This is my attempt at building the deck that will be playable at basically every table possible, so it won't be very much behind high powered decks and won't be crushing everyone every single game at lower level tables. So how do we build something like this? The answer is always clone tribal.
I've always been a fan of spellslinger decks. I didn't want to build another
Mizzix of the Izmagnus
or
Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
, I wanted something fresh. Taigam went pretty much unnoticed since his introduction in C17, but he is basically what you would need from a spellslinging commander. Most of your stuff cannot be countered and you get to recast your stuff if already Taigam attacked. If you manage to protect him every turn, which is not that hard actually, things can get out of hand quickly.
So first of all, our plan is to continuously copy the best permanent on board, which is in most cases a creature. Our instants or sorceries usually target only a creature we control, so we either have to gain control of it or clone it. There are plenty of ways to do that, but my favourites are
Stunt Double
,
Clever Impersonator
and
Vesuvan Shapeshifter
. Once you do that, attack with Taigam and cast
Cackling Counterpart
,
Saheeli's Artistry
or
Rite of Replication
on your cloned creature and in your next upkeep you get another one for free!
Think about it, if you get to untap with three
Avenger of Zendikar
,
Utvara Hellkite
or
Crested Sunmare
, you are very much ahead and possibly going for the win. Of course you wont always will be able to pull that off and probably end with something like three
Zulaport Cutthroat
or
Phantom General
. But then again, you can try again and keep copying them (believe me, games with 12
Zulaport Cutthroat
end quickly) or get other creature that will get better with your clone army. Basically, you'll end up with mimicking someone else's strategy, but with several copies of key tools, you can be much better at it their. You'll get to love to play against tribal decks and copy their lords several times. You'll have to improvise a lot and this way, every game will be different and fun. You'll hate the legend rule too.
Of course, if there are no good creatures on your opponents board, you'll have to get your own. There are not many of them, but every one of them duplicated will be great.
Cloudblazer
will help you to stabilize, you'll make sure no one ever untaps with
Niblis of Frost
or make sure there isn't even anything to untap with
Tidespout Tyrant
. And oh, producing gigantic flying threats with transformed
Docent of Perfection
But there will be games when you wont draw any of this, but thankfully, you can also win voltron-style with
Runechanter's Pike
or flood them with bird tokens from
Dovescape
(remember that your stuff cannot be countered. you still get to get tokens!) or
Metallurgic Summonings
or
Increasing Devotion
.
Of course, rebound shenanigans wont start if you cant keep your commander on board, especially if you have to attack every turn, no matter what. You can make Taigam protected from creatures, or unblockable or indestructible with several ways, my favourite being
Valorous Stance
because it's so versatile or
Aqueous Form
because it smooths your next draw too. Spot removal might be dangerous but you probably wont get into counter war over some removal spell with someone, as your counters cannot be countered too.
One thing to remember playing this deck is all edge cases of rebound. No, you wont get another
Expropriate
or
Stolen Identity
. Yes, you can play kicked
Rite of Replication
for or get all three modes of
Collective Effort
by tapping two tokens on your upkeep. No, rebound does not stack, so including
Cast Through Time
or
Narset Transcendent
is not a good idea. Rebound only works when a spell is cast from your hand, so you wont copy flashbacked spells. Transmuting
Muddle the Mixture
is not casting a spell at all. Rebounded spell is casted too, so it will trigger
Talrand, Sky Summoner
and
Primal Amulet
.
Oh, and play
Treasure Cruise
. Getting 6 cards for one blue mana is a wonderful feeling.
