Top-Decking Major Arcana | Flubs Storm cEDH

Commander / EDH Bracket 5 Card Draw Matters Competitive Lab Man/Thoracle Primer RUG (Temur) Storm Top Deck Matters

crazyloudaudio

Creature (33)

• 1x Agate Instigator
• 1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
• 1x Birgi, God of Storytelling  ^Flip
• 1x Cloud of Faeries
• 1x Coruscation Mage
• 1x Crimson Kobolds
• 1x Crookshank Kobolds
• 1x Dragon's Rage Channeler
• 1x Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
• 1x Eruth, Tormented Prophet
• 1x Firebrand Archer
• 1x General Kreat, the Boltbringer
• 1x Hapless Researcher
• 1x Insolent Neonate
• 1x Kessig Flamebreather
• 1x Kobolds of Kher Keep
• 1x Laboratory Maniac
• 1x Longshot, Rebel Bowman
• 1x Masked Meower
• 1x Memnite
• 1x Noose Constrictor
• 1x Ornithopter
• 1x Phyrexian Walker
• 1x Purphoros, God of the Forge *f-etch*
• 1x Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
• 1x Shield Sphere
• 1x Shrieking Drake
• 1x Six
• 1x Skirk Prospector
• 1x Spellskite
• 1x Tinder Wall
• 1x Wild Cantor
• 1x Wild Mongrel

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Chatterstorm
• 1x Rite of Flame
• 1x Strike it Rich
• 1x Sylvan Tutor

Land (27)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Deserted Temple
• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Forest
• 1x Gaea's CradleGC
• 1x Island
• 1x Karplusan Forest
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Rejuvenating Springs
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Shifting Woodland
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Spire Garden
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Taiga
• 1x Training Center
• 1x Tropical Island
• 1x Volcanic Island
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Abundance
• 1x Earthcraft
• 1x Exploration
• 1x Impact Tremors
• 1x Song of Creation
• 1x Underworld BreachGC
• 1x Utopia Sprawl
• 1x Wild Growth

Commander (1)

Artifact (19)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Chrome MoxGC
• 1x Cloudstone Curio
• 1x Dark Sphere
• 1x Gustha's Scepter
• 1x Lion's Eye DiamondGC
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana VaultGC
• 1x Mishra's Bauble
• 1x Mox Amber
• 1x Mox DiamondGC
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Paradise Mantle
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Tormod's Crypt
• 1x Urza's Bauble
• 1x Welding Jar
• 1x Zuran Orb

Instant (8)

• 1x Autumn's Veil
• 1x Brain Freeze
• 1x Crop RotationGC
• 1x Mystical TutorGC
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Reclaim
• 1x Veil of Summer
• 1x Worldly TutorGC

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Divination, The Occult, and Winning Commander

Introduction to Tarot

Tarot is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, tarot games spread to most of Europe, evolving into new forms including German Grosstarok and modern examples such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen.

The Major Arcana are the named cards in a [Commander] tarot [deck]. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard [100]-card [deck], typically numbered from 0 to 21 (or 1 to 21, with the Fool being left unnumbered). Although the cards correspond to the trump cards of a [deck] used for playing [Magic the Gathering] card games, the term 'Major Arcana' is rarely used by players and is typically associated exclusively with use for divination by [Planeswalkers].

Cartomancy and Commander

Flubs, the Fool is a weird one, but in a good way! A 3-drop Commander in Temur who not only lets you play an additional land each turn but also lets you draw a card every time you cast a spell or play a land. The catch? If you’ve got even one card in hand, you discard instead. This can put a player in an interesting position. You can get insane card draw off just playing your turn, but you effectively have a hand size of zero. This makes planning your next action… borderline impossible, at least more than a card or 2 at a time. My solution to this has been rather simple: leaning into the way I believe WotC meant this card to be played.


You’ve likely already noticed, but there’s no harm in pointing out that Flubs, the Fool was designed to represent The Fool Tarot card, the Major Arcana typically represented with the number “0”, giving us the implied hand size. The Fool can be thought of as a protagonist, and the other 21 Major Arcana are the paths that The Fool must take along his journey, so having him as the Commander only seems fitting. For this deck, Flubs, the Fool isn’t just a good idea; he’s mandatory. The 99 cards around him are entirely chosen with the idea that Flubs, the Fool is on field and untouched.

Major Arcana

Technically every card in this deck is important due to Flubs, the Fool ‘s ability, but I’ve selected 22 cards in this deck to represent Major Arcana as a way to signify their importance to making this deck run better. Getting any (or all) of them on field is going to push you towards a win very quickly.

The Fool: Flubs, the Fool
The Magician: Laboratory Maniac
The High Priestess: Eruth, Tormented Prophet
The Empress: Azusa, Lost but Seeking
The Emperor: Purphoros, God of the Forge *f-etch*
The Hierophant: Coruscation Mage
The Lovers: Kobolds of Kher Keep
The Chariot: Longshot, Rebel Bowman
Strength: Birgi, God of Storytelling  
The Hermit: Hapless Researcher
Wheel of Fortune: Sensei's Divining Top
Justice: Cloudstone Curio
The Hanged Man: Wild Mongrel
Death: Noose Constrictor
Temperance: Earthcraft
The Devil: Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
The Tower: Underworld BreachGC
The Star: Song of Creation
The Moon: Spellskite
The Sun: Urza's Bauble
Judgement: Abundance
The World: Brain Freeze

The Fool’s Journey

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" is a common saying that originated from a Chinese proverb. The quotation is from chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching ascribed to Laozi, although it is also erroneously ascribed to his contemporary Confucius. Philosophy aside, your first step with this deck is a good hand. You need {G}{U}{R} as quickly as possible, but this deck doesn’t have the usual items like Commander staple Rocks and Dorks due to how inefficient they are once Flubs, the Fool is on field. This realistically means we can’t start the engine until Turn 3, but that doesn’t put this deck too far behind due to how fast it takes off once it’s running. Once Flubs, the Fool is on field, the next step is to ditch your hand ASAP. If you’ve got Noose Constrictor or Wild Mongrel on field already, this goes super smooth. If not, just pick and choose your next few spells wisely. Casting any 0 CMC card here is also great because your mana is already thin due to casting Flubs, the Fool. Ultimately, plan your hand out so that you have an odd number of cards in your hand when you cast Flubs, the Fool. This means that you’ll be whittling your hand down so that you cast or play the last card in your hand, triggering a card draw off Flubs, the Fool the same turn you cast him, starting the engine.

If you've got Flubs, the Fool on field and just 1 card in hand, you're in the ideal position. This deck has a bunch of cards that are "free casts", which is to say the spell has a CMC of 0, it produces enough mana to pay for itself like Wild Cantor, or makes more mana than is needed to cast it like Sol Ring. From here, it's cast, cast, cast until you hit a WinCon and/or major synergy. Here's a few to look for:

- Purphoros, God of the Forge and Agate Instigator effects for ping damage to all opponents triggered by creatures entering the battlefield. Cast Chatterstorm for a likely game ender.
- Longshot, Rebel Bowman and Coruscation Mage effects for ping damage to all opponents triggered by noncreature spell casting.
- Aetherflux Reservoir to very quickly eliminate another player, if not the whole pod in one turn.
- Laboratory Maniac should you successfully play all other cards, which can be done no later than Turn 7 consistently. Not too hard if you Brain Freeze yourself.
- Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh + Kobolds of Kher Keep + Cloudstone Curio to draw your entire deck.
- Underworld BreachGC + Brain Freeze + Lion's Eye DiamondGC to Storm off most Player's decks.
- Eruth, Tormented Prophet or Song of Creation to really push the engine into overdrive. Combine with Abundance to filter out what you don't need.

Closing Remarks

Truth be told, this is likely the last major form of this deck. I love Flubs, the Fool and think he’s a ton of fun, but he’s inherently janky. cEDH expects interaction and politics for fully optimized matches, and the point of this deck is basically to ignore the table and do your own thing, but even then it’s not the most efficient turbo deck in the format. This was another reason I wanted to make as many proxies/MDFCs as I did, as spending the real price tag of this deck for something this weird didn’t seem like a great idea. In my opinion, cEDH needs a lower bar of entry to get more people in the format, and writing or drawing up your own cards shouldn’t just be a good idea, it should be permitted universally.

If you were looking to kick this deck up a notch, I’d probably just remove all Purphoros, God of the Forge and Longshot, Rebel Bowman style effects and just put in as many useless zero drops as you can, even some more rituals. The Underworld BreachGC + Brain Freeze + Lion's Eye DiamondGC line is one of the most effective tactics in cEDH and it’s likely worth optimizing the deck to get to it as quickly as possible, I just wanted to throw in ping damage as something that aligned more with me.

If you're ballin' on a budget, check my Card Swap Updates for some cheaper options for the real expensive cards, or just write up some MDFCs!

Date added	2 months
Last updated	1 week
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 0 Rares 27 - 0 Uncommons 22 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	1.33
Tokens	Agate Instigator 1/1 R, Copy Clone, Coruscation Mage 1/1 R, Goblin 1/1 R, Spirit 1/1 C, Squirrel 1/1 G, Treasure