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Foxinator ... MAXIMIZE!! *PRIMER*

Commander / EDH Bracket 3 Enchant Equip Mono-White

NV_1980

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Enchantment (28)

Instant (6)

Land (35)

Artifact (11)

Commander (1)

Commander: Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice

Creature (16)

Sorcery (3)

Welcome to Foxinator … Maximize!

Hi there! Welcome to the primer of this mono-white, foxy, aura-voltron deck; commanded by Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice. She’s furry. She’s fluffy. She gives you a serious stare while waggling half a dozen tails in silent contemplation. She gives an impression of being a thinker, not a doer, but that’s all a ruse lulling you into a false sense of security. Our foxy friend is deadly. Very … very … very deadly. She sees you as a threat, you have about three seconds before she analyzes your capabilities, casts an entire web of defensive and offensive enchantments on herself and then proceeds to pounce on you like there’s no tomorrow. 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; hopefully you will enjoy it!

This wonderful being allows the tutoring for an aura whenever one is cast onto the battlefield under the wielder’s control and then attach the aura to her for free. This is a ridiculously strong ability because it’s amazing value for mana and it doesn’t require all that many auras to make her almost invincible. Couple that to the fact that white offers by far the best auras a creature could possibly wish for as well as offensive auras that disable opposing creatures (or players as a whole) and you’ve got a winning combination.

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

Though the average CMC of this deck is pretty low, a decent amount of mana resources have still been added in here. Reason for this, is that when this deck can make a lot of moves early on in the game, it will be very hard for opposing decks to maintain pace. Hence it was decided to include six cheap-to-cast rocks, a cheapener and an enchantment that taxes others treasure-tokens for drawing.

Ramp: 1

No actual ramp has been included, as white’s ramping options are usually one-shot deals without any other uses and it would be a waste of deck slots. What HAS been included are two land-fetching mechanisms, which is not ramping perse but land-availability-enhancers are considered part of this category too.

Card Advantage: 5

Light-Paws herself is a tutoring enabler. There’s some back-up tutoring options available as well. Since this deck will be casting lots of enchantments, draw triggered by enchantment-ETB works wonders. Four of such cards have been included. To that, more regular draw engines have been added as well as a couple of one-shot draw deals that help out in a pinch.

Overall speed: 5

This deck gains traction fast; mostly due to its very low average CMC, but also due to enough mana, ramp and draw resources available to kick things off quickly. It’s perfectly feasible to have an enchanted fox available doing some considerable harm as early as turn 3. Due to the kind of auras Light-Paws can tutor for, it’s also easy to have her penetrate defenses and put opponents on the defensive; thereby also gaining an advantage in terms of completing objectives.

Combo: 1

Though the deck doesn’t feature any infinite combos, there are some nice synergies one can make use off with a heavily enchanted being. This includes obtaining nigh invulnerability, creating a humungous creature or drawing large numbers of cards at once.

Army: 4

Foxy-Voltron is able to adapt in great detail to her environment while also gaining strength in the process. This allows her to smash some serious face during combat and in some ways become almost unstoppable. Token generators (based on enchantments (-ETB’ing)) provide her with some backup.

Commander: 1

Not gonna lie; without Light-Paws this deck’s strategy is doomed. This is why it is filled to the brim with methods to keep her from harm as much as possible. Aside from aura’s she can tutor to keep herself safe, support-creatures and equipment have been added to help in this regard as well. Fortunately, Light-Paws’ casting cost is not high, so recasting her (especially the first few times) will not prove difficult.

Interaction: 3

The deck’s toolbox contains three options to disable opposing creatures/permanents, as well as four options to outright remove them. There’s also a few ways included to benefit from actions made by opponents, such as them tutoring or drawing cards

Resilience: 5

Though most of the deck is focused on its commander, its staying-power should not be underestimated. A lot of measures have been included to protect Foxy from harm, including but not limited to seven mechanisms to significantly increase her power/toughness, four cards that make her (temporarily) indestructible, five cards that grant her protection from colors and/or creatures and a few options that allow her to flash or phase when she’s in trouble. Against opponents that go wide, the deck can tax attackers and life-loss can be compensated for through the use of four life-link options. Also, let’s not forget the three solid options to recur permanents/enchantments to the field.

Spellpower: 4

The deck features some very powerful protection- and recursion spells/auras; some of which allow its wielder to survive full blown wipes unscathed. Some of the auras meant for Light-Paws give her such an edge that under most circumstances they are enough to disable opponents (or their armies) completely.

Total power score: 32

White is an awesome color. Voltron-themed decks are the bomb. This beauty came into being very recently but it’s been tested out a few times and it performed very well. Overall, it’s very fast and Light-Paws has a lot of staying-power, which helps out in needing few resources to re-cast her all the time.

The goal of this deck, is to win by applying commander damage to adversaries. The way in which this can be accomplished, is by creating a version of Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice that can do this effectively with impunity in as short a time as one can manage. Foxy lady needs to be summoned early (turn one if possible) and become the beneficiary of enchantments early. This allows for the use of her triggered ability, which is key to victory. It’s very effective at finding auras that disable opponents’ ability to cause harm to Foxy. Then she can be strengthened with win-more enchantments to finish the opposition quicker. The end.

At least three cards in your starting hand ought to be lands or two lands and a Mox Amber. Two lands and a Land Tax, Sol Ring or Weathered Wayfarer would also be ok. This is basically a must-have requirement; 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 CMC1 or CMC2 auras and/or early opportunities for card advantage.

A bit of resource build-up is nice to start a game with. Some early land-fetching or a cheap mana rock can really accelerate the game plan. Other high priority castings within the first few turns, are cheap card-advantage enablers like Esper Sentinel, Kor Spiritdancer, Mesa Enchantress, Sensei's Divining Top and Sram, Senior Edificer. Last, but certainly not least, are non-aura cards that help to protect Light-Paws, of which some favorites are Commander's Plate, Giver of Runes, Grand Abolisher, Mother of Runes and Swiftfoot Boots.

Once a few resources are in place, it’s time to activate the deck’s commander and start causing some serious havoc. To do this effectively, one wants to make her more durable right after her arrival on the battlefield. Best way to accomplish that, is by summoning her and casting an aura on her straight away. This activates Light-Paws’s triggered ability, and helps to search for an enchantment that best suits tactical needs. Some great examples that can be fetched early are Felidar Umbra, Mask of Law and Grace, Shield of Duty and Reason and Spirit Mantle. Once her presence has been established and some of her staying power has been implemented, the mid-game phase begins.

During the mid-game, the most important objective becomes to eliminate the most dangerous opponent. This would probably be the one that can either still stop Light-Paws (even with her magic enhancements) OR it’s the opponent that’s most capable at outpacing the deck’s wielder for value. While doing that, one needs to stay alive long enough to deal with the other opponents. This can be achieved by slowing them down through the raising of taxes (Ghostly Prison, Smothering Tithe, Sphere of Safety) or by taking out key components to their strategy with removal spells (Heliod's Intervention, Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares) or auras that reduce them to complete uselessness.

Victory can only be achieved through combat, so foxy needs maximum strength. Really good auras/equipment to achieve that would be All That Glitters, Ethereal Armor, Daybreak Coronet, Thran Power Suit and Armored Ascension. Then there are auras that will make her more versatile, like Spirit Link, Battle Mastery, Katilda's Rising Dawn   and On Serra's Wings. Equipping her with Helm of the Gods will also help.

Finally, it’s possible to provide Light-Paws with some aid by summoning additional creatures, which can be obtained by summoning additional auras. Cards that can be used for this include Ajani's Chosen, Archon of Sun's Grace, Hallowed Haunting and Sigil of the Empty Throne.

Once the most dangerous adversary is out of the way and other opponents are contained, it’s time to mop up. By now one should have a thoroughly terrifying fox at one’s disposal. Should someone manage to get rid of her in the meantime, there are ways to get her AND her auras back fairly easily. Sun Titan can bring stuff back with every attack, and then there’s more expensive means to get everything back in bulk, with spells like Retether and Replenish.

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 when tapped.
  • Land Tax: arguably the best non-green land-fetching device that was ever created for decks featuring white.
  • Mox Amber: dependent on the presence of the deck’s commander, but that’s not a deal-breaker because Foxy can be summoned cheaply.
  • Pearl Medallion: cheaper white spells, yay!
  • 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?
  • Weathered Wayfarer: fetches any land, not just basics, provided someone else currently controls more lands.

The mechanisms that provide more (or better) cards:

  • Archivist of Oghma: searching libraries is an activity lots of deck undertake regularly, so this little guy is a great investment.
  • Endless Atlas: great draw-engine in a mono-colored deck.
  • Enlightened Tutor/Idyllic Tutor: bread-and-butter for an aura-focused deck (and some nice redundance for Light-Paws’ tutoring ability.
  • Esper Sentinel: the opponent pays, or its controller draws.
  • Kor Spiritdancer: can become a bruiser in a pinch and provides more opportunities for draw based on aura-casting.
  • Mesa Enchantress: bound to provide some useful draws in a deck filled to the brim with enchantments.
  • Pearl-Ear, Imperial Advisor: aura-casting just became even more profitable than it already was.
  • Sage's Reverie: fun to cast in the mid/late-game because of the draw-potential. Even funnier to combine with Flickerform for repeated draws.
  • Sensei's Divining Top: awesome filter- and draw mechanism for hardly any cost.
  • Sram, Senior Edificer: more aura/enchantment-based draw.
  • Trouble in Pairs: unless our opponents want to slow down, this enchantment will yield some significant additional draw during most games.

These spells will stop stuff in its tracks or get rid of it all together:

  • Darksteel Mutation: your commander is now weak, can’t attack, can’t defend, has no powers and can’t be destroyed. Have fun with that!
  • Flawless Maneuver: nice try buddy! These creatures will not be hurt this turn.
  • Ghostly Prison: before your creatures can attack, they have to pass the toll-gate.
  • Grand Abolisher: stops opposing spell casting during its controller’s turn dead in its tracks.
  • Heliod's Intervention: gives the choice to kill off a bunch of enchantments and artifacts; or just gain a whole lot of life.
  • Path to Exile/Swords to Plowshares: in exchange for a minor boon, your titan over there has been atomized into nothingness forever!
  • Sphere of Safety: in a deck built around enchantments, the amount of tax this demands can get crazy quickly.
  • Teferi's Protection: you’re sending in a crushing attack or spell? Whatever.

The stuff that enchants the fluff:

  • All That Glitters: both the weave and our tools make it so much stronger.
  • Armored Ascension: ow boy, this creates a very nice bonus in mono-white.
  • Battle Mastery: Going once? Nah, going twice!
  • Celestial Mantle: excellent combat bonuses and amazing life-gain potential.
  • Daybreak Coronet: superb bonuses and with this many auras around, the prerequisite for this enchantment is easy to obtain.
  • Ethereal Armor: more power and more toughness based on the presence of other auras combined with first strike, for a next-to-nothing cost.
  • Flickerform: allows for the blinking of a creature for a fee, which can be useful to evade hostile spells or profit from ETB effects.
  • Gift of Immortality: great way to keep Foxy around; opponent will have to get rid of the enchantment instead of Foxy, which is much harder to do.
  • Katilda's Rising Dawn  : exceptionally powerful, if somewhat expensive, aura that grants Foxy a lot of power, toughness and a number of strong abilities.
  • Light of Promise: combine this with some life-gain auras to make something very big.
  • Mask of Law and Grace/Shield of Duty and Reason: a lot of protection for next-to-nothing costs.
  • On Serra's Wings: turns Foxy into a creature with angelic attributes.
  • Pariah: one of the yankiest auras this deck has; combined with indestructibility this aura makes the creature’s controller almost impervious to harm.
  • Shielded by Faith: indestructibility, yay!
  • Spirit Mantle: protection from all creatures and a little bonus to strength and toughness.
  • Spirit Link: life-gain never hurt no-one.
  • Timely Ward: especially good at making Foxy indestructible.
  • Triclopean Sight: never underestimate the use of vigilance.
  • Unquestioned Authority: makes Foxy unblockable and impervious from creature-based damage or effects.

Some additional benefits that come with running this aura deck.

  • Ajani's Chosen: allows for the generating of quite a few cat tokens in this deck.
  • Archon of Sun's Grace: a Pegasi battery based on enchantment ETB; sweet.
  • Commander's Plate: just about the best protective piece of equipment any commander could wish for.
  • Hallowed Haunting: generates ghosts when enchantments are cast.
  • Helm of the Gods: so cheap to use, yet capable of granting such a huge bonus!
  • Holy Avenger: double strike! Gotta love it. Hitting something allows the casting of an Aura on the wielder for free!
  • Replenish/Retether: the answers to the question: How does one return all one’s enchantments from the graveyard with a single spell?
  • Sigil of the Empty Throne: angelic allies when enchantments are cast; heaven yeah!
  • Sun Titan: helps with the recursion of enchantments/auras and is a great combat creature to boot!
  • Swiftfoot Boots: Foxy likes this deck’s spells, but not your spells!
  • Thran Power Suit: a Helm of the Gods on steroids! Even grants protection against opposing spells.
  • Umbra Mystic: every enchantment is a shield against fatal damage.

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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96% Casual

Competitive

Revision 5 See all

(5 months ago)

-1 Minimus Containment main
+1 Triclopean Sight main