<p>We didn't <em>plan </em>to have a Jodah Day here at EDHREC, it just kind of happened that way.</p>
<p>You probably noticed not one, but two other Jodah-related articles today, and those other Jodahrticles are excellent write-ups that take Jodah seriously and aren't a big goof. We could not go three-for-three on that front, unfortunately.</p>
<p>If you're a Jodahmaniac, you're eating good today. Consider the articles by Julia and Owain to be a dual main course (if there's two main courses, there is no main course - that's a reference maybe three of you will get), and this article is the dessert that sounded good when you ordered it, but now that it's on the table you're wondering why you make these masochistic dining decisions.</p>
<p>This is a Jodah deck that I cannot in good conscience recommend for you to play against friends/opponents who haven't watched the late 90s television hit <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pretender_(TV_series)">The Pretender</a>. </em></p>
<h2>Jodah, the Pretender</h2>
<div id="attachment_188076" style="width: 376px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-188076" class="wp-image-188076" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735.jpg" alt="" width="366" height="350" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735.jpg 708w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/51ammsLMxAL._AC_UF8941000_QL80_-e1783648295735-300x287.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-188076" class="wp-caption-text"><strong><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Jodah, the Pretender</span></strong></p></div>
<p>You may have heard of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jodah, the Unifier" href="#" target="_blank">Jodah, the Unifier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. He's the 17th-most popular commander across the entirety of EDHREC, he's credited with more than 30,000 decks, and he's second only to The Ur-Dragon as the most popular five-color commander. If you head over to the <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/legends">"Legends Matter"</a> theme page, you'll see Jodah comfortably at No. 1, with around twice the number of decks with that theme tag as the next highest, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ezio Auditore da Firenze" href="#" target="_blank">Ezio Auditore da Firenze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>But the Jodah of <em>this </em>deck isn't really that Jodah. Today, we're pronouncing "Jodah" as "Jarod."</p>
<h2>What is The Pretender?</h2>
<p><em>The Pretender </em>was a show that ran from 1996 to 2000. There were a couple of made-for-TV movies which extended the continuity. Basically, there was a guy named Jarod who was classified as a "Pretender," a kind of genius who could almost instantly learn everything about any profession.</p>
<p>"Are you a doctor?" the old woman asks. "I am today," answered Jarod.</p>
<p>When Jarod was a kid, he was stolen away by a shadowy organization called "The Centre" (yes, with the British English spelling for some reason, despite being based in Delaware), but he escaped, and loped around the country spending every episode in a new job.</p>
<p>It was very dumb. I loved it very much.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Pretender (1996) Opening" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uWJ6GjLVLHo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>At this point you may be wondering why, if I wanted to stay on-theme, I didn't build this deck around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mairsil, the Pretender" href="#" target="_blank">Mairsil, the Pretender</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It's got "Pretender" right there in the name. I don't have what some might call a <em>good </em>explanation for that, but rather a vibes-based one. Jarod was a good guy, and Mairsil is not a good guy. Jodah, for the most part, is a good guy. End of rebuttal.</p>
<p>If anything, Mairsil is a Mr. Lyle.</p>
<div id="attachment_188086" style="width: 690px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20.webp"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-188086" class="wp-image-188086 size-full" src="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20.webp" alt="" width="680" height="416" srcset="https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20.webp 680w, https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Pool-caps-20-300x184.webp 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-188086" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><strong>This is Mr. Lyle. Look how evil he is.</strong></span></p></div>
<h2>Key Cards for Jodah, the Pretender</h2>
<p>Jarod was able to assume the role of any profession. Jodah, with the help of 29 Background enchantments, can do the same. Sometimes multiple times in a turn.</p>
<p>Backgrounds are legendary, and Jodah says that when we cast a legendary spell, we pseudo-cascade into another one of lesser mana value. So if each of our turns is an episode of the TV show, we might see Jodah become an Agent of the Iron Throne to save an innocent person, then next episode see him become a Guild Artisan to save an innocent person. Jarod saved a lot of innocent people, it was kind of his thing.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hardy Outlander"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Haunted One"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inspiring Leader"></div></div>
<p>That other ability of Jodah's, the legendary creature buff, isn't quite as relevant. Jarod on the show wasn't exactly known to assist other Pretenders. He was more of a lone wolf, if you will.</p>
<p>The other thing Jarod was really good at was using tools. He'd be able to pick up a welder, or a guitar, or the controls of a backhoe, and just go ham like he'd been doing it his whole life. So as you'll see, we've got an assortment of legendary tools for Jodah to use. Most of them are good.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bilbo&#039;s Ring"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bitterthorn, Nissa&#039;s Animus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blackblade Reforged"></div></div>
<p>Since Jarod was such a rascally chameleon, we want to somehow exemplify that in our card choices. At the same time, you might be wondering how we make use of the Backgrounds that require a certain creature type to really function. To solve both problems, we've got some changeling chicanery.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Springleaf Parade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Amoeboid Changeling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Maskwood Nexus"></div></div>
<p>In the TV show, Jarod didn't get his ability to blend in via the influence of a weird, amorphous blue blob with a face, but maybe it happened off-screen.</p>
<p>One other recurring bit in <em>The Pretender </em>was Jarod's fascination with "common" artifacts of the modern era. Remember, Jarod grew up in The Centre, isolated from the outside world. So, throughout the course of the show, he'd become enamored with stuff like ice cream and Silly Putty. Listen, it worked in the show, okay?</p>
<p>To represent that, we've got a few items that we as Commander players take for granted, but someone who was locked in a Commanderless, fringe-science, illegal holding facility might find them just delightful.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sol Ring"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arcane Signet"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Path to Exile"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Farseek"></div></div>
<h2>How Does Jodah, the Pretender Escape The Centre?</h2>
<p>Technically, if we want to stay true to canon, we have to win games by creating a big explosion we're not sure if Jarod/Jodah survives, since that's how the main series ends. Then there were the movies after that, reliant on the fact that yes, he <em>did </em>survive, but I mean who's got time to watch a bunch of movies?</p>
<p>In a Commander game of <em>Magic: The Gathering, </em>Jarod would probably win via some convoluted combo only he could recognize and assemble, but I'm not a Pretender. I'm just a guy. A guy with a dream, and an overactive sense of nostalgia for the late 90s.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caduceus, Staff of Hermes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Spear of Bashenga"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Andúril, Flame of the West"></div></div>
<p>Jodah will win some games via attacking with all his tools. Surprisingly, in goldfishing this list on <a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/24226807">Archidekt</a>, it wasn't that bad. It actually, you know, functioned. I set out to make a deck firmly in the Bracket 1 territory, but dare I say it might actually be able to hang with Bracket 2 adversaries?</p>
<p>There's a reason why Jodah, the Unifier is so popular. That reason is this: the card is nuts. I can cram 29 Backgrounds into a list, some of which straight-up don't do a damn thing on their own, and the deck still works, kinda. That's how good Jodah is.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Acolyte of Bahamut"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Criminal Past"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dungeon Delver"></div></div>
<p>Sure, most deck techs you read on EDHREC probably don't include a "you know, this deck is actually not <em>terrible</em>" passage, but there's a reason I don't write that many deck techs.</p>
<h2>The Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Jodah, the Pretender" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Jodah, the Unifier
[/Commander]
[Enchantment]
*1 Acolyte of Bahamut
*1 Agent of the Iron Throne
*1 Agent of the Shadow Thieves
*1 Candlekeep Sage
*1 Clan Crafter
*1 Cloakwood Hermit
*1 Criminal Past
*1 Cultist of the Absolute
*1 Dragon Cultist
*1 Dungeon Delver
*1 Far Traveler
*1 Feywild Visitor
*1 Flaming Fist
*1 Flowering of the White Tree
*1 Folk Hero
*1 Guild Artisan
*1 Hardy Outlander
*1 Haunted One
*1 Inspiring Leader
*1 Leyline of the Guildpact
*1 Master Chef
*1 Noble Heritage
*1 Passionate Archaeologist
*1 Popular Entertainer
*1 Raised by Giants
*1 Scion of Halaster
*1 Shameless Charlatan
*1 Springleaf Parade
*1 Starfield of Nyx
*1 Street Urchin
*1 Sword Coast Sailor
*1 Tavern Brawler
*1 Veteran Soldier
[/Enchantment]
[Artifact]
*1 Andúril, Flame of the West
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Bilbo&#039;s Ring
*1 Bitterthorn, Nissa&#039;s Animus
*1 Blackblade Reforged
*1 Caduceus, Staff of Hermes
*1 Chromatic Lantern
*1 Conformer Shuriken
*1 Drach&#039;Nyen
*1 Excalibur, Sword of Eden
*1 Hammer of Nazahn
*1 Maskwood Nexus
*1 Mithril Coat
*1 Sol Ring
*1 The Spear of Bashenga
[/Artifact]
[Creature]
*1 Absorbing Man
*1 Amoeboid Changeling
*1 Anikthea, Hand of Erebos
*1 Eutropia the Twice-Favored
*1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
*1 Reki, the History of Kamigawa
*1 Sanctum Weaver
*1 Sisay, Weatherlight Captain
*1 Wildsear, Scouring Maw
*1 Zur the Enchanter
[/Creature]
[Instant]
*1 Crib Swap
*1 Path to Exile
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*1 Dance of the Manse
*1 Farseek
*1 Urza&#039;s Ruinous Blast
[/Sorcery]
[Lands]
*1 Brushland
*1 Canopy Vista
*1 Cascading Cataracts
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Fabled Passage
*8 Forest
*5 Island
*3 Mountain
*8 Plains
*1 Plaza of Heroes
*3 Swamp
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Thank you for allowing me to indulge in this walk back into the 90s. If you're a <em>Magic </em>player of a certain age, it's likely you remember <em>The Pretender. </em>And, you probably remember it being a lot better than it actually was.</p>
<p>I'd love to hear a few things from you, in the comments: 1) do you play Bracket 1? and 2) do you want to read more Bracket 1 deck techs?</p>
<p>Let me know; I'm, as Dr. William Raines used to say, all ears.</p>


https://cloudflare.edhrec.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Untitled-July-09-2026-at-22.23.59.png

jodah the unifer

Building Jodah, the Unifier As Bracket 1 Backgrounds