Captain Sisay

Legendary Creature — Human Soldier

{T}: Search your library for a legendary card, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Arena	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (48)

Worx on Competitive Captain Sisay (Proven)

1 month ago

I too don't sign in to Tappedout much lately so this too is a delayed comment :)

I love the idea of Emiel the Blessed, because not only is it a wincon WHEN you combo it with Village Bell-Ringer, but it also can be used as a defensive tactic when a creature - specifically Captain Sisay. Problem is it requires another creature that is not easily tutorable - but it IS only a 3 drop creature, has flash, and it is awesome to work with Gaddock Teeg. So a definite possibility that I will test.

As far as Drumbellower, its basically a 2 mana cheaper option than Seedborn Muse but still has the same strategic value as it - so it boils down to whether that 2 less mana cost is enough to warrant it being included over other options.

Agreed about Halo Fountain. It's a no brainer Gaddock Teeg proof tutorable wincon :)

Thanks for on going input.

Gleeock on Win Conditions / Near-whining Musings

3 months ago

I started EDH with Captain Sisay, so I know formulaic endgame-focused decks. I've found myself enjoying more midgame decks, random Timmiestuff that proceeds to the endgame but does so in incremental pieces, pulling tutors and replacing with Selvala's Stampede And splashplay random spells with more options than win-now creature combos. This is where I can start to argue: what is truly acceptable to call a wincon?

NV_1980 on Oh my God

7 months ago

Hi,

A problem you might have in this deck, is getting enough devotion to have your gods do some attacking/blocking as well as being cool enchantments, so honestly I am not sure this setup is going to do you much good. But, if you manage to go through with it anyway, might I suggest:

• Vexing Shusher/Prowling Serpopard/Cavern of Souls/Rhythm of the Wild: any of these help you to make your summoning spells uncounterable; quite handy in a tribal deck.
• Captain Sisay: allows you to tutor for any legendary creature; very handy in a deck filled with them.
• Scroll Rack/Sensei's Divining Top: to help you filter through your deck.

Good luck.

Regards,

NV_1980

mlequesne on Planeswalkers Perfected

9 months ago

Your deck is awesome friend! it is actually legendary! I would love to pilot a deck like yours :)

Since your deck is legendary I would recommend you to try legendary lands, because you can benefit from Kethis, the Hidden Hand, Primevals' Glorious Rebirth and Captain Sisay (she can fetch you a land if you need to!).

Here are some you might wanna consider: Flagstones of Trokair, Eiganjo Castle, Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers, Urborg, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Shizo, Death's Storehouse and Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

See you around :)

jonny909090 on Niv-Mizzet is your Superfriend!

10 months ago

Captain Sisay, Rings of Brighthearth, Savor the Moment, The Elderspell, Profane Procession  ^Flip, Anguished Unmaking, Assassin's Trophy, Cyclonic Rift

These are a few of the cards I run in I want you.... to join Atraxa.

Mana_Mythic_Legendary on Pursuing Perfection, Part 10: Selesnya …

11 months ago

Every dual color up until now has been some sort of aggressive, negative experience for other players, and Selesnya certainly has the potential to be no different. Combining Green’s predilection for quality with White’s penchant for quantity (AND stacking board buffs) makes for a lethal pairing in the combat phase. Rhys the Redeemed, Captain Sisay, and Gaddock Teeg are just a few commanders with justifiable appeal for power gamers. And don’t forget the enchantments: Aura Shards, Mirari's Wake, and Hunting Grounds all have singularly disruptive board presence, and that’s just a few on a stellar list.

And yet, undeniable potency aside, this is an almost grandmotherly pairing: you don’t so much play Selesnya to ruin someone else’s day as to ensure you have the best one. A properly built deck in these colors should wrap around its pilot like a blanket fresh out of the dryer, basting you in a pervasive feeling of shelter, growth, and self-promotion. Another good analogy might be a garden tended by someone with an emerald thumb, game-breaking fertilizer, and the patience of Saint Francis. In summary, players running these are very much there to do their own thing without interruption: the problem is, once they’ve done their own thing, opponents find out that the “game-breaking fertilizer” is typically their own mulched remains.

It’s also oddly human-centric.

Ok, enough poetry. Now to the really fun bit: we’re here to talk thematic commanders, so let’s dive into that roster. Today, we’re discussing the Selesnya themes of Lifegains, Counterplay, and “Don’t Look at Me!”. As always, please bear in mind that our focus here is not necessarily competitive but rather on thematic, archetypical commanders. Just don’t judge me harshly for including a lot of beasts.

Lifegains

I spelled with an "s" for a reason. Yes, as covered in a past article, Black has a more intimate relationship with the life total. Yes, Black both drains life and spends life. BUT… there is a profound difference between eating cookies and baking them. Black is the undisputed cookie monster (and a bit of a baker, to be fair), but Selesnya could, to continue the analogy, take any bake off by storm. Prize money, people: Selesnya’s about not only baking that cookie, but getting prize money for it. In other words, crossbreeding these colors gets you a thematic trend toward gaining life AND triggering something whenever you do. Think combotastic crap like the Accomplished Alchemist and Rhox Faithmender, or Heliod, Sun-Crowned and Spike Feeder. The possibilities are… well, a little scary.

The Oprah of lifegain. Who needs general damage when you can drown your opponent in creatures the approximate size of your life hack? Smack them with the Angel of Destiny, or… wow, there are a lot of relevant angels. Gather it. Just bring your lifelink and enjoy.

Direct, though the scry is a nice touch. This is a commander made for some sort of evasion, the Soul Warden cycle, and a pile of tokens. Like, maybe March of the Multitudes. Hehehehe…

… Sheesh. I mean, I’ve had this built on and off, but… still, sheesh. If you’ve never heard of the Phyrexian Processor, enjoy the pearl I just gave you. Green-White is token central: hell, their own private keyword about it is right on this commander. This is a definite instance of the Green penchant for chunks being over-synergized with the white predilection to breed like rabbits. Or, in this case, Phyrexian Minions.

Counterplay

I’ve covered stax twice by this point, once in White and once in Azorius. I don’t deny that the potential for oppression is there: one of my favorite cards in Selesnya is Glare of Subdual. However, I can’t help feeling that it’s coming from a different direction in this slice of the pie. While Blue and White are geared toward inflicting stagnancy, Selesnya’s stax are angled toward preventing thematically negative effects, kind of a mercy mission for your opponent’s resources. I think Quakers would like it here.

Mind control pervasive in the local meta? Not anymore! Second Trostani is actually a rather inoffensive commander for everyone who’s not a thief, offering both board support and considerable political clout. Other players may even go out of their way to keep her up and you in the game, just to screw over that one guy.

Ah, the man himself. I never found him especially oppressive, leaning more toward creatures by disposition. Not everyone will feel the same way. He cuts most conventional boardwipes out of the mix, and God help super-friends. You can almost picture the little hobbit raising his hands and saying “Let’s have a nice, simple game, shall we?” Which isn’t something you expect in a typical game of Commander, now that I think about it.

Land fixing is nice, but this is where things are downright hostile. Those may look like tusks, but those are really two giant middle fingers pointed at black decks.

“Don’t Look at Me!”

When we were little, my brother would build cereal box walls between us as we ate breakfast, then stare at me over them. Whenever I eyed him like the nutcase he was, he’d scream “DON’T LOOK AT ME!!!”

I don’t think I need to explain the point.

I always liked the aesthetic of Dosan the Falling Leaf, but not enough to make him a commander. Dromoka, meaty beast of two colors that she is, has a bit more appeal. All but guaranteeing an uninterrupted turn, combo players could do worse.

A 5/5 with flying for five would be nice. Hexproof on a general is competitive. Putting a kibosh on all offensive-sacrifice decks ever tagging you? Downright savage. I like this card a lot.

So… commander damage is a tried, true plan. Lots of people try it. Lots of people won’t be particularly offended by Mirri’s soft push for it. All the token-fiends out there, though, are going to flip their collective gourds when they find out the Silent Arbiter got legendary and started playing favorites. Word of advice: NEVER give her vigilance.

And, for a personal favorite:

As readers know, I like ramp. However, even I think this is broken. I genuinely feel guilty whenever I think of building it again. While she doesn’t approach the misery of Zur the Enchanter or Purphoros, God of the Forge, the power dynamic here is shattering. One turn with a Whitemane Lion or anything similar will secure you a lead. One turn with whitemane lion and a Lotus Cobra? Amulet of Vigor? Tireless Provisioner? God have pity on your tiny, shriveled soul, because your opponents won’t. At least, if they ever manage to catch up under what I assume will be a deluge of ETB and blink effects. There are so many degenerate, savage combos encouraged by this reaping wench that I couldn’t list them all and reasonably expect anyone to finish the article. Let me just close this by saying she turns any card with landfall into a gamechanger, and there are a LOT of good landfall cards.

That's it for this round. Thoughts and questions are welcome. I hope you enjoyed it, and will come back soon for Simic!

Prior Articles:

Gruul

Rakdos

Dimir

Azorius

Green, with links to the other mono-colors

king-saproling on Steamrolled (Banding + Rampage + All must block)

1 year ago

Great minds think alike! I try to do the same thing in my list (https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/maximum-jank-lureflankingbandtrampage/) except I use Captain Sisay as the general in order to grab things like Gabriel Angelfire , Odric, Master Tactician , and Nylea, God of the Hunt

enpc on What is "fair" magic?

1 year ago

My playgroup used to jokingly throw around the expression "Fair and balanced magic" as one of us would play Najeela, the Blade-Blossom or Captain Sisay cEDH decks.

At its actual root, I think the idea behind fair magic is mostly the idea of not blindsiding your opponent with a win. It's not about not running removal, or counterspells, but playing the game in a way that is organically moving forward for everybody. So when somebody whips out a game ending combo out of nowhere, the rest of the players feel robbed. Or if someone slams down a card which effectively locks a player out of the game, that player stagnates while the game moves on without them and again feels robbed.

Similarly, if there are four combo decks all trying to play out the combo while counterspelling everyone else's I would still call that "fair magic", since that's the direction the game's heading and everybody is on board with it.

The biggest violation of this is when somebody knowingly sits down at a table with the goal of breaking the social contract. Again, there's nothing wrong with playing a combo deck, but knowingly playing one into a game where the other three players just want to smash heads would be an example of unfair magic. Especially if there are disparities between the overall effectiveness of each deck.

But similarly, a player could be running a deck containing Avenger of Zendikar and Craterhoof Behemoth . That could be considered "unfair magic" as much as a combo if none of the other players are ready for that or it just abruptly ends the game.

While there are a lot of people who interpret fair magic as "supposed to be grindy back and forth", I think that especially in the context of commander it's tightly linked with the social contract more than a particular playstyle.