(Betor, Kin to AllBetor, Kin to All || art by Alexander Ostrowski)

Ready To Kick-Start Three Tarkir Dragonstorm Commander Decks? I Got You!

Hello, friends, and welcome to another Start Me Up! In this column, I pick three legendary creatures from the most recent Magic expansion and provide you with ideas to help get you started brewing your own Commander deck around them. Tarkir: Dragonstorm is the latest hotness, bringing us back to a world of Dragons and the five iconic clans, so I'm going to pick three new legendary creatures you could build Commander decks around, along with a starter kit of cards you might consider for your list. Let's get to it!

Betor, Kin to AllBetor, Kin to All

Abzan has encouraged toughness matters synergies since Doran, the Siege TowerDoran, the Siege Tower, but now we've got a Dragon to lead the charge with Betor, Kin to AllBetor, Kin to All! At the beginning of your end step, Betor has a trigger that looks for three different toughness totals for all creatures you control to provide various effects. The first one is ten toughness, which is pretty easy to satisfy since Betor itself provides seven toughness. The next is 20 toughness, which isn't unreasonable with four or five creatures, and it will untap all creatures you control. This gives all your creatures virtual vigilance, letting you both attack and have them available to block, not to mention getting extra use from your creatures that have tap abilities.

The top threshold is 40 toughness, which is tough to satisfy even in the best circumstances, but if you manage it you make each opponent lose half their life rounded up. It's mostly likely not game-ending, but it's a pretty cool mini-quest to strive for!

EDHREC High Synergy Cards

Let's take a look at what the EDHREC deck database recommends for Betor. Tree of PerditionTree of Perdition and Tree of RedemptionTree of Redemption are powerful inclusions, providing a whopping thirteen toughness for Betor's ability. Since life totals start at 40 in Commander, if you get to activate either one of these Plants you may very well get up to 40 life for Betor's ability!

Bedrock TortoiseBedrock Tortoise is a high-toughness creature that provides that crucial ability to let your creatures assign combat damage equal to its toughness, and during your turn it gives all your creatures hexproof, shutting down instant-speed removal options from your opponents.

Doran, the Siege TowerDoran, the Siege Tower, Assault FormationAssault Formation, and Baldin, Century HerdmasterBaldin, Century Herdmaster all provide redundancy alongside the Tortoise for turning high toughness into offensive damage dealing. The activated ability of Assault FormationAssault Formation can potentially boost all your creatures' toughness enough to hit the higher thresholds for Betor.

Wall of BlossomsWall of Blossoms, Sylvan CaryatidSylvan Caryatid, Wall of OmensWall of Omens, and Crystal BarricadeCrystal Barricade are all great high-toughness creatures you can deploy early to boost your toughness thresholds.

Other High-Toughness Creatures

I went looking for other high-toughness creatures and ran across Indomitable AncientsIndomitable Ancients, which has a whopping ten toughness for just four mana. Then there's Unhallowed PhalanxUnhallowed Phalanx, which has thirteen toughness for just five mana, and if Betor is on the battlefield you already have enough toughness to untap all your creatures.

Dragonlord DromokaDragonlord Dromoka is a high-powered creature with a ton of upside: can't be countered, has flying and lifelink, and it shuts down your opponents from casting spells on your turn. The card was quite pricey in recent years, but its reprint in Tarkir: Dragonstorm Commander is very affordable, so if you haven't snagged one yet, now's a good time!

If you own an Elesh Norn, Grand CenobiteElesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, it's an excellent card here, shrinking your opponents' creatures while boosting all of yours, potentially pushing your toughness threshold to the next level. Pontiff of BlightPontiff of Blight has a high toughness, and the extort ability could drain away life in the late game when Betor's highest threshold is cutting opponents' life totals in half. The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom offers high toughness for just four mana, and its Landfall ability can generate incrementally more toughness just by playing lands.

Toughness Matters

Fecund GreenshellFecund Greenshell is an incredible value engine when all your creatures have higher toughness than power, and once you've got ten or more lands it provides a power and toughness boost to all your creatures. The new card Arbor AdherentArbor Adherent can potentially generate a ton of mana, especially in conjunction with one of the Trees. Jaws of DefeatJaws of Defeat is another new card that plays into that life loss that Betor is aiming for.

If Canopy GargantuanCanopy Gargantuan survives to your upkeep, its trigger is going to make any of your creatures huge and certainly easy to hit all of Betor's thresholds. Ikra Shidiqi, the UsurperIkra Shidiqi, the Usurper is a welcome reprint, providing nice lifegain in case you're playing any cards where life is a resource, and if you own a copy of Last March of the EntsLast March of the Ents, this is an excellent deck for it with all these high-toughness creatures.

Wave of ReckoningWave of Reckoning and Expel the InterlopersExpel the Interlopers provide nice battlefield-sweepers that will often leave your own creatures unharmed, and then Reunion of the HouseReunion of the House will often bring back a large number of low-power, high-toughness creatures that have been destroyed by the time you get to seven mana.

Toughness Boosting

Tower DefenseTower Defense and Bar the DoorBar the Door offer powerful combat tricks in this deck when you've got an effect out that lets you deal damage equal to the creature's toughness. Oathsworn GiantOathsworn Giant provides a toughness boost to all your creatures and gives them vigilance, which is useful if you don't have Betor on the battlefield to untap your creatures.

Spidersilk ArmorSpidersilk Armor gives a universal toughness boost, which can really add up, and despite having a flying commander, giving all your creatures reach can be very helpful sometimes. ColossificationColossification gives twenty toughness boost all in one card, which will at the very least hit Betor's untap threshold so your enchanted creature can block, but it's also likely to get you to 40 toughness. If your deck has plenty of card drawing, you might consider Tireless TribeTireless Tribe since each card you discard to its ability adds four to its toughness.

Eshki DragonclawEshki Dragonclaw

Eshki DragonclawEshki Dragonclaw is a nifty, open-ended commander that doesn't ask too much to benefit from it: you just want to have a fair balance between creatures and noncreature spells, and enough card draw and cheaper spells to cast two spells a turn before combat so you'll get your Eshki trigger. Casting Eshki itself counts as the creature side of its requirement, so you'll want a fair number of cheap noncreature spells to cast the same turn so you can draw a card and grow Eshki.

EDHREC High Synergy Cards

The decks on EDHREC provide a nice guidepost with Kellan, Inquisitive ProdigyKellan, Inquisitive Prodigy, Scalding ViperScalding Viper, and Elusive OtterElusive Otter: these creature spells have their Adventure side, so you get both a creature and a noncreature in one card, increasing the odds that you'll be able to meet Eshki's requirements each turn.

Bonecrusher GiantBonecrusher Giant and Brazen BorrowerBrazen Borrower are more high-quality Adventure creatures, and while Embereth ShieldbreakerEmbereth Shieldbreaker is a bit more conditional (though sniping a Sol RingSol Ring early is awesome), Rosethorn AcolyteRosethorn Acolyte 's Adventure side basically pays for itself, making it an ideal card to use the same turn you're casting Eshki.

Questing DruidQuesting Druid's Adventure side is a way to dig and hopefully play two spells each turn.

Jori En, Ruin DiverJori En, Ruin Diver and Kraum, Violent CacophonyKraum, Violent Cacophony reward you for playing a second spell each turn, drawing extra cards to keep the Eshki party going.

Zero-Mana Noncreature Spells

Mishra's BaubleMishra's Bauble, Tormod's CryptTormod's Crypt, and Paradise MantleParadise Mantle are noncreature spells with some utility that you can easily cast the same turn as you cast Eshki.

One-Mana Noncreature Spells

You may have to wait a turn, but PongifyPongify, ExpediteExpedite, and Dragonfire BladeDragonfire Blade are all solid cards you can pretty easily cast the same turn as you cast Eshki.

Hardened ScalesHardened Scales is another solid one-mana spell you can double spell with, and it combines nicely with Eshki's ability to grow the number of +1/+1 counters even faster. I also really like ExplorationExploration if you have one you're not already playing; with Eshki's extra card draw, odds are pretty good you can make extra land drops on most of your turns, which will help you recast Eshki if it ends up in the command zone.

"Free" Spells

The old "free" spells, like SnapSnap and Frantic SearchFrantic Search, can be played first before you play Eshki even if all you have is four mana.

In a pinch, you could tap Eshki to convoke Gather CourageGather Courage in a single turn if you really needed to dig, but hopefully you have another creature you can use to convoke it. ManamorphoseManamorphose is a lot like the free spells above, but instead of untapping lands it just gives you two mana back in any combination, which can come in handy if you're short on blue mana to cast Eshki.

Discounting Mana

Discounting your spells helps with your double spell turns, with old school cards like Goblin AnarchomancerGoblin Anarchomancer and Goblin ElectromancerGoblin Electromancer being excellent in this regard. Temur BattlecrierTemur Battlecrier is the new hotness, giving you better discounts the more creatures you control with power four or greater.

Other Adventures

I think I'd want some more Adventure creatures, with Beanstalk GiantBeanstalk Giant being helpful for fixing our colors and ramping, and Bramble FamiliarBramble Familiar giving us mana ramp early on, or a big spell late.

I've been waiting for a good spot to play Karvanista, Loyal LupariKarvanista, Loyal Lupari, and since Eshki is a Human this seems perfect!

Card Draw

To keep the double spell party going, we'll want some card draw in addition to Eshki. Since we want to play a creature spell each turn, Beast WhispererBeast Whisperer should draw us a few cards at the least. Snapcaster MageSnapcaster Mage lets you flash back an instant or sorcery from the graveyard, so that satisfies your Eshki trigger, so long as you do it during your precombat main phase.

Songcrafter MageSongcrafter Mage does a pretty good Snapcaster impression, but it gives your instant or sorcery target harmonize instead of flashback. Then there's Rishkar's ExpertiseRishkar's Expertise, which will let you cast a spell with mana value five or less from your hand without paying the mana cost, and hopefully that will be a creature to trigger Eshki. And since Eshki should be growing each turn, that Expertise should draw you a bunch of cards!

Sidisi, Regent of the MireSidisi, Regent of the Mire

Lastly, there's Sidisi, Regent of the MireSidisi, Regent of the Mire, the third card featuring this character. Sidisi functions very much like Prime Speaker VannifarPrime Speaker Vannifar, but instead of searching your library for a creature to put onto the battlefield, you bring back a creature from your graveyard. Since Sidisi specifies you have to return a creature with mana value X plus one, where X is the mana value of the sacrificed creature, you can't simply toggle between two value creatures over and over, so you'll want to fill up the graveyard with creatures of different mana costs in addition to creatures that you can bring back from the graveyard by other means.

EDHREC High Synergy Cards

The decks on EDHREC have some excellent creatures for filling your graveyard with cards such as Stitcher's SupplierStitcher's Supplier, Undead ButlerUndead Butler, and Mire TritonMire Triton.

Ripples of UndeathRipples of Undeath is an incredibly powerful self-milling enchantment, where you can nab back a land or spell, and let the creatures stock the graveyard. Vile EntomberVile Entomber and Buried AliveBuried Alive are more precise, putting the specific creature or creatures you want in the graveyard.

Ravenous ChupacabraRavenous Chupacabra is an excellent card to both sacrifice and bring back from the graveyard since it has such a powerful enters ability. Golgari ThugGolgari Thug's dredge ability is a sweet way to stock the graveyard, and its dies trigger can be helpful when the creature you want can't be put onto the battlefield by Sidisi.

GravecrawlerGravecrawler is easy sacrificial fodder to Sidisi since you'll be able to replay it any time that Sidisi is on the battlefield. BloodghastBloodghast is going to be quite easy, too, each time you play a land.

Filling Your Graveyard

In addition to the Thug, why not toss in Stinkweed ImpStinkweed Imp for an even bigger dredge ability; plus, it makes an excellent defender since it flies and has deathtouch. Doom WhispererDoom Whisperer's surveil activated ability is an excellent way to stock the graveyard while digging for a card that you do want to draw. Tortured ExistenceTortured Existence is a nifty way to swap a creature in the graveyard for a creature in your hand to better fuel Sidisi's activated ability.

Sacrificial Fodder

Nine-Lives FamiliarNine-Lives Familiar can let Sidisi bring back four-mana creatures up to nine times, and then you can sacrifice a two-mana creature to bring the Familiar back to keep the train rolling. Cauldron of SoulsCauldron of Souls can give persist to a creature you want to sacrifice, bringing it back for maybe another enters trigger or to sacrifice again, or it can protect a lot of your team from a battlefield-sweeper.

Gollum, Patient PlotterGollum, Patient Plotter makes both a good creature to sacrifice, but also a way to sacrifice a creature if you need to get it into the graveyard to bring back with Sidisi.

Leave Your Graveyard Triggers

I really like the triggers for Teval's JudgmentTeval's Judgment, Desecrated TombDesecrated Tomb, and Tormod, the DesecratorTormod, the Desecrator, which can generate token creatures that you could sacrifice to bring back a one mana cost creature with Sidisi to start working up the chain, though Judgment offers a selection of choices and an extra card or a Treasure can also come in handy!

Dies Triggers

If you have a deck where creatures are dying and coming back out of the graveyard, Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim is one of the first cards you want to add to your deck since that chip damage to each opponent can really add up, and don't overlook its mill ability since mono-black can often generate a ton of extra mana with cards like Cabal CoffersCabal Coffers. The text box of Body LaundererBody Launderer really plays perfectly in this deck, with its connive ability further stoking the graveyard, and when you decide to sacrifice it to Sidisi you can bring back another creature at the same time. Junji, the Midnight SkyJunji, the Midnight Sky's dies trigger is almost always going to be bringing back a non-Dragon creature from any graveyard, not just your own.

Sidisi Spice

Thousand-Year ElixirThousand-Year Elixir lets you activate Sidisi right away when you cast it, and if you have an extra mana you can untap it and do it again, working your way up the mana chain. Thornbite StaffThornbite Staff is expensive to equip to a non-Shaman creature, but since Sidisi's activated ability doesn't itself cost mana, it's certainly worth it to unlock as many activations as you can during your turn.

Since Sidisi is a Zombie, you can certainly pepper in as many Zombie synergies as you want, though I'd likely not leave home with Accursed DuneyardAccursed Duneyard to help protect Sidisi from most destroy effects.

Never Stop Brewing!

Which of these three commanders do you think you might build a deck around? What other cards do you think you'll add to your decklist?

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