Cait Sith, Fortune TellerCait Sith, Fortune Teller | Art by Kevin Sidharta

Final Fantasy VII’s Cait Sith, a crown-wearing Cat who shouts through a megaphone and perpetually piggyback rides atop a gargantuan sabre-toothed Moogle, is full of surprises.

For one thing, he can talk - and fight like a champ. Later, when it’s discovered that he’s merely a robotic marionette controlled by Reeve, an employee of evil supercorporation Shinra, Cait Sith still sacrifices his life to save the other good guy travelers…only to reappear again as a copy.

He also serves as a fortune teller who hangs out in the Gold SaucerGold Saucer casino, and his prophecies have a habit of coming true; foreshadowing a major plot point in the game, he tells our protagonist Cloud that, “What you pursue will be yours...but you will lose something dear.”

Cait Sith’s attitude is far from dour and ominous, though. He’s a serial optimist who’s known to crack wise and take big risks, as the success of his strongest attacks are left to the roll of a die.

Cait Sith leaves a lot to chance, but this Cait Sith, Fortune TellerCait Sith, Fortune Teller Commander deck attempts to find some certainty in this uncertain world. No longer will he be at the whim of fate; instead, he will take modest control of his destiny and motivate others to do the same. In attempting to spy on our heroes, Reeve has constructed the ultimate life coach.

What Does Cait Sith, Fortune Teller Do?

Cait Sith channels randomness into raw damage potential. At the beginning of combat on your turn, you exile the top card of your library and pump one of your creature’s power (can be Cait Sith himself) by the mana value of that card; bigger is, obviously, better.

Randomness abounds, though you’re able to scry 1 before the flip to hedge your bets a bit. The exiled card then remains playable for the remainder of the turn.

Play-from-exile commanders fall largely into two camps: those that exile cards for you and those that merely benefit from playing cards exiled by other sources. Prosper, Tome-BoundProsper, Tome-Bound, appearing in Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, was the first, and quickly began its domination of the Rakdos meta by providing not only an exiled card a turn but a Treasure token when an exiled card was played — even lands, which feels fabulous when it happens.

Subsequent entries dampened the power level. Faldorn, Dread Wolf HeraldFaldorn, Dread Wolf Herald arrived in AFR’s sequel, Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, trading Prosper’s free mana for a pack of Wolves and its card draw engine with one requiring a turn cycle and a discarded card to get going.

March of the Machine: The Aftermath introduced two less menacing takes on Prosper’s modus operandi: Pia Nalaar, Consul of RevivalPia Nalaar, Consul of Revival produces hasty Thopters, while Rocco, Street ChefRocco, Street Chef offers group hug shenanigans alongside Naya’s many Food token synergies. Iraxxa, Empress of MarsIraxxa, Empress of Mars from the Doctor Who Commander precons experimented with giving the commander itself a beefy bod and a small anthem effect, to underwhelming results.

However, my favorite take on the formula has been Laelia, the Blade ReforgedLaelia, the Blade Reforged from the Commander 2021 precons. She could care less about actually playing the cards she exiles, instead relying on the act of exiling itself to fuel her engine.

Pilots of her decks, including me, can’t be precious about the cards entering exile since there will likely be far too many in a turn to play them all; instead, they must embrace some element of chaos in how the games shake out.

Laelia is Cait Sith’s closest relative, so I wanted to infuse similar whirlwind energy into my take on a deck helmed by everyone’s favorite soothsaying Cat robot riding a gigantic stuffed Moogle. The fortunes Cait Sith delivers in my deck are substantial and seem insurmountable — that is, until this funky feline shifts into life coach mode…

Key Cards for Cait Sith, Fortune Teller

Cait Sith practically begs for a deck packed with high-cost spells, but a handful of uncastable cards isn’t going to increase anyone’s win percentage anytime soon.

I wanted to mitigate the chances of this happening by including split cards boasting big mana values; these are pulled from Magic’s considerable mechanical archive and can be cast at a discount for partial, or in some cases full, effect:

• Dead // GoneDead // Gone and Fast // FuriousFast // Furious play a toolbox role. I’m particularly fond of Gone, which provides an effect not often seen in mono-red.
• The Rooms of Duskmourn: House of Horror play similarly but stick around as permanents that can be activated incrementally. The ones that fit Cait Sith best, supporting impulse draw and/or attacking, are Painter's Studio // Defaced GalleryPainter's Studio // Defaced Gallery, Ticket Booth // Tunnel of HateTicket Booth // Tunnel of Hate and Charred Foyer // Warped SpaceCharred Foyer // Warped Space.
• The prototype mechanic from Dominaria United suits Cait Sith by granting the option to cast budget-bin versions of the full creature spell. Fallaji Dragon EngineFallaji Dragon Engine and Skitterbeam BattalionSkitterbeam Battalion are the least underwhelming of the bunch.
• I’ve included almost every MDFC land available — though I couldn’t stomach Akoum WarriorAkoum Warrior or Spikefield HazardSpikefield Hazard — even a few that enter tapped, to provide a larger power boost when flipped than a basic Mountain. Valakut AwakeningValakut Awakening, Shatterskull SmashingShatterskull Smashing, Pinnacle MonkPinnacle Monk and Sundering EruptionSundering Eruption are killer spells on their own, while Song-Mad TreacherySong-Mad Treachery and Kazuul's FuryKazuul's Fury receive a bump from Cait Sith’s ability.
• The majority of these selections serve up a smorgasbord of cost-reduction mechanics, ranging from convoke and evoke to plenty left unnamed. Highlights include Avatar of FuryAvatar of Fury, Cavern-Hoard DragonCavern-Hoard Dragon, Grim Reaper's SprintGrim Reaper's Sprint, Divergent TransformationsDivergent Transformations and Blast-Furnace HellkiteBlast-Furnace Hellkite (you’ll likely have a stray mana rock to offer; or, failing that, Cait Sith is an artifact).

The excitement of flipping something expensive, mana-wise, is tempered when Cait Sith, a keyword-less 3/3, is the only creature available upon which to bestow the power increase. In addition to bulkier options, the deck runs some strong, evasive creatures that synergize with our exile and big power game plans:

• Crimson CaravaneerCrimson Caravaneer, Prophetic FlamespeakerProphetic Flamespeaker, Lightning, Security SergeantLightning, Security Sergeant, and Inti, Seneschal of the SunInti, Seneschal of the Sun provide card advantage and can reliably intimidate blockers or sneak through for some damage.
• Laelia, the Blade Reforged, Dragon's Rage ChannelerDragon's Rage Channeler, and Headliner ScarlettHeadliner Scarlett can get out of hand pretty quickly.
• This list includes creatures that serve dual purposes, including ramp (Professional Face-BreakerProfessional Face-Breaker, Prosperous BanditProsperous Bandit, Defiler of InstinctDefiler of Instinct), card advantage (Rose, Cutthroat RaiderRose, Cutthroat Raider, Etali, Primal StormEtali, Primal Storm), and removal (FuryFury).

It’s not necessary to cast every spell you exile with Cait Sith; many of the larger spells are situational, and it may be best to use that spell to boost something massively, get in for some damage, and use your mana to fully open a Room instead — or leave mana open for a surprise Calibrated BlastCalibrated Blast and a Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top activation.

Still, it felt worth including a few payoffs for when our exiled spells are cast off Cait Sith or our other card advantage engines like Brazen CannonadeBrazen Cannonade. This list includes:

• Unstable AmuletUnstable Amulet
• Wild-Magic SorcererWild-Magic Sorcerer
• Keeper of SecretsKeeper of Secrets
• Flaming TyrannosaurusFlaming Tyrannosaurus for big papa Dino energy

While a good chunk of the deck’s cards contain built-in mana discounts, it’s important that spells remain somewhat castable at full price.

I opted to include 16 sources of ramp. There are mana rocks aplenty, but also The Reaver CleaverThe Reaver Cleaver for big Treasure payoffs, The Fire CrystalThe Fire Crystal for haste, and Party ThrasherParty Thrasher for additional card selection.

Removal staples like Chaos WarpChaos Warp, Guff Rewrites HistoryGuff Rewrites History, and Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act are joined by Explosive SingularityExplosive Singularity, Volcanic SalvoVolcanic Salvo, and Calibrated BlastCalibrated Blast, which are more in line with how the deck operates.

How Does This Cait Sith, Fortune Teller Commander Deck Win?

The most direct way for Cait Sith to close out games is to swing in for big damage off of the commander’s own trigger.

Simply throw down a creature with a powerful keyword ability or two, go to combat, and swing for the fences. Extra combat enablers like Grim Reaper's SprintGrim Reaper's Sprint and Karlach, Fury of AvernusKarlach, Fury of Avernus unlock the ability to trigger Cait Sith multiple times in a turn. I opted not to include Fury of the HordeFury of the Horde because exiling two cards felt like too steep a price to pay, but it’s an option for anyone foolhardy enough to try.

Cait Sith’s built-in scry 1 may not be enough to find something suitably high mana value, but Sensei's Divining TopSensei's Divining Top and Dragon's Rage ChannelerDragon's Rage Channeler can help.

Once an opponent or two topples over, you can take others out directly with an Explosive SingularityExplosive Singularity, Calibrated BlastCalibrated Blast, a chonkster tossed by Kazuul's FuryKazuul's Fury, or an out-of-control Etali accruing massive value.

City on FireCity on Fire, made more affordable by convoke, speeds up all of the above roads to victory.

Cait Sith, Fortune Teller Commander Deck List

Fortune Favors the Bold

This deck is intended to hang at Bracket 3 owing to how quickly it can deal massive damage and the sheer volume of card advantage accumulated by all the exile triggers. Plus, since ramp is so integral to this deck, I decided to run the dreaded Sol RingSol Ring, which I consider a Game Changer, effectively.

I doubt the deck would be too oppressive in a Bracket 2 pod, but you may want to at least remove the Sensei’s Divining Top to eliminate some of the deck’s consistency. You could also swap out some of the financially pricier cards, though the entire deck runs under $200 at the moment.

The maybeboard offers a few selections to try, including some high mana value split cards to consider. I’m particularly curious about Coward // KillerCoward // Killer, as the Killer half could lead to some significant blowouts that affect multiple players’ boards at the same time. Because of its unpredictability, and the utter uselessness of Coward, I decided to leave it be for now.

I’m also not generally a fan of Passionate ArchaeologistPassionate Archaeologist — or any Backgrounds, for that matter — but there’s no denying it’s a cheap way to do a fair amount of damage in this deck. 

I originally considered Emrakul, the Promised EndEmrakul, the Promised End as an over-the-top finisher because this deck spans all sorts of card types, with some cards representing two types in one. However, I wasn’t able to complete enough testing to confirm if delirium was consistently achievable.

Tell me what you think! Does this Cait Sith deck do the character justice? Should I have considered a version that leans heavily on affinity, or will those creatures seem too vanilla for your taste? Let me know!