Kenrith the Kingmaker

Commander / EDH Aggro Goodstuff Group Hug

Osbert

Land (35)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Forest
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Island
• 1x Krosan Verge
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Snow-Covered Forest
• 1x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Snow-Covered Mountain
• 1x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Creature (31)

• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Giver of Runes
• 1x Ignoble Hierarch
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Noble Hierarch
• 1x Agatha of the Vile Cauldron
• 1x Biomancer's Familiar
• 1x Humble Defector
• 1x Hunted Horror
• 1x Qasali Pridemage
• 1x Remorseful Cleric
• 1x Sheltering Ancient
• 1x Generous Patron
• 1x Loran of the Third Path
• 1x Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
• 1x Nullmage Advocate
• 1x Pulsemage Advocate
• 1x Skullwinder
• 1x Daryl, Hunter of Walkers
• 1x Eon Frolicker
• 1x Hunted Troll
• 1x Marchesa, the Black Rose
• 1x Queen Marchesa
• 1x Questing Beast
• 1x Saskia the Unyielding
• 1x Custodi Lich
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Dawnbreak Reclaimer
• 1x Moraug, Fury of Akoum
• 1x Sower of Discord

Instant (7)

• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Constant Mists
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Wrong Turn
• 1x Akroma's Will

Commander (1)

Enchantment (11)

• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Training Grounds
• 1x Evolutionary Escalation
• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Nature's Will
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Mirari's Wake

Sorcery (9)

• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x Sylvan Offering
• 1x Jailbreak
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Three Visits
• 1x Guided Passage
• 1x Mythos of Snapdax
• 1x Allure of the Unknown
• 1x Tragic Arrogance

Artifact (6)

• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Wishclaw Talisman
• 1x Pendant of Prosperity

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The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend

A deck designed for the Kingdom EDH sub-format or as a politics deck in normal EDH pods.

Introduction and Deck Origins

This is an aggro good stuff deck designed to play hug effects that benefit a single opponent. Since political cards have very limited synergy with each other good stuff cards are necessary to keep the deck running smoothly. You will love this deck if you like turning creatures sideways, playing EDH sub-formats, making table talk happen, and enjoy feeling like an evil Santa Clause. You won’t like this deck if you are bad at politics, your play group doesn’t engage in politics, you don’t like good stuff, and you find attacking a crude method of winning.

This deck started out as a Saskia the Unyielding aggro deck for Kingdom but I loved the deck so much I started playing it in normal 4 player pods and realized I could offer these gifts in exchange for services. After that the deck was truly born. When Kenrith, the Returned King was printed I had to switch to the perfect commander for this strategy and I finally gained access to all the spicy blue cards. Over the years WotC has printed more and more single target gifts and I’ve kept this deck up to date with the best options.

Kingdom

Kingdom is a sub format of EDH for 5-6 players akin to the game Mafia/Werewolf. Players are assigned roles secretly with their own win conditions and there are some additional rules:

• Players cannot openly announce their role. Instead they should use game actions to ‘persuade’ others into assuming their role which allows for deception.
• Any player may block an attacking creature attacking the King/Queen.
• Cards that say “You win the game” do not function.

The easiest way to assign roles is to deal out a small pile of basic lands corresponding to each role. Since this deck is a 5c deck it has one of each basic included. The roles are as follows:

• The King/Queen (Plains): The King/Queen always starts as the first player, starts with 10 additional life, and wins the game by being the last surviving player alongside the Knight.
• The Knight (Forest): The Knight wins the game if the King wins regardless if the Knight is alive.
• The Bandit (Mountain): The Bandits win if they are alive and the King is dead. There are 2 Bandits per game.
• The Assassin (Swamp): The Assassin wins if they are the last remaining player alive. The Assassin has the most difficult role but also has the greatest opportunity for deception.
• The Usurper (Island): Only a role if playing with 6 players. The Usurper can become the King if they deal the final point(s) of damage to the King. The old King then becomes the Usurper and is set to 10 life. The Knight is now bound to the new King and the Bandits have a new target.

These are the vanilla rules but there are loads of variations out there. My favorite variation is Treachery which introduces unique role cards with powerful abilities. I can't seem to get the hyper link working so check it out at mtgtreachery.net if you enjoyed the Kingdom sub-format.

Playing outside of Kingdom

The Carrot is Mightier than the Stick

This deck is a master of politics in a normal game of commander by using gifts as bargaining chips to make deals. Deal making is an art in itself and only works if your playgroup is willing to cooperate so keep that in mind. Some examples of deals are: immunity from the next removal spell that player will cast, a treaty of nonaggression, creating an arch-enemy situation, or exchanging a gift for removal of X permanent(s). Occasionally just giving goodwill gifts with no strings attached can earn you favour in later turns.

The Devil is in the Details

Deals should be left with wiggle room so players can maneuver around them and as long as a player doesn’t go against their verbatim word they are free to act in any advantageous way they please. If a player makes a deal for immunity from the next spot removal spell you cast then you are free to use activated abilities, cast board wipes, apply stax effects, attack them, or otherwise mess with that player as long as none of the spells you cast deliberately target and aim to remove one of their permanents or spells. A deal that is too iron-clad will not likely be accepted so it is important to know how much slack to give when making deals.

Deal Breakers

It is bound to happen in a deck encouraging politics that a player will go against their word. In my group most deals have the catch all phrase “unless you are about to win the game/kill me” tacked onto the end as verbal deals have no absolute power in a game and not all players are going to stand idly by while they lose the game. If a player does break a deal then I usually focus them down maliciously for the rest of that game to get the point across but I highly suggest you don’t carry over the frustration to future games. It is better to leave your emotions on the table and learn from the mistake of trusting that player. The dishonest player will be at a natural disadvantage in future games as you and other players will be less likely to engage in politics with them.

Big Brother

This deck is unique in many ways but the ability to keep a new or struggling player in a game is my favourite. Unlike traditional group hug decks which arm the players already doing well with even more resources this deck can hand its’ boons to the player missing land drops or playing a less powerful deck and keep them in a game they would otherwise have no hope in.

Political card choices

Most of the gift cards are self-explanatory but there are a few with nuances I would like to talk about.

• Nature's Will has powerful text that may not be apparent if read quickly. Nature’s Will triggers per opponent you hit and per instance of damage which means hitting multiple opponents or connecting with a double striking creature will untap your lands multiple times. This becomes very powerful when we can offer a gift (usually from Kenrith) to an opponent in exchange for safe passage for a creature.
• Assassin's Trophy & Path to Exile are premium removal spells that can ramp an opponent by hitting an insignificant target like a token we gave to them in a pinch.
• Najeela, the Blade-Blossom can benefit your opponents’ creatures just as easily as your own by handing out tokens or extra combat steps & keywords!
• Tragic Arrogance & Mythos of Snapdax are political board wipes that hit all non-land permanent types. It becomes very easy to make deals when you control what everyone will keep or lose.
• Guided Passage is an extremely powerful tutor when you can influence what you will get. In the developing stages you can team up with a player and ask for Humble Defector, Pendant of Prosperity, & Forbidden Orchard and make a deal to share the boons with them. In mid to late game this can find board wipes, spot removal, advantage engines, and game closers like Sower of Discord.
• Allure of the Unknown reveals the cards from the top of your deck before asking you to choose an opponent to cast something from among them which allows you to open a bidding war and affect what will be cast. For example, if a removal spell is revealed it's quite easy to bargain that it be cast against a mutual opponent.

There are a lot of political “trap” cards that give away too much control to the opponents so I have opted to not use them to avoid the high variance.

Infinite combos and other synergies

• Najeela, the Blade-Blossom + Nature's Will + {W}{U}{B}{R}{G} from lands = Infinite combat steps
• Kenrith, the Returned King + two of either Biomancer's Familiar, Training Grounds, or Agatha of the Vile Cauldron + Smothering Tithe + an opponent unable to pay the tax = Force opponent to draw their library.

The deck contains a small +1/+1 counter subtheme that synergize well together but function independently. This subtheme was more of a happy accident than it was intended.

• Marchesa, the Black Rose + Rhythm of the Wild or Kenrith = Immortal creatures
• Generous Patron + Sheltering Ancient/Evolutionary Escalation = Draw engine

Other happy accidents:

• Questing Beast + Constant Mists = Only your creatures deal combat damage

Date added	4 years
Last updated	6 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	12 - 0 Mythic Rares 59 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.82
Tokens	Assassin 1/1 B w/ Haste, Centaur 3/3 G w/ Pro Black, Elf Warrior 1/1 G, Faerie 1/1 U, Gold, Spirit 1/1 C, The Monarch, Treasure, Treefolk X/X G, Warrior 1/1 W, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	try it out