<p style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marina Vendrell" href="#" target="_blank">Marina Vendrell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.originalmagicart.store/collections/magali-villeneuve">Magali Villeneuve</a></p>
<p>Welcome back to <em>Best At, Worst At</em>. In this series, we look at some of Commander's most popular strategies, see which legendary creatures lead the most decks for them, and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of those cards. After we analyze a strategy's most popular commander, we'll look at another commander that fills in some of their weak spots.</p>
<p>In today's edition, we'll be talking about <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/enchantress">Enchantress decks</a>. These decks are quite popular, currently sitting as the 15th-most popular strategy in EDHREC's data with 58,052 decks!</p>
<h2>Why Play Enchantress?</h2>
<p>These decks make great use of one of <em>Magic</em>'s most interesting card types. While most Commander decks run just a handful of enchantments, these decks often run more than a dozen of them, some with enchantments numbering in the scores, just to get the density they need to make this strategy tick.</p>
<p>Enchantments come in multiple forms, with Auras, Sagas, and Rooms all doing different things. But, in general, these decks can make a ton of mana (with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sanctum Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Sanctum Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), wipe the board easily (with beefers like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doomwake Giant" href="#" target="_blank">Doomwake Giant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), and even set up a pillow fort (with permanents like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphere of Safety" href="#" target="_blank">Sphere of Safety</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>).</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sanctum Weaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doomwake Giant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sphere of Safety"></div></div>
<h2>Who's the Most Popular Enchantress Commander?</h2>
<p>The most popular Enchantress commander is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marina Vendrell" href="#" target="_blank">Marina Vendrell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, leading 7% of this strategy's lists. As the legend in charge of 3,771 decks with this tag, Marina lets pilots make good use of all the Rooms that got printed in <em>Duskmourn</em>.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Marina is a 3/5 Human Warlock. When she enters the battlefield, we get to look at the top seven cards of our library and put all enchantments from among them into our hand. We can also <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> Marina to lock or unlock half of a Room enchantment, letting us use and re-use their effects!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Marina Vendrell"></div></div>
<h3>What Makes Marina Vendrell So Powerful?</h3>
<p>As <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=otag%3Asynergy-room+is%3Acommander&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">one of just two commanders that synergize with Rooms</a>, Marina provides a home (no pun intended) for all of the great cards from the haunted-house-themed set that released in 2024. Rooms are generally pretty well-designed, and Marina lets us play the best ones while also giving us access to some fantastic synergy pieces.</p>
<p>Her five-color identity lets us play a "no holds barred" sort of game, not needing to settle for sub-par removal, card advantage, or ramp. She also lets us cheat huge mana costs very effectively. If, for example, we spend two mana to get the cheaper half of a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror Room // Fractured Realm" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror Room // Fractured Realm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the field, Marina can save us <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-5" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> by unlocking the more costly side. She can also let us reuse Mirror Room's ability by repeatedly locking and unlocking it!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror Room // Fractured Realm"></div></div>
<h3>What's in a Marina Deck?</h3>
<p>Marina Vendrell decks keep their hands full with draw engines like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sythis, Harvest&#039;s Hand" href="#" target="_blank">Sythis, Harvest&#039;s Hand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (which finds itself in a whopping 73% of Marina decks) while keeping the board on lockdown with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fear of Sleep Paralysis" href="#" target="_blank">Fear of Sleep Paralysis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (in 60% of Marina decks). Other cards from <em>Duskmourn</em> also feature heavily, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Master of Keys" href="#" target="_blank">The Master of Keys</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (in 30% of lists).</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sythis, Harvest&#039;s Hand"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fear of Sleep Paralysis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Master of Keys"></div></div>
<p>Other decks may focus on filling their 99 with cheap enchantments, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Abundant Harvest" href="#" target="_blank">Abundant Harvest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but Marina Vendrell pilots want to play house. The most popular Room for these lists is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Secret Arcade // Dusty Parlor" href="#" target="_blank">Secret Arcade // Dusty Parlor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which turns all of our permanents into enchantments. This works well with Marina, letting us grab more cards with her ETB trigger, but it pairs even better with effects like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Setessan Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Setessan Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cramped Vents // Access Maze" href="#" target="_blank">Cramped Vents // Access Maze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another popular choice, letting our commander <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to provide us with on-demand removal while also saving us even more mana in the long run. Finally, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dollmaker&#039;s Shop // Porcelain Gallery" href="#" target="_blank">Dollmaker&#039;s Shop // Porcelain Gallery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes a great target for our commander's unlock ability. We can spend just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and use Marina's ability to get both halves of this Room up and running!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Secret Arcade // Dusty Parlor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cramped Vents // Access Maze"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dollmaker&#039;s Shop // Porcelain Gallery"></div></div>
<p>Here's Marina's average decklist, according to EDHREC. Rooms, of course, feature heavily!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="This House is Not a Home" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Marina Vendrell
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Chromatic Lantern
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Keys to the House
*1 Sol Ring
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Balemurk Leech
*1 Destiny Spinner
*1 Doomwake Giant
*1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
*1 Eidolon of Blossoms
*1 Enduring Vitality
*1 Entity Tracker
*1 Fear of Sleep Paralysis
*1 Ghostly Dancers
*1 Ghostly Keybearer
*1 Gremlin Tamer
*1 Herald of the Pantheon
*1 Inquisitive Glimmer
*1 Jukai Naturalist
*1 Mesa Enchantress
*1 Ondu Spiritdancer
*1 Overlord of the Hauntwoods
*1 Sanctum Weaver
*1 Setessan Champion
*1 Sythis, Harvest&#039;s Hand
*1 Victor, Valgavoth&#039;s Seneschal
*1 Zur, Eternal Schemer
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Bottomless Pool // Locker Room
*1 Central Elevator // Promising Stairs
*1 Charred Foyer // Warped Space
*1 Cramped Vents // Access Maze
*1 Dazzling Theater // Prop Room
*1 Defiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab
*1 Derelict Attic // Widow&#039;s Walk
*1 Dollmaker&#039;s Shop // Porcelain Gallery
*1 Enchantress&#039;s Presence
*1 Funeral Room // Awakening Hall
*1 Glassworks // Shattered Yard
*1 Grand Entryway // Elegant Rotunda
*1 Greenhouse // Rickety Gazebo
*1 Meat Locker // Drowned Diner
*1 Mirror Room // Fractured Realm
*1 Moldering Gym // Weight Room
*1 Painter&#039;s Studio // Defaced Gallery
*1 Restricted Office // Lecture Hall
*1 Roaring Furnace // Steaming Sauna
*1 Secret Arcade // Dusty Parlor
*1 Smoky Lounge // Misty Salon
*1 Sphere of Safety
*1 Surgical Suite // Hospital Room
*1 Ticket Booth // Tunnel of Hate
*1 Underwater Tunnel // Slimy Aquarium
*1 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
*1 Walk-In Closet // Forgotten Cellar
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Counterspell
*1 Get Out
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Cultivate
*1 Farseek
*1 Idyllic Tutor
*1 Redress Fate
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Arcane Sanctum
*1 Breeding Pool
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Flooded Strand
*4 Forest
*1 Godless Shrine
*1 Hall of Heliod&#039;s Generosity
*1 Hallowed Fountain
*1 Indatha Triome
*3 Island
*1 Jetmir&#039;s Garden
*1 Ketria Triome
*2 Mountain
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*1 Path of Ancestry
*3 Plains
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Seaside Citadel
*1 Spara&#039;s Headquarters
*1 Stomping Ground
*2 Swamp
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 The World Tree
*1 Valgavoth&#039;s Lair
*1 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h3>What Are Marina Vendrell's Shortcomings?</h3>
<p>While Marina can provide a spooky amount of value when played alongside an adequate number of Rooms, she doesn't inherently give us a way to win the game.</p>
<p>Some of the Rooms that we play can put a good amount of power and toughness on the field, and there's even a Room that acts as an alternative win condition (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Central Elevator // Promising Stairs" href="#" target="_blank">Central Elevator // Promising Stairs</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>). But, beyond that, we won't be reducing opponents' life totals meaningfully. Many Rooms are built for <em>Duskmourn</em>'s Limited environment, or for 60-card formats, meaning they fall flat in Commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Central Elevator // Promising Stairs"></div></div>
<h2>How Can We Shore Up Marina's Weaknesses?</h2>
<p>In stark contrast, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bello, Bard of the Brambles" href="#" target="_blank">Bello, Bard of the Brambles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides some real offensive firepower. We'll have a board of card-drawing, quick-moving 4/4s before our opponents can say "Raccoon Bard" ten times fast.</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Bello is a 3/3 that turns all of our non-Aura enchantments and non-Equipment artifacts into 4/4s that draw us cards upon dealing damage to an opponent. These newly-minted creatures have haste and indestructible to boot!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bello, Bard of the Brambles"></div></div>
<p>Bello decks play some unique cards. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overlord of the Hauntwoods" href="#" target="_blank">Overlord of the Hauntwoods</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, can attack ahead of schedule if we get Bello on the field after casting the Avatar Horror. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Weaver of Harmony" href="#" target="_blank">Weaver of Harmony</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s +1/+1 anthem suddenly looks a lot more relevant, too, with our commander on the field. Finally, and funnily enough, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Path of Discovery" href="#" target="_blank">Path of Discovery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can trigger its own ability to explore!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overlord of the Hauntwoods"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Weaver of Harmony"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Path of Discovery"></div></div>
<p>Bello pairs extraordinarily well with enchantments that augment the damage our creatures can deal. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Berserkers&#039; Onslaught" href="#" target="_blank">Berserkers&#039; Onslaught</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gratuitous Violence" href="#" target="_blank">Gratuitous Violence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> turn our animated army into functional 8/4s, allowing us to crash through for tons of damage. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gruul War Chant" href="#" target="_blank">Gruul War Chant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fiery Emancipation" href="#" target="_blank">Fiery Emancipation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> have similar effects. We can even copy our creature-fied enchantments with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Molten Echoes" href="#" target="_blank">Molten Echoes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, delivering a real wallop to our opponents in the combat step.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Berserkers&#039; Onslaught"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gruul War Chant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Molten Echoes"></div></div>
<p>Here's Bello's average Enchantress-tagged deck. This list may be a bit tainted by the original 99 of Bello's preconstructed deck, but the differences between this deck and Marina's should still be clear.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bello and Goodbye" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Bello, Bard of the Brambles
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Chimil, the Inner Sun
*1 Esika&#039;s Chariot
*1 Gilded Lotus
*1 Gruul Signet
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Rolling Hamsphere
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Talisman of Impulse
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Thran Dynamo
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Eidolon of Blossoms
*1 Fanatic of Rhonas
*1 Garruk&#039;s Packleader
*1 Goblin Anarchomancer
*1 Herald of the Pantheon
*1 Kodama of the East Tree
*1 Llanowar Elves
*1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
*1 Overlord of the Boilerbilges
*1 Pyreswipe Hawk
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Sanctum Weaver
*1 Setessan Champion
*1 Trailtracker Scout
*1 Wandertale Mentor
*1 Wildsear, Scouring Maw
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Asceticism
*1 Berserkers&#039; Onslaught
*1 Case of the Locked Hothouse
*1 City on Fire
*1 Collective Inferno
*1 Fiery Emancipation
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Glorious Sunrise
*1 Gratuitous Violence
*1 Greater Good
*1 Gruul War Chant
*1 Guardian Project
*1 Molten Echoes
*1 Nature&#039;s Will
*1 Path of Discovery
*1 Primeval Bounty
*1 Raiding Schemes
*1 Sunbird&#039;s Invocation
*1 Thickest in the Thicket
*1 Unnatural Growth
*1 Warstorm Surge
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Abrade
*1 Beast Within
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Starstorm
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Cultivate
*1 Decimate
*1 Explore
*1 Farseek
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Rampant Growth
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Cinder Glade
*1 Command Tower
*1 Copperline Gorge
*1 Exotic Orchard
*11 Forest
*1 Game Trail
*1 Gruul Turf
*1 Karplusan Forest
*1 Mossfire Valley
*1 Mosswort Bridge
*8 Mountain
*1 Raging Ravine
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Rockfall Vale
*1 Rootbound Crag
*1 Sheltered Thicket
*1 Spire Garden
*1 Stomping Ground
*1 Temple of Abandon
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Enchantments appear in every set, but it was so neat to get a whole set focused on them with <em>Duskmourn</em>. I do hope that Rooms return at some point in the near future, and that's not just for Marina Vendrell's sake. They're among the more interesting enchantment subtypes, and I think that there may be some unexplored design space available for multicolored Rooms!</p>
<p>Are you as hopeful as I am for the return of Rooms? Let me know below, and I'll be back soon with another <em>Best At, Worst At</em>!</p>


Marina Vendrell Enchantress | Best At, Worst At

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Melek, Izzet Paragon" href="#" target="_blank">Melek, Izzet Paragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.jasonchanart.com/">Jason Chan</a>)</h6>
<h1 style="text-align: left;" align="center">Let's Get Weird</h1>
<p style="text-align: left;" align="center">Hello, and welcome to the first ever <i>Strategic Planning</i>, a column where we’ll goldfish a commander’s EDHREC Average Decklist list in order to get a better feeling for their strengths and weaknesses before brewing them ourselves! Let's get to it!</p>
<p>First, some notes about goldfishing. 'Goldfishing' is the process of testing out a deck by piloting it against an opponent (the goldfish) who does nothing. You might also call it 'solitaire.' Goldfishing can help you get an idea of how fast a given list can produce threats and find combo pieces, but it’s also useful for familiarizing yourself with how individual cards fit in to the larger engine of the deck, demonstrating which cards aren’t pulling their weight, and giving a better sense of what hands are actually safe to keep given the density of our draw and ramp effects.</p>
<p>Simply put, our opponents are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Unexpectedly Absent" href="#" target="_blank">Unexpectedly Absent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> while we conduct our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Epic Experiment" href="#" target="_blank">Epic Experiment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Unexpectedly Absent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Epic Experiment"></div></div>
<p>Don't forget to throw yourself some curveballs! In addition to being a good way to learn the mechanics of a deck’s operation, goldfishing can be an opportunity to see how a deck handles removal or sweepers. Once a list is tuned enough that it can reliably get its engine started while goldfishing, I like to start throwing disruption at it to see how well it can bounce back. Though the specifics are largely meta-dependent, some threats are very unlikely to go unanswered in a four player format for very long. Simulating that can give you a better idea of how resilient your list is once it makes itself a target for the rest of the table, and how difficult it will be to rebuild if you’re punished for overextending.</p>
<hr />
<h3>The Weird World of Melek, Spellslinger</h3>
<p>For today’s exercise in applied goldfishing, we’re going to look at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Melek, Izzet Paragon" href="#" target="_blank">Melek, Izzet Paragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, who hails from the plane of Ravnica and is currently the fourth most popular Izzet commander on EDHREC with 1,148 decks at the time of this writing.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Melek, Izzet Paragon"></div></div>
<p>Six mana in blue and red is a hefty investment, and commander tax can easily render Melek unplayably expensive. We’ll have to keep this in mind while evaluating the rest of our brew.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>“Play with the top card of your library revealed.”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>This effect is difficult to evaluate as the extra information given to our opponents can help them play around our upcoming cards, but by the same token, so can we.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>“You may cast the top card of your library if it’s an instant or sorcery card.”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Though more limited than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Future Sight" href="#" target="_blank">Future Sight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this line of text can provide very powerful card advantage in a build with a high enough spell density.</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><strong>“Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell from your library, copy it. You may choose new targets for the copy.”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>This is a big payoff. Anyone who’s ever untapped with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swarm Intelligence" href="#" target="_blank">Swarm Intelligence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> knows that if an instant or sorcery effect is good enough to want once, it’s even better when you can get it twice. The strength of Melek’s ability combined with his high mana investment means that he will almost certainly be a lightning rod for removal, so protecting him is a high priority.</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Average List</h2>
<p>The average list for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Melek, Izzet Paragon" href="#" target="_blank">Melek, Izzet Paragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on EDHREC is as follows:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Melek, Average Paragon" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Melek, Izzet Paragon
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Blue Sun&#039;s Zenith
*1 Brainstorm
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Comet Storm
*1 Counterflux
*1 Counterspell
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Fact or Fiction
*1 Firemind&#039;s Foresight
*1 Frantic Search
*1 High Tide
*1 Increasing Vengeance
*1 Insidious Will
*1 Izzet Charm
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Reiterate
*1 Reverberate
*1 Seething Song
*1 Turnabout
*1 Twincast
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Baral, Chief of Compliance
*1 Bloodwater Entity
*1 Charmbreaker Devils
*1 Docent of Perfection
*1 Galvanoth
*1 Goblin Electromancer
*1 Guttersnipe
*1 Hypersonic Dragon
*1 Izzet Chemister
*1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
*1 Young Pyromancer
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Darksteel Ingot
*1 Gilded Lotus
*1 Izzet Signet
*1 Primal Amulet
*1 Pyromancer&#039;s Goggles
*1 Sensei&#039;s Divining Top
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Sphinx-Bone Wand
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Bonus Round
*1 Doublecast
*1 Epic Experiment
*1 Jaya&#039;s Immolating Inferno
*1 Mana Geyser
*1 Merchant Scroll
*1 Mind&#039;s Desire
*1 Mizzium Mortars
*1 Mizzix&#039;s Mastery
*1 Mystic Retrieval
*1 Past in Flames
*1 Ponder
*1 Preordain
*1 Rite of Replication
*1 Spelltwine
*1 Treasure Cruise
*1 Vandalblast
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Jace&#039;s Sanctum
*1 Swarm Intelligence
*1 The Mirari Conjecture
*1 Thousand-Year Storm
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Jaya Ballard
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Halimar Depths
*1 Izzet Boilerworks
*1 Izzet Guildgate
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Steam Vents
*1 Swiftwater Cliffs
*1 Temple of Epiphany
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*12 Island
*12 Mountain
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This list has an average converted mana cost of 3.48 and a retail price from TCGplayer of $175. Let’s take it for a spin!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Test Results and Fine-Tuning</h2>
<ol>
<li><b>Getting the engine running</b></li>
</ol>
<p>The first thing I noticed while goldfishing this average list was how many unkeepable starting hands it produced. Thanks to the high CMC of the commander and our bigger, high-impact spells, many games left us in the 'feels bad' position of spending multiple turns playing nothing with a handful of powerful cards that were too expensive to cast. The hands that allowed us to get the engine up and running before turn seven or eight usually contained at least one peice of low-CMC ramp and card draw to help us to hit our land drops.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sky Diamond"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fire Diamond"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Palladium Myr"></div></div>
<p>To tighten this up, our final brew should contain much cheaper artifact ramp, with an emphasis on two-mana cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sky Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Sky Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Fire Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and the efficiently scalable <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Everflowing Chalice" href="#" target="_blank">Everflowing Chalice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This increases our chances of having ramp that we can afford to cast off the lands in our opening hand, which was often the deciding factor in whether the engine could get running quickly, or couldn't get running at all. Both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Worn Powerstone" href="#" target="_blank">Worn Powerstone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Palladium Myr" href="#" target="_blank">Palladium Myr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are also strong inclusions, as playing one on turn three can allow us to drop our commander as early as turn four.</p>
<p>One suite of cards in particular that made an opening hand significantly more likely to get the deck’s engine running were the cheap cantrips.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brainstorm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ponder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Telling Time"></div></div>
<p>In addition to saving opening hands, cantrips can be played to dig through our deck when there isn’t a good target for Melek on top of the library, and these particular cantrips also provide us the ability to put something specific on the top of the deck ourselves. Cantrips also generate exceptional card advantage for their mana cost when doublecast with Melek, and can often chain several of themselves together in one turn. Because of this, we’re going to emphasize cantrips in our final brew, which will hopefully add some consistency to our openers and help us dig into relevant interaction and protection in the mid to late game.</p>
<p>One final effect that proved invaluable was repeatable top deck manipulation, which often ended up being the difference between getting a large chain of spells out of Melek or fizzling out and being stuck staring at a top deck <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Island" href="#" target="_blank">Island</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. When goldfishing a revised brew, I was consistently impressed how much work cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merfolk Looter" href="#" target="_blank">Merfolk Looter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enclave Cryptologist" href="#" target="_blank">Enclave Cryptologist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crystal Ball" href="#" target="_blank">Crystal Ball</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> did in allowing us to take full advantage of Melek’s ability or to smooth out our draws in the early game. Though <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sensei&#039;s Divining Top" href="#" target="_blank">Sensei&#039;s Divining Top</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another popular top deck manipulation effect, I chose not to include it in our list as I’ve yet to see a table that doesn't let out a collective groan when it hits the field. If, however, you think you can use it without it taking up too much of everybody’s time, it’s another strong option.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Enclave Cryptologist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merfolk Looter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crystal Ball"></div></div>
<hr />
<p><b>2. Keeping the engine running</b></p>
<p>Once Melek was out, especially with a way to dig through our topdeck for instants and sorceries, the value generated was explosive, but vulnerable to disruption. Simulated board wipes or creature removal while goldfishing often left us with no board state and few or no cards in hand. To try to mitigate this problem, we’ll be including several more pieces of protection for our commander, including the pair of ever-popular <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swiftfoot Boots" href="#" target="_blank">Swiftfoot Boots</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Greaves" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Greaves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, as well as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Diplomatic Immunity" href="#" target="_blank">Diplomatic Immunity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vanishing" href="#" target="_blank">Vanishing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This protection along with a suite of counterspells will hopefully be enough for us to stick Melek long enough to get some value.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Diplomatic Immunity"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vanishing"></div></div>
<hr />
<p><b>3. Closing out the game</b></p>
<p>Now that we can get our engine running, it’s time to generate enough value to pull out ahead and win. To best mesh with what we’re already doing, our spellslinger payoff cards are going to focus on netting us extra value from every spell we cast. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Metallurgic Summonings" href="#" target="_blank">Metallurgic Summonings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Talrand, Sky Summoner" href="#" target="_blank">Talrand, Sky Summoner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Docent of Perfection" href="#" target="_blank">Docent of Perfection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can help us overwhelm the board with tokens.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Metallurgic Summonings"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thousand-Year Storm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Runechanter&#039;s Pike"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphinx Bone Wand" href="#" target="_blank">Sphinx Bone Wand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Firemind’s Research" href="#" target="_blank">Firemind’s Research</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> each tie some additional incremental benefit to our spells. Meanwhile, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swarm Intelligence" href="#" target="_blank">Swarm Intelligence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thousand-Year Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Thousand-Year Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> turn our cantrips up to 11. We also have two payoffs that scale based on the total number of instants and sorceries in the graveyard: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rise from the Tides" href="#" target="_blank">Rise from the Tides</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Runechanter’s Pike" href="#" target="_blank">Runechanter’s Pike</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The former can produce serious board presence late game, and the latter can turn our humble 2/4 into a beefy combat threat.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Our Final Results</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Weird Science" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Melek, Izzet Paragon
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Charmbreaker Devils
*1 Docent of Perfection
*1 Enclave Cryptologist
*1 Goblin Electromancer
*1 Iron Myr
*1 Merfolk Looter
*1 Palladium Myr
*1 Silver Myr
*1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Anticipate
*1 Brainstorm
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Counterspell
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Fact or Fiction
*1 Frantic Search
*1 Impulse
*1 Mystic Confluence
*1 Mystical Tutor
*1 Opt
*1 Pull from Tomorrow
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Spell Swindle
*1 Telling Time
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Dream Cache
*1 Foresee
*1 Jaya&#039;s Immolating Inferno
*1 Knowledge Exploitation
*1 Mystic Speculation
*1 Ponder
*1 Portent
*1 Pull from the Deep
*1 Rise from the Tides
*1 Rite of Replication
*1 Serum Visions
*1 Spelltwine
*1 Treasure Cruise
*1 Volcanic Vision
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Aetherflux Reservoir
*1 Crystal Ball
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Fire Diamond
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Izzet Signet
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Primal Amulet
*1 Runechanter&#039;s Pike
*1 Seal of the Guildpact
*1 Sky Diamond
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Sphinx-Bone Wand
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Worn Powerstone
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Diplomatic Immunity
*1 Firemind&#039;s Research
*1 Jace&#039;s Sanctum
*1 Swarm Intelligence
*1 Thousand-Year Storm
*1 Vanishing
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Command Tower
*1 Desolate Lighthouse
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Forgotten Cave
*1 Ghost Quarter
*1 Halimar Depths
*14 Island
*1 Isolated Watchtower
*1 Izzet Boilerworks
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*10 Mountain
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Remote Isle
*1 Smoldering Crater
*1 Temple of Epiphany
*1 Zhalfirin Void
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<hr />
<p>At an average converted mana cost of 3.18 and a TCGplayer estimated price of ~$80, our finished brew has cut down its cost in both mana curve and dollar amount! However, can it succeed where the average lists have failed?</p>
<p>While playtesting this list I was pleasantly surprised at how much of a difference in consistency and resilience the focus on early ramp and cantrips made. I was often able to get a large chunk of value out of Melek on the turn he came out by being able to cast spells that same turn, which made a simulated board wipe after passing priority a much smaller tempo loss. Though the deck still needs to be judicious about committing Melek to the battlefield, it was easier to get him there, easier to get him back out again if necessary, and easier to make sure his ability had a useful target by holding up cantrips to dig further in our top deck.</p>
<p>That’s it for this week! Please let me know in the comments if you think there’s anything I missed or if there’s a particular commander you’d like to see on a future installment of <em>Strategic Planning.</em></p>


average deck

Marina Vendrell Enchantress | Best At, Worst At

Strategic Planning - Weird Science, Featuring Melek