Surprise DeploymentSurprise Deployment | Art by Bradley Williams

Hello, and welcome to the Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest! My name is Jeremy Cassidy and I work as the Product Manager over on Archidekt. I'm filling in for Ben as Contest Host this month as he focuses his time on getting married, or whatever.

For those unfamiliar, this is a monthly contest with a different theme each month. Your goal is to build a Commander-legal deck that fulfills the prompt in a creative or unique fashion. At the end of each month, three finalists will be selected for you to vote on.

Whoever gets the most votes will be crowned the winner, although all three finalists receive a prize.

This month, we're embracing sPoOkY season by building decks featuring jumpscares! Details below.

What’s the Contest All About?

Working within the parameters of the prompt provided below, construct a decklist with your own creative spin. Three chosen finalists will be awarded store credit to use on Cardsphere.

For October's deckbuilding contest: Build a Commander-legal deck that features a "jumpscare." In other words, your deck should appear to be doing one thing, then quickly shift in an unexpected and threatening direction. Decks will be judged primarily on their creativity and originality.

If you sit down for a game and pull out a Krenko, Mob BossKrenko, Mob Boss deck, you're probably planning to cast Goblins, make more Goblins, then attack with Goblins. This sort of linear game plan is popular for good reason: It's powerful and consistent. You're usually going to get to do the Goblin thing.

However, the other side of the Krenko consistency coin is predictability. Your opponents will know what you're trying to do, have a fairly clear idea of your threat level, and know what they can do to slow you down.

There's nothing strictly wrong with this, per se, but you're really missing out if this is the only kind of deck you play.

A great joy of Commander is pulling off something your opponents don't expect. It's even better if it takes you from an inconspicuous participant to the biggest threat at the table in a single turn. These "jumpscares" are immensely fun to play and equally gratifying to brew.

One of my favorite decks is my Plargg, Dean of ChaosPlargg, Dean of Chaos list. What begins as a pretty typical looking Boros tokens deck quickly gets out of hand when Plargg "cascades" into Glimpse of TomorrowGlimpse of Tomorrow - the only card in the deck that meets his ability's qualifications.

This one-sided Warp WorldWarp World will often turn a board of 13 low-impact permanents into something far scarier due to token-creating abilities on cards like Cloudgoat RangerCloudgoat Ranger, Emeria AngelEmeria Angel, and Myr BattlesphereMyr Battlesphere. With typically terrible cards like Swiftgear DrakeSwiftgear Drake and JunktrollerJunktroller to get Glimpse back into my library, it's not uncommon to be able to recast Plargg and keep on Glimpse-ing.

Finally, finishers like Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge, Akroma's MemorialAkroma's Memorial, and In the Web of WarIn the Web of War turn all of those uninspired tokens I'm creating into lethal damage for the table.

The first Glimpse of TomorrowGlimpse of Tomorrow is a jumpscare through and through, never failing to elicit alarm (and intrigue!) from opponents who have never played against the deck before. Here's a link to the full list.

But that's only one kind of jumpscare! Commander is filled with mechanics that can quickly turn an innocuous board state into something that can't be ignored. Show us something terrifying!

How To Participate

• Brew an EDH/Commander-legal deck on Archidekt that satisfies the prompt.
• Any unreleased cards spoiled during the contest’s duration are allowed.
• Silver-bordered and acorn cards, while cool, are not allowed.
• Digital-only cards (such as those designed for the Alchemy format on Arena) are not allowed.
• Strictly one deck submitted per user.

As of a couple months ago, we've also revamped the submission process. Decks must now be submitted on Archidekt via a button on the newspost. This will make it easier to view all submissions in a single place. Additionally, it will simplify the process of writing a description by sharing the same text on the submission page and the deck page itself.

You can also comment on individual decks directly from the submission, making those discussions easier to find and track later.

To submit a deck, select the orange button labeled "Submit a deck to this contest" and follow the form prompt. Submissions are accepted until 9:00 pm EST (UTC -4, currently) on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.

Only one submission per user! If you change your mind and want to submit a different deck before submissions close, you may do so by first deleting your submission. To edit your description, you can do so from the deck page itself.

From the eligible submissions, we'll select three finalists with lists that we believe best embody the spirit of the prompt. Deck descriptions are not required but certainly may provide valuable context!

On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, we’ll announce three finalists via the Archidekt Discord and a brief article on EDHREC highlighting each deck.

Each finalist will be awarded credit to use on Cardsphere. The value of the credit is in US dollars and depends on the finalist's placement in deck upvotes at the end of the week-long polling period:

• 1st Place Prize - $250
• 2nd Place Prize - $150
• 3rd Place Prize - $100

Finalists will be contacted via email regarding their winnings within roughly 24 hours following the conclusion of voting on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.

Please note, you must have a Cardsphere account in order to receive your winnings. It's quick and free - register here if you don't have an account already!

Here are the official contest rules. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here, or join the Archidekt public Discord server. We look forward to seeing what you all come up with!