<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhet-Tomb Mystic" href="#" target="_blank">Rhet-Tomb Mystic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://nord-sol.com/">Irina Nordsol</a>)</h6>
<p>Friendly Greetings, and welcome to the premier issue of <em>Bracketeering</em>! I'm John Sherwood, Commander Bracket convert. When Wizards of the Coast first teased the idea of Commander Brackets, I was a skeptic.</p>
<p>I seriously doubted a bracket system would ever work. The announcement of the Commander Bracket Beta and the subsequent discussion in the Commander community changed my mind.</p>
<p>I felt inspired to think differently about deck building, and I'm sharing my refreshed perspective in this new series about using sideboards to play a Commander deck in multiple brackets.</p>
<h2>Commander Brackets</h2>
<p style="text-align: left;">Let's briefly review the Commander Brackets. The Commander Bracket Beta is a two-part method of grading and talking about Commander Decks.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Part one is the five brackets, which define deck levels on a spectrum of social to competitive gameplay.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Part two is a list of Game Changers; cards with major impacts on the Commander ecosystem.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The chart below was posted by Rachel Weeks of the Commander Format Panel. In my personal opinion, this is the best summary of the Commander Bracket Beta.</p>
<h6 style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/bafkreifsw4y2lhndbag3mm27a7wvik66kqetueh6ujxksmvkac7igxydmi.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-145514" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/bafkreifsw4y2lhndbag3mm27a7wvik66kqetueh6ujxksmvkac7igxydmi.jpg" alt="Gradient chart of the Commander Brackets. Chart created by Rachel Weeks." width="600" height="400" srcset="https://edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/bafkreifsw4y2lhndbag3mm27a7wvik66kqetueh6ujxksmvkac7igxydmi.jpg 600w, https://edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/bafkreifsw4y2lhndbag3mm27a7wvik66kqetueh6ujxksmvkac7igxydmi-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></a><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/rachelweeks.bsky.social/post/3liaihvemes2m">Commander Bracket Beta Chart from Rachel Weeks</a></h6>
<p>These brackets provide a framework for expressing a desirable Commander gameplay experience. Since the announcement of the bracket system, many Commander players have been excited to rate their existing decks, and build new decks within the parameters of a given bracket.</p>
<p>For those of us leaping into bracketeering: These new brackets also give us an opportunity to import a deckbuilding concept from other formats: sideboarding.</p>
<h2>Why Sideboard?</h2>
<p>For those who are unfamiliar, <em>Magic</em> formats that play best-of-three matches use a sideboard to tune a deck between the games of a match.</p>
<p>Now, I'm far from the first person to suggest sideboards for Commander, however I believe the new bracket system presents a perfect opportunity to adapt the concept for our format. A sideboard can fit in your deck box, taking up less space than multiple decks when you're traveling to play.</p>
<p>Building a sideboard can cost less money than building another deck. Maybe you have one commander or one theme that you really love, and you want to be able to adapt to the power of your pod.</p>
<p>Commander continues to be a dynamic format as the card pool expands outward and upward. A sideboard could be a great way to keep a deck's original feel, while also keeping up with new toys and power creep.</p>
<h2>Ground Rules</h2>
<p>Before we jump into the meat of the series and start Bracketeering our first deck, I'm going to lay out two guidelines for the series going forward.</p>
<p>First, our sideboards will not exceed twenty-five cards. This is consistent with other eternal formats in which a sideboard of fifteen cards equates to 25% of the deck.</p>
<p>Second, our sideboards will contain cards to enable a deck to shift up or down one bracket. This also means most of the decks in the series will begin in the Core (2), Upgraded (3) or Optimized (4) brackets.</p>
<h2>Eternal Might</h2>
<p>The recent release of <em>Aetherdrift</em> featured a preconstructed Commander deck themed around the undead of Amonkhet. <em>Eternal Might</em> is a Zombie theme deck seated firmly in the Core (2) Bracket.</p>
<p>The deck contains no combos, no Game Changers, and there is only one non-land tutor. Here's the whole deck list for reference:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="(DRC) - Eternal Might" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Temmet, Naktamun&#039;s Will
[/Commander]
[Creature]
*1 Angel of Sanctions
*1 Archfiend of Ifnir
*1 Binding Mummy
*1 Cemetery Reaper
*1 Champion of Wits
*1 Corpse Augur
*1 Corpse Knight
*1 Cryptbreaker
*1 Eternal Skylord
*1 Fleshbag Marauder
*1 Forgotten Creation
*1 Gempalm Polluter
*1 Gleaming Overseer
*1 God-Eternal Oketra
*1 Grave Titan
*1 Gravecrawler
*1 Hashaton, Scarab&#039;s Fist
*1 Lazotep Chancellor
*1 Lord of the Accursed
*1 Lost Monarch of Ifnir
*1 Midnight Reaper
*1 Murderous Rider // Swift End
*1 Plague Belcher
*1 Priest of the Crossing
*1 Prophet of the Scarab
*1 Rhet-Tomb Mystic
*1 Rot Hulk
*1 The Scarab God
*1 Timeless Dragon
*1 Twisted Abomination
*1 Undead Augur
*1 Vizier of Many Faces
*1 Wayward Servant
*1 Wizened Mentor
*1 Zombie Master
[/Creature]
[Enchantment]
*1 Cast Out
*1 Dreadhorde Invasion
*1 On Wings of Gold
*1 Renewed Solidarity
[/Enchantment]
[Land]
*1 Accursed Duneyard
*1 Adarkar Wastes
*1 Arcane Sanctum
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Caves of Koilos
*1 Command Tower
*1 Desert of the Glorified
*1 Desert of the Mindful
*1 Desert of the True
*1 Drowned Catacomb
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Fetid Pools
*1 Glacial Fortress
*1 Irrigated Farmland
*4 Island
*1 Isolated Chapel
*1 Orzhov Basilica
*1 Path of Ancestry
*5 Plains
*1 Prairie Stream
*1 Sunken Hollow
*5 Swamp
*1 Temple of Deceit
*1 Temple of Silence
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Underground River
*1 Unholy Grotto
[/Land]
[Instant]
*1 Commence the Endgame
*1 Despark
*1 Pull from Tomorrow
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*1 Damn
*1 Dread Summons
*1 Dusk // Dawn
*1 Never // Return
[/Sorcery]
[Artifact]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Bontu&#039;s Monument
*1 Commander&#039;s Sphere
*1 Crowded Crypt
*1 Dimir Signet
*1 Gate to the Afterlife
*1 God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift
*1 Maskwood Nexus
*1 Orzhov Signet
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Talisman of Dominance
*1 Talisman of Hierarchy
[/Artifact]
[Planeswalker]
*1 Liliana, Death&#039;s Majesty
[/Planeswalker]"></span></div>
<p>Being centered in one of the most supported creature types, it should be easy to sideboard up into the Upgraded (3) Bracket. The real challenge for Bracketeering a Zombie deck will be stepping it down into the Exhibition (1) bracket.</p>
<h2>Upgrades</h2>
<p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/andy-zupke">Andy Zupke</a> published a great <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/eternal-might-precon-upgrade-guide-aetherdrift">Upgrade Guide</a> for this deck, which was very handy for preparing this article. I'm going to shamelessly borrow some of his ideas for our sideboard.</p>
<p>Three of Andy's picks are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cleaver Skaab" href="#" target="_blank">Cleaver Skaab</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endless Ranks of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Endless Ranks of the Dead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rooftop Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Rooftop Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rooftop Storm"></div></div>
<p>Endless Ranks of the Dead and Cleaver Skaab are both strong synergy pieces for <em>Eternal Might</em>'s token subtheme. Rooftop Storm is an archetypal pillar for Zombies; powerful as an engine or combo piece.</p>
<p>Speaking of combo pieces, let's talk about a couple cards that are already in the deck. We've already got <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gravecrawler" href="#" target="_blank">Gravecrawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a one drop that loops like a teenage summer soundtrack.</p>
<p>The precon also comes with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpse Knight" href="#" target="_blank">Corpse Knight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a combo payoff. Plugging Gravecrawler into <a href="http://www.commanderspellbook.com">Commander Spellbook</a> yields some winning cards for the upgrade portion of our sideboard. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod&#039;s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod&#039;s Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Carrion Feeder" href="#" target="_blank">Carrion Feeder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grimgrin, Corpse-Born" href="#" target="_blank">Grimgrin, Corpse-Born</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all sacrfice outlets for looping that Gravecrawler.</p>
<p>Combos become more prevalent as we move up from Core (2) to Upgraded (3), and inluding multiple sacrifice outlets will help this deck consistently field a combo.</p>
<p>Another way we can make our combos more consistent is to tutor for the combo pieces. As an Esper deck, Eternal Might has access to the best tutors, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Imperial Seal" href="#" target="_blank">Imperial Seal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are Game Changers.</p>
<p>Sideboarding too many Game Changers would push this deck into Optimized (4) instead of our target Uprgraded (3) bracket. To accurately hit that Upgraded (3) target, let's look at some <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Entomb" href="#" target="_blank">Entomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects dump our Gravecrawler in the bin.</p>
<p>Two of my favorites are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Buried Alive" href="#" target="_blank">Buried Alive</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lively Dirge" href="#" target="_blank">Lively Dirge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Buried Alive is outstanding value for mana, entombing three cards for one mana each. Lively Dirge does double duty as an entomb effect or reanimation spell.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lively Dirge"></div></div>
<h2>Game Changers</h2>
<p>Since we're sideboarding this deck into the Upgraded (3) Bracket, we're allowed up to three Game Changers in this sideboard. One easy pick in this category is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolas&#039;s Citadel" href="#" target="_blank">Bolas&#039;s Citadel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bolas&#039;s Citadel"></div></div>This card provides card advantage, a sacrifice outlet and pressures our opponents' life totals while matching the deck's Egyptian-inspired aesthetic.</p>
<p>A deck that goes wide like <em>Eternal Might </em>should be able to leverage <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a win. Flooding the battlefield with Zombies and Rifting blockers out of the way is a tried and true recipe for victory. <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cyclonic Rift"></div></div></p>
<h2>Mana Base</h2>
<p>Eternal Might follows the precon pattern of slow, clunky lands. This is fine for an Exhbition (1) or Core (2) deck, but we want better tempo when we're bracketeering for Upgraded (3) game.</p>
<p>The precon contains six lands with cycling, and five of them are deserts that enter tapped. The deserts are thematic, but the deck doesn't have enough discard payoffs to justify their downsides at higher power tables. If you have the means to sideboard premium lands, then go for it.</p>
<p>Regardless of budget, a basic land is almost always better than a land that enters tapped. I would side out those deserts for basic lands, plus a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contaminated Landscape" href="#" target="_blank">Contaminated Landscape</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lazotep Quarry" href="#" target="_blank">Lazotep Quarry</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Contaminated Landscape"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lazotep Quarry"></div></div>
<p>These lands are budget friendly, produce mana without entering tapped and they can fix colors in a pinch.</p>
<h2>Downgrades</h2>
<p>I'm hesitant to call this section Downgrades, but I don't know what else to call it. I'm open to suggestions. Drop your positive-spin Downgrade synonyms in the comments please.</p>
<p>In the meantime, I'm going to sideboard some cards that will increase this deck's thematic consistency; possibly at the expense of strategic consistency.</p>
<p>I'm a sucker for set mechanics, and I fell hard for Amass drafting War of the Spark. The original Amass mechanic thematically represented the army Nicol Bolas raised on Amonkhet.</p>
<p>There are eleven Amass cards that are not in the Eternal Might precon, and that gives us an avenue to double down on the deck's flavor. A lot of these cards were balanced for limited play, which should help the deck let off the gas and bask in warmth of Amonkhet's suns.</p>
<p>I'm adding all of them except <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toll of the Invasion" href="#" target="_blank">Toll of the Invasion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crush Dissent" href="#" target="_blank">Crush Dissent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I personally feel targeted hand destruction like Toll of the Invasion doesn't belong in the social-forward atmosphere of an Exhibition (1) game.</p>
<p>Before <em>The</em> <em>Lord of the Rings</em> set improved Amass, I had a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kess, Dissident Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Kess, Dissident Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Amass deck. Even in that jank pile, Crush Dissent was frequently a dead card, and I don't wish dead cards on anyone. Fortunately we still have nine other Amass Zombies cards for Exhibition (1) gold.</p>
<h2>The Sideboard</h2>
<p>Archidekt's card packages are a great tool for building and upgrading decks. I created this <a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/11772093/bracketeering_eternal_might_sideboard">Eternal Might Sideboard</a> as a Card Package, so anyone can add it directly to their deck without searching for the individual cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bracketeering Eternal Might Sideboard" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Enchantments]
*1 Endless Ranks of the Dead
*1 Mindless Conscription
*1 Rooftop Storm
[/Enchantments]
[Creatures]
*1 Aven Eternal
*1 Carrion Feeder
*1 Cleaver Skaab
*1 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
*1 Lazotep Reaver
*1 Vizier of the Scorpion
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Bleeding Edge
*1 Buried Alive
*1 Callous Dismissal
*1 Enter the God-Eternals
*1 Lively Dirge
*1 Relentless Advance
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Lazotep Plating
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Ashnod&#039;s Altar
*1 Bolas&#039;s Citadel
*1 Phyrexian Altar
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Contaminated Landscape
*1 Lazotep Quarry
*1 Island
*1 Plains
*1 Swamp
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>What did the mummy say to the editor?</h2>
<p>"That's a wrap."</p>
<p>Bracketeering will be back next month with another deck and another sideboard. In addition to precons, Bracketeering will sometimes feature average decks from EDHREC's top commanders.</p>
<p>Comment below there's a deck you'd like to see featured in this series. Bracketeering a reader-submitted deck is also a possibility. Until next time, may your brews be fresh and your games be fabulous.</p>


Bracketeering - Eternal Might

<p style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashad, the Lone Cyberman" href="#" target="_blank">Ashad, the Lone Cyberman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>| Art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ericwilkersonart/">Eric Wilkerson</a></p>
<h1>Rise of the Lone Cyberman</h1>
<p>Welcome back to <em>Beyond the Multiverse</em>, the series where we ditch our in-universe cards (or printings, in some cases) for those sweet triangle-stamped cards.</p>
<p>Today, we jump from tomb-raiding, like we did in <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-a-lara-croft-deck-with-only-universes-beyond-cards">the first article</a> to...the future? Kind of? We're delving through the <em>Doctor Who</em> set this time around, and the set has a lot to offer.</p>
<p>The set introduced a mechanic called Doctor's Companion, which gave us a myriad of new options for multiple color combinations, including a certain Secret Lair that had mechanically unique cards inside. However, we're not focusing on them.</p>
<p>Instead, we're looking at a Grixis option. One of the precons from that release, <em>Masters of Evil</em>, introduced a whopping six commander options for the deck.</p>
<p>For instance, you can use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Davros, Dalek Creator" href="#" target="_blank">Davros, Dalek Creator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to exterminate your opponents. Additionally, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Missy" href="#" target="_blank">Missy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is sure to helm a unique deck.</p>
<p>Not today. Instead, we're looking at a more obscure option. One that, I feel, has been overlooked. Without further ado, let's see who I picked.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashad, the Lone Cyberman"></div></div>
<p>Ashad is a villain from a more recent incarnation of the Doctor Who franchise: Thirteenth. Partially converted into a Cyberman while retaining the ability to feel, Ashad tried to restore the Cybermen to their former glory.</p>
<p>In addition, he needed to find the Cyberium, a database archiving Cyberman history. In doing this, he sought to wipe out all organic life in the universe, and even allied with The Master to do this.</p>
<p>He was defeated, then revived once more to attack the UNIT headquarters, where he met his end as victory came so close. But, what about his card?</p>
<h1>The Flesh is Weak</h1>
<p>I'm sure you remember one of the New Capenna Commander precons when looking at his card. Ashad is identical to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anhelo, the Painter" href="#" target="_blank">Anhelo, the Painter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in that they want you to take advantage of the Casualty mechanic to gain value.</p>
<p>While Anhelo copied instants and sorceries, Ashad wants you to copy artifacts. Going through the UB card pool, there's a lot of artifacts worth copying with his ability.</p>
<p>However, it's also worth noting that you must sacrifice artifact creatures for the Casualty ability. When you do this, Ashad gets a +1/+1 counter, making him sizeable. But, that is not the path we're taking.</p>
<h1>Restoring the Cyber-Empire</h1>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cybership"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Death in Heaven"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Canoptek Spyder"></div></div>
<p>Ashad wants the 99 to be filled to the brim with artifacts, especially nonlegendary ones. For this, the deck has a minor tokens subtheme, so you can sacrifice them to Ashad's ability, making him a bit bigger in the process.</p>
<p>Don't expect to win with commander damage, because this deck is all about value. To flavor the deck, the best targets for Ashad are Cybermen, but there aren't many cards that can get them out. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cybership" href="#" target="_blank">Cybership</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (12,587 decks) makes them when it connects.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Death in Heaven" href="#" target="_blank">Death in Heaven</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (9,944 decks) acts as both Cybermen maker and graveyard hate, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Cyber-Controller" href="#" target="_blank">The Cyber-Controller</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an anthem that also happens to make Cybermen...and that's basically it.</p>
<p>Despite feuding with the Cybermen during the Tenth Doctor's Era, the Daleks make for good fodder, too. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Genesis of the Daleks" href="#" target="_blank">Genesis of the Daleks</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (10,705 decks) has the first few chapters make tokens, but be sure to leave some behind to take advantage of that last chapter.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Dalek Emperor" href="#" target="_blank">The Dalek Emperor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> forces our opponents into a corner: Lose a creature or make a Dalek token that we can sac to Ashad later on. Ooo, evil!</p>
<p>Additionally, we can enlist some Necrons, to help us. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Royal Warden" href="#" target="_blank">Royal Warden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (9,280 decks) makes tokens upon entry, and has Unearth, so we can do it again.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Technomancer" href="#" target="_blank">Technomancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (10,177 decks) brings back nontoken artifacts you had to sacrifice so you can do it again.</p>
<p>Do it twice for a one-sided <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rise of the Dark Realms" href="#" target="_blank">Rise of the Dark Realms</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Canoptek Spyder" href="#" target="_blank">Canoptek Spyder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (31,047 decks) draws lots of cards, yes, but what about a second Canoptek Spyder?</p>
<p>In a similar vein, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Canoptek Scarab Swarm" href="#" target="_blank">Canoptek Scarab Swarm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (28,366 decks) has the potential to give you lots of little critters. However, you'll need to buff them if you wish to sacrifice them to Ashad's ability.</p>
<h1>Setting the Scheme into Motion</h1>
<p>Most importantly, since Ashad is essentially an artifact commander, we'll need some artifact synergies. While the scope and depth of artifact synergies are not as incredible as our in-universe selection, there's still some good stuff here.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="One with the Machine" href="#" target="_blank">One with the Machine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thirst for Knowledge" href="#" target="_blank">Thirst for Knowledge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will draw us cards, keeping our hands filled. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anrakyr the Traveller" href="#" target="_blank">Anrakyr the Traveller</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us cast a card for free at the cost of life. Copying <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cryptothrall" href="#" target="_blank">Cryptothrall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (31,205 decks) with Ashad's ability gives all of our artifact creatures hexproof.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Their Name Is Death" href="#" target="_blank">Their Name Is Death</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (28,023 decks) acts as a one-sided boardwipe for us, potentially allowing us to set up an alpha strike.</p>
<p>Also, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystic Forge" href="#" target="_blank">Mystic Forge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us cast artifacts from the top of our library if we wanted to. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skorpekh Lord" href="#" target="_blank">Skorpekh Lord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (13,546 decks) is an anthem and grants evasion to artifact creatures, which reminds me of something.</p>
<h1>Rallying the Cybermen</h1>
<p>Anthems not only push the weaker creatures to that critical two power, but also help us dish out more damage.</p>
<p>The aforementioned Cyber Controller does it, even making the Cybermen it creates stronger. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Andúril, Narsil Reforged" href="#" target="_blank">Andúril, Narsil Reforged</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (34,686 decks) works, too, perhaps one of the best to include here.</p>
<p>However, it's an attack trigger, so be sure to equip it to an expendable creature. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Steel Overseer" href="#" target="_blank">Steel Overseer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is slower (unless it has haste somehow), but it can even make itself stronger.</p>
<p>The rest that are printed into the card pool (as of writing) lean towards kindred effects, thus we won't be able to maximize their potential here.</p>
<p>However, the deck I'm showcasing today has a secret weapon lying in wait.</p>
<h1>The Cyberium</h1>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Project Beyond-Rise of the Cyberheads" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ashad, the Lone Cyberman
[/Commander]
[Lands]
*1 Academy Ruins
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Choked Estuary
*1 Command Tower
*1 Crumbling Necropolis
*1 Dragonskull Summit
*1 Drowned Catacomb
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Fiery Islet
*1 Foreboding Ruins
*1 Frostboil Snarl
*1 Haunted Ridge
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*4 Island
*4 Mountain
*1 Path of Ancestry
*1 Shipwreck Marsh
*1 Smoldering Marsh
*1 Spire of Industry
*1 Stormcarved Coast
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Sunken Hollow
*4 Swamp
*1 Temple of Deceit
*1 Temple of Epiphany
*1 Temple of Malice
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
[/Lands]
[Artifacts]
*1 Agility Bobblehead
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Charisma Bobblehead
*1 Chromatic Lantern
*1 Cursed Mirror
*1 Cybership
*1 Endurance Bobblehead
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Intelligence Bobblehead
*1 Knight Paladin
*1 Luck Bobblehead
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Mystic Forge
*1 Perception Bobblehead
*1 Relic of Sauron
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Strength Bobblehead
*1 Talisman of Creativity
*1 Talisman of Dominance
*1 Talisman of Indulgence
*1 Trading Post
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Anrakyr the Traveller
*1 Auton Soldier
*1 Canoptek Scarab Swarm
*1 Canoptek Spyder
*1 Chaos Defiler
*1 Cryptothrall
*1 Cyberman Patrol
*1 Cybermat
*1 Cybermen Squadron
*1 Dalek Drone
*1 Dalek Squadron
*1 Evin, Waterdeep Opportunist
*1 Helbrute
*1 Iron Man, Titan of Innovation
*1 Knight Rampager
*1 Lokhust Heavy Destroyer
*1 Morbid Opportunist
*1 Pitiless Plunderer
*1 Royal Warden
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Synth Infiltrator
*1 Technomancer
*1 The Cyber-Controller
*1 The Dalek Emperor
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Bottle-Cap Blast
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Cyber Conversion
*1 Deadly Dispute
*1 Galvanic Blast
*1 Go for the Throat
*1 Thirst for Knowledge
*1 Unexpected Windfall
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Beacon of Unrest
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 One with the Machine
*1 Their Name Is Death
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Death in Heaven
*1 Genesis of the Daleks
[/Enchantments]"></span></div>
<h1>Of Cybermen and...Bobbleheads?</h1>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Luck Bobblehead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Agility Bobblehead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Charisma Bobblehead"></div></div>
<p>You read that heading correctly. We're using Bobbleheads, but why? First, they produce mana, even though they cost three to cast. Second is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Luck Bobblehead" href="#" target="_blank">Luck Bobblehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which wants you to roll dice equal to the number of Bobbleheads you have.</p>
<p>I heard often that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Prince of Kroog" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Prince of Kroog</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the main go-to commanders for Bobbleheads, but hear me out a minute.</p>
<p>With Ashad, you can use the Casualty trigger to copy the Bobbleheads as you cast them, so you end up with two on the field instead of one.</p>
<p>You have a small chance at having 14 of them out, thus increasing your odds of winning greatly. In addition, each Bobblehead comes with a second ability based on the number of Bobbleheads you have out. Luck can potentially win games, but what about the others?</p>
<h1>Bobbling Along</h1>
<p>Firstly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Strength Bobblehead" href="#" target="_blank">Strength Bobblehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> puts +1/+1 counters on a creature you control. Could be useful to weasel out a win through commander damage. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Agility Bobblehead" href="#" target="_blank">Agility Bobblehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> grants haste and some potent evasion, enabling a massive swing with enough Bobbleheads out.</p>
<p>In addition, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intelligence Bobblehead" href="#" target="_blank">Intelligence Bobblehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> draws us cards while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Perception Bobblehead" href="#" target="_blank">Perception Bobblehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us dig into our library and cast something cheap.</p>
<p>However, the last two are fairly weak, but do serve some purpose here.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Charisma Bobblehead" href="#" target="_blank">Charisma Bobblehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can potentially become an army in a can, but note that it creates 1/1 tokens that are not artifacts. So, unless you can find a way to make them stronger, they're essentially chump blockers.</p>
<p>Lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endurance Bobblehead" href="#" target="_blank">Endurance Bobblehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> grants a small buff (ironic, because it can enable the tokens from Charisma to, ah, convert them with Ashad's ability), and also grants indestructible for the turn.</p>
<p>But, it can only be activated at sorcery speed (like three other Bobbleheads), so its use is more narrow than I would like. A shame, really.</p>
<p>On another note, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mechanized Production" href="#" target="_blank">Mechanized Production</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (unfortunately not in this list) is perfect for the Bobbleheads: You get more of one Bobblehead, especially Luck, and you're even more likely to achieve a win condition, be it through Luck or the enchantment itself.</p>
<h1>Even More Casualties</h1>
<p>The lack of tutors in the list is a personal choice, but adding them would be a good idea if you're looking to focus on the alternate win condition more.</p>
<p>However, you can always smack your opponents down via combat damage if the stars don't align. Using Ashad's Casualty ability helps with this.</p>
<p>Doubling up on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cybermen Squadron" href="#" target="_blank">Cybermen Squadron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (36,421 decks) gives your artifact creatures double Myriad, so you get more triggers and attackers.</p>
<p>Just remember that they go away at end of combat, so you can't sacrifice them to Ashad unless you're flashing out something.</p>
<p>Two <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyberman Patrol" href="#" target="_blank">Cyberman Patrol</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s (29,527 decks) means that you get two instances of Afflict Three, so either they block and lose six, or you get through. That's a no-win situation for your opponents.</p>
<h1>Achieving Singularity</h1>
<p>In sum, there's more than just Urza who can utilize the Bobbleheads, and that an UB artifact deck is feasible. However, Ashad will not be the last of the many, many <em>Doctor Who Commander</em> options will be touching on.</p>
<p>He also will not be the last Grixis legend we'll explore either. I, for one, would like to build <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Valeyard" href="#" target="_blank">The Valeyard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but the current voting/choice numbers are not enough...yet.</p>
<p>Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But, I'm going to try and spread out the <em>Doctor Who</em> love so there's not too many at once.<em> The Lord of the Rings</em>, for example, will be the same.</p>
<p>Tune in next time, were we jump from science fiction to something much different. Until next time, may the triangles bless your games.</p>


Beyond the Multiverse-Rise of the Cyberheads

Aetherdrift: Start Me Up! Part 3

Deckbuilding Contest Finalists - February 2025

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Felidar Retreat" href="#" target="_blank">Felidar Retreat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.ralphhorsley.co.uk/">Ralph Horsley</a></h6>
<p>Happy February! My name is Ben, and you may know me from <em>Conditions Allow</em>, my article series on EDHREC and <a href="https://commandersherald.com/tag/conditions-allow/">Commander's Herald</a>. It is my great pleasure to bring the Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest to EDHREC.</p>
<p>This will be a monthly contest with a different theme each month.</p>
<p>Your goal is to build a Commander legal deck that fulfills the prompt in a creative or unique fashion. At the end of each month, three finalists will be selected for you to vote on.</p>
<p>Whoever gets the most votes will be crowned the winner, although all three finalists receive a prize.</p>
<p>This is the second contest of the year, so we're focusing on the number two. Specifically, two color decks that do something unexpected.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Saw It Coming"></div></div>
<div></p>
<h3>What’s The Contest All About?</h3>
<p>Working within the parameters of the prompt provided below, construct a decklist with your own creative spin. Three chosen finalists will be awarded store credit to <a href="https://www.cardsphere.com/">cardsphere.com</a>.</p>
<p><strong>For February's deckbuilding contest, brew a two color Commander-legal deck with a theme or strategy not usually seen in those colors. The more unexpected your deck's theme is, the better.</strong></p>
<p></div>
<div></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>One of <em>Magic: The Gathering's</em> defining features is the color pie, which defines what each of the five colors can do in the game. This ensures each color plays differently, and allows players to express themselves through the cards they choose to include in their decks.</p>
<p>Each of these identities can also be interpreted in different ways, which opens up many different styles of play even among the same colors.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Felidar Retreat"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blasphemous Act"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lifetap"></div></div></p>
<p>With thirty years of cards to choose from, however, there's no reason to limit your deckbuilding to what the color pie says. Every year we get new cards that push and pull the colors in different directions.</p>
<p>Can you build a <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-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> landfall deck, or a <span class="mana-container-container"><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> control deck? What about a <span class="mana-container-container"><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-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> lifegain deck? You're not supposed to, but that shouldn't stop us from trying.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hobbit&#039;s Sting"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Young Wolf"></div></div></p>
<p>This is also a great exercise for building a color pair you're very familiar with. Thinking outside the box is a great way to break old patterns and reignite a passion you might've lost.</p>
<p>Similarly, this could be the perfect time to revisit a color pair you don't like. What used to be strange and unwieldy can become fresh and invigorating when approached from a different angle.</p>
<p>If you love Burn decks, try porting that to Azorius, or take your favorite Orzhov deck and rebuild it as Simic.</p>
<p></div>
<h3>How To Participate</h3>
<ul>
<li>Brew an EDH/Commander legal deck on <a href="https://archidekt.com/">Archidekt</a> that satisfies the prompt.</li>
<li>Any unreleased cards spoiled during the contest’s duration are allowed.</li>
<li>Silver-bordered and acorn cards, while cool, are not allowed.</li>
<li>Digital-only cards (such as those designed for the Alchemy format on Arena) are not allowed.</li>
<li>Strictly one deck submitted per user.</li>
</ul>
<p>Reply to the <a href="https://archidekt.com/forum/thread/11254934">Archidekt newspost</a>, or submission post on the <a href="https://discord.gg/sctEc9Ru36">Archidekt Discord</a> with a link to your deck before <strong>9:00 pm EST</strong> (UTC -5, currently) on <strong>Wednesday, February 12, 2025</strong> (do not submit the same deck in multiple places). Only one submission per user! From the eligible submissions, we'll select three finalists with lists that we believe best embody the spirit of the prompt. Deck descriptions are not required but certainly may provide valuable context!</p>
<div></p>
<p>On <strong>Wednesday, February 19, 2025</strong>, we’ll announce three finalists via the Archidekt Discord and a brief article on EDHREC highlighting each deck. Each finalist will be awarded credit on cardsphere.com. The value of the credit is in US dollars and depends on the finalist's placement in deck upvotes at the end of the week-long polling period:</p>
<ul>
<li>1st Place Prize - $250</li>
<li>2nd Place Prize - $150</li>
<li>3rd Place Prize - $100</li>
</ul>
<p></div>
<p>Finalists will be contacted via email or Discord (depending on where they submitted) regarding their winnings within roughly 24 hours following the conclusion of voting on <strong>Wednesday, February 26, 2025</strong>. Please note, you must have a Cardsphere account in order to receive your winnings. It's quick and free-- <a href="https://www.cardsphere.com/">register here</a> if you don't have an account already!</p>
<p><a href="https://archidekt.com/contestRules">Official contest rules</a>.</p>
<p>If you have any questions, feel free to ask here, or join the Archidekt <a href="https://discord.gg/sctEc9Ru36">public Discord server</a>. We look forward to seeing what you all come up with!</p>


Deckbuilding Contest - February 2025

Deckbuilding Contest Finalists - January 2025

<p style="padding-left: 120px;"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://player.twitch.tv/?video=2252153328&amp;parent=edhrec.com" width="620" height="378" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start">﻿</span></iframe></p>
<h1></h1>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Codie's Big Pile of Tokens</h1>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Codie, Vociferous Codex" href="#" target="_blank">Codie, Vociferous Codex</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/9223204/codies_big_pile_of_tokens">Archidekt Link</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Welcome back to another deck tech from this week's episode of <del>The Sunday Stream</del> Communal Brewing! Yes, you read that correctly. After using a generic working title of "The Sunday Stream" for the last year or so, we decided to finally give this series a name, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Communal Brewing" href="#" target="_blank">Communal Brewing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was mentioned by multiple people in the chat.</p>
<p>After some brief deliberation, we felt like it was a perfect name for the show since we commonly take lots of suggestions from the chat throughout the deck-building process.</p>
<p>Another exciting part of this episode is a guest appearance from EDHRECast member Dana Roach, who stopped by to help us build around this challenging commander.</p>
<p>And hoo boy, is Codie ever a challenging commander to build around. Codie is a five color commander, which obviously gives us access to every card in Commander, and has an activated ability that essentially functions as <em>cascade</em>, which is neat.</p>
<p>However, the first line of text on Codie is what makes it such a challenge to build around.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><em>You can't cast permanent spells.</em></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>Not being able to cast any permanent spells, even one you Codiescade into, is a massive obstacle to taking the most advantage of Codie, at least as it pertains to the typical flow of a commander deck.</p>
<p>So what exactly do we want to do with Codie?</p>
<p>If you watch the VOD posted above, you'll notice that we had a significant amount of trouble figuring this out ourselves. <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/codie-vociferous-codex">Codie's EDHREC page</a> contains the usual suspects we see with commanders that allow us to cast stuff for free, like "Spellslinger" and "Big Mana." But the third-most popular archetype is....lands?</p>
<p>And the fifth-most popular archetype is sacrifice? Apparently lots of people are having trouble figuring out what to do with Codie.</p>
<p>Our first idea was to do some stuff with copying creatures. Then we pivoted to the idea of a burn theme, using Codie's ability to Codiescade into multiple mass burn spells in the same turn, then reflecting that damage with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boros Reckoner" href="#" target="_blank">Boros Reckoner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brash Taunter" href="#" target="_blank">Brash Taunter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>After a relative lack of enthusiasm from the group about this strategy, we eventually got an idea from chat to build this deck backwards.</p>
<p>Instead of limiting the number of permanents in the deck and trying to get Codie out as soon as possible to cast a wide variety of instants and sorceries, we could make Codie's activated ability as efficient as possible by playing a small number of instants and sorceries and making sure that we can hit the <em>exact </em>spells we want to hit exactly when we want to hit them.</p>
<p>So what's the best way to approach that?</p>
<p>Dana suggested the idea of using Codie to cast multiple <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overrun" href="#" target="_blank">Overrun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects in the same turn, and use those to transform a board full of tokens into a full-on alpha strike to win the game.</p>
<p>So what's the best way to create a wide board state as quickly as possible so we can set up our win?</p>
<p>We decided to take inspiration from our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds" href="#" target="_blank">Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck that we built back in April, which is a powerful token creation deck. I personally own that exactly Ghired deck, and can attest to its effectiveness in building big board states quickly.</p>
<p>Finally, we have our strategy. Codie is going to masquerade as a Naya tokens deck until we can play our commander and Codiescade directly into our win condition.</p>
<p>I'm not going to through every piece of our Naya tokens package, but you can check out the deck we're pulling from <a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/7364703/ghired_mirror_of_the_wilds">right here</a>.</p>
<p>Let's go over the cards that are unique to our Codie deck and are central to the win condition of the deck.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Haste Enablers</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fervor"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rising of the Day"></div></div>
<p>Since we're planning to wait to cast Codie until the very end of the game when we're ready to send our alpha strike, having a way to give Codie haste will make it much easier to pull off our strategy instead of having to wait entire turn where Codie will be vulnerable to removal.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei" href="#" target="_blank">Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is cheap to cast, and has a one-mana ability to give all creatures haste until end of turn, which is a very low price to pay.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anger" href="#" target="_blank">Anger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a classic piece of any deck looking to gain haste. While we don't have a great way to manually send this to the graveyard via discard, we should still be able to play it and have it destroyed in combat fairly easily.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fervor" href="#" target="_blank">Fervor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another classic way to grant haste to your battlefield.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rising of the Day" href="#" target="_blank">Rising of the Day</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is simply a strictly better Fervor. No need to reinvent the wheel.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Card Draw</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mentor of the Meek"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Symmetry Matrix"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Welcoming Vampire"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jeskai Ascendancy"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mentor of the Meek" href="#" target="_blank">Mentor of the Meek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Symmetry Matrix" href="#" target="_blank">Symmetry Matrix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are both efficient card draw enchantments that will trigger regularly as we assemble our token army.</p>
<p>While it only triggers once per turn, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Welcoming Vampire" href="#" target="_blank">Welcoming Vampire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another creature that will keep us drawing cards as we create tokens.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeskai Ascendancy" href="#" target="_blank">Jeskai Ascendancy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a <em>very</em> powerful draw engine. While it typically finds a home in spellslinger decks that can cast a handful of noncreature spells in a single turn and essentially draw a whole new grip of cards.</p>
<p>However, between our artifacts and enchantments, we have 23 possible triggers for Jeskai Ascendancy without counting our Overrun sorceries.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>The Overruns</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overwhelming Encounter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overwhelming Stampede"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Titanic Ultimatum"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tromp the Domains"></div></div>
<p>All four of these cards essentially amount to "Until end of turn, all of your creatures get +X/+X and trample until end of turn" with some other extra payoff bonus.</p>
<p>Ideally, we are going to be casting either <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titanic Ultimatum" href="#" target="_blank">Titanic Ultimatum</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tromp the Domains" href="#" target="_blank">Tromp the Domains</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conflux" href="#" target="_blank">Conflux</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with our commander's activated ability, allowing us to automatically Codiescade into a second Overrun spell, producing a massive board state of gigantic tokens that you can swing to victory.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Closing Summary</h3>
<p>Despite the deck's fairly simple and straightforward gameplan at the end, building this deck was no simple task. It's very easy to get distracted by interesting interactions and lose focus on what you want the deck to do, leading to a messy final product that doesn't work well.</p>
<p>Turning Codie into any sort of a high-power deck is a very tall task, but our streamlined focus on building a huge board with a Naya tokens strategy and finishing with stacked Overrun effects via Codie's ability should make this an effective deck that can hang at a medium power table with ease.</p>


Communal Brewing Deck Tech (9/15/24) with Dana Roach - Codie, Vociferous Codex

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=released&amp;q=%21%22Baylen%2C+the+Haymaker%22+include%3Aextras&amp;unique=prints">Baylen, the Hammer</a> | Art By: <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CKemonomichi%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art">Kemonomichi</a>)</h6>
<h1>Silly Rabbit Trix Are For Kids</h1>
<p>Cereal is delicious. Most people would agree on this enough to call it a fact. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Another fact is that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baylen, the Haymaker|BLB|345" href="#" target="_blank">Baylen, the Haymaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">, is the <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/blb">most built Commander</a> in <em>Bloomburrow </em>when writing this piece</span>.</span> Another fact is that I have teched a deck that is so unique that there are no other entries on the site that have the Bonk Bunny and a particular ten-mana sorcery in the 99. Venture into the land of adorable woodland creatures with me, Nick, for another outside-the-box deck tech.</p>
<h2>Why Does This Deck Look So Weird?</h2>
<p>Baylen, the Haymaker is undoubtedly powerful. The card does everything anyone wants and stays nice and safe in the command zone. All versions of Baylen will utilize tokens to an extent, but how we use those tokens is the key. Are we making mana? Drawing cards? Or making the single biggest bunny anyone has ever seen and swinging for lethal? If I told you none of these are true, you'd stop reading this article and move on, so I won't say that. I can say the ability to pump up Baylen is something I am trying never to have to use in this deck. Using that ability to kill someone is plan Z in the "ways, this deck wants to win the game" handbook.</p>
<p>I can say that the ability to draw a card and, to a lesser extent, make mana is vital to this deck's ability to win the game. Card draw is always crucial to commander decks, and it is no surprise that commanders who can draw cards are often "better" than those who can't. This deck is also a bit mana intensive; remember, we built around a ten-mana card. We also have green, so mana production isn't as hard to come by as with other colors.</p>
<h2>One, Two, Punch</h2>
<p><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=name&amp;q=type%3Asorcery+commander%3AWRG+%28game%3Apaper%29+cmc%3D10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nine</a> legal sorceries cost ten CMC, which we could build around in this deck. Five of them wrath the board in one way or another. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Explosive Singularity" href="#" target="_blank">Explosive Singularity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deals damage.<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Apex of Power" href="#" target="_blank">Apex of Power</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can let you cast more spells. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Storm Herd" href="#" target="_blank">Storm Herd</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes pegasi. But there is one card that makes our deck unique: <div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Primal Surge"></div></div>.</p>
<p>Some of you may have seen a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Primal Surge" href="#" target="_blank">Primal Surge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck before. Most often, it's in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nikya of the Old Ways" href="#" target="_blank">Nikya of the Old Ways</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ruric Thar, the Unbowed" href="#" target="_blank">Ruric Thar, the Unbowed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Both cards actively force you to run very few to no other non-permanents outside of the surge itself. I've always wanted to make a deck using Primal Surge as the win condition, and I think Baylen is a sneaky way to do it. There is no small list of permanents that reward you, HEAVILY, for making tokens. Almost every commander player has seen one, if not all, of these cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doubling Season"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Parallel Lives"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anointed Procession"></div></div>
<p>These three are the most popular. They are often the best of the bunch. Four CMC for Anointed Procession and Parallel Lives means they come down faster, and Doubling Season has a historic pedigree and extra synergy with planeswalkers. But let me introduce you to the B-Team of these effects.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Primal Vigor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dual Nature"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation"></div></div>
<p>The CMC and added effects bring down the ratings for all these cards: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation" href="#" target="_blank">Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dual Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Dual Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> only affect creatures. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Primal Vigor" href="#" target="_blank">Primal Vigor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the slight drawback of giving benefits to your opponents, not just you. As someone who has gotten many more Bs in my academic career than As, these will do just fine. One more card in the deck can make between zero and an indeterminate amount of tokens. It just depends on if you feel lucky, punk, do you?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror March"></div></div>
<p>But how do we get to cast all these spells, and more importantly, how do we get to cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Primal Surge" href="#" target="_blank">Primal Surge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, with its high cost? Dorks, lots of dorks.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Birds of Paradise"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Circle of Dreams Druid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faeburrow Elder"></div></div>
<h2>How We Build It</h2>
<p>We need to make a lot of mana and fast. If you are flush with cash or have access to specific pieces of technology, like a sharpie, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Cradle" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Cradle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will be a boon to this deck. Land enchantments like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Utopia Sprawl" href="#" target="_blank">Utopia Sprawl</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> help ramp and color fix. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Selvala, Explorer Returned" href="#" target="_blank">Selvala, Explorer Returned</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Selvala, Heart of the Wilds" href="#" target="_blank">Selvala, Heart of the Wilds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> both give us access to more cards, more mana, and a small amount of lifegain. And since we can't run the typical green staple cards such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama&#039;s Reach" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama&#039;s Reach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Three Visits" href="#" target="_blank">Three Visits</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we're running all three of the Signets:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boros Signet|SLD|291"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gruul Signet|SLD|288"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Selesnya Signet|SLD|290"></div></div>
<p>I will always shout out the card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cryptolith Rite" href="#" target="_blank">Cryptolith Rite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, especially when it is so good in this deck.</p>
<h2>Gotta Go Fast</h2>
<p>As the saying goes, "haste makes waste." I want to make waste of the other players at the table, so haste seems essential to this deck. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Concordant Crossroads" href="#" target="_blank">Concordant Crossroads</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rhythm of the Wild" href="#" target="_blank">Rhythm of the Wild</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Samut, Voice of Dissent" href="#" target="_blank">Samut, Voice of Dissent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But haste often comes with attacking, as does making a massive board of tokens. But why would I not care about how big Baylen can get if that is the case? Why would I not want to use the Bonk Bunny?</p>
<p>Because I've been lying to you this entire time, readers.</p>
<h2>Burn it Down</h2>
<p>We are not "just" built around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Primal Surge" href="#" target="_blank">Primal Surge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We are also the only Baylen deck with the card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flame Fusillade" href="#" target="_blank">Flame Fusillade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Attacking with creatures is so 2014; we're all about tapping creatures in 2024. Firstly, this causes a problem for our deck. It stops the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Primal Surge" href="#" target="_blank">Primal Surge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as it's not a permanent. This is what makes Baylen's ability to draw cards so good. It can help us find both sorceries in the deck so that the surge does not stop. Once we <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_(drink)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surge</a> our deck like 1995, we can tap dance our way to victory unless we are playing against a table full of pesky <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/lifegain">lifegain</a> decks. Then, once again, we turn to our furry friend, make some mana, and activate <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aggravated Assault" href="#" target="_blank">Aggravated Assault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as many times as necessary.</p>
<h2>In Conclusion</h2>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baylen, the Haymaker" href="#" target="_blank">Baylen, the Haymaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, is one of the strongest commanders I've seen recently, which says a lot. It's a Swiss army knife of a card living in your command zone. But truthfully, to me, it is a bit boring. I wanted to stretch the limits on this card in a way that still takes advantage of what the deck is trying to do at its heart but also catches people by surprise. The deck runs many expensive to cast and "not very strong" token-making creatures like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trostani&#039;s Summoner" href="#" target="_blank">Trostani&#039;s Summoner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Godsire" href="#" target="_blank">Godsire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but that's the point. There's also three different <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eternal Witness" href="#" target="_blank">Eternal Witness</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects if we ever lose our wincons.</p>
<p>There's one type of card I did omit from this deck for many reasons. Those would be the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overrun" href="#" target="_blank">Overrun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> creatures, famously <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Should it be in the deck for efficiency's sake? Yes, it should. Is it super predictable and somewhat played out? I think so. But this is my build of the deck and I'm wearing my hipster hat, so if you sleeve up Baylen, put in whatever cards make you happy. If you want to see any other deck techs I have done, set reviews where I undoubtedly judged a card wrong, or the many things I have said about Planeswalkers, check out <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/nicholas-lucchesi/">my previous articles on EDHREC</a> under my name or the <em>Myth Realized</em> series.</p>
<h2>Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Silly Rabbit Trix are for Kids" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Baylen, the Haymaker
[/Commander]
[Creature]
*1 Adipose Offspring
*1 Angel of Invention
*1 Avacyn&#039;s Pilgrim
*1 Avenger of Zendikar
*1 Birds of Paradise
*1 Bloom Tender
*1 Canoptek Scarab Swarm
*1 Chancellor of the Forge
*1 Circle of Dreams Druid
*1 Cloudgoat Ranger
*1 Deep Forest Hermit
*1 Delighted Halfling
*1 Deranged Hermit
*1 Elvish Mystic
*1 Eternal Witness
*1 Faeburrow Elder
*1 Fanatic of Rhonas
*1 Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds
*1 Godsire
*1 Hornet Queen
*1 Llanowar Elves
*1 Loran of the Third Path
*1 Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization
*1 Preston, the Vanisher
*1 Prosperous Innkeeper
*1 Rampaging Baloths
*1 Rhys the Redeemed
*1 Rose Room Treasurer
*1 Samut, Voice of Dissent
*1 Selfless Squire
*1 Selvala, Explorer Returned
*1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
*1 Skullwinder
*1 Timeless Witness
*1 Trostani&#039;s Summoner
*1 Ulasht, the Hate Seed
[/Creature]
[Enchantment]
*1 Aggravated Assault
*1 Anointed Procession
*1 Concordant Crossroads
*1 Cryptolith Rite
*1 Doubling Season
*1 Dual Nature
*1 Felidar Retreat
*1 Fertile Ground
*1 Guardian Project
*1 Mirari&#039;s Wake
*1 Mirror March
*1 Parallel Lives
*1 Primal Vigor
*1 Rhythm of the Wild
*1 Utopia Sprawl
*1 Wild Growth
[/Enchantment]
[Artifact]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Boros Signet
*1 Gruul Signet
*1 Selesnya Signet
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Sonic Screwdriver
[/Artifact]
[Sorcery]
*1 Flame Fusillade
*1 Primal Surge
[/Sorcery]
[Land]
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Boros Garrison
*1 Boseiju, Who Endures
*1 Bountiful Promenade
*1 Canopy Vista
*1 Castle Garenbrig
*1 Cinder Glade
*1 Clifftop Retreat
*1 Command Tower
*1 Commercial District
*1 Exotic Orchard
*7 Forest
*1 Gruul Turf
*1 Jetmir&#039;s Garden
*1 Jungle Shrine
*1 Lush Portico
*1 Mountain
*1 Overgrown Farmland
*1 Plains
*1 Rockfall Vale
*1 Rootbound Crag
*1 Sacred Foundry
*1 Selesnya Sanctuary
*1 Spectator Seating
*1 Spire Garden
*1 Stomping Ground
*1 Sundown Pass
*1 Sunpetal Grove
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
*1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
[/Land]
&nbsp;"></span></div>


<hr />
<h4>Read more:</h4>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="gfJychYxCt"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/snackrifice-ygra-eater-of-all-deck/">Snackrifice - Ygra, Eater of All Deck</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="&#8220;Snackrifice - Ygra, Eater of All Deck&#8221; &#8212; EDHREC" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/snackrifice-ygra-eater-of-all-deck/embed/#?secret=zwtzZEGHy3#?secret=gfJychYxCt" data-secret="gfJychYxCt" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="wvE8bHuzSs"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/singleton-shmingleton-overrun/">Singleton Shmingleton - Overrun</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="&#8220;Singleton Shmingleton - Overrun&#8221; &#8212; EDHREC" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/singleton-shmingleton-overrun/embed/#?secret=eVlGgDzRAf#?secret=wvE8bHuzSs" data-secret="wvE8bHuzSs" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Bonk Bunny - Baylen, the Haymaker Deck

Snackrifice - Ygra, Eater of All Deck

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mr. Foxglove" href="#" target="_blank">Mr. Foxglove</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/akreon">Anna Podedworna</a></h6>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://player.twitch.tv/?video=2221973256&amp;parent=edhrec.com" width="620" height="378" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start">﻿</span></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Welcome back to another Sunday Stream EDH deck tech. Last week we built <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/sunday-stream-deck-tech-8-4-24-gev-the-vus-bus/?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=article_preview">Gev, the Gus Bus</a>, a wacky artifact-centric version of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gev, Scaled Scorch" href="#" target="_blank">Gev, Scaled Scorch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This week, we're building a deck around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mr. Foxglove" href="#" target="_blank">Mr. Foxglove</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a sly Fox who wants to draw cards and cheat out big creatures.</p>
<p><em>NOTE: </em>One thing I forgot to mention last week is that we typically do not include a full land base on<a href="https://archidekt.com/"> Archidekt</a>. If there are non-basics we feel are vital to the strategy, we'll include those, but typically we assume the balance of the mana base will be filled with basics or cheap dual lands in order to remain in budget. So, if you notice that a decklist only has 60-something cards in it, think of the remaining cards in the deck as a build-your-own mana base.</p>
<p><strong>If you're interested in checking out our streams, we go live every Sunday evening at 6 PM CT/7 PM ET on the <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/edhrecast">EDHRECast Twitch channel</a>.</strong></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Mr. Foxglove, the Exalted</strong></h1>
<p style="text-align: center;">Commander: <b>Mr. Foxglove</b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mr. Foxglove"></div></div></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/8774798/mr_foxglove">Archidekt Link</a></p>
<p>Another week, and another<em> Bloomburrow</em> commander. Mr. Foxglove is a rare foray into the world of Bant for this stream, but does a few different things that we love to do. First off, "when ___ attacks" always makes for a fun commander. The more a commander has to be involved in a game, the better. The attack trigger is an interesting two-sided trigger that either draws you cards or cheats out a creature onto the field from your hand. Early in the game, you should be able to fairly deliberate with your choices depending on whether or not you'd like to draw a card or two or get a creature on the field. Late in the game, your card draw engine should be firmly online and you'll be able to easily take advantage of the creature cheating payoff.</p>
<p>If you're leaning into cheating creatures out, the natural path is to draw lots of cards early in the game, then cheat in something <em>huge and disgusting</em> like an Eldrazi and win the game by overwhelming the table. However, this is not a deck-building stream that's looking to build what a commander naturally wants to do. We're here to do something fun.</p>
<p>As much as we'd love to double up on attack triggers to be able to resolve both outcomes of Mr. Foxglove's ability in the same attack, that ability invariably requires red, which we do not have access to. Extra combats are also scarce in Bant, but we do have options. Enter <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Finest Hour" href="#" target="_blank">Finest Hour</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Finest Hour"></div></div></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Finest Hour" href="#" target="_blank">Finest Hour</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the few extra combat options available to Bant, which will allow us to get multiple Mr. Foxglove attack triggers per turn. It also has another interesting ability: <strong>Exalted</strong>.</p>
<p>Given that Mr. Foxglove wants to attack anyway, why not lean into it and go with a Voltron theme? Auras and equipment are typically the go-to options for Voltron strategies (don't worry, we have plenty of Auras), but Bant also has lots of access to Exalted, so let's see what we can do with that.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Exalted Support</strong></span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Giltspire Avenger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rafiq of the Many"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sovereigns of Lost Alara"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sublime Archangel"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Giltspire Avenger" href="#" target="_blank">Giltspire Avenger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the exalted ability we're building around, but also has a repeatable creature removal ability that can act as a deterrent against counter-attacking us and that we don't have to burn another spell slot on for a similar single-use effect.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rafiq of the Many" href="#" target="_blank">Rafiq of the Many</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> grants double strike to the creature attacking alone, single-handedly turning our 3/5 commander into a 4/6 double-striker, which is a far more daunting creature to block.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sovereigns of Lost Alara" href="#" target="_blank">Sovereigns of Lost Alara</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> acts as a tutor for all of the Auras in our deck that we want to be attached to Mr. Foxglove. Swing and go grab <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Strong Back" href="#" target="_blank">Strong Back</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for free? Don't mind if I do.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sublime Archangel" href="#" target="_blank">Sublime Archangel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the cards that really gives our deck some extra juice, and turns every creature in our board into exalted support.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who Doesn't Like Drawing Cards?</span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sram, Senior Edificer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Frontline Sage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Combat Research"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wizard Class"></div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sram, Senior Edificer" href="#" target="_blank">Sram, Senior Edificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a staple of any white deck that runs Auras and Equipment, and for good reason. We're running seventeen auras in this deck and one equipment artifact in this deck, so there will be plenty of opportunities to draw extra cards.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Frontline Sage" href="#" target="_blank">Frontline Sage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another piece of Exalted support, but also gives us the ability to draw a card without increasing our hand size, which could be important if we're trying to draw cards with Foxglove's ability.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Combat Research" href="#" target="_blank">Combat Research</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great Aura for this deck, allowing us to draw another card when Foxglove connects, and gives him a small buff and Ward 1.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wizard Class" href="#" target="_blank">Wizard Class</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> remains one of my favorite enchantments. Not only is it an easy way to get unlimited hand size, but once fully upgraded it will give a significant buff to our commander directly from Foxglove's draw ability.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Cheat Creatures</strong></span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bruna, Light of Alabaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghalta and Mavren"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kogla, the Titan Ape"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl"></div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bruna, Light of Alabaster" href="#" target="_blank">Bruna, Light of Alabaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the most popular Azorius Auras commander on EDHREC for good reason. Bruna's attack/block trigger is an absolute house that will give all of our Auras a second life if/when Mr. Foxglove gets removed and they go to the graveyard.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghalta and Mavren" href="#" target="_blank">Ghalta and Mavren</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was a late addition to the deck, but it may end up being one of the most impactful. Sure, if you cheat Ghalta and Mavren out with Mr. Foxglove's ability, then you will not get your Ghalta and Mavren trigger that turn, but next turn you'll likely be creating some very large Dinosaur tokens or <strong><em>a lot</em> </strong>of Vampire tokens with lifelink.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kogla, the Titan Ape" href="#" target="_blank">Kogla, the Titan Ape</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is consistently one of the most underrated green creatures to cheat out in <em>Magic</em>. On ETB, the 7/6 Kogla fights a creature, almost always getting rid of the biggest creature-based threat on the board right off the bat. Then, if he hangs around for a turn and gets to swing, you can start destroying artifacts and enchantments.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl" href="#" target="_blank">Storvald, Frost Giant Jarl</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is probably the most niche inclusion on this list, but I think there is a ton of value to be found here. First off, Ward 3 is a very powerful ability that effectively amounts to hexproof, and he gives it to <em>all </em>of your <em>creatures.</em> Then, on ETB, it can make Mr. Foxglove a base 7/7 creature which could put you in range for one-shot damage depending on how many buffs you're getting from Auras and exalted triggers.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Other Fun Toys</span></strong></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Colossification"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abundance"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archmage Ascension"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychosis Crawler"></div></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>You know it. You love it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Colossification" href="#" target="_blank">Colossification</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is classic silly staple of Voltron Commander decks to turn them into one-shot machines, and we have ways to cheat it out onto the field for free.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Abundance" href="#" target="_blank">Abundance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> may be one of the coolest pieces of synergy in this entire deck. This deck is going to draw a ton of cards, and when it does, Abundance gives us the option to go find a nonland card and put it into our hand instead. If we get a creature, that's another option to cheat out. If it's an enchantment, that's extra value on board and probably extra power for our commander. This ability having the "may" caveat turns this from just a fun inclusion to a legitimately powerful synergy piece.</p>
<p>Remember how I said we want to draw lots of cards? Well, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage Ascension" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage Ascension</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can pay that off in a big way. Any turn we draw two cards gives us another quest counter on Archmage Ascension, then once we have six counters on it, all of our draws turn into tutors, which is a very clear and obvious win condition.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychosis Crawler" href="#" target="_blank">Psychosis Crawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another potential win condition, paying off our copious card draw with widespread damage. Easy as that.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Closing Summary</span></strong></p>
<p>I'm biased, but I think most of the decks we brew are interesting and fun to play. That said, I think Mr. Foxglove is one of our most interesting. Not because Bant Voltron is an especially unique strategy, but because this deck has a chance to have some big, explosive turns that dramatically shift the balance of the game just by cheating something big out to the battlefield. In the meantime, you should be drawing lots of cards to give you plenty of things to do and ways to keep your strategy moving forward.</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, if you like this deck and want to help us build other unique and fun decks on a budget, be sure to check out our Twitch streams every Sunday evening!</p>
