Nikara, Lair ScavengerNikara, Lair Scavenger | Yannik, Scavenging SentinelYannik, Scavenging Sentinel | Art by Grzegorz Rutkowski

Throughout the existence of the Commander format, most three-color combinations have found their distinct niche. For example, not all Grixis decks are the same, but if someone described what a specific deck does, a seasoned Magic player could say: "oh, that's Grixis." See: Don Andres, the RenegadeDon Andres, the Renegade or Kefka, Court MageKefka, Court Mage.

Abzan has always been complicated because it feels like it wants to do so much. There's the +1/+1 counters theme with Ghave, Guru of SporesGhave, Guru of Spores; there's the Landfall theme with The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom; there's a weird enchantment/aristocrat theme with Myrkul, Lord of BonesMyrkul, Lord of Bones; the list goes on.

Abzan, at least in Commander, feels very much like a "ship without a captain," sailing endlessly through the open ocean in hopes to find some semblance of dry land.

This is where today's commanders, Nikara, Lair ScavengerNikara, Lair Scavenger, and Yannik, Scavenging SentinelYannik, Scavenging Sentinel, come into play.

Welcome back to Bottom of the Barrel! This is a series where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the “bottom of the barrel.” This means we look at the least played color-combinations and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around!

Today's theme: Voltron. To no surprise, Boros holds the throne for the most built Voltron decks in the EDHREC database with just under 4,000 decks. According to EDHREC, the least popular color-combination for the Voltron theme, with 273 decks, is Abzan. Perhaps Voltron is the "captain" Abzan has been searching for all along!

Our commander pair, Nikara, Lair ScavengerNikara, Lair Scavenger and Yannik, Scavenging SentinelYannik, Scavenging Sentinel, comes from the Commander 2020 decks as one of the "backup" commander options.

This pair has always felt very unique, as it seems to love three very different archetypes: power matters, +1/+1 counters, and blink. This is a Voltron deck at its core, but I'd be remiss if I didn't include a couple ways to play into these three archetypes in some way.

Speaking of which, let's start by playing into our first archetype: power matters.

Category #1: A Big Boy

Yannik, Scavenging SentinelYannik, Scavenging Sentinel reminds me a lot of cards like Greven, Predator CaptainGreven, Predator Captain and The Gitrog, Ravenous RideThe Gitrog, Ravenous Ride. These commanders thrive when you play creatures with high power but low mana cost, and that's exactly our goal today.

Here are some of the biggest hitters in this category:

• Daemogoth TitanDaemogoth Titan is a four-mana 11/10, which is beyond scary.

• Yargle and MultaniYargle and Multani is not only hilarious, but it can put 18 +1/+1 counters on our commander.

• Bygone ColossusBygone Colossus is a new card, but a three-mana 9/9 is absolutely bonkers.

• We have multiple cheap 5-7 power creatures:
  • Kalakscion, Hunger TyrantKalakscion, Hunger Tyrant
  • Hunted HorrorHunted Horror
  • Hunted BonebruteHunted Bonebrute
  • Shakedown HeavyShakedown Heavy
  • Relic GolemRelic Golem
  • Lupine PrototypeLupine Prototype
  • Rot-Curse RakshasaRot-Curse Rakshasa

• Soul of EternitySoul of Eternity is probably the best creature in our deck.

• Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger will be two green mana 99% of the time in this deck.

These are our big creatures, but we need more ways to benefit from them than just our commander. Here are some of my favorites:

• Selvala, Heart of the WildsSelvala, Heart of the Wilds can generate an absurd amount of mana.

• Greater GoodGreater Good, Disciple of BolasDisciple of Bolas, and Disciple of FreyaliseDisciple of Freyalise can all draw a ridiculous amount of cards at the expense of sacrificing a massive creature.

• Ruthless TechnomancerRuthless Technomancer makes Treasures and can act as a potential reanimation outlet later.

TerrasymbiosisTerrasymbiosis is a ridiculous way to draw cards in this deck, and Branching EvolutionBranching Evolution and Forgotten AncientForgotten Ancient allow us to turn our Voltron plan up to an 11.

Since Yannik's going to be so big, he'll naturally be a magnet for removal. But we have plans for that: Reyhan, Last of the AbzanReyhan, Last of the Abzan lets us move his counters elsewhere, as does Resourceful DefenseResourceful Defense.

Category #2: Getting Damage Through

Making Yannik huge is not an issue in this deck, but getting him through in combat can be. Because of this, I've included several different ways to turn Yannik into an evasive threat.

• Herd HeirloomHerd Heirloom and Garruk's UprisingGarruk's Uprising both grant trample and card draw.

• Goreclaw, Terror of Qal SismaGoreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma grants trample to our creatures and makes them cheaper.

• Abzan FalconerAbzan Falconer gives Yannik (or anything else we buff with +1/+1 counters) flying, which is very good.

• Qarsi RevenantQarsi Revenant is amazing with +1/+1 counters on it, but can also grant Yannik flying, deathtouch, and lifelink from the graveyard.

• ShadowspearShadowspear grants trample and lifelink, which is amazing when Yannik is huge.

• Brotherhood RegaliaBrotherhood Regalia is the best "evasion granter" in the deck, as it gives Yannik unblockable and ward.

If we struggle to get combat damage through, we can always pivot to other "power focused" noncombat damage effects: Rite of ConsumptionRite of Consumption and Essence HarvestEssence Harvest let you deal direct damage to a single player, and Jarad, Golgari Lich LordJarad, Golgari Lich Lord makes each opponent lose life at the cost of sacrificing a creature.

Category #3: The "Secret Spices"

The "secret spices" for this deck come in many forms: a recursion piece, a win condition, and a sneaky blink package.

The Recursion Piece: Xu-Ifit, OsteoharmonistXu-Ifit, Osteoharmonist

This card is so cool. Our commander only cares about the creature's power, so taking away the abilities won't matter to us. In some cases, it might even make the card better.

The Win Condition: Shaman of Forgotten WaysShaman of Forgotten Ways

We have 37 creatures in this deck, so formidable will be easy to hit and we'll probably have enough creatures in play to survive the ability. BiorhythmBiorhythm is banned for a reason, you know.

The Sneaky Blink Package: EphemerateEphemerate, CloudshiftCloudshift, and Teleportation CircleTeleportation Circle.

Yannik exiles new things whenever he enters the battlefield, and during the initial playtests of this deck, I would cast a huge new thing and want to make Yannik bigger, but would have no way to do it without getting him removed on purpose. Adding a small blink package allows us to make him bigger as needed, and potentially re-trigger any great enters triggers, like:

• Skyclave ApparitionSkyclave Apparition,
• Loran of the Third PathLoran of the Third Path, Fiend HunterFiend Hunter,
• Wood ElvesWood Elves,
• and Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar.

Closing Thoughts

That will do it for this week's episode of Bottom of the Barrel! I hope you enjoyed trying to find a "captain" for Abzan with me, and I hope you'll give this deck a try! This is a deck I built in paper immediately after coming up with the idea for the article, and it has been a blast to play.

Check out my deck list below.

Nikara, Lair Scavenger and Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel Commander Deck List

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