Kaheera, the OrphanguardKaheera, the Orphanguard | Art by Ryan Pancoast

Welcome to Technically Playable, where our mission statement is "Every commander is technically playable" (the best kind of playable). The way this works is every article will have a commander generated using EDHREC's random button, I'll talk through the card and then write about how we can build around it. This week's random commander is Kaheera, the OrphanguardKaheera, the Orphanguard

We're onto our second year of Technically Playable being on EDHREC (yay 🥳), and this is our first time looking at a commander that can also be a companion! I really love companion as a mechanic in Commander. I'm not a huge fan of restricting my deck building just for the sake of it, but by adding a companion, I do force myself into restrictions on what my deck can include as well as getting a benefit from it. That being said, I'm still very sad that Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser got the treatment he did (although I fully get why) as well as being very sad that there is no Gruul colored companion, and, no Jegantha, the WellspringJegantha, the Wellspring doesn't count.

Let's look at how to utilize Kaheera as both the leader of your deck in decks with different levels of popularity, as well as in the role of companion for some different commanders.

Kaheera as a Commander

Cats (150 Decks)

One of the most popular creature types in the format (11th, barely missing out on that top 10 spot because of Slivers), Cats offer a lot of utility and power and have recently had even more support thanks to their popularity. Kaheera heads a very typical kindred deck when it comes to Cats, acting as an anthem in the command zone. Alongside this, you can also run other Cat-specific anthems, like King of the PrideKing of the Pride, Feline SovereignFeline Sovereign, and the new Arahbo, the First FangArahbo, the First Fang.

Cats are a fairly aggressive creature type, so making sure you can keep up on resources is vital. One of the best ways to do that in a Cat-centric deck is Keeper of FablesKeeper of Fables. This incentivizes you to not only keep up the pressure by attacking, but also to spread your attacks around to as many different opponents as possible. Another great way of keeping your hand full while also protecting yourself is Kutzil, Malamet ExemplarKutzil, Malamet Exemplar. Kaheera's power and toughness buff make triggering Kutzil's second ability trivial and allow you to attack without fear of interaction thanks to its first ability.

Beasts (11 Decks)

A much less popular creature type, but one that goes all the way back to the earliest days of Magic. Beasts are one of those creature types that never really get much (or any) dedicated support but end up with lots of cards randomly being Beasts or having some unintentional Beast support on them. The most important card in this deck, though, is Wirewood SavageWirewood Savage. The reason this card is so good is that it's missing "nontoken," meaning you can get a ton of Beasts into play with cards like Rampaging BalothsRampaging Baloths and Primeval BountyPrimeval Bounty to draw a ton of cards. You can even use cards like Beast WithinBeast Within to act as cantrips if you're in a really sticky situation.

A lot of the dedicated Beast support is fairly weak, with cards like Ravenous BalothRavenous Baloth; however, they also got Krosan WarchiefKrosan Warchief back in Scourge as the green representative of the Warchief cycle alongside Daru WarchiefDaru Warchief. Beasts have also gotten a board wipe in recent years in the form of Ezuri's PredationEzuri's Predation (I say recent because I am old and it feels like those precons came out really recently), which does double duty of removing any small creatures while also building a board up. It can really go crazy with cards like Cathars' CrusadeCathars' Crusade or Garruk's PackleaderGarruk's Packleader, or you can just use Kaheera to make a board of 5/5s instead to stretch their removal capability a bit.

Dinosaurs (1 Deck)

Even though Dinosaurs are one of the most popular creature types, the 5th most popular in fact, Kaheera doesn't offer a huge amount extra that commanders like Gishath, Sun's AvatarGishath, Sun's Avatar and Pantlaza, Sun-FavoredPantlaza, Sun-Favored don't, making it a significantly less popular option (Gishath has almost 16,000 decks to Kaheera's one). But that won't stop us from talking about the choices that the one person who plays the Kaheera dinosaur deck has made.

The Kaheera Dinosaur deck looks a lot like most other Dinosaur decks. You want some ramp, some big threats, and some ways to remove your opponents' creatures. You could go down the usual route of your CultivateCultivates and your FarewellFarewells, but we can do more Dinosaur-y.

Regal BehemothRegal Behemoth does double duty in this deck by doubling your mana while also making you the monarch, which allows you to refuel and make sure you have access to cards to use all of that extra mana on. It also has trample, which makes it much easier to get the monarchy back if it's taken from you.

Speaking of cards that make it easy to get the monarchy back, we have Zetalpa, Primal DawnZetalpa, Primal Dawn. Now I know Zetalpa is a bit of a meme because of the number of reprints it's had, and how it's just filler in most precons. But as someone who has had a Zetalpa deck in the past, that's all just slander on what is actually an insanely beefy threat that is incredibly hard to remove. On top of all of that, it has double strike, meaning Kaheera and any other anthems you run will be doing double duty.

In terms of Dinosaur-based removal, we have Trapjaw TyrantTrapjaw Tyrant and Apex AltisaurApex Altisaur as possible options, but they aren't big and splashy enough for me. I love Wakening Sun's AvatarWakening Sun's Avatar; a 7/7 that comes with a one-sided board wipe is amazingly powerful. It has a pretty steep cost at eight mana, but between your ramp spells, Regal BehemothRegal Behemoth, and cards like Mirari's WakeMirari's Wake (which I'd definitely run since it's ramp and an anthem), you shouldn't have much trouble casting it.

Kaheera as a Companion

Horde of NotionsHorde of Notions (399 Decks)

We've looked at Cats, Beasts and Dinosaurs, but Kaheera also cares about Elementals. As one of the "OG" five-color commanders Horde of NotionsHorde of Notions has pretty much been brewed into the ground and Kaheera doesn't change that a huge amount. The plan is to fill the deck with as many Elementals as possible. The hope is to never have to play the commander, but Horde of NotionsHorde of Notions ability is an amazing way to rebuild after a board wipe since the biggest issue this deck faces is just how many creatures it has to run, making it a prime Wrath of GodWrath of God target. I will say that I don't have an answer to "What if your opponent casts FarewellFarewell?" Run one or two counterspells, and just hope you draw them.

The main bulk of this deck looks at your typical Elementals, like Risen ReefRisen Reef and Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage, with the focus being to put as many of them into play as possible and hope to overwhelm your opponents through value and bodies. Incandescent SoulstokeIncandescent Soulstoke is great here as another anthem to accompany Kaheera and also as an Elemental-specific Sneak AttackSneak Attack. You can also run Soul of the HarvestSoul of the Harvest as an extra Risen ReefRisen Reef, as well as Thicket CrasherThicket Crasher and Creeping TrailblazerCreeping Trailblazer to make your combat threat higher.

The part of Horde of NotionsHorde of Notions that I really like is the activated ability that allows you to reanimate any Elementals. Obviously the idea is to use it on creatures that cost more than WUBRG mana, but I also really like the idea of using it to double up on all of your evoke creatures. The best of these is definitely the MH2 cycle of creatures. GriefGrief is probably the weakest in Commander, but FuryFury and Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares... sorry, I mean SolitudeSolitude, give you a great removal suite that you can then return from your graveyard.

Alongside these, you can also use MulldrifterMulldrifter to keep your hand size healthy and Foundation BreakerFoundation Breaker to keep on top of any tricky artifacts and enchantments. To support these, Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage and Yarok, the DesecratedYarok, the Desecrated give you some incredible value that allows you to really pull ahead of even some of the strongest value piles you may find yourself across the table from.

Marisi, Breaker of the CoilMarisi, Breaker of the Coil (196 Decks)

Marisi is one of those commanders I've always looked at, considered building, and then been hit by decision paralysis about how I want to build it. That's where Kaheera comes in to help. By restricting how we can build the deck and the types of creatures we can include, suddenly we're not restricted by the typical "hatebear" style of deck that Marisi works so well with.

Looking at this deck with the restrictions that Kaheera gives us, I'm reminded of some of the newer Modern control decks. By only running the Modern Horizons 2 Elementals, you can easily have Kaheera as a companion while still running some threats. Marisi can work similarly, becoming a Naya control deck.

In terms of what creatures to run, similarly to Horde of NotionsHorde of Notions we definitely want all three of the MH2 Elementals we can use. FuryFury, EnduranceEndurance, and of course SolitudeSolitude. But alongside these, we also need other ways to get our creatures through to protect ourselves from the retaliation. Mirri, Weatherlight DuelistMirri, Weatherlight Duelist is a phenomenal way to do this, and as long as Mirri attacks (or is tapped some other way), she also helps protect you in case any of your opponents were able to protect themselves from damage and prevent Marisi's goad. While expensive mana-wise, Jedit Ojanen of EfravaJedit Ojanen of Efrava is another great way to ensure creatures get through. Green is by far the most popular color in Commander, and having forestwalk means you'll almost always be able to get a creature through to trigger Marisi. However, if you're playing against any non-green players, you can also play Yavimaya, Cradle of GrowthYavimaya, Cradle of Growth to guarantee your Cats have a Forest to walk in.

For our control element, without blue and black, we're restricted to some less traditional ways of controlling the board. Of course, our removal suite doesn't suffer too much with access to most of the board wipes we'd want anyway, as well as Beast WithinBeast Within and Generous GiftGenerous Gift to remove any tricky permanents. But our main way of surviving will be by making sure our opponents can't attack us. Disrupt DecorumDisrupt Decorum is the original goad spell and is a definite include, but newer versions like Taunt from the RampartTaunt from the Rampart and Spectacular ShowdownSpectacular Showdown are also very good at keeping us alive while our opponents attack each other.

The main issue that these decks struggle with is being in a 1v1 when their opponents have each defeated each other. For this, I'd recommend a Commander classic, InsurrectionInsurrection. If your deck has done its job right, you shouldn't need to remove many creatures, and when you've only got one opponent left, you can simply take the board they've accumulated and beat them around the head with it.

Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren (17 Decks)

It wouldn't be a Technically Playable article if I didn't write a very biased section about either graveyard shenanigans or giant creatures, and in this article, you get both! Combine a giant Dinosaur with a Vampire that makes more Vampires, and you've got Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren.

This deck is split into two different types of decks that are a little at odds. On the one hand, you want big creatures to make huge Dinosaurs from your commander, while on the other, you want a lot of creatures to attack to make Vampires. This whistlestop tour will look at the big stompy creature side, but it's useful to have a combination of these things to be able to get the most from your commander's choices, no matter which one you pick.

Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren is likely to be your biggest creature, but if you don't want to risk them dying in combat, you can run the original Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger or Ghalta, Stampede TyrantGhalta, Stampede Tyrant. These give you equally huge creatures to help make giant Dinos without risking your commander. You can also use Apex AltisaurApex Altisaur if you don't mind losing a couple of points of power. The Altisaur is great because you can attack pretty indiscriminately with it as its enrage ability can be a huge threat to the board with small creatures, meaning you can either get in 10 damage for free or you can clear out any annoying utility creatures. Goring CeratopsGoring Ceratops is also great in this deck as it turns all of your huge trampling threats into double strikers, allowing you to get in twice as much damage while also not needing to worry about any blockers.

In terms of getting the most out of our commander, Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne is a must in this deck. Being able to make two huge creatures, twice as many little ones, or playing it safe and making a bunch of small creatures and a big one gives you a ton of flexibility to react to what's on the board, and makes the threat of an attack back much less terrifying. If you don't want to shell out the money for a Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne, you can use Sunfrill ImitatorSunfrill Imitator instead. By stacking the triggers in the correct way you can turn the Imitator into a copy of Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren that doesn't die to the legend rule, and since it has to have attacked to copy it you will get the triggers from Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren twice. If you're also running Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne, you can make four 12/12s with trample that come into play attacking. If you attack with your commander and the Imitator, that's a total of 72 damage in one combat phase.

But Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren aren't the stars of this show. This is another deck where Kutzil, Malamet ExemplarKutzil, Malamet Exemplar and Kaheera work in tandem perfectly. Kaheera buffs all of your trampling Dinosaurs so that Kutzil allows you to draw cards when they attack. If you're attacking with Ghalta and MavrenGhalta and Mavren and have Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne you can attack all three players with a 12/12 trampler and draw a card from each one that hits (and let's be honest, no one is out here blocking 12/12s with trample).

As with all Technically Playable articles, this was a very quick look at Kaheera, the OrphanguardKaheera, the Orphanguard as a commander, and a few of the cards that can really make a deck with Kaheera as the commander tick. Let me know in the comments below if you play Kaheera, the OrphanguardKaheera, the Orphanguard, if you want to build a Kaheera, the OrphanguardKaheera, the Orphanguard deck, or even if you just enjoyed this article!