Amarant CoralAmarant Coral | Art by Erion Makuo

Greetings, and welcome back to Beyond the Multiverse! This week, we're retreading some old ground. Recent old ground, actually, because it's Final Fantasy yet again. A new wave of stuff is coming out in December, and I'll be covering one of the new cards from that release as a deck tech.

In addition, I'll be doing this with a tried and true twist: Final Fantasy cards only. Who is it I'm covering today? Amarant CoralAmarant Coral.

The Arrogant Warrior

Amarant hails from Final Fantasy IX, where he's initially an antagonist but turns good. While he fights with a warrior's honor, Amarant also has an arrogant streak to him.

He follows the game's protagonist, Zidane, Tantalus ThiefZidane, Tantalus Thief, after he stole something during his time as a bodyguard. He eventually joins up his team in the midst of some soul-searching, going on to save the world from Kuja and his machinations.

My first thought when I saw the card was simply to "smash, smash, SMASH." However, building our list today made me see him through a Voltron lens while also going on a smashing spree. Having an ability that hits all opponents is great. That said, this is the part where I remind you that this ability will not count as commander damage. Only combat damage counts for that rule.

Let's get punching (or slashing, in Amarant's case, since he uses claws).

Choose Your Weapons

Like I said in the introduction, we're only using Final Fantasy cards, which does limit our card pool. However, we've got plenty to work with. Firstly, what's a commander damage deck without Buster SwordBuster Sword? This'll make Amarant be able to kill opponents in three hits, draw us cards, and play stuff for free.

This would be even better with double strike, which would trigger Amarant's ability twice. Speaking of which, Genji GloveGenji Glove not only grants that useful keyword, but will give us an extra combat step when the equipped creature attacks.

Besides Equipment, we could also buff Amarant via +1/+1 counters, via Ride the ShoopufRide the Shoopuf, which gives one of those when we drop a land. Meanwhile, Forgotten AncientForgotten Ancient will store lots of those counters. Then, we could dump them onto Amarant, making him a lethal threat.

It's worth noting that both The Earth CrystalThe Earth Crystal and Sazh KatzroySazh Katzroy will double any counters on him as well.

Finally, while not a card that gives counters, Tifa's Limit BreakTifa's Limit Break will supercharge Amarant's power. Should we manage to pay the seven additional mana, we basically end the game right there if the stars align, and there's no responses.

So, we know how to turn Amarant into a killing machine, but he lacks both haste and protection. Where do we get those?

Of Protection and Impatience

Amarant may have trample, be he'll be targeted a lot by removal, and the lack of haste hurts him. The usual suspects Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots and Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves are the best of both worlds: They protect our commander, and give him haste.

Meanwhile, The Fire CrystalThe Fire Crystal will give our commander haste, and that's really the only reason the card's in the deck (besides the handy discount on red spells). AngerAnger can also give Amarant haste, but it needs to hit the graveyard in order to do so. The trample ability on Hero's HeirloomHero's Heirloom is redundant, but the stat boosts and giving haste are not.

In addition to what I mentioned above, we can make him unblockable instead. Trailblazer's BootsTrailblazer's Boots will certainly be good, considering people love to run nonbasic lands. On the other hand, Key to the CityKey to the City can make him unblockable, at the cost of a card from our hand. That said, we can pay the cost to draw when it untaps.

However, a main weakness of this plan is that Amarant has to survive a full turn cycle before he could attack. One of the haste givers should help with this, but we'll need those in tandem with the unblockable granters.

Amarant Coral Commander Deck List

Round of A-claws

The list is about what we'd expected, if the game plan I outlined above is anything to go by. Summon: TitanSummon: Titan doesn't do too much initially. That said, if we hit that last chapter, Amarant will be supercharged for a turn.

Another way to get him to such heights is the soon to be released Duelist's FlameDuelist's Flame, which not only does this, but lets us cast a card for free. Also hot off the press, Mega FlareMega Flare blows up each of our opponents' worst creatures, and buffing Amarant will ensure that nothing is safe.

While I gave little thought to protection in the earlier section, both Darksteel PlateDarksteel Plate and Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention serve their purposes very well.

We also have some other noteworthy cards, too. Cait Sith, Fortune TellerCait Sith, Fortune Teller pumps our commander through his trigger, and we get to cast the card we exiled, too.

Also, what's better than one Amarant? Two Amarants! We can achieve this via Gogo, Mysterious MimeGogo, Mysterious Mime, who can also pump our commander (and himself) further. Gogo also grants himself and our commander haste, so they can attack right away.

Beyond Our World

We can feel the raw power once we start incorporating in-universe cards. Firstly, and my favorite of these, is Xenagos, God of RevelsXenagos, God of Revels. A powerful, yet simple commander in his own right, Xenagos will double Amarant's stats and give him haste.

In addition, power doubling will be a common theme with in-universe cards, and they're perfect for our commander. Cards like BerserkBerserk and Zopandrel, Hunger DominusZopandrel, Hunger Dominus carry much of the plan's weight, ensuring we could potentially win out of nowhere. It reminds me of when Amarant was revealed, I initially thought of him akin to Xenagos, and there was much rejoicing. Until I went to make the deck, that is.

Akin to Xenagos is Halana and Alena, PartnersHalana and Alena, Partners. While they grant our commander haste and permanent buffs, that depends on their power and not Amarant's. After that, cards like Fiendish DuoFiendish Duo and Twinflame TyrantTwinflame Tyrant will make Amarant (and our other creatures) much more terrifying, ending games that much faster.

Further, the in-universe card pool give us more extra combat cards, such as Full ThrottleFull Throttle. We could even use Grafted ExoskeletonGrafted Exoskeleton (if you're into that sort of thing, you monster) to finish off opponents in potentially one swoop.

Walking Into the Sunset

Chances are, this might be the last deck I feature that only has Final Fantasy cards in it. It's also likely that there'll be another set down the road, and I'd end up returning to the concept (though, I have opinions on mixing the original Universes Beyond with the current one).

Regardless, we have the TMNT release next year. I can't say I like the full-art basics, I do enjoy a precon where I can choose between multiple commander options. Also, considering it's the only deck being released with the set, it better be good - especially at a $70 MSRP.

Having said that, return next time where I turtle up and tackle one of the precon's possible pairings.

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