(Aatchik, Emerald Radian | Art By: Erica Williams)

Aetherdrift is a set with fast cars, Max Speed, and even the inevitable bug going SPLAT on your windshield. In essence, that is the vibe of this deck led by

Outside of Aetherdrift having an above-average amount of artifacts, Aatchik does not "fit" within the set mechanically. And that is precisely what interests me about it (plus I went 3-1 with this as my pre-release promo).

Let's get into it with this edition of Tech The Deck as we try not to get SwatSwat ted like a fly with this deck featuring many buggy bodies.

Bugs

Thanks to building this list, I have a new appreciation for the Insect creature type in this game. Some absolute all-stars fit perfectly into this list.

If you have been sniffing around the competitive 60-card formats, then there is nothing I need to tell you about Haywire MiteHaywire Mite and Springheart NantukoSpringheart Nantuko. Life gain and removal of some pesky card types make the mite a big hit for this deck.

Unfortunately, when in the graveyard, it only counts once when making an InsectInsect. When it comes to Springheart NantukoSpringheart Nantuko, this deck is perfectly fine if we never pay and are not disappointed if we have mana lying around to do so.

Whether we get a bug or a copy of a card, we are sitting pretty. Possibly one of the most underrated cards out there right now, but one that I am making the executive decision to catapult up to all-start status, is the Canoptek Scarab SwarmCanoptek Scarab Swarm.

First, this card has an awesome name that gives me a good mouth feel when I say it out loud. Second, for this deck, it is an Insect and an artifact creature.

Third and finally, it provides graveyard hate and bonus bugs for every artifact and land an opponent has thrown away. We also play some relatively fun and popular Insect commander of sets past.

IzoniIzoni provides us with more bugs, more life, and more cards to help overwhelm our opponents, all while putting creatures into the bin for more shenanigans.

MazirekMazirek can get massive with all the incidental sacrificing that will be going on during a game.

I would be remiss if I left out everyone's favorite big buggy boyBlex, Vexing PestBlex, Vexing Pest. What doesn't Blex do? They fill the graveyard, gain life, pump our other insects, and their backside acts as card selection.

I want to feature two cards I had never heard of and one with some of the most messed-up and interesting legality rulings. Brood of CockroachesBrood of Cockroaches from Visions and Endless CockroachesEndless Cockroaches from Portal are, surprisingly, two cards that do the heavy lifting in this deck.

Both allow us to constantly trigger AatchikAatchik, or any of our other Blood ArtistBlood Artist type of effects.

While Grist, the Hunger TideGrist, the Hunger Tide provides insects, fills the yard, and causes more headaches to players at the table than most cards short of HumilityHumility.

Infestation

If the creatures in this deck did not get my feeling warm and fuzzy inside, it might be that I have fallen victim to a Pest InfestationPest Infestation.

Along with the infestation, as mentioned earlier, we shuffle up at a table with a Swarmyard MassacreSwarmyard Massacre to provide us with removal and even more tokens.

The two 1/1 Squirrels might not sweep a board on their own, but combined with a Beacon of CreationBeacon of Creation and enough forests to cast our spells, our opponents will be on the other side of the Raid can bug spray.

Patriarch's BiddingPatriarch's Bidding and Living DeathLiving Death help to clear the board of whatever our opponents might be doing while bringing back all of our creatures like...well, cockroaches.

The coolest sorceries in the deck must be Formless GenesisFormless Genesis, a card most people have never seen. It counts as an Insect when we need it to and is another card that can further our plan of bug-based domination.

Instant Army (but not ants)

Although the instants are not as exciting as the other two categories, they are still integral to the deck's function. Feign DeathFeign Death and Malakir RebirthMalakir Rebirth can save or have our commander play into the sacrifice theme of the deck by offering itself up as a tribute.

It could be combined with another wild card from the game's past CarrionCarrion. Yes, you read that right. I do not mean Carrion FeederCarrion Feeder; I mean actual, factual CarrionCarrion.

Some solid removal cards in Assassin's TrophyAssassin's Trophy and Tear AsunderTear Asunder allow us to answer any particularly troublesome permanent we cross paths with.

Round it all out with the one card arm card in Second HarvestSecond Harvest, and you have the starts of a solid deck list. The following two categories of this deck might be where the best tech for this deck awaits.

An engine, a harvest, a banner, and a closet all fit inside this deck

Two of my favorite artifacts are from their respected limited formats, and two cards play way above rate in the right situations.

Hopefully, this deck is the right situation. Broodheart Engine might only have surveil 1, but sometimes that is enough to get you to the card you need or at least get an unneeded land off the top of your deck.

might be a bit expensive when there are cards like ReanimateReanimate floating around, but if getting a creature back means I win the game then four mana will not cause me to have any second thoughts.

Heaped HarvestHeaped Harvest is a card I cannot say enough about. When this card is all said and done, it will be for the total cost of generic mana and a : two basic land cards, three life, and an artifact in the graveyard, and one Insect when we cast our commander. I will pay that every single time, with no questions asked.

Patchwork BannerPatchwork Banner is a must-include mana rock when doing anything with a typal strategy behind it. A boost to your creature's power, toughness, and ability to help you cast your spells make this three-mana rock worthy of a spot in this and many other decks.

All that remains is the Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet. This card is a strange include, and even though I made the decklist, I need to see it in practice to garner its entire worth.

It allows us to blink our commander and create an ever-increasing army of bugs, along with blinking any other creature we might want to reuse.

But if I am blinking my commander, I also lose the counters it has built up for all my dying bugs. I could offset this by running something like The OzolithThe Ozolith, but now we are building a different deck at that point.

Insidious Insight

Some other cards that have been making waves in the 60-card ques are Dredger's InsightDredger's Insight and Insidious RootsInsidious Roots.

These are two of the coolest cards that I think have come out in the past, and while they are simple, they are also strong. Insight gives us a small amount of life gain, which is never bad, but more importantly, it mills us for four cards, but we can take one of them back.

Apart from being a great band, the Roots allow all of the bugs this deck makes to turbocharge our mana by letting them tap to add mana.

Outside of a dedicated graveyard-matters deck, this style of play, where things should be moving between the graveyard and battlefield, is just enough for some nice value.

Some other cool adds to this deck are Doubling SeasonDoubling Season for even more tokens, AttritionAttrition for some bonus removal, and Funeral Room // Awakening HallFuneral Room // Awakening Hall as a certified game ender.

Final Thoughts

Nothing excitingly interesting is in this mana base outside the card SwarmyardSwarmyard. When making this deck, I had one final thought: Is this the best bug deck I can build?

An idea has nagged at the back of my mind the entire time I put cards in this deck. Why am I not just running cards like Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus and ConspiracyConspiracy?

I already know that if I wanted to, I could go very hard with the self-mill theme, and this deck would be moderately stronger than its current state.

But could I not just make a better and possibly "buggier" build by making every creature an Insect? The answer is probably that the deck would be stronger than what I have presented you with, but if all I was doing were trying to show off the strongest decks, you would be reading your 45th Ketramose, the New DawnKetramose, the New Dawn deck tech right now.

Instead, I went with a build I thought was interesting and fun to mess around with. It showed me new cards and is a fresh twist on something as ever-present as the Aristocrat archetype.

But if the deck did have cards like Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus and ConspiracyConspiracy, then what would be the best card to turn into an Insect? Maybe something like a Triplicate TitanTriplicate Titan or Myr BattlesphereMyr Battlesphere?

Or perhaps you want to make a bug dragon with the likes of Old GnawboneOld Gnawbone? Let me know here or on socials.

As always, I would love for you to check out what I have written and all the articles here and in other places like Commander's Herald and Cardsphere.

Hopefully, I will run into you and your Aatchik, Emerald RadianAatchik, Emerald Radian deck at an upcoming magic con and see your best tech for the deck.

Nicholas Lucchesi

Player and lover of all Magic the Gathering formats. Forged in the fires of Oath of the Gatewatch expeditions. Always down to jam games with anyone and everyone. When not playing Magic I am doing something else equally, if not more nerdy.