Updated to be more low to the ground and creature based. This deck is looking to put into play a bunch of small to mid sized creatures that let us disrupt our opponents plans while beating down. It backs this up with ramp, a small number of disruptive instants, some tools to defend the threats we're putting into play, a few big haymakers like Cyclonic Rift and Craterhoof Behemoth, and a bunch of graveyard recursion and incremental value. It can't lock people out entirely, but it can trip them up enough to win via attrition and value.

The deck is weird and complicated. The lines and sequencing can be difficult to work through. There really aren't any key cards besides Derevi, and there are a bunch of synergies and interlocking pieces that aren't obvious. For example - Trophy Mage seems narrow, but it pairs well with Azami, can find Crucible of Worlds or one of our 3 Swords, and can be recurred with both Reveillark and Sun Titan. Willbreaker obviously plays well with Derevi's ETB and combat damage triggers, but it also works with Asceticism, Kor Haven, Sword of Fire and Ice, and Tamiyo. There's a lot like that.

The two main tutor engines are Birthing Pod/Prime Speaker Vannifar and Captain Sisay. Sisay finds legends, of which there are plenty. Birthing Pod is more complicated - it mainly pairs with Derevi to find 4 drops, but can chain up into 5's or 6's. There's a lot of utility at 4, but unless you need something specific right away, Captain Sisay is usually the best thing to get first. If you need to hold up interaction, getting Venser and pointing his ETB trigger at himself is always available. Solemn is usually the best option if you're looking to work up the chain. You can Pod Solemn directly into powerful 5's like Azami, or Seedborn Muse, or you can get Karmic Guide or Reveillark to get 6's like Sun Titan or Ulvenwald Hydra. We rarely pod higher for 7's or 8's, but it does happen on occasion. Remember, Derevi untap triggers can let you Pod multiple times in a single turn.

Mainly, the deck wins by turning creature's sideways. Generally this will take awhile, but Craterhoof, Cyclonic Rift, Elesh Norn, and Elspeth's Emblem can speed things up. Even with those, we're rarely going to be able to kill a relatively healthy full table, so it's necessary to pick targets and plan a few turns ahead when we're pushing to close out the game.

Commander damage is a decent Plan B, but Blackblade Reforged is pretty essential to it. It's best to hold it back to enable a surprise kill, and early on you're better off tutoring for Swords. When swinging with Derevi for Untap or Sword triggers, you're better off spreading the damage around if possible. That way, when the opportunity is right, you can drop Blackblade and swing for lethal Commander damage out of nowhere.

The mana in this deck is tricky. We have lots of double cost spells, and triple in each color. We're trying to play enough basics for our ramp, enough Plains for Emeria, and enough Colorless sources for Eldrazi Displacer. The fetchland mana base combined with Crucible helps, but we're still pinched by only having a single Forest / Island (Hinterland Harbor is being cut the moment Wizards prints another one, even if it's terrible). Derevi's triggers are also useful, but are more helpful for casting multiple spells than meeting specific color requirements. Blue ends up being slightly over represented, to make it easier to hold up counters when casting blue spells.

Trying Heliod as a flexible 4 drop. Vigilance is nice when beating down with swords, or when you'd rather untap other stuff (like Vannifar, another new addition). The activated ability is also nice to have. It's a place to dump mana when going off with Seedborn Muse, or if you left up mana for interaction but never needed to use it. Plus, tokens can be podded for Mother of Runes.

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Date added 6 years
Last updated 4 years
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

14 - 0 Mythic Rares

54 - 0 Rares

12 - 0 Uncommons

9 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.59
Tokens Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Emblem Tamiyo, Field Researcher, Enchantment Cleric 2/1 W, Soldier 1/1 W
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