Pet Project - Nicol Bolas And A Phyrexian Walk Into A Bar...

Pet Project - Heartless Summoning... CEDH... Storm?

Pet Project - Ultimatums.deck

Pet Project - Wild Pair

Pet Project: Unnatural Selection

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/algenpfleger">Johannes Voss</a>)</h6>
<h1>Attack of the Clones</h1>
<p>Hello all, and welcome to <em>Pet Project</em>. I’m Martin, and I’ve been playing <em>MtG</em> since the release of <em>Magic 2014– Duels of the Planeswalkers</em>. I started playing Commander around a year later, because I wanted a place to play with some of my favourite cards and synergies way below the power level of constructed formats – especially after I realised that building a deck around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Azor&#039;s Elocutors" href="#" target="_blank">Azor&#039;s Elocutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in Standard was hardly going to book my ticket to the Pro Tour. In that vein, this series is going to see us forget all the wonderful legendary creatures <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> give us to use as our generals, and instead focus on using some of my pet cards as the hidden commander we build around.</p>
<p>This first article is going to be focused on one of my all-time favourite enchantments:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror March"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an absolutely ridiculous card. On the one hand, there’s a 50% chance it literally does nothing; on the other hand, we might win forty flips in a row and swing in for lethal – although this hasn’t happened to me yet. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be utterly useless, or explosively overpowered – either way, it makes for some hilariously memorable gameplay.</p>
<h2>The Gameplan</h2>
<p>Going onto <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>’s <a href="https://edhrec.com/cards/mirror-march">EDHREC page</a> and looking at the cards most commonly played with it, we can see how to get the most out of the card. One <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on its own sees us average around 1 token per creature we play – but paired with some other spicy effects, we can bump that number up significantly.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krark&#039;s Thumb"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Panharmonicon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Parallel Lives"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark&#039;s Thumb" href="#" target="_blank">Krark&#039;s Thumb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is crucial to our game plan. With the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark&#039;s Thumb" href="#" target="_blank">Thumb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in play, the 50% chance of whiffing gets cut in half, and the chances of us getting 2 or more creatures goes from 25% to 56.25%. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark&#039;s Thumb" href="#" target="_blank">Thumb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is so essential to any deck built around coin flipping that it’s usually paired with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tribute Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Tribute Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to tutor it out. Today’s build is no different. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panharmonicon" href="#" target="_blank">Panharmonicon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, meanwhile, is similarly busted; not only does it mean the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will trigger twice for each creature that enters, every single enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effect from the creature’s tokens will also be doubled.</p>
<p>Also frequently paired with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are ETB creatures, and we’ll want to play as many of these as we can.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thragtusk"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mulldrifter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eternal Witness"></div></div>
<p>Even an innocuous creature like a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mulldrifter" href="#" target="_blank">Mulldrifter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can push you far enough ahead to win the game in this deck. Playing the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mulldrifter" href="#" target="_blank">Mulldrifter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark&#039;s Thumb" href="#" target="_blank">Krark&#039;s Thumb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the board, we’ll be odds on to draw at least 6 cards; throw a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panharmonicon" href="#" target="_blank">Panharmonicon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into the mix, and we can expect to draw at least <em>twenty-four</em>.</p>
<h2>Picking the General</h2>
<p>Now we know roughly what our deck wants to do, it’s the perfect time to pick a general as, unfortunately, <em>Wizards of the Coast</em> haven’t messed with the rules of Magic enough to enable us to put a non-legendary enchantment in our command zone. Most of the commanders commonly played alongside the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are mono-red, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Delina, Wild Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Delina, Wild Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Norin the Wary" href="#" target="_blank">Norin the Wary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – but to fit as many ETB synergies in as possible, ideally we’ll also have access to white, blue and green in our deck. Immediately, one legend stuck out:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omnath, Locus of Creation"></div></div>
<p>Omnath doesn’t just include all the colours we want, it (elemental manifestations of mana have yet to develop gender reveal parties, leaving Omnath a genderless entity) comes along with a useful ETB trigger. Omnath’s <em>Landfall </em>ability is also powerful enough to be useful even when we’re not building around it - even just playing and promptly cracking a fetchland is enough to generate 4 mana.</p>
<h2>Filling the Deck Out</h2>
<p>We’re going to be wanting to share a lot of our deck, then, with typical flicker strategies. By far, the main benefit of creating temporary clones is rebuying ETB effects. Going onto <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/blink">EDHREC’s Blink theme page</a>, we can see some of the best cards for this role. First are the value creatures, like the aforementioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mulldrifter" href="#" target="_blank">Mulldrifter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> – bringing along effects like removal, card draw and ramp, these permanents are the bread and butter of our deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Risen Reef"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wood Elves"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reflector Mage"></div></div>
<p>Easily the best one of these value creatures is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Risen Reef" href="#" target="_blank">Risen Reef</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Since each <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Risen Reef" href="#" target="_blank">Reef</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> triggers on each other <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Risen Reef" href="#" target="_blank">Reef</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> entering, it scales obscenely well. In fact, when we really get going, sometimes the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Risen Reef" href="#" target="_blank">Reef</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be a little too good - more than once, I've created so many tokens I've drawn my entire deck and milled myself out. Whoops.</p>
<p>Then come the big haymakers:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="God-Eternal Rhonas"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Myr Battlesphere"></div></div>
<p>When paired along with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and a few of our other synergies, these creatures don’t just tend to win the game, they tend to do so in a hilariously one-sided fashion. Get a couple of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Eternal Rhonas" href="#" target="_blank">God-Eternal Rhonas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> tokens in play, for instance, and suddenly the power of your board has been quintupled.</p>
<p>Finally, of course, we need to ensure that we have the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in play as often as possible – both through tutoring for it, and protecting it once we’ve got it. To find some of these cards, I looked at the <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/enchantments">EDHREC page for enchantment decks</a>:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sterling Grove"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Greater Auramancy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Moon-Blessed Cleric"></div></div>
<p>By fitting in enough of these cards, we can guarantee that we get the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> almost every game, and that it sticks around long enough for us to accrue such absurd value that it usually spirals into a win. Usually cramming your deck full of tutors makes the gameplay repetitive - but going off with the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is usually so hilariously chaotic, I've found it never gets boring.</p>
<p>Another set of cards looking at the enchantment page allowed me to discover was effects like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirrormade" href="#" target="_blank">Mirrormade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Copy Enchantment" href="#" target="_blank">Copy Enchantment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, because the only thing better than one <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is, of course, two <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>es.</p>
<p>Putting all these cards together, we get the following list:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Omnath Mirror March" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Omnath, Locus of Creation
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Agent of Treachery
*1 Avenger of Zendikar
*1 Etali, Primal Conqueror
*1 Geist-Honored Monk
*1 God-Eternal Rhonas
*1 Goldnight Commander
*1 Kalonian Hydra
*1 Myr Battlesphere
*1 Sanctuary Warden
*1 Terror of the Peaks
*1 Titan of Industry
*1 Harmonic Sliver
*1 Inferno Titan
*1 Ixidron
*1 Reflector Mage
*1 Skyclave Apparition
*1 Ethereal Usher
*1 Moon-Blessed Cleric
*1 Tribute Mage
*1 Clever Impersonator
*1 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
*1 Cloudblazer
*1 Coiling Oracle
*1 Inspiring Overseer
*1 Mulldrifter
*1 Risen Reef
*1 Watcher for Tomorrow
*1 Deadeye Navigator
*1 Soulherder
*1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
*1 Dockside Extortionist
*1 Farhaven Elf
*1 Primeval Herald
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Topiary Stomper
*1 Wood Elves
*1 Eternal Witness
*1 Timeless Witness
*1 Thragtusk
*1 Glasspool Mimic
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Mirror March
*1 Dual Nature
*1 Flameshadow Conjuring
*1 Copy Enchantment
*1 Mirrormade
*1 Parallel Lives
*1 Aura Shards
*1 Cathar&#039;s Crusade
*1 Greater Auramancy
*1 Sterling Grove
*1 Estrid&#039;s Invocation
[/enchantments]
[Artifacts]
*1 Panharmonicon
*1 Birthing Pod
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Krark&#039;s Thumb
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Tragic Arrogance
*1 Plea for Guidance
*1 Mythos of Illuna
*1 Idyllic Tutor
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Enlightened Tutor
*1 Intuition
*1 Long-Term Plans
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*1 Arid Mesa
*1 Breeding Pool
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Exotic Orchard
*1 Flooded Strand
*3 Forest
*1 Frontier Bivouac
*1 Hallowed Fountain
*1 Island
*1 Jetmir&#039;s Garden
*1 Jungle Shrine
*1 Ketria Triome
*1 Krosan Verge
*1 Misty Rainforest
*2 Mountain
*1 Mystic Monastery
*1 Path of Ancestry
*3 Plains
*1 Prismatic Vista
*1 Raugrin Triome
*1 Sacred Foundry
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Seaside Citadel
*1 Spara&#039;s Headquarters
*1 Stomping Ground
*1 Temple Garden
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Windswept Heath
*1 Wooded Foothills
*1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<h2>Plan B</h2>
<p>The inevitable problem with building around a hidden commander of sorts, however, is that while a normal general begins and ends up in our command zone, hidden commanders do not. Sometimes, we just won’t draw <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or a tutor for it. Even worse, an opponent might just <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revoke Existence" href="#" target="_blank">Revoke Existence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> it as soon as it comes out.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dual Nature"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Flameshadow Conjuring"></div></div>
<p>Our plan B, then, is to essentially function as a classic blink deck. Even without the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we can still rely on effects like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soulherder" href="#" target="_blank">Soulherder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Panharmonicon" href="#" target="_blank">Panharmonicon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to get absurd value off our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mulldrifter" href="#" target="_blank">Mulldrifter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s. We even play two pseudo-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>es – <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flameshadow Conjuring" href="#" target="_blank">Flameshadow Conjuring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does exactly what our deck wants to be doing, as does a very silly old card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dual Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Dual Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. The fact <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dual Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Dual Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sees play in barely a thousand decks in the EDHREC database is criminal. Yes, the fact it’s universal makes it extremely risky, but it’s easy enough to get far more value out of it than any of our opponents.</p>
<p>Indeed, one of the strengths of the deck is the resilience of this back-up plan; if <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror March" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror March</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is out of the picture, the only truly dead card in the whole deck is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark&#039;s Thumb" href="#" target="_blank">Krark&#039;s Thumb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<h2>Wrap-Up</h2>
<p>After testing this list both online and in paper a bit, I can easily say it is one of the most fun commander decks I’ve ever played with. Drawing almost your entire deck then spitting out basically every permanent you play onto the battlefield is no rarity. The deck is also relatively powerful, at least at most casual EDH tables; the only time I really saw the deck do literally nothing was when an opponent had an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines" href="#" target="_blank">Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as their general. Awkward.</p>
<p>That’s all for this episode of <em>Pet Project</em>. Feel free to leave your thoughts, critiques and suggestions for next episode in the comments. Until next time.</p>
<h3><strong>Read more:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/too-specific-top-10-we-are-legion/?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=article_preview">Too-Specific Top 10 - We Are Legion</a></li>
<li><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/achievement-unlocked-are-cards-banned-in-other-formats-underrated-in-edh/?utm_source=edhrec&amp;utm_medium=article_preview">Achievement Unlocked - Are Cards Banned in Other Formats Underrated in EDH?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://commandersherald.com/architects-and-tinkerers/">Architects and Tinkerers</a></li>
</ul>


Martin Conmy

Martin Conmy

Pet Project - Nicol Bolas And A Phyrexian Walk Into A Bar...

Pet Project - Heartless Summoning... CEDH... Storm?

Pet Project - Ultimatums.deck

Pet Project - Wild Pair

Pet Project: Unnatural Selection

Pet Project - March of the Mirrors