Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation | Art by Tyler Walpole

Welcome back to 60 to 100, a series where I convert beloved decks from 60-card formats to Commander. I've always enjoyed being part of the problem in Magic's Standard format. More often than not, I was playing whichever deck was the biggest target of social media ire at the time. During Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Standard, that deck was Temur () Reclamation. This deck took advantage of Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation, an enchantment that untaps all lands its owner controls at the beginning of that player's end step. At face value, Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation just seems like a way to give control decks the ability to tap out for a big play during their turn while also keeping up mana to interact during the opponent's turn. That is a perfectly fine use for the card! However, it turns out that due to the timing of Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation's triggered ability, its controller can float all their mana with the trigger on the stack, let the trigger resolve, and then cast instant-speed cards in their end step with effectively double the amount of mana they would normally have access to.

This interaction allowed players to fire off massive Expansion // ExplosionExpansion // Explosion's during their end step, often being able to deal lethal damage in a single turn with a little help from Niv-Mizzet, ParunNiv-Mizzet, Parun. Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation was ultimately banned for these sins, along with its arch-nemesis, Teferi, Time RavelerTeferi, Time Raveler. In this article, I'm going to take a stab at recreating this experience in Commander.

Standard Temur Reclamation

Temur Reclamation exists in the space of combo control decks, decks that are seeking to prolong the game and lean heavily on the concept of inevitability but also have an "unfair" plan, like Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation plus Expansion // ExplosionExpansion // Explosion, to close games out quickly.

Temur Reclamation is also one of those decks that really encapsulate the era of FIRE design. The best decks in Standard were the ones that could play the highest density of design mistakes and power outliers in the format. Uro, Titan of Nature's WrathUro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Growth SpiralGrowth Spiral, Brazen BorrowerBrazen Borrower, and Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation are all cards that can fit quite nicely into those categories. It's no accident that the cards at the core of this deck's strategy, Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation and Uro, Titan of Nature's WrathUro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, went on to be banned in Standard and Pioneer.

Choosing Commanders

Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero is a natural fit for this deck's strategy. He's a card draw engine, a ramp piece, and a mana sink that ensures mana generated from Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation and Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse never go to waste. At only two mana, I'd say that's a pretty sweet deal. Meanwhile, Bruse Tarl, Boorish HerderBruse Tarl, Boorish Herder, is just here to provide his colors and, most importantly, his mana cost.

Finding Wilderness Reclamation

The biggest challenge I face when putting together Commander decks centered around just one or two cards is consistency. Thankfully, the commanders offer a unique solution for this deck. NeoformNeoform, Birthing PodBirthing Pod, and Eldritch EvolutionEldritch Evolution are all tutors that can take one of the commanders and convert them into either Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation or Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse. Thrasios can be turned into a Moon-Blessed ClericMoon-Blessed Cleric, which can tutor Wilderness ReclamationWilderness Reclamation to the top of the library and Bruse Tarl can be converted into a Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse through the same methods.

Key Cards for Temur Reclamation

Wilderness Reclamation and Seedborn Muse ensure that this deck will have a lot of mana to use each turn cycle, and I'd like to waste as little of that mana as possible. Instant-speed spells are one of the best ways to do that. It should be extraordinarily easy to keep a full grip of cards between these draw spells and Thrasios' activated ability. Blue Sun's ZenithBlue Sun's Zenith in particular is a card draw spell that keeps shuffling itself back into the library to be used over and over again while also acting as a way to eliminate a player by forcing them to draw their entire library.

Thrasios is the glue that holds this strategy together. Biomancer's FamiliarBiomancer's Familiar and Training GroundsTraining Grounds reduce the cost of his activated ability, allowing you to draw even more cards per turn cycle! When things are going according to plan, your opponents should feel like they're being buried alive in card advantage, and there's no better way to achieve that than activating Thrasios for as little as one mana.

The true win condition of control decks is time. Ideally, each game played with this deck lasts upwards of 15 turns and ends with me drowning my opponents with so much value that they're simply unable to keep up. The combination of ArchaeomancerArchaeomancer, Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker, and Mystic SanctuaryMystic Sanctuary gives this deck access to each of its instants and sorceries a theoretically infinite number of times. This has some incredibly powerful implications.

Imagine a game of Commander where one player has access to infinite Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rifts to keep the other players' boards empty, or infinite copies of Weather the StormWeather the Storm to nullify combat damage. How are that player's opponents supposed to break through that? That's the question this deck wants to asks of its opponents, and it's a question many decks simply have no good answer to.

Winning the Game

One challenge control decks can face is bringing the game to a decisive end once the writing is on the wall. Laboratory ManiacLaboratory Maniac is a clean solution to that problem in a deck that's going to be activating Thrasios an ungodly amount of times each turn cycle and firing off massive Blue Sun's ZenithBlue Sun's Zeniths and Expansion // ExplosionExpansion // Explosions. Even better, NeoformNeoform, Birthing PodBirthing Pod, and Eldritch EvolutionEldritch Evolution can convert Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero into a Laboratory ManiacLaboratory Maniac, ensuring consistent access to this win condition.

Sometimes, this deck will be able to win faster games where a threat like Niv-Mizzet, ParunNiv-Mizzet, Parun hits the table and survives a few turn cycles. I've had many games where flipping Tamiyo, Inquisitive StudentTamiyo, Inquisitive Student and using her -7 ability to draw half my deck with Niv-Mizzet in play was all my opponents needed to see to agree to concede and move on to the next game, even if it didn't technically win the game.

Temur Reclamation Commander Decklist

Conclusion

Temur Reclamation is one of those Standard decks that, despite my ability to acknowledge that it probably wasn't an ingredient in a healthy and balanced Standard format, I can't help but look back on through the lens of nostalgia. Replicating the feeling of playing it in Commander is one of the greatest joys I've had in this format in a long while.

I'd recommend this deck to players that like long, interactive games, playing table police, and eventually becoming the archenemy. In fact, I think this deck would be brilliant in a game of Archenemy.

I'd place Temur Reclamation in Bracket 3 (Upgraded), but I think it could hold its own at Bracket 4 (Optimized) tables pretty easily. The beauty of control decks is that high-quality answers, like Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares, CounterspellCounterspell, and Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rift, are good against threats of any power level. I would recommend giving a rundown of the deck's strategy during the pre-game discussion to ensure that no one feels too caught off guard by the not universally loved play patterns they will encounter in a game against this deck.