Smellerbee, Rebel Fighter Is an Underrated Commander Powerhouse

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quicksilver, Brash Blur" href="#" target="_blank">Quicksilver, Brash Blur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CMichael+MacRae%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael MacRae</a></em></p>
<p>The heroes have arrived. Some are faster than others, but no one is faster than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quicksilver, Brash Blur" href="#" target="_blank">Quicksilver, Brash Blur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a speedster hero who now joins the ever-growing cast of characters on <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> cards.</p>
<p>What happens when we embrace the true essence of speed and build a deck around it? I'll show you. This is a deck tech for Quicksilver, and all anyone who plays against it will see is a single blur.</p>
<h2>Quicksilver, Brash Blur</h2>
<p>When deckbuilding, you might have to make concessions when building around certain cards. Sometimes you can't have everything work in your favor. This is the case with Quicksilver.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Quicksilver, Brash Blur"></div></div>
<p>As amazing as it would be to start a game with Quicksilver on the battlefield, if we want him to be our commander, we have to sacrifice that part of the text box. Instead, our focus is on speed and efficiency. With a single red casting cost and built-in haste, this card comes down attacking early and often. Not to mention, the more it has to be recast, the cheaper its power-up ability gets.</p>
<p>With all the parts of the card that can work as our commander in focus, I figured we should lean in as much as possible. That means a lot of one-mana cards and a bunch of hasty creatures.</p>
<h2>Not Sonic, But Still Fast</h2>
<p>The deck might not have any Hedgehogs in the creature suite, but that doesn't mean they don't want to go fast. The expectation would be that a deck full of one-mana creatures would pack no punch, but you may be surprised.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bomat Courier"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Signal Pest"></div></div>
<p>Some out there will remember just how important a card <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bomat Courier" href="#" target="_blank">Bomat Courier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was during its time in Standard. While not as dominant in the Commander format, there's no denying that card advantage is always significant, and having it on a one-drop creature is incredible. Sure, getting rid of the cards in your hand might feel bad, but when those cards aren't helping you win the game, sacrifices must be made.</p>
<p>One-drops can't do everything, after all. Some effects would never be printed onto that cheap of a card. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer" href="#" target="_blank">Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> fixes those problems. Stealing cards from the top of your opponents' decks and creating a Treasure, allowing for more plays of your own cards or well-timed uses of cards from others. I don't need to convince you how good Ragavan is as a standalone card, but it's one of the most important creatures in this list.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Signal Pest" href="#" target="_blank">Signal Pest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> may look out of place in this list. Why would we ever want a one-drop creature with no power? To pump up our other creatures, obviously. Attacking early and often means that every time damage can be done, it needs to be maximized, so giving +1/+0 to our board will help pump up those damage numbers.</p>
<h2>More Than Damage</h2>
<p>When filling the deck with a single mana value, finding card advantage and additional effects is difficult. Thankfully, red creatures at our single point on the curve love to come with further upside. Sometimes that's card draw, sometimes it's creature creation, and other times it's a way to affect our opponents' boards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Insolent Neonate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Intimidator Initiate"></div></div>
<p>Not only is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Insolent Neonate" href="#" target="_blank">Insolent Neonate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> a solid attacker thanks to having menace, but it's another way we can draw cards. Similar to Bomat, we have to give up the Neonate to do so, but it could get us what we need when we need it. If we never have to get rid of the Neonate, then the game is going in our favor, and we get to keep an evasive creature.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh" href="#" target="_blank">Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> acts as the second Signal Pest in the deck. As with the Pest, giving bonus power to our team on attack is extremely valuable. Unlike the Pest, Rosnakht can also give us more bodies to be pumped up. <em>Heroic</em> on Rosnakht makes every spell cast onto them come with a bonus 0/1 Kobold. More 0/1s can cause more damage if they stick around, or more creatures to throw under the bus of our opponents.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Intimidator Initiate" href="#" target="_blank">Intimidator Initiate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows us to use whatever mana we have lying around to do something other than cast one-mana spells. The deck doesn't need much mana to function, but we need to do something with the mana we have lying around. In comes the Intimidator. Every red spell we cast can turn into one fewer blocker on the board.</p>
<p>It can also be used politically since the trigger comes off anyone casting a red spell, so we can even get some favor by letting an opponent connect with an unblocked creature.</p>
<h2>"One" Mana Spells</h2>
<p>All one-mana spells are not created equal. Thankfully, that works in our deck's favor. The possibility that we run into a mana flood is somewhere above zero percent, and spells that "cost" one mana but come with additional casting costs or have an x in the casting cost can turn flood into our best friend.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mishra&#039;s Command"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Great Train Heist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shivan Devastator"></div></div>
<p>Creatures have been the focal point of the deck so far, but that doesn't mean they should get all the love. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mishra&#039;s Command" href="#" target="_blank">Mishra&#039;s Command</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a fantastic modal spell in the deck. First and foremost, it serves as another source of card draw, but it comes with two forms of removal and the ability to pump and give haste.</p>
<p>In a pinch, it can even be cast without putting anything into the x part of the casting cost to give a creature haste.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Great Train Heist" href="#" target="_blank">Great Train Heist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might be the best card for us to pump extra mana into. One of the only spells with a mana value of one that we can't use for only one mana. For a total of four mana, we get an untap and extra combat. Bring it up to six mana, and now we get +1/+0 and first strike. And for seven mana total, the player on the receiving end of our attack will give us a Treasure for every creature we hit with.</p>
<p>All of that for seven mana is a steal, but four mana is where this card shines and where we want to be casting it most times.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shivan Devastator" href="#" target="_blank">Shivan Devastator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the biggest creatures that this deck can bring to the table. It's also one of the only flyers that we have at our disposal. If we can only get four or five mana into this card, it's still worth it to bring combat from the air rather than being stuck on the ground. In the late game, it's possible that we can take a player out with this creature alone.</p>
<h2>No Sol Ring, No Problem</h2>
<p>Yes, you read that title right, this deck isn't playing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sol Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Sol Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Many of the cards in this deck only cost a single mana, but that mana is a single <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. When it comes to making extra mana for some of the cards in the section above, there's a surprising amount of Treasure generation in this list.</p>
<p>In the end, I decided the deck would be more interesting and does not need to rely on Sol Ring. Instead, we have a much more interesting lineup of artifacts.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Meekstone"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pip-Boy 3000"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dire Flail"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meekstone" href="#" target="_blank">Meekstone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the MVC (most valuable card) of this deck by a mile. This could be the difference between winning and losing a game if we can get it to stick. The entire deck can just about dodge the downside of the Meekstone, and that isn't something the rest of the table can say.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pip-Boy 3000" href="#" target="_blank">Pip-Boy 3000</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an Equipment that players may not be used to seeing, since the card is from the <em>Fallout</em> batch. Providing the ever-sought-after card draw on attack is excellent, but pumping up a creature or untapping lands to be used for mid-combat spells makes this an underrated Equipment. All of this, and the creature doesn't even need to connect.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dire Flail" href="#" target="_blank">Dire Flail</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would be fine if the front side were all it had to offer. For only 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>, getting a +2/+0 pump at equip <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> is playable. Once we're able to craft it, it gets so much better. Now, a +3/+0 pump and the way to turn extra artifacts into blocker removal make it very easy to connect with a creature.</p>
<h2>A Single Spicy Pepper</h2>
<p>For having only cards that cost one mana, I figured this list wouldn't come with much spice. I was happily wrong.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Onslaught"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skred"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Quest for Pure Flame"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Onslaught" href="#" target="_blank">Onslaught</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> joins the short list of cards that are also the name of an entire set. It also finds itself on the "I didn't know this was a card" list. Since we run 31 creatures, triggering this card should be pretty straightforward. The fewer creatures the table has to block, the more damage we can get in.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skred" href="#" target="_blank">Skred</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might look a bit funny in this list, but there was no way I would leave out what could be the best single-target creature removal spell in some games. With 13 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snow-Covered Mountain" href="#" target="_blank">Snow-Covered Mountain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Frostwalk Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Frostwalk Bastion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we have the potential for a one-mana 15 damage spell. That might be unlikely, but we can dream.</p>
<p>Lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quest for Pure Flame" href="#" target="_blank">Quest for Pure Flame</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can come down often, and getting four counters on it could take as little as a single combat. While it will only double damage against a single player, doubling all the damage they take for a turn can be huge. Even with a small power board, turning seven or nine damage into 14 or 18 can flip a game on its head.</p>
<h2>Wrap Up</h2>
<p>This is the first time I've ever built a deck around a single mana value. It was a more enjoyable experience than I imagined. I'm not sure that, for the Commander format, the best choice was the one mana slot, but Quicksilver costs what it costs.</p>
<p>When it comes to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quicksilver, Brash Blur" href="#" target="_blank">Quicksilver, Brash Blur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I'm disappointed that it won't be a better Commander. At the same time, maybe that's best for the game that there isn't a super oppressive one-mana creature. Time will tell how many players get to put this onto the battlefield before the first turn of the game even begins, and I would be lying if I told you that I didn't want to be one of those players.</p>
<p>What do you think of Quicksilver? What characters are you excited to see in the set? How fast is too fast? Let me know anywhere you can find me on the web @nicnax96.</p>
<h2>Quicksilver, Brash Blur Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="A Single Blur" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Quicksilver, Brash Blur
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Bomat Courier
*1 Burnout Bashtronaut
*1 Clockwork Percussionist
*1 Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler
*1 Fervent Champion
*1 Foundry Street Denizen
*1 Freya Crescent
*1 Gingerbrute
*1 Goblin Bushwhacker
*1 Goblin Grappler
*1 Goblin Guide
*1 Gorilla Shaman
*1 Greasewrench Goblin
*1 Hall Monitor
*1 Impulsive Pilferer
*1 Insolent Neonate
*1 Intimidator Initiate
*1 Legion Loyalist
*1 Lightning Serpent
*1 Marauding Mako
*1 Monastery Swiftspear
*1 Rabbit Battery
*1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
*1 Reckless Lackey
*1 Rosnakht, Heir of Rohgahh
*1 Satyr Hoplite
*1 Shivan Devastator
*1 Signal Pest
*1 Stadium Headliner
*1 Vexing Devil
*1 Zurgo Bellstriker
[/Creatures]
[Sorceries]
*1 Crash Through
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Ground Rift
*1 Infernal Plunge
*1 Magmatic Insight
*1 Mishra&#039;s Command
*1 Overmaster
*1 Reckless Charge
*1 Renegade Tactics
*1 Smoke Spirits&#039; Aid
*1 Song of Totentanz
*1 Vandalblast
*1 Winds of Change
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Balduvian Rage
*1 Desperate Gambit
*1 Great Train Heist
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Might of the Meek
*1 Monstrous Rage
*1 Needle Drop
*1 Outmaneuver
*1 Pyroblast
*1 Redirect Lightning
*1 Rites of Initiation
*1 Skred
*1 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave
*1 Telim&#039;Tor&#039;s Edict
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Bag of Holding
*1 Diamond Pick-Axe
*1 Dire Flail // Dire Blunderbuss
*1 Meekstone
*1 Mirran Banesplitter
*1 Pip-Boy 3000
*1 Pyrite Spellbomb
*1 Shadowspear
*1 Soul-Guide Lantern
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Dragon Mantle
*1 Mob Mentality
*1 Onslaught
*1 Quest for Pure Flame
*1 Sticky Fingers
*1 War Squeak
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Arena of Glory
*1 Castle Embereth
*1 Den of the Bugbear
*1 Dwarven Mine
*1 Forgotten Cave
*1 Frostwalk Bastion
*1 Horizon of Progress
*1 Inkmoth Nexus
*1 Mutavault
*13 Snow-Covered Mountain
*1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
*1 Talon Gates of Madara
*1 War Room
*1 Witch&#039;s Clinic
[/Lands]"></span></div>


mono red aggro

Smellerbee, Rebel Fighter Is an Underrated Commander Powerhouse

Running the Table With Just One Mana, With Quicksilver, Brash Blur