Ishai, Last Bastion

Commander / EDH* WU (Azorius)

uhV01D

Lands (36)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Animal Sanctuary
• 1x Calciform Pools
• 1x Celestial Colonnade
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Eiganjo Castle
• 1x Flood Plain
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Hengegate Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 1x Lonely Sandbar
• 1x Port Town
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Razortide Bridge
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Sea of Clouds
• 1x Seachrome Coast
• 1x Sejiri Steppe
• 6x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Tectonic Edge
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Tower of the Magistrate
• 1x Tundra
• 1x Tyrite Sanctum
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x Sejiri Shelter  ^Flip

Indestructible (8)

• 1x Flawless Maneuver
• 1x Tyrite Sanctum
• 1x Resolute Watchdog
• 1x Selfless Savior
• 1x Selfless Samurai
• 1x Valorous Stance
• 1x Bastion Protector
• 1x Akroma's Will

Evasion (4)

• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Security Bypass
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak
• 1x Akroma's Will

Regenerate (2)

• 1x Vigilant Martyr
• 1x Medicine Bag

Cloaking (1)

• 1x Soul Sculptor

Hexproof (1)

• 1x Shore Up

Shroud (1)

• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Control (16)

• 1x Disrupting Shoal
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1x Turn Aside
• 1x Vigilant Martyr
• 1x Confound
• 1x Delay
• 1x Diplomatic Escort
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Hindering Light
• 1x Memory Lapse
• 1x Narset's Reversal
• 1x Unsubstantiate
• 1x Disallow
• 1x Nimble Obstructionist
• 1x Time Stop

Protection (10)

• 1x Reverent Mantra
• 1x Sejiri Steppe
• 1x Tower of the Magistrate
• 1x Giver of Runes
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Skrelv, Defector Mite
• 1x Sejiri Shelter  ^Flip
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice
• 1x Sword of Sinew and Steel
• 1x Akroma's Will

Utility (9)

• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Tyrite Sanctum
• 1x The Ozolith
• 1x Security Bypass
• 1x Torpor Orb
• 1x Flux Channeler
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation

Phasing (5)

• 1x March of Swirling Mist
• 1x Slip Out the Back
• 1x Vanishing
• 1x Reality Ripple
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Wrath (4)

• 1x Winds of Abandon
• 1x Cataclysm
• 1x Slash the Ranks
• 1x Inundate

Resilience (2)

• 1x Eiganjo Castle
• 1x Eel Umbra

Tutors (1)

• 1x Whir of Invention

Commanders (2)

Removal (9)

• 1x Tectonic Edge
• 1x Wasteland
• 1x March of Otherworldly Light
• 1x Fumble
• 1x Soul Partition
• 1x Unsubstantiate
• 1x Valorous Stance
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice
• 1x Sword of Sinew and Steel

Draw (8)

• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 1x Lonely Sandbar
• 1x Confound
• 1x Hindering Light
• 1x Security Bypass
• 1x Rayne, Academy Chancellor
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice

Ramp (5)

• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Sky Diamond
• 1x Eye of Ramos
• 1x Seashell Cameo

Redirect (3)

• 1x Misdirection
• 1x Coalition Flag
• 1x Spellskite

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Maybeboard

Other (7)

• 1x Siren Stormtamer
• 1x Change of Plans
• 1x Champion's Helm
• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Monologue Tax
• 1x Damning Verdict
• 1x Not of this World

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Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker gets big pretty quickly, but she is incredibly vulnerable. This deck is designed to protect her from harm, so that she can stay on the battlefield, swinging with as many +1/+1 counters as possible. I do this a few ways:

• Making her resilient to wraths via indestructibility or regeneration.

• Cloaking her with protection from colors or with shroud/hexproof.

• Protecting her with counter magic.

Yes, Ishai could be paired with another Partner commander to get access to more colors and better strategy support. However, my initial idea (before even choosing her) was to build a two-color deck around an under-powered commander using under-played cards. The philosophy of the deck is centered not on raw value, but rather around theme and the satisfaction of playing with cards that tend to get forgotten.

To that end, there are a lot of sub-optimal inclusions in the list, such as Seashell Cameo and Eye of Ramos. There are a select few A-list cards like Sol Ring that are irreplaceable, but for the most part I made concessions on power in favor of uniqueness and staying on theme. The goal is to achieve a good balance so that the deck remains fun to play despite the lower power level.

It's a new deck, so I will be making changes as I playtest, to better calibrate that balance.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.11
Tokens	Treasure
Folders	IRL