Halvar, Divine Voltron

Commander / EDH* Aggro Equip Mono-White Multiplayer Voltron

NensouHiebara

Creature (26)

• 1x Angel of the Ruins
• 1x Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist *f-etch*
• 1x Argivian Archaeologist
• 1x Bronze Guardian
• 1x Cataclysmic Gearhulk
• 1x Cathar Commando
• 1x Cavalier of Dawn *f-pp*
• 1x Danitha Capashen, Paragon *f-pre*
• 1x Devoted Caretaker
• 1x Drannith Magistrate
• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Giver of Runes *f-etch*
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid *f-pre*
• 1x Leonin Abunas
• 1x Loyal Warhound
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Puresteel Paladin
• 1x Realm-Cloaked Giant
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Stonehewer Giant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Wandering Archaic  ^Flip
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer

Enchantment (1)

• 1x The Restoration of Eiganjo  ^Flip

Halvar's Armory (18)

• 1x Argentum Armor
• 1x Batterskull
• 1x Blackblade Reforged
• 1x Commander's Plate
• 1x Hammer of Nazahn
• 1x Inquisitor's Flail
• 1x Kaldra Compleat
• 1x Lion Sash
• 1x Shadowspear
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice
• 1x Sword of Hearth and Home
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Sword of Sinew and Steel *f-etch*
• 1x Sword of the Animist *f-pp*
• 1x Sword of Vengeance
• 1x Umezawa's Jitte

Instant (7)

• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Flawless Maneuver
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Heliod's Intervention
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Sevinne's Reclamation
• 1x Slash the Ranks
• 1x Steelshaper's Gift
• 1x Winds of Abandon

Commander (1)

Land (36)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Cave of the Frost Dragon
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Emeria, The Sky Ruin
• 1x Field of Ruin
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Ondu Skyruins  ^Flip
• 20x Plains
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Sanctum of Eternity
• 1x Sejiri Glacier  ^Flip
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Urza's Saga
• 1x War Room

Artifact (5)

• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring

Maybeboard

Creatures (1)

• 1x Solitude

Spells (1)

• 1x Remember the Fallen

Equipment (1)

• 1x Cloudsteel Kirin

Land (1)

• 1x Blinkmoth Nexus

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{W} {W}- -March 30, 2022 - -{W} {W}

Neon Dynasty Update

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2022 Updates

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{W} {W}- - March 30 -- Neon Dynasty Update - -{W} {W} Show

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Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Additions

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Main Set

Soul-Guide Lantern -> Lion Sash

Smothering Tithe -> The Restoration of Eiganjo  // Architect of Restoration  

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Commander

None

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Other Additions

None

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Q2 -- New Capenna Update Show

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Streets of New Capenna

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Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

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Q3 -- Dominaria United Update Show

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Dominaria United

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Unfinity?

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Q4 -- Brothers' War Update Show

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The Brothers' War

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Unfinity?

Jumpstart 2022

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Description

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Halvar's Gameplan

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The Three Paths

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This deck has three different path to follow:

• Primary Path: The Skoti Warrior ---- Using Halvar, God of Battle  to deal Commander Damage.

• Auxiliary Path: The Tyrite Blade ---- Using the Sword of the Realms  to support an alternative threat to protect it from removal.

• Default Path: The Godless Struggle ---- Using alternative threats without the aid of Halvar  or his Sword.  

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The path I start with each game is dictated by my opening hand. I may have good Equipment and drop Halvar  right away. I may have an early threat and wish to use Sword of the Realms  to support it. I may have a middling hand and decide to build my resources before committing to either side of my Commander right away. No matter how I begin, whichever path I walk is subject to change as things progress and situations evolve.

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Primary Path: The Skoti Warrior Show

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The Primary Path is the one I will prioritize throughout the game. As an Equipment Voltron deck, dealing Commander Damage is the main win condition, so I will attempt to have Halvar  active whenever feasible.

An opening hand with a solid Equipment is the most ideal in order to begin a game following the Primary Path. Halvar  can begin dealing Commander Damage before opponents can set up proper defenses. Any Protectors in this situation will solidify his presence and prevent him from being killed immediately.

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Halvar  is an efficient warrior. Any Equipment that pumps his power by at least 2 and offers sufficient evasion is the most beneficial, as he'll only need two attacks to take out an opponent. A Sword with a relevant protection is especially effective as to completely dodge potential blockers and removal.

Outside of a select few, additional Equipment won't increase his clock any further. Since those extra Equipment will often be superfluous in Halvar's  hands, I may equip an alternative threat to pressure another opponent simultaneously. Halvar   is unlike my previous Commander, and he is willing to share the weapons his Armory and his double strike, allowing the other threat to also deal heavy damage.

I tend to be conservative with any Equipment on hand. Whether Halvar  is attacking alone or not, spare Equipment will only be cast for lifegain, to shore up gaps in evasion, or for necessary Sword triggers. Although, if I have access to the proper Equipment for Halvar   to one-shot an opponent, then I will attempt the kill.

Rogue's Passage is a very potent utility land when Halvar  is active. My opponents' blockers become irrelevant and Halvar's  assault can only be stifled by disarming him or killing him outright.

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In the event that Halvar  dies, I'll attempt to remain on the Primary Path and immediately recast him. If an alternative threat is already on the field, I'll equip that threat first, then recast Halvar  to have a double striker for that turn while he is summoning sick. Halvar  can then be tossed an Equipment with his attach trigger to resume his assault.

There will be situations where I may have to hold off on recasting Halvar   at all. If I suspect a killspell and I don't have a Protector on board, I wouldn't be able to avoid him getting sniped. If my Equipment were destroyed with him and I have none on hand to replace them, then Halvar  would be pointless. No matter the reason, if Halvar  isn't the proper option to take, I'll have to abandon the Primary Path and traverse one of the others.

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Auxiliary Path: The Tyrite Blade Show

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The Auxiliary Path is for the situations where my available resources isn't suitable for Halvar  to be effective. Unlike other Voltron Commanders, Halvar  is a Modal DFC, the back half of which is a powerful Equipment. Where other Commanders would be cursed to wait in the Command Zone, Sword of the Realms  can shine.

Without Halvar,   alternative threats have to take up arms against my opponents. Sword of the Realms  is the perfect supplement for these creatures. It offers vigilance to keep my defenses up and will return the equipped creature to my hand when it dies. This recursion ability mimics the Partner mechanic by giving me a second creature that I have near-permanent access to. Opponents would have to 'double-tap' the equipped creature before it was re-equipped in order to fully take it down, devaluing their creature removal.

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Serra Ascendant is a notable champion of the Auxiliary Path. The hyper-efficient threat benefits greatly from the vigilance and self-recursion granted by Halvar's Sword.   And it can be recast and re-equipped all for a minimal cost. If I ever see Serra Ascendant in my opening hand, I almost always follow the Auxiliary Path for the enormous board dominance a large, immortal, vigilant, lifelinking flier provides so early in the game.

Ardenn, Puresteel Paladin, and Danitha Capashen can also give Halvar's Sword  a worthy wielder, spicing up otherwise middling opening hands. In the late-game, more dedicated alternative threats, such as Sun Titan and Bronze Guardian, can throw their weight around without the fear of death unless my opponents either overexert their own resources or have an answer to the Sword  itself.

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The Auxiliary Path is not without downsides. In order to use the Sword of the Realms,   I'll have to forsake the Primary Path and its ability to deal Commander Damage until it leaves the battlefield. In most games, this will entail waiting for the Sword  to fall victim to artifact removal, be it an opponent's removal spell or, if I'm desperate, my own sweeper as collateral damage.

Another pitfall of the Auxiliary Path is the fact that Sword of the Realms  is a coloured Equipment. The Swords of Hearth & Home and Light & Shadow cannot be equipped to the same creature that wields Halvar's Sword.   This forces me to have a second alternative threat when one of these Swords are in play to gain the benefits of their trigger.

Sanctum of Eternity is a valuable utility land when walking the Auxiliary Path. I can use it to return Halvar's Sword  back to my hand instead of waiting for its destruction. I can them recast Halavr  from the hand and follow the Primary Path once again. The Sanctum also allows me to abandon the Primary Path if Halvar  is ever stripped of his weapons. Without any Equipment, he isn't remotely a threat. In this case, his Sword  supporting an alternative threat becomes more appealing if I have nothing left on hand to suit him up. Even with the Sanctum, I may not deviate from the Auxiliary Path if I already have a well established threat. Swapping to Halvar  is a bit mana intensive, and I may not have the resources to spare.

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Default Path: The Godless Struggle Show

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The Default Path is a last resort for when my Commander is completely unavailable. Halvar  and Sword of the Realms  are two halves of the same card and therefore share Commander Tax. A low-tax Commander is a rare commodity, and casting either side haphazardly would be a waste. If neither Halvar  nor his Sword  is going to be worthwhile, holding back is the best course of action. In some games, repeated bouts of removal can't be avoided and my Commander will get choked by high tax. Regardless on why my Commander is unavailable, I'll attempt to defeat my opponents though regular damage without his divine aid.

Command Beacon is a useful tool by providing a one-time tax break to get Halvar  back in the game without spending excessive amounts of mana. Sun Titan and Sevinne's Reclamation are able to get additional uses out of the Beacon to get additional breaks.

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Out of the deck's dedicated alternative threats, there are a handful of shining stars of the Default Path.

• Stonehewer Giant can and will tutor my best Equipment back-to-back if left unchallenged. It can also to recycle destroyed Equipment with Mistveil Plains, preventing artifact removal from permanently disarming my creatures.

• Bronze Guardian pulls double duty as an Equipment protector and a threat with mass ward to all of my Equipment and its own double strike.

• Serra Ascendant is still a hyper-efficient threat that pairs exceedingly well with nearly any Equipment.

• Sun Titan takes advantage of a well-stocked graveyard and can keep important Equipment or utility creatures on the field.

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While walking the Default Path, the bulkier Equipment perform better than the others:

• Kaldra Compleat is among the best Equipment to tutor for, being an indestructible Living Weapon that also grants indestructibility to whatever its grafted to.

• Batterskull is also a potent Living Weapon when on defense with its vigilance and lifelink. And while its not indestructible, it can save itself from removal with its self-bounce ability.

• Argentum Armor, Blackblade Reforged, and Inquisitor's Flail offer the largest P/T boosts, which will be necessary to tackle multiple extensive life totals without access to Commander Damage.

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General Strategies

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Building Resources Show

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Early game is largely focused on setting up the board. Equipment are often very costly to play and equip, so casting ramp effects have a strong priority in the first few turns. A Mana Rock, ramp creature, and Ancient Tomb can enable Halavr  to be cast early.

Sword of Hearth and Home and Sword of the Animist are land ramp engines that continuously keep the mana flowing. As Equipment, they are easily tutorable and can dig me out of mana screw or to catch up with any Green mages at the table.

The Restoration of Eiganjo  is a ramp effect with other benefits to fall back on if its drawn late. I can use Chapter II to recur an fallen utility dork or a destroyed Equipment. Chapter III turns the Saga into a body to pick up a Sword or simply be a blocker.

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Angel of the Ruins and Wandering Archaic,  while not ramp effects, have secondary effects that acquire a spare land to set up the next land drop. Mistveil Plains is the go-to target with the former unless I need the untapped Basic.

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Handling Opponents Show

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This deck features an extensive removal package and a number of creatures with disruptive effects to hinder my opponents.

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I try to leave mana open for removal every turn for kill spells. Keeping a Plains open for Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares is easy in most scenarios. Having spare mana left for Generous Gift or Heliod's Intervention can be tricky if I need the mana for other cards, especially early-game or if I'm a bit mana-screwed.

Creature sweepers keep aggro decks in check. Equipment Voltron is a 'Go Big' playstyle, focusing on a single threat. Aggro strategies, especially Token decks, get overwhelming by their sheer numbers, and I have little to defend against them in combat. Heavy sweepers  are the ultimate reset button for dire situations when opponents have develops their boards too far to catch up. Playing such sweepers may seem counterintuitive as they destroy my Equipment, but I don't mind. This deck likely runs better on minimal resources than my opponents' will, and I'll rebuild faster than they can.

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Esper Sentinel and Wandering Archaic  tax my opponents spells, giving me benefits if they don't pay up. Grand Abolisher keeps my turn to myself, detering counterspells and any interaction that could stop Halvar's  assault. Drannith Magistrate prevents, among other things, my opponents from casting their Commander. This can topple decks whose Commanders are indespensable linchpins.

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Card Choices

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Creatures

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Equipment Support Show

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Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist & Puresteel Paladin

Creatures that provide free equipping.

• Ardenn suits himself up or another threat when my combat begins. He can also be an early threat if my opening hand is slow.

• Puresteel Paladin grants equip 0 to my Equipment when metalcraft is achieved. It's also a card draw engine, causing my Equipment to cantrip.

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Danitha Capashen

A Dominarian Knight that reduces the cost of Equipment. Her multiple keywords also makes her a great back-up Equipment wielder, specifically the Swords and P/T boosters.

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Leonin Abunas & Bronze Guardian

Creatures that safeguard my Equipment from targeted removal.

• Abunas is the best available, granting hexproof to all of my artifacts.

• Guardian has ward and grants it to my artifacts, forcing opponents to have additional mana available for their removal to work. Guardian is also an effective back-up threat with its own double strike and scaled power.

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Stoneforge Mystic & Stonehewer Giant

Creatures that tutor for Equipment.

• Stoneforge Mystic can cheat an Equipment onto the battlefield for only two mana, circumventing high mana costs and dodging countermagic.

• Stonehewer Giant is the best creatures the 99. Tutoring up my best Equipment directly onto the field every turn is backbreaking. I tend to favour Argentum Armor as the first Equipment to grab.

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Land Ramp & Fetch Show

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Land Ramp

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Knight of the White Orchid & Loyal Warhound

Land ramp effects on bodies. As long as I'm not going first, they'll function perfectly fine early-game to develop my board. I tend to grab Mistveil Plains with the Knight unless I need the untapped Basic.

I use these cards instead of 2mv Mana Rocks to avoid complete blowouts from mass artifact removal.

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Land Fetch

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Angel of the Ruins & Wandering   Archaic  

I use them in lieu of other Basic land tutors, such as Land Tax and Gift of Estates. Those type of cards tend to become dead very quickly while a creature still has the potential to be a back-up Equipment wielder. They also pair very well with Sword of Light and Shadow to give a steady stream of land drops or to bring them back to cast their creature side.

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Weathered Wayfarer

A repeatable land tutor. Keeps me from falling behind on land drops and sets up my board with utility lands.

If played on Turn 1, it can grab Ancient Tomb to cast Halvar  early.

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Removal & Disruption Show

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Removal

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Angel of the Ruins

When it doesn't need to be cycled for a land drop, I can use to exile two of my opponents' toys.

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Cataclysmic Gearhulk & Realm-Cloaked Giant

Creatures with sweeper abilities. Capable of being reused with recursion.

• Realm-Cloaked Giant sweeps the board on its Adventure, then waits in exile when its strength is required. I can also just play it out normally if I need the body right away.

• Cataclysmic Gearhulk is a sacrifice sweeper that spares one of each nonland permanent type. Halvar  and an Equipment left behind is plenty to keep the pressure on. Gearhulk dies to its own ability more often than not, but I'll keep it on board if I'm falling behind and there isn't something else worth holding on to.

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Cathar Commando

Artifact/Enchantment removal of a flashy body.

Tutorable with Recruiter of the Guard and can be recurred with Sun Titan or Sword of Light and Shadow to take out an opponent's toy every turn.

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Cavalier of Dawn

The ultimate Voltron utility creature, possessing a great base body to wield Equipment and indispensable removal and recursion effects.

When it enters the battlefield, it destroys anything that's causing me grief and replaces it with a non-threatening Golem token.

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Disruption

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Esper Sentinel

A mini-Rhystic Study on a body, taxing each opponent's first noncreature spell every turn or I draw a card. The cost is dependent on the Sentinel's power, which can be increased with Equipment.

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Drannith Magistrate

Prevents opponents from casting their Commanders, among other things. Some decks and strategies completely fall apart when denied their Commander.

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Grand Abolisher

Keeps my turns free from my opponents' shenanigans. Their countermagic is kept at bay and their instant-speed interaction is useless in stopping Halvar's  assault.

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Wandering Archaic  

When on board, opponents are forced to pay an extra {2} when casting their instant and sorcery spells or get a free copies. This trigger is especially effective against countermagic, which are completely botched if their controllers are unable or unwilling to pay.

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Recursion Show

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Argivian Archaeologist

Repeatable artifact recursion. Left unchecked, it will undo my opponents' attempts to keep Halvar  unarmed. It also creates a card draw engine with Mind Stone and a land drop engine with Angel of the Ruins.

Argivian Archaeologist is unfortunately on the Reserve List and has commanded quite the price tag. No proper replacements exist for it either unless you're willing to add Blue. If you're unable to acquire an Archaeologist, Salvage Scout or Restoration Specialist would be an acceptable substitute.

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Cavalier of Dawn

The ultimate Voltron utility creature, possessing a great base body to wield Equipment and indispensable removal and recursion effects.

When it dies, I get an artifact or enchantment card back from my graveyard. If I need something from my grave right away, I can use its ETB trigger to destroy itself to force its recursion death trigger. (And I get the Golem Token!)

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Sun Titan

The Recursion King of White.

This Giant takes advantage of a well-stocked graveyard and can be a back-up Equipment wielder. It also creates a card draw engine with Mind Stone.

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Other Creatures Show

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Protectors

Creatures that can grant protections to my threats and important utility creatures, preventing my opponents from destroying them with kill spells.

• Mother of Runes can target itself, forcing opponents to 'double tap' it to fully remove it.

• Giver of Runes can grant protection from colourless. Obviously detrimental in a deck centered around Equipment, but can occasionally come in handy.

• Devoted Caretaker can target any of my permanents, protecting my Equipment from targeted removal as well as creatures.

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Architect of Restoration  

A bonus creature from The Restoration of Eiganjo's  Chapter III ability.

Handy as an alternative threat and produces 1/1 tokens that can be used for chump blocking.

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Lion Sash

An Equipment creature that picks apart the grave to boost itself or whatever is wielding it.

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Recruiter of the Guard

A tutor for small creatures. This deck has a variety of utility creatures to choose from.

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Serra Ascendant

The Scourge of Turn 1

Purely a back-up threat without any utility. I've dialed back on creatures that don't do anything beyond attack in this deck, but Ascendant has persisted due to its unique nature as a 6/6 flying lifelinker for a single {W}.

If I happen to have it early-game, I'll forgo playing Halvar  right away and cast Sword of the Realms  to support it.

Halvar's Armory

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The Mirran & Allied Swords Show

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The Swords are the best Equipment that Halvar   could ever wield. A single Sword's P/T boost push his damage to Two-Shot range and their protections give him evasion to dodge blockers and prevent kill spells from taking him down. On top of that, they provide tremendous value with their triggered abilities, which are doubled by Halvar  dealing combat damage twice each attack.

When Halvar  is out, I will prioritize using any available Swords to maximize his effectiveness.

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Sword of Feast and Famine

Untapping lands opens up mana to cast additional creatures, use utility lands more than once in a turn cycle, or have mana available for instants. The repeated discard demolishes my opponents' hands.

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Sword of Fire and Ice

This Sword is the go-to card draw engine of the deck, being the easiest to tutor for. The 2 damage from its trigger can be used to pick off utility creatures and poke Planeswalkers.

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Sword of Hearth and Home

A dual land ramp and creature flicker engine.

This deck doesn't have that many creatures with ETB triggers to get a lot use out of the flicker ability, but the few creatures that do can generate immense value.

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Sword of Light and Shadow

Repeatable creature recursion keeps important utility creatures on board and gives me additional uses of ETB triggers and land fetchers.   The lifegain is relatively small, but can still buffer my life total from light assaults or offset the damage from Mana Crypt and Ancient Tomb

Protection from White and Black together shut off kill spells of the top creature removal colours.

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Sword of Sinew and Steel

The Removal Sword, shattering artifacts and slaughtering Planeswalkers.

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Sword-Adjacent Equipment Show

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Equipment that offer the same fundamental power boost and evasion that the Mirran & Allied Swords do, and give Halvar  the same two-turn clock.

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Commander's Plate

A Sword-like Equipment providing a larger P/T boost and broader protections.

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Sword of Vengeance

A power boost and a collection of keywords.

This Equipment is especially effective when wielded by a creature with already high power.

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Powerhouses Show

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These Equipment offer larger P/T boosts, enabling Halvar  to one-shot opponents or for alternative threats to keep up with everyone's high life totals.

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Living Weapons

Equipment that act like creatures, allowing them to take either role of boosting a threat or being a threat. They also gain Halvar's  double strike automatically and can be attached to him immediately with his triggered ability.

• Batterskull buffers my life total and plays both offence and defense with vigilance. Its self-bounce ability saves itself from removal and can reset its Germ token.

• Kaldra Compleat is an aggressive killing machine as a combination of the Kaldra Set. A potent threat on its own, or it can turn anything into a nigh-unstoppable monster.

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Argentum Armor

I see this Equipment as a staple despite its unwieldy costs. It's easy to dodge at least one of them most of the time and it has the the most satisfying payoff for doing so.

I frequently have Stonehewer Giant tutor this up first.

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Blackblade Reforged

A legendary blade that provides a P/T boost based on the number of lands I control. When I have to rely on alternative threats, this is one of the better Equipment to use to take large chunks out of my opponents' life totals.

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Inquisitor's Flail

This deck's damage doubler. A cheap and easy way to increase a creature's damage output. The equipped creature will also take double combat damage, but first strike, double strike,  indestructible, or evasion can dodge this issue.

I'm using this Equipment instead of Fireshrieker, since Halvar  naturally has double strike and hands it out like candy.

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Utility Show

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Equipment that focus on beneficial abilities instead of raw power.

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Sword of the Realms  

"The other half of my Commander.

In situations where casting Halvar  isn't the optimal play, I will use this instead and focus on keeping an important alternative threat on the table."

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Hammer of Nazahn

A well-rounded package providing a power boost, indestructible, and "snap-on" equipping.

Darksteel Plate was used before the Hammer bumped it out of the deck. There's no room for both.

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Lion Sash

An Equipment creature that picks apart the grave to boost itself or whatever is wielding it.

The Sash can potentially become a Powerhouse if the 'yards are well stocked.

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Shadowspear

A mini-Loxodon Warhammer, providing trample and haste.

It's also able to strip hexproof and indestructible form my opponents' permanents, allowing my removal to tag problems they would otherwise miss.

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Swiftfoot Boots

A very handy Equipment providing hexproof and haste. An Equiment Votron deck shouldn't go without it.

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Sword of the Animist

An Equipment that grabs a basic Plains every attack. This continuously builds my mana, eases any missed land drops, and sets up Emeria, the Sky Ruin.

I see Sword of the Animist more as a Mana Rock than a proper Equipment.

Artifacts & Enchantments

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Mana Rocks & Land Fetch Show

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Mana Rocks

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Sol Ring & Mana Crypt

Powerful Mana Rocks providing a substantial bump in mana for minimal costs.

• Sol Ring is the among best Mana Rocks, a staple so ubiquitous it's seen as a symbol of the format. Intentionally excluding it from your deck is a disservice.

• Mana Crypt is ssentially a second Sol Ring. I wouldn't recommend hunting it down if you don't already own one. It's not worth its price tag, especially with the non-zero percent chance of it killing you. And yes, I have died to my own Crypt. Fun times.

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Mind Stone

A Mana Rock that can be popped for a card when it's no longer useful. It also creates a card draw engine with Argivian Archaeologist and Sun Titan.

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Land Fetch

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Expedition Map

Grabs one of the many utility lands this deck uses for whatever the situation calls for.

If played on Turn 1, it can grab Ancient Tomb to cast Halvar  early.

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Other Artifacts & Enchantments Show

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Artifacts

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Sensei's Divining Top

A three-card hand extension. Helps dig for needed cards.

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Enchantments

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The Restoration of Eiganjo  

A Saga that grabs a Plains, recurs something small, and transforms into a body.  

Discarding then recurring the Plains to the Chapter II ability acts like a ramp effect.

Spells

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Equipment Tutors Show

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Steelshaper's Gift & Open the Armory

Cheap and efficient Equipment tutors. The core of any Equipment Voltron deck.

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Enlightened Tutor

A broader Tutor that can select any artifact or enchantment. Although, I almost always stick with an Equipment. If it's in my opening hand, I may use it to get Mana Crypt and play Halvar  very early. Cataclysmic Gearhulk is another non-Equipment I can grab if I need a sweeper.

Sensei's Divining Top can give me the tutored card right away when cast during my turn.

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Targeted Removal Show

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Path to Exile & Swords to Plowshares

White's premium kill spells, exiling any problem creature for a single {W}.

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Winds of Abandon

This removal option can be either a kill spell or a full asymmetrical sweeper. Giving opponents a handful of Basics is a lot better than staring down the creatures that get exiled.

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Heliod's Intervention

A flexible artifact/enchantment removal spell, capable of popping a few toys or a full asymmetrical sweep.

I don't see myself ever using the lifegain mode outside of dire situations.

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Generous Gift

A catch-all removal spell that targets anything that ails me, leaving behind a relatively non-treatening creature token.

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Mass Removal Show

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Austere Command

A modal spell that adapts to any board state.

Since this deck doesn't use a lot of enchantments, I use the 'Destroy all enchantments' mode as a blank if I don't want to destroy every creature or wish to preserve my Equipment.

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Cast Off

A creature sweeper that leaves behind a vigilant 7/7 on standby in exile. It also conviniently spares Giants.

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Ondu Inversion  

A heavy sweeper that resides in a land slot. If I draw it early or don't need it, I can play the land side instead.

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Slash the Ranks

A creature and Planeswalker sweeper that spares only Commanders. Clears the board for Halvar's  assault.

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Other Spells Show

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Explore the Vastlands  

A dig effect for a land drop and a spell. It and Angel of the Ruins are my personal replacement for Land Tax.

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Flawless Maneuver & Teferi's Protection

Spells that spare my board from destruction.

• Flawless Maneuver gives my creatures indestructible and can be cast for free as long as I control my Commander. Protects Halvar  from a kill spell or keeping my creatures alive through a sweeper.

• Teferi's Protection saves me and my board from pretty much everything.

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Sejiri Shelter  

A simple protection spell that resides in a land slot. Handy for saving Halvar  or a key utility creature from a kill spell.

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Sevinne's Reclamation

Sun Titan's trigger as a spell. A flashback cast can quickly rebuild my board after a sweeper.

Land

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20 Basic Plains

This deck needs its White mana, and Basic Lands are the major providers. As good as Utility lands are, I'm not going below 20 Basics.

I get the occasional colour-screw with my mana base as is. I don't need to make it worse.

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Ancient Tomb

A land that taps for {C}{C}. Helpful for paying for Equipment costs and casting expensive spells.

I can cast Halvar early if it's in my opening hand or tutored from a Turn 1 Weathered Wayfarer or Expedition Map.

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Buried Ruin

Artifact recursion in a land slot.

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Cave of the Frost Dragon

A flying Manland when I'm in dire need of a body.

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Command Beacon

A Commander Tax break when Halvar   gets expensive to cast.

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Emeria, The Sky Ruin

A powerful creature recursion engine just for having a bunch of Plains.

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Field of Ruin

A Stripland to get rid of a problem utility land.

I use it over Strip Mine or any other option due to Field replacing itself. I don't care if the other opponents get a free Basic. The later the game goes, the less impact that free land creates.

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Kor Haven

A protective utility land that deters my opponents' threats.

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Mistveil Plains

Tuck cards from my graveyard. This simple ability has a few very handy applications:

• Gives instants and sorceries the chance to be used again.
• Allows Equipment to be retutored back into play. This is especially effective with Stonehewer Giant.
• Denies my opponents' targeted grave-hate or recursion effects on my own cards.

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Myriad Landscape

Land ramp on a land.

Handy for getting a couple Plains needed for Emeria, The Sky Ruin to be active.

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Ondu Skyruins   & Sejiri Glacier  

Modal DFCs that allow extra spells to exist within land slots.

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Rogue's Passage

Makes Halvar  unblockable, which is extremly frightening.

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Sanctum of Eternity

A land that bounces my Commander.

Aside from protecting my Commander from removal during my turn, it also allows me to swap between Halvar  or his Sword  at will without waiting for either to return to the Command Zone the conventional way.

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Thespian's Stage

A land clone that can repeatedly change what it becomes. It can be a Plains at the very least.

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Urza's Saga

A unique Saga that provides a couple of bodies and tutors for a cheap artifact.

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War Room

A card draw engine in a land slot, only requiring the minimal of life payments.

Notable Exclusions

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Specific Mechanics

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Poison Counters Show

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Poison is one of the most annoying and hated mechanics in the game. Having your life total effectively be at 10 with no proper counterplay puts players on edge. Cards bearing the infect keyword and the egregious offenders, allowing poison kills to be feasible in this format.

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This deck has access to two major cards with infect: Grafted Exoskeleton and Inkmoth Nexus.

• This deck used cardInkmoth Nexus in its early days, used solely as a back-up win-con. There was significant distain in every game I had it out, and victory with it personally felt hollow. I took it out in 2015 when I needed space for another utility land.

• I've never bothered with Exoskeleton. Inkmoth Nexus was as far as I wanted to go. An Equipment offering infect would devolve the deck into achieving poison kills instead of the Commander Damage kills its meant to achieve.

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Poison won't ever be a part of this deck anymore. It sours games and places a unwelcome stigma to anything is appears in.

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Catch-up Ramp Show

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I heavily dislike this style ramp that's been given to White. The purpose of ramp is to create a resource advantage over your opponents. Catch-up ramp doesn't do that. It can only ever bring you at parity with the opponents that ramp, and never give that advantage for yourself.

Ramp that's tied to an opponent's actions causes another problem. Without a Green opponent at the table or their land ramp being played on time, you end up with cards that can't do anything outside of correcting missed land drops. And catch-up ramp is completely ineffective against the opponents that develop their mana with Rocks.

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Despite my animosity, this deck does have a few catch-up cards:

• Knight of the White Orchid and Loyal Warhound are only 2mv, and are decent Equipment wielders. The card:Knight of the White Orchid|Knight| isn't even restricted to Basics, and land enters in untapped if I chose to grab one. Nothing beats their efficiency.

• Weathered Wayfarer is a hard land tutor as long as I'm behind. While it's not an actual ramp effect, getting several utility lands this easily is its own advantage. And I can still be up mana if I want to.

These cards are in this deck for building my mana early-game, the same reason others use cheap Mana Rocks. They're excellent cards that just happen to be catch-up ramp effects.

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White doesn't even need to rely on catch-up ramp to alleviate its mana troubles. Sword of Hearth and Home and Sword of the Animist are effective tools at at providing unrestricted land ramp. Catch-up ramp will never come close to providing a Rampant Growth every single turn.

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Mass Land Destruction Show

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I don't like these effects in Commander. They'll only give me the win if I have an overwhelming board advantage. Otherwise, I'm either kingmaking or turning the game into an utter mess. I'm not interested in having my deck getting ostracized.

Equipment

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Mirran & Allied Swords Show

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I don't run all seven Swords because they're not all equal in strength. I value each Sword based on what their triggers offer, and I have no desire to use a Sword that doesn't provide anything relevant. There's a finite amount of space for Equipment in this deck. I can't shove everything in without forethought.

I've heard the argument that the Swords can be used "just for the protections." Sword of Light and Shadow is the only Sword I believe this idea applies to, and only because pro-White/Black shuts out the top creature removal colours. However, this deck is still using Sword of Light and Shadow for its triggered ability.

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Sword of Body and Mind

Milling is a terrible win-con in Commander. Multiple opponents with 99-card decks is a harsh order for such a strategy. With the Sword, it would take about 9 hits to deck a single opponent. Dealing 40 damage is a much faster kill.

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Sword of War and Peace

The weakest of the Swords just by its underwhelming trigger. Neither impacts the board nor generates any tangible value. Additional damage and lifegain are provided by other Equipment in better, more consistent quantities.

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Sword of Truth and Justice

This Sword is a proliferate engine. Nothing more. Without a sufficient focus on counters, it doesn't do anything. The +1/+1 counters it comes with isn't enough.

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Other Equipment Show

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The Kaldra Set

The original motivation for building this deck.

Unfortunately, they've been heavily antiquated over the years, and I had to drop them. Equipment have gotten much better since their release way back with the debut of the subtype itself. Getting the whole set out at once is also too inconsistent and an inefficient use of tutors. The compleat package that's now available also stifles any chance of the original set coming back.

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Colossus Hammer

Even with cards in the 99 that can circumvent equip costs, having a Commander capable of doing so made the Hammer more manageable and consistent. Halvar  doesn't have this luxury.

Why the Hammer isn't in the while the similarly unwieldy Argentum Armor remains is due to the latter's attack trigger. The Armor has a more satisfying payoff for putting up with its high costs.

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Darksteel Plate

Hammer of Nazahn took over its spot for having a much larger application beyond indestructible.

There's no space for both.

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Fireshrieker

A Commander  that naturally has double strike and can give it to other creatures makes Equipment that offer it awkward. Instead, Inquisitor's Flail is used as this deck's damage doubler.

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Masterwork of Ingenuity

Only three Equipment in this deck are worth copying: Argentum Armor, Batterskull, and Inquisitor's Flail. The Armor's +6/+6 boost and removal trigger are potent things to double up on, cloning Batterskull adds a creature on board, and dual-wielding Flails quadruples the wielder's damage.

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The Mirran and Allied Swords run into massive diminishing returns when copied. Damage-wise, the additional +2/+2 boost doesn't affect Halvar's  clock, and alternative threats aren't going to shred up the board with it either. Also, protection from the same qualities don't stack.

Doubling a Sword's trigger sounds great on paper, but in practice you'll end up with a crowded hand, extra mana going to waste, and removal overkill. Copying your own Sword is essentially a waste of a clone in the long run, especially with a Commander  that already doubles their triggers to begin with.

The rest of my Equipment don't fare any better. More meager P/T boosts, keywords that don't stack, and Legendary weapons that can't be copied at all.

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Clones are only as powerful as what you can copy, and this deck doesn't provide that much to work with.

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Support Show

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Creatures

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Sram, Senior Edificer

With White getting proper card draw, cantrip engines have become less desirable. What hurts him the most is that he doesn't have a secondary function to give him a purpose outside of drawing cards.

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Enchantments

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Sigarda's Aid

This card has the issue of not having another function once my Equipment are in play. This is especialy a problem when drawn after my hand is spent of its Equipment. I also don't want too many instances of the free equip efects or I'll end up with spares that clog in my hand.

Creatures

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Armory Automaton & Heavenly Blademaster

These creatures do nothing but attack. I've cut back on them, as they take up space better spent on utility creatures.

Serra Ascendant is the only pure attacker that remains in this deck due to its sheer efficiency.

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Bastion Protector

Only affecting my Commander  is way too narrow of an ability for a utility creature, especially one with three toughness. P/T boosts and keywords are better given by Equipment.

Artifacts & Enchantments

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Mana Rocks Show

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I'm intentionally keeping the amount of Mana Rocks in this deck at an absolute minimum, instead focusing more on land ramp. Equipment decks will naturally incentivize heavier use of artifact hate, and non-Equipment artifacts will frequently end up as collateral damage. This deck also has a good number of sweepers  that will ruin all attempts to build mana this way.

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Sol Ring and Mana Crypt are pretty much as far as I want to go with Mana Rocks. Any others would have to offer some form of utility beyond mana production to make me interested in using them.

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Jeweled Lotus

This fast mana source only works if your Commander can put a strangehold on the entire table Turn 1. Otherwise, you're wasting both your time and space in your deck.

Casting Halvar  early without the ability to follow up with an Equipment is beyond pointless, and only leaves him exposed for nothing.

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Inspiring Statuary

It can only affect 29 of the 66 nonland cards this deck has. About 44%. Why would I add a Mana Rock that can only be used to cast less than half of my spells?

Regardless, its inability to make Equipment spells cheaper is an instant deal-breaker.

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Enchantments Show

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Banishing Light et al

I'm not a huge fan of removal that's easily reversible. Simple Naturalize effects or one of my own sweepers   will give opponents their cards back.

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Land Tax

It was in this deck at the beginning, but I disliked waiting for an upkeep trigger and needed something more immediate. It also wasn't the best card to draw late-game.

Angel of the Ruins and Wandering Archaic   have taken up its role at providing land.

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Smothering Tithe

I added it to the deck when it was first released, but eventually dropped it for a different ramp effect.   The two Equipment land ramp engines renders Smothering Tithe superfluous.

Spells

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Sorceries Show

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Day of Judgment & Wrath of God

Simple creature sweepers like these are outclassed by newer options that have additional benefits.

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Instants Show

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Return to Dust

Heliod's Intervention took over its spot by being a stronger and more flexible removal spell.

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Land

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Land Groups

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Artifact Lands

They don't provide any meaningful utility. Being artifacts and fueling the one card this deck has with metalcraft isn't enough to warrant a spot over any other utility land.

Ancient Den in particular will also end up as collateral damage from sweepers.  

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Fetchlands

They're primarily used for colour-fixing, which a Mono-Coloured deck doesn't need. Deckthinning with them is statistically negligible, especially so in a 99-card deck.

There's also an opportunity cost. Each Fetchlands added is one less utility land I'm able to include. And this deck loves its utility lands.

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Individual Lands

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Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Building devotion is difficult in a deck with a high concentration of colourless permanents and a plethora of sweepers. I had it in this deck for a number of years before giving up on it entirely.

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Temple of the False God

This card is a trap.

Its promise of {C}{C} is enticing, but it's a dead card when that mana matters the most.

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Hall of Commanders

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Kemba, Kha Regent

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First Commander

October 26, 2011 - July 23, 2013

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This is my first Commander deck. I started building it in October 2011. The original motivation for this deck was the desire to use The Kaldra Set and assemple Legendary Avatar to the board. To get the best use out of these Equipment, I required a synergistic Commander.

The only options available in 2011 were Kemba, Kha Regent or Raksha Golden Cub. I obviously decided on the former as the First Commander.  Having a Commander that initially costs seven mana would only invite problems.

The early builds of this deck were Voltron/Token hybrid strategies to make use out of Kemba's Cat tokens. I'd equip her and build up a Token army while attempting Combat Damage kills. Overtime, I grew tired of the token half of the deck's strategy and desired to go full Voltron. The support for it dwindled as I began looking for an alternative Commander to better deal Commander Damage.

Eight-and-a-Half-Tails

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Second Commander

July 23, 2013 - February 3, 2017

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My search for a new Commander led me to the format's old treasure trove of Kamigawa. The first set in the Block, Champions of Kamigawa, had the best candidate for the Second Commander: Eight-and-a-Half-Tails. This famous Kitsune offered the ability keep targeted removal off of my permanents while also making himself unblockable. A great fit for my new needs.

8.5-Tails wasn't without his fair share of problems. His abilities required three mana to be open at all times to be effective as a removal deterrant. He was never an early-game play, and keeping his abilities active always stung when mana-screwed. Regardless, I was content with 8.5-Tails as my Commander for the coming years.

Sram, Senior Edificer

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Third Commander

February 3, 2017 - November 30, 2017

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Aether Revolt introduced a peculiar Dwarf, Sram, Senior Edificer. My initial impression wasn't the best. The though of using him as a Commander didn't come to mind right away and I initially dismissed it as a bad Puresteel Paladin, nothing I really wanted in the 99.

After giving it some thought, I figured that this was an opportunity to have Equipment support back in the Command Zone and return to using an early-game Commander, and Sram, Senior Edificer took over as the Third Commander.

Balan, Wandering Knight

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Forth Commander

November 30, 2017 - February 12, 2021

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Sram's reign as Commander was short-lived. Mere months after he took the position, Commander 2017 introduced the Forth Commander.

Balan, Wandering Knight was a game-changer, possessing the ability to be an aggressive win-con. With previous Commanders, getting a vanilla 2 power creature to deal 21 total damage reliably more often than not involves numerous Equipment, causing their clocks to take several turns and giving opponents plenty of breathing room to draw into answers. Balan's natural double strike increases her clock dramatically, requiring less Equipment to be a legitimate threat and take out opponents in a more reasonable amount of time. She would also consistently two-shot opponents with any couple of Equipment, and had the potential to one-shot using a specific pair.

Another great aspect of Balan was her attach ability. For two mana, all Equipment I control attached to her, greatly saving on mana when equipping her. She could also use her attach ability to dodge high equip costs.

Halvar, God of Battle -//- Sword of the Realms

Fifth   Commander  

February 12, 2021 - Present

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As such a proficient win-con, Balan was the best Commander yet. I honestly believed she would be at the helm of this deck for a long time. However, Halvar, God of Battle  emerged from the frigid realms of Kaldheim to become the Fifth Commander.

Possessing double strike when equipped like his predecessor, Halvar  has a blazing fast clock. His double strike requires a single solid Equipment, and can easily two-shot opponents if that lone Equipment increases his power to at least 6 and provides sufficient evasion. Halvar  also shares his double strike to any other equipped creatures, offering the option to focus on multiple opponents at once.

Sword of the Realms  adds a layer of utility alongside the regular Voltron gameplan. It causes any one of this deck's alternative threats to act like a Partner by returning it to my hand when it dies. This devalues my opponents' creature removal and keeps a key creature on board.

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Deck Development

As of March 30, 2022

Pending Changes

Streets of New Capenna Additions

Pending

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Comander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Additions

Pending

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Other Additions

Pending

Potential Ideas

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Creatures

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Solitude Show

• ??? -> Solitude

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Solitude was a card I overlooked when Modern Horizons II released, and I've gone back to give it a proper look. A killspell that can be cast for "free" is something handy in situations when I have to fully tap out.

It would also add creature removal to Recruiter of the Guard's tutor pool, similar to how card:Cather Commando gave it an artifact/enchantment removal option.

Equipment

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The Remaining Allied Swords Show

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• ??? -> "Sword of Blue and Black"

• ??? -> "Sword of Red and Green"

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The remaining two Allied Swords will likely be printed in a third Modern Hiorizons set. I'll be patiently awaiting for the rest of the cycle.

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Cloudsteel Kirin Show

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• ??? -> Cloudsteel Kirin

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I'm really on the fence on Cloudsteel Kirin. The main issue with the card is that its got nothing going for it as an Equipment beyond the "Can't Lose" effect. Excluding it, 8 mana total for flying and no P/T boost is really steep, and it's nowhere near aggressive enough to support Halvar  in dealing Commander Damage or for buffing an alternative threat.

Would Cloudsteel Kirin be perfectly fine as a pure utility Equipment? I'd like to know everyone thoughts.

Spells

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Remember the Fallen Show

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• ??? -> Remember the Fallen

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Remember the Fallen was an all-star in the early days of this deck. I took it out for card:Revinne's Reclamation as I was replacing one recursion effect for another. Unfortunately, there are a number of cards with a Mana Value above 3 that this spell misses, particularly creatures. Sword of Light and Shadow and Emeria, The Sky Ruin are the only ones that can bring back this deck's higher cost haymakers, and the latter is incapable of casting Adventures or the back side   of Modal DFCs. With the increase of higher costed creatures, another way to get them back into my hand would be nice.

Land

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Blinkmoth Nexus Show

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• Cave of the Frost Dragon -> Blinkmoth Nexus

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Cave of the Frost Dragon's high activation cost has been too clunky to continue using it and I'm going to open this utility land slot up for something else. The first land I want to look at is another manland: Blinkmoth Nexus.

I used to have Inkmoth Nexus as an alternative win-con via poison counters. I took out that land and I never want to go back to it, but a cheap, flying manland is still available in its older, less polarisizing cousin. Blinkmoth Nexus would provide the same role as the Cave in an emergency flying body, especially after sweepers.

Although, I'm not sure if a manland is even necessary anymore with the gradual uptick in the number of creatures in this deck and Urza's Saga already providing a similar effect with its Construct tokens.

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2021 Updates

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February 12 -- Kaldheim Update Show

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Commander Change

Balan, Wandering Knight -> Halvar, God of Battle  // Sword of the Realms  

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Kaldheim Additions

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Main Set

None

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Commander

None

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Other Additions

Restoration Specialist -> Drannith Magistrate

Colossus Hammer -> Sword of Sinew and Steel

Desert of the True -> Sejiri Shelter  // Sejiri Glacier  

Secluded Steppe -> Ondu Inversion  // Ondu Skyruins  

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May 6 -- Strixhaven Update Show

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Strixhaven: School of Mages Additions

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Main Set

Noble Templar -> Wandering Archaic  // Explore the Vastlands  

Oblation -> Reduce to Memory

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Commander

Eternal Dragon -> Angel of the Ruins

Mangara, the Diplomat -> Bronze Guardian

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Other Additions

None

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September 2 -- Forgotten Realms Update Show

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Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Additions

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Main Set

Hour of Revelation -> Loyal Warhound

Castle Ardenvale -> Cave of the Frost Dragon

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Commander

None

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Modern Horizons II Additions

Maul of the Skyclaves -> Sword of Hearth and Home

Dawn of Hope -> Esper Sentinel

Nahiri, the Lithomancer -> Kaldra Compleat

Inventors' Fair -> Urza's Saga

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Other Additions

Loxodon Warhammer -> Commander's Plate

Scavenger Grounds -> Sanctum of Eternity

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December 15 -- Innistrad: Double Feature Update Show

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Midnight Hunt Additions

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Main Set

Reduce to Memory -> Cathar Commando

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Commander

None

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Crimson Vow Additions

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Main Set

None

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Commander

None

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Other Additions

None

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Top Ranked	Achieved #6 position overall 9 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Mono-White 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Voltron 3 years ago
Date added	9 years
Last updated	1 month
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	16 - 0 Mythic Rares 48 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 2 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.81
Tokens	Construct 0/0 C, Elephant 3-3 G, Golem 3/3 C, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Spirit 1/1 C
Folders	favorites, Commander, great edh deck, Faves, EDH, EDH Decks, decks i want to build, edh, EDH, Decks Im going to get soon, See all 506