Darien, Last of the Kjeldorans

Commander / EDH* Mono-White Soldiers

Walksicle

Instant (3)

• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Conqueror's Pledge
• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Deploy to the Front
• 1x Launch the Fleet
• 1x Martial Coup
• 1x Mass Calcify
• 1x Nomads' Assembly

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Dictate of Heliod
• 1x Fanatical Devotion
• 1x Gift of Immortality
• 1x Honor of the Pure
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Mobilization
• 1x True Conviction

Artifact (17)

• 1x Ankh of Mishra
• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Eldrazi Monument
• 1x Leonin Sun Standard
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mind's Eye
• 1x Obelisk of Urd
• 1x Pearl Medallion
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Spear of Heliod
• 1x Staff of Nin
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Well of Lost Dreams

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Ajani Goldmane
• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion

Creature (23)

• 1x Adaptive Automaton
• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Auriok Champion
• 1x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
• 1x Captain of the Watch
• 1x Daru Warchief
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Emeria Shepherd
• 1x Evangel of Heliod
• 1x Field Marshal
• 1x Hero of Bladehold
• 1x Jazal Goldmane
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid
• 1x Kor Cartographer
• 1x Mentor of the Meek
• 1x Mirror Entity
• 1x Ranger of Eos
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Soul Warden
• 1x Soul's Attendant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Suture Priest
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Land (37)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x High Market
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nomad Stadium
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Scrying Sheets
• 24x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Tarnished Citadel
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Windbrisk Heights

Commander (1)

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Sideboard

Instant (2)

• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Tithe

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Retribution of the Meek

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Crescendo of War
• 1x Marshal's Anthem
• 1x Seal of Cleansing

Artifact (2)

• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Gauntlet of Power

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Elspeth Tirel
• 1x Gideon Jura

Creature (6)

• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Felidar Sovereign
• 1x Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 1x Odric, Lunarch Marshal
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Soul of Theros

Land (2)

• 1x Forbidding Watchtower
• 1x Mistveil Plains

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Call the Gatewatch

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Martyr's Bond

Artifact (3)

• 1x Akroma's Memorial
• 1x Angel's Trumpet
• 1x Jade Monolith

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ajani Steadfast

Creature (6)

• 1x Bastion Protector
• 1x Benalish Commander
• 1x Crovax, Ascendant Hero
• 1x Healer of the Pride
• 1x Stormfront Riders
• 1x Veteran Swordsmith

Land (1)

• 1x Vesuva

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Good soldiers rely first upon training, then upon their instincts. - King Darien of Kjeldor

Welcome to my favourite EDH deck!

When building this deck, I tried to balance theme, fun and winning. Tokens, anthems, life gain and self-harm are the four pillars of this deck. There are lots of neat interactions, some of which I'm still figuring out a year and a half later.

Comments and suggestions are welcome - read on for my anecdotal and totally uncritical analysis.

Background Show

Personal History
I started playing Magic in 1994 during Revised. It filled the "collector" void in me after my interest in hockey and baseball cards had waned. For about a year I enjoyed smashing Serra Angel into Sengir Vampire like any 12 year old would, but eventually I stopped playing sometime after Ice Age came out. Sadly, I sold off all my cards (probably for Pogs and a Counting Crows tape). Not surprisingly, I regretted this decision for years.

In 2010 I gave in to my nostalgia and bought a box of 1,000 commons and uncommons (mostly from Ravnica, Lorwyn and Zendikar blocks) off eBay, but it was still another two years before I really got back into the game. For the next year and a half I mostly played standard and FFA multiplayer games with 60 card decks. In January 2014 I bought the Naya Commander 2013 deck (which, uh, was not very good). Shortly afterwards, I built my first EDH deck (Omnath, since dismantled) and by March my playgroup had fully converted to EDH. It's only escalated since then.

Deck History
My brother-in-law gave me a soldiers deck for Christmas in 2013. Built for speed, it had Champion of the Parish, Soldier of the Pantheon and Preeminent Captain leading the way. I played it a fair bit, but at this time my playgroup was slowly moving towards commander. Not wanting the deck to go to waste, I decided to convert it to EDH in March 2014.

Darien was the first and only commander of soldiers (I'll explain my decision to use him a bit more below). It's my longest lasting EDH deck and it's still my favourite one to play. I have other decks, including Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer, Wydwen, the Biting Gale , Krenko, Mob Boss and Xenagos, God of Revels (deck lists and descriptions hopefully forthcoming).

Playgroup
My playgroup is best described as casual, although depending on who is present the playstyle might skew slightly towards competitive. We have a consistent playgroup of five, although we often play games of varying sizes, including 1v1 (we don't use the French rules). Myself and two others are a bit more invested, while the remaining two players run casual decks or variations on the precons. Oh, and there's a surprisingly effective Atogatog deck.

Performance
I've played this deck long enough so that my opponents generally know what to expect. That being said, Darien actually does quite well in multiplayer games. Not surprisingly, the deck wins with a large army of pumped soldiers going wide (often on multiple opponents at once).

I don't have any protection for Darien, so he'll usually eat a few removal spells before the game is over. The deck is flexible enough to survive without him on the board and I've won games where I've had to recast him multiple times.

Commander Show

"Call every able sword to our side. Kjeldor will stand triumphant"

Darien, King of Kjeldor : Once I had the foundation for a soldier deck I needed to find a commander to lead the army. I was drawn to Darien's combination of token generation and interactive yet non-aggressive gameplay (well, I suppose building a giant token army could be considered aggressive).

Odric, Master Tactician was an early candidate, but I found this deck doesn't really depend on manipulating blockers to get through - it would rather go wide with as many tokens as possible. Brimaz, King of Oreskos received some consideration as well, but I wasn't really interested in pure aggro.

Darien is usually not killed on sight (ideally he's not the biggest threat on the board when I cast him), but he will still die. Plenty. The trick is to get some value out of him before he eats removal. This might mean not casting him until I have 7-8 mana available, including several ping lands. I'm off to a good start if he can bring down 2-3 soldiers on his first turn in play.

The deck has multiple cards that take advantage of his ability, including Staff of Nin, Ancient Tomb , City of Brass , Nomad Stadium, and Tarnished Citadel. Occasionally people still attack me by mistake when he's on the board. Sure, Ill take 7 commander damage, but next turn you're getting hit with at least 7 massively pumped soldiers!

There are still plenty of ways to manufacture soldiers without Darien in play (albeit not quite as effectively), so the deck doesnt completely rely on him to succeed.

Creatures Show

Adaptive Automaton: An anthem on a body. Not a soldier (at least not until it hits the board) but still a workhorse in the deck.

Archangel of Thune: The flying and lifegain is nice, but the real reason she's there is the +1/+1 counters. There is a LOT of lifegain in this deck (Soul Sisters, Elspeth Tirel, Ajani, High Market, etc.), so it's not uncommon for her ability to trigger multiple times a turn.

Auriok Champion: One of four soul sisters in the deck. The sisters are great at offsetting all the damage from self-damage lands. Crazy synergy with Archangel of Thune. The deck runs perfectly fine with the other three sisters if you're put off by the price of Auriok Champion.

Brimaz, King of Oreskos: Barfs out adorable cat soldiers when he attacks or blocks. It's usually pretty easy to find someone you can attack advantageously with Brimaz, just to get the free token. One of the few aggro cards in the deck. Useful for building an early army or recovering after a board wipe.

Captain of the Watch : Expensive, but an army in a can and an anthem all in one. I'm never disappointed to cast her.

Daru Warchief : I don't play enough soldiers for the cost reduction to be worth it on its own (only seven, not counting Daru Warchief) but the added pump helps.

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: Flavour-wise, Im not sure the Mother of Machines would want to help an army of soldiers (especially after she "converted" so many cat soldiers on Mirrodin). Still, the +2/+2 boost and pseudo boardwipe is huge. She often puts the army over the top for a ridiculous attack.

Evangel of Heliod: A later addition to the deck, Evangel has proven to be surprisingly useful. Even without creatures, I usually have several enchantments in play, so Evangel often comes with at least 5+ friends.

Field Marshal : Cheap pump and the first strike is pretty nice. Plus, he's one of Dariens tacticians!

Hero of Bladehold : Along with Brimaz, she can be an early threat or a great way to recover from a board wipe. Plus, battle cry is useful pump. Unfortunately not a soldier herself. Side note: I really need to get the non-promo version of the card - the art is much better.

Jazal Goldmane: Ajani's dead bro is pretty, pretty good. For four mana your dudes get really big, really quickly. If you have him early game you might be able to knock one player out before they can establish a board presence. Late game, using his ability twice on the same turn is usually GG.

Knight of the White Orchid: Sadly, he's not a soldier (his name is a bit of a giveaway). Still, ramp in white is hard to come by (and he can grab Mistveil Plains). Plus, the first strike is often relevant when there's a few anthems on the board.

Mentor of the Meek : Card draw is hard to come by in mono white. Sure he's not as good as the UB options out there, but this deck pumps out a ton of soldiers so you're almost guaranteed to draw cards off him. Too many anthems can shut him off, unfortunately. Added bonus: hes a soldier!

Mikaeus, the Lunarch: Another target for Ranger of Eos. A bit slow, but the +1/+1 counters are always welcome.

Mirror Entity : Another win con. Much like Jazal, Mirror Entity can be activated early game if you think you can eliminate an opponent with an alpha strike. Can be recurred with Sun Titan and Reveillark (uh, if I played Reveillark).

Ranger of Eos: Tutor on a (soldier) stick. Creature tutors are not readily available in white, so hes a valuable addition. One drops in the deck include Soul Warden, Soul Attendant, Weathered Wayfarer and Mikaeus, the Lunarch.

Soul of Theros : A recent addition to the deck, I'm still not totally souled" on him yet (hah ugh). The ability to give the entire team lifelink is impressive (especially from the grave), but six mana to activate is costly. Yet another non-soldier, but at least the flavour is right.

Soul Warden : Soul sister #2.

Soul's Attendant: Soul sister #3.

Sun Titan : One of the best cards in the deck because of its amazing versatility. An obvious move is just to grab a creature from the yard, but it has much better implications for ramp. Being able to bring back Myriad Landscape, Exploration Map (an impending addition), or even excess Land Tax lands is huge for a white deck.

Suture Priest : (Evil) soul sister #4.

Weathered Wayfarer: He is so good on turn one. In a multiplayer game, he'll be active more often than not (white doesn't out ramp many decks). Can be used to grab a ping land for Darien for later, or High Market for sac shenanigans or Myriad Landscape for ramp, or Ancient tomb for ramp and self-harm etc.

Planeswalkers Show

Ajani Goldmane: The original Ajani is solid, if unspectacular. You can cast him, use his -1 four times and he would still totally be worth it. His +1 does the same thing if Archangel of Thune is on the board.

Elspeth, Sun's Champion : I have an unhealthy love for this card (for Elspeth?). The choice between three soldiers or Retribution of the Meek is pretty great, even if she's kind of expensive at six mana. If I have her in my opening hand, chances are Ill cast her on turn 5 or 6, pump out three soldiers, then cast Darien next turn and use her -3 to wipe the board. Her ultimate is obviously great, but the chances of her sticking around more than a few turns are slim.

Elspeth Tirel: The least popular Elspeth of the three, she's good utility, as all three of her abilities are useful in this deck. Her +2 has won me the game before with Archangel of Thune in play. Also, her ultimate is easy to achieve, although people will likely try to stop it from happening.

Gideon Jura : Gideon has an intriguing set of abilities, although I'm not certain he'll stay in the deck long term. It's fun to force someones utility creatures to attack into your waiting blockers (also opening them up for attacks from the rest of the table). Being able to turn Gideon into a soldier is cool too, but he's far too easy to chump block.

Enchantments Show

Cathars' Crusade : Oddly enough, I rarely cast Cathar's Crusade. Actually, I never even seem to draw it. I should probably check to make sure its still in my deck... It's an amazing card, obviously. Often, just being in play for one turn is enough to end the game. Bonus: Sweet Karl Kopinski art.

Crackdown: Another card on the brink of being cut. It's a neat old card, but I don't think it shuts down enough creatures in my meta to be worthwhile ( Atogatog still runs rampant!). I'm not even sure this deck wants to shut down most attacks.

Crescendo of War : This might be too gimmicky to include in the deck long term. Its a fun card and I love to cast it, but it's unpredictable and can leave me vulnerable to one-shot voltron kills.

Dictate of Heliod : This card always catches people off guard. Guess they don't expect flash anthems. Great art from Terese Nielsen.

Fanatical Devotion: A recent addition to the deck. It saves Darien from spot removal and wraths, but it's also a much needed sac outlet.

Honor of the Pure : A two drop anthem. Nice early play. Unfortunately it doesn't pump Adaptive Automaton (but that's pretty nitpicky).

Land Tax : Aaaagh, my eyes! The art on this card is terrrrrible. Id love to get the promo version someday... Anyway, it's obviously a very good card. A turn one Land Tax will set you up for the entire game. It's a regular Enlightened Tutor target.

Marshal's Anthem : I hate casting this as a four mana anthem, so it often sits in my hand for long stretches until theres something useful in my graveyard. I don't understand why that guy is holding a crutch though.

Mobilization : I've never been completely sold on this card. Vigilance is useful but I often have extra soldiers available to help block. It's fine as a mana sink if you have nothing else to do (three mana for one soldier is an okay rate).

True Conviction : If you have any sort of army when you cast this it's pretty much game over.

Artifacts Show

Caged Sun: Ramp and an anthem all in one. Instead of using Gauntlet of Power, I'd rather spend the extra 1 mana to get a non-symmetrical effect (even though it interferes with casting Darien on turn six).

Coat of Arms : Do you like attacking with an army of 25/25 soldiers? This can be risky in certain games, but usually I benefit way more than my opponents. I like to play this when I'm about to launch an alpha strike. Good luck figuring out the math if Mirror Entity is in play.

Eldrazi Monument: This card terrifies people the minute it hits the board (and rightfully so). Incredibly useful while it lasts, but expect it to draw removal before too long. If you can follow it up with a wrath the game will be in easy mode.

Leonin Sun Standard : For some reason this card always flies under the radar. People often forget it's there until I'm spending 8 mana to pump the team. Two mana to cast and then two mana for +1/+1 is a really good rate of return.

Mind's Eye : Nice, inoffensive card draw in white. It shouldn't draw much hate (unlike some of the blue or black options out there). It's worth it even if you're only drawing one extra card per turn cycle.

Obelisk of Urd: Six mana is expensive for a +2/+2 anthem, but realistically you'll be casting this for 2 or 3.

Pearl Medallion : I've fallen in love with the medallions over the past few months. They show up in basically every mono or dual colour deck I build. The mana that you save over the course of the game with one of these on the board is ridiculous.

Skullclamp : Yeah, sure I'd like some borderline broken card draw in my token deck!

Sol Ring: So boring, but it seems silly to leave it out on principle alone.

Spear of Heliod: It's a bit expensive at three mana, but it's still non-conditional pump for your entire team. Plus, it can keep the heat off you for a few turns if you dont have much of a board presence (as long as you hold up three mana).

Staff of Nin: Card draw doesn't come cheap in mono-white, but the added ping ability is great when Darien is on the board. I'm always happy to draw an extra card every turn while slowly growing an army.

Thran Dynamo: One of the best mana rocks around. Helps cast (and recast) Darien.

Well of Lost Dreams: Another recent addition to the deck; I havent actually cast it yet. With the amount of life gain it seems like a solid addition. Should be able to do some early work with a Soul Sister on the board.

Sorceries Show

Austere Command: Such a flexible card. It's so easy to manipulate your board so that you come out miles ahead of your opponents after casting this card. Sidenote: I don't play Wrath of God or Day of Judgment because a board wipe without added upside doesnt interest me (despite the 4 mana CC).

Conqueror's Pledge: Six tokens for five mana is an excellent rate. Sadly, Ive only managed to pay the kicker for this once (oh boy, was it memorable though!).

Council's Judgment: Good utility removal. Gets rid of the biggest threat (or two) on the board. Plus, voting is usually a fun process in a multiplayer game.

Launch the Fleet: I'm not sure if this is a win-con or a win-more card (or something else entirely). I like that it can turn an unthreatening force of, say, four soldiers, into a game-ending army of doom. Or, maybe it's just a cheap way to grow your army in the mid-game? I like the card but I haven't really figured out the optimal way to play it just yet.

Martial Coup: A board wipe + a bunch of dudes to start your rebuild. I've played this before where X was less than 5 when I was desperate for creatures, but it's not usually advisable.

Mass Calcify : Seven mana is a lot, but it's such a blowout. It might as well read: Destroy everyone else's creatures. Okay, usually a few of the opponent creatures survive the wrath, but the balance is definitely tipped in your favour.

Nomads' Assembly : A great way to double the size of your army. The rebound is not a guarantee in the land of board wipes, but people tend to forget about it by the time it's my turn again. It can be a dead card if you're behind, but this deck rarely has less than 3-4 creatures in play (at worst).

Retribution of the Meek : This seems tailor-made for Darien, yet it often ends up unplayed in my hand. The numerous anthem effects in the deck means that it will take out my guys too. Might be rotated out shortly - three wraths might be enough anyway. The difference between this and Elspeth, Sun's Champion is that I can always use her to pump out soldiers if the wrath option is offline.

Instants Show

Enlightened Tutor: Lots of good targets for Enlightened Tutor. Turn two Land Tax is a popular move. Late game it can be used to grab True Conviction or one of the numerous anthems to push your army to victory.

Path to Exile : Only slightly worse than STP. The ramp drawback usually doesnt matter late game anyway. Plus, you can use it on one of your own soldiers if you're hurting for land.

Return to Dust : Solid utility removal. It's almost always worth casting on your main phase to get rid of two pesky artifacts or enchantments.

Swords to Plowshares: Best spot removal in the game. The lifegain drawback is hardly worth mentioning.

Lands Show

Ancient Tomb : Excellent ramp and the damage is great when Darien is on the board.

City of Brass : Damage + Darien. A brief comment on self-damage: I only included cards that are also beneficial when Darien isn't in play. So, no Jinxed Idol .

Emeria, The Sky Ruin : It's hard to activate the seven plains clause but there's no harm in trying. If it's online you're laughing.

Forbidding Watchtower: Mostly here for flavour reasons. Coming in tapped is unfortunate and the effectiveness of a 1/5 soldier is negligible. Works okay as a surprise blocker.

High Market: This deck needs more sac outlets and the lifegain is a useful bonus.

Kor Haven: I actually prefer this to Maze of Ith because it doesn't take up a land slot. Also useful for deflecting early attacks before you can build an army. Can derail Voltron strategies, although it doesn't help with hexproof commanders.

Mistveil Plains: There is no harm in using this on all non- Sun Titan targets in your graveyard. Plus, it's actually a plains so you can grab it with Knight of the White Orchid.

Myriad Landscape: Really good ramp in mono-colour. White will take all the help it can get.

Nomad Stadium: Damage + Darien.

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: I didn't add this until recently but there's really no downside. The numerous enchantments in the deck help with devotion.

Plains: Yep, lots of these. Maybe someday I'll get Snow-Covered Plains (and Scrying Sheets ) so Darien can feel more at home.

Tarnished Citadel: Damage + Darien. It's also nice having the option to tap for colourless and no damage.

Terrain Generator : An easy way to dump excess lands accumulated from Land Tax into play.

Windbrisk Heights : Very easy to trigger, even early in the game. It's fun to flash in a surprise anthem (or better yet, Elesh Norn) in the middle of combat.

On the Verge Show

Burnished Hart: This deck doesn't do much before turn 6, so the tempo loss from Burnished Hart is irrelevant. This will likely be added shortly (I already play it in multiple decks).

Expedition Map : Can grab any land in the deck, plus it can be recurred by Sun Titan. Obviously a good card.

Gift of Immortality: I'm going to add this for its synergy with cards like Sun Titan, Burnished Hart and Solemn Simulacrum. It can also be attached to token producers like Captain of the Watch and Evangel of Heliod to keep pumping out guys. If nothing else, it can be used to keep Darien alive.

Reveillark : I was actually surprised that this wasn't in the deck. Can bring back a dozen or so creatures in the deck. Karmic Guide is another option here as well (it also has good synergy with Gift of Immortality).

Scroll Rack : Going to add this for its synergy with Land Tax (once again, card selection is hard to come by in white). Sensei's Divining Top could also go in here, but I already play it in two other decks.

Tithe : It's always one of the last cuts in white decks I make (I know, I know, terrible excuse). It grabs lands and helps smooth out the draw.

Mana Crypt: A no-brainer (when I suck it up and actually buy one).

Seal of Cleansing : Or Aura of Silence. Both can be brought back numerous times with Sun Titan. They can also be found with Enlightened Tutor.

Felidar Sovereign: Alternate win-con. There are a few decks in my meta that totally shut down combat, so it makes sense to have another way to win. There is more than enough lifegain in the deck to justify its inclusion.

Jade Monolith : I am intrigued by this card although I'm worried it won't work as often as I'd like. Most people don't block very often so I wouldn't be able to redirect damage that way. It also does nothing if Darien isn't in play. Someone please convince me that its good!

Secure the Wastes: Such a good card. I really need to overcome my non-soldier bias.

Change Log Show

Added Burnished Hart and removed Crackdown.

Added Gift of Immortality and removed Crescendo of War

Added Snow-Covered Plains and removed Plains.

Added Scrying Sheets and removed Snow-Covered Plains

Added Mana Crypt and removed Forbidding Watchtower

Added Sword of the Animist and removed Retribution of the Meek

Added Aura of Silence and removed Return to Dust

Added Scroll Rack and removed Soul of Theros

Date added	8 years
Last updated	8 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 5 Mythic Rares 48 - 7 Rares 11 - 4 Uncommons 5 - 2 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.62
Tokens	*/* W Creature Avatar, Cat Soldier 1/1 W, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Kor Soldier 1/1 W, Soldier 1/1 W
Folders	EDH, Decks I want to try, Darien Ideas