Zagorka, Mother of SanctumZagorka, Mother of Sanctum | Art by Daren Bader

There hasn't been a set in recent memory with as absurd a quantity of new commanders that really get the gears in my brain turning as Mystery Booster Commander Edition.

Every time I come back to the set list, something new piques my interest that I had barely paid attention to before. This time around, it's Zagorka, Mother of SanctumZagorka, Mother of Sanctum. This new Temur () commander is a fascinating design, and it may be just the commander in these colors that I've long been on the hunt for. I've been through many of the other options Temur has to offer, and despite my love of Temur decks in other formats, none of them have really gripped me in Commander. In this deck tech, I'm going to try to change that with Zagorka.

What Does Zagorka, Mother of Sanctum Do?

Zagorka, Mother of SanctumZagorka, Mother of Sanctum is a 4/2 with vigilance and trample for . At the beginning of your end step, each player may choose to create a tapped land token that can tap for any color, called a Sanctum. Each player that does cannot attack you during their next turn.

The biggest challenge that Zagorka faces is that sometimes the opponents will be able to outpace her with the extra mana she gives out, especially considering that they get to use that mana first. Giving opponents choices is also rarely good. They can choose to take the Sanctum token before turns when they don't plan to attack you, use that mana to create a snowballing advantage, then stop taking the lands when it's time to go on the offensive.

A deck with Zagorka at the helm has potential in a lot of different lanes. She could lead a group hug deck that wants to feed the table resources, like Sanctum tokens, and stay alive long enough to resolve a huge game-ending spell or a more traditional landfall deck. There's even a world where she's interested in giving away Sanctums to feed some sinister end goal like enabling Price of ProgressPrice of Progress or Wilderness ElementalWilderness Elemental.

My build of Zagorka is going to be a fairly normal ramp deck that uses the commander to enable landfall cards and work up to burning out the table with Price of Progress and its analogues. One of Zagorka's biggest strengths is the consistency she enables. A two-mana ramp spell on turn two followed by a Zagorka coming down on turn three will result in six mana on turn four, assuming I'm able to play a land every turn. The best part is that I don't even need to untap with Zagorka to get that benefit, unlike decks with mana dorks in the command zone, like Selvala, Heart of the WildsSelvala, Heart of the Wilds or Helga, Skittish SeerHelga, Skittish Seer.

Key Cards for Zagorka, Mother of Sanctum

Every game with this deck must begin with a two-mana ramp spell on turn two. There are twelve of them in total, and the goal is to mulligan to three lands plus one of these ramp spells every game. The middle and late stages of the game will sort themselves out as long as it follows a turn-two ramp spell and a turn-three cast of Zagorka, Mother of SanctumZagorka, Mother of Sanctum.

My suite of two-mana ramp spells is fairly pedestrian. Staples like Three VisitsThree Visits and Nature's LoreNature's Lore are virtually inescapable. However, there are a select few that were chosen due to their ability to stay relevant as the game progresses. Edge of AutumnEdge of Autumn, Growth SpiralGrowth Spiral, Lotus CobraLotus Cobra, Mind into MatterMind into Matter, and Planar GenesisPlanar Genesis are all perfect on turn two and passable cards to draw later on. Mind into Matter in particular is a spell I'd actually rather cast for a ton of mana on turn five than run out on turn two.

Once I've arrived at turn four with six mana, what happens? There are fifteen six-mana spells to slam on the table, most of them being independently powerful haymakers. Many of them have landfall or some other land-related ability, like Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre StraitAesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait and Bonny Pall, ClearcutterBonny Pall, Clearcutter. Others help fill out the deck's suite of interaction, like Frost TitanFrost Titan, Kogla, the Titan ApeKogla, the Titan Ape, and Roil ElementalRoil Elemental.

The odd one out in the six-drops category is Y'shtola RhulY'shtola Rhul, a creature that's strictly here to support Zagorka. Getting an extra end step means an extra Sanctum, and there are plenty of creatures to blink with her other ability later in the game.

This deck is a great candidate for a healthy smattering of clone effects. I've only included clones that skirt the legend rule to ensure they work well with Zagorka. Getting extra Zagorka triggers each end step is a really high floor for the likes of Sakashima of a Thousand FacesSakashima of a Thousand Faces, Spark DoubleSpark Double and Irenicus's Vile DuplicationIrenicus's Vile Duplication, and they all have the ceiling of copying a bomb like Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror or Ureni, the Song UnendingUreni, the Song Unending.

How Does This Zagorka, Mother of Sanctum Deck Win?

ZagorkaZagorka's primary win condition is burning the opponents out through effects that punish nonbasic lands. Price of ProgressPrice of Progress, Sunspine LynxSunspine Lynx, and Primal OrderPrimal Order all inflict damage on opponents that scales with their number of nonbasic lands, like the Sanctum tokens that Zagorka will have spent the whole game distributing.

These effects are symmetrical, meaning it's very possible to wind up in situations where Price of Progress cannot be cast without also taking yourself out. To mitigate this, the lands in this deck are mostly basics and fetch lands that can get basics. I've also included two sacrifice outlets, Zuran OrbZuran Orb and Sylvan SafekeeperSylvan Safekeeper, that can minimize the cost of using these big burn spells.

Most Commander decks are going to feature a high count of nonbasic lands to begin with, which gives Price of Progress a decent floor. The real trick to getting the numbers high enough to win the game will be in getting opponents to accept Zagorka's Sanctum as often as possible. I believe that most Commander players, even if they suspect there's a scheme afoot, will end up taking some number of the Sanctums. Otherwise, they'll start to fall behind the players that do. If both Tammy and I are getting a free extra land every turn, Johnny and Spike are going to have to seriously weigh the cost of not joining the club.

Plan B is just making a million tokens and alpha striking the table to death. There are nine repeatable sources of token generation, most of which are tied to a landfall trigger, like Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage and Rampaging BalothsRampaging Baloths.

One of the biggest setups for winning through combat damage is using a sacrifice outlet like Zuran Orb or Sylvan Safekeeper to sacrifice all or most of your lands on the end step before your turn with Titania, Protector of ArgothTitania, Protector of Argoth in play, making a 5/3 Elemental token for each land sacrificed. There's a non-zero amount of risk involved in this play, but it's worth going for more often than not, more so if the opponents are all tapped out.

Zagorka, Mother of Sanctum Commander Deck List

Conclusion

I'm tentatively placing this deck in Bracket 2 (Core). There are no Game Changers, no infinite combos, no extra turns, and the games the deck wants to play are overwhelmingly likely to last more than six turns. I'm a little concerned that the level of focus and consistency could be too much for an average Bracket 2 table, but I'd need to see a bigger sample size of games played in that environment to make a perfect judgment.

Building and testing this deck was a joy! I'll be on the hunt for other Mystery Booster Commander Edition cards that enable me to play old favorites like Price of ProgressPrice of Progress and CounterbalanceCounterbalance to cover next. Speaking of, I'd recommend checking out my article on Gustha EbbasdotterGustha Ebbasdotter where I get to have a little too much fun with said Counterbalance.