Modern Horizons 2 Set Review - Colorless and Lands

Deep Analysis - Artifacts

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Umori, the Collector" href="#" target="_blank">Umori, the Collector</a>| | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/styloren">Jehan Choo</a>)</h6>
<h1>Time to Make a New Friend</h1>
Companions are a game-changer. They give us access to a free card from the start of the game in exchange for some deckbuilding restrictions (and, of course, they now have an extra three-mana tax). Here on Collected Company, we’re going to take a look at all of them and see how we can build around their quirks.
In this article, we'll talk about one of the more interesting of the Companions; its ability to shape its deck is unparalleled, making the choice that much more impactful. It's <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Umori, the Collector" href="#" target="_blank">Umori, the Collector</a> time!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Umori, the Collector"></div></div>
The cost reduction is a pretty nice effect to have, especially when considering that we are playing a very specialized deck.
While very similar to Zirda's ability, Umori doesn't suffer as much with the Companion tax. Umori's cost reduction is more versatile and that makes it that much more powerful.
Out of the types of permanents available, creatures are the strongest, with artifacts being a close second, then enchantments, and planeswalkers as a dead last.
<h3>Notable Exclusions</h3>
<ul>
<li>ALL SORCERIES</li>
<li>ALL INSTANTS</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2>Endless Possibilities</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The First Sliver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Karador, Ghost Chieftain"></div></div>
Creature is the easiest type to find a suitable commander for. It might seem that we've got plenty of options, but, considering what we lose, we better get a lot of value from our creatures. Commanders that have innate recursion, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karador, Ghost Chieftain" href="#" target="_blank">Karador, Ghost Chieftain</a>, are the quintessential creature-based commanders and are worth considering as the starting point for any creature-based Umori list. Tribes with plenty of creatures to spare can also benefit from the discount, especially those that are on the aggressive side. Regarding our losses, we don't lose all that much, to be honest; most of our losses can be replaced by creatures (although we'll lose some consistency and efficiency).
<h3>Notable Exclusions</h3>
<ul>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Buried Alive" href="#" target="_blank">Buried Alive</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Animate Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Animate Dead</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skullclamp" href="#" target="_blank">Skullclamp</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birthing Pod" href="#" target="_blank">Birthing Pod</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panharmonicon" href="#" target="_blank">Panharmonicon</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grave Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Grave Pact</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Finale of Devastation" href="#" target="_blank">Finale of Devastation</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pharika, God of Affliction"></div></div>
Enchantment is another great permanent type. Between some enchantment staples and some great enchantment creatures, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomwake Giant" href="#" target="_blank">Doomwake Giant</a>, we have plenty of great cards to build a deck. One thing to notice is that we might have some trouble finding good finishers, so we'll probably have to grind our way out of every game. We don't have the luxury of choice, either: it's <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pharika, God of Affliction" href="#" target="_blank">Pharika, God of Affliction</a> or bust. Our losses are notable in that we lose most of the best finishers in the format, some enchantress effects, and most tutors.
<h3>Notable Exclusions</h3>
<ul>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argothian Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Argothian Enchantress</a> effects</li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gray Merchant of Asphodel" href="#" target="_blank">Gray Merchant of Asphodel</a></li>
<li><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enlightened Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Enlightened Tutor</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lord Windgrace"></div></div>
This is more of a meme than a suggestion, but Umori can really help out reducing the costs of planeswalkers. I doubt that this would be a functional shell since we'll forfeit any other type of control elements and possible bodies, leaving our planeswalkers extremely vulnerable.
<h3>Notable Exclusions</h3>
<ul>
<li>EVERYTHING</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2>Is it Too Late For Halloween?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reaper King"></div></div>
Artifacts are a very good type to pair with Umori. After all, they get the most mileage out of the cost reduction and they also tend to play similar effects. Artifacts also tend to have a more diverse choice pool and they're pretty well-rounded.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rattleblaze Scarecrow"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Universal Automaton"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heap Doll"></div></div>
One artifact commander in particular that really appreciates the cost reduction aspect of Umori is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reaper King" href="#" target="_blank">Reaper King</a>. Scarecrows as a tribe are filled with sub-optimal creatures that are just too expensive and that lack any real power to them. Umori helps us by making them cheap enough to justify running them, which is good because we're packing a bunch of them: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rattleblaze Scarecrow" href="#" target="_blank">Rattleblaze Scarecrow</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wingrattle Scarecrow" href="#" target="_blank">Wingrattle Scarecrow</a> seem lackluster choices, but when considering that we'll always cast them with our commander on the field (which means a black permanent), we get to profitably sacrifice them to trigger our commander one more time; <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Adaptive Automaton" href="#" target="_blank">Adaptive Automaton</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Metallic Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Metallic Mimic</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Universal Automaton" href="#" target="_blank">Universal Automaton</a> are some cheap tribal support that can help out a bit (we can even go infinite with the aforementioned Scarecrows); and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heap Doll" href="#" target="_blank">Heap Doll</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scarecrone" href="#" target="_blank">Scarecrone</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scaretiller" href="#" target="_blank">Scaretiller</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scuttlemutt" href="#" target="_blank">Scuttlemutt</a> provide some utility.
As mentioned before, Scarecrows aren't a particularly strong tribe, as such the number of cards we play is limited. This means that whenever we are online, we need to get more mileage out of triggers. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panharmonicon" href="#" target="_blank">Panharmonicon</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a> are crazy powerful cards that have the potential to make our other supports exponentially more impactful. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blade of Selves" href="#" target="_blank">Blade of Selves</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conjurer&#039;s Closet" href="#" target="_blank">Conjurer&#039;s Closet</a> are consistent ways to get triggers. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirrorworks" href="#" target="_blank">Mirrorworks</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Strionic Resonator" href="#" target="_blank">Strionic Resonator</a> are a bit taxing, but each has a lot of utility outside of our commander.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grindstone"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aetherflux Reservoir"></div></div>
Our win conditions are mainly combo. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painter&#039;s Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Painter&#039;s Servant</a> is a Scarecrow and, together with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grindstone" href="#" target="_blank">Grindstone</a>, is a great player-sniping tool. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas&#039;s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas&#039;s Citadel</a> are build-your-own <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropotence" href="#" target="_blank">Necropotence</a>, which can be an outright win condition with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a>.
Umori plays a crucial role in a deck like this. It's an early play that helps us get to the point where we start chaining Scarecrows from our hand. The impact of the Companion tax is negligible because our early plays aren't all that exciting (since we need to hold playing Scarecrows until after we have our commander on the battlefield).
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Reaper King Umori" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*Reaper King
[/Commander]
[Companion]
*Umori, the Collector
[/Companion]
[Artifact]
*Everflowing Chalice
*Grindstone
*Sensei&#039;s Divining Top
*Skullclamp
*Sol Ring
*Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
*Arcane Signet
*Blade of Selves
*Fellwar Stone
*Ichor Wellspring
*Lightning Greaves
*Mind Stone
*Mycosynth Wellspring
*Strionic Resonator
*Swiftfoot Boots
*Wishclaw Talisman
*Ashnod&#039;s Altar
*Birthing Boughs
*Chromatic Lantern
*Darksteel Plate
*Sculpting Steel
*Aetherflux Reservoir
*Birthing Pod
*Hedron Archive
*Helm of the Host
*Krark-Clan Ironwork
*Nevinyrral&#039;s Disk
*Panharmonicon
*Perilous Vault
*Thran Dynamo
*Cauldron of Souls
*Conjurer&#039;s Closet
*Mirrorworks
*Scourglass
*Bolas&#039;s Citadel
*Spine of Ish Sah
*The Great Henge
[/Artifact]
[Creature]
*Heap Doll
*Universal Automaton
*Baleful Strix
*Etherium Sculptor
*Metallic Mimic
*Myr Retriever
*Painter&#039;s Servant
*Adaptive Automaton
*Foundry Inspector
*Junk Diver
*Scarecrone
*Scrap Trawler
*Scuttlemutt
*Shimmer Myr
*Wild-Field Scarecrow
*Wingrattle Scarecrow
*Jhoira&#039;s Familiar
*Master Transmuter
*Phyrexian Metamorph
*Scaretiller
*Kuldotha Forgemaster
*Sphinx Summoner
*Rattleblaze Scarecrow
*Sharuum the Hegemon
*Myr Battlesphere
[/Creature]
[Land]
*Ancient Den
*Arcane Sanctum
*Arch of Orazca
*Blast Zone
*Cascading Cataracts
*City of Brass
*Command Tower
*Crumbling Necropolis
*Darksteel Citadel
*Exotic Orchard
*Forest
*Frontier Bivouac
*Ghost Quarter
*Glimmervoid
*Great Furnace
*Indatha Triome
*Inventors&#039; Fair
*Island
*Jungle Shrine
*Ketria Triome
*Mana Confluence
*Mystic Monastery
*Nomad Outpost
*Opulent Palace
*Plains
*Raugrin Triome
*Reflecting Pool
*Sandsteppe Citadel
*Savage Lands
*Savai Triome
*Seaside Citadel
*Seat of the Synod
*Spire of Industry
*Swamp
*Tectonic Edge
*Tree of Tales
*Zagoth Triome
[/Land]"></div>

<hr />
<h2>This is the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jousting Dummy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chromatic Star"></div></div>
I don't think that investing more into Scarecrows is worth it, but that's certainly an option.
One interesting build is adding Eggs to provide a more solid draw engine. Umori's cost reduction allows for a great chain of draw with low-costed artifacts.
Umori is a fun Companion! The cost-reducing ability feels great in-game, especially in an artifact shell where both our threats and our ramp are discounted. It might not seem like this is the case, but there is a lot of space when building a deck using Umori. It's a shame that we can't have instants or sorcery because it would be interesting to have a spellslinger build.
That’s it for this Collected Company! What do you think about this article? What are your thoughts on <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Umori, the Collector" href="#" target="_blank">Umori, the Collector</a> Which Companion do you want to see covered next? Share your opinions in the comments.

Collected Company - Umori

Conditions Allow - Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge

Archetune-Up - A New Hope

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mairsil, the Pretender" href="#" target="_blank">Mairsil, the Pretender</a> | Art by <a href="http://izzymedrano.com/main/">Izzy</a>)</h6>
<h2>What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?</h2>
Once again, it's time for another Forgotten Harvest, the article series where I highlight the most underplayed cards on EDHREC, clocking in at 300 decks or less. And, as has become common practice for me in this series, I'll be taking a commander that isn't supposed to "Voltron" and suiting it up for battle. <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/forgotten-harvest-mono-red-voltron/">We did it</a> with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient" href="#" target="_blank">Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient</a>, <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/forgotten-harvest-muldrotha-voltron/">and then again</a> with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a>. This time, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mairsil, the Pretender" href="#" target="_blank">Mairsil, the Pretender</a> gets a chance to supersize!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mairsil, the Pretender"></div></div>
Now, before I get into some of the interesting and hyper-underplayed cards that can help Mairsil get swole, it's important to mention those that have covered the Pretender before me: fellow EDHREC writers <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/commander-showdown-mairsil-vs-experiment-kraj/">Joseph Schultz</a> and <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/ultra-budget-brews-mairsil-the-pretender/">Andrew Cummings</a> both did a great job covering many options for Mairsil. I'm going to be covering a few of the cards that they've mentioned before, but I highly recommend checking those articles out to get the full picture of this commander. I've limited my deck to specifically pumping up Mairsil with +1/+1 counters via his cage counter trick. To do this, we'll be leaning on looting and self-mill effects to ensure a plethora of targets, as well as effects that allow Mairsil to hit the battlefield multiple times, plus a healthy amount of evasion.
There are also a fair number of cards which can function as stand-ins for Mairsil should he find himself <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imprisoned in the Moon" href="#" target="_blank">Imprisoned in the Moon</a> or listening to a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Song of the Dryads" href="#" target="_blank">Song of the Dryads</a>: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necrotic Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Necrotic Ooze</a> is a fantastic alternative, but <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quicksilver Elemental" href="#" target="_blank">Quicksilver Elemental</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Havengul Lich" href="#" target="_blank">Havengul Lich</a> can do more than just copy activated abilities: if Mairsil is on the field, they can borrow his activated abilities.
Alright, let's find those underplayed gems that help make Mairsil a Voltron!
<hr />
<h2>Counter Argument</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Souldrinker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Markov Dreadknight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Syndicate Trafficker"></div></div>
First on our list of hyper-underplayed cards is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Souldrinker" href="#" target="_blank">Souldrinker</a>. It sees play in just 58 decks on EDHREC, but putting +1/+1 counters on a creature doesn't get any easier: trading three life for a +1/+1 counter is an easy, systematic way to buff our Voltron. And don't forget that, while Mairsil only allows each activated ability to be used once a turn, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Souldrinker" href="#" target="_blank">Souldrinker</a>'s "free" ability is something you can do each turn: by the time it gets to be your turn again, Mairsil could already be an 8/8.
But, then, if you happen to have the mana, and maybe some extra cards in your hand, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Markov Dreadknight" href="#" target="_blank">Markov Dreadknight</a> can certainly pump up Mairsil faster and with less life lost. Plus, the Dreadknight (263 decks) also has the potential to do some damage on its own, as it has evasion baked right in. The cost of discarding a card is actually a benefit here since it will allow Mairsil to pluck creatures and artifacts with tasty activated abilities right out of the graveyard.
Looking at the decklist below reveals the large number of artifacts in this Grixis build, so it makes sense to include <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Syndicate Trafficker" href="#" target="_blank">Syndicate Trafficker</a>, both for the easy +1/+1 counter, but also the protection of indestructibility it can grant to Mairsil when caged. It sees play in 248 decks, but offers some much needed protection in this deck to our critically important commander.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anthroplasm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Solarion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Consumptive Goo"></div></div>
Adding one or two counters at a time is nice, but what about really cranking Mairsil's stats up to 11? For that we have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anthroplasm" href="#" target="_blank">Anthroplasm</a>, one of the first cards I ever brewed with way back in Urza's Legacy. Only 245 decks have this card right now, but it seems tailor-made for our purposes here. Throw a cage counter on <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anthroplasm" href="#" target="_blank">Anthroplasm</a> when our commander hits the field, and the next turn pump as much mana as possible into growing Mairsil into a beast. Sadly, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anthroplasm" href="#" target="_blank">Anthroplasm</a>'s ability doesn't stack well, as it removes all counters on the card before adding the new ones.
But maybe Mairsil could use Anthroplasm's ability as a start, and then follow it up with the activated ability on <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solarion" href="#" target="_blank">Solarion</a> the next turn. This card, and a couple other Sunburst cards I'll talk about later, seem right at home in this deck, even if they can't be cast for their full potential. But if that option is appealing, I have included cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chromatic Lantern" href="#" target="_blank">Chromatic Lantern</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exotic Orchard" href="#" target="_blank">Exotic Orchard</a> to help turn make this Grixis deck capable of all five colors. As an aside, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solarion" href="#" target="_blank">Solarion</a> sees play in only 101 decks on the site.
While slightly on the expensive side, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Consumptive Goo" href="#" target="_blank">Consumptive Goo</a> provides another route for +1/+1 counter amplification, while also removing a weenie in the process. Ideally used as a quick combat trick, the Goo is only found in 101 decks. Honestly, if I were looking at cards to cut, this would probably be high on the list due to the cost of the ability, but for now it helps keep the mana curve in check, and it functions well on its own without our commander.
<hr />
<h2>Counters as a Cost</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spinal Parasite"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Suncrusher"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Molten Hydra"></div></div>
Since we're putting all these counters on Mairsil, it might be good to put those counters to use. Maybe we can use them to knock down planeswalkers with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spinal Parasite" href="#" target="_blank">Spinal Parasite</a>. In only 14 measly decks on EDHREC, this Sunburst artifact creature is the only creature ever printed to have a negative toughness. And while that's not a very good reason to play it, the versatility in removing generic counters from permanents does come in handy.
Another Sunburst creature, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Suncrusher" href="#" target="_blank">Suncrusher</a> (95 decks), pulls double duty for us: not only can it turn extra +1/+1 counters into creature removal, but it can also give Mairsil the ability to bounce himself, allowing for a recast and another card exiled with a cage counter on it. While nine mana is high, I think there's great versatility here, and the chances that it'll wind up on the battlefield as opposed to just feeding Mairsil are low.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Molten Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Molten Hydra</a>'s abilities allow for both the addition of counters to Mairsil and a mass damage move. After a few turns of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solarion" href="#" target="_blank">Solarion</a>, there may be enough +1/+1 counters on Mairsil for him to go lethal using <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Molten Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Molten Hydra</a>'s second ability. The Hydra sees play in 102 decks, and while I'm sure there are better iterations of both of its abilities, getting them both on a single card is very valuable.
<hr />
<h2>Through the Line</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Marchesa&#039;s Smuggler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza&#039;s Avenger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merrow Wavebreakers"></div></div>
Now that we've talked about ways to make Mairsil huge, we should spend some time on just how he's going to connect with opponents. First up, we have an excellent option in <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marchesa&#039;s Smuggler" href="#" target="_blank">Marchesa&#039;s Smuggler</a>. Only seeing play in 282 decks, this has to be one of my favorite Izzet cards! The creature is well-costed, as is its activated ability, and it doesn't need any other card to work thanks to Dethrone. In this deck, it provides the best evasion, as well as some very relevant haste, all thanks to an activated ability that could end up on a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necrotic Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Necrotic Ooze</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Havengul Lich" href="#" target="_blank">Havengul Lich</a>. A perfect fit!
I looked very hard at the series of "Avenger" cards printed throughout Magic. The two I settled on for this deck were <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza&#039;s Avenger" href="#" target="_blank">Urza&#039;s Avenger</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah&#039;s Avenger" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah&#039;s Avenger</a>. Played in 27 and 263 decks, respectively, these cards have some great evasion-granting activated abilities, and they're just begging to get "caged" by Mairsil. While it does hurt that you can only use the effect once a turn, having multiple Avengers can help that. Maybe having even a third or fourth version of the card would be beneficial.
While the typical <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mairsil, the Pretender" href="#" target="_blank">Mairsil, the Pretender</a> deck runs untapping cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Leech Bonder" href="#" target="_blank">Leech Bonder</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hateflayer" href="#" target="_blank">Hateflayer</a>, I like my untap effects to come with some evasion. Hence, I've included <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merrow Wavebreakers" href="#" target="_blank">Merrow Wavebreakers</a> in the deck. Providing a cheap way to untap Mairsil while also granting evasion fits right in line with this deck's gameplan. Anymore, this kind of effect seems to be found more in white, so I'm glad to see it in blue here. The Wavebreakers are in only 30 decks on the site, which seems low to me for a good Merfork card with a unique ability.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bane Alley Broker"></div></div>
Lastly, I've included a card to help add some chaos to your Mairsil games: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bane Alley Broker" href="#" target="_blank">Bane Alley Broker</a> (99 decks). While it may not seem like a very good card, getting the Broker's ability on Mairsil while you also have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Myr Welder" href="#" target="_blank">Myr Welder</a> in a cage can lead to some very interesting interactions, not to mention what happens if you exile it using <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Impostor" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Impostor</a>'s ability. Let me know in the comments if you pick up on any of the other fun interactions this card can create in the deck.
And speaking of the deck, here it is.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Commander] 
*1 Mairsil, the Pretender 
[/Commander]
[Creatures] 
*1 Walking Ballista 
*1 Carrion Feeder 
*1 Consumptive Goo 
*1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden 
*1 Marchesa's Smuggler 
*1 Merfolk Looter 
*1 Molten Hydra 
*1 Pili-Pala 
*1 Runaway Steam-Kin 
*1 Sage of Hours 
*1 Syndicate Trafficker 
*1 Bane Alley Broker 
*1 Dark Imposter 
*1 Myr Welder 
*1 Simic Manipulator 
*1 Yahenni, Undying Partisan 
*1 Anthroplasm 
*1 Argent Sphinx 
*1 Crystalline Crawler 
*1 Herald of Secret Streams 
*1 Identity Thief 
*1 Mer-Ek Nightblade 
*1 Necrotic Ooze 
*1 Souldrinker 
*1 Gilded Lotus 
*1 Cinderhaze Wretch 
*1 Havengul Lich 
*1 Markov Dreadknight 
*1 Merrow Wavebreakers 
*1 Spinal Parasite 
*1 Torchling 
*1 Aetherling 
*1 Etherium-Horn Sorcerer 
*1 Jodah's Avenger 
*1 Quicksilver Elemental 
*1 Sphinx of Magosi 
*1 Urza's Avenger 
*1 Hateflayer 
*1 Shauku, Endbringer 
*1 Solarion 
*1 Suncrusher 
[/Creatures]
[Instants] 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Rakdos Charm 
*1 Reality Shift 
*1 Bedevil 
*1 Chaos Warp 
*1 Fact or Fiction 
[/Instants]
[Sorceries] 
*1 Vandalblast 
*1 Demonic Tutor 
*1 Grave Strength 
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts] 
*1 Manifold Key 
*1 Retrofitter Foundry 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Dimir Signet 
*1 Izzet Signet 
*1 Rakdos Signet 
*1 Chromatic Lantern 
*1 Commander's Sphere 
*1 Crystal Shard 
*1 Mirage Mirror 
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments] 
*1 Phyrexian Scriptures 
[/Enchantments]
[Lands] 
*1 Blood Crypt 
*1 Command Tower 
*1 Crumbling Necropolis 
*1 Dragonskull Summit 
*1 Drowned Catacomb 
*1 Exotic Orchard 
*9 Island 
*6 Mountain 
*1 Opal Palace 
*1 Sanctum of Eternity 
*1 Shivan Reef 
*1 Steam Vents 
*1 Sulfur Falls 
*1 Sulfurous Springs 
*8 Swamp 
*1 Underground River 
*1 Watery Grave 
[/Lands]
[/Deck]

<hr />
<h2>I Could've Been a Pretender!</h2>
That's about all there is for this Forgotten Harvest. Questions? Suggestions? Snide remarks? Leave them for me below in the comments. I'll be around to talk about how I left <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Horseshoe Crab" href="#" target="_blank">Horseshoe Crab</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soliton" href="#" target="_blank">Soliton</a> off of my list, and why I can't seem to stop making Voltron decks in this article series. What are some of the more interesting activated abilities that Mairsil could gain, especially from hyper-underplayed cards? Are there any activated ability interactions in Grixis that need more attention? Let me know, and I'll see you next time!

Forgotten Harvest - Mairsil, Pretending to be a Voltron

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive" href="#" target="_blank">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</a> | Art by <a href="http://www.vargasni.com/">Randy Vargas</a>)</h6>
<h1>A Quick, Clean Kill</h1>
They cannot keep us apart, beloved Commander faithful! No matter what they do, no matter what they say, I will always come back to you! For our love is not ordinary: it is quite...UNCOMMON!
Bad introductory jokes aside, welcome to this week's edition of Uncommonders, the series that explores underappreciated commanders printed at the uncommon level. I am going to preface this article with a bit of a revelation. Often with this series, I will stare blankly at the Uncommonder I am going to write about and pick up little details, make a list of possible deck ideas or archetypes, and eventually pick one or two for the article and run with it. This week was not that easy. I struggled to find a good, unique way to build this deck. In the end, I decided to buckle down and say that if I could not make it super unique or "out there", I would simply build it to the commander's strength to the best of my ability in an effort to make the deck as mean as possible. Naturally, I expect you to be curious which uncommon legendary creature we are looking at today, so without further ado, today we are talking about...
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive"></div></div>
Before we talk about the deck and the cards in it, I do want to point out some of the ideas I looked into and ultimately was dissatisfied with. First, I wanted to build a more aggressive deck and looked up all the blue and colorless creatures that had a toughness of 1 but a power of 2 or more. This would mean that the creatures would be able to slip by with Tetsuko's ability but deal more damage than creatures with low toughness normally do. Unfortunately, for this idea, the two top cards Scryfall gave me were <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snapcaster Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Snapcaster Mage</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Metallic Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Metallic Mimic</a>, which turned me off the idea almost immediately. While looking at this list, I did notice a number of Faeries, some of which were Wizards and some of which were Rogues, and I considered some kind of tribal theme, either with Faeries or Rogues, but those searches did not inspire me much, either. They were especially lackluster when adding the requirement to have either power or toughness equal to 1, so I toyed around with another couple of ideas (there are sadly not enough Ninjas with power or toughness equal to 1 in mono-blue) and threw up my hands thinking "fine, I will just have to be the meanest person at the table with this!"
When thinking about "what is the meanest thing to do with unblockable, small creatures in mono-blue" I eventually settled on what Tetsuko already does very well:
Infect.
That may sound crazy, as there are only six creatures with the Infect ability in mono-blue with power or toughness equal to 1. However, four of those creatures are artifacts, and blue is pretty good at making duplicates of their creatures and their artifacts, so I decided to double down on my idea and Infect the table out. Also, blue is one half of the normal color combination that deals with counter manipulation, so Proliferate shenanigans are not hard to come by for the deck. One poison counter can quickly become fatal in most scenarios, so all we need to do is get the party started with these smaller creatures.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">A Pinprick of Poison</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plague Myr"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Viral Drake"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ichorclaw Myr"></div></div>
In addition to the three cards shown above, the other three main Infect cards are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blighted Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Blighted Agent</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropede" href="#" target="_blank">Necropede</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Digester" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Digester</a>. There are other Infect sources in the deck and some with interesting roles to play (like recursion on <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpse Cur" href="#" target="_blank">Corpse Cur</a>, and the sometimes-creature <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inkmoth Nexus" href="#" target="_blank">Inkmoth Nexus</a>) but I want to focus on some of the other supportive cards for our endgame of infecting the entire table.
With War of the Spark, blue got some interesting new cards for Infect wins with new sources of Proliferate. Naturally, these cards were intended to pump up Standard-legal planeswalkers, but I'll take a win where I can find one! <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guildpact Informant" href="#" target="_blank">Guildpact Informant</a> feels like a variant of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrummingbird" href="#" target="_blank">Thrummingbird</a>, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flux Channeler" href="#" target="_blank">Flux Channeler</a> can get out of control quickly if we have some card advantage cantrips or just a grip filled with counterspells. Speaking of cantrips, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contentious Plan" href="#" target="_blank">Contentious Plan</a> is a fun new inclusion. Finally, the new <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn&#039;s Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Karn&#039;s Bastion</a> is a repeatable effect similar to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Viral Drake" href="#" target="_blank">Viral Drake</a>.
Of all these new cards, the one I struggled the most with did not come from War of the Spark but from Modern Horizons. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Truth and Justice" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Truth and Justice</a> is a continuation of the iconic 'Sword of X and Y' cycle and helps get us where we want to be. Unfortunately, there are two major drawbacks to the card with our strategy. For starters, we normally do not want to put +1/+1 counters on our creatures because we need to keep either their power or toughness low enough for Tetsuko to help them remain unblockable. Second, the Sword itself gives the creature holding it +2/+2, meaning even if we put it on a 1/1 body, it definitely is not going to remain unblockable as a 3/3. In the end, I decided to include the Sword because we simply needed more Proliferate abilities, and hopefully the added protection the sword provides can assist with keeping the creature difficult to block. Even if the Sword-wielding creature only hits once or twice, it will also work as a diversionary target, making our opponents want to get rid of it and maybe ignoring some of our other pieces on the table.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Colorless and Deadly</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Contagion Engine"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krark-Clan Ironworks"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Myr Retriever"></div></div>
I have recently reignited my love for artifact decks, having built a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teshar, Ancestor&#039;s Apostle" href="#" target="_blank">Teshar, Ancestor&#039;s Apostle</a> deck for my 3DH streams. Noticing that four of our six main Infect cards are artifacts and that some of our main synergy pieces were also artifacts (like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contagion Clasp" href="#" target="_blank">Contagion Clasp</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contagion Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Contagion Engine</a>), I decided to dive into some colorless shenanigans to round out the deck. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark-Clan Ironworks" href="#" target="_blank">Krark-Clan Ironworks</a> has been dropping in price since the Modern ban and is basically a better <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod&#039;s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod&#039;s Altar</a> for our deck. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ugin, the Ineffable" href="#" target="_blank">Ugin, the Ineffable</a> makes many of our artifacts free. I like the idea of having recursion options for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meteor Golem" href="#" target="_blank">Meteor Golem</a> to strengthen our removal suite for things like artifacts and enchantments. Thopters and Myrs mostly come in the forms of 1/1 bodies, so <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sharding Sphinx" href="#" target="_blank">Sharding Sphinx</a> is a walking army in the making, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sai, Master Thopterist" href="#" target="_blank">Sai, Master Thopterist</a> can get that army started just by casting some artifacts.
With all of this synergy, we are going to need to support it with as much ramp as blue can manage, card advantage galore, some Wraths and removal, to ultimately get a list that looks like this:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Tainted Blade of Umezawa" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
[/Commander]
[Creature]
*1 Blighted Agent
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Core Prowler
*1 Corpse Cur
*1 Eternal of Harsh Truths
*1 Flux Channeler
*1 Guildpact Informant
*1 Ichorclaw Myr
*1 Junk Diver
*1 Meteor Golem
*1 Mist-Syndicate Naga
*1 Mistblade Shinobi
*1 Myr Retriever
*1 Necropede
*1 Neurok Commando
*1 Nimble Obstructionist
*1 Phyrexian Digester
*1 Pilgrim&#039;s Eye
*1 Plague Myr
*1 Sai, Master Thopterist
*1 Scrap Trawler
*1 Scroll Thief
*1 Sharding Sphinx
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Tandem Lookout
*1 Thrumming Bird
*1 Tribute Mage
*1 Trophy Mage
*1 Viral Drake
[/Creature]
[Artifact]
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Blinkmoth Urn
*1 Contagion Clasp
*1 Contagion Engine
*1 Gilded Lotus
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Krark-Clan Ironworks
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Mirrorworks
*1 Ovalchase Dragster
*1 Sapphire Medallion
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Sword of Truth and Justice
*1 Throne of Geth
[/Artifact]
[Instant]
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Counterspell
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Disallow
*1 Pongify
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Swan Song
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*1 Contentious Plan
*1 Notorious Throng
*1 Saheeli&#039;s Artistry
*1 Stolen Identity
*1 Tezzeret&#039;s Gambit
[/Sorcery]
[Enchantment]
*1 Coastal Piracy
*1 Inexorable Tide
[/Enchantment]
[Planeswalker]
*1 Tezzeret the Seeker
*1 Ugin the Ineffable
[/Planeswalker]
[Land]
*1 Academy Ruins
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Desert of the Mindful
*1 Ghost Quarter
*1 Inkmoth Nexus
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*23 Island
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Remote Isle
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Strip Mine
[/Land]"></div> 

<hr />
The last article about <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boris Devilboon" href="#" target="_blank">Boris Devilboon</a> was a little on the unorthodox side, even for me. I have to admit, I was slightly worried about how it would be received by you, the readers, breaking so far away from the commander and those printed abilities to do something as janky as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liliana&#039;s Contract" href="#" target="_blank">Liliana&#039;s Contract</a>. Still, there were some cool comments, like this one by regular commenter Cyberium! They wrote:
<blockquote><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Choice of Damnations" href="#" target="_blank">Choice of Damnations</a> is oddly fitting here. In addition to chaotic effects, I love forcing opponent to make a decision, that's something a demon would do. 
Slightly off topic: Given the new expansion is Throne of Eldraine, with a royalty-ish feel, perhaps the Round Table deck could be revisited.</blockquote>
I cannot begin to tell you how many of the decks I make for EDHREC articles are listed in the "go back and update now that new, cool cards have come out since writing those articles" mental list I keep! Actually, maybe I can: almost all of them! Honestly, I am the kind of deck brewer that is never truly satisfied with a deck. Wizards of the Coast comes out with so many new awesome cards in each set, I find it impossible to ever stop tweaking and tuning decks, trying to hit that sweet spot where they feel perfect. I even look back at my favorite, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krenko, Mob Boss" href="#" target="_blank">Krenko, Mob Boss</a> and constantly think about adjustments to make the deck faster, more consistent and meaner.
Of course, if you like how mean I can be when tossing cardboard around a kitchen table (or sometimes online) then make sure you are <a href="https://www.twitter.com/DM_Cross">following me on Twitter</a> to talk about all things Magic: the Gathering! You can also join the public <a href="https://discord.gg/CrNHmTE">Praetor Magic Discord server</a> to talk to me there daily, not to mention see our awesome gameplay videos on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/praetormagic">YouTube channel</a>! We also have a podcast called Reflections of the Council; new episodes are posted every Thursday after we record them on YouTube at 9 PM EST, so search "Praetor Magic" or "Reflections of the Council" on your favorite podcast platform to find us! And until next time, remember...
Drop bombs and Infect the table!

Uncommonders - Umezawa's Tainted Blade

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed" href="#" target="_blank">Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed</a> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CJunko+Taguchi%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Junko Taguchi</a>)</h6>
<h1>One-Eyed Willy</h1>
Hello again, friends! My name is Seth Cross, and welcome back to Uncommonders, the series that explores underappreciated commanders printed at the uncommon level. Though this series started with Dominaria's twenty uncommon legends, I also wanted to include older Uncommonders, as well as rares that were downshifted in rarity, to see how brand new cards affect those uncommon legends and make them more powerful.
As a Golgari and generally mono-black player, one of the most exciting new cards from War of the Spark is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas’s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas’s Citadel</a>, with all its delicious combo potential. Looking through all the pre-Dominaria Uncommonders, I noticed an Uncommonder that can run Citadel with ease. Of course, I'm talking about...
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed"></div></div>
Xiahou is a unique commander due to the wording of the printed ability and the fact that Horsemanship is a fairly rare mechanic. Since the card does not have reminder text, Horsemanship means “this creature can’t be blocked except by creatures with Horsemanship.” Basically, a different version of flying.
Xiahou’s other ability is unique because of the timing restrictions (pre-combat main phase only) and that it retrieves from your graveyard any black card, not just a creature. This enables a few interesting strategies, but for us, it can act as recursion for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas&#039;s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas&#039;s Citadel</a>, since it is a black card instead of a regular colorless artifact. This gives us the ability to play some cool spells, then play them again and again.
Normally, Xiahou is built with powerful black instants and sorceries - a card type mono-black cannot regularly recur. I'd like to break that tradition, though. There are only a few key cards he needs to recur, namely that precious, precious Citadel. Let's lean into that Citadel synergy - instead of building an instant and sorcery Xiahou Dun deck, we're building a mono-black artifact master.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Some Necessary Artifice</h3>
To properly build around <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas&#039;s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas&#039;s Citadel</a>, let's see what cards are most often paired with it. Looking at the artifact's main EDHREC page, I was not at all surprised to see <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a> as part of the Signature Cards and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei’s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei’s Divining Top</a> in the Top Cards.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-33418 aligncenter" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EDHREC.png" alt="" width="700" height="408" />
While Citadel lets us play the first land that winds up on top of our deck, we cannot be expected to have too many extra land drops without green in the deck. Top helps us move them away and keep the combo going. Reservoir’s lifegain keeps us alive as we start to combo off, since we will be paying life to play cards from our deck.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Insurance In-Depth</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krark-Clan Ironworks"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Buried Ruin"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Trading Post"></div></div>
Both Reservoir and Citadel are very dangerous cards to see on the battlefield, and will attract removal spells. Xiahou can retrieve Citadel, and artifacts can often be recurred by other artifacts, though we should be wary of exile effects like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Return to Dust" href="#" target="_blank">Return to Dust</a>. We'd much prefer our artifacts end up in the graveyard than in exile, so to guarantee our artifacts don't go away forever, we'll include some sacrifice outlets, to make sure we can recur those artifacts if we need to. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trading Post" href="#" target="_blank">Trading Post</a> is a staple in artifact-based decks because it can both sacrifice and recur our important pieces. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark-Clan Ironworks" href="#" target="_blank">Krark-Clan Ironworks</a> gives us an instant-speed sacrifice to generate mana. The other two options I like for the deck are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Claws of Gix" href="#" target="_blank">Claws of Gix</a>, which has recently seen some love on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5d1KNNFArSNNRrpJjhf1WrwwuZqUcg0K">Commander Vs</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Syndicate Trafficker" href="#" target="_blank">Syndicate Trafficker</a>, a more recent addition to the package.
Unfortunately, mono-black has few options to return artifacts from the graveyard when those artifacts are not creatures. By few of course, we mean next to none. The only ones I know of are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beacon of Unrest" href="#" target="_blank">Beacon of Unrest</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fortuitous Find" href="#" target="_blank">Fortuitous Find</a>. The latter isn't very impressive, and though the former is nice enough for recursion, it doesn't synergize with Xiahou's ability, since it shuffles back into the library.
We can therefore facilitate our recursion by running the staples like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Myr Retriever" href="#" target="_blank">Myr Retriever</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Junk Diver" href="#" target="_blank">Junk Diver</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Buried Ruin" href="#" target="_blank">Buried Ruin</a>, and depending on how artifact-heavy the list becomes, maybe <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrap Trawler" href="#" target="_blank">Scrap Trawler</a>. The idea of making Treasure tokens and sacrificing them to the aforementioned Ironworks is too much fun to not include, so you may notice both <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pitiless Plunderer" href="#" target="_blank">Pitiless Plunderer</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revel in Riches" href="#" target="_blank">Revel in Riches</a> in the deck, too. Then, since we are looking at sacrificing some Treasure tokens, I cannot resist running my favorite card from all of Kaladesh block, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marionette Master" href="#" target="_blank">Marionette Master</a>.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Cheating on Your Taxes</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Palace Siege"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Volrath’s Stronghold"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Reclamation"></div></div>
A quick disclaimer: this section is about cheating on your commander tax! Do not cheat on your real taxes! You have been warned!
Xiahou does not suffer from the problem experienced by other commanders with "dies" triggers, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elenda, the Dusk Rose" href="#" target="_blank">Elenda, the Dusk Rose</a>. With his updated oracle text, he can sacrifice himself to his own ability, be replaced into the command zone, and still return a black card to your hand. This is a cool advantage to have, but it will increase commander tax. Let's look at ways to avoid increased commander tax; since mono-black is the color of recursion, we have many options.
I am always an advocate of repeatable effects, so <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Volrath’s Stronghold" href="#" target="_blank">Volrath’s Stronghold</a> is great for the deck. It is doubly synergistic because, with Citadel out, we can pay four life to replay Xiahou, potentially getting back multiple cards in one turn! Another repeatable effect is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Palace Siege" href="#" target="_blank">Palace Siege</a>, naming 'Khans' to return creatures, though funny enough, Xiahou can also return this enchantment if need be! <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Victimize" href="#" target="_blank">Victimize</a> is not normally a repeatable effect, but with Xiahou’s ability and enough mana, we can keep looping the spell for maximum value. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a> seems to be good in any deck that runs it, and this is no exception. Making nonlegendary copies of Xiahou to recur spells is pure value. Then there's <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Reclamation" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Reclamation</a>, also repeatable recursion, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mimic Vat" href="#" target="_blank">Mimic Vat</a>, which can help us make Xiahou copies once a turn.
NOTE: It is important to be careful with Vat. If Xiahou is exiled under it and Vat is destroyed, there is no way to return him to the command zone. Make sure you have some creature sacrifice outlets that you can activate to push Xiahou back into the graveyard if someone goes to remove Vat. For the most part, sacrifice outlets that act as mana abilities (<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Altar</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod’s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod’s Altar</a> for example) are best, to avoid the green player’s <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krosan Grip" href="#" target="_blank">Krosan Grip</a>.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Panic Buttons!</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Perpetual Timepiece"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whip of Erebos"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Relic of Progenitus"></div></div>
For the sake of safety, I do like have a safety button or two when it comes to putting my commander in the graveyard. If someone goes to disrupt your recursion, and Xiahou winds up stuck in the graveyard, things can get rough. In these instances, exiling Xiahou and putting him into the command zone via replacement effect might be the only answer. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a> is one such example. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whip of Erebos" href="#" target="_blank">Whip of Erebos</a> is another good option, because we can still sacrifice Xiahou before he gets exiled at the end of turn. I also enjoy <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Perpetual Timepiece" href="#" target="_blank">Perpetual Timepiece</a> to shuffle our graveyard back into our deck, also triggering a commander replacement effect when Xiahou would change zones. While this may take away some of our options for Xiahou later, the ends justify the means if we need our commander back. It also doubles up on value if Citadel is on the battlefield, and we need to shave a couple of lands off the top of our library (plus, any black cards we mill are great targets for Xiahou later)!
Throw in a couple Wrath effects (I count <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Living Death" href="#" target="_blank">Living Death</a> as the first one), some removal, ramp and card advantage (especially anything that is black that Xiahou can recur) and the list might look something like this:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div> 
[Commander] 
*1 Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed 
[/Commander] 
[Artifact] 
*1 Aetherflux Reservoir 
*1 Blackblade Reforged 
*1 Bolas's Citadel 
*1 Claws of Gix 
*1 Crucible of Worlds 
*1 Expedition Map 
*1 Gilded Lotus 
*1 Helm of the Host 
*1 Jet Medallion 
*1 Krark-Clan Ironworks 
*1 Lashwrithe 
*1 Mimic Vat 
*1 Mind Stone 
*1 Nevinyrral's Disk 
*1 Nim Deathmantle 
*1 Perpetual Timepiece 
*1 Phyrexian Altar 
*1 Relic of Progenitus 
*1 Sensei's Divining Top 
*1 Skullclamp 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Spine of Ish Sah 
*1 Trading Post 
[/artifact] 
[Land] 
*1 Bojuka Bog 
*1 Buried Ruin 
*1 Cabal Coffers 
*1 Cabal Stronghold 
*1 Command Beacon 
*1 Inventors' Fair 
*1 Myriad Landscape 
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx 
*26 Snow-Covered Swamp 
*1 Strip Mine 
*1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 
*1 Volrath's Stronghold 
[/Land] 
[Instant] 
*1 Cabal Ritual 
*1 Dark Ritual 
*1 Entomb 
*1 Hatred 
*1 Vampiric Tutor 
[/Instant] 
[Creature] 
*1 Junk Diver 
*1 Marionette Master 
*1 Midnight Reaper 
*1 Mindslicer 
*1 Myr Retriever 
*1 Necrotic Ooze 
*1 Pitiless Plunderer 
*1 Plaguecrafter 
*1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier 
*1 Solemn Simulacrum 
*1 Syndicate Trafficker 
*1 Vampire Hexmage 
[/creature] 
[Planeswalker] 
*1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General 
[/Planeswalker] 
[Enchantment] 
*1 Arguel's Blood Fast 
*1 Palace Siege 
*1 Phyrexian Reclamation 
*1 Revel in Riches 
*1 Whip of Erebos 
[/Enchantment] 
[Sorcery] 
*1 Beacon of Unrest 
*1 Buried Alive 
*1 Damnation 
*1 Living Death 
*1 Read the Bones 
*1 Reanimate 
*1 Sign in Blood 
*1 Toxic Deluge 
*1 Victimize 
*1 Yawgmoth's Will 
[/Sorcery] 
[/Deck]

<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Different Brewing Angles</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bolas’s Citadel"></div></div>
For this deck, the commander is mostly a facilitator for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas&#039;s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas&#039;s Citadel</a> in the 99. Paying life instead of mana is extremely powerful in Magic, so I'm happy to build around what is easily one of my favorite cards from War of the Spark. This take isn't necessarily mainstream for Xiahou - playing a support role rather than the leading role - but it is interesting space to explore.
Looking back at the comments on last week's article from Twitter, Reddit and the comment section of the article itself, my favorite came from /u/TheCinniWinni on Reddit, who wrote:
<blockquote>Hello my friend! I have a [[Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed]] edh deck, and it's super flexible!! Also, he has horsemanship, which is pseudo-unblockable, and black has a ton of ways to buff him by sacrificing your own creatures.</blockquote>
They went more in-depth with their response and you can read the rest of it by clicking <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/EDH/comments/bkaozk/think_those_sonic_images_are_bad_check_out_how/emhwfyz?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x">here</a>. We can get inspired by so many different aspects of the game, including someone else’s ideas or basic concepts, and that is awesome to see. When brewing decks, try to surround yourself with those personalities, to bounce ideas around and come up with something new and cool!
Of course, if you want to bounce ideas for decks with me or just talk about Commander or Magic in general with me, make sure you are <a href="https://www.twitter.com/DM_Cross">following me on Twitter</a>. I am also a part of the Praetor Magic group, where we make <a href="https://www.youtube.com/praetormagic">YouTube videos</a> every month, perform a live Podcast <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/praetormagic">Twitch stream</a> as well as gameplay streams every week and host a <a href="https://discord.gg/CrNHmTE">public Discord server</a> dedicated to bringing people together over the idea of cheap Commander games! I hope to see you out there and until next time, you know what to do;
Keep reanimating those bombs! (Because casting them just once is never enough!)

artifact