Zada's House Party

Commander / EDH Aggro Mono-Red Red Deck Wins Tokens

Goriath

Creature (24)

• 1x Beetleback Chief
• 1x Birgi, God of Storytelling  ^Flip
• 1x Combat Celebrant
• 1x Dreadhorde Arcanist
• 1x Dualcaster Mage
• 1x Goblin Chieftain
• 1x Goblin Dark-Dwellers
• 1x Goblin Instigator
• 1x Goblin Matron
• 1x Goblin Warchief
• 1x Goldspan Dragon *pp*
• 1x Hanweir Garrison *f-pre*  ^Meld
• 1x Krark, the Thumbless
• 1x Krenko, Mob Boss
• 1x Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
• 1x Legion Loyalist
• 1x Legion Warboss *f-pre*
• 1x Mogg War Marshal
• 1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
• 1x Runaway Steam-Kin
• 1x Seasoned Pyromancer
• 1x Siege-Gang Commander
• 1x Storm-Kiln Artist
• 1x Young Pyromancer

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Underworld Breach *f-pre*

Instant (21)

• 1x Accelerate
• 1x Battle Hymn
• 1x Blazing Shoal
• 1x Brightstone Ritual
• 1x Brute Strength
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Chaotic Strike
• 1x Crimson Wisps
• 1x Downhill Charge
• 1x Expedite
• 1x Fists of Flame
• 1x Fury Charm
• 1x Invigorated Rampage
• 1x Invoke Calamity
• 1x Rouse the Mob
• 1x Rush of Adrenaline
• 1x Stolen Vitality
• 1x Stun
• 1x Sudden Breakthrough
• 1x Temur Battle Rage
• 1x Titan's Strength

Land (36)

• 1x Castle Embereth
• 1x Dwarven Mine
• 1x Hanweir Battlements  ^Meld
• 30x Mountain
• 1x Mutavault
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

Commander (1)

Sorcery (11)

• 1x Ancestral Anger
• 1x Dragon Fodder
• 1x Heat Shimmer
• 1x Hordeling Outburst
• 1x Indulge / Excess
• 1x Krenko's Command
• 1x Past in Flames
• 1x Renegade Tactics
• 1x Tempt with Vengeance
• 1x Traitorous Greed
• 1x Twinflame

Artifact (6)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Jeweled Lotus
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Ruby Medallion
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Throne of the God-Pharaoh *f-pre*

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As the local red mage, when I came into possession of a foil Zada, I started building.

Zada may be for you if you like:

Unexpected wins, red mana, goblins, tokens, pump spells, drawing lots of cards.

Zada may not be for you if you like:

Control decks, slow or grindy decks, an abundance of removal, artifact or enchantment based strategies.

If you think you'd like to build a Zada of your own, here is a loose primer I've written on the aggro version of the deck.

Primer: Show

Do note that I will offer suggestions for each category of card, including cards I do run and cards I do not run in my version of the deck.

Zada's ability is the big "build around" for this deck, so let's look at how to make the most of it.

1) Zada's ability does nothing without creatures to copy the spells to, but fortunately red does a decent job of populating the battlefield with low cost creatures and tokens. Spells like Krenko's Command and Tempt with Vengeance, and creatures like Beetleback Chief and Siege-Gang Commander are great tools for getting your board filled.

Next you're going to want to look at creatures that offer utility or synergy for your deck. Which breaks down into theee categories:

A) You're going to be casting instants and sorceries, so you can look to creatures that offer you extra benefit for doing so (Guttersnipe, Young Pyromancer, Kiln Fiend) and creatures that offer extra casts without paying mana or get extra casts (Goblin Dark-Dwellers, Galvanoth, Charmbreaker Devils)

B) With combat being your primary method of closing a game, you will want to look at some creatures that offer combat benefits to the team, be that p/t boosts (Goblin Chieftain, Goblin King, Marton Stromgald) or combat relevant abilities (Archetype of Aggression, Bloodmark Mentor, Legion Loyalist) or even just good targets for pump spells if all else fails (Grenzo's Ruffians)

C) 'Alternate Generals' are great things to slot in to keep you moving forward even if Zada has been hosed off the table: Mirrorwing Dragon offers you a second copy of Zada's ability, Purphoros deals damage for just bringing your army down, Krenko helps populate in an out of control fashion, etc.

2) Spells to copy. These are the tools that you aren't likely to see in other decks, as single target pump spells and cantrips are often not game changing in EDH. These generally fall into 3 categories as well:

A) Targeted pump spells (Sure Strike, Brute Force, Invigorated Rampage.) The key to making the most of Zada's ability in combat is the ability to turn simple pump spells into Overrun-styled effects, for less mana.

B) Targeted cantrips (Accelerate, Expedite, Stun.) Cantrips become mass draw effects with Zada, so it's very common to have an Expedite be significant better than Anscetral Recall.

C) Utility spells (Twinflame, Threaten, Seize the Day.) These are the spells that don't DIRECTLY affect your hand size or pump your creatures, but offer some other large scale effect when copied across your ranks.

3) A splash of ramp. If your day is going well with the deck, you are likely push a fairly large volume of spells through, with a few a few basic mana rocks (Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Ruby Medallion) and some decent ritual effects red offers (Mana Geyser, Dragonrage, Battle Hymn, Brightstone Ritual) you can often surprise opponents with how much you're able to do on a given turn.

4) Planeswalkers are not crucial to the deck, a few offer some advantage in card draw (Chandra Pyromaster) or mana generation (Koth of the Hammer, Chandra, Torch of Defiance) but the deck does not hinge on having them.

5) Beneficial odds and ends that synergize or protect what you're doing will help round out the spells for the deck. Swiftfoot Boots and Champion's Helm will help protect Zada, Strionic Resonator will allow you to copy Zada's trigger (aka everyone but Zada gets a second copy of your targeted spell), Shared Animosity is a lovely alternate to Coat of Arms if you have a heavy tribal saturation.

6) Land base is not as crucial in Zada, there are definitely some fun extras (Kher Keep, Valakut, Nykthos, Reliquary Tower) but you can definitely run a budget mana base without paying too hefty a price.

Change Log: Show

May 25, 2022

It's been a while since I've last updated, seeing several overhauls and major changes back and forth on a few things, so not only do I not have the changelog for the past four years, but I'm going to consider this a relaunch of the deck list.

July 24, 2018

Overhaul Time! With the release of Goblin Trashmaster, I've decided to try to further embrace the idea of Tribal Goblins. With that in mind some old cuts have been undone and new toys are coming in I'm not yet certain what is going to stick yet, but this is where Im starting. All of the cards I've cut have had a great and certain place I'm the deck, but I'm trying without them for now to see what happens. I will do further write up after testing.

Out: Chandra, Pyromaster, Strionic Resonator, Possibility Storm, Gauntlet of Might, Molten Birth, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Mirrorwing Dragon

In: Goblin Trashmaster, Goblin Instigator, Mogg Alarm, Adaptive Automaton, Goblin King, Door of Destinies, Blood Moon

May 23, 2017

I feel that with the number of other win-cons than strictly Zada + pump spells, I can try the deck sans Boots to see if I miss them.

Out: Swiftfoot Boots

For the time being at least, Bloodmark is going to reclaim his slot.

In: Bloodmark Mentor

May 9, 2017

My out choices here were tough, and possibly not final. Chancellor is big CMC, so I'm going to bench him for the time being and see if I miss him. Mentor hurts. I like giving all of my stuff first strike but this feels like the Goblin I'd hunt least if I drop Matron, so we're on a trial seperation atm. As for Helm, I'm bringing in another alternate wincon/out so the protection on Zada feels less necessary.

Out: Chancellor of the Forge, Bloodmark Mentor, Champion's Helm

Combat Celebrant feels like it could be awesome in this deck, cheap creature that can (to some degree) double the effectiveness of my pump spells? I'm on board. And it combos for infinite combats with Kiki-Jiki. This is also the reason KJ finally stopped warming the bench. I'm really not sold on him because as just strictly a creature, his body to mana ratio is terrible. His ability is good, but it'll take more testing to see if he gets to keep his slot. Throne of the God-Pharaoh had me excited since the day it was spoiled. It's free extra damage for doing what I already want to do: turn my creatures sideways. It also allows me to get value even if I get fogged, and gets around pillowfort in multiplayer.

In: Combat Celebrant, Throne of the God-Pharoah, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

February 28, 2017

This is honestly just a change to pieces I like better: trample over first strike, immediate draw over delayed and conditional.

Out: Aleatory, Sure Strike

In: Renegade Tactics, Invigorated Rampage

September 2, 2016

Okay, some people may think I'm crazy for this but I am cutting Kher Keep in favour of Nyx because I just don't use Kher Keep that often. I usually have better things to do with my mana. Goblinslide is fun, but the mana investment to get use of it adds up quickly, it's good but I'm not sold on it being good enough.

Out: Kher Keep, Goblinslide

Grenzo's Ruffians is one I instantly liked. It self pumps in multiplayer games, and allows to get in a hit on the guy behind the pillowfort.

In: Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Grenzo's Ruffians

August 12, 2016

Otherworldly seemed like a good idea, but after some testing would up being REALLY situational. As for Bloody Frenzy, I find myself sitting on it too much after I've drawn it to justify it's slot.

Out: Otherworldly Outburst, Bloody Frenzy

How have I left Koth out this long?

In: Koth of the Hammer, Aleatory

July 18, 2016

The only card I feel like I need to explain leaving is Fists of the Anvil. It is a good pump spell. That's not a maybe. But I need to find room to try Otherworldly Outburst.

Out: Fists of the Anvil, Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs, Marton Stromgald, a Mountain

This is a wealth of riches coming into the deck for this update. Second copy of Zada's ability? Check. Token generation? Check. Board wipe recovery? We'll see!

In: Mirrorwing Dragon, Otherworldly Outburst, Hanweir Garrison, Hanweir Battlements

May 1, 2016

Out with the new and in with the old.

Out: Caged Sun

In: Gauntlet of Might

April 4, 2016

Outmaneuver is another card that is just too situational for me. With the way I ramp with spells, I tend to cast a large % of my pumps and coat spells in the precombat main, and Outmaneuver can only be used in combat and only to maximum efdect if Zada is being blocked, thus I prefer trample effects.

Out: Outmaneuver

In: Rush of Adrenaline

March 22, 2016

Personal choices here for cuts, I don't have a lot of opponents who play mountains, so King is out, I don't like the rigidity of the conditions Balduvian Rage requires (can only be used if Zada is attacking, and can only be copied to other attacking creatures), Blazing Shoal is better with bigger CMC cards.

Out: Goblin King, Balduvian Rage, Blazing Shoal

Big fan of Possibility Storm in this deck, it not only messes with opponents, but allows double triggers with Zada (cast a Cantrip on Zada, flip until you hit another and get 2x-1 draws).

In: Possibility Storm, Boiling Blood, Dualcaster Mage

Date added	8 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 29 - 0 Rares 10 - 0 Uncommons 25 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.44
Tokens	Citizen 1/1 GW, Copy Clone, Dwarf 1/1 R, Elemental 1/1 R, Elemental 1/1 R w/ Haste, Goblin 1/1 R, Human 1/1 R, Treasure
Folders	EDH Templetes, Decks I like, EDH saved decks unsorted