Last update: 4/17/2020 (4 changes)
Introduction
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain has received a lot of attention thanks to a new addition from Ikoria, namely Jegantha, the Wellspring. This Sisay deck is an iteration of many versions I've curated for Sisay, and the release of Jegantha allows Sisay to be an extremely efficient and quick combo deck.
Sisay, Weatherlight Captain is unique in its playstyle and comes with a lot of heuristics you need to develop to pilot the deck well. While planning is generally a good skill to have for cEDH, due to the toolbox nature of Sisay and her combo-lines often being multi-stepped tutoring, you have to practice the deck to be quick with pivoting to a winning position.
Why Sisay?
Sisay's unique ability in tutoring legendary permanents into the battlefield makes the deck extremely flexible. While other commanders are usually clear in how you should build the deck from a thematic perspective, Sisay can be built many different ways. For example, you can build Sisay Stax with Stax legends, Sisay midrange with legends that focus on building a board and drawing cards. You can focus on planeswalkers, or you can even play a control deck.
Sisay is very demanding in tracking your board state. This not only makes the deck very rewarding to learn, but it is a brewer's paradise/nightmare. If you put in the time to learn how to play Sisay efficiently, you will have a deck that can constantly change with each set.
So let’s set some things straight:
- WUBRG matters.
Generating WUBRG is key to Sisay, which means we can’t use as much fast mana like Mana Vault or Grim Monolith, or traditional mana dorks like Llanowar elf.
- Legendary matters.
Obviously we need our list to have legends so Sisay can fetch them out and get bigger based on their color identity. We need to optimize mana symbol efficiency in our legends. Cards like Derevi and Anafenza (fenza) is great because they pump Sisay for 3, and gives you access to most of the deck.
- CMC matters.
Because Sisay can fetch only legends under her P/T, we have to be very aware of the CMC of our legends in the deck, because the higher they are the more board state we need to get them. Or in other words, we become dependent on a board state if we need high cmc cards.
Let's get cEDH
- Counter Fetching doesn’t happen: In my many, many, many games of Sisay, I can count on one hand how often I’ve counter tutored. It will work once, then the meta learns your deck and they will never fall for the same trap. I play in a meta with TWO sisay decks, and I came second so everybody was ready for any tricks I could pull. I never managed to Narset into a wheel, or Ashiok into a Hulk fetch. However I still pull off Aven Mindcensor and Notion Thief all the time. This leads me to my second point.
- You will only have 3 tutors at most: The dream is that in a midrange game, Sisay can just pull out all this value and legendball it up! Nope. When the meta is rampant with decks that win off two mana instant speed, you often find yourself tapping mana to interact, and the times you can tutor, you will be tutoring to set up the win. This excludes the tutors as part of your combo, this is speaking purely to tutors that matter.
- Your legendball deck is to 5c Combo as Niv Mizzet is to Foodchain: I love Niv. I know First Sliver is better, and Sisay falls under the same issue. Like Niv, you have to run suboptimal cards for the commander’s gimmick. I know the Aminatou Oath of Teferi line, but I won’t run it because other decks are running less dead cards, and we are already playing dumb legends. You can’t imagine how many times I cast Wrenn6 on turn 1/2, then lose the game to flash. If I can’t even cast a 2cmc value walker, how can you convince me on a 4 cmc enchantment?
- Planeswalkers are bad: Sorry. I hate to admit this one, but we all know this. I have a foil W6 I want to play in this deck but I had to cut it. Sisay depends on permanents staying on the field, and Planeswalkers are extremely vulnerable to all the MAN decks out there. You don’t want to put yourself in a defensive position because of some value walkers propping up your commander to tutor.
- You don’t have Tymna in the command zone: Not having access to getting more cards from the command zone means you can have really slow starts. It’s even worse when you have a handful of cheap legends, but not enough rocks to cheat them out because they all have colored pips in their cost, and your first few turns can be land pass if you don’t open with library or bob.
Ok still with me? Great because I actually love this deck. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had in playing cEDH, and I would 100% jam this into big tournaments all the time.
So let’s talk Jegantha.
This companion Elk solves a lot of key deckbuilding problems that I found with Sisay, listed above.
- WUBRG doesn’t matter: The elk makes WUBRG regardless. All we need is to race this elk out with haste, cast Sisay. Tap and win. This means we can use ALL the fast mana again!!!!!!! YES.
- Legends doesn’t matter: Our line involves getting 3CMC legends into a 5CMC legend. Jegantha already gives 2 pips, so we don’t need to bother with building a board or fetching up dumb cards like Oath of Nissa. We get all these slots back! yESsSsS!!!!
- Always your companion, always a threat: Having Jegantha in the companion zone means you can play extremely aggressively. As I’ve mentioned, all you need is 4R/G and a white source somewhere. Nothing else. Mull down to 4 if it’s 2 lands, a vault and a pact of negation, we can win by T3.
Jegantha changes the deck in such a big way that I feel it’s a worthy exchange to lose our premium counters, access to FlashHulk, and AdNaus. (I used to run flash hulk in the pre-elk list.) The deck shifts from being reactive to being proactive, and it feels amazing.
Jegantha isn’t all sunshine and rainbows though.
While it is a strong contender to Sisay’s strategy, I would hesitate to immediately state it’s the superior one. The way I’ve built Sisay in the past is very transformative with many different lines to win and many ways to pivot from being stopped to a winning board state. The path for Jegantha is much more linear and dependent on our companion. We can build contingencies to protect our crucial elk friend such as bringing him back from the graveyard, but having him or another piece of the combo exiled is much more crippling than before. Not having access to Thassas Oracle and Labjace severely limits our optimal win conditions that are definite. Lab man just isn’t the same.
I’ve had this analogy in my head when I was building this variation. “This deck is 5c Godo.” It’s very fast and direct, except we have almost the entire 5c interaction suite of Godo.
The last thing I wanted to focus on is Kinnan.
As mentioned earlier, Jegantha puts all our eggs into one basket with Najeela, Derevi, Samut. If we lose one of these pieces, it’s hard to come back. And that’s why I wanted to build in another easy to tutor win-condition that also uses Jegantha, and Kinnan helps us there.
Freed from the Real plus any of our dorks -deathrite or Hierch and Kinnan gives us infinite WUBRG. With infinite WUBRG, we can tutor out Teferi, Thrasios, draw our deck and play lab man, then activate Thrasios again for the win. The opportunity cost is very low to include freed in the deck since we already play all the other dorks we will win with it.
If our primary Najeela line is completely gone, we can always try to fetch into Rhys, then Kinnan.
Finally, Teferi can just win the game for you if have labman consult.
OK, now that you've made it THIS far. Read up on all the lines we can with in this deck!
The Najeela Combat Line:
- With Jegantha and Sisay at 4/4 in play, tap Jegantha for WUBRG.
- Spend WUBRG to activate Sisay and tutor for Derevi.
- Derevi enters the battlefield, target Jegantha with Derevi’s untap trigger.
- Sisay will now be at 6/6, tap Jegantha for WUBRG and tutor for Samut.
- Samut enters the battlefield and gives all your creatures haste.
- Attack with Samut, Derevi, and Sisay at an open player. You can even spread these attacks if you want to avoid spitescooping. Earn at least 3 untap triggers with Derevi, put all of those into Jegantha.
- First untap, float WUBRG fetch Najeela.
- Second untap, float WUBRG and spend it in Najeela’s extra combat step ability, untap all your attacking creatures.
- Third untap, do nothing with it.
- Go into your additional combat, attack with the same creatures but this time Samut will generate an additional warrior token tapped and attacking.
- Continue floating mana into Najeela’s ability to get more combat steps and warriors, then kill the table.
The infinite mana Kinnan line:
- With any manadork that can generate any color of your choice with Kinnan in play, cast Freed from the Real targeting your mana dork.
- Use your manadork to make blue, you will get an additional blue from Kinnan’s ability.
- Spend that blue to untap the manadork, and proceed to generate infinite blue.
- Then some of your infinite to generate less-infinite of each color. With WUBRG on available, you have infinite tutors with Sisay.
- Cast Sisay, cast Jegantha. Tutor for Teferi for shenanigans. Most likely if they could stop you, they would have when you went for infinite, but who knows?
- Tutor for Thrasios, float infinite into Thrasio’s ability to draw your deck.
- Cast Laboratory Maniac then draw with Thrasios to win the game.
Note: Jegantha works with Freed from the Real and Kinnan too. Kinnan will give you an additional mana that does not have the same restriction, allowing you to float that mana into Thrasio’s colorless ability.
The NajeelaKinnan infinite mana line A:
- Najeela + Kinnan + Jegantha + WUBRG available from lands/rocks/dorks. Enter combat with Najeela and Jegantha.
- Tap your mana sources for WUBRG and untap all your attacking creatures, which now includes Jegantha.
- Jegantha can now tap for WUBRG + 1 mana of your choice. Spend that WUBRG into Najeela’s ability to untap everything again, now you can generate infinite WUBRG.
If you had Sisay in play, proceed to tutor your deck for all legends, then activate Thrasios and draw your deck and cast Labman in your next mainphase to win.
If you attacked with Kinnan, spend infinite to fetch out all your non-humans, which includes Thrasios. Draw your deck, cast silence idk, then cast Thrasios next mainphase and win.
Note: This line can also be achieved with Bloom Tender or Faeburrow Elder, however you need those dorks to generate WUBRG with an appropriate boardstate.
The NajeelaKinnan infinite mana line B:
- Najeela + Kinnan + Jegantha + Samut + 1 white mana source.
- Proceed as the other line above. Enter combat with Jegantha, Samut and Najeela.
- Use the white mana source you have to untap Jegantha, now tap Jegantha for WUBRG + W.
- Sink WUBRG into Najeela and untap all your attacking creatures, which includes Jegantha. Now you only have W floating.
- Tap Jegantha for WUBRG and another W, giving you WWWUBRG.
- Spend 1 W again from Samut, untap Jegantha for more mana.
- Proceed to loop this infinitely.
The just Najeela infinite combat line variation:
- Najeela + Jegantha + WUBRG available: Enter combat and do the same thing as above.
- This time you won’t generate infinite mana, however you can generate infinite combat steps and warrior tokens to overrun the table with.
Here’s a list of cards that are on my radar, but aren’t played because I can’t justify cutting any cards for them. But you can definitely tune these into your list!
Lazav, the Multifarious - Lazav is a legend I’ve always wanted to play in Sisay. He’s basically a reanimator option that you can tutor out with Sisay. If a key creature’s dead? No problem, fetch Lazav and turn Lazav into Jegantha, then win the game. He’s interesting, but I never had the space to actually try him in the list.
Chainer, Nightmare Adept - Chainer and I have a love hate relationship. He’s amazing in the fact that he’s a haste enabler, and also helps you rebuild your board after a deluge or fire covenant. However there are some caveats to him.
First: he’s 4CMC, meaning we need Derevi or Fenza on board with Sisay to be able to tutor him, Or two dual colored legends like Rhys and Kinnan on the field. If we need to tutor Chainer and have that kind of board, we’re not going to tap 5 for Chainer, discard and spend more mana casting a creature. (Or maybe we are if a key piece is dead.)
Second: His haste has timing nuances. Samut is the haste enabler we want because she can be fetched AFTER Derevi. Chainer’s haste allowance is an ETB from anywhere but your hand. Meaning you will want to tutor for Derevi, but then can’t swing if Chainer’s your haste enabler.
He’s been in many builds of mine, but never performed the way I wish he would.
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade - Lavinia is more relevant in the Jegantha build because we lost our free counters. Lavinia is an interesting 2CMC staxx-lite piece that brings the table to our capabilities in terms of countering spells. However in my meta, I’ve found that the 4/5c consult decks play slower and build out their board, gain insurmountable advantage then win, negating Lavinia’s first clause. Also, because we don’t have Force of Will and Force of Negation, I’ve already had a couple times where I depended on my opponents to answer each other in ways I couldn’t. I could imagine casting Lavinia, passing then letting someone combo off because the other blue players are locked out.
Gaddock Teeg - Teeg is similar to Lavinia in that it stops big non-creature spells, with the added bonus of stopping Finale of Devastation, Green Sun’s and more. He doesn’t stop anything in our deck, but I just don’t have a spot for him.
Saffi Eriksdotter - Saffi is more valuable in this list thanks to our focus on Jegantha. I can definitely justify casting Saffi as a setup to the Jegantha turn, so I can protect Jegantha through an ass trophy.
Anafenza, the Foremost - Fenza was one of the last cards I cut from the list. She was more relevant in the old list when power and pips mattered. Not only does she pump Sisay to 5 power, she can continue pumping Sisay with the +1/+1 counters on attack. Her static also stops Hulk, forcing the Hulk player to interact before they can go off. With the addition of fast mana, dorks, and to fit the KinnanThrasios line, I had to cut Fenza.
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
- Jace is a good legend I used to play as well. He filters through our cards and lets us recast from the yard. Now that we’re focused solely on Jegantha tutoring into Derevi, Najeela bla bla bla, and we don’t care as much about drawing into combo A+B, Jace has lost his spot for speed.
Tymna the Weaver - Tymna was in the first iterations of Sisay. The idea of tutoring Tymna into getting card advantage was sweet! However the issue lies in we usually don’t attack with our creatures until we win. With all the MAN decks out there, they have expendable blockers while we didn’t.
Domri, Anarch of Bolas - Like everything else, Domri mattered more when Sisay’s power mattered. He used to pump Sisay for 3, give us mana for uncounterable creatures, and also act as creature removal by forcing fights. He was cut when I added the Flash package to Sisay so the deck can be more nimble.
Rielle, the Everwise - Rielle is interesting. I’ve seen excellent value come from Rielle, but I don’t concern myself with value pieces as much when it depends on having other cards. The list would need to dedicate slots to maximize Rielle, which I can’t justify.
Dack Fayden - Dack and Rielle are BFFS. If you want to play Rielle, definitely add Dack.
The Royal Scions - Royal Scions were a pet card of mine, just cuz I liked the foil alt art version. The looting was surprisingly useful, and the second ability to pump Sisay and give her trample was CRAZY good. Sadly they were dropped pretty quickly when I tuned the deck to focus on winning instead of value.
Zur the Enchanter - Zur used to be in the list pre-Jegantha. I added him as a meme, but I was pretty shocked at how often people let me hardcast Zur then swing the next turn. I guess when Zur isn’t your commander, he’s less of a threat? He’s on the watchlist because he can snap a freed from the real onto your creatures, or fetch for value enchantments like Rhystic or Remora.
HeliodBallista
Heliod, Sun-Crowned +
Walking Ballista
If you have Ballista in hand, you can tutor for Heliod through Sisay. What I like about this combo in the deck is Ballista can be cast for value to kill dorks / Tymna, and can act as an infinite mana sink. Heliod can pump Sisay with +1/+1 counters, increasing her tutor range.
What I dislike about this package in the deck is Heliod doesn’t really do much else given how quick the Jegantha line is. As a fallback Heliod is clunky. If you need to tutor him out Sisay needs to be 4 power, meaning we require at least Rhy on the battlefield. Then on the combo turn, you will need at least 6 mana to complete the combo. (Or 4 if you want to cast WB as a 1/1, then attack to get the second +1/+1 counter before machinegunning the table.)
Also Jegantha’s restriction prevents you from playing Ballista. If you’re not playing with Jegantha restrictions, then there are a lot of better combos you can execute with Sisay.
Wheels
Rielle, the Everwise,
Wheel of Fortune,
Windfall,
Timetwister,
Narset, Parter of Veils,
Alms Collector
I used to play Wheel and Windfall in the deck, pre-Jegantha. They were cut to make room for the KinnanFreedFromtheReal slots. They performed very well. It’s always a little awkward when you draw into something you would rather fetch instead, but playing a disruptive early wheel is always a strong play.
Now we have access to Rielle for crazy wheel shenanigans, and of course you could set up a Narset then wheel the table. I never seem to achieve this combo in a game, but Narset is ok on her own. As with most other things, Jegantha streamlines the deck so much that I’m not sure if playing Narset for value is where we want to be.
I list Alms Collector here, but this guy always underperforms. I want the white catman to be good!
Cuts
Laboratory Maniac +
Tainted Pact +
Demonic Consultation
I’ve been spoiled for too long with Jace and Thassa’s Oracle. This 3 card package feels forced in the deck, even though we all know how easily it can win. Sisay can’t fetch for any of these. The only time I’ve executed Labman wins is when I have infinite mana through Thrasios, which at this point any other wincon can suffice. As soon as I find something cleaner, I’m going to cut this.
Additions
Savage Summoning
This seems amazing. Not only does it let us leave mana open to interact and set up a Jegantha turn, it also protects Jegantha through counterspells or let us play a stronger Sisay.
Lion's Eye Diamond +
Underworld Breach +
Auriok Salvagers +
Wheel of Fortune
Individually these pieces help with our Jegantha gameplan but can also synergize into an infinite mana line. LED lets us power out a super fast win since we actually don't care about our hand, as Sisay and Jegantha are in their iindividual zones. Underworld Breach can act as a psuedo-reanimator for Jegantha or other key combo pieces. Salvager is essentially a dead card in this list outside of this combo.
What I'm still think on is the wincon for this line. I want to cut the Labman line for these slots and possibly add Angel's Grace to mill the table out. Fenza can come back in to fight Gitrog's Eldrazi in the yard. We can even go full Opus Thief and play Mneumonic Betrayal.
If you wanna get REALLY spicy. You can also add
Hall of Heliod's Generosity to recur Underworld Breach.
Lazav
The deck needs black. After my changes I noticed it really struggles getting that black permanent for BloomTender/Faeburrow. The cheapest options include Lazav or Fenza, so I'm going to look into playing Lazav.
4/16/2020
- Labman, Tainted Pact, Demonic Consultation, Thrasios
+ Savage Summoning, Seething Song, Lazav, Rhythm of the Wild
Labman just didn't feel as smooth in this deck as Oracle or Jace. So instead of playing a third line that I feels clunky compared to our primary line, I want to try making our primary line even better.
Savage Summoning lets you leave mana up and end of turn flash in an uncounterable Jegantha, or a stronger Sisay. This card has already impacted the way my opponents try to play around the very obvious Jegantha sitting my command zone.
Seething Song is just for pure speed, but also can be paired with Savage Summoning above for you to flash in Jegantha on the end step at 4 mana.
Lazav, the Multifarious fills a slot where the deck desperately needed another black legendary permanent in the event we need Bloom Tender or Faeburrow to generate WUBRG. It has also given me flexibility in terms of recurring my legends.
Rhythm of the Wild comes in the place of Teferi. This list runs a lower number of legends, so the ability to tutor out a Teferi without Jegantha in play is quite limited. Teferi used to be great for a setup into an unstoppable combo, but the deck is so aggressive now Teferi usually sits in hand. After a couple games I have felt a stronger need for enabling haste, so this is a permanent version of Savage Summoning. It also doubles up the work to pump Sisay stronger if needed.
If ya liked this or wanna get in contact to talk more Sisay shop, find me on insta @rebell.son or find me at The 99 discord channel (https://discord.gg/mrMUAG) and chat with the crew there.
