted for 15 and a Vehicle.

Tip #4: Don't overcommit to the board too early. There are several reasons for this. Realistically, this deck doesn't need to have a ton of creatures on the board at a given time to push damage through. Holding a few cards back in hand lets us:

1. Recover after a board wipe. The last thing we want is a board full of Equipment and no bodies, especially since Zhuge Jin himself isn't a great attacker like other Equipment-focused commanders can be. One way to mitigate this is with manlands, so we'll run a healthy number of those.
2. Represent the threat of a counterspell. This deck doesn't need to run a ton, but blue has that reputation. Lean into it and keep your opponents on edge.
3. Not appear too threatening until we're in a position to win. This deck doesn't have a ton of capable blockers, so putting a large target on our head isn't a great gameplan. Some decks can take that kind of heat, but this one might not be one of them.

Tip #5: Watch for an opportunity to get in a big swing with Cyberdrive Awakener.

Our REAL win condition

While we're busy whittling away at life totals and accumulating value, there's a good chance we're slowly building up a board full of artifacts, if not always too many creatures. Throwing down Cyberdrive Awakener at the right moment can be an easy way to push 20+ damage through and take someone out. Remember what I said about not overcommitting to the board with creatures? There's no need to when we can drop this and turn all our Equipment into creatures for a big swing. If we don't draw Cyberdrive Awakener, we can ideally use Whir of Invention to tutor it up right into play, or Fabricate, if needed, though we lose the surprise factor. Still, this is a great way to win.

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The Deck

Key components of our deck include:

Equipment!
Still strong: Quietus Spike, Sword of Feast and Famine, Sword of the Animist
New hotness: Sword of Sinew and Steel, The Reality Chip

This slot is a bit of a playground for you to include some personal favorites if you were to build it on your own, as there is so much strong Equipment out there. Let me know in the comments if you have some gems! I went for a mix of old and new, and a mix of utility and raw damage. Sword of Sinew and Steel gives the deck an answer to artifacts, something blue decks have long needed. All the classics, like Skullclamp, Lightning Greaves, and Swiftfoot Boots, are here, too. I've opted for a few Living weapons as well, like Bonehoard and Nettlecyst, as having access to a few more bodies can't hurt. As mentioned earlier, this deck doesn't need quite as much Equipment as others. I've landed on 15, plus Deluxe Dragster.

"Artifacts Matter" Cards
Still strong: Master of Etherium, Metalwork Colossus
New hotness: Artificer Class, Kappa Cannoneer, Tezzeret, Betrayer of Flesh

Blue was already a strong color for artifact synergies, but the amount of support this gameplan has gotten lately is insane. I filled the vast majority of this section with recent cards. Kappa Cannoneer is a near-perfect card for this deck. Shimmer Dragon is also quite nice, because who cares if our Equipment is tapped or not?! Honestly, there has never been a better time to run a deck like this. Even uncommons, like Filigree Attendant, can do major work.

"Deals Combat Damage" Creatures
Still strong: Cephalid Constable, Thada Adel, Acquisitor, Looter il-Kor
New hotness: Schema Thief

While I'm not running too many creatures that care about combat damage, they're the preferred Equipment targets. Cephalid Constable has long been a pet card of mine, and this is the perfect shell to make use of its ability. I'm very excited about the potential of Schema Thief as well. Alongside Thada Adel, Acquisitor, we'll be making good use of our opponents' decks.

Blue Removal
Still strong: Imprisoned in the Moon, Pongify, Aetherize
New hotness: Ravenform, Spectral Deluge

As mentioned earlier, I'm avoiding the saltiest of cards, so no Cyclonic Rift for us. Thankfully, Spectral Deluge does a pretty solid impression, though at sorcery speed. I'm not entirely sure blue should have access to effects like Ravenform either (hello, color pie?!), but it's very much worth playing.

Lands
Still strong: Academy Ruins, Faerie Conclave, Mouth of Ronom
New hotness: Faceless Haven, Hall of Storm Giants

I figured this is as good of a spot as any to give Snow-Covered Islands a go, as they'll give the deck access to additional manlands, like Faceless Haven and Frostwalk Bastion, which can carry Equipment in a pinch. Mouth of Ronom is an inefficient-but-uncounterable removal option if we need it as well, so snow it is. It's not a ton of extra value, but sometimes Commander is about eking out as much as possible from each card. So, let's go for it.

Other Stuff

Most of our Equipment is tutorable with the T-Mage family, so this seemed like a great home for them. Fabricate and Whir of Invention can find anything else needed, including Duplicant if we need to get rid of something.

On to the deck (sorted by mana value)!

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You can also check the deck out on Moxfield. I find their tagging system helpful for determining if I have enough ramp, removal, etc.

Overall, I've been happy with how this deck has played. Though our commander is a bit on the weaker side, his ability can still be relevant, and the blue artifact shell is strong enough to give him tools to be effective. Perhaps some of the old, seemingly unplayable commanders aren't so bad after all.

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How I Used EDHREC to Build This Deck

EDHREC’s tools were important in helping me fill out this build. As mentioned earlier, looking into the mono-blue Equipment theme and mono-blue artifact theme was critical for finding the right pieces for this deck, as Zhuge Jin didn't exactly have a lot of information, and I didn't find the Ninjutsu-themed suggestions that inspiring. Those gave me the core of my deck. I also took a look at the lands section of the mono-blue snow theme to see if snow lands were worth adding. Since it had been a while since I had built mono-blue, I also took a quick look through the top blue cards to see if there were any card draw, ramp, or cost reduction cards I may have missed, outside of staples like Ponder and Sapphire Medallion. It was a good sanity check to ensure I had what I needed.

That's all for this week! As always, let me know in the comments if you have any great ideas for this style of deck, what you think of this one, and if you have any old favorites you’d like to see featured in the future.