(Redshift, Rocketeer ChiefRedshift, Rocketeer Chief || art by Xavier Ribeiro)

Ready To Kick-Start Three Aetherdrift Commander Decks? I Got You!

Hello friends, and welcome to another Start Me Up! In this column I will pick three legendary creatures from the most recent Magic expansion and provide you with ideas to help get you started brewing your own Commander deck around them.

The current set racing to spice up our Commander collections is Aetherdrift with its interplanar death race themes!

As always, there's a good number of new legendary creatures we can build Commander decks around, so I've picked three juicy ones and a nice starter kit for each to get your deck brewing ideas flowing!

Mendicant Core, GuidelightMendicant Core, Guidelight

We'll kick things off with Mendicant Core, GuidelightMendicant Core, Guidelight, a very cheap two mana artifact creature that makes a decent leader of an artifact-heavy deck.

A lot of artifact-synergy commanders tend to be accrue value in a long, grindy way, but Mendicant's awesome max speed ability makes you want to deploy cheap creatures -- likely artifact creatures -- that can attack early and often so you can crank your speed as quickly as possible and start to make copies of your artifact spells.

Plus, Mendicant Core can just be a terror on the battlefield, having power equal to the number of artifacts you control and if you've a way to punch through you can kill opponents with commander damage.

Let's start with a look at the high synergy cards currently showing on EDHREC.

EDHREC High Synergy Cards

The awesome Thought MonitorThought Monitor and ThoughtcastThoughtcast play great with artifact synergies, and help keep the cards flowing, while Etherium SculptorEtherium Sculptor is very helpful in shaving a mana from artifact spells you cast-- which can pay for the max speed copy ability!

Kappa CannoneerKappa Cannoneer is an excellent attacker for any artifact-heavy deck, and if you can copy it with the max speed ability, things are looking good for you.

Organic ExtinctionOrganic Extinction is a powerful battlefield sweeper that leaves your artifact creatures intact, though you may need to tap a few of them to help cast this high mana value spell.

Foundry InspectorFoundry Inspector is another artifact creature that discounts your artifact spells, while Illustrious WanderglyphIllustrious Wanderglyph provides an excellent power and toughness boost to all artifact creatures if you have the city's blessing from its ascend ability, and to help with that if you need that, it will spit out a 1/1 Gnome artifact creature token each upkeep-- that's each player's upkeep, so it will usually get you that value almost immediately.

Artifact lands like Seat of the SynodSeat of the Synod, Ancient DenAncient Den, and Darksteel CitadelDarksteel Citadel offer free extra artifacts to boost your commander and power up other artifact synergies without taking up nonland slots.

Zero or One Mana Artifact Creatures

To get optimize Mendicant Core's start you engines! ability, you'll want to run enough one drop creatures that can come down on Turn 1, and attack after you play your commander on Turn 2, hopefully ramping your speed to two right off the bat.

I'd look for as many artifact creatures to fulfil that role to play with the artifact synergies, especially ones that have evasion like GingerbruteGingerbrute, Hope of GhirapurHope of Ghirapur, Silver RavenSilver Raven, and Swooping LookoutSwooping Lookout. Voyager GlidecarVoyager Glidecar is big enough that at least one opponent should be open for business by Turn 2, and later you can use it's ability to give it flying.

K-9, Mark IK-9, Mark I and Skrelv, Defector MiteSkrelv, Defector Mite come down fast, can get an attack in early, and then provide value later with their activated abilities.

Artifacts Matter Artifacts

When looking for cards that care about artifacts, I'd put a premium on ones that are also themselves artifacts, like Repurposing BayRepurposing Bay, NettlecystNettlecyst, and Master of EtheriumMaster of Etherium.

Bronze GuardianBronze Guardian is awesome since it helps protect your artifacts with ward 2, and it's power will be as big as your commander -- but it's got double strike!

Research ThiefResearch Thief and Mystic ForgeMystic Forge provide nice card drawing or card selection, and ScourglassScourglass gives another battlefield sweeper that will leave artifacts alone.

Other Artifacts Matter Cards

There are still some non-artifact cards with artifact synergies that are powerful enough to make the cut. Losheel, Clockwork ScholarLosheel, Clockwork Scholar jumps to mind since it plays excellent when you're trying to attack and increase your speed.

Sai, Master ThopteristSai, Master Thopterist and Thopter Spy NetworkThopter Spy Network can help crank out 1/1 flying artifacts that can help increase your speed too.

Urza, Prince of KroogUrza, Prince of Kroog provides a nice pump to all your artifact creatures, and a sweet activated ability to go with your copy theme. Mirrodin BesiegedMirrodin Besieged played early can pump out Myr artifact tokens, and later if your opponents have been cruel enough to sweep your artifacts into the graveyard with VandalblastVandalblasts, you can use it to extract your vengeance.

Artificer ClassArtificer Class provides more artifact mana discounts, and is an excellent mana sink later on for more effects. Archway of InnovationArchway of Innovation is an incredibly good card since giving a spell improvise can be quite powerful when you've got to squeeze out multiple spells and effects in a single turn.

Redshift, Rocketeer ChiefRedshift, Rocketeer Chief

Redshift, Rocketeer ChiefRedshift, Rocketeer Chief is another two mana commander that is chock-full of good abilities. Why is it a Pilot? Who knows!

But Redshift could certainly lead a Goblin deck if you run a bunch of cards that can pump Redshift's power and have activated abilities you want to pay for.

What's cool about the exhaust ability is that, once you've used it and Redshift dies and gets redeployed from the command zone it's fair game to use it again!

Let's start with a look at the high synergy cards currently showing on EDHREC.

EDHREC High Synergy Cards

Agatha of the Vile CauldronAgatha of the Vile Cauldron and Marvin, Murderous MimicMarvin, Murderous Mimic synergize great with Redshift as your commander since they also care about activated abilities. Goblins, witches, and murderous Toys, working together? Madness!

Pumping Redshift's power is going to make it more powerful, and something like InvigorateInvigorate that can do it for no mana is going to be great for the big turn you're planning.

Speaking of big turns, Umbral MantleUmbral Mantle can basically make Redshift "go infinite" with a huge number of activations, making him as large as you want and having tons of mana to activate abilities, such as its exhaust ability.

Sword of the ParunsSword of the Paruns won't boost Redshift's power sky high, but if it's at least four you can tap it for mana and use three of it to untap Redshift and get you all the mana you want for activations.

Whenever your deck can generate infinite mana, Staff of DominationStaff of Domination is a good place to put it-- go up to a million life and draw most of your deck, which means you'll be able to deploy all the permanents in your hand with Redshift's exhaust ability.

Aggravated AssaultAggravated Assault is another way to potentially generate a bunch of mana for activated abilities if Redshift's power is great enough, and oh yeah -- you get additional attack steps if you want them.

Magus of the CandelabraMagus of the Candelabra is an excellent way to "wash" your Redshift activation mana by untapping lands that you can then tap to cast spells with. Tyvar, the PummelerTyvar, the Pummeler's activated ability can pump your team, and is particularly awesome if you've been increasing Redshift's power.

Svella, Ice ShaperSvella, Ice Shaper has two activated abilities which can be excellent mana sinks for Redshift on turns where you're not set up to "go off" and are just looking for value.

Power Boost

Boosting Redshift's power should be a primary goal in your deck, and cards like Xenagos, God of RevelsXenagos, God of Revels, Scale UpScale Up and RancorRancor are great for this.

Blackblade ReforgedBlackblade Reforged is one of my favorites in many Commander decks and does awesome work here. I might even consider Belt of Giant StrengthBelt of Giant Strength, which can slip onto Redshift relatively cheaply on the turns where you've boosted Redshift's power and set it's base power and toughness at ten.

Activated Abilities

Keep an eye out for powerful activated abilities! Etali, Primal ConquerorEtali, Primal Conqueror has a powerful enters trigger, but transforming it is a fearsome thing to do too.

Shigeki, Jukai VisionaryShigeki, Jukai Visionary can be discarded to bring back a ton of cards from your graveyard if you've got a bunch of mana from Redshift, while Kessig Wolf RunKessig Wolf Run power boost and trample can just win games.

End the Game

Speaking of winning games, creatures like Walking BallistaWalking Ballista and Leafkin AvengerLeafkin Avenger can take all that huge amount of mana from Redshift and kill your opponents.

Shaman of Forgotten WaysShaman of Forgotten Ways's ability is a little more circumspect, but it should be able to bring everyone's life totals low enough to manage, or even kill an opponent who has no creatures on the battlefield.

Wash the Mana

Soulbright FlamekinSoulbright Flamekin can wash six Redshift mana into eight red mana you can use to cast anything you want, while Castle GarenbrigCastle Garenbrig can wash four mana to give you six green mana to cast creature spells.

Basalt MonolithBasalt Monolith can wash any amount of Redshift mana for colorless mana you can use to help cast a flurry of spells.

Card Draw

To make full use of Redshift's exhaust ability, you'll want to ensure you have plenty of card draw so you've got a bunch of permanents you can deploy.

Disciple of FreyaliseDisciple of Freyalise is a great card and works particularly well here since it likes to see creatures that have high power and this deck will have pump spells, as will Greater GoodGreater Good.

I love the flexibility of Season of GatheringSeason of Gathering and Return of the WildspeakerReturn of the Wildspeaker for card draw with other options, and Rishkar's ExpertiseRishkar's Expertise which will let you cast an extra spell.

Samut, the Driving ForceSamut, the Driving Force

Last but not least we have the fifth incarnation of Samut with Samut, the Driving ForceSamut, the Driving Force which is more expensive to cast and much more on the casual side of the power scale than the previous two we've discussed.

It's worth the mana investment though, since it boosts the power of all your other creatures by your speed, and it also discounts the mana of your noncreature spells by your speed.

Let's start with a look at the high synergy cards currently showing on EDHREC.

EDHREC High Synergy Cards

Not surprisingly, the early decks on EDHREC feature a lot of other start your engines! cards like Hazoret, GodseekerHazoret, Godseeker, Perilous SnarePerilous Snare, Point the WayPoint the Way, Nesting BotNesting Bot, Racers' ScoreboardRacers' Scoreboard and Burnout BashtronautBurnout Bashtronaut.

I'd lean towards creatures that can attack and increase your speed since start your engines! only starts your speed if it hasn't been started yet.

Spells like Secure the WastesSecure the Wastes and Forth Eorlingas!Forth Eorlingas! are awesome here since they appreciate both sides of Samut's ability-- you use the discount to make more token creatures, and each token creature gets that power boost.

Full ThrottleFull Throttle has a powerful effect that appreciates the discount from Samut, can if you've got a wide enough army can just end the game.

Kolodin, Triumph CasterKolodin, Triumph Caster is a bit of a head-scratcher here since Samut isn't naturally a Mount or Vehicle commander, but I'm guessing that early Samut deckbuilders might be going for the flavor theme of Samut racing! What Vehicle or Mount would you be running with Samut?

Go Wide

Creatures that make more creatures are great like Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar and Agate InstigatorAgate Instigator. Then there are spells like Call the CoppercoatsCall the Coppercoats, Artifact MutationArtifact Mutation, and Aura MutationAura Mutation which can create an army out of nowhere. Song of TotentanzSong of Totentanz is another X-spell that enjoys both sides of Samut's abilities.

If you like "storming off" by casting a flurry of spells thanks to Samut's mana discount, Elemental EruptionElemental Eruption is an awesome payoff card that makes a bunch of flying Dragon tokens that are up to +4/+0 with Samut. Plus, the tokens have prowess, how crazy is that?

Deathtouch

Whenever I have a commander with first strike, I like to look for ways to give it deathtouch such as Ohran FrostfangOhran Frostfang and Bow of NyleaBow of Nylea.

X-Spells

Other X-spells you might want to consider are March of the MultitudesMarch of the Multitudes, Grand CrescendoGrand Crescendo, and White Sun's ZenithWhite Sun's Zenith. Finale of GloryFinale of Glory's max-value mode costing twelve or more is usually tough to unlock for most decks, but with Samut shaving up to four mana you can more easily summon forth an army of Soldiers and Angels!

Noncreature Spells With Mana Value 4-5

Outside of X-spells, we'll want to keep an eye out for powerful cards that can sometimes take a whole turn to cast, but with Samut you could cast them for cheap. Rabble RousingRabble Rousing or Akroma's WillAkroma's Will for one white mana?

Guardian ProjectGuardian Project or Hour of PromiseHour of Promise for one green mana? Imposing GrandeurImposing Grandeur for one red mana? Storm decks will love to cast Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir for zero mana!

Never Stop Brewing!

Which of these three commanders do you think you might build a deck around? What other cards do you think you'll add to your deck list?

Read more:

Innistrad Remastered: Start Me Up!

Foundations: Start Me Up! (Part 2)

Bennie Smith

Bennie's played Magic since 1994 and has been writing about it nearly as long. Commander is his favorite format, but he's been known to put on his competitive hat to play Standard and Pioneer. Recently he's dabbled in Oathbreaker and Pendragon.