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And Wings ... WINGS! *PRIMER*

Commander / EDH Bracket 3 Flying Lifelink Tokens WU (Azorius)

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Creature (30)

Planeswalker (2)

Sorcery (2)

Land (35)

Enchantment (8)

Commander (1)

Commander: Shabraz, the Skyshark  Flip

Artifact (12)

Instant (10)

Welcome to And Wings … WINGS!

Hi there! Welcome to the primer of this Azorius, draw-, lifegain and flight-tribal deck; commanded by Shabraz, the Skyshark  . Imagining a particularly big, dangerous shark with wings is just awesome. One can’t ignore the opportunity to use such a being as a commander, just because of the fun-factor. So, here she is, with her own clan of flying followers, coming to gobble you up, a ferocious apex predator. This deck is meant to be played casually. It’s not meant to be used in a competitive fashion, but of course anyone is welcome to try! Feel free to comment on anything you (dis)like throughout this primer; hope you will enjoy it!

Seriously? It’s … a … FLYING … WHITE … SHARK! Who doesn’t want that as a commander? Joking aside though, she makes the process of drawing cards become even more advantageous by growing bigger. And she rewards drawing with life-points. So, all one needs to do is include plenty of draw avenues, and watch her shadow start to encompass one’s trembling opponents. Lastly, she can make humans fly; not spectacularly useful but still, should not be discounted either.

The following ten parameters have been used to determine the strength of the deck. For each, a score of 5 (very good), 4 (good), 3 (mediocre), 2 (bad) or 1 (very bad) has been allocated; when totalized this score represents the power rating of the deck (maximum score is 50 points).

  • Mana: indicates the availability of mana sources within the deck.
  • Ramp: indicates the speed at which mana sources within the deck can be made available.
  • Card Advantage: indicates availability of filter- and draw resources represented within the deck.
  • Overall speed: indicates the deck’s potential for pace, based on resource availability and mana curve.
  • Combo: indicates the measure of combo-orientation of the deck.
  • Army: indicates the deck’s creature-army strength.
  • Commander: indicates how much the deck is commander-oriented/dependent (less dependency is better).
  • Interaction: indicates how much this deck can mess with opponents’ board states and turn-phases.
  • Resilience: indicates whether the deck can prevent and take punches.
  • Spellpower: indicates the availability and strength of high-impact spells.

Mana: 3

As the average CMC of this deck isn’t that high, it wasn’t necessary to add that many mana-resources. In all, five rocks have been included, two artifacts that cheapen casting and one enchantment that relinquishes treasure tokens whenever opponents try to draw something without paying for it.

Ramp: 1

Included a few standard white cards in here to help drum up some more lands. Not very spectacular, but again, the low average CMC makes inclusion of these cards less of a concern compared to other decks.

Card Advantage: 5

Straight up draw is fantastic; especially in a deck with a commander that benefits so spectacularly from it. This deck includes no less than eleven direct draw options (of which nine are permanents), two repeatable filter options and a single-use tutor.

Overall speed: 4

A combination of availability of resources and low average CMC allows this deck to gain traction quickly. The first combatant is usually out by turn three and it’s possible to deal very decent damage by turn five or six. Due to Azorius’ strengths, it’s capable to deploy at least one or two forms of inhibition by this point.

Combo: 1

Not exactly a focus of this deck, but a few have been included for fun that involve using Shabraz   as her ability allows for infinite card-draw, life gain and growth in some circumstances.

Army: 4

This deck is combat-oriented and thus contains lots of creatures. It doesn’t overdo it though, because otherwise there’s no more space to include some great must-have instants and enchantments. Almost none of the creatures added can be considered battlecruisers, though some of them might have as much impact due to their abilities. With a small number of exceptions, all creatures in this deck can fly.

Commander: 4

Having Shabraz around makes it easier to win (and maybe a bit more fun too), but her presence isn’t required at all to pull out wins.

Interaction: 4

Though the air-force’s combat-power is the deck’s main weapon in taking care of opposing decks, there’s a significant amount of other means available with which the opposition can be bothered. It can inhibit casting, tutoring and some creatures. It can steal, bounce, damage (through non-combat means) and outright destroy/exile stuff. Most importantly though, it can counter opposing spells quite well.

Resilience: 4

This decks takes quite a bit of killing to take down. Its army is relatively cheap to summon, tokens are easy to come by through six different options and any life lost can be recouped with the deck’s eleven options for life-gain.

Spellpower: 1

This deck doesn’t have much in terms of high-powered spells (three wipes).

Total power score: 27

An average-powered deck with an uncommon, mythical flying commander at its helm. Great fun because of its awesome, feathery army and its tendency to stick on the battlefield like a … well, … something very sticky! Over the course of its existence, it’s been obvious that opponents underestimated this brew and didn’t expect it to last, which made it all the more hilarious when it did. Its speed is great, it’s easy to use and it interacts nicely against other players’ game plans.

This deck has great draw-power, so it makes sense to start using the big lady   sooner rather than later. After all, her commander-damage potential is substantial. Her squadron of accomplices should not be forgotten though, as many of them grant bonuses to flyers. That makes the entire army and its commander very synergetic, and thus dangerous.

Overall, it is recommended to run an aggressive game with this deck. Attacks should start swiftly and be carried out often. Special priority ought to be reserved for draw resources though, to empower Shabraz whenever possible AND keep the overall speed up. By the mid-game, the deck’s army should be powerful enough to destroy at least one opponent (greatest threat). Games can end by overpowering opponents with an army, or with a very powerful combo.

At least three cards in the starting hand ought to be lands (or two lands and a cheap-to-cast rock like Arcane Signet, Azorius Signet, Mana Vault, Pearl Medallion, Sapphire Medallion or Sol Ring. It is recommended not to start a game without this hand (even if one has to mulligan down to three cards). The ideal hand would also contain some additional ramp and/or low-cost draw options.

Usually, it’s good practice to start with resource gathering, thereby building a base from which spells and critters can venture onto the field. However, as stated above, aggression needs to come early from this deck. Usually, this means granting priority to resources only during the first two turns; mana first and card advantage second (UNLESS one can first summon Grand Abolisher, Serra Ascendant or Watcher of the Spheres, which should get priority because of the ridiculous power-increase they bring). Rocks are the most obvious choices next to white’s most famous ramp cards: Land Tax and Weathered Wayfarer. In terms of card advantage, try to go for an early Esper Sentinel, Scroll Rack or Sensei's Divining Top.

Once the first few turns have passed, start to bring the army of fliers in; hopefully with Shabraz amongst them by the end of this stage. The individuals that can also inhibit to a certain extent, get priority over boosters. This increases the army’s staying power and protects against early removal. This means one ought to aim for birds like Aven Mindcensor, Jubilant Skybonder and Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. Of course, some cheap boosters are still fine, in case the above isn’t available. These would include cards like Empyrean Eagle and Pride of the Clouds. Casting the anthem Favorable Winds also makes a lot of sense.

Once initiative has been taken in the form of summoning attackers and using them, it’s time to focus a bit more on card-advantage resources. Aside from the cards already mentioned, options for this include Mystic Remora, Rhystic Study and Well of Lost Dreams. There’s also some one-shot draw/advantage in here like Enlightened Tutor, Preordain and Ponder. Then there are some creature-based ones as well, that double as some of the deck’s battlecruisers. These would include Ancient Silver Dragon, Consecrated Sphinx and Drogskol Reaver. Aside from the card-advantage, enough mana should have become available by now to set loose some more threatening flyers, amongst whom can be found individuals like Alandra, Sky Dreamer, Oneirophage and Resplendent Angel.

During this phase, it’s more than likely opponents will start to recognize the deck’s army of fliers as a serious threat. This either means some inhibition, targeted removal or even wipes are about to be cast. Try to keep at least one removal/counter-spell handy for such an occasion. Use these sparingly for castings that can potentially inhibit/tax attacks or even destroy the army outright. Amongst the options to choose from (that have not been mentioned yet) are cards like Cyclonic Rift, Dovin's Veto, Heliod's Intervention, Mana Drain, Render Silent and Teferi's Protection.

By this time, our sharky-pal should have had enough time to do some serious damage on the commander level, or she had some help from her winged band in smothering our opponents in feathers. In case neither happens, there might be an opportunity to combo-off, which usually leads to creating an insanely large Shabraz. Then there’s cards that grants such ridiculous balance shifts on the battlefield, that casting them can end games outright; especially in a game’s latter stages. This includes cards like Archangel of Thune, Archetype of Imagination, Cathars' Crusade or Psychosis Crawler.

Reliable sources of mana, and some utility:

The cards used to accelerate mana-availability:

  • Arcane Signet: cheap-to-cast, doesn’t come into play tapped and grants any Azorius mana whenever tapped.
  • Azorius Signet: one can’t have two Arcane Signets, so let’s include this instead.
  • Land Tax: for commander decks featuring white, this card must have formed the base for an innumerable amount of successes in games.
  • Pearl Medallion: cheapens all the deck’s white spells; score!
  • Sapphire Medallion: cheapens all the deck’s blue spells; score!
  • Smothering Tithe: pay taxes for drawing! You don’t want to? Thank you for the mana!
  • Sol Ring: are there EDH decks without this card?
  • Talisman of Progress: grants either colorless or an Azorius mana on tapping (and 1 life), nice rock for CMC2.
  • The Wind Crystal: cheapens the deck’s white spells and doubles its life-gain potential.
  • Weathered Wayfarer: fetches any land, not just basics, provided someone else currently controls more lands.

The mechanisms that provide card advantage:

  • Ancient Silver Dragon: more cards, moooooore (and a hammer-blow attack to boot)!
  • Buster Sword: amazing equipment that allows free casting.
  • Consecrated Sphinx: the one card that turns around an opposing card advantage every single time.
  • Dream Trawler: just like Shabraz, she gets stronger when her controller draws a card, though she does one better still in that her controllers gets to draw whenever she attacks. Win-win!
  • Drogskol Reaver: expensive to cast but a fantastic combo enabler with Shabraz.
  • Enlightened Tutor: some enchantments and artifacts are just too good not to tutor for.
  • Esper Sentinel: draw, unless one’s stupid enough to pay tax; most decide not to pay.
  • Faerie Mastermind: excellent draw enabler and part of the squadron too.
  • Gilded Drake: one can’t help but love this little, flying thief.
  • Jace, the Mind Sculptor: arguably the greatest draw-enabling planeswalker of all time.
  • Jace, Wielder of Mysteries: provides additional draw and has that sweet, sweet win-condition built in.
  • Library of Leng: because discarding is for losers.
  • Mystic Remora: you’re casting a non-creature? Willing to pay 4 more? No? Great!
  • Ponder/Preordain: so much draw/scry value, for a single mana.
  • Rhystic Study: a stupidly powerful draw enchantment.
  • Sensei's Divining Top: awesome filter- and draw mechanism for hardly any cost.
  • Trouble in Pairs: taxes a lot of regular-occurring actions on the opposing side with draw (the prevention of extra turns is just gravy).
  • Well of Lost Dreams: gaining life has just been granted an additional perk: cards (provided one pays a small fee)!

When one doesn’t want the opposition to use certain permanents:

  • Cyclonic Rift: gets rid of all opposing permanents except lands for a measly 7 mana; which is almost win-enabling by itself under certain circumstances.
  • Dovin's Veto: an uncounterable counterspell; beat that!
  • Fierce Guardianship: potentially a free-to-cast counterspell; has wonderful applications for situations in which one is tapped out.
  • Heliod's Intervention: gives the choice to kill off a bunch of enchantments and artifacts; or just gain a whole lot of life.
  • Mana Drain: sucking the mana right out of your spell; ready to be used for the deck’s own ends.
  • Path to Exile/Swords to Plowshares: in exchange for a minor boon, your titan over there has been atomized into nothingness forever!
  • Render Silent: yeah, no … that fails. As a matter of fact, get ready for a fail-filled turn!

In case opponents decide to start focusing on this deck.

The resplendent, winged force of warriors!

  • Aerial Responder: very nice flier with a nice mix of abilities.
  • Alandra, Sky Dreamer: as drawing happens a lot in this deck, it behooves one to add a creature that generates flyer tokens because of it.
  • Ancient Gold Dragon: wow, this is one splendidly strong flyer that can create even more flyers when dealing combat damage to an opposing player; perfect!
  • Archangel of Thune: very powerful army booster when combined with Shabraz’s drawing perks.
  • Empyrean Eagle: grants a bonus to the deck’s other flyers.
  • Griffin Aerie: life-gain leads to new griffins!
  • Oneirophage: just like Shabraz, gets a little bigger whenever a card is drawn. Sweet!
  • Pride of the Clouds/Skycat Sovereign: cast this with some other flyers nearby to make her nice and fat! And it generates tokens as a bonus.
  • Resplendent Angel: grants angel tokens when enough life is gained each turn; and becomes a bit of a behemoth with a hefty mana-injection.
  • Serra Ascendant: can’t miss out on this beauty.
  • Sunscorch Regent: gets super strong fast and combines well with some of the life-gain perks in this deck.
  • Thrummingbird: goes well with Shabraz’s (and other’s) counters.
  • Watcher of the Spheres: allows the squadron to appear slightly cheaper, and gets bonuses when flyers ETB.
  • Zeriam, Golden Wind: our uber-griffin who can create baby griffins based on how many griffins touch you.

And then there are these cards.

  • other shark-or ocean-themed cards like Ominous Seas, Shark Typhoon and Voracious Greatshark: not that kind of deck; this one has a different theme.
  • Mentor of the Meek: was featured in this deck at some point for card-advantage purposes, but removed in order to switch it out for a mechanism that didn’t require the payment of additional mana.
  • Kangee, Sky Warden: not using many anthems in here, and this would be a nice one.
  • Wingmate Roc: two flyers for the price of one; very nice but the flyers themselves are pretty vanilla.

Appreciate the time you took to read this primer. Hopefully it was entertaining and useful to you. If so, feel free to leave a +1 and/or feedback of any kind in the comments below. Thanks again!

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Casual

92% Competitive

Revision 6 See all

(2 months ago)

+1 Buster Sword main
-1 Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker main
-1 Scroll Rack main
+1 The Wind Crystal main