<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/simondominic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simon Dominic</a></em></p>
<h2>A New Meld Commander?</h2>
<p><em>Final Fantasy</em>'s release date is coming up and I'm quite eager to write about some of these new commanders. There's so much neat stuff for Pauper in here! I haven't even looked at the whole list, but I've already got a few I want to write about, the first of which are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>The last time we saw the meld mechanic was in <em>The Brother's War</em>, and we got some of the coolest commanders we've ever had in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titania, Voice of Gaea" href="#" target="_blank">Titania, Voice of Gaea</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord Protector" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord Protector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mishra, Claimed by Gix" href="#" target="_blank">Mishra, Claimed by Gix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. So does this new pair of melding legends live up to the hype of the past set?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie"></div></div>
<p>Well, they're not quite as cool. Unfortunately, the flip side of this meld pair is just a big avatar with some keywords and a death trigger. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance" href="#" target="_blank">Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is mostly just a beat stick. It doesn't do a whole lot, but hey, it is cool, and we're gonna try and make something fun with it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance"></div></div>
<h2>Rule Zero</h2>
<p>But first, I need to establish a few ground rules about this deck. Mainly the fact that I'm going to rule zero <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into the command zone, along with Vanille, as if they were partners with each other.</p>
<p>I'm not doing this because of color identity issues preventing us from running both otherwise; Vanille has both a black and green pip in her textbox, and could lead the deck by herself legally. But the problem is that we'd never be able to find Fang if we did that. And trust me, I've tried everything. Generic tutors? They just don't exist in pauper. Transmute cards? None of them can find creatures with mana value three. Milling our deck until we mill Fang, then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dread Return" href="#" target="_blank">Dread Return</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>ing her? I couldn't find a way to mill the whole deck without just losing. Cascading for a mana value of three? We can't afford to play no other three-, two-, or one-drops.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fierce Empath"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dimir House Guard"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Natural Reclamation"></div></div>
<p>I swear I tried to figure this one out, but I came to the conclusion that even if there were some convoluted way of pulling Fang out of our deck like a rabbit out of a hat, it would take up way too much deck space anyways. And all I really wanted to do was build a cool graveyard deck with the opportunity to meld. So because this deck isn't gonna be great either way, I decided to go with the more fun route, and treat them like they have partner.</p>
<h2>The Game Plan With Fang and Vanille</h2>
<p>Now for the actual strategy of the deck. We have a few things to consider: our commanders on the front, and our commander on the back. On the front, we've got Vanille, who doesn't do anything more than a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grapple with the Past" href="#" target="_blank">Grapple with the Past</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and a fairly potent card advantage engine in Fang. On the back, we've got a big monster. So our strategy shapes itself pretty well: we use Fang to sculpt our hand and collect assets for the first half of the game, then we merge our two commanders together and beat face, taking advantage of the cards we've hoarded.</p>
<p>So how are we gonna get that card advantage out of Fang? Fang is phrased really similarly to <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/brewing-a-pauper-commander-deck-with-kheru-goldkeeper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a card I wrote about a week ago</a>; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes a Treasure every time a card leaves our graveyard, and Fang draws us a card whenever the same happens. So many of the cards that worked there will be just as good here. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merrow Bonegnawer" href="#" target="_blank">Merrow Bonegnawer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in particular are spectacular, giving us a card every turn for the low cost of a tap.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Relic of Progenitus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merrow Bonegnawer"></div></div>
<p>But while those are the best, there's plenty more that'll put in work. For instance, any card that returns something from the graveyard. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tortured Existence" href="#" target="_blank">Tortured Existence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revive the Shire" href="#" target="_blank">Revive the Shire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evolution Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Evolution Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all great ways to get back lost pieces, and they draw us a card with Fang. Or, cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grisly Salvage" href="#" target="_blank">Grisly Salvage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will have a similar effect, milling, then snatching something out of the graveyard. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mulch" href="#" target="_blank">Mulch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winding Way" href="#" target="_blank">Winding Way</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cache Grab" href="#" target="_blank">Cache Grab</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Commune with the Gods" href="#" target="_blank">Commune with the Gods</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and plenty more are card advantage fountains. Some grab a land, some grab a creature, some even grab enchantments, but they all draw cards with our commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tortured Existence"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grisly Salvage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mulch"></div></div>
<p>And because we've got all this card advantage, we might as well throw in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Vessel" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Vessel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Decanter of Endless Water" href="#" target="_blank">Decanter of Endless Water</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to preserve it while we move to the next stage of our plan.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thought Vessel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Decanter of Endless Water"></div></div>
<p>Which is, of course, just beating face with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance" href="#" target="_blank">Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I won't lie, there's not a whole lot special going on here, just the typical Auras and Equipment to add things that aren't already covered by our commander's keywords. (I was briefly running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Haunted Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Haunted Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> before I realized that Ragnaraok already has all three keywords that the Cloak grants.) We'll take some flying from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cliffhaven Kitesail" href="#" target="_blank">Cliffhaven Kitesail</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, some double strike from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brass Knuckles" href="#" target="_blank">Brass Knuckles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and some shroud from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispersilk Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Whispersilk Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Link" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Link</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives lifelink, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snake Umbra" href="#" target="_blank">Snake Umbra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives umbra armor. Everything has something to help.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cliffhaven Kitesail"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brass Knuckles"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Snake Umbra"></div></div>
<p>And then, because we don't want our really cool, awesome commander to die, we're gonna run a bunch of stuff to keep Ragnarok safe: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping" href="#" target="_blank">Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> kinda stuff that'll grant indestructible. There are a good amount of cards to choose from, which range from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armor of Shadows" href="#" target="_blank">Armor of Shadows</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We can also use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Undying Evil" href="#" target="_blank">Undying Evil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Not Dead After All" href="#" target="_blank">Not Dead After All</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, although those cards have the downside of returning our commanders to the battlefield split up. But hey, in that case, we can just pay five mana and meld them again. Or alternatively, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Undying Evil" href="#" target="_blank">Undying Evil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be used to trigger Fang early in the game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gaea&#039;s Gift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Undying Evil"></div></div>
<h2>Fang and Vanille Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Fang and Vanille" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie
*1 Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Brass Knuckles
*1 Cliffhaven Kitesail
*1 Decanter of Endless Water
*1 Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell
*1 Golgari Signet
*1 Kitesail
*1 Relic of Progenitus
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
*1 Wings of Hubris
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Blanchwood Prowler
*1 Circle of the Land Druid
*1 Eccentric Farmer
*1 Glowspore Shaman
*1 Masked Vandal
*1 Merrow Bonegnawer
*1 Patient Naturalist
*1 Persistent Specimen
*1 Pothole Mole
*1 Satyr Wayfinder
*1 Scaretiller
*1 Town Greeter
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Armor of Shadows
*1 Cache Grab
*1 Corrupted Conviction
*1 Costly Plunder
*1 Evolution Charm
*1 Feign Death
*1 Gaea&#039;s Gift
*1 Grapple with the Past
*1 Grisly Salvage
*1 Harrow
*1 Heritage Reclamation
*1 Moment&#039;s Peace
*1 Not Dead After All
*1 Orcish Medicine
*1 Pulse of Murasa
*1 Raise the Draugr
*1 Supernatural Stamina
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping
*1 Undying Evil
*1 Undying Malice
*1 Village Rites
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Crawling Infestation
*1 Eternal Thirst
*1 Lignify
*1 Scion of Halaster
*1 Snake Umbra
*1 Tortured Existence
*1 Vampiric Link
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Commune with the Gods
*1 Cultivate
*1 Feed the Swarm
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Mulch
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Revive the Shire
*1 Unearth
*1 Urborg Repossession
*1 Walk with the Ancestors
*1 Winding Way
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Barren Moor
*1 Evolving Wilds
*17 Forest
*15 Swamp
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Tranquil Thicket
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>That's pretty much the whole deck, minus a bit of ramp and removal. There are just two phases to our game plan: get ready to fight, and fight! While this deck isn't legal, it is a lot of fun, and I doubt I'd have any trouble playing with it in a pod. One thing I'm curious about, however, is how lore accurate these commanders are. <em>Final Fantasy</em> players, do these two seem right? And if not, how would you have designed them? Let me know in the comments.</p>


ragnarok commander

Meld Ragnarok With Fang and Vanille In Pauper Commander