Hamlet the (Half) Dane

Commander / EDH* Infect Theme/Gimmick Vorthos WUB (Esper)

andthegeekshall

Creature (23)

• 1x Angel of Despair
• 1x Avatar of Woe
• 1x Brago, King Eternal
• 1x Clever Impersonator
• 1x Deadeye Tracker
• 1x Drunau Corpse Trawler
• 1x Eldrazi Displacer
• 1x Emrakul, the Promised End
• 1x Garrulous Sycophant
• 1x Geist of Saint Traft
• 1x Gravedigger
• 1x Knights of the Black Rose
• 1x Lady Sun
• 1x Mercurial Pretender
• 1x Nemesis of Reason
• 1x Profaner of the Dead
• 1x Raksha Golden Cub
• 1x Sakashima the Impostor
• 1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
• 1x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
• 1x Sphinx Ambassador
• 1x Vela the Night-Clad
• 1x Vizier of Many Faces

Enchantment (11)

• 1x Campaign of Vengeance
• 1x Corrupted Conscience
• 1x Curse of Vengeance
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Invocation of Saint Traft
• 1x Luminarch Ascension
• 1x Marchesa's Decree
• 1x Martyr's Bond
• 1x Oversold Cemetery
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Underworld Dreams

Land (36)

• 1x Arcane Sanctum
• 1x Azorius Chancery
• 1x Choked Estuary
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x Fetid Pools
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 6x Island
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 5x Plains
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 5x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Throne of the High City
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Beseech the Queen
• 1x Dream Cache
• 1x Drown in Sorrow
• 1x Ruinous Path
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Theft of Dreams

Instant (5)

• 1x Murder
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Tainted Strike
• 1x Vengeful Dreams

Commander (1)

Artifact (18)

• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Chalice of Life  ^Flip
• 1x Chivalrous Chevalier
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Dreamstone Hedron
• 1x Grafted Exoskeleton
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mirror Gallery
• 1x Moonsilver Spear
• 1x Obelisk of Esper
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Profane Memento
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Sword of Vengeance
• 1x Thran Dynamo

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The 3rd deck in my Shakespeare series, this time based upon the play Hamlet (AKA _The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark).

I went with Halfdane as the commander because, well, it has Dane in the name but mainly because in the play Hamlet is pretending to be different things to different people so he can plan his revenge against his uncle as well as prove that his uncle is a usurper who murdered his father.

Because the play has the theme of a play within a play and characters playing representations of figures within the play of Hamlet, I also added creatures that clone and combined them with Mirror Gallery so could bypass the legend rule.

I really wanted a theme of Madness within the deck but, alas, there are no great Madness cards in Esper colours.

I made infection and poison a secondary win-con for the deck because of how Claudius, Hamlet's uncle & the new king, murders through the use of poison and corrupts the wrothful Laertes (represented by Raksha Golden Cub into using poison to try to kill Hamlet.

Finding a card fit for Ophelia was exceptionally frustrating. I settled on Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts mainly because she produces tokens. Wanted something in blue but nothing seemed to fit, so may change her around in future builds. Edit: swapped Teysa with Lady Sun because the latter card is far more on theme with Ophelia. Wanted something that you had to sacrifice to activate but Lady Sun leaves the battlefield to remove something else, so that'll do.

Emrakul, the Promised End was chosen as Fortinbras because nothing in Brass suited and because in the play he hangs like an ignored threat and his appearance marks the end of the play, dictating how things are to be settled.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 44 - 0 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 11 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.78
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Bird 2/2 U, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Monarch Emblem, Vizier of Many Faces 0/0 W, Zombie 2/2 B