"Breaking" Series 01: Breaking Serra Avatar

Commander / EDH Lifegain RGW (Naya) Theme/Gimmick

canterlotguardian

Instant (12)

• 1x Arcbond
• 1x Awe Strike
• 1x Beacon of Immortality
• 1x Dazzling Reflection
• 1x Grab the Reins
• 1x Heal the Scars
• 1x Momentous Fall
• 1x Predator's Rapport
• 1x Sheltering Word
• 1x Soul's Fire
• 1x Soul's Grace
• 1x Worthy Cause

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Altar of Bone
• 1x Chandra's Ignition
• 1x Nissa's Revelation
• 1x Soul's Might
• 1x Tooth and Nail

Enchantment (13)

• 1x Angelic Chorus
• 1x Animal Boneyard
• 1x Boon Reflection
• 1x Burning Anger
• 1x Celestial Mantle
• 1x Defense of the Heart
• 1x Electropotence
• 1x Indestructibility
• 1x Pattern of Rebirth
• 1x Proper Burial
• 1x Remembrance
• 1x Shielded by Faith
• 1x Warstorm Surge

Artifact (5)

• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Mage Slayer
• 1x Quicksilver Amulet
• 1x Sol Ring

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ajani Goldmane

Creature (27)

• 1x Brion Stoutarm
• 1x Combustible Gearhulk
• 1x Dragonlair Spider
• 1x Engulfing Slagwurm
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fierce Empath
• 1x Foe-Razer Regent
• 1x Godsire
• 1x Gruul Ragebeast
• 1x Hateflayer
• 1x Iroas, God of Victory
• 1x Knotvine Mystic
• 1x Living Inferno
• 1x Malignus
• 1x Meglonoth
• 1x Purity
• 1x Realm Razer
• 1x Rhox Faithmender
• 1x Serra Avatar
• 1x Soul of New Phyrexia
• 1x Spearbreaker Behemoth
• 1x Stalking Vengeance
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Tyrant of Discord
• 1x Ulvenwald Tracker
• 1x Wall of Reverence
• 1x Xenagos, God of Revels

Land (36)

• 1x Blossoming Sands
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Copperline Gorge
• 5x Forest
• 1x Graypelt Refuge
• 1x Inspiring Vantage
• 1x Jungle Shrine
• 1x Kazandu Refuge
• 1x Miren, the Moaning Well
• 5x Mountain
• 10x Plains
• 1x Razorverge Thicket
• 1x Rootbound Crag
• 1x Rugged Highlands
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Wind-Scarred Crag

Commander (1)

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Maybeboard

Instant (2)

• 1x Fling
• 1x Worldly Tutor

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This will be the first in a series of builds, highlighting a singular card and building a deck around it, trying to abuse the card (and its synergies with other cards) to the absolute fullest extent.

This time around? Serra Avatar.

Let's do this.

How to abuse Serra Avatar.

The easiest way to take fullest advantage of Serra Avatar lies in the plethora of spells and abilities that allow you to gain life equal to a creature's power/toughness. Since Serra Avatar's power and toughness are both equal to your life total, any of these spells/abilities essentially equate to "double your life total." Finally, we no longer have to rely on beacon of immmortality for that effect (even though that card is, indeed, in the deck). Predator's Rapport is the absolute all-star in this regard, though cards like Dazzling Reflection, Worthy Cause, even Awe Strike in a pinch.

Can you take me higher?

We aren't leaving this all to chance now, mind you. In order to maximize Serra Avatar's bigness, we need to naturally have a whole bunch of lifegain effects. This, being a Naya deck, doesn't really have a lack of such. Angelic Chorus fits well into the above category, doubling our life total upon ETB (and coincidentally, it also works well with the other large creatures we have in our deck). Purity turns any kind of noncreature damage into some serious lifegain.

Want more life? Alhammarret's Archive, Rhox Faithmender, and Boon Reflection all double the amount of life you're gaining. This in turn will translate into an even bigger thumping you're going to give your opponent. How is that, you ask?

The insta-kill

Since Serra Avatar's P/T is equal to your life total, and since most likely with all the other lifegain in the deck, your life total is going to be greater than your opponent's life total, there is a chance you'll be able to oneshot your opponent after playing the Avatar. How is that, you ask? Warstorm Surge does it naturally. Electropotence does it with a bit of a mana investment. Soul's Fire does it at instant speed. Mage Slayer does it out of nowhere. Burning Anger does the same. You get the idea. To add insult to injury, give it lifelink or cast Soul's Might on it before letting it loose on the local EDH population.

The rest of the deck

A deck cannot live on choice synergies alone. Plus, there's always the chance that your Serra Avatar could get Nevermore'd or Meddling Mage'd once your opponent catches on to your bullshit. That's what the rest of the deck is for. Serra Avatar just naturally slots well into a Mayael the Anima strategy, and even if it gets shut down, the rest of the deck is naturally going to benefit from having these around.

As always, thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated!

Date added	7 years
Last updated	7 years
Exclude colors	UB
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 44 - 0 Rares 11 - 0 Uncommons 11 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.53
Tokens	*/* W Creature Avatar, Beast 8/8 RGW, Insect 1/1 G
Folders	Decks