This deck is the first version of my Rafiq deck. This EDH-deck is especially designed for multi-player. I wanted to build a deck with Rafiq and Aura's and playing the previous version I tuned it to the three important things to do with this Commander:
1) Pump him to lethal as soon as possible, 2) Protect him from being removed from the battlefield and 3) Make him hard, or even better impossible to block.
Further you want some creatures that work toghether with his double strike and exalted ability. The enchantresses provide your draw-strategy. And then off course some cards to eliminate opponents strategies also enchantment based to stick with the theme. Multiple options in one card are preferred.
Ramp & Mana sources
Rafiq is a Commander who thrives on speed. You want to give that 21 Commander-damage before your opponent can deploy their own strategies. So you need cards in the deck to speed up your mana recourses instead of having a one turn one land drop. There are several ways of quick mana fixing in the deck:
Now you got your mana floating it's time to draw and search for the cards you need. These are two important mechanics in the deck. Later on I will tell you which are the key-card in the decks strategy. The Enchantress-Draw-theme goes very well because the deck is loaded with enchantments and aura's.
Once you have the Commander on the Battlefield you want him to stay there as long as possible. There are no cards in the deck to give him Haste so you need the next turn before you can start striking opponents. So the deck holds a bunch of cards which make it hard to kill your Commander. Of course preferred with a pump bonus.
Now the Commander is ready to strike so you want him to hit and hit hard. Some sort of Unblockable is of course the best way to strike. Flying and Trample are the other ways to be sure he assigns plenty of damage. Combined with his Double Strike ability 21 Commander damage can be achieved in one or two turns.
Probably after the first hit your opponents are getting aware that you are a big threat for all of them and that one strike can be enough to be lethal. So be prepared to be a target for the rest of the game. They don't want you attacking them so they definitly will come after you. That's where the other abilities come in.
And if the other abilities aren't enough for your survival you have to choose defense. The best defense is of course to strike them first but like I said, prepare to be the target because you are the threat. These cards might help to slow down your opponents and give you the time to blast them of the battlefield before they can do their own tricks.
These cards will help you and your Commander to win the game. And imagine some of those creatures with Double Strike. And now imagine those creatures with an extra attack phase. And now imagine them to have it both. That's four times having an effect for the price of one. That's what I call advantage!
Medomai the Ageless is the back-up card for your Commander. If they steal Rafiq or take him out of the game in any way Medomai should do the job for you. There is even a 'hidden' combo which can provide unlimited turns aka a certain win-con. How does it work? Well let's have a look:
And if you like the unlimited turns idea you might add Nomad Mythmaker and a sac-outlet for your aura's like Faith Healer or Auratog for doing the same trick in a different way. I hope you all like this deck and maybe have a suggestion to juice it up. Like I said I am trying te get this deck competitive against the higher tiers.
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