Commander 2020 - Symbiotic Swarm Upgraded

Commander / EDH* BGW (Abzan, Junk) Multiplayer Voltron

pryrates

Creature (33)

• 1x Acolyte of Affliction
• 1x Adorned Pouncer
• 1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• 1x Angel of Invention
• 1x Archon of Valor's Reach
• 1x Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
• 1x Bassara Tower Archer
• 1x Corpse Connoisseur
• 1x Danitha Capashen, Paragon
• 1x Daring Fiendbonder
• 1x Erebos, Bleak-Hearted
• 1x Genesis
• 1x Hornet Queen
• 1x Karametra, God of Harvests *f-etch*
• 1x Kunoros, Hound of Athreos
• 1x Lotleth Troll
• 1x Mire Triton
• 1x Mirran Crusader
• 1x Nikara, Lair Scavenger
• 1x Nyx Weaver
• 1x Odric, Lunarch Marshal
• 1x Oketra the True
• 1x Plated Crusher
• 1x Ramunap Hydra
• 1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 1x Skullwinder
• 1x Slippery Bogbonder
• 1x Stinkweed Imp
• 1x Tayam, Luminous Enigma
• 1x The Gitrog Monster
• 1x Underrealm Lich
• 1x Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel
• 1x Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

Instant (5)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Deathsprout
• 1x Despark
• 1x Grisly Salvage
• 1x Harrow

Land (38)

• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Caves of Koilos
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dakmor Salvage
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flagstones of Trokair
• 3x Forest
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Golgari Rot Farm
• 1x Grim Backwoods
• 1x Jungle Hollow
• 1x Krosan Verge
• 1x Memorial to Folly
• 1x Murmuring Bosk
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nesting Grounds
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 3x Plains
• 1x Riftstone Portal
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Selesnya Sanctuary
• 1x Sequestered Stash
• 1x Sungrass Prairie
• 1x Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Field
• 1x Tainted Wood
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Commander (1)

Sorcery (11)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Cleansing Meditation
• 1x Creeping Renaissance
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Divine Reckoning
• 1x Harmonize
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Nostalgic Dreams
• 1x Ransack the Lab
• 1x Selective Adaptation
• 1x Unburial Rites

Artifact (7)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Netherborn Altar
• 1x Perpetual Timepiece
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Strider Harness
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Crawling Sensation
• 1x Crop Sigil
• 1x Deadbridge Chant
• 1x Together Forever
• 1x Tortured Existence

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Precon modifications Show

Cards taken out Show

• Acidic Slime
• Aerial Responder
• Avenging Huntbonder
• Cairn Wanderer
• Cartographer's Hawk
• Kalemne's Captain
• Majestic Myriarch
• Reveillark
• Solemn Recruit
• Soul of Innistrad
• Soulflayer
• Splinterfright
• Vampire Nighthawk
• Void Beckoner
• Vitality Hunter
• Ajani Unyielding
• Bonder's Ornament
• Mimic Vat
• Predatory Impetus
• Parasitic Impetus
• Martial Impetus
• Duneblast
• Unbreakable Bond
• Ever After
• Cataclysmic Gearhulk
• Abzan Ascendancy
• Angel of Finality
• Sunblast Angel
• Obscuring Haze
• Blood Curdle
• Satyr Wayfinder
• Sakura-Tribe Elder
• Titanoth Rex

Cards added Show

• Underrealm Lich
• The Gitrog Monster
• Genesis
• Angel of Invention
• Kunoros, Hound of Athreos
• Ramunap Hydra
• Danitha Capashen, Paragon
• Plated Crusher
• Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
• Mirran Crusader
• Oketra the True
• Erebos, Bleak-Hearted
• Adorned Pouncer
• Beast Within
• Stinkweed Imp
• Mire Triton
• Lotleth Troll
• Acolyte of Affliction
• Ransack the Lab
• Tortured Existence
• Perpetual Timepiece
• Corpse Connoisseur
• Sigarda, Host of Herons
• Buried Alive
• Strider Harness
• Crop Sigil
• Crawling Sensation
• Bassara Tower Archer
• Cleansing Meditation
• Harrow
• Kodama's Reach
• Nostalgic Dreams
• Creeping Renaissance
• Divine Reckoning

Manabase Show

Lands added:

• Sequestered Stash
• Flagstones of Trokair
• Terramorphic Expanse
• Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
• Dakmor Salvage
• Temple of Silence
• Temple of Plenty
• Tainted Wood
• Murmuring Bosk
• Tainted Field
• Rogue's Passage
• Riftstone Portal

Lands taken out:

• Scoured Barrens
• Blossoming Sands
• Blighted Woodland
• Plains (4x)
• Swamp (4x)
• Forest (1x)

Initial thoughts while building the deck

This is deck built to win with a Voltron strategy, meaning we want to defeat our enemies dealing 21 commander damage. Obviously we want to make our commander as big and resilient as possible, and we primarily want to achieve that using our commanders' ability.

Voltron strategies tend to take out single opponents really quick, but they also draw a lot of hate from the rest of the table once they reach a boardstate that is able to oneshot players with a single attack.

I primarily play commander in multiplayer, doing 1vs1 occasionally (various deck powerlevels from pure-fun builds to semi competitive combo decks, we always try to match up on the same level though). I wanted a deck I can play (and win with) for both scenarios, so I built the deck with that in mind.

Playing the deck

Early game Show

We want to ramp with cards like Arcane Signet and Kodama's Reach, and additionally we need to fill our graveyard. Nyx Weaver or Ransack the Lab are pretty nice to set up our commander. We want to have access to at least 3 keywords in our graveyard before we summon Kathril, Aspect Warper, this enables us to take out any player with 3 attacks as long as we get double strike. Hexproof and indestructible in combination with double strike would be the ideal scenario, more keywords are always appreciated. If we are unlucky and don't get access to double strike, we aim for at least indestructible or hexproof in combination with as much keywords as possible, that way we can dodge most removal and get a reasonable big commander.

Mid game Show

We want to repeatedly swing in with our commander and if nobody gets out of control, spread the damage between our opponents. If somebody manages to pull far ahead of everyone else, we need to focus on this player though. We want to develop our board state with some additional creatures, gaining blockers for defense primarily.

End game Show

If our opponents manage to get rid of our commander somehow, we want to get it back asap with even more counters on it. Seal the deal swinging in and take out the enemy as fast as possible. We will get outvalued pretty fast against most decks if we can't finish fast enough at this point. Any big creatures we draw (like Zetalpa, Primal Dawn) help us closing out the game. If our commander got removed several times, we can aim for a Netherborn Altar to reduce its' cost. Cards like Athreos, Shroud-Veiled and Deadbridge Chant are also pretty solid plays to gain some additional protection and value.

What keywords are important and why

Keyword priorities Show

The missing keyword: Haste Show

Kathril, Aspect Warper doesn't include Haste in its' Enter-the-battlefield (ETB) trigger. Haste is really strong in voltron strategies, because our opponents have less time (and options) to react and interact with our commander hitting the field. We can get access to haste with equipment, the following cards are part of the deck:

• Swiftfoot Boots
• Strider Harness as a budget option for Lightning Greaves. If you have both, add them.

Hexproof Show

Hexproof: we definitly want protection from single target removal spells (which are quite common in any commander deck), so hexproof is our top priority.

Creatures in the deck:

• Sigarda, Host of Herons
• Plated Crusher
• Bassara Tower Archer
• Slippery Bogbonder

Indestructible Show

Indestructible: once our commander has hexproof, our opponents will have to wipe the board to get rid of it. Well, with indestructible on our big hitter, they will have a hard time doing so (most boardwipes have the 'Destroy" effect on them).

Creatures in the deck:

• Oketra the True
• Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
• Daring Fiendbonder
• Erebos, Bleak-Hearted
• Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
• Karametra, God of Harvests

Double Strike Show

Double Strike: being immune to most removal, we need to deal serious damage per swing. Doubling damage is the most effective way to do so.

Creatures in the deck:

• Mirran Crusader
• Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
• Oketra the True
• Adorned Pouncer

Trample Show

Trample: we need our damage to actually reach the player/planeswalker. Some random 1/1 tokens can't stop us with trample.

Creatures in the deck:

• Plated Crusher
• Ramunap Hydra
• Archon of Valor's Reach
• Lotleth Troll
• Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

Vigilance Show

Vigilance: swinging is fun against one opponent, but leaves us wide open to attacks from any other player. Always useful to have the option to attack and defend at the same time.

Creatures in the deck:

• Danitha Capashen, Paragon
• Ramunap Hydra
• Kunoros, Hound of Athreos
• Angel of Invention
• Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
• Akroma, Angel of Wrath
• Archon of Valor's Reach

Other keywords Show

Other keywords are useful of course, such as Flying, Menace, Reach, Deathtouch and Lifelink. Their priority is depending on the boardstate and what decks we are up against.

Please take note of the keyword combination Trample + Deathtouch, this enables us to kill each blocking creature with only a single point of damage, while any remaining attack power goes through!

Value cards

• The Gitrog Monster: this guy is a value machine. The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage is a well-known value combination, but the frog is still fantastic on its own, offering additional draws and a nice body with deathtouch for attacking/blocking. The deathtouch keyword also comes in handy for our commander.

• Genesis: gets creatures back from our graveyard for 3 CMC, good recursion engine.

• Underrealm Lich: pure value. Filters our draws, gets stuff in the graveyard, and has some protection to dodge removal/boardwipes. We can also use its' ability to block a bigger creature and still keep it around. Great card!

Weaknesses:

• Hate cards: if we are facing cards like Solemnity, Torpor Orb and/or Rest in Peace, we will have a hard time to win. Try to get rid of them asap! Against one-time effects like Erebos's Intervention or Bojuka Bog we can use cards like Perpetual Timepiece and Grisly Salvage to save important stuff before it gets exiled.

• Sacrifice effects: we can have hexproof and indestructible but cards such as Dictate of Erebos can still cause us trouble. Having Sigarda, Host of Herons on the battlefield would be the best solution, but it's still hard for us to deal with those effects, especially when they are triggered multiple times.

• Counterspells: we don't have access to blue, so the only way is to play around counterspells as good as we can.

Improvement

Well, the deck building process isn't over for me yet. There are are still some areas where I would want to improve the deck, such as:

Recursion Show

I would like to add some more cards the help me bring back stuff from the graveyard. Options:

• The Cauldron of Eternity
• Victimize
• World Shaper
• Storrev, Devkarin Lich
• Exhume

Utility Show

Cards that serve more of a supportive role and gain value situationally:

• The Binding of the Titans
• Sword of the Animist
• Izoni, Thousand-Eyed
• Wand of Vertebrae

Good stuff Show

Cards that fit in the deck, but I just can't find space to put them in:

• Lotleth Troll
• Moonlight Bargain
• Corpse Connoisseur
• Momentous Fall
• Blade of Selves

Date added	5 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	15 - 0 Mythic Rares 27 - 0 Rares 35 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.69
Tokens	Adorned Pouncer 4/4 B, Beast 3/3 G, Insect 1/1 G, Insect 1/1 G w/ Flying, Deathtouch, Servo 1/1 C, Warrior 1/1 W w/ Vigilance
Folders	EDH