Day of Black Sun II - Sokka, Tenacious Tactician Commander

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.rahnart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Rahn</a></em></p>
<p>She’s the first to do it, folks. Let’s talk about the first ever mono-white legend with a five-color identity: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>She was created with Commander loosely in mind, as Allies had been a popular creature type in original <em>Zendikar</em> block. Unfortunately, <em>Battle for Zendikar</em> block didn’t provide the oomph the creature type needed for Tazri to establish a long-term spot. She did briefly enjoy her time as a cEDH-viable <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Food Chain" href="#" target="_blank">Food Chain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> commander, but has been otherwise largely irrelevant for the last decade.</p>
<p>Thanks to a major infusion of Allies from the upcoming <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/tla" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Avatar: The Last Airbender</em></a> set, it’s worth looking back on Tazri and asking the question: Is she worth a rebuild?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="General Tazri"></div></div>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a five-mana 3/4 who has an enters ability and an activated ability. Her enters ability tutors for an Ally, and her five-color activated ability pumps the team for +X/+X, where X is the number of colors among Ally creatures you control (so the maximum is +5/+5).</p>
<p>A tutor in the command zone is something that risks a deck becoming repetitive, but this is a build veering away from combos. The <em>Avatar: The Last Airbender</em> set has multiple new Ally commander options in it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aang and Katara"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mai and Zuko"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sokka and Suki"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sokka, Tenacious Tactician"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Katara, the Fearless"></div></div>
<p>Any of these could justify a whole deck unto themselves. I particularly enjoy how <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aang and Katara" href="#" target="_blank">Aang and Katara</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mai and Zuko" href="#" target="_blank">Mai and Zuko</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> reward you for waterbending or firebending, respectively, a fun way to interweave the set mechanic into the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/allies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ally theme</a>.</p>
<p>However, the Ally creature type is found across all five colors. No one could be blamed for wanting to just run one deck; that’s where Tazri comes in. Plus, she can search up any of these to let you play them out!</p>
<p>Now, let’s talk Tazri.</p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>There are three key features of this Tazri deck: great Allies, enters triggers matters, and a solid typal glue.</p>
<p>First: Allies. They’re the main theme here. With 82 Allies that care about Allies in some way, shape, or form (29 of which come from the world of Aang and friends), there’s plenty to choose from. You could make two whole decks with no overlap and still not use all of them!</p>
<p>We’re not interested in that exercise (in this article), so instead we’ll need to consider what the creatures need to be able to do most of all.</p>
<p>Item one: card advantage. Allies are light on this one, but there are some good picks.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sea Gate Loremaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="South Pole Voyager"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boiling Rock Rioter"></div></div>
<p>Item two: board state. Tazri’s activated ability goes from good to great when there’s a wide swath of creatures on your side of the battlefield. The aforementioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aang and Katara" href="#" target="_blank">Aang and Katara</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sokka, Tenacious Tactician" href="#" target="_blank">Sokka, Tenacious Tactician</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> contribute massively to this effort, but there are still others that help go wide.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Treetop Freedom Fighters"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Suki, Kyoshi Warrior"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Turntimber Ranger"></div></div>
<p>Item three: breaking through. Even now, most of the creatures in the type run pretty small. The pump effect can help, but redundancy is key.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tajuru Warcaller"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Resolute Blademaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Katara, Water Tribe&#039;s Hope"></div></div>
<p>So, the army is rallied. Let’s look at a really common feature ripe for abuse: enters abilities, made better with a <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/blink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blink package</a>. A lot of Allies have an enters trigger that then triggers whenever another Ally enters. There are trigger doublers like the original <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panharmonicon" href="#" target="_blank">Panharmonicon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and the brand new <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Katara, the Fearless" href="#" target="_blank">Katara, the Fearless</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Mass blink effects like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostway" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostway</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can set off a huge chain reaction out of nowhere, and being instants means they can double as board wipe protection. Repeatable blink engines like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Airbender Ascension" href="#" target="_blank">Airbender Ascension</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or the explosive <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nahiri&#039;s Resolve" href="#" target="_blank">Nahiri&#039;s Resolve</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will crank out turn after turn of value. Any of these are gravy, but get two of these going and the army is going over the top.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Katara, the Fearless"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eerie Interlude"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nahiri&#039;s Resolve"></div></div>
<p>Now a little extra dose of creature type reward cards. Sure, every Ally is innately a typal reward, but the creature type as a whole is lacking in draw effects and ways to go off.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kindred Discovery" href="#" target="_blank">Kindred Discovery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Distant Melody" href="#" target="_blank">Distant Melody</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Realmwalker" href="#" target="_blank">Realmwalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> won’t totally fix it, but they’re a really good start. The newly-minted <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Invasion Tactics" href="#" target="_blank">Invasion Tactics</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will also be important (and unique to this deck). Likewise, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Herald&#039;s Horn" href="#" target="_blank">Herald&#039;s Horn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and friends will still need a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Farseek" href="#" target="_blank">Farseek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> package, but it can put it work.</p>
<p>Finally, two more members of the <em>Commander 2017</em> cycle of spells: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kindred Charge" href="#" target="_blank">Kindred Charge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kindred Summons" href="#" target="_blank">Kindred Summons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> both achieve similar aims as the blink spells in firing off a ton of enters triggers while also doubling our board presence. You might note that Kindred Charge has some difficulty with this iteration of the list: a high number of legendary creatures that will immediately die to the legend rule. However, they still hit the field and set off all the various “whenever an Ally enters” triggers.</p>
<h2>How Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Win?</h2>
<p>This is very much a go-wide aggro deck, supported by a unique version of card advantage with the various, repeatable enters abilities. Let’s break it down into rough game phases.</p>
<p>In the first phase, the deck is trying to develop. Play out at least one ramp spell and a couple of creatures. Ideally drop the commander on turn four and go tutoring. It’ll be important to consider board state and what’s in hand for this first run.</p>
<p>With a lot of noncreature spells in hand, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sokka, Tenacious Tactician" href="#" target="_blank">Sokka, Tenacious Tactician</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a good run. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Great Divide Guide" href="#" target="_blank">Great Divide Guide</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can provide a huge mana boost if the hand is ramp-light, whereas <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murasa Pyromancer" href="#" target="_blank">Murasa Pyromancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a good solution for troublesome creatures.</p>
<p>From there, it’ll be about developing the board state. The deck should have drawn into one of the enters matters cards by then, even just a mass flicker spell, to hopefully drum up some serious value and start putting pressure on opponents’ life totals. Those mass flicker spells are pulling double duty as board wipe protection, so don’t deploy them willy-nilly.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Black Market Connections"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Airbender Ascension"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aang, Airbending Master"></div></div>
<p>In this phase of the game, the Tazri targets can be more specific. If you’ve gotten <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Market Connections" href="#" target="_blank">Black Market Connections</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> down, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ondu Cleric" href="#" target="_blank">Ondu Cleric</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will be massively useful for offsetting the life loss. If <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Airbender Ascension" href="#" target="_blank">Airbender Ascension</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nahiri&#039;s Resolve" href="#" target="_blank">Nahiri&#039;s Resolve</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are going strong, then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aang, Airbending Master" href="#" target="_blank">Aang, Airbending Master</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will be able to get up and running quickly.</p>
<p>With a solid board state, enter the endgame. One of the Kindred spells can usually put the deck in a winning position. It not, flicker <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Tazri" href="#" target="_blank">General Tazri</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or re-cast her to go find <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tajuru Warcaller" href="#" target="_blank">Tajuru Warcaller</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and/or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aang and Katara" href="#" target="_blank">Aang and Katara</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The latter is an army in a can and the former is a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with extra steps. If one of those has been used and board wiped, pick up an Ally that will get a missing color to maximize Tazri’s pump effect and start crashing in.</p>
<h2>General Tazri Commander Deck List</h2>
<p>And here’s our rebuild!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Tazri Redux" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 General Tazri
[/Commander]
[Creature]
*1 Aang and Katara
*1 Aang, Airbending Master
*1 Agadeem Occultist
*1 Akoum Battlesinger
*1 Appa, Steadfast Guardian
*1 Bala Ged Thief
*1 Boiling Rock Rioter
*1 Earth King&#039;s Lieutenant
*1 Hagra Diabolist
*1 Harabaz Druid
*1 Hero of Goma Fada
*1 Invasion Reinforcements
*1 Jwari Shapeshifter
*1 Kabira Evangel
*1 Katara, Water Tribe&#039;s Hope
*1 Katara, the Fearless
*1 Mai and Zuko
*1 Master Piandao
*1 Murasa Pyromancer
*1 Ondu Cleric
*1 Resolute Blademaster
*1 Sokka, Tenacious Tactician
*1 Suki, Courageous Rescuer
*1 Suki, Kyoshi Warrior
*1 Tajuru Warcaller
*1 Treetop Freedom Fighters
*1 Tuktuk Scrapper
*1 Turntimber Ranger
*1 White Lotus Reinforcements
[/Creature]
[Sorcery]
*1 Kindred Charge
*1 Tale of Momo
*1 United Front
[/Sorcery]
[Draw]
*1 Black Market Connections
*1 Distant Melody
*1 Founding of Omashu
*1 Hakoda, Selfless Commander
*1 Invasion Tactics
*1 Kindred Discovery
*1 Realmwalker
*1 Sea Gate Loremaster
*1 South Pole Voyager
*1 True Ancestry
[/Draw]
[Instant]
*1 Cosmic Intervention
*1 Eerie Interlude
*1 Ghostway
*1 Kindred Summons
[/Instant]
[Enchantment]
*1 Airbender Ascension
*1 Nahiri&#039;s Resolve
[/Enchantment]
[Ramp]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Cultivate
*1 Cycle of Renewal
*1 Farseek
*1 Great Divide Guide
*1 Herald&#039;s Horn
*1 Origin of Metalbending
*1 Patchwork Banner
*1 Shared Roots
*1 Skyshroud Claim
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Sword of the Animist
*1 Urza&#039;s Incubator
[/Ramp]
[Artifact]
*1 Captain&#039;s Claws
*1 Panharmonicon
[/Artifact]
[Lands]
*1 Ally Encampment
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Clifftop Retreat
*1 Command Tower
*1 Flooded Strand
*2 Forest
*1 Glacial Fortress
*1 Hinterland Harbor
*1 Indatha Triome
*2 Island
*1 Isolated Chapel
*1 Jasmine Dragon Tea Shop
*1 Jetmir&#039;s Garden
*1 Ketria Triome
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Marsh Flats
*1 Misty Rainforest
*1 Path of Ancestry
*2 Plains
*1 Raffine&#039;s Tower
*1 Raugrin Triome
*1 Rootbound Crag
*1 Savai Triome
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Spara&#039;s Headquarters
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Sunpetal Grove
*1 Swamp
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Unclaimed Territory
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Once again, shout out to the average deck feature on EDHREC. It’s incredibly helpful as a tool in finding starting points or general trends. One analytical usage is to compare one specific version of the deck against the average. I generated this average decklist early on in spoiler season and used it to find out how much the new set may potentially influence upcoming Tazri decks and the like. With a quick use of the compare feature, I found that there was a 47% match between the decks, but I like digging into specific facets of the data to get the whole story. Lands take up a lot of space and averages can get weird.</p>
<p>The real “meat” of this deck is in its creature-base, and there’s a pretty big divide. I chose 20 creatures not featured in the average, 18 of which came from this set. Time will tell how many of those picks will end up becoming mainstays of a Tazri list!</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments how many of you are dusting off a Tazri deck, and how many of you only found out about her recently.</p>


ally kindred

Day of Black Sun II - Sokka, Tenacious Tactician Commander

Rebuilding General Tazri With Allies From Avatar