Ardenn/Kraum Forge America (mini-Primer)

Commander / EDH Control Equip Goad Pillow Fort Primer RUW (Jeskai, America) Toolbox

RangerOfPower

Lands (33)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Deserted Beach
• 1x Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 3x Island
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 2x Mountain
• 1x Mystic Monastery
• 1x Otawara, Soaring City
• 2x Plains
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Raugrin Triome
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Sea of Clouds
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stormcarved Coast
• 1x Sundown Pass
• 1x Training Center
• 1x Valakut Stoneforge  ^Flip

Tutor (7)

• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Steelshaper's Gift
• 1x Fighter Class
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Kellan, the Fae-Blooded
• 1x Sunforger

Forced combat (4)

• 1x Bloodthirsty Blade
• 1x Spectacular Showdown
• 1x Disrupt Decorum
• 1x Taunt from the Rampart

Interaction (13)

• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Deflecting Swat
• 1x Delayed Blast Fireball
• 1x Excise the Imperfect
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Render Silent
• 1x Saw it Coming
• 1x Wear / Tear
• 1x Blasphemous Act

Draw (10)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Expressive Iteration
• 1x Faerie Mastermind
• 1x The Reality Chip
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Lorien Revealed

Ramp (8)

• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Talisman of Progress
• 1x Cursed Mirror
• 1x Smothering Tithe

Damage (4)

• 1x Price of Progress
• 1x Arcbond
• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight

Misc (3)

• 1x Authority of the Consuls
• 1x Lion Sash
• 1x Underworld Breach

Commanders (2)

Damage prevention (8)

• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Dawn Charm
• 1x Deflecting Palm
• 1x Riot Control
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Comeuppance
• 1x Reins of Power
• 1x Selfless Squire

Rattlesnake (8)

• 1x Serene Master
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Godsend
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Dissipation Field
• 1x Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
• 1x Phyrexian Vindicator
• 1x Brash Taunter

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Version 10000 of me trying to make a sunforger deck, version 1 of me actually making it good. This is by far my favorite deck out of all that I've built.

Classic aikido stuff, heavily inspired by marchesa decks, but now we got blue. Kraum, Ludevic's Opus generates enough sustain to keep a full grip, and Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist makes the Sunforger package actually viable.

The Theory Behind the Deck

To master this deck, the pilot must understand the ways resources are spent in a multiplayer format. In a 1v1 format, its your resources against theirs. They play a threat, you play a removal spell. The winner is decided by who trades their resources the best. This is not the case in multiplayer formats.

In EDH, playing a removal spell to kill a threat puts you at a resource disadvantage because two other opponents did not contribute any resources in this exchange. This is why control decks are generally not viable in this format. It's why more casual decks tend to run minimal amounts of removal, and it's why EDH games often won by whoever can do "their thing" first.

This deck seeks to leverage this multiplayer aspect of resource management. It aims to put opponents in situations where they are forced to burn their limited resources on other players, leaving them with nothing left to use against you. Each time a removal spell is spent on an enemy threat, you have earned a 2 for 0 trade. And while this kind of card advantage doesn't win games by itself, it does put you in VERY favorable late game situations.

How to Pilot

The early game usually revolves around pillowforting and eventually setting up Sunforger. It's best practice here to not interact much and just let opponents do their thing.

The mid game is where things get weird. You're constantly juggling decisions to interact, to not interact, to play politics, or to start going on the offensive. More often than not, you have to consider how likely that big scary threat that's beating on the table is gonna kill you, and if it's worth removing before you let it take everybody else out first. You have to be attentive and your threat assessment has to be on point. A mis-timed protection spell here could cost the game. Sunforger is your best friend here, as that toolbox is really helpful when trying to navigate through the unpredictability of an EDH game.

The late game starts when one opponent has knocked out all the others and the game becomes a 1v1. Here, you can play this like a control deck since trading resources 1 for 1 is no longer a bad idea. You should be looking for a win condition based on the boardstate, but you'll have plenty of time to do so. Sunforger + Mistveil Plains + something like Riot Control is pretty much a soft lock against most decks.

But does this deck actually win?

Hell yea it does.

But how?

• Wincons in this deck are pretty unorthodox. 9 times out of 10, you'll end up in a 1v1 situation, where your cute tricks like Deflecting Palm turn into lethal game enders.
• Price of Progress acts as sunforgable direct damage if you need to go over the top, keeping in mind that damage prevention effects can keep you safe.
• Arcbond is the other option for direct damage. It's more situational, but has a higher floor than price of progress.
• Brash Taunter can also be used as a kill option in combination with arcbond, Blasphemous Act, or other source of damage.
• Reins of Power is my favorite way to win, as it is probably the most in line with the theory behind what went into the deck. It's almost poetic how the card lets your opponent invest all their resources to build a lethal board against you, then takes those resources to use against them instead.
• The cards listed above are the most common ways to win, but every game is different. Sometimes all it takes is some good ole creature beats. Sometimes you have to get creative and find lines never taken before.

I can't understate how important Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist is to get this deck to work. Sunforger is such an incredibly powerful tool, but decks that play sunforger are usually held back by all the hoops that have to be jumped through to get it to work. Ardenn trivializes these problems. The mana cheating that Ardenn provides makes the sunforger package not only viable, but legitimately competitive.

This deck will always be a work in progress, suggestions are always welcome :)

Date added	1 year
Last updated	2 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 61 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.71
Tokens	Elephant 3/3 G, Gold, Incubator, Phyrexian 0/0 C, Treasure