The Threefold Sun Incarnate

What is best in life? Crushing your enemies. See them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. - Conan, The Barbarian

Since you haven't already run away in fear...then clearly this is the deck and more importantly - Commander for you. Zacama can easily overrun and terrorize the battlefield all by herself, but there are times when you may need to employ a pack and it's tools to crush a wily foe. The design of this deck is as simple as nature: dominate and destroy all before you using the embodiment of pure savagery and might.

This deck embodies the cunning brutality of the ancient beasts that once dominated our plane of existence - and those who currently dominate the plane of Ixilan. Through the combination of Dinosaur Tribal (and their non-Dinosaur Agents), Enrage, and Enter the Battlefield (ETB) triggered abilities this deck's aim is to have explosive board warping effects leaving you as the 10,000ft tall monster staring down the table as if your opponents were ants. The method of execution for your prey may vary between combat damage (Commander damage is obviously a viable option), using Pyrohemia to deliver non-targeted direct damage to all opponents, exiling all non-land cards from all opponents libraries using infinite Etali, Primal Conqueror   ETB triggers, or using the flip side of the previously mentioned (I call it Dreadsteel Colossus  ) to deliver death via Poison counters.

This deck is not restricted by price - as long as the game piece is a worthwhile addition it should not be considered out of reach. While piloting this deck, death for a given opponent should be expected between turns 8 and 11. I would consider this deck to be within the Focused category within the power scale defined in How to Power up your Commander deck by The Command Zone.

The primary strength of the deck is it's potential to have explosive starts that warp the battlefield, and control it for multiple turns at a time. This explosion can be the early game summoning of Zacama through various ramp options. Zacama's sudden appearance guarantees at least a few mana rocks and/or dorks will be removed - with haste, then that puts an opponent on a 3 turn clock. Dinosaurs such as Polyraptor, Gishath, Sun's Avatar, or Etali - Primal Storm/Dreadsteel Colossus   can reliably put you in an advantageous position via combat step.

The weaknesses of this deck are it's high cognitive load, limited options for recursion, and generally poor politics. The high cognitive load manifests itself mostly during the upkeep and mainsteps. Cards like Mirri's Guile and Herald's Horn influence the draw step considerably when Abundance is on the field. But when you have to remember Enrage triggers on top of ETB triggers and replacement effects - and getting the ordering just right to make sure you maximize each effect can be down right exhausting. I highly recommend you use the time allotted to you during each of your opponents turns to figure out what you're going to do on your turn, or more likely than not you are going to make a misplay. The lack of recursion isn't to say there isn't any as Jurassic Park   and Finale of Devastation can provide some limited options. But overall recursion isn't a main theme of the deck, and I genuinely couldn't find any options that would justify the slot. This is entirely a deck builder's preference - but if you see something I don't, please suggest it in the comments. A well timed boardwipe or the coordinated efforts of all of your opponents systematically destroying your board are extremely difficult to recover from. More often than not, I've found myself in such predicaments simply due to being the 10,000 foot tall monster destroying everything - as is in the nature of the deck. I've found that i've been limited to simply casting and recasting Zacama as that was the only option left to me until I could get additional resources to build a game plan or be killed off. Such is the plight of a deck with an intimidating commander.

  • Temur Sabertooth + Zacama, Primal Calamity + *12 Lands (or 6 lands and a mana doubler) - Infinite Mana, Critical Mass - During the main phase with Temur Sabertooth and 12 untapped lands in play, cast Commander. This results in floating mana and an ETB trigger. When her ETB trigger resolves use two of the floating to activate Temur Sabertooth’s ability targeting Zacama leaving mana floating. Tap all 12 lands once again and cast Zacama leaving floating mana and another ETB trigger. Use to activate Temur Sabertooth again, and now I am at a net positive of floating mana. Repeating the process will net one additional mana every time in or .
    • With infinite mana I can reach critical mass by funneling it directly into Zacama – removing all of my opponents (non-indestructible) non-land permanents through multiple instances of her first or second abilities. Then I funnel the mana into her third ability to give me an arbitrarily high life total.
    • With this ultimate offense on the board it will be hard for my opponents to get a foothold on the battlefield, and I can easily kill them off one by one with Commander damage. This process is slow and not very flashy unless I have a Aggravated Assault and at least one other creature able to attack. Alternatively, I could simply use Zacama’s ETB trigger and have Shivan Gorge drown my opponents with pings.
  • Cloudstone Curio + Zacama, Primal Calamity + Other Creature – Infinite Mana, Absolute Destruction - This combo must be played during the main phase with Zacama ready to be cast, Cloudstone Curio, and one Other Creature in play. Lastly, the player must have access to an amount of mana at least equal to (Zacama’s Casting Cost) + (The Other Creature’s Casting Cost) + 1. Upon casting Zacama, all land sources must be tapped. Once Zacama’s ETB trigger resolves the player will have an amount of floating mana equal to The Creature’s Casting Cost + 1. Cloudstone Curio will trigger because of Zacama hitting the battlefield. The Other Creature must be chosen as the Curio’s target to return to hand. Cast the Other Creature, once it enters the battlefield the amount of mana left floating will be . A Cloudstone Curio trigger will occur and Zacama will be chosen as the target. Cast her tapping all lands once again and the amount of floating mana remaining should be equivalent to The Other Creature’s Casting Cost + . Access to infinite mana has been proven…what next?
    • If Etali, Primal Conqueror  , (or another creature with a good ETB effect) is on the board with Zacama, then once infinite mana is established you may have infinite triggers of the aforementioned creature to secure a possible win, or at the very least an even further ahead position.
  • Forerunner of the Empire + Polyraptor + Rite of Passage - P.O.U.S - Polyraptors of Unusual Size - Infinite* Polyraptors - To explain this combo, i will just quote the article Brewer's Minute: Rivals-Seven Modern Combos by SaffronOlive: "The basic idea of the combo is that we get Rite of Passage on the battlefield, use Forerunner of the Empire to find our Polyraptor, and then when Polyraptor enters the battlefield (perhaps with the help of something like Through the Breach or Dramatic Entrance), we make an infinite number of infinitely huge Polyraptors! Each time a Polyraptor enters the battlefield, Forerunner of the Empire does one damage to everything. Normally, this would kill off the Forerunner of the Empire after three pings, but with a Rite of Passage on the battlefield, every time Forerunner of the Empire pings our creatures, our team also gets a +1/+1 counter! The end result is we make as many Polyraptors as we want while also sweeping away all of our opponent's creatures and making all of our Dinosaurs huge with +1/+1 counters!"
  • Forerunner of the Empire + Marauding Raptor + Polyraptor - The Raptor Breeder - Infinite* Polyraptors - Note, this combo requires that Polyraptor be the last card cast. When Polyraptor enters the battlefield, it's Enrage trigger will be on the stack due to Marauding Raptor's passive first ability "when another creature you control enters the battlefield, Marauding deals 2 damage to it". A new Polyraptor will enter play, which will also have it's Enrage trigger activate - ad infinitum. To prevent the infinite Enrage triggers from stalling out the game (resulting in a draw), trigger Forerunner of the Empire's ability - "Whenever a Dinosaur enters the battlefield under your control, you may have Forerunner of the Empire deal 1 damage to each creature." 3 times. Note: Forerunner's ability is a "may" ability - so you can choose trigger it after you generate number of Polyraptors first. The 3 Forerunner ability activations will kill all creatures with toughness 3 or less - removing itself along with Marauding Raptor - ending an infinite trigger loop and leaving behind an army of Polyraptors.
  • Marauding Raptor + Polyraptor + Zacama, Primal Calamity - Herald of Raptors - Infinite* Polyraptors - With 9 lands (and access to Naya), Marauding Raptor and Zacama in play - cast Polyraptor. Marauding Raptor's ability triggers off on each instance of Polyraptor entering the battlefield. After creating an arbitrarily large number of Polyraptors, end the infinite Polyraptor triggers with an activation of Zacama's first ability targeting Marauding Raptor. Note: the order in which these cards are played matters - make sure Polyraptor is the last card to be cast.
  • Sanctum of Eternity + Zacama, Primal Calamity + *13 Lands (or 7 lands and a mana doubler) - Sanctum of Infinite Calamity - Infinite floating Mana - With 13 lands (or 7 with a mana doubler) and Sanctum of Eternity - cast Zacama, (note: you are always tapping all lands except Sanctum of Eternity). Once Zacama's ETB effect triggers, you'll have floating. Use to activate Sanctum of Eternity, returning Zacama to hand. You will have floating. Recast Zacama and you'll have floating. Use to activate Sanctum returning Zacama to hand. You'll have floating, netting you mana. Recast Zacama, and you'll have floating, netting mana. Pay to activate Sanctum returning Zacama to hand - you'll have floating, and then after casting her - you'll then have mana, netting you . Upon proving you have infinite mana, you gain infinite life, infinite Artifact/Enchantment destruction, infinite damage to creatures and unlimited power!...except you don't end the game necessarily. An Aggrivated Assault|outlet for all that mana needs to be available.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to this deck, as there is an alternate commander (it is legal to swap commanders between games).However, the alternate commander of this deck is not actually legal- enter Grimlock, Dinobot Leader  . He is the epitome of what makes Dinosaurs cool - but turned to 11. Silver-bordered cards were temporarily legal in commander from December 01 2017 until January 15th 2018. But there is always the rule of cool - if your playgroup is cool with the use of silver-bordered cards that aren't too disruptive (refer to the silver-bordered cards that remained banned while Silver bordered cards were legal). With Grimlock   at the helm, the deck loses it's ability to control the board as easily and effectively boils down to Turn Right. Win Fight.. With Grimlock as your commander I would recommend him for games with a more casual game/meta (threatening to win between turns 10 and 13).

Additionally, you get to live out the fantasy of the following episode of transformers:

If you were wondering about what transformer I use to pay for Grimlock  's activation cost I chose the MP-08 Grimlock Masterpiece, pictured below:

Grimlock @ Amazing Spiral Show

Suggestions

Updates Add

After finally returning to the plane of Dinosaurs I honestly felt as if there simply too few Dinosaurs - for a moment I was even disappointed. Enrage is not a set mechanic meaning that it is now effectively considered Parasitic. But all was not lost as there were eventually some creatures that I had to include, namely:

  • Pantlaza, Sun-Favored - Providing a modified Cascade effect that can help build a board faster is a solid boon. Not to mention it can apply to any creature I can cast. The once per turn drawback is fairly negligible as the deck has a pretty hefty amount of high toughness creatures.

  • Hunting Velociraptor - When I read this card I was in mild disbelief. I read it, then re-read it for about 10 minutes as I simply couldn't believe it said what it does. This creature wants blood and simply doesn't care who draws it - it just wants blood. The best part is that if one creature manages to deal combat damage then my 9 CMC commander only costs 3 for the turn - further enabling the infinite combos it is capable of. The only drawaback is that it is a non-bo with Marauding Raptor on the board, But besides that this card is simply magnificent and an absolute must include.

  • Curious Altisaur - This feels like a staple for any Dinosaur tribal deck. Dinos love combat damage, this Dino will reward Dinos for combat damage. This card will put in work.

  • Wayta, Trainer Prodigy - Just when I had given up hope for one of my favorite mechanics, Wayta had to come and bring me some happiness. Doubling Enrage Triggers while allowing for potentially targeted removal through Fights is absolutely something the mechanic needed. But the best part is when targeting two Enrage creatures I controlled for a Fight, the effect is discounted. This card is a wonderful design that is a 10/10 for me. I only wish she was a Dinosaur, but i'll take it.

As for the non-creature inclusions, there have been some potentially great new additions:

  • Welcome to ...  Flip/Jurassic Park  Flip - The latest Gaea's Cradle effect that is also Dino specific and provides a flavorful recursion option. Despite how awesome the flip side is, I'm a little bit weary of this one. The hoops one has to jump through are not minor to get to the final goal of getting to Jurassic Park  Flip, but at the very least it seems worthwhile to try running the Enchantment and see how I feel about it after a time. As mentioned before this will be replacing Pir's Whim - I was a bit disappointed with it so i'm hoping this will be a direct upgrade.

  • Get Lost - Having an additional removal option outside of Generous Gift always felt like a need in the deck. I never used the non-overloaded cost for Winds of Abandon and when I did use the overloaded cost it would typically ramp my opponents many turns beyond me - which I never enjoyed. I see Get Lost as an upgrade, and really cool art is just a bonus.

  • Plains - Yes. A Plains. I cut Asceticism just because I felt that the average CMC for this deck is incredibly high at just shy of 4 - but cutting a 5 cost Enchantment for an additional land seems worthwhile. Asceticism has definitely secured me victory before in the past at least once, but I'm going to see how things pan out with this swap.

With all these new inclusions, what will I cut?

Pir's Whim, Winds of Abandon, Silverclad Ferocidons, Comet Storm, Zendikar Resurgent, and lastly Sylvan Scrying.

Comments View Archive

Attention! Complete Comment Tutorial! This annoying message will go away once you do!

Hi! Please consider becoming a supporter of TappedOut for $3/mo. Thanks!


Important! Formatting tipsComment Tutorialmarkdown syntax

Please login to comment

98% Casual

Competitive

Revision 129 See all

(2 days ago)

-1 Branchloft Pathway  Flip main
+1 City of Brass main
+1 Cultivate main
+1 Forest main
-1 Mirri's Guile main
+1 Rampant Growth main
-1 Timbercrown Pathway  Flip main
Top Ranked
Date added 6 years
Last updated 2 days
Key combos
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

20 - 0 Mythic Rares

56 - 0 Rares

8 - 0 Uncommons

3 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.57
Tokens City's Blessing, Copy Clone, Dinosaur 3/3 G w/ Trample, Map, The Monarch, Treasure
Folders Dinosaurs are the Best, im gonna build but its too much money, Deck ideas, Interesting Commander Decks, Future deck ideas, Decks to Reference, decks to try, Decks to Get, Decks to look at, Cool Concepts
Votes
Ignored suggestions
Shared with
Views