Darien, Killer Kontrol

Commander / EDH*

GekkostatesOfAmerica

Creature (18)

• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Cataclysmic Gearhulk
• 1x Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Felidar Sovereign
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Jazal Goldmane
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Ranger of Eos
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Requiem Angel
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Enchantment (11)

• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Crescendo of War
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Luminarch Ascension
• 1x Nevermore
• 1x Oblivion Ring
• 1x Rest in Peace

Land (37)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x Grand Coliseum
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 1x Nomad Stadium
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 21x Plains
• 1x Tarnished Citadel
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Vesuva
• 1x Windbrisk Heights

Instant (9)

• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Lapse of Certainty
• 1x Mana Tithe
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Rebuff the Wicked
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Scout's Warning
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Unexpectedly Absent

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Day of Judgment
• 1x Hour of Revelation
• 1x Martial Coup
• 1x Planar Cleansing
• 1x Rout
• 1x Wrath of God

Commander (1)

Artifact (15)

• 1x Angel's Trumpet
• 1x Blasting Station
• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Coercive Portal
• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Eldrazi Monument
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Helm of Obedience
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Panharmonicon
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Staff of Nin
• 1x Vedalken Orrery

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

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Maybeboard

Artifact (2)

• 1x Basalt Monolith
• 1x Rings of Brighthearth

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Oath of Lieges

Creature (1)

• 1x Vengeful Archon

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Darien, Killer Kontrol is a deck based around getting as many tokens as possible for victory, whether that be through combat damage or a win-con. Darien's tired of losing: let's give him a victory.

The deck evolved dramatically from its original design: before it was a aggro-like deck that depended on Darien making Soldier tokens as quickly as possible, utilizing Blasting Station to either pump them or generate a win-con. Unfortunately I found that Darien was too slow to solely depend on, as by the time I managed to get him out my opponent had already built a board state that was hard to catch up to. The cases where I did win mostly occurred without him or Blasting Station, and in those games instead of wishing I could get Darien out, I found myself wishing for a commander that better utilized the aggro that cheap, pumpable white creatures presented. The result was splitting the deck into two: Darien, Killer Kontrol, and May the Odrics Be Ever In Your Favor (I'm proud of the title on that one).

The strategy of the deck revolves around Darien's ability to make tokens and maintain the upper-hand on the board: Creatures in the deck are used to reduce the time it takes to set up a board state or set up a win-con. Land deals as much damage to me as possible to ensure I'm getting tokens that I can use. Artifacts and enchantments either provide me card draw, are part of a win-con, prevent damage to me before Darien gets out, or encourages opponents to attack me (providing me with tokens) once Darien is out. Instants and sorceries provide me with as much control as mono-white can provide: preventing Darien from being removed, removing threats to my board state, or wiping the board clean.

Early Game setup

The goal early on is to build ramp to get Darien out as quickly as possible, and prevent as much damage to myself before that happens. Also having some card control is an absolute asset from the start.

• Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant for when Darien gets out
• Grand Abolisher to prevent some pesky counter-spells.
• Expedition Map, Weathered Wayfarer, Knight of the White Orchid, and Land Tax for land fetch and ramp.
• Authority of the Consuls and Ghostly Prison to prevent damage until Darien gets out.
• Sensei's Divining Top, Skullclamp, and Mentor of the Meek for card control and draw
• Ranger of Eos, Recruiter of the Guard, and Enlightened Tutor for fetching any of the above.

Mid-Game (Token Time)

Once Darien is out, the objective changes to preventing my board state from decaying, or using any leftover early game cards to rebuild should I need to boardwipe. Any of the following work with Darien to start dealing damage or keeping the board state going.

• Eldrazi Monument, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, or Darksteel Plate (optimally, multiple of them) to keep Darien and co. alive
• Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Return to Dust, Unexpectedly Absent, Aura of Silence, Nevermore, Oblivion Ring, or any of my seven boardwipes to remove any threats
• Anointed Procession and Elspeth, Sun's Champion to make more tokens
• Angel's Trumpet and Luminarch Ascension are fun, because they punish my opponents for not attacking me. I also like them for the meta appeal: they take some of the heat off of my other artifacts/enchantments while they're out, especially if I can make some tokens big
• Sun Titan to deal some damage and bring back some stuff I might have lost. I'm thinking of including one other card to retrieve some stuff from the grave to keep things going.

End-game

Hopefully by this point I have a one of a few factors going for me: either a lot of tokens/creatures, a reliable token-generator, or the setup for a win-con. These are my winning conditions.

• Lots of tokens/creatures + Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• Token-Generator + either of Archangel of Thune, or Requiem Angel
• Infinite life + Vedalken Orrery + Felidar Sovereign for an end-step win-con.
• I'm also considering including Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Vengeful Archon to deal damage directly to my opponents using my pain lands, to get around bigger blockers.

So that's my deck! I'd like to know your opinion: Don't hesitate to tear the deck to pieces, provided you have suggestions to back it up.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	5 years
Key combos	Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth + Vengeful Archon
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 47 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 4 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.40
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 W
Folders	Commander decks