Tajic Hatebears

Commander / EDH* Aggro Counters Hatebears RW (Boros)

CommanderSamuelson

Creature (40)

• 1x Archivist of Oghma
• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Containment Priest
• 1x Deep Gnome Terramancer
• 1x Drannith Magistrate
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Giver of Runes
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 1x Harsh Mentor
• 1x Humble Defector
• 1x Hushbringer
• 1x Iroas, God of Victory
• 1x Keeper of the Accord
• 1x Kytheon, Hero of Akros  ^Flip
• 1x Legion Loyalist
• 1x Leonin Arbiter
• 1x Loyal Apprentice
• 1x Luminarch Aspirant
• 1x Mangara, the Diplomat
• 1x Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Plargg, Dean of Chaos  ^Flip
• 1x Professional Face-Breaker
• 1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
• 1x Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 1x Recruitment Officer
• 1x Runaway Steam-Kin
• 1x Sardian Avenger
• 1x Scholar of New Horizons
• 1x Selfless Spirit
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Shinewend
• 1x Spirit of the Labyrinth
• 1x Strict Proctor
• 1x Urabrask, Heretic Praetor
• 1x Urabrask the Hidden
• 1x Walking Ballista
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Land (34)

• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Castle Ardenvale
• 1x Castle Embereth
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Inspiring Vantage
• 7x Mountain
• 1x Needle Spires
• 1x Needleverge Pathway  ^Flip
• 11x Plains
• 1x Plateau
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Slayers' Stronghold
• 1x Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x War Room

Instant (8)

• 1x Akroma's Will
• 1x Deflecting Swat
• 1x Eerie Interlude
• 1x Heliod's Intervention
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Tibalt's Trickery
• 1x Valakut Awakening  ^Flip

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

Commander (1)

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Emeria's Call  ^Flip
• 1x Light Up the Stage
• 1x Mob Rule
• 1x Ondu Inversion  ^Flip
• 1x Shatterskull Smashing  ^Flip
• 1x Solar Blaze
• 1x Structural Assault
• 1x Winds of Abandon

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Court of Grace
• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Legion's Initiative
• 1x Legion's Landing  ^Flip
• 1x Rest in Peace

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The game plan is to drop a hatebear turn 2, and swing with that and Tajic for between 5 and 7 on turn 3. Having a 3 cmc general is really nice for a hatebear deck, and Tajic gives hatebears a little more punch. This deck is very much outside my comfort zone for Boros, since I typically try to avoid the aggro stereotype and play more of a value game in Boros. I didn't build around Tajic's second ablility all that much, but getting a one sided Blasphemous Act is really powerful. I did however, find some neat tricks to do with the mentor ability. Shinewend is an underrated creature that can repeatably destroy enchantments if you can reload counters onto it with Tajic. Tajic can also load extra counters onto Mikaeus the Lunarch so that you can pump your whole team repeatably. This deck is also kind of an experiment in deckbuilding to see if it can be as effective to build around a consistent mana curve as it can be to spend the first several turns ramping. I tried to avoid too many creatures above 3 mana so that if a board wipe happens early, it will not be as big of a blowout. The majority of the 4 drops in the deck are either planeswalkers or enchantments, so a typical wrath effect won't effect them. Due to the nature of this deck's curve, there aren't too many ramp spells. However, Curse of Opulence, Runaway Steam Kin, and Legion's Landing fit really well in the deck. The card advantage package may also seem somewhat atypical. I mostly opted for impulse draw effects due to the low cmc of the deck, but there is also card draw in the form of Bygone Bishop and Humble Defector. Humble Defector is maybe my favorite card draw effect in EDH. If you can make a deal with the weakest player at the table to give it back every turn, you and they will be drawing 2 extra cards a turn. Or, you can pair it with Homeward Path and keep all the card draw to yourself. Homeward Path can also be tutored with Weathered Wayfarer. And while not technically card draw, Weathered Wayfarer and Land Tax provide amazing card advantage by helping you guarantee your land drops. They can even allow you to keep hands with only one land if you aren't going first in the turn order. Another strong source of card advantage is the ability to fire off a one sided or mostly one sided board wipe at the opportune time. As I mentioned, Tajic will protect your own board from spells like Blasphemous act and Solar Blaze, but Austere Command and Winds of Abandon are also great ways to clear away enemy blockers while leaving your boardstate intact. On the other end of that spectrum, it is also important to protect your board from enemy board wipes. Many an aggro deck has been knocked out of the game by over committing to the board before a board wipe is cast. Later in the game it is very important to try to hold up a spell like Teferi's Protection or Eerie Interlude. Those two are especially nice because they will protect your creatures from mass bounce effects such as Cyclonic Rift. Finally, hatebears have a great way of disrupting your opponent's strategies. If an opponent can't use a card due to a hatebear in play, it is almost as if you have removed a card from your opponent's hand. This can be another way to even the playing field for card advantage.

Top Ranked	Achieved #70 position overall 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Aggro 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Counters 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Hatebears 4 years ago
Date added	5 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	16 - 0 Mythic Rares 58 - 0 Rares 6 - 0 Uncommons 2 - 0 Commons
Cards	101
Avg. CMC	2.75
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Angel Warrior 4/4 W, Emblem Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Emblem Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Gold, Human 1/1 W, Knight Ally 2/2 W, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 C, Spirit 1/1 W, The Monarch, Thopter 1/1 C, Treasure, Vampire 1/1 W
Folders	KAALIA, Inspiration, Tajic, Influenzas, Eye Dee Ah Machine, Cool Decks