Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

Legendary Creature — Minion

As Xantcha, Sleeper Agent enters the battlefield, an opponent of your choice gains control of it.

Xantcha attacks each combat if able, and can't attack its owner or planeswalkers its owner controls.

{3}: Xantcha's controller loses 2 life and you draw a card. Any player may activate this ability.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (49)

NV_1980 on The GOAT of GOAD

3 months ago

This is awesome but please explain why Xantcha, Sleeper Agent is not in the mainboard; she's so much fun!

NV_1980 on Queen Marchesa, the Monarch's War

9 months ago

Curious as to why Xantcha, Sleeper Agent didn't make your list.

amarthaler on EDH Kardur, Doomscourge

11 months ago

Update!

Out: Revenge of Ravens… Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

In: Grenzo, Havoc Raiser… Khârn the Betrayer

Crow_Umbra on Isshin, Two Heavens as One [Politic]

1 year ago

Oooo a Goad Isshin list. Glad to see some twists in addition to go-wide Isshin lists.

There's plenty of cool tech out there for Isshin. I have a few things for you to consider for your theme:

• Mercadia's Downfall - Combat trick for yourself, or use it on your opponents' Goaded stuff.

• Goblin Racketeer

• Vengeful Ancestor - A little surprised you didn't have this one in list already.

• Xantcha, Sleeper Agent - Not budget, but guarantees attacks against opponents & can draw cards/punish outlet for its controller.

• Keldon Twilight, Angel's Trumpet - Forced combat enablers.

There's def more forced combat & Monarch stuff out there if you're interested. Monarch & Initiative ( White Plume Adventurer) could also be a fun way to introduce politics & get people to swing at each other.

My playgroup has a house rule where every game has Monarch in it by end of turn 3 by default. It's made our games much more dynamic & interactive, also adds a big political element to negotiating swings to get Monarch.

Life_autonomous on What a Horrible Night

1 year ago

Love the name. Can't tell if it's a Castlevania reference or a TBDM reference, but either way good on ya! I like this decklist. I've been looking for more ways to abuse sac and recursion of the enchantments and I can't seem to find anything. I hadn't thought to add the goad theme to Lynde which is a great side strategy. I have a Marchesa deck that focuses on goad so I guess I overlooked it.

I also see you have Lithoform Engine in your maybeboard. My Lynde build runs it and I've gotten some great value out of it. Xantcha, Sleeper Agent is awesome too. I run it in a different deck, but it's a great way to draw cards and annoy the crap out of your opponent. Curse of Unbinding is a fun one and I've had luck with Fraying Sanity and trigger copies on top of it. This is a great build and I hope you annoy your friends as much as I do with Lynde. ;D

amarthaler on EDH Rakdos Group Slug

1 year ago

Commander on deck: Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

Let me know what you think!

Slashdance on Land of the Lost

1 year ago

Update!

Removed: Bloodtracker, Xantcha, Sleeper Agent, Chain Reaction, Ruinous Path, Gaze of Granite, Flameblast Dragon, Loyal Guardian, Temple of the False God

Added: Nissa of Shadowed Boughs, Retreat to Valakut, Oran-Rief Hydra, Lotus Cobra, Titania, Protector of Argoth, World Shaper, Mina and Denn, Wildborn, Riveteers Overlook

poorpinkus on The Devil On Your Shoulder - EDH Tempting Deals

1 year ago

Thanks ObserverWill! I agree, I've seen a lot of Nekusar, the Mindrazer decks and such that go way too all in and then get confused when people target them, I built this deck as a way to make it more "obvious" what you're doing so that people think of you as a lower threat and let your stuff stay around.

As for your question, I'd like to phrase it in a different way, because it's not necessarily preventing all of your stuff from being targeted, but keeping your plans under the radar. For example, Vial Smasher the Fierce can be scary, and so people think of that as your main plan, so they do everything they can to remove her. I just let them, because it makes them feel more comfortable and realize that Ludevic alone isn't too bad, in a sense you let them give and take.

In terms of keeping my plans under the radar, this deck always makes it to the end of the game and rarely is removed early. At the end of the game I do tend to have quite a few options open, since the extra card draw lets me gradually filter my hand into good removal and burn. Usually for me when the game ends it's not always a win, but the games tend to be very close, which is my favourite way to shut things out. For example I've had games where 3 players were under threat of losing to Triskaidekaphobia.

As for the midgame I usually do have at least one engine going that people let stay, for example Fevered Visions usually stays on the board for a very long time. You'll need to play a few games to gain your group's trust that you're not about to spring a huge trap, and you'll need to figure out how people assess threats before you go too hard on something like Xantcha, Sleeper Agent in the wrong situation for example. The good thing though is that this deck is designed for you to be able to play in a fairly genuine way without causing too many issues for people, so even if people do notice that you play a huge threat, they'll remove it and feel comfortable that your biggest threat is gone despite the fact that you still have a lot of good stuff on the board.

Anyways, yeah, I'd say that it's good at flying under the radar, it doesn't have too much "momentum" so people don't feel a huge sense of urgency when you play synergies. The key is to let them lose resources on their own terms, or in a way that is a good deal, and let their own greed get the best of them. I recommend letting people look through your deck before playing so that there's no surprises haha, that trust lets you get some big swingy turns even though people felt like you weren't a threat.

Hope that you have fun! Let me know how it goes if you do get it!