Orvar and the Beebles: Just Gimmick, Jank and Meme

Commander / EDH* Beeble Buyback Casual Jank Midrange Mono-Blue Theme/Gimmick Tokens

ChaosJester

Instant (29)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Capsize
• 1x Chain of Vapor
• 1x Clockspinning
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Dive Down
• 1x Dizzy Spell
• 1x Dream's Grip
• 1x Fleeting Distraction
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Ghostly Flicker
• 1x Glamerdye
• 1x High Tide
• 1x Hydroblast
• 1x Mind Bend
• 1x Mind Games
• 1x Miscalculation
• 1x Miscast
• 1x Mizzium Skin
• 1x Moonlace
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Pull from Tomorrow
• 1x Reality Spasm
• 1x Snap
• 1x Spell Pierce
• 1x Suspend
• 1x Thermal Flux
• 1x Twiddle
• 1x Whim of Volrath

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x B.O.B. (Bevy of Beebles)

Creature (14)

• 1x Adaptive Automaton
• 1x Archaeomancer
• 1x Archmage Emeritus
• 1x Augur of Bolas
• 1x Bouncing Beebles
• 1x Bubbling Beebles
• 1x Metallic Mimic
• 1x Mnemonic Wall
• 1x Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1x Scholar of the Ages
• 1x Sea Gate Oracle
• 1x The Reality Chip
• 1x Wavebreak Hippocamp
• 1x Wizard Mentor

Land (34)

• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 25x Island
• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Riptide Laboratory
• 1x Saprazzan Skerry
• 1x Swarmyard
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Tyrite Sanctum

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Equilibrium
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Soul Barrier

Commander (1)

Artifact (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Bubble Matrix
• 1x Coveted Jewel
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Liquimetal Torque
• 1x Memory Crystal
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x The Underworld Cookbook
• 1x Thought Vessel

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Aquitect's Will
• 1x Energy Tap
• 1x Fade Away
• 1x Hidden Strings
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Trait Doctoring
• 1x Windfall

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Sideboard

Instant (3)

• 1x Long-Term Plans
• 1x Stream of Unconsciousness
• 1x Unsummon

Creature (2)

• 1x Spark Double
• 1x Stern Proctor

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Imprisoned in the Moon
• 1x Psychic Allergy
• 1x Teferi's Realm

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Chart a Course

Artifact (3)

• 1x Lantern of Insight
• 1x Psychogenic Probe
• 1x Sapphire Medallion

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Orvar and the Beebles: Just Gimmick, Jank and Meme

"Beebles are memes, have always been memes, and will never be not memes". In magic's history, they appeared in flavor texts, artworks, different sets, and even outside of the game often in a subtle way. Unfortunately, only two Standard-legal Beebles exist but Orvar has the potential to support the strategy of creating a small army of Beebles. In the following, I will show a few trivia around this unique creature type so that you understand, why I built a Beeble-centric Orvar deck.

Trivia #1: The creature type Beeble

First of all, what are Beebles?! According to an official description, these goofy creatures are not more than simple demonstration subjects (lab rats in other words) used by the researchers of the Tolarian Academy. Funnily, Beebles "are permanently, even infuriatingly cheerfully, mischievous but not maliciously so, and seemingly indestructible (though they can be unsummoned). Because of their irritating and bewildering nature, students loved to use Beebles in practical jokes, and Teferi once tied a pair to his feet to bounce tremendous distances."

Trivia #2: The Beeble Scale

Mark Rosewater has introduced a scale that indicates the likelihood that a given creature type will be reprinted in future Standard-legal sets - The so-called "Beeble Scale". Ironically, Beebles have the highest rate which means it will be unlikely to see Beeble reprints in future Standard-legal sets. Currently, only two standard-legal Beeble cards exist.

Trivia #3: Sautéed Beebles

Did you know there is a connection between Beebles and the recently printed The Underworld Cookbook? Beebles can be eaten and must be really delicious as it seems. This trivia can be found on the card Saute, which in turn makes a reference to the Underworld Cookbook. The Cookbook contains some fun recipes like "Sautéed Beebles". If you think that's funny, think about the crazy mechanic behind these cards: You discard your Bubbling Beebles for the first ability of the Underworld Cookbook, and create a Food token - et voila: you have sautéd your Bubbling Beebles! Now, THIS move is pure flavor!

Trivia #4: The Beeble Bomb

Did you know about the "Beeble Bomb"? This is a practical joke by students of the Tolarian Academy and the artwork of Donate indicates, how such a Beeble Bomb looks like. Very cool right? Did you know that you can also be a prankster and doing the Beeble Bomb by Donateing your Bubbling Beebles to one of your opponents? I mean this is a silly move, to be honest but shit, you have to do this at least once just for the laughter.

Trivia #5: Easter Eggs

We have seen Beebles in the artwork of Donate but did you know there are a few more cards with references to this creature type? Some of them are truly hidden easter eggs. Just look at the artworks of "Fade Away" and the early version of "Frantic Search". You could not find anything? Look again.

Conclusion

Given these interesting trivia, Beeble is my absolute favorite creature type and Orvar - which is also a Beeble by the way - is the perfect commander for these gimmick creatures which only need the necessary support and build around to become powerful. The aim is to overwhelm the opponents not only with card advantage in general but also with an army of cute glitter farting Beebles. Of course this deck is a glass cannon as every Orvar deck and the fact that we want to win with Beebles makes gameplays more challenging but it is worth it because it creates unique game experiences. As for B.O.B. (Bevy of Beebles), I included this Planeswalker although he is not commander legal because his abilities are not exaggerated as known from fun sets. Currently, I am deciding whether I should Include Spark Double to support the token strategy but I have also the strange feeling that Spark Double is just a win more card - so not sure yet.

Top Ranked	Achieved #45 position overall 2 years ago Achieved #35 position in Commander / EDH 2 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Mono-Blue 2 years ago
Date added	2 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 22 - 6 Rares 17 - 3 Uncommons 34 - 3 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.35
Tokens	Ape 3/3 G, Beeble 1/1 U, Copy Clone, Food
Folders	maybe decks