The Scarlet WitchThe Scarlet Witch | Art by Magali Villeneuve

Introduction

Welcome to this deck tech, where we're showing off a new commander from the upcoming Marvel Super Heroes set! Today, we're taking a closer look at The Scarlet WitchThe Scarlet Witch (or as her friends call her, Wanda Maximoff).

What Does The Scarlet Witch Do?

This Mutant Warlock Hero's design is captivating for anyone ready for a deckbuilding challenge. She has a single ability with a couple moving parts:

"Instant and sorcery spells you cast with mana value 4 or greater cost less to cast, where X is The Scarlet Witch’s power."

"Instant and sorcery spells with mana value 4 or greater" is a perfect way to start our search. Let's head to Scryfall!

Finding Instants and Sorceries to Cost-Reduce

From the nearly 500 results that pop up, we find a great variety of 's biggest strengths, from impulse draw, to sudden bursts of mana, to impactful mass removal, to powerful ways to close out the game.

Among these results, staples like Big ScoreBig Score stand out as highly synergistic with The Scarlet WitchThe Scarlet Witch. As a baseline with the Witch on the battlefield, spells like these will essentially be copies of Tormenting VoiceTormenting Voice that also create two TreasureTreasure tokens. If we can increase Wanda's power, however, this kind of spell starts being mana positive, allowing us to chain together lots of spells and "storm off".

Speaking of...

Pumping Scarlet Witch

We don't actually need to pump our commander that much – an overwhelming majority of the instants and sorceries we're planning to cast are going to be fully reduced if her power is just 4. We're looking for good ratios of mana spent to total reduction, whether adding a power just by tapping our commanderadding a power just by tapping our commander, adding three power short-term /one power long-termadding three power short-term /one power long-term for , or adding a full six poweradding a full six power for (we're going to have to tap our commander for this one too).

Once we set up some power increases, we can cast all sorts of spells at a massive discount.

Spell Categories

Like any good spellslinger deck, we're going to need a healthy mix of instant and sorcery spells that create card advantage, mana production, ways to disrupt opponents, and can actually win the game.

Draw and Recursion

Beyond the Big ScoreBig Score-style cards mentioned above, Ignite the FutureIgnite the Future stands out as a great card advantage engine, especially because its flashback cost won't be nearly as tough to reach because of our commander's built-in cost reduction. Sorceress's SchemesSorceress's Schemes can also be cast twice, and has the potential to be mana-neutral combined with enough Scarlet Witch power. Finally, Will of the JeskaiWill of the Jeskai serves as a versatile modal spell to refill our hand and/or continue the storm chain.

Mana Bursts

Without enough mana, however, all this card advantage won't lead us anywhere. That's why we're including higher mana value rituals like Inner FireInner Fire, Mana GeyserMana Geyser, and Rousing RefrainRousing Refrain. These 4+ mana spells will outclass cheaper mana producers like Pyretic RitualPyretic Ritual or Seething SongSeething Song when combined with our commander. We can also use the new Broadcast TakeoverBroadcast Takeover to steal lots of Signets and copies of Sol RingSol Ring and go up on mana even more. On the top end, Apex of PowerApex of Power combines card advantage and mana production into a gigantic burst – and having it cost something like instead of a full ten mana is much more doable.

Disruption

It's great to have a proactive plan, but sometimes being reactive is important as well. Fiery EncoreFiery Encore is a great spell to cast after a big storm turn to take out opposing threats, while Volcanic VisionVolcanic Vision can serve as a combination of recursion and mass removal at once. At the top end of our curve, Soulfire EruptionSoulfire Eruption does it all, combining card advantage, removal, and direct damage.

Winning the Game

There are a few main ways to win the game. One path involves token creatures through storm finishers like Empty the WarrensEmpty the Warrens or Elemental EruptionElemental Eruption. Another involves direct damage through a classic like GuttersnipeGuttersnipe or the more recent Coruscation MageCoruscation Mage. Finally, Spreading InsurrectionSpreading Insurrection is a much more fun (and easily castable) version of InsurrectionInsurrection. Surely the table won't hate you as much for killing them with their own creatures, if you had to work for it a little bit!

Bringing it All Together

Conclusion

If you're looking for a deck that has a clear game plan, is relatively beginner-friendly, and isn't too tough on your wallet, this build might be a good fit for you! Let the EDHREC community know in the comments if you can think of any other cards that would complement this commander. Happy brewing and see you next time.