Sisay, Weatherlight Captain Optimized

Commander / EDH* Combo Control Infinite Combo Midrange Multiplayer Toolbox

CBaldy

Land (33)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forest
• 1x Gemstone Caverns
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Island
• 1x Llanowar Wastes
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Planeswalker (5)

• 1x Ashiok, Dream Render
• 1x Domri, Anarch of Bolas
• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 1x Oko, Thief of Crowns
• 1x Teferi, Time Raveler

Creature (28)

• 1x Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Elves of Deep Shadow
• 1x Emiel the Blessed
• 1x Esika, God of the Tree  ^Flip
• 1x Faeburrow Elder
• 1x Fblthp, the Lost
• 1x Ghostly Pilferer
• 1x Ignoble Hierarch
• 1x Jegantha, the Wellspring
• 1x Kalain, Reclusive Painter
• 1x Kataki, War's Wage
• 1x Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
• 1x Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
• 1x Lazav, the Multifarious
• 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Mayhem Devil
• 1x Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
• 1x Noble Hierarch
• 1x Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 1x Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
• 1x Sygg, River Cutthroat
• 1x Valentin, Dean of the Vein  ^Flip

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Neoform
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Windfall

Commander (1)

Instant (13)

• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Chain of Vapor
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Mystic Reflection
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Stubborn Denial
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Veil of Summer

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Compost
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Oath of Chandra
• 1x Oath of Nissa
• 1x Sylvan Library
• 1x Utopia Sprawl
• 1x Wild Growth

Artifact (6)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring

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Work in Progress

This is my Semi-Competitive Sisay Toolbox deck. Utilizing Sisay’s tutoring ability, you can fill your deck with impactful legendary creatures and planeswalkers. There are some legendaries in the deck that are specifically for the combo, but I’ll go over those later in the description. This deck looks to leverage powerful hate-bearer effects on your opponents until it can assemble your deck’s combo.

Combo

Sisay has the really powerful ability to tutor up any legendary permanent in your deck. Granted, her power does have to be high enough, but that isn’t too hard to accomplish. The combo line in this version of Sisay is Emiel the Blessed + Dockside Extortionist . Once you assemble these permanents on the board you have infinite mana which you can then pour into Sisay to grab something like Najeela, the Blade-Blossom . For those who are interested, go ahead and read the second section titled “So, how does this combo work?” Otherwise, skip ahead to the third section titled “Assembling the Combo.” This is one of many combos Sisay can have in her tool belt, but I chose this one because I feel like it is the most resilient. In the next section I’ll explain how to go about assembling the combo.

So, how does this combo work?

If you don’t already know how the combo achieves infinite mana, I’m going to explain it here. If you do, skip ahead to the next section that goes over assembling the combo. In case you’ve forgotten, our combo is Dockside Extortionist + Emiel the Blessed . Emiel is the card that let’s us win. Emiel’s ability, for those of you that don’t know, let’s you exile a creature you control and then it immediately comes back to the battlefield (flickering). Using Emiel’s ability, we can flicker Dockside to produce infinite colored mana. With this mana you can either win by repeatedly activating Najeela, the Blade-Blossom or tutoring out Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy to find Mayhem Devil to win from sacrificing treasures.

Flexible Cards

There is a lot of flexible options in this deck depending on what you like to play. You can go for a stax build and utilize different legendaries to get extra benefits. You can build the deck as a good stuff deck. You can build it as a turbo combo deck, or you can build it as a reactive deck. Because I dislike stax and turbo combo decks need a lot of fast mana (which is expensive), I decided to build my deck as a good stuff reactive deck which helps to explain some of my card choices. I’ll go over most of the specific card choices in the future sections.

Combo Support

Okay, so this section is going to explain the combo support cards in the deck. Here we go!

1. Ramp. This deck plays a lot of ramp cards. There are the mana rocks, dorks, and planeswalkers who give you slight mana advantage. Ramp will allow you to have more mana available which will let you win sooner.
2. Teferi, Time Raveler . This card is a powerhouse! Its +1 allowing you to cast sorcerers at instant speed is absurd. His -3 lets you remove a pesky artifact, enchantment, or creature. But his true power comes from his static effect. He restricts your opponents to only casting spells at sorcery speed. This is busted. It completely turns off counters and a bunch of infinite combos, along with other things. If possible, I always try to get Teferi on the battlefield prior to going off for the win. Having him on the field almost ensures you will be able to combo off uninterrupted.
3. Faeburrow Elder . This card is a second Jegantha, the Wellspring . Once Faeburrow can tap for WUBRG, you can go off without needing Jegantha. Another card that deserves a mention here, and that card is Bloom Tender . I would definitely suggest playing this card if you have it. Because of its hefty price tag, I don’t currently have a copy. I am hoping to get one if and/or when the price drops.
4. While this hardly needs to be mentioned, I’ll say it anyways. Counters are a must run in any combo strategy. I don’t actually have a lot of them in this deck, but that’s because I’m working to get my hands on some better ones.

Legendaries

This is going to be the longest section for sure. I’m going to go over each of my legendaries and explain what purpose they serve.

1. Oath of Nissa . Oath of Nissa is a source of small card advantage. It replaces itself when cast from hand and can get you up a card when tutored. It allows our mana to be a little more flexible for our planeswalkers, but its main purpose is to serve as a 1 cmc legendary. When you need Sisay’s power up and you have no other legendaries, this can help you start. I’m looking into getting a Rhys the Redeemed because she’ll give you two colors at 1 cmc and because her recent reprint in double masters has made her affordable.
2. Valentin, Dean of the Vein  . This card replaced Anafenza, the Foremost from my original list. It’s an awesome card because it can function as a similar stax effect. Additionally, it is another 1 cmc legendary which is huge for Sisay. Having low cmc legendaries in this deck is super important, and it is really cool that it is a black card. Bant legendaries are easy, but playable Rakdos cards are harder to find.
3. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer . Monkey!!! Aside from being adorable, this is probably my favorite card for this deck that has been printed in a long time. It’s a 1 cmc legendary that ramps you and gives you card advantage, and it is red. There is almost nothing more I want from a legendary.
4. Oath of Chandra . This is a card I originally passed over when building my deck. A sorcery speed Lightning Bolt with a small upside occasionally? Doesn’t sound worth it. However, through a lot of play testing, I found myself wanting a cheap way to remove smaller creatures and a red legendary at a low cmc to buff Sisay. And this fits both roles.
5. Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy . Kinnan is a good stuff card. He doesn’t help our combo, but he gives us two colors at two cmc and makes all our rocks and dorks better. I’ve considered playing a Freed from the Reel effect in the deck just for Kinnan. If you have Jegantha, the Wellspring or Faeburrow Elder , Kinnan and the Reel make infinite mana. Let me know in the comments if you think this is worth including.
6. Lavinia, Azorius Renegade . Lavinia serves multiple purposes. If you want to play him just for the colors, I wouldn’t blame you. But he has a larger effect of turning off decks with a lot of fast mana and turns off any free spells. This can be very relevant at higher power levels.
7. Fblthp, the Lost . Fblthp, or Phil, is definitely a flex spot. He’s in the deck to draw some cards and be a cheap legendary. He’s pretty alright in an opening hand, and in a pinch he can be tutored to get two cards. If you wanna play around with a slot, this would be a good one.
8. Blackblade Reforged . This sword is in here to provide an alternative option to win. I’ve played games where I’ve ramped up to 12 or 13 lands and my combo was stopped. In these moments, grabbing Blackblade can be a quick way to win out of the blue. Also a flex spot.
9. Kalain, Reclusive Painter . This is a brand new legendary out of AFR, and it is one I’m not 100% sure on yet. It ramps you and has Rakdos color identity, but it does very little outside of that. Once it is in the board it doesn’t do much. This is one I’ll play test more and maybe swap out.
10. Kataki, War's Wage . This is in the deck to hate on artifact decks. It is low cmc with a powerful effect which is something I look for in the legendaries. It is pretty situational, but with Sisay’s tutoring ability that’s never a problem.
11. Lazav, the Multifarious . This card is in the deck to be used to mimic a Jegantha or a Faeburrow Elder once they’ve been removed. It also had the versatility of copying any other legendary in the graveyard.
12. Sygg, River Cutthroat . Having black color identity is huge in this deck, and Sygg fits right in. With the prevalence of incidental damage in the format, it is pretty common for opponents to be dealing themselves damage most turns, meaning you’ll draw a lot of cards from Sygg.
13. Narset, Parter of Veils . If you don’t know what this card does, you’ve been living in a cave for the last year and a half. Narset is a mediocre draw engine, but her real power comes from her static ability of stopping opponents from drawing multiple cards. This hoses turbo draw decks, and when combined with a wheel effect, she can be a wincon on her own.
14. Teferi, Time Raveler . If you want an in depth explanation to why this card is extraordinary, read about him in the above sections. Otherwise, Teferi is a good stuff card with a hate bearer effect.
15. Derevi, Empyrial Tactician . His main purpose is to help find your combo, but he also gains incidental advantage through combat.
16. Oko, Thief of Crowns . I know I said this about Narset, but if you don’t know what Oko is, you have been off the face of the earth in the last year. Oko is banned in practically every format but EDH because he is so powerful. He gives Sisay two colors and comes with 4 loyalty for three cmc. He has wonderful Commander removal with his +1.
17. Domri, Anarch of Bolas . Domri has the ability to buff Sisay’s power by 3 all by itself, ramp you each turn, and have some removal - albeit conditional. It doesn’t seem like much of a card on its surface, but it can actually have a huge effect.
18. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death . This card is pretty awesome at recurring cards out of your graveyard. Except for just a few, all of the creatures in this deck have power of 2 or less, meaning Alesha can fetch them out of the graveyard. Awesome card.
19. Esika, God of the Tree  . This card is so good. It turns all your legendaries into dorks, gives them all vigilance, is part of a secondary combo (if anyone is interested, I’ll outline it in the comments. Just let me know), and has a backside which can have some impact on the game. It is super versatile and is a ton of fun.
20. Najeela, the Blade-Blossom . Najeela is a part of a bunch of combo lines, and she is a finisher with infinite mana. She is a bomb in this deck.
21. Selvala, Heart of the Wilds . Selvala can draw you some cards over time and can be used to activate Sisay over and over if Sisay’s power is high enough.
22. Linvala, Keeper of Silence . Linvala is in here for her hate bearer effect. She turns off activated abilities which can hose certain decks. She is the best possible tutor if you are ever playing against another Sisay player.
23. Emiel the Blessed . Emiel is of course part of the combo I’m currently running. She is also very good at protecting your board from targeted removal as well.
24. Jegantha, the Wellspring . An absolute monster in Sisay. Because she taps for WUBRG, she is essential in the combo package.

Deck’s Weaknesses

There are some things you need to watch out for while playing Sisay.

1. Any card like Cursed Totem that turns off your activated abilities completely turns off Sisay. These effects are hard to beat and a great thing to hold a counter for
2. Ashiok, Dream Render , Aven Mindcensor , and the newly printed Opposition Agent . All three of these cards, along with any other cards that turn of searching libraries, make it really difficult to win. The deck has some ways to deal with these permanents in the form of interaction.
3. Sorcery Speed win. Because this deck’s gameplan revolves around planeswalkers, it can only win at sorcery speed. This often isn’t an issue, but there are definitely times that you wish you could win in response to someone else’s Thassa’s Oracle or such.
4. Sisay has a big target. Sisay has a big target on her back and she gets removed a lot. You need Sisay to be able to win, meaning that I wouldn’t play her until you have someway to protect her or you’re close to going off for the win. Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are both in the deck to protect Sisay.
5. Opening Hands. This is a deck where you have to aggressively mulligan at the beginning of the game. You need to have a hand with some sort of ramp or card draw and hopefully interaction. A cheap legendary is always nice. And whenever I have an opening hand with a combo piece, it’s almost an instant mulligan. Don’t be afraid to go down to 6 or even 5 cards for a good opening 7.

A Good Opening Hand

For a good opening seven, you want 2 or 3 lands, a little bit of interaction, and an early cheap legendary or two. Also, if your hand has a really narrow hate bearer in it, that may be a clue that you want to mulligan that hand. Remember, you’ll be able to tutor for any legendary in the deck later on in the game. Just because it isn’t in your hand doesn’t mean you won’t play with it. This deck has enough 1 drops that I wouldn’t keep a hand without any early plays.

Help, Please

Now I’m asking for your help. Please, if you have any suggestions at all, leave them in the comments below. I’m always looking for new cards to add that are powerful. I do have a bit of a budget, but I’m open to any ideas. Currently (1/15/21), I’m looking for some cheap card draw and interaction that won’t cost me a fortune financially. But any suggestions for any part of the deck would be much my appreciated. Thanks so much!

Okay, that’s about all I have for you guys! The rest of the deck is fairly straightforward. If you have any questions about what you’ve read here in the description or about any card choices, let me know I’m the comments below. I’m constantly tuning this deck, and I’ll update this page when I do. If you like what I’ve done here, let me know in the comments and I’d love an upvote on the page. Thanks for letting me share my deck with you all!

Date added	3 years
Last updated	3 years
Key combos	Dockside Extortionist + Emiel the Blessed
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	1.97
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Copy Clone, Elk 3/3 G, Food, Foretell, Pest 1/1 BG, Treasure, Warrior 1/1 W
Folders	Sisay <3