Commander Legends Set Review - Uncommon Guild Legends

Archetune-Up - Korvold, King of the Gobbos

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Misty Rainforest" href="#" target="_blank">Misty Rainforest</a> | Art by <a href="http://ryanyee.com/">Ryan Yee</a>)</h6>
<h1>Introduction</h1>
We find ourselves in a strange place... but wait, don't we always? Aren't these decks always a little weird? Well, this one is deep within the Ikorian wetlands, where an undying and deeply uncanny spirit of the Zagoth rainforest watches over the cycles of nature, ruling the circle of life and death in a metaphorical way, but in an aggressively literal way, too.
Welcome to Dual Shot, where we brew two decks at the same time... in one deck. For this experiment, we'll be squishing a <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/tokens">token</a> deck and an <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/infect">Infect</a> deck together. The inspiration for this mishmash befitting of our towering Nightmare Beast Elemental, the broccoli king himself, comes from a conversation I had with a kindly gentleman on MTGO who may or may not have been Lazav.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zagoth Triome"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brokkos, Apex of Forever"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lazav, Dimir Mastermind"></div></div>
My mysterious opponent presented a deck in which <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brokkos, Apex of Forever" href="#" target="_blank">Brokkos, Apex of Forever</a>, lumbering, gentle, and unassuming, not unlike the friendly <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Colossal Dreadmaw" href="#" target="_blank">Colossal Dreadmaw</a> of the wilds of Ixalan, would laze about in the distant solitude of the command zone, until all of a sudden, everyone forgot that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blighted Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Blighted Agent</a> was a Human and therefore was not a legal Mutate target.
All this to say that there is definitely room for some surprising (and recursive) plays with Brokkos, and plenty of targets that make for some explosive early game power moves. As with most Infect decks, knocking one opponent out early by throwing poison counters at them will paint a bright and shiny target on your face for the rest of the table to focus on. Fortunately, in true Dual Shot fashion, this deck is somewhat misleading, and Infect operates as a subtheme that you can withhold until you're ready to bring out the Brokkos.
<hr />
<h2>Abundant Mutations</h2>
In addition to the mobile <a href="https://www.aerogarden.com/">AeroGarden</a> that is our commander, Ikoria also introduced a bunch of other things with Mutate, and it's <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/mutate">kind of its own thing now</a>. And if you've taken a look at the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/infect">Infect theme page</a> recently, you'd notice that Mutate has found something of a new home there. It makes sense - play something easy to cast like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Plague Myr" href="#" target="_blank">Plague Myr</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flensermite" href="#" target="_blank">Flensermite</a>, or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropede" href="#" target="_blank">Necropede</a>, then irradiate it with the strange energy of another, often bigger creature, and wind up with a much scarier Infect threat.
Brokkos lets you do this reliably. Mutate the living grove onto something, and when the mutated stack of limbs and veggies gets removed, let your commander go to the graveyard, from which you can Mutate again. If your graveyard gets submerged in the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bojuka Bog" href="#" target="_blank">Bojuka Bog</a>, that transition between zones (yard to exile) allows you to place Brokkos back into command. See? Circle of life, or something. But beware, things like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grafdigger&#039;s Cage" href="#" target="_blank">Grafdigger&#039;s Cage</a> will trap your general, making it more like Brokkos, Apex of a Little While. To that end, we'll be including a toolbox to try and deal with such effects.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mythos of Brokkos"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reclamation Sage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Souvenir Snatcher"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2>Meta Mutations</h2>
So Mutate and Infect go together like peanut butter and jelly, if, uh, the peanut butter was dangerously radioactive and the jelly was a disease vector. But why tokens? Well, the bridge isn't very wide here, but there are three cards that seem to want this to happen: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Carrion Call" href="#" target="_blank">Carrion Call</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Swarmlord" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Swarmlord</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trigon of Infestation" href="#" target="_blank">Trigon of Infestation</a>. As there are a few Proliferate effects in this list, remember that counters of any kind can be targeted along with a player's poison counters. These Insects are all viable candidates for mutation as well, providing extra spice for the synergy soup.
(Do not drink the soup.)
Since all of the token generation will be of interest to your commander, and your commander is really just a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Colossal Dreadmaw" href="#" target="_blank">Colossal Dreadmaw</a> that ate too many chia seeds, there should be lanes for Voltron or Bogles strategies (giving Brokkos hexproof, indestructible, Infect, and greater power, all in addition to trample) alongside what is likely to be your more visible approach - a wide and aggressive game plan. Without a white color identity, it's difficult to fully commit to a wider tactic, but like any Dual Shot deck, commitment is poison. With any luck, this list will prove to be poisonous even without a narrower focus.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Forever Grove" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Brokkos, Apex of Forever
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Hand of the Praetors
*1 Phyrexian Swarmlord
*1 Otrimi, the Ever-Playful
*1 Viridian Corrupter
*1 Reclamation Sage
*1 Gemrazer
*1 Souvenir Snatcher
*1 Blight Mamba
*1 Plague Stinger
*1 Glistener Elf
*1 Phyrexian Crusader
*1 Flensermite
*1 Whispering Specter
*1 Blackcleave Goblin
*1 Vector Asp
*1 Necropede
*1 Plague Myr
*1 Ichorclaw Myr
*1 Viral Drake
*1 Reef Worm
*1 Sharding Sphinx
*1 Progenitor Mimic
*1 Sai, Master Thopterist
*1 Pollywog Symbiote
*1 Pouncing Shoreshark
*1 Archipelagore
*1 Sawtusk Demolisher
*1 Trumpeting Gnarr
*1 Parcelbeast
*1 Polukranos, Unchained
*1 Darksteel Myr
*1 Silhana Ledgewalker
*1 Nightveil Predator
*1 Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
*1 Strangeroot Geist
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Masterful Replication
*1 Second Harvest
*1 Cackling Counterpart
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Fuel for the Cause
*1 Grim Affliction
*1 Carrion Call
*1 Beast Within
*1 Sultai Charm
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Casualties of War
*1 Maelstrom Pulse
*1 Search for Tomorrow
*1 Cultivate
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Circuitous Route
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Dimir Keyrune
*1 Simic Keyrune
*1 Idol of Oblivion
*1 Orochi Hatchery
*1 Trigon of Infestation
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Corrupted Conscience
*1 Shark Typhoon
*1 Thopter Spy Network
*1 Inexorable Tide
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Command Tower
*1 Zagoth Triome
*1 Opulent Palace
*1 Watery Grave
*1 Hinterland Harbor
*1 Woodland Cemetery
*1 Dimir Aqueduct
*1 Golgari Rot Farm
*1 Jwar Isle Refuge
*1 Dismal Backwater
*1 Thornwood Falls
*1 Gateway Plaza
*1 Dimir Guildgate
*1 Golgari Guildgate
*1 Simic Guildgate
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Alchemist&#039;s Refuge
*1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
*1 Duskmantle, House of Shadow
*1 Lumbering Falls
*1 Creeping Tar Pit
*1 Forge of Heroes
*1 Aether Hub
*1 Cascading Cataracts
*1 Bad River
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*4 Island
*3 Swamp
*4 Forest
[/Lands]"></div>

<hr />
<h2>Conclusion (Even Though Nothing Ever Ends)</h2>
So there are a lot of little avenues here that require a good deal of attention. It might be worth it to wait on <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aether Hub" href="#" target="_blank">Aether Hub</a>'s rainbow mana until you can hit the stack with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fuel for the Cause" href="#" target="_blank">Fuel for the Cause</a>, Proliferating the energy counter for you along with whatever +1/+1 or poison counters you may have accrued. To this end, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn&#039;s Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Karn&#039;s Bastion</a> was an obvious inclusion, although colored mana sources can be a little tricky. Luckily, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Circuitous Route" href="#" target="_blank">Circuitous Route</a> can grab any of a number of Gates for you. Since Brokkos and several other of the deck's strategies are expensive, there's a fairly typical ramp package, one that might even be a little overboard. But the Keyrunes make for a fun inclusion, although there are some Mutate rules wonkiness to be aware of. Mind the verticality of the mutation. If your unblockable <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dimir Keyrune" href="#" target="_blank">Dimir Keyrune</a> Horror creature is on top, whatever is mutated below it would stop being a creature at the end of the turn, I think, don't quote me on this, oh my God I've gone crosseyed.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dimir Keyrune"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Second Harvest"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Polukranos, Unchained"></div></div>
Mostly you'll be looking to make lots of Beast tokens, Thopter tokens, Insect tokens, and the occasional Whale token. Not only does your token strategy become a huge threat with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Harvest" href="#" target="_blank">Second Harvest</a>, but these are all Mutate targets as well. Of course, there are some more obvious candidates for mutation, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nightveil Predator" href="#" target="_blank">Nightveil Predator</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Myr" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Myr</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polukranos, Unchained" href="#" target="_blank">Polukranos, Unchained</a>, but sometimes just mutating <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brokkos, Apex of Forever" href="#" target="_blank">Brokkos, Apex of Forever</a> onto a 1/1 Insect token with Infect will be enough.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tainted Strike" href="#" target="_blank">Tainted Strike</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyresis" href="#" target="_blank">Phyresis</a> can make for good inclusions, improving consistency at the cost of sometimes being dangerously redundant. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triumph of the Hordes" href="#" target="_blank">Triumph of the Hordes</a> can be redundant as well, but with the number of tokens you create that don't have Infect, this is still likely to be a reliable win condition for you, as it would be in nearly any combat-centric deck. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Desecrated Tomb" href="#" target="_blank">Desecrated Tomb</a> seems interesting, and might be worth playing with for Brokkos' sake. As well, the +1/+1 counters from <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Great Henge" href="#" target="_blank">The Great Henge</a> aim to make the card a strong addition as Proliferate targets, even though the Henge specifies nontoken for those counters. Probably because it also draws you a card, so it's hard to complain. Lastly, more obviously powerful Populate/Proliferate effects like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a> are great options for cards to slot into this list.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tainted Strike"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Great Henge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Desecrated Tomb"></div></div>
As always, this brew is a fun (I hope) concoction that needs more removal (I'm certain), but still manages to feel interactive at the table and requires some engaging piloting decisions. Although cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triumph of the Hordes" href="#" target="_blank">Triumph of the Hordes</a> make for a flexible win condition in many decks (without exactly classifying that brew as thematically Infect-oriented), themes like tokens or poison seem to generally require a good deal of focus to do much of anything, or to do it efficiently, at least.
Tell us in the comments if you've found a way to take a go-wide token strategy and had to sacrifice a bit of focus for the sake of doing something different. I know we all strive for what we think of as focused decks, but many tables also recoil at the concept of playing Magic as a game of solitaire. In a sporting match, a hyperfocused awareness can easily blind your periphery, your ability to react, to adapt, and to flow. Even Brokkos isn't unchanging - perhaps eternity, like anything else, is as mutable as the strange places it contains.
That's it for this week. See you all soon! Stay sane and keep to your crafts if you can, and above all, stay safe.

Dual Shot - A Strange Place

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shambling Suit" href="#" target="_blank">Shambling Suit</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NicholasGregoryIllustration/">Nicholas Gregory</a>)</h6>
<h1>Introduction</h1>
We find ourselves in a clear, clean space. The air here is pure, the landscape reposed in disciplined geometries. One is inclined to think of stoicism, sculpture. Simplicity. Without nuance, there is duality. This is the latest iteration of the experiment, now perhaps distilled into its crystalline form.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crystalline Crawler"></div></div>
Welcome to Dual Shot, where we brew two decks at the same time… in one deck. This time, the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/artifacts">artifact theme</a> acts as an oversoul to an <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/enchantments">enchantment theme</a>, led by none other than <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alela, Artful Provocateur" href="#" target="_blank">Alela, Artful Provocateur</a>. Of the themes that EDHREC identifies, the artifact theme is the most populous, with 12,742 decks as of this writing. Additionally, there are 5,054 Aura decks and 4,925 enchantment decks. If we were to merge those two themes for the sake of an (arbitrary) metric, which we probably shouldn’t, we get 9,979 decks, making that hypothetical supertheme the second-most popular deck type.
Alela was a difficult general to ignore. At first glance, especially with more of a lay perspective, it looks like she’s asking to be built two ways. Then it seems clear: those Faerie tokens are the goal, and the artifacts and enchantments that generate them are likely to be conducive to that token strategy, anyway. If the inclusion percentages for decklists are any indicator, then the usual tactics employed are to that end.
But what if we were to shy away from the plan of going wide with evasive threats and instead focused on inverting that last block of text. Rather than artifacts and enchantments that would be good for Faeries (or for Esper, for that matter) by generating incidental value by making more 1/1 flyers, all the better to take advantage of Etchings of the Chosen (~51% inclusion rate for Alela lists), Favorable Winds (48% inclusion rate), and Bitterblossom (41%), what if the tokens. themselves. were the gratuity?
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Etchings of the Chosen"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Favorable Winds"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bitterblossom"></div></div>
It’s generally much easier to produce artifacts en masse than it is to create enchantments, and there are a number of enchantments that repeatedly produce token artifacts. The decision to prioritize the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/artifacts">artifact theme</a> and incorporate an <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/enchantments">enchantment subtheme</a> was made thusly.
<hr />
<h2>Anyone Seen the Bridge?</h2>
In the <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/dual-shot-masks/">inaugural Dual Shot</a>, there was an attempt to capitalize on certain “bridge” cards, as it were; in that case, the cycle of Oaths – enchantments that cared about planeswalkers – leading to a utilization of those cards to support both themes. Here, while it’s true that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a> and cards like it are available and ideal, that most elegant reduction of the so-called bridge is presented to us in the form of only three cards: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spear of Heliod" href="#" target="_blank">Spear of Heliod</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bident of Thassa" href="#" target="_blank">Bident of Thassa</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whip of Erebos" href="#" target="_blank">Whip of Erebos</a>. There are two more legendary enchantment artifacts outside of Esper, and this cycle represents the totality of such a fusion. In the context of this brew, however, a mere three celestial weapons can still provide a good bit of utility.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spear of Heliod"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bident of Thassa"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whip of Erebos"></div></div>
Let’s take a look.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Alela’s Art Collection" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Alela, Artful Provocateur
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Shambling Suit
*1 Darksteel Juggernaut
*1 Tezzeret&#039;s Simulacrum
*1 Arcanist&#039;s Owl
*1 Hanna, Ship&#039;s Navigator
*1 Cavalier of Dawn
*1 Phyrexian Metamorph
*1 Broodstar
*1 Sephara, Sky&#039;s Blade
*1 Sai, Master Thopterist
*1 Padeem, Consul of Innovation
*1 Shimmer Dragon
*1 Mentor of the Meek
*1 Ethersworn Canonist
*1 Emry, Lurker of the Loch
*1 Ethersworn Adjudicator
*1 Workshop Elders
*1 Magister Sphinx
*1 Marionette Master
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Swords to Plowshares
*1 Negate
*1 Confirm Suspicions
*1 Machinate
*1 Banish into Fable
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Open the Vaults
*1 Hour of Reckoning
*1 Kefnet&#039;s Last Word
*1 Dance of the Manse
*1 Merciless Eviction
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Krark-Clan Ironworks
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Darksteel Ingot
*1 Spear of Heliod
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Whip of Erebos
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Journal
*1 Helm of the Gods
*1 Mirage Mirror
*1 Scrapheap
*1 Thopter Foundry
*1 Time Sieve
*1 Inspiring Statuary
*1 Treasure Map
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Attrition
*1 Darksteel Mutation
*1 Mechanized Production
*1 Revel in Riches
*1 Thopter Spy Network
*1 Gift of Doom
*1 Anointed Procession
*1 Smothering Tithe
*1 Sphere of Safety
*1 Mirrormade
*1 All that Glitters
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Teferi, Time Raveler
*1 Tezzeret, Master of Metal
*1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
*1 Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge
*1 Ugin, the Ineffable
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Command Tower
*1 Hallowed Fountain
*1 Godless Shrine
*1 Watery Grave
*1 Isolated Chapel
*1 Prairie Stream
*1 Caves of Koilos
*1 Thawing Glaciers
*1 Esper Panorama
*1 Arcane Sanctum
*1 Ancient Den
*1 Seat of the Synod
*1 Vault of Whispers
*1 Darksteel Citadel
*1 Hall of Heliod&#039;s Generosity
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Ghost Quarter
*7 Plains
*6 Island
*5 Swamp
[/Lands]"></div>

<hr />
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
Enchantifacts? Artiments? Please come up with something better.
Either way, these two card types work surprisingly well together, and staples from both themes can interplay beautifully with but a gentle push.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arbiter of the Ideal" href="#" target="_blank">Arbiter of the Ideal</a> was an early cut: although it was our only way to produce a fourth enchantment artifact, it was proved to be fairly unreliable. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argivian Find" href="#" target="_blank">Argivian Find</a> was another cut: although I didn't feel too good about this one, you still have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hanna, Ship&#039;s Navigator" href="#" target="_blank">Hanna, Ship&#039;s Navigator</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cavalier of Dawn" href="#" target="_blank">Cavalier of Dawn</a> to pull something back in a pinch.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arbiter of the Ideal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Argivian Find"></div></div>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloud Key" href="#" target="_blank">Cloud Key</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enlightened Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Enlightened Tutor</a> would make for powerful inclusions. Even more obviously, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Parallel Lives" href="#" target="_blank">Parallel Lives</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a> make your various routes faster and more oppressive, although together, these cards cost as much as a Nintendo GameBoy Color. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revel in Riches" href="#" target="_blank">Revel in Riches</a> becomes viable sooner, and your field is more rapidly filled with 1/1 flyers. And speaking of alternate win conditions, enchanting <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marionette Master" href="#" target="_blank">Marionette Master</a> with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="All That Glitters" href="#" target="_blank">All That Glitters</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Gods" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Gods</a> and then cracking every Treasure and Clue you control is satisfyingly esoteric.
It’s looking more and more like I add <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphere of Safety" href="#" target="_blank">Sphere of Safety</a> to every list that I possibly can, but at least here it seems to play well with our enchantments subtheme. The <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/pillow-fort">Pillow Fort</a> effect it provides is unlikely to be particularly relevant since it’s really the only instance of such an effect in this build, and we’re going to be rallying plenty of Fae folk to our chump-blocking cause each turn. So, sadly, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sphere of Safety" href="#" target="_blank">Sphere of Safety</a> makes for one of the early cuts should you modify the list.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a> is an enchantment that makes artifacts. So are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thopter Spy Network" href="#" target="_blank">Thopter Spy Network</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revel in Riches" href="#" target="_blank">Revel in Riches</a>, and even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anointed Procession" href="#" target="_blank">Anointed Procession</a> after a fashion. This generates absurd value to your “Voltron” components – that is, your <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="All that Glitters" href="#" target="_blank">All that Glitters</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Gods" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Gods</a>, and to a very real extent, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shambling Suit" href="#" target="_blank">Shambling Suit</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Juggernaut" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Juggernaut</a>. But it’s not unrealistic to grow a 1/1 lifelinking Faerie or a 1/1 Thopter (possibly an indestructible Thopter if you were to slot <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Forge" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Forge</a> into the deck somewhere) to a meaningful height and then swing for a significant change in life totals.
In a modified brew, there could be a very accessible lane in the shape of symmetrically disrupting nonartifact mana-production. We all know <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/land-destruction">mass land destruction</a> can be seen as unsavory, but if you're feeling a more chaotic alignment one afternoon, well, running that as a tertiary theme is viable. Just do so with caution (both in terms of propagating your win condition and in terms of maintaining your relationships).
Your card draw comes from <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bident of Thassa" href="#" target="_blank">Bident of Thassa</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mentor of the Meek" href="#" target="_blank">Mentor of the Meek</a>, and even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Machinate" href="#" target="_blank">Machinate</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcanist’s Owl" href="#" target="_blank">Arcanist’s Owl</a>. Less reliably, you have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thopter Spy Network" href="#" target="_blank">Thopter Spy Network</a> and Clue tokens. As well, the legendary Artificers on-duty, and the planeswalker suite can provide even further card advantage.
As is Dual Shot tradition, this deck needs a more robust removal package, but we do at least have <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swords to Plowshares" href="#" target="_blank">Swords to Plowshares</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Attrition" href="#" target="_blank">Attrition</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Mutation" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Mutation</a> (which provides some flexibility insofar as it can, with a little work, turn one of our creatures into an indestructible threat). And speaking of a bit of work, nothing is quite so dramatic as sacrificing a Faerie token to morph <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gift of Doom" href="#" target="_blank">Gift of Doom</a> onto Alela, followed by Convoking a few other Faeries and perhaps a few white creatures to cast <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hour of Reckoning" href="#" target="_blank">Hour of Reckoning</a>, and then finishing with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Open the Vaults" href="#" target="_blank">Open the Vaults</a> to bring any artifact creatures and Auras back to the battlefield. All this for the low, low cost of 7WW and one ticket to Magical Christmasland.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gift of Doom"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hour of Reckoning"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Open the Vaults"></div></div>
That's all for this installment. When have you taken two such massively supported themes and mashed them together? Creatures and 'walkers? Spellslinging and stax? Goblins and Merfolk? Let us know in the comments below. Till we meet again.

Dual Shot - True Duality

Replacement Commanders - Furballs of Warfare

Commander Showdown - Grismold vs Slimefoot

Archetune-Up - Oketra, Zombie Spawner

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.jasonrainville.com/">Jason Rainville</a>)</h6>
<h1>Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho!</h1>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Once Upon a Time" href="#" target="_blank">Once Upon a Time</a>, in the magical land known as EDHREC, there was a collection of sad, neglected cards, each played in 300 decks or less. But these cards knew that, despite the minimal amount of attention they garnered, one day their prince would come and use them in some amazing strategy no one else was playing. That prince was named Forgotten Harvest.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seven Dwarves"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer"></div></div>
You'll have to forgive my fanciful introduction, but today we're all about fairy tales in this edition of Forgotten Harvest. Specifically, we're going to look at the new Throne of Eldraine card, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a>. Now, we're limited to only using seven copies of this card in the deck, which is better than the traditional one copy, but is probably going to need some help if we want some really big Dwarves. Thus, we're going to pair these <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> with a copy/token strategy led by the great <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer</a>.
The goal here will be to build up an army of Dwarves that all pump one another, and then either grant them evasion with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Levitation" href="#" target="_blank">Levitation</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archetype of Aggression" href="#" target="_blank">Archetype of Aggression</a>, or clear the rest of the board with something like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghired&#039;s Belligerence" href="#" target="_blank">Ghired&#039;s Belligerence</a>, before making one big attack.
We'll start by talking about how we can reliably get at least a couple of the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> onto the battlefield from our deck. Then we'll get into some options for turning our existing creatures into one of the Seven. Finally, we'll cover some great and underplayed token-making options in Izzet. How does that sound?
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/giphy.gif"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-41385 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/giphy.gif" alt="" width="300" height="169" /></a>
<hr />
<h2>Don't be Bashful!</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mitotic Manipulation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Assembly Hall"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mask of the Mimic"></div></div>
According to math, you've got a 41% chance of drawing one of the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> in your opening hand. And while Izzet isn't well known for its creature tutors, blue does make it pretty easy to get a second copy of something once you have your first. For instance, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mitotic Manipulation" href="#" target="_blank">Mitotic Manipulation</a> is a great way to knock through a chunk of your deck on the hunt for a second Dwarf. It also can hunt for a basic land, should that be needed instead. For that second reason, especially, I think this card could see play in more than the 81 decks that use it right now.
Should one of your <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> still be in your hand, you could always use an activation from <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assembly Hall" href="#" target="_blank">Assembly Hall</a> to nab a second. It's understandable why such a card that depends on multiple copies to be relevant would see so little play in Commander. I mean, it's only in 5 decks right now on the site! F-I-V-E!!! <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrumming Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Thrumming Stone</a> is the likely culprit, pushing <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assembly Hall" href="#" target="_blank">Assembly Hall</a> out of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Persistent Petitioners" href="#" target="_blank">Persistent Petitioners</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadowborn Apostle" href="#" target="_blank">Shadowborn Apostle</a> decks. For this deck, though, given the upper limit of seven copies of our Dwarves, the Hall is going to play so much better, and be worth the mana investment. If you'd prefer this ability, but in creature form, I also recommend the recently-printed <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pattern Matcher" href="#" target="_blank">Pattern Matcher</a> (only in 9 decks).
When you want to get another Dwarf into play quickly, perhaps even as a combat trick, nothing beats <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mask of the Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Mask of the Mimic</a> from Stronghold. For a measly blue mana, you can swap out a token at the end of an opponent's turn for a second copy of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a>. Again, this isn't the strongest card for your typical singleton build. Nor does it play well with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Persistent Petitioners" href="#" target="_blank">Persistent Petitioners</a> decks where, odds are, you'd end up just trading one Petitioner for another. This is verified by the 13 decks that use it on the site. Here, however, it's a champion!
<hr />
<h2>Because I'm Happy!</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tilonalli&#039;s Skinshifter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spy Kit"></div></div>
There are so many great clone and copy-making cards in Izzet, and they all see plenty of play. Cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rite of Replication" href="#" target="_blank">Rite of Replication</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mimic Vat" href="#" target="_blank">Mimic Vat</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a> have become auto-includes in typical <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer</a> decks. There are also a few not-so-well-known cards that can create a similar effect, and help to boost our <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> to the max.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tilonalli&#039;s Skinshifter" href="#" target="_blank">Tilonalli&#039;s Skinshifter</a> is a great eighth copy of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> when on the attack. Plus, it has the added versatility to become a second copy of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rapacious One" href="#" target="_blank">Rapacious One</a> should the moment call for it. It's only in 188 decks right now, but this clone ability in mono-red is a rare thing. Couple that with red's evasion options and the number of cards red has that trigger abilities on combat damage, and this card seems very undervalued, generally speaking.
Then, there's one of my favorite Magic cards: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spy Kit" href="#" target="_blank">Spy Kit</a>. It can make any of your creatures into a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> in name, adding one more round of +1/+1 to all of the Dwarf brethren. It combos very well with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mask of the Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Mask of the Mimic</a>, letting you grab any creature out of your deck and drop it onto the battlefield. Even the +1/+1 boost from the Equipment is relevant, when played with the self-immolating card <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Kaboomist" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Kaboomist</a>. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spy Kit" href="#" target="_blank">Spy Kit</a> needs to see play in more than the 51 decks that currently use it. Please help me out by looking out for other potential uses.
<hr />
<h2>What's Up, Doc?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloudseeder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sparkspitter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faerie Formation"></div></div>
The last piece of this deck is to ensure there are plenty of tokens that we can turn into our copied <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seven Dwarves" href="#" target="_blank">Seven Dwarves</a> using Brudiclad's ability. Along with standard token-making options like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dockside Extortionist" href="#" target="_blank">Dockside Extortionist</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodforged Battle-Axe" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodforged Battle-Axe</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Notorious Throng" href="#" target="_blank">Notorious Throng</a>, I've also included some lesser-played options for getting our token numbers up.
One of the first places I looked for red and blue token production was the cycle of token-creating Spellshapers from Future Sight. All of these creatures are underplayed, including <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudseeder" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudseeder</a> (86 decks), <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sparkspitter" href="#" target="_blank">Sparkspitter</a> (64 decks), and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sliversmith" href="#" target="_blank">Sliversmith</a> (129 decks). Now, none of these cards are going to provide an explosive swarm of tokens a la <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clone Legion" href="#" target="_blank">Clone Legion</a>, but they all come out early and can generate steady tokens for several turns in anticipation of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer</a> with a huge payoff. These tokens can also be great for chump blocking or sacrificing to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mask of the Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Mask of the Mimic</a>.
A card I'm surprised that I get to talk about, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faerie Formation" href="#" target="_blank">Faerie Formation</a>, feels far too good compared to the number of decks that use it (259 at the time of writing). I guess I have the lack of Brawl deck availability to thank when discussing this powerful token generator. Four mana feels like a steal when you get to draw a card and create a 1/1 flyer. On a five-mana 5/4 body with evasion, this Faerie is all kinds of good. Hopefully with the second print run of the Brawl decks we can see its numbers go up.
Here's the final decklist:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div> 
[Commander] 
*1 Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer 
[/Commander]
[Creatures] 
*1 Cloudseeder 
*1 Dockside Extortionist 
*1 Goblin Kaboomist 
*1 Loyal Apprentice 
*7 Seven Dwarves 
*1 Sliversmith 
*1 Archetype of Aggression 
*1 Goblin Rabblemaster 
*1 Legion Warboss 
*1 Sparkspitter 
*1 Tilonalli's Skinshifter 
*1 Crafty Cutpurse 
*1 Pattern Matcher 
*1 Faerie Formation 
*1 Deepfathom Skulker 
*1 Rapacious One 
[/Creatures]
[Instants] 
*1 Mask of the Mimic 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Lazotep Plating 
*1 Cackling Counterpart 
*1 Chaos Warp 
*1 Counterflux 
*1 Fated Infatuation 
*1 Spell Swindle 
[/Instants]
[Sorceries] 
*1 Earthquake 
*1 Fireball 
*1 Tempt with Vengeance 
*1 Vandalblast 
*1 Ghired's Belligerence 
*1 Heat Shimmer 
*1 Mitotic Manipulation 
*1 Quasiduplicate 
*1 Notorious Throng 
*1 Rite of Replication 
*1 Tempt with Reflections 
*1 Kindred Charge 
*1 Stolen Identity 
*1 Blasphemous Act 
*1 Clone Legion 
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts] 
*1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Izzet Signet 
*1 Spy Kit 
*1 Commander's Sphere 
*1 Mimic Vat 
*1 Thran Dynamo 
*1 Helm of the Host 
*1 Assembly Hall 
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments] 
*1 Curse of Opulence 
*1 Metamorphic Alteration 
*1 Mirror Mockery 
*1 Flameshadow Conjuring 
*1 Levitation 
*1 Storm the Vault 
*1 Followed Footsteps 
*1 Mirror March 
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers] 
*1 Jace, Cunning Castaway 
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands] 
*1 Cascade Bluffs 
*1 Dwarven Mine 
*1 Fabled Passage 
*1 Haunted Fengraf 
*12 Island 
*15 Mountain 
*1 Shivan Reef 
*1 Spirebluff Canal 
*1 Steam Vents 
*1 Sulfur Falls 
*1 Temple of the False God 
[/Lands]
[/Deck] 

<hr />
<h1>It's Home from Work We Go!</h1>
Thus we conclude the tale of Brudiclad and the Seven Dwarves as told by Forgotten Harvest. As we've now wrapped up storytime, feel free to leave your questions, comments, and snide remarks in the comments section below. I'll be there thinking of more ways I can use <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spy Kit" href="#" target="_blank">Spy Kit</a> in Commander builds, expounding on the benefits of Spellshapers, and waiting for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="True Love&#039;s Kiss" href="#" target="_blank">True Love&#039;s Kiss</a>.
If you've got a neglected card in 300 decks or less that you'd like to see highlighted on here, or a particular strategy that you think needs more love, let me know! I thrive on reader suggestions. Until next time, may you live <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Happily Ever After" href="#" target="_blank">Happily Ever After</a>!

tokens