<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gandalf, Party Guest" href="#" target="_blank">Gandalf, Party Guest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/devburmak/?hl=en">Dmitry Burmak</a></span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Continuing with the unintentional theme of revisiting creature types is the catalyst of both <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> and <em>The Hobbit</em>. He’s someone who appears precisely when he means to and brings together legendary adventurers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have you guessed it? It’s Wizards…again!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The last time we looked at Wizards, it was in the context of <em>Secrets of Strixhaven</em>, with a focus on collectively casting huge spells. This time will be a bit different.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition to adding another color, we’re going to focus on jamming Wizards from across the Multiverse into one cohesive deck, sharing the bounty of their collective experience and providing a stream of decisions and possibilities.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Veyran, Voice of Duality"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kykar, Wind&#039;s Fury"></div></div>
<h2><strong>Wizard History</strong></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Legendary Wizards have been around since there have been legendary creatures, tracing their pedigree all the way back to the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rasputin Dreamweaver" href="#" target="_blank">Rasputin Dreamweaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in <em>Legends</em>. They tend to represent characters that value intelligence, experimentation, and discovery.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Izzet colors cover the first two qualities, discovery falls into Boros and Lorehold’s purviews. The blend of Izzet and Boros/Lorehold creates an intriguing and adventurous Jeskai build.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how do we bring these legends together? And what does Gandalf bring to the party?</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gandalf, Party Guest"></div></div>
<h2><strong>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gandalf, Party Guest" href="#" target="_blank">Gandalf, Party Guest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</strong></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gandalf is a four-mana 3/4 with a super powerful ability. At the beginning of our combat, we can cast an instant or sorcery from our hand that costs less than twice the number of legendary Wizards we control. This means that we need to have a critical mass of both legendary Wizards and instants and sorceries, which puts a strain on our deckbuilding. That doesn’t mean we can’t get creative, though. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gandalf is known for giving the legendary partygoers intriguing and difficult choices to make, which help to determine their respective, and sometimes collective, fates. Charms and Commands are great at showing this, while entwine is only all right. We can only bypass mana costs, so we lose out on additional costs when we use Gandalf’s ability. This makes strive, kicker, and spree less effective.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are a bevy of really cool options, however, and they hearken back to a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Riku of Many Paths" href="#" target="_blank">Riku of Many Paths</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <a href="https://commandersherald.com/riku-commander-deck-tech/">article</a> I wrote about a couple of years ago.</span></p>
<h2><strong>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gandalf, Party Guest" href="#" target="_blank">Gandalf, Party Guest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></strong></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many of our Wizards care about instants and sorceries, so we can get additional value. We complement these legends with modal spells that make gameplay fun and exciting. No two games should play out the same way!</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kaza, Roil Chaser"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Baral, Chief of Compliance"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kaza, Roil Chaser" href="#" target="_blank">Kaza, Roil Chaser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> helmed the big mana Wizard deck before, but here she’s a role-player, providing bursts of mana. Baral, similarly, provides a cost reduction effect. Both are early mana creatures, acting in a similar capacity to a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sakura-Tribe Elder" href="#" target="_blank">Sakura-Tribe Elder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Electromancer" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Electromancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Be careful with Baral, though, as he and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lier, Disciple of the Drowned" href="#" target="_blank">Lier, Disciple of the Drowned</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> conflict over counterspells.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gadwick, the Wizened"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Azami, Lady of Scrolls"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gadwick and Azami both provide a wealth of card draw, although both have so many blue pips that they’re difficult to cast on time. Thankfully, we’re using them to refill our hand of spells to cast with Gandalf, so we don’t need to cast them on-curve.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rip Apart"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Izzet Charm"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Modal spells are exactly where we want to be, and there have been a bevy of them printed recently. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rip Apart" href="#" target="_blank">Rip Apart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an excellent flexible removal spell, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Izzet Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Izzet Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will rarely be irrelevant, as we can use it as a card draw spell in a pinch. Just be careful with it while Lier is out, as Lier limits the usable modes.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cryptic Command"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Will of the Mardu"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Command-style effects are incredibly strong with a commander that can cast them for free. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cryptic Command" href="#" target="_blank">Cryptic Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has typically been a control card, but it served Faeries well as a tempo card, and can do the same here. "Tap your board, draw a card" is an excellent use of a card.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Will of the Mardu" href="#" target="_blank">Will of the Mardu</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> acts like a Command, as we can use both modes with our commander out and get a tremendous amount of value. We make the tokens before dealing damage equal to the number of creatures we own, so it’s both a win condition and a removal spell.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Command Tower"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Evolving Wilds"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Command Tower" href="#" target="_blank">Command Tower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> isn’t a surprise, but it is a really important land, as, unlike <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cavern of Souls" href="#" target="_blank">Cavern of Souls</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, it can produce colored mana to cast our instants and sorceries. Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evolving Wilds" href="#" target="_blank">Evolving Wilds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> helps us meet the variety of colored pips our spells require. Fetch lands can be used if the budget allows, as can shock lands and such.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how do we close the game out?</span></p>
<h2><strong>How Does This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gandalf, Party Guest" href="#" target="_blank">Gandalf, Party Guest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander Deck Win?</strong></h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Akroma&#039;s Will"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Savage Beating"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite being known as squishy, Wizards possess a surprising amount of combat prowess, including the ability of that name. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akroma&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Akroma&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another modal spell that wreaks havoc on combat with or without our commander. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Savage Beating" href="#" target="_blank">Savage Beating</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the few entwine spells that’s worth playing because, even if we only get one mode, double strike or extra combat is a win-win.</span></p>
<h2>The Deck List</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Gandalf, Party Guest Commander Deck Tech" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="&nbsp;
[Commander]
*1 Gandalf, Party Guest
[/Commander]
&nbsp;
[Creatures]
*1 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
*1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
*1 Balmor, Battlemage Captain
*1 Baral, Chief of Compliance
*1 Cadric, Soul Kindler
*1 Gadwick, the Wizened
*1 Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy
*1 Gandalf the Grey
*1 Gandalf, Goblins&#039; Bane // Flameshape
*1 Gogo, Master of Mimicry
*1 Gogo, Mysterious Mime
*1 Jori En, Ruin Diver
*1 Kaza, Roil Chaser
*1 Kitsa, Otterball Elite
*1 Krile Baldesion
*1 Kykar, Wind&#039;s Fury
*1 Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
*1 Naban, Dean of Iteration
*1 Naru Meha, Master Wizard
*1 Nin, the Pain Artist
*1 Quistis Trepe
*1 Raff, Weatherlight Stalwart
*1 Rielle, the Everwise
*1 Shantotto, Tactician Magician
*1 Stenn, Paranoid Partisan
*1 Tellah, Great Sage
*1 Tersa Lightshatter
*1 Veyran, Voice of Duality
*1 Vivi Ornitier
[/Creatures]
&nbsp;
[Instants]
*1 Abrade
*1 Akroma&#039;s Will
*1 Azorius Charm
*1 Boros Charm
*1 Cast into the Fire
*1 Cryptic Command
*1 Dawn Charm
*1 Destroy Evil
*1 Flame of Anor
*1 Heliod&#039;s Intervention
*1 Izzet Charm
*1 Lorehold Charm
*1 Savage Beating
*1 See Double
*1 Siege Smash
*1 Stone by Sunlight
*1 Thraben Charm
*1 Twinferno
*1 Untimely Malfunction
*1 Will of the Mardu
[/Instants]
&nbsp;
[Sorceries]
*1 Austere Command
*1 Avengers Disassembled
*1 Brotherhood&#039;s End
*1 Incendiary Command
*1 Khorvath&#039;s Fury
*1 Mob Rule
*1 Rip Apart
*1 Split Up
*1 Suplex
*1 Will of the Temur
[/Sorceries]
&nbsp;
[Lands]
*1 Clifftop Retreat
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Glacial Fortress
*10 Island
*10 Mountain
*1 Mystic Monastery
*1 Path of Ancestry
*10 Plains
*1 Plaza of Heroes
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
[/Lands]
&nbsp;"></span></div></span></p>
<h2><strong>Conclusion</strong></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wizards may be primarily classified as spellslingers, but there’s still a ton of options for commanders and a range of different spells for them to sling.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How would you build Wizards? And what kinds of spells would be in their repertoire?</span></p>


gandalf party guest

Gandalf, Party Guest | Building Legendary Wizard Typal