The Cabbage Merchant Budget Commander Deck Tech

The Cabbage Merchant | Art by Patrick Gañas

Even if you've never seen an episode of Avatar, you've probably heard someone shout "MY CABBAGES" in anguish. Well, if you ever wondered who made that line famous, it was none other than The Cabbage Merchant. So, join me Tyler 'Savesya' Bucks, as I cover a full Commander deck built around everyone's favorite leafy loving background character.

The Commander

For those of you who aren't familiar with the lore of Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Cabbage Merchant is often the victim of a reoccurring tragic mishap. Just when he feels safe, he loses a cart-full of his beloved cabbages, which is almost always due to a little accidental collateral damage by the heroes of the show.

If you look close enough at this commander's art, you can see an Earth Kingdom cart midair in the background, ready to ruin the Merchant's day...

All of that flavor is captured perfectly by the mechanics of this legend. Not only does he make you a Food token whenever an opponent casts a noncreature spell, he also allows you to tap them for mana, proving how powerful his connection is to his product. However, not all good things last, because he also makes you sacrifice one of those tokens whenever you're hit by a creature, which might prompt you to shout "MY CABBAGES" when you have to see them go away...

The Deck's Plan

Creating half a mana rock whenever someone else at the table casts a noncreature spell can be a very powerful effect to brew around. Since it isn't limited to once per turn, this could really snowball quickly if you're facing decks that look to chain spells together.

So, to take full advantage of that value, this list features a lot of sneaky ways to capitalize on having all those cabbages laying around.

Plus, there's plenty of options to both protect your board and your life total from the destruction that The Cabbage Merchant is used to. On top of all of that, we'll cover additional ways to make even more Food tokens to add to your stockpile.

So, let's go through things section by section and highlight just a few of the cards that make this budget deck so special.

Card Advantage

• Sarinth Steelseeker: when I first saw this commander's ability, I immediately thought of this creature. It's an absolute powerhouse for the deck, smoothing out your draws and helping you hit your land drops.
• Bristlebud Farmer: since this creature enters and makes two Food tokens, it immediately adds more mana to your board, while also giving you a way to dig for answers when it attacks.
• Heartwood Storyteller: this Treefolk may give value to the entire table, but it'll also distract your opponents from just how many Food tokens you're making.

Mana Ramp

• Heaped Harvest: when this artifact enters you get to fetch a basic land onto your battlefield, and since it has that Food type as well, if someone hits you and you sacrifice it, you'll ramp out a land all over again.
• Jaheira, Friend of the Forest: the fact that your Foods are half of a mana rock is great, but this legend simply turns all of them into full mana rocks on their own.
• Inspiring Statuary: this is just another great way to turn your tokens into mana, while also letting any of your other artifacts tap to assist with casting your spells as well.

Token Enhancers

• Stridehangar Automaton: when you have the option to make a whole board of Food tokens, adding Thopter tokens to that mix can ensure you can push damage forward, as well as protect your life total.
• Quina, Qu Gourmet: these Frog tokens have one job: defending your cabbage horde, which I think Quina (a fellow foodie) would also appreciate.
• Peregrin Took: what's better than making a Food token whenever an opponent casts a noncreature spell? Making two Food tokens! Plus, this Hobbit also offers some card advantage when you need it in a pinch.

Weaponized Cabbages

• Displaced Dinosaurs: this is one of the cards that got my brewing brain working when I read it in this context. Who knew that turning your cabbages into Dinosaurs is all the Merchant needed to protect his cart.
• Halsin, Emerald Archdruid: one mana to turn a token into a 4/4 Bear for a turn is a great rate, especially since you can activate that at instant speed, and catch an opponent off guard during their attack step.
• Tough Cookie: here's another way to animate your tokens, which is great. However it also brings a Food when it enters and is a Food itself. Giving you extra mana on the turn before you cast your commander.

Tokens Galore

• Second Harvest: you don't want to leave your cabbage patch until you've had a second harvest. As you've seen in this deck, there's plenty of ways to make more than just Food tokens, which means this could set you up to end the game in the right scenario.
• Academy Manufactor: an absolute staple for a reason, this artifact creature will be an insane value engine when paired with your commander.
• For the Common Good: here's another way to create even more tokens in this deck, while also giving your board some protection on your turn. Plus, you could even use this to copy some of your creature tokens, to help stomp out the table.

Food Waste

• Fangren Marauder: this card does something I love in Commander, which is push your opponents to make hard choices. Since the Merchant sacrifices a Food when you're hit, it'll make the other players at the table hold off on attacking you, since they'll have to deal more than five damage to you to even make a dent.
• Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender: if you're sacrificing Food, this legend is here to help you smooth out your draws, while also growing in size.
• Trail of Crumbs: this enchantment comes down with a Food token and offers card advantage whenever you sacrifice one of them, and for only a single mana.

Protecting Your Bounty

• Arachnogenesis: since this deck can easily become a problem, your opponents will want to knock you onto your backfoot, which is where this giant swarm of Spiders can come to your rescue...
• Galadhrim Ambush: this card saving your life total and cabbage stock is great of course. However, it also offers you a way to create an Elf token for each attacking creature, not just the ones coming at you, which could easily turn the game in your favor.
• Lull: sometimes a straight up Fog style effect is more than enough, but this one also has cycling for two mana. Having that option just ensures you don't get stuck with this type of card in your hand if you don't need it.

The Merchant Strikes Back

• Stew the Coneys: bite spells are divisive in the community, since some players don't like the variance they bring, however since this one also creates a Food token, it just fit so perfectly in this 99.
• Pawpatch Formation: I love removal spells that offer extra utility, and this card has plenty of that. It removes a pesky flyer or enchantment but can also draw you another card and add to your pile of Food.
• Collective Resistance two mana to destroy an artifact or enchantment is a normal rate, but this also gives you the option to save a key piece on your board. Plus, that Escalate cost makes this card even more versatile, if you have the spare mana for it.

Key Lands

• The Shire: a utility land that can come into play untapped is always nice to have around, and the fact that it also makes Food tokens just solidified its spot is this deck,
• Gingerbread Cabin: having three Forests isn't the hardest thing to accomplish in a mono-green deck, so holding this until you hit that requirement is important, since you'll make that Food when it hits the board untapped.
• The Gold Saucer: sure, flipping a coin to possibly make a Treasure could be fun, but this land is here for that second ability. If your board is stalling out, spending three mana to cash in some artifacts for a card could save you in a game.

The Cabbage Merchant Commander Deck List

In Closing

So, there you go, a full deck list for one of the most tragic characters in all of animation. If you want to pick up this deck for your own, it's hovering around the $60 mark (using TCGPlayer pricing, since it best represents what you would most likely be charged at your local game store.)

What do you think? Did I miss any auto-includes? Let me know in the comments below.

Also, if you're not the biggest Avatar: The Last Airbender fan, please check out my YouTube channel The Pillow Fort. As we get closer to this final set of the year, I'll be going over the lore importance of the cards that populate this set, hopefully helping bridge the gap between Magic players and the amazing world from the show.

More Avatar: