Thoughts on "Symbiotic Swarm" alt commanders
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on June 14, 2020, 11:50 p.m. by SteelSentry
I recently got a chance to play the Abzan precon a few times, and was very impressed by the alternate general and the partners. I was already planning to build a +1/+1 counters deck, and have decided to go with one of the new legendaries; however, I can't decide whether to use Tayam, Luminous Enigma or the Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel/Nikara, Lair Scavenger partner pair. Tayam has a very intricate, wheel-spinning playstyle that caters to my inner Johnny, but had one of my opponents groaning by the end of one game where I used him multiple times a turn cycle, and the 3 CMC restriction means I can't recur some of my favorite 4 cost cards. The partners play much more straight forward, but Nikara is still a powerful engine with a card like Good-Fortune Unicorn or Ghave, Guru of Spores on the field, with a powerful finisher alongside her in the command zone. Has anyone else tinkered with the Abzan commanders or seen them in play across the table, and how did they end up playing out?
SteelSentry says... #3
golgarigirl The Yannik deck I saw in action did that, they also got a Karmic Guide underneath Yannik to infinite pump team for their finisher.
TypicalTimmy I was actually worried about Tayam being too slow, it takes 7 total mana to get the first activation, and getting something big off his ability requires another piece in the graveyard.
June 15, 2020 11:09 a.m.
I recently built a Tayam deck that is less aristocrats like a number of decks on this site and more what my playgroup has called "fully reactive pillow fort" or "ablative armor". While the 3-cmc restriction limits your options a bit, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't play those cards, especially if you get creative about it.
I also really like nikara/yannik but haven't done anything with it yet.
golgarigirl says... #2
Note on Nikara/Yannik, it can do Aristocrats, but it is also fun with the flicker effects that white enjoys such as Cloudshift and Eerie Interlude. Play it with creatures that naturally have counters on them, like creatures with the Graft mechanic. I like the idea with the 'phantom' mechanic, like Phantom Centaur, so you can use Yannik and the flicker effects to re-set their counters.
June 15, 2020 9:34 a.m.