Introduction
I made a Varchild deck when the card got printed, played a lot,
experimented quite a bit until I reached to this point and I still try new things. I haven't seen online much relevant stuff about this commander so I'll write a few things for anyone interested in building Varchild.This is by no means a high power level deck but it's my take on a tuned build for this fun and casual commander.
Why no Voltron
My first Varchild deck was Voltron and honestly it felt so bad to play, Varchild felt like a vanilla 3/3.
First let's make clear that the opponents are the owners of the survivor tokens. If an opponent loses the game, the survivors he owns will get exiled even If you control them. So if you rush down someone with commander damage you are left with no survivors. Also the survivors don't contribute to commander damage making them pointless for such a build, and then why even bother having Varchild at the helm.
Don't get me wrong Varchild is a voltronish commander since she cares about dealing combat damage, but the equipment heavy decks I see everywhere are not going to work.
Other than ramp, draw and interaction that every deck needs, Varchild also needs forced combat effects to let her get through easier and the survivors as well and to make sure the survivors are actually doing their job. Also you need sac outlets to get the survivors under your control when needed and ways to make them actually useful when you get them.
(You can't expect your opponents to cooperate with your plan if you have a decent possition in the game , you have to make sure on your own that the survivors are actually doing something more than just being around.)
Now that you have made sure that getting the control of survivors is scary, Varchild's on death ability becomes a form of evasion both for creatures and removal since your opponents have to think twice before giving you their control. HOWEVER if a big part of your deck is build around gearing up Varchild this evasion is not good enough , Varchild is going to be much more threatening (due to commander damage) than the survivors and you will need true forms of evasion and all these cards just can't fit in a deck. The only equipments that are worth are ones that provide utility like Sword of Feast and Famine and you could run some of them if you would like .
What's this deck about
This is a group slug deck that specializes in punishing your opponents for having creatures and Varchild is here to give them even more.
Card Breakdown
Creatures Matter Show
This is what this deck is all about so let's get right into it:
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Insurrection,Mob Rule,Vicious Shadows. These cards are the main winning conditions. The mass theft effects can close out the games even without serious threats on the board, since the deck includes quite a few ways to make creatures deal more damage and Vicious shadows is just insane.
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Disrupt Decorum, Incite Rebellion. Although not as effective at closing the game as the above these cards have the potential to swing the game in your favor.
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Rampaging Ferocidon ,Spiteful Prankster,Hissing Iguanar. These little guys deal damage when creatures come or leave. Their damage can get increased with the damage doublers (Dictate of the Twin Gods,Furnace of Rath, Fiendish Duo) which has a really neat interaction with Varchild as well. Varchild gives double the survivors with double damage and then, when their effect procs, it deals double damage as well resulting in dealing four times the damage (Varchild deals 6 damage and they proc for 12).
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Ancient Stone Idol.
Last but not least, this guy gets a discount for attacking creatures. Being a huge sticky threat with trample and flash makes him an absolute beast and forced combat effects as well as the survivors will make him hit the board at a reasonable manacost.
Fumiko the Lowblood is probably the best card that forces combat. Her effect is asymmetrical and her Bushido makes her a great blocker leaving you in a quite comfortable possition.
War's Toll is so so at combat because it gives opponents a choice. However it has a second effect to mess with control decks and is asymmetrical so overall it's a really nice card.
The last one that forces combat is Warmonger Hellkite. He is expensive with a reasonable flying body to compensate, has a mass fire breathing effect that can be used on anyone's creatures, which works nicely with both his first effect and the survivors. It's a fun casual card overall.
The first three are mana sources, and can be used to make Varchild or the survivors hit harder.(Gauntlet buffs the survivors even when they are under your opponents control which is amazing.)
Next is Skullclamp. This card puts your opponents in an awkward position. When you attack they can either block and let you get 2 cards and the survivors, which will be used to draw even more, or let you get through damage and make even more survivors.
Crown of Doom is somewhat pricey but it's a really fun card. It increases the damage against any player other than it's owner which is great and the opponents are going to spent mana to get rid of it so it makes up for the 5 mana to set it up.
- Frontier Warmonger.
This card is one of a kind. It does exactly what this deck wants to and it's a no brain inclusion.
Damage doublers Show
With a damage doubling effect, swinging a 3 attack Varchild, will result in the survivors produced only from this attack (6 in total), to attack for 12 damage which is four times the damage they would normally deal. I find this quite fascinating.
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Furnace of Wrath.
This one is the cheapest and Varchild curves into it. This can let Varchild and the survivors to deal a lot of damage very fast and leads to some crazy games when it gets dropped early.
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Dictate of the Twin Gods.
Dictate can also follow up Varchild with a turn two manarock and flash is very big here. It can be used when an opponent attacks to make someone take a lot damage out of nowhere or cast just before your turn to get prepared for your big play turn.
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Fiendish Duo.
These devils although somewhat pricey, are very much worth it because their effect is risk free and comes together with a very relevant body.
Card advantage Show
The Wheels/Symmetrical Card Draw
I have included synergize greatly with the winning conditions, because not only they dig through the deck fastly, in order to draw into them, but also they increase their effectiveness with the resources they provide to the opponents.
Here we have some very efficient draw power to make up for the casting restrictions of exilling.
Well these cards are expensive, with monored you have restricted options so I run whatever playable card draw we have. Hopefully the ramp package makes them feel more playable.
Sunbird's is expensive and slow but if it sticks around soon the value and the mana cheating it offers makes it a powerhouse.
Lastly underworld breach is pretty much a staple by now. Early on it's a one card recursion, but later it's ridiculous.
1) Mana rocks
Arcane Signet, Ebony Fly, Everflowing Chalice, Fellwar Stone, Heraldic Banner, Mind Stone, Sol Ring, Thought Vessel, Thran Dynamo, Wayfarer's Bauble.
The only card here that stands out is Ebony Fly. This card is very very nice. It's a 2 mana rock which is really good and makes up for entering tapped with a very strong effect. For 4 mana (as much as Rogue's Passage, which sees ton of play) it can attack for 3,5 on average AND make one more creature get past most blockers.
2) Rituals
Seething Song, Mana Geyser, Jeska's Will.
They help to cast the cards on the high end of the curve or have some more explosive turns. The deck is not that great at generating value so I wouldn't run any of the smaller rituals.
3) others
Ashnod's Altar, Gauntlet of Power, Curse of Opulence, Sticky Fingers.
