Captain Sisay - Duel Commander - 20 HP Metagame

Duel Commander*

RileySisay

Land (39)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x City of Traitors
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crystal Vein
• 1x Dark Depths
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Dust Bowl
• 1x Eiganjo Castle
• 1x Flagstones of Trokair
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Razorverge Thicket
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Scattered Groves
• 6x Snow-Covered Forest
• 2x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Stirring Wildwood
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Bastion
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Yavimaya Hollow

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Garruk Wildspeaker

Creature (30)

• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
• 1x Benevolent Bodyguard
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Boreal Druid
• 1x Courser of Kruphix
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Elvish Visionary
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Gaddock Teeg
• 1x Knight of the Reliquary
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Lotus Cobra
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Nissa, Vastwood Seer  ^Flip
• 1x Priest of Titania
• 1x Primeval Titan
• 1x Ramunap Excavator
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Scavenging Ooze
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Sylvan Ranger
• 1x Sylvan Safekeeper
• 1x Titania, Protector of Argoth
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Exploration
• 1x Fastbond
• 1x Solemnity
• 1x Utopia Sprawl
• 1x Wild Growth

Commander (1)

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Hour of Promise
• 1x Into the North
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Sylvan Scrying
• 1x Three Visits

Instant (9)

• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Dromoka's Command
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Mana Tithe
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Artifact (5)

• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Umezawa's Jitte

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Greetings, Sisay and Selesnya acolytes! As you well know, a 20 HP meta has opened the door for mono-red decks and other aggro archetypes, which has changed Duel Commander forever. Without the extra 10 HP life buffer, combo decks need to be even more tightly focused on one win condition with a very determined sub-theme of early game delaying to survive aggro and/or burn. Because of these drastic changes, this deck is fundamentally rebooted, hence a brand new page.

How this deck wants to win:

This deck wants to assemble the Dark Depths / Thespian Stage combo at all costs, so every playable tutoring card is available to make that happen.

Two common alternative wins:

1. Tutoring for and getting into play both Titania and Sylvan Safekeeper is pretty darn easy. I think I'd be running these creatures no matter what version of Sisay I was playing, so their presence as an almost instant "I win" button on untap is just a great bonus that can quickly swing games.
2. Good ole aggro beats are not uncommon, especially given consistent access to Jitte and a ramp-fused survival style that can make Norn arguably the most powerful and feared creature in the meta. No other deck than Sisay can make these cards consistently terrifying.

Why Sisay?

Consistency. Legacy. Terror. Commanders of 4CMC or greater without blue disruption aren't as strong as they once were in 30 life, so, as ever before, Sisay's access to a toolbox and overall card choices that are extremely meta-conscious give her a competitive edge in an otherwise difficult-to-combo meta for non-blue decks. Because she can go toe-to-toe with that slight consistency edge with other decks doing similar things (Titania, Selvala 1 & 2, Nissa, Sigarda, Teeg), Sisay still has her place.

I've been working on Sisay since 2011. You can read more about the history of the deck and the discussion around it on MTG Salvation: Captain Sisay Primer: The Legendary Duel Commander Guide

Find me on Cockatrice as TheGoldenBoy and on your podcasting app on Hannah and Matt Know It All.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Exclude colors	UBR
Legality	This deck is not Duel Commander legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 51 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 18 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.16
Tokens	Ashaya, the Awoken World, Beast 3/3 G, Elemental 5/3 G, Marit Lage, Zombie 2/2 B