<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nine-Lives Familiar" href="#" target="_blank">Nine-Lives Familiar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://bramsels.artstation.com/">Bram Sels</a>)</h6>
<h1>Back In Black</h1>
<p>Mono-black players seek one thing, and one thing only: power. At any cost. And what better way to power up your deck than with these juicy mono-black staples that will fit into any mono-black deck no matter what theme you're running!</p>
<p>If you're willing to sacrifice and bleed for what you want, if the distance between you and victory is just a series of ruthless decisions, then mono-black has all the answers you seek, including a bevy of powerful and thematic commanders to helm your deck.</p>
<p>This is <em>The Monolith</em>: the series in which I get you playing more mono-colored decks in EDH, and these are seven powerful staples that can fit into basically any mono-black deck.</p>
<h2>1. Cabal Coffers</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cabal Coffers"></div></div>
<p>Kicking off with a card that's such a mono-black auto-include that I was debating even listing it, the only barrier to entry for this incredibly powerful land is its slightly hefty price tag. Oh, and you'll also want to make sure you aren't using too many nonbasics to really pop this thing off.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cabal Coffers" href="#" target="_blank">Cabal Coffers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a nonbasic land that rewards you for running a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swamp" href="#" target="_blank">Swamp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-filled mana base. For two generic mana and tapping the land, you'll add an amount of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to your pool equal to the amount of Swamps you control.</p>
<p>In the early game, this won't be doing a whole lot. In fact, you won't even make enough mana to break even if you don't have at least three Swamps along side it, but from each turn after the fourth that you make your land drop, this land will get better and better, likely doubling the amount of mana you have access to on later turns of the game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth"></div></div>
<p>To truly level up your mana production and to allow for a few more utility lands in your mana base, introduce <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth" href="#" target="_blank">Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to the equation. With this on board, all your nonbasic lands (including the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cabal Coffers" href="#" target="_blank">Cabal Coffers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> itself) will count as Swamps for the activated ability, which will further increase the massive gains you'll get from Coffers. Use an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expedition Map" href="#" target="_blank">Expedition Map</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to find either part of the equation, and you're away.</p>
<h2>2. Gray Merchant of Asphodel</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gray Merchant of Asphodel"></div></div>
<p>What does it mean to be a staple? Staples should fit in pretty much any deck they're able to go in. They're effectively a must-include provided you're playing in the color identity or archetype they match up with, and the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gray Merchant of Asphodel" href="#" target="_blank">Gray Merchant of Asphodel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (or Gary as he's more colloquially known) fits the bill perfectly.</p>
<p>This nasty little creature can change the lay of the land drastically in Commander games with its incredibly impactful enters trigger. For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, this 2/4 Zombie will cause each opponent to lose X, life where is X is your devotion to black.</p>
<p>Devotion is a mechanic from the plane of <em>Theros</em>; your devotion to a given color is equal to the number of colored pips of that color in mana costs on permanents you control. In this case, if we had ten black mana pips on our board (including the two we get from Gary himself), each of our opponents will lose ten life. And the kicker? We'll gain the COMBINED life that all our opponents lost; in this case, up to 30 life!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Exsanguinate"></div></div>
<p>That can end games if you have a big enough board state, and even if it doesn't you'll have gained so much life from the effect that your position in the game will change dramatically. This is the equivalent of casting a heavily pumped <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exsanguinate" href="#" target="_blank">Exsanguinate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, except it only costs you five mana AND it's stapled onto a creature that can be reanimated, flickered, or made tokens of to duplicate his effect. Nasty!</p>
<h2>3. Toxic Deluge</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Toxic Deluge"></div></div>
<p>Whilst white is largely seen as the color that has the best access to board wipes in the game, black has access to what I would argue is the best creature board wipe there is. For just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, which is an insanely low amount of mana for what is largely an unconditional board wipe, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toxic Deluge" href="#" target="_blank">Toxic Deluge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will give all creatures on the board -X/-X until end of turn.</p>
<p>The downside, however, is that the X they'll be losing is equal to the amount of life you choose to pay into the spell as you cast it. In a 60-card game with your standard life total, that makes this card a risky play that can give you an upper hand at the price of what can be a huge hit to your life total. In a game of Commander where you start with a whopping 40 life? That drawback isn't really that scary.</p>
<p>Because of the choice attached to this spell, it effectively allows you to customize your board wipe. If you're focusing on a wide player's mass of tokens, you can put just a little bit of life into the spell to make it one-sided. Or if you've got a giant <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orc Army" href="#" target="_blank">Orc Army</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> token, for example, you can set the X value to whatever the <em>second </em>biggest creature is on the board to wipe out everything but your scary force.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heroic Intervention"></div></div>
<p>Not to mention the fact that this board wipe gives -X/-X instead of just "destroying" all creatures which allows you to get around any creatures that have indestructible or any players that try to cast a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heroic Intervention" href="#" target="_blank">Heroic Intervention</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to get around your sweeper. Just an incredible piece of tech that can deal with almost any board state and put you back on top.</p>
<h2>4. Ayara, First of Locthwain</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ayara, First of Locthwain"></div></div>
<p>Much like the aforementioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gray Merchant of Asphodel" href="#" target="_blank">Gray Merchant of Asphodel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, our next entry <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ayara, First of Locthwain" href="#" target="_blank">Ayara, First of Locthwain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will comfortably find its home in almost any mono-black deck. The only prerequisite is that you'll actually be playing creatures (or at the very least, making black creature tokens). For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, Ayara adds an additional point of life drain to every black creature that enters under our control.</p>
<p>Chip damage is an incredibly good way of pushing a game of Commander to its inevitable end. As much as your opponents might moan as they see their life totals slowly dwindle over the course of each of your turns, every game has to end at some point! A majority of the pingers in black decks are tied to death triggers, much like the absolute classic that is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Artist"></div></div>
<p>But whilst it's an incredibly powerful and prominent strategy in black decks, not every black deck wants to kill off its own creatures. Ayara reverses the trigger and ties it to your creatures entering the battlefield instead, which, for most mono-black decks, is effectively just a reward for playing the game!</p>
<p>You can probably leave this one out if you're planning to run very few creatures in your build, but if you're running even an regular amount, Ayara can do a lot of work for you over the course of a game as well as providing you with a card draw option if you don't mind sacrificing one of your creatures on board.</p>
<h2>5. Black Market</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Black Market"></div></div>
<p>Whilst not every mono-black deck is focused around killing its own creatures, one thing is true of all games of Commander: a lot of creatures are going to die. The beauty of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Market" href="#" target="_blank">Black Market</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is that it doesn't care whose creatures die for it to give you some big old rewards.</p>
<p>Five mana might seem pretty steep for a glorified mana rock, but Black Market will add an amount of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to your mana pool for each charge counter on it at the beginning of your first main phase. That does mean it's technically one of those "pay a lot of mana for something that does nothing when it enters" cards.</p>
<p>But I just want you to think back to the last game of Commander you played and remember how many creatures died over the course of the game. How many board wipes were there? How much single target removal? Now imagine you had access to that much mana every single turn and you can see how ridiculous this card has the potential to be. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exsanguinate" href="#" target="_blank">Exsanguinate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> never felt so good.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Black Market Connections"></div></div>
<p>As a quick special mention to a very fun card with a similar name, if you haven't played with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Black Market Connections" href="#" target="_blank">Black Market Connections</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> yet, this thing can do some incredible work if you don't mind being tempted to half kill yourself every single turn.</p>
<h2>6. Deadly Rollick</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deadly Rollick"></div></div>
<p>I'm going to let you in on a well kept secret here. It turns out, now bear with me, casting spells for free in <em>Magic: The Gathering </em>is pretty good. It's the reason that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Force of Will" href="#" target="_blank">Force of Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is so ridiculously expensive and sees huge amounts of play in almost every format it's legal in.</p>
<p>Printed in the <em>Commander 2020 </em>series of precons, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadly Rollick" href="#" target="_blank">Deadly Rollick</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is part of a cycle of spells that allow players to cast them for free. That is, if their commander is on the board. Regardless, most of these spells provide a pretty decent costing for their effect. In this case, we get to exile a creature at instant speed. In black, paying <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> for that is not too extreme of a cost.</p>
<p>The point, though, is that we can do it with spending a single mana just for the price of having a commander on board. Even if the commander gets killed after we've cast the spell, the cost is already dealt with, so we won't get charged in retrospect. Here's something fun: I believe you can even cast these if you just have your Background enchantment out but your commander is still in the command zone!</p>
<h2>7. Reanimate</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reanimate"></div></div>
<p>Black as a color is very versatile. It can kind of do a little bit of everything if it set its mind to it. Make a crap tonne of mana. Cast big terrifying creatures. Control. Aggro. You name it!</p>
<p>But if there's on thing that black specializes in, it has to be messing with the graveyard, and boy, are there some powerful graveyard exploitation spells available to you in Commander. There's nothing more nasty than the OG though in my humble opinion. The card they refuse to ban in legacy formats, no matter how much it breaks them. The thing we name "reanimation" spells after. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reanimate" href="#" target="_blank">Reanimate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>One black mana. Reanimate any creature card from any graveyard. Even your opponents'. Ridiculously powerful. The added cost of this one is that you'll be paying life equal to that creature card's mana value, but let's be real: even in 60-card formats with 20 life totals, that's not really that much of a cost. Would you take a one-mana Emrakul for 13 life? I know I would.</p>
<p>And don't be fooled by this card. You don't need to be playing a reanimator deck or have to mill to make this thing work. Just steal your opponent's nastiest creature right after your opponents have worked so hard to kill it. Beautiful stuff.</p>
<h2>The Corruption Spreads</h2>
<p>Mono-black decks are some of my absolute favorite ways to play the game of <em>Magic</em>, especially in Commander. If you're still uncorrupted by its dark and foreboding influence then you're one hundred percent missing out. Mono-black has access to a huge arsenal of powerful and fun tools, and these seven cards are but a small window into its power!</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments below what cards you include in every mono-black deck you run. And have a great time building! Until I see you on the next edition of <em>The Monolith</em>, happy reanimating and mono-black forever. Peace out!</p>


Top 7 Cards That Should Go In All Mono-Black Decks

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage" href="#" target="_blank">Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.matthew-stewart.com/">Matt Stewart </a></h6>
<h1>Enduring Stupidity</h1>
<p>The week before last on <em>The Monolith </em>we talked about <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-hybrid-commanders-as-if-they-were-monocolored">building hybrid mana commanders as though they were just one color</a> which lead to some pretty fun out of pie actions as we made a mono green Aristocrats deck with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis" href="#" target="_blank">Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>I've always loved building Commander decks that try to perform the typical archetypes of one color, without that color present. And a non-black Aristocrats deck provides a lot of fun challenge as so many of the best payoffs for sacrificing your own creatures of course exist in black.</p>
<p>Now this week I had designs to do something very different, we were going to take a look at one of the new monocolored legends from <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm. </em>And that's when I saw <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage" href="#" target="_blank">Anafenza</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage"></div></div>
<p>"Wow" I said, "That seems like a great legend to lead a mono white Aristocrats deck!". But surely that's already pretty played out, and we just made one in mono-green anyway.</p>
<p>As white is the go to color pairing for black when building an Aristocrats deck, I could only assume it would be one of the more popular choices for sacking your own creatures off outside of black.</p>
<p>But no, there's even less mono-white Aristocrats decks registered here on EDHREC.com than there are mono green ones! Turns out I was playing it safe.</p>
<p>So let's break that color pie once again and build around what looks to be a very fun new commander from the brand new set.</p>
<h2>The Spirit of the Deck</h2>
<p>First of all, let's take a look at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage" href="#" target="_blank">Anafenza</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> herself. I'll even embed the card a second time for easy reading, because I'm nice like that. Tell you what, we'll use the alternate art.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage|TDM|327"></div></div>
<p>Our new commander is a three mana, white, Spirit Soldier with Flash and First Strike. She's a 2/2. Or at least she is when she enters the battlefield, because the most important thing about Anafenza is her third line of rules text.</p>
<p>It reads, "Whenever another nontoken creature you control dies, Anafenza endures 2". Endure X is a brand new triggered keyword which allows you to either place X counters on the creature who triggered it, or to create an X/X Spirit creature token.</p>
<p>Anafenza is going to act as our main payoff for sacking our own creatures. She can reward us in one of two ways, by flooding the board with 2/2 tokens or buffing herself up to try and swing in for lethal commander damage.</p>
<h2>The Secret to Mono White Aristocrats</h2>
<p>One of the trickiest things about building an Aristocrats deck is selecting your sacrifice outlets. It's also a good reason that a lot of Aristocrat decks need black in the color identity to function.</p>
<p>Black does have the best pay offs for letting one of your own creatures die, sure. But they also have a glut of good sac outlets they can field as well. Often they'll be filled with creatures that not only allow you to sacrifice your stuff, but also give you a payoff in return. All stapled onto the same card.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Altar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashnod&#039;s Altar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Altar of Dementia"></div></div>
<p>Now any color has access to the big three above, all powerful options that pretty much any self sacrifice deck that can afford them will probably run. And we're likely to put them into our list as well!</p>
<p>But the special secret sauce that white brings to the table that I think seems under discussed when building these decks, is that mono white creatures can often sacrifice themselves.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Selfless Savior"></div></div>
<p>Introducing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Selfless Savior" href="#" target="_blank">Selfless Savior</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the reason for shed tears of players everywhere and the archetype for the sort of creatures we'll be running in this deck.</p>
<p>At instant speed, without any extra costs, cards like this can sacrifice themselves to protect your important board pieces.</p>
<p>They're not just for protection, either! There's also plenty of variants that can be used offensively, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bounty Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Bounty Agent</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> which can take out an enemy commander or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Remorseful Cleric" href="#" target="_blank">Remorseful Cleric</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that can hate on graveyard strategies.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bounty Agent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Felidar Cub"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Remorseful Cleric"></div></div>
<p>By running a big batch of these creatures in our deck we can ensure that there's always a way for us to sacrifice for value whenever we need. And pretty much always at instant speed with no additional costs.</p>
<p>With a payoff sitting in our command zone, we can start buffing her up or pumping out tokens immediately on turn three.</p>
<h2>To Endure or to Endure, That is the Question</h2>
<p>What's interesting about Anafenza as a commander is that her ability is modal, meaning we have three options to take when building her. We can make a load of tokens. We can make Anafenza very big. Or we can have a little of column A and a little of column B.</p>
<p>If you're building this deck yourself, you'll need to decide on what your wincon is. It could be a pretty standard go wide deck, turning your saviors into Spirits and overrunning your opponents.</p>
<p>Or it could play a little bit more like a Voltron deck. One giant commander swinging into your opponents surrounded by bodyguards.</p>
<p>There's definitely a deck in here that can do both, and one of the nice things about our commander's modal ability is that it should be pretty easy to switch lanes immediately depending on the cards that come out of the deck or the ways in which our opponents are defending against us.</p>
<p>But let's look at each of these builds individually, starting off with the more simple strategy of going wide.</p>
<h2>Spirited Slugging</h2>
<p>In all likelihood you know how to go wide by now. Especially in mono white. We've got a lot of creatures that are going to destroy themselves for our cause and return from the grave to fight for us as Spirit tokens.</p>
<p>But swapping a 1/1 for a 2/2 isn't exactly game breaking. We'll likely want to provide some support for our commander's ability through token doubling using cards like Annointed Procession and Mondrak.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anointed Procession"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mondrak, Glory Dominus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation"></div></div>
<p>There's plenty of cards that will reward you for making tokens in white. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bennie Bracks, Zoologist" href="#" target="_blank">Bennie Bracks, Zoologist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a pretty popular commander for token focused decks, and because of your cards' ability to sacrifice themselves at instant speed you could very easily be drawing a card on every players' end step with a big enough board.</p>
<p>You could also play classics like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mentor of the Meek" href="#" target="_blank">Mentor of the Meek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or the more recent <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enduring Innocence" href="#" target="_blank">Enduring Innocence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> which has the benefit of also providing a risk free sacrifice fodder. A truly sacrificial lamb.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bennie Bracks, Zoologist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mentor of the Meek"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Enduring Innocence"></div></div>
<p>If we are going wide then we're going to need some board wide buffs to push us over the finish line before enduring a game ending board wipe. <em>Wilds of Eldraine </em>provided us with one of the best mono-white token deck finishers ever printed not too long ago in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moonshaker Cavalry" href="#" target="_blank">Moonshaker Cavalry</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. You'll give all your creatures flying and buff them equal to your board size with some of the prettiest art in the set.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Moonshaker Cavalry"></div></div>
<h3>A Sneaky Infinite Combo</h3>
<p>Another option for buffing up your board for the final swing is to play the old classic, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cathars&#039; Crusade" href="#" target="_blank">Cathars&#039; Crusade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It's far more annoying than cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Banner of Kinship" href="#" target="_blank">Banner of Kinship</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as you have to manually track loads of differently sized piles of +1/+1 counters which can be a real headache in token spamming decks.</p>
<p>However, with the ability to immediately put a +1/+1 counter on any of our creatures that enter the battlefield will unlock a spicy little combo with one of the easiest keywords to break in the game's history, Persist.</p>
<p>There's only two creatures I could find in mono-white that Persist. If you're not familiar with the keyword, it basically reanimates a creature that dies. They come back with a -1/-1 counter on them, and it only triggers if they don't already have one of those counters. In theory this means it should only trigger once.</p>
<p>But when a creature has both a -1/-1 counter and a +1/+1 counter on them, they cancel each other out. Which means our creature can Persist all over again.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kithkin Spellduster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cathars&#039; Crusade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashnod&#039;s Altar"></div></div>
<p>With one of our two Persist creatures out, Cathars' Crusade, and a free sacrifice outlet like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod&#039;s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod&#039;s Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this creature can be infinitely sacrificed. Every time we do so we'll get another trigger from our commander and if we choose to make a Spirit our board will grow bigger and bigger from all the counters Cathar's Crusade gives us.</p>
<p>We can even do this on our opponent's end step so that on our turn we can swing out with an infinitely wide, infinitely large board. Nasty!</p>
<h3>Protect Your Protectors</h3>
<p>If we're going wide then we definitely need to factor in some protection for our board. We're already running creatures that want to sacrifice themselves, and there's a few in white that will not only protect one target, but can make your entire board indestructible. Make sure to include these if this is your chosen strategy!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boromir, Warden of the Tower"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Selfless Spirit"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lena, Selfless Champion"></div></div>
<p>Outside of that, most cards in your deck will be able to provide single target protection for your key board pieces. Especially your commander, which we'll talk about next.</p>
<h2>Spirited Slaying</h2>
<p>Now making tokens is all well and good. You'll probably want to make at least a few of them regardless of how you build this deck. That way you've got chump blockers and can easily trigger white card draw. But there's an alternative way of building Anafenza that I think is far cooler, and much funnier.</p>
<p>And that's as a Voltron deck. As we know, we can make Anafenza pretty large, pretty easily in this deck. She starts off as a 2/2 but every time one of our creatures dies, she gets two +1/+1 counters.</p>
<p>So in theory, if ten of our creatures die before Anafenza does, she can deal lethal commander damage. The only problem is, she doesn't have any evasion attached to her other than first strike.</p>
<p>Which does make it harder to block and kill her, but won't guarantee we can make it through another player's blockers to deal our lethal damage. Except, that's not true is it? Quite a few of our creatures, when sacrificed, give a target creature protection. Which can make her... unblockable.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cliffside Rescuer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Benevolent Bodyguard"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Alseid of Life&#039;s Bounty"></div></div>
<p>Imagine someone is swinging at you with a potentially lethal commander. They just cracked a Cliffside Rescuer and now they have protection from everything you control.</p>
<p>On top of that, if you'd like to respond to the trigger, they have about five different other protectors on board that can also foil your kill spells or provide further protection. What exactly do you do about that?</p>
<p>Well, that's our plan! By assembling enough of these Selfless Savior style effects we can not only make a commander that's near impossible to deal with, but also one that gets bigger every time we activate one of our countermeasures.</p>
<h3>Rinse and Repeat</h3>
<p>The main problem with this tactic is that it can end up being a bit of a one trick pony. If you swing into an opponent with your unblockable commander and sack all your bodyguards to get them up to 22 power, killing your target... now what?</p>
<p>You've run out of protection and your opponents can just murder your commander, setting us back to step one of the plan.</p>
<p>For that reason we need some to make sure we can cycle our protectors to ensure that we don't leave ourselves high and dry. Not to mention that it would be great to use that Rescuer more than once to ensure we can't be blocked when we next attack.</p>
<p>We should also look for extra value from our sacrifices in true Aristocrats style so that we can set up another turn with a similar board state.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Luminous Broodmoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Martyr&#039;s Bond"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Field of Souls"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Luminous Broodmoth" href="#" target="_blank">Luminous Broodmoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of my favorite mono white cards, and I've attached a lot of fond memories to it. It also serves as a perfect card to recycle our bodyguards, giving us an extra activation with them.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Martyr&#039;s Bond" href="#" target="_blank">Martyr&#039;s Bond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will force our opponents to sacrifice their own creatures when we do the same, making it easier for us to swing in without using up our protection. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Field of Souls" href="#" target="_blank">Field of Souls</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the other hand will ensure we have something to block with after we've effectively just board wiped ourselves.</p>
<h2>Can Our Opponents Endure?</h2>
<p>It's certainly a deck that requires a lot of moving parts to play well. Which is probably why I love the idea so much. It's playing white out of its color pie, whilst also playing an archetype in a way it's not normally approached.</p>
<p>What do you reckon, could it actually win games? Will our wall of dogs be enough to protect us and see us to victory? Or will the only thing we'll actually endure be an early death and a night of spectating?</p>
<p>Let me know what you think in the comments and tell me if I'm missing any vital pieces that you think could get this strategy over the line. And most importantly, get out there and build some monocolored decks for your next commander night. Until then though, have fun enduring and I'll see you next week.</p>


Mono-White Aristocrats with Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sidisi, Regent of the Mire" href="#" target="_blank">Sidisi, Regent of the Mire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>| Art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diana.franco.art/?hl=en">Diana Franco</a></h6>
<h1>Close Enough, Welcome Back Birthing Pod</h1>
<p>Welcome back intrepid single color Commander players to <em>The Monolith</em>, my weekly series in which we talk all things monocolored. Today we're looking at another monocolored legend from <em>Magic: The Gathering's </em>brand new standard legal set, <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em>.</p>
<p>On a previous outing, I attempted to create a <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-hybrid-commanders-as-if-they-were-monocolored">mono-green Aristocrats deck</a> by building a hybrid mana commander as though they were only one color.</p>
<p>That commander was <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis" href="#" target="_blank">Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and in the deck I theorized the fun idea of continuously sacking Hogaak to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birthing Pod" href="#" target="_blank">Birthing Pod</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to tutor out disgusting 8-drops from our deck.</p>
<p>But you can't always draw one of the 99 cards in your deck. If you really want to play with an effect it should really exist in your command zone. Well what if we could have Birthing Pod in our command zone? ...sort of.</p>
<h2>Birthing Pod on Legs. Legs?</h2>
<p>Introducing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sidisi, Regent of the Mire" href="#" target="_blank">Sidisi, Regent of the Mire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a brand new commander from <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> with a lovely and low mana cost of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> that gives us a 1/3 Zombie Snake Warlock. Now of course it's Sidisi's activated ability that we care about the most:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sidisi, Regent of the Mire"></div></div>
<p>By tapping Sidisi and sacrificing another creature we can reanimate a creature card from our graveyard. However the creature card we reanimate has to have a mana value equal to one plus the mana value of the sacrificed creature. So if we sack a one drop, we get a two drop. Sound familiar?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Birthing Pod"></div></div>
<p>Yep, it's basically <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birthing Pod" href="#" target="_blank">Birthing Pod</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> but without the cost to activate. In exchange though, we now need to search our <em>graveyard</em> for the card we want to tutor onto the battlefield rather than our library.</p>
<p>So is it basically Birthing Pod with extra steps? Yes. But is it also a Birthing Pod we can run as a commander? You betcha. And that's exactly what we'll be doing today.</p>
<h2>The Plan</h2>
<p>So here's the plan. With Sidisi on board, which won't be too hard given her tiny mana cost, we'll be able to start performing mischief by as early as turn three.</p>
<p>All we really need is a three cost creature, perhaps one with a nice ability when it dies, and then we can start to trade up. Provided we can put the right creatures in our graveyard, we can keep activating Sidisi's ability in a chain.</p>
<p>You sack the three drop and get a four drop. Sack the four drop get a five drop. Sack the five drop get a six. And so on and so forth until... we maybe win the game? Most likely we get a giant threat on the board super early and try to establish a dominant position with it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Entomb"></div></div>
<p>To do that we need to establish a line of creatures in increasing value that we can reliably tutor or mill into our graveyard. Each one then in turn being sacrificed to bring in the next.</p>
<p>And whilst we're missing out on the functionality of simply tutoring these creatures from our library, black does have access to a powerful ability that will help us bridge the gap. And that's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Entomb" href="#" target="_blank">Entomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects.</p>
<p>Abilities that search our library for a creature card and put it into our graveyard. In fact, by casting the titular card, we can have our first reanimate target sitting in our graveyard waiting by the end of our first turn.</p>
<p>But for an additional cost there's plenty of other options that'll get the job done. Like one of my budget favorites reprinted in <em>Modern Horizons 3</em>:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Buried Alive"></div></div>
<h3>Tutoring Out a Perfect Line</h3>
<p>There's a very easy way for us to ensure a target for our next reanimate effect, and that's by reanimating a creature that can entomb when it enters play.</p>
<p>By sacrificing a three mana creature we can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vile Entomber" href="#" target="_blank">Vile Entomber</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from our graveyard to the battlefield. When it enters we can then use the ETB effect to tutor another creature from our library into the graveyard.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vile Entomber"></div></div>
<p>And that creature can have its own tutor effect. In fact once we've got Vile Entomber onto the field we've got a perfect line from four mana all the way up to seven mana using the following creatures:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Corpse Connoisseur"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Burning-Rune Demon"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpse Connoisseur" href="#" target="_blank">Corpse Connoisseur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works as a really nice piece of tech as its Unearth ability allows us to get two uses out of the ETB effect. It works as a nice bit of backup for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Burning-Rune Demon" href="#" target="_blank">Burning-Rune Demon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as we do technically have to give the choice of our seven drop to an opponent.</p>
<p>But at least we can go searching for another option if they pick our least favorite of the two. Alternatively you could even use CC's ability to look for your eight drop instead and keep the train going.</p>
<h3>Seven Mana Creatures</h3>
<p>So what good creatures can we grab for the big seven mana that we've elaborately set up for all this time? Well there's a few spicy options. One big target for someone that's filling their own graveyard with nasty creatures is of course the Pauper all-star, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lotleth Giant" href="#" target="_blank">Lotleth Giant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lotleth Giant"></div></div>
<p>Whilst we can only take down a single target with the giant, a full graveyard can be absolutely lethal to one of our opponents. And I'm sure it won't be too difficult to reanimate him for a second hit should we need to.</p>
<p>If our yard is looking full but not quite full enough to kill a player we could instead search for something generically nasty and reanimatey like Sheoldred or the Brass Dragon:<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sheoldred, Whispering One"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ancient Brass Dragon"></div></div></p>
<p>These will allow us to continually reanimate all the nasty creatures we've been slotting into our graveyard over the course of the game whilst also providing a huge threat to our opponents.</p>
<p>There's also a very funny interaction you can have with your opponents when you reanimate your Burning-Rune Demon.</p>
<p>Hand them a Giant and Sheoldred or the Dragon and say if they don't put the dragon in the bin you'll target them with the Giant. Tehe.</p>
<p>When this inevitably makes you the arch enemy of the table you could always grab your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Platinum Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Platinum Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from the grave for some protection as well.</p>
<h3>Three Mana Creatures</h3>
<p>To get our combo chain going nice and early we'll need to start with a three drop. That way, in our best case scenario where we've entombed a four mana creature into the bin on the first turn, we're good to go from turn three.</p>
<p>We can play the three mana creature and then immediately sacrifice it to Sidisi, reanimating our four mana creature and setting off the chain.</p>
<p>So what's a good first creature to use? One thing that can help with our game plan is to fill up our graveyard with powerful mill effects.</p>
<p>Whilst we'll have the ability to tutor out creatures in a row, if we've already found one of the cards in our chain through self milling, it gives us a chance to reanimate something more spicy halfway through the plan.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stinkweed Imp"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Necroplasm"></div></div>
<p>These dredging three drops should provide a perfect way to continuously fill up our graveyard from turn to turn. We'll likely want some permanents that allow us to discard cards from our hand in case we end up with something needed for our combo gathering dust in there. Something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Putrid Imp" href="#" target="_blank">Putrid Imp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>By utilizing this repeatable discard effect we can continuously fill up our graveyard instead of drawing cards.</p>
<h2>Untapping Sidisi</h2>
<p>Now this is all well and good but you may have noticed that this is all a bit... well, slow. Reanimating one creature per turn and ending up with a 7 drop one turn earlier than we would have it if we'd just made a land drop every turn isn't exactly super impressive. If we want this deck to look scary we need to be activating our commander's ability more than once per turn.</p>
<p>To do that we need to go out of our color pie, as I am want to do, and do some mono black untapping!</p>
<p>Now there's a few tools we can use to untap our commander with colorless cards. Thousand-Year Elixir is an absolute no-brainer for this deck.</p>
<p>It not only gives us a second charge of Sidisi for just one mana, but also allows us to activate her as though she had haste. If she gets taken out on a previous turn it won't be too hard to get rolling again with our tasty beverage.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thousand-Year Elixir"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sword of the Paruns"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Puppet Strings"></div></div>
<p>If we've got a fair bit of mana to work with then let's equip Sidisi with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of the Paruns" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of the Paruns</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. That'll allow her to pop off multiple activations in a single turn. But <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Puppet Strings" href="#" target="_blank">Puppet Strings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can also help us out, even if it's just once per turn.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mobile Garrison"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sting, the Glinting Dagger"></div></div>
<p>There's also a few card options that will provide some untapping every combat. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mobile Garrison" href="#" target="_blank">Mobile Garrison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a classic but it'll require us to crew and attack with it to get the effect.</p>
<p>We can likely just shove in the soon-to-be corpse of our next sacrificial victim for this one. But for one of my favorite untappers, you can't go wrong with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sting, the Glinting Dagger" href="#" target="_blank">Sting, the Glinting Dagger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a guaranteed two sacs per turn.</p>
<h2>Get Birthing</h2>
<p>It's certainly a little more tricky to pull off than just casting Birthing Pod, but Sidisi could get up to some real shenanigans as a commander.</p>
<p>And it's about time I theory crafted an Aristocrats deck that actually plays black! So the only question that remains is, does this deck have legs? Technically no, she's a Snake. But mechanically, I think we could have something fun here!</p>
<p>You can of course fill this deck with all your standard reanimator tech. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reanimate" href="#" target="_blank">Reanimate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exhume" href="#" target="_blank">Exhume</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to your heart's content, of course.</p>
<p>But with the chain of tutors, this deck will at least do something fun and flashy. Even if it's not going to be joining any CEDH pods any time soon.</p>
<p>Let me know if this list idea tickled your fancy and give me some recommendations for more cards to add in the comments below!</p>
<p>I'll see you on the next edition of <em>The Monolith -</em> your home for almost good, monocolored deck ideas. And until then, have a wonderful time playing EDH and get building some monocolored decks!</p>


Birthing Pod in the Command Zone with Sidisi, Regent of the Mire

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swamp|FDN|286" href="#" target="_blank">Swamp</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.stevenbelledin.com/">Steven Belledin</a>)</h6>
<h1>Your Deck is a Canvas</h1>
<p>With <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> just around the corner, spoilers are starting to finally pull their way through the bloat of Universes Beyond.</p>
<p>As I'm writing this I've just now seen a little preview of the full art basics we'll be treated to in packs and bundles via a <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/saffronolive.bsky.social/post/3lknprwike227">post on BlueSky</a> from good old Saffron Olive.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-146734 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts.jpg" alt="A preview of the full art basic lands in Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Close ups of the eyes of dragons whose colours match those of the five colours of magic. Their pupils the shape of each mana symbol." width="1449" height="431" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts.jpg 1449w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts-300x89.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts-1024x305.jpg 1024w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/tarkir-full-arts-768x228.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1449px) 100vw, 1449px" /></a></p>
<p>Would you just take a look at those! I'm well aware that the art of full art basics can be a touchy subjects for <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> purists.</p>
<p>But personally I'm in love with these. Even as a player that doesn't usually run dragon focussed decks. They're such a perfect blend of the modern, glossy stylings of recent full arts that we've become accustomed to with truly classic fantasy art.</p>
<p>This cycle in fact was illustrated by none other than <a href="https://ronspencer.wordpress.com/">Ron Spencer</a> , one of the original collection of artists that worked on <em>Magic's</em> <em>Alpha</em> set.</p>
<h2>The Beauty of Basic Lands</h2>
<p>And this got me thinking, once again, about all the gorgeous art we're treated to in this game of ours. One of my favorite things about building mono decks, in any format, is the amount of beautiful basic lands you can flood your deck with.</p>
<p>And as this is <em>The Monolith</em>, the column in which I try to convince you to build more mono decks, this seems like a perfect opportunity to gaze and gawp at some of the most gorgeous illustrations your mana base can have.</p>
<p>For this list I'm going to be sticking with only full arts that are available in standard sets. Regular game pieces that you get from a booster pack, just like any other card.</p>
<p>There's plenty of stunning illustrations in Secret Lairs and promos, but the cards listed on this article aren't locked behind paywalls or artificial scarcity.</p>
<p>They're a part of the game just like any other basic land. So with that being said, let's take a look at some of the most beautiful basics money can buy.</p>
<h2>Foundations</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plains|FDN|282"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|FDN|285"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|FDN|286"></div></div>
<p>I'll kick off with some recency bias in the shape of what has to be the coolest core set we've ever had, right? Foundations was a slam dunk in my opinion, providing a perfect jumping off point for new players whilst also establishing a new bedrock for standard decks of all kinds.</p>
<p>There's some nice new designs, a tonne of old favourites, and most importantly - some absolutely beautiful art.</p>
<p>And the full art lands are no exception. There's two cycles, all portraying locations from across <em>Magic's</em> multiverse including planes from sets old and new.</p>
<p>My favorite of the two depicts some of the settings most iconic Planeswalkers relaxing in the vistas. I love the way they cut silhouettes across the landscapes and add a nice sense of scale to the artworks. Not to mention the absolutely beautiful colors.</p>
<p>Just look at Ajani's Plains. The incredible sunset hues, glowing against his face. The wreaths of shadow slicing across the golden fields. Stunning.</p>
<h2>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mountain|NEO|299"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|NEO|295"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plains|NEO|293"></div></div>
<p>Magic's return to the plane of <em>Kamigawa</em> saw a departure from its roots as a play on traditional Japanese folk lore. Instead, <em>Neon Dynasty</em> flung itself far into the future with a cyberpunk twist. Mechs and motorbikes careened down neon soaked alleyways and the ninjas stalked the rooftops.</p>
<p>However, the set's full art basic lands looked back at the plane's original scope. To a Japan more feudal, rich with tradition and concerned with the old ways. A nod to the original set but also a celebration of the nation's artworks. Wood block prints and delicate ink-works.</p>
<p>The cards depict a <em>Kamigawa</em> more rural and pastoral than its future form in which the set takes place. And as a result, we're left with what must be some of the most enticing depictions of a <em>Magic </em>plane ever rendered on cardboard.</p>
<h2>The Brothers' War</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|BRO|282"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mountain|BRO|284"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|BRO|280"></div></div>
<p>Things don't have to be innately beautiful for one to make beautiful art of it. Whilst there are many tranquil scenes in <em>Magic's</em> world, most of the game's subject matter depicts stories of turmoil and strife.</p>
<p>And no classic story in <em>Magic's</em> cannon was so tragic and also caused so much destruction as that of the <em>The Brothers' War</em>. When Urza and his brotherly rival Mishra ravaged a world in their attempts to best one another.</p>
<p><em>The Brothers' War's </em>basics show the dichotomy artists strike when they illustrate for <em>Magic: the Gathering</em>. Between violence and beauty.</p>
<p>Themes of darkness and streams of lights. In their imagery, the lands show gargantuan war machines, alone in empty fields and swamps.</p>
<p>A mech the size of a skyscraper stands solemnly in a torrential storm at sea. All in masterful, oil-like landscapes that ape of the depictions of war from centuries past.</p>
<p>It's Pacific Rim meets the Dutch masters. It's beautiful and it's sick as hell.</p>
<h2>Theros: Beyond Death</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forest|THB|254"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plains|THB|250"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Island|THB|251"></div></div>
<p>Sets like <em>Theros: Beyond Death</em> and <em>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</em> that revisit planes from older sets, give an interesting insight to <em>Magic's</em> evolution over time.</p>
<p>You can hold one card up from the previous iteration next to another from the newest and physically gaze upon all the differences in the artworks between sets old and new.</p>
<p>The new blood of illustrators side by side with the old greats. The digital renderings of a modern card next to the traditional mediums of a classic.</p>
<p>The full art lands in <em>Theros: Beyond Death</em> were the topic of some controversy among <em>Magic</em> traditionalists when they released. "These aren't lands" they said. They're constellations. Nebulae. There's not a forest or a mountain in sight. And whilst on a surface level I agree, I do think the lands' detractors may have slightly missed the point.</p>
<p>There's plenty of abstraction in this game of ours. And whilst it's important to keep the game's themes rooted in internally consistent logic, the fact of the matter is that as ideas for planes get more ambitious - certain core principles need to adapt to fit in with those new designs.</p>
<p>Boiler rooms in haunted houses become mountains. Garden districts on top of skyscrapers become forests. And whilst <em>Theros</em> has plenty of regular lands to work with, it's also the domain of the gods. And here, the lands you seek are also among the cosmos. In beautiful and glittering starlight.</p>
<h2>Dominaria United</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mountain|DMU|280"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forest|DMU|281"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|DMU|279"></div></div>
<p>But don't worry too much if you are a traditionalist, (although if you really are, are you even playing full arts to begin with?) because I've got a set of basic lands here that hark back to the stunning vistas of <em>Magic's </em>original setting, <em>Dominaria</em>.</p>
<p>Emblazoned in stained glass are a cycle of lands paying reverence to the myriad iconic locations of the OG plane. Floating cities and great forests surround stylized illustrations of the mana symbols.</p>
<p>The colours are bold and saturated and of all the standard sets' full art basic lands, these stand out from the rest of your board like no other. They're a perfect matching of style and substance for me. The perfect blend of a medium and a place to depict it with.</p>
<p>There's so much history in the lands of Dominaria and as the home of the Saga, the history depicting enchantment that pays homage to great stories in <em>Magic's </em>past, there seems no better way to make mana to cast them with.</p>
<p>I really like it when a card you can get in a standard booster pack feels like you've just ordered a secret lair by mistake. These lands have such a unique feel to them that stand out from so many of the other basics on offer.</p>
<p>Like they were custom-built for an artist to illustrate for some special drop. But they're not. They're right at the back of a <em>Dominaria United</em> pack.</p>
<p>Behind the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tolarian Terror" href="#" target="_blank">Tolarian Terrors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temporary Lockdown" href="#" target="_blank">Temporary Lockdowns</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sheoldred, the Apocalypse" href="#" target="_blank">Sheoldreds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> of an already fantastic set.</p>
<h2>The Best Land is Your Favorite Land</h2>
<p>One of the lovely things about art is its subjectivity, which means that no matter how hard they try any commenters on this article won't actually be able to tell me I'm wrong for these choices.</p>
<p>That does unfortunately go both ways however which means that in the end, whatever basics you love will also be the best of the bunch.</p>
<p>As long as they're in your deck. And no matter how much I disagree with your choices, that'll always be true. Funny how life is like that sometimes, huh?</p>
<p>Here's an honorary mention to the cool space lands from <em>Unfinity</em>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swamp|UNF|242"></div></div>
<p>I'll see you in the next episode of <em>The Monolith </em>where I'll no doubt be checking out some cool new monocolored cards in Tarkir! Until then happy building, and happy full art admiring. I'll see you in the next one.</p>


Magic's Most Beautiful Full Art Basics

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Twinflame Tyrant" href="#" target="_blank">Twinflame Tyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://xabigaztelua.com/">Xabi Gaztelua</a>)</h6>
<h1>Seeing Red</h1>
<p>Mono-red always has been and always will be my favorite color of deck in EDH. Red was already my favorite color in <em>Magic, </em>but there's just something about going up against everyone's high powered, multicolored decks.</p>
<p>All filled with crazy powerful cards in a suite of colors. And there you are with your pile of cheap cards and a dream, somehow still becoming the threat with copious amounts of direct damage and a wincon baked into your commander.</p>
<p>If the crimson curse lives within you. The need for burn, haste, and impulsivity, then this list is for you. A heap of powerful cards that find a home in any Commander deck with a mono-red legend at the helm. Regardless of your play style, these staples will help you to lean in to mono-red's inherent strengths, and patch over some of its weaknesses.</p>
<p>This is <em>The Monolith</em>, the series in which I convince you to build and play more monocolored decks in EDH, and here are 7 cards that will find a home in any mono-red Commander deck.</p>
<h2>1. Jeska's Will</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jeska&#039;s Will"></div></div>
<p>There's a reason it's recently been dubbed a Game Changer. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeska&#039;s Will" href="#" target="_blank">Jeska&#039;s Will</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the ability to create some absolutely explosive turns. For just three mana, you'll be able to pick one of two options.</p>
<p>Either fill your pool with red mana equal to the number of cards in one of your opponents' hands. A surprisingly big chunk of mana usually, especially if you're playing it on curve where most of your opponents will still have full hands from just starting the game.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can use Jeska's Will to exile the top three cards of your library, keeping them available to play until the end of your turn. Now either of these are relatively good returns for your three mana. You'd obviously prefer to have the cards for longer for the rate, but draw is draw even if its impulsive. Especially in mono-red.</p>
<p>The true power of this card lies in the conditional text at the top though. If your commander is on the field, you can choose both. You get a potentially massive ritual for the cost, or at the very least you'll have cast the card effectively for free. Then you'll put three more cards into your arsenal for the turn.</p>
<p>Jeska's Will has loads of applications, from casting expensive cards early, to helping you storm off. In general, it's just never bad to make a tonne of mana and see three extra cards off the top of your library.</p>
<p>And because you get still one of the effects, even if your commander is out of action, it'll never eat up room in your hand doing nothing. Even if it does suck to only get one of the options.</p>
<h2>2. Ruby Medallion</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ruby Medallion"></div></div>
<p>Ramping in red isn't easy. You can certainly flood the board or your pool with one use mana. There's plenty of rituals or cards that dump out treasure tokens at your disposal that'll ensure you can have single explosive turns with a huge chunk of mana at your disposal.</p>
<p>But largely that mana is gone when it's used. In comparison to green's ability to find multiple lands per turn and consistently increase their available mana from turn to turn, red's version of ramping is usually quite lacking.</p>
<p>The medallions are available in every color in magic's pie, but they're even more essential as ramp for the decks that find themselves in this position. No easy access to increasing mana, and a tendency to spin out when they've tapped their last land. And that's red to a T.</p>
<p>The medallions reduce the cost of all spells you cast of their corresponding color. In this case red for ruby. And that's indefinitely. And for just two mana. Whilst they won't help you with the colorless spells in your deck or any cards that are all red pips (as it only reduces generic mana costs), permanently reducing the cost of almost all your spells for the rest of the game is a phenomenal help to a color that can struggle to get more permanent mana available.</p>
<h2>3. Arena of Glory</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arena of Glory"></div></div>
<p>Red has the ability to claw wins out of nowhere. To massively expedite games and go from the weakest player at the table to the new arch enemy in a matter of moments.</p>
<p>Conversely though, red struggles when games go long. The more time your opponents have to assemble their board states, put up walls, and heal any damage your early plays have done, the more your wins can slip through your fingers.</p>
<p>With that in mind, red needs the ability to play fast. There's a reason that haste is a keyword that's so intrinsically linked with red in the color pie. When you get something on the board, you need it to work right away. And with so many red commanders that rely on their flashy activated and combat abilities to do cool things, you want to get your creatures tapping and attacking as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Enter this lovely nonbasic land from <em>Modern Horizons 3</em>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arena of Glory" href="#" target="_blank">Arena of Glory</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows you to exert itself (exerted permanents don't untap the turn after) and pay <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to then add <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to your mana pool. If you spend that mana on a creature spell, that creature will gain haste until end of turn.</p>
<p>That's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Etali, Primal Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Etali, Primal Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> immediately pilfering the top card of each deck. Or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Feldon of the Third Path" href="#" target="_blank">Feldon of the Third Path</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> immediately making a token. Heck, maybe even a token copy of Etali!</p>
<h2>4. Untimely Malfunction</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Untimely Malfunction"></div></div>
<p>One of the best defensive abilities red has access to is the ability to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bolt Bend" href="#" target="_blank">Bolt Bend</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> targeted cards. You can't usually counter a spell in red and it's hard to give your own permanents hexproof or indestructible at instant speed.</p>
<p>That means any kill spells, counter spells, or any other kind of disruption sent your way can be pretty devastating. That is, unless it was a targeted effect.</p>
<p>By misdirecting counterspells or turning kill spells back onto the casters' own creatures, red has a unique ability to not stop a shot but pull an innocent bystander into the line of fire instead. There's a few of these effects to pick from in red but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Untimely Malfunction" href="#" target="_blank">Untimely Malfunction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is my go to pick since the release of <em>Duskmourn</em>.</p>
<p>Malfunction still hits targeted spells and abilities for a nice and cheap rate of just two mana, but also comes with some extra options for when you need it.</p>
<p>You can use it like an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Abrade" href="#" target="_blank">Abrade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> but with protection attached rather than creature damage. Allowing you to destroy a nasty artifact at instant speed on your opponent's board, or any nonland you like if you have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liquimetal Torque" href="#" target="_blank">Liquimetal Torque</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on board.</p>
<p>On top of that you can either use it as evasion by stopping your opponent's nasty blockers from taking part in combat, allowing you to squeeze through with lethal damage, or just attack without having to worry about the blocker's best creature. It's a lovely little toolbox and will be useful in almost all situations in a game of EDH.</p>
<p>And with a format with this many different possible game states, having something that can answer a load of different problems all in one card is a surefire hit in any deck.</p>
<h2>5. Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle"></div></div>
<p>One of the best things about playing a monocolored deck is the ease with which you can assemble a mana base for your deck. Having utility lands is great, and you largely won't be punished for running colorless ones in your mono decks, but if you're lazy you can also just dump a pile of basic mountains in sleeves and call it a day there. Even more than that, there's some devilish options in red that reward you for sticking to the peaks with your mana base.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle" href="#" target="_blank">Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does one of the best things a staple card can do: reward you for simply playing the game. Valakut itself is just a tapped nonbasic mountain.</p>
<p>A great thing to shove out on turn one when not much is happening. But once it's on the board, your sixth mountain onward will gain a brand new ability. That's right, your lands are now <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightning Bolt" href="#" target="_blank">Lightning Bolts</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Simply playing a mountain, if you have five or more other mountains on the field, will cause Valakut to deal 3 damage to any player or creature of your choice. Now every land drop you make becomes targeted removal for smaller creatures or puts added pressure on your biggest rival at the table.</p>
<p>Combine this card with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Koth, Fire of Resistance" href="#" target="_blank">Koth, Fire of Resistance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to not only reliably make your land drops every turn, but to also turn your 3 damage on land drop effects into a massive SEVEN damage when paired with Koth's ultimate. God I love red.</p>
<h2>6. Blasphemous Act</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blasphemous Act"></div></div>
<p>One of the many things that red struggles with in a game of Commander is wiping a dangerous board. Board wipes are the most important thing an EDH deck can have, ensuring that one player doesn't run away with the game and giving you a chance to reset play when you fall behind. And whilst red has some of the worst options of any color in this regard, you should absolutely still pack them in your deck.</p>
<p>As the best sweeper in red, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">Blasphemous Act</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a must include in almost all mono-red EDH decks. In what was a perfect synergy of cool card design and flavorful effects, this nine mana sorcery will deal a whopping 13 damage to every creature on the battlefield.</p>
<p>Whilst damage isn't the best way to remove creatures, especially ones sporting a toughness of 14 or higher, 13 should take out pretty much everything in sight.</p>
<p>Its contemporary, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chain Reaction" href="#" target="_blank">Chain Reaction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does technically have the ability to do even more damage, but its conditional makes it liable to sitting as a dud card in your hand.</p>
<h3>Wiping a Board For One Mana is Just Very Good</h3>
<p>Blasphemous Act's biggest strength is that its generic cost is reduced by one for every creature on the battlefield. Of course you'd never cast this with zero creatures in play so it'll never actually cost you the full nine mana. In most cases it'll only actually cost you <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>.</p>
<p>And in certain cases where there's only a few creatures on the board that desperately need to go, I'd rather pay a little extra for a guaranteed 13 damage than just three or four with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chain Reaction" href="#" target="_blank">Chain Reaction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Not to mention that in the cases where you are only spending a single mana to wipe an entire board, you'll be able to rebuild incredibly fast directly after and maybe even swing in with a few hasty creatures.</p>
<h2>7. Blood Moon</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Moon"></div></div>
<p>Now this recommendation comes with a grain of salt. In fact, it's much more than a grain. Players don't like it when you mess with their lands. And whilst this isn't exactly an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armageddon" href="#" target="_blank">Armageddon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a lot of modern Commander decks run a huge amount of nonbasics.</p>
<p>Having them all become basic mountains, especially when that player isn't playing red, can be devastating. But it's precisely that reason that makes this card so effective when you're playing mono-red.</p>
<p>It's not a popular tactic but punishing players for their lack of basic lands can give you a significant advantage at the table. If you're not running too many utility lands, this card will effectively do absolutely nothing to your mana base whilst crippling every other players'.</p>
<p>The funniest part of all this being that red is the worst color to kill enchantments with. So even players who have red spells will struggle to use them to reverse the effect.</p>
<p>Mono-red is the most fun way to play <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>. This card simply forces your opponents to do the same!</p>
<h2>What Makes You See Red?</h2>
<p>So there's some absolute bangers for you to slot into every mono-red deck you build henceforth. But there's a whole heap of cards that could easily squeeze their way into this list.</p>
<p>What cards do you run in every mono-red deck you build? Which creatures, sorceries, and enchantments have already hit your list before you even started deck building?</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments below and I'll see you on the next edition of <em>The Monolith</em>. Why not check out my previous list in which I recommend <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-7-cards-you-should-be-running-in-any-monocolored-deck">cards that go in ANY mono deck</a>, regardless of color? But until then, happy deckbuilding, and stay mono!</p>


Top 7 Cards That Should Go In All Mono-Red Decks

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza&#039;s Fun House" href="#" target="_blank">Urza&#039;s Fun House</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/burmak">Dmitry Burmak</a>)</h6>
<h1>Here For a Good Time, Not a Sensical One</h1>
<p>Greetings all you builders of strange and interesting decks, I come bearing gifts on this week's edition of <em>The Monolith</em> - the series in which I convince you to build more monocolored decks.</p>
<p>This week, I'm providing a new challenge for those of us who like to do things a little differently. For the deck builders that crave confusion from their opponents and savor the moments of baffled players staring at your board state with questions of, "what does this deck even do?".</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-where-did-all-the-monocolored-edh-decks-go">first article</a> I ever posted here on EDHREC, I lamented the modern design principle of hiding hybrid mana symbols in monocolored commanders to turn their identity from one to two or more colors.</p>
<p>Some commanders though are born with their hybrid mana symbols baked into their casting cost. This makes them a lot easier to cast from the command zone with less color fixing required to meet their costs.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jinnie Fay, Jetmir&#039;s Second"></div></div>
<h2>You're Doing WHAT in Mono-Green?</h2>
<p>I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. No props to you honestly, the clue's in the title of the article. The question I'm here to answer is, what's stopping us from playing these commanders as though they were monocolored?</p>
<p>Why, nothing! Will it make the decks any better? No, almost certainly not. But we're not here to make the decks as powerful as physically possible. We're here to do something interesting and unexpected.</p>
<p>And nothing could be quite as unexpected as the decks that come about when you build this way. There's not a huge amount of commanders that fit the bill for this treatment.</p>
<p>The ones that do however, usually provide a strangely unique benefit to mono deck builders. As the card in your command zone is technically sitting outside of its usual color pie, all of a sudden mono decks get better access to some peculiar archetypes.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Strange Inversion"></div></div>
<p>In this week's edition of <em>The Monolith</em> we're going to build a hybrid mana commander whilst only using one of its colors. And to make it extra strange, I'm specifically choosing to use the color that least fits the archetype of the deck we'll be building. An archetype and deck combo that only has around <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/aristocrats/mono-green">115 decks</a> registered on EDHREC.</p>
<p>A special shout out to one of my favorite Commander tech channels on YouTube for bringing this idea to my attention, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@edhdeckbuilding">EDH Deckbuilding</a>. Demo has one of the most impressive abilities to just pull random old cards out of the aether that I've ever seen and uses that power for extreme good. i.e. building a million Commander decks in the most unique way possible.</p>
<h2>Mono-Green Aristocrats</h2>
<p>Their enemy positions on the color pie might convince you otherwise, but did you know that black and green aren't all that dissimilar from one another?</p>
<p>Both care about the graveyard, both are equally capable of returning cards from said graveyard and also making copious amounts of mana.</p>
<p>When you combine both colors into Golgari(<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-bg" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) there's a heck of a lot of self-mill, reanimating, life gain themes.</p>
<p>Notice however, that those themes are pretty heavy on the black part of the color pie. You can do pretty much any of those in mono-black, but in mono-green there isn't quite as much support.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis"></div></div>
<p>So let's take a look at the legend that struck fear into the hearts of Modern players everywhere, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis" href="#" target="_blank">Hogaak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Now the 'Gaak is a strange card, it basically can ONLY be cast by either convoking or delving (either tapping a creature you control or exile a card from your graveyard will pay for one of its seven mana). Most importantly however, it can also be cast from your graveyard.</p>
<p>Any commander that can basically reanimate itself can serve as a perfect figurehead for an Aristocrats deck. A deck that wants to continuously sacrifice their own creatures to trigger common black 'whenever a creature dies' effects like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Morbid Opportunist" href="#" target="_blank">Morbid Opportunist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But it turns out, green has access to a fair few good versions of these effects as well.</p>
<h2>For the Greater Good</h2>
<p>That's right, green mages love to sacrifice their own creatures just as much as the next guy. They just like to put a nice spin on it like calling it, "for the greater good" or chalking the death up to evolution or natural selection. But the effect is the same, I kill something I control and get something in return:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Greater Good"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Death&#039;s Presence"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Skullspore Nexus"></div></div>
<p>And those are not unattractive outcomes for your self sacrifice! Especially when you're sacrificing the big boy himself. How does drawing eight cards and discarding three, then putting eight +1/+1 counters on another creature you control sound?</p>
<p>Seems like a pretty good trade off to me. Alternatively, just use The Skullspore Nexus to double Gaak's power then create a 16/16 fungus token and shove 16 more +1/+1 counters on it from your Death's Presence. Good lord, that's a big mushroom.</p>
<p>Remember as well that most of the best sacrifice outlets in the game are colorless artifacts anyways:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashnod&#039;s Altar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Altar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Altar of Dementia"></div></div>
<p>If you find a way to cast creature spells at instant speed by putting out a card like Vivienne or Yeva then you can even reanimate Hogaak with your Death's Presence effect on stack and target him with his own +1/+1 counters.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vivien, Champion of the Wilds"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yeva, Nature&#039;s Herald"></div></div>
<h2>Casting Hogaak</h2>
<p>Speaking of casting your commander with Flash. You'll likely want to be able to cast Hogaak on other people's turns. Because you can't easily use regular reanimation effects that are normally reserved for black decks, the 'Gaak will serve as your only repeatable sacrifice target.</p>
<p>For that reason, we want to be able to cast him over and over again and with his mana cost only available to cast via delving and convoke, there's only so many times we'll be able to do that in a single turn.</p>
<p>But don't worry, we're playing Commander! There's a whole three other players whose turn cycles we can interrupt and perform annoying sequences on. With our flash enabling effects on board we can recast our commander on every other players turn and repeat our engine of sacrifice effects.</p>
<p>This way we can maximize the efficiency of our board and also remain reactive to other players turn by doing things like flashing in Hogaak as a surprise blocker.</p>
<h3>Mill or Tap?</h3>
<p>Now this is all a great plan but we don't exactly have access to unlimited mana. Being able to delve for Gaak's mana cost is nice but we will run out of cards in our graveyard eventually. That's why we want to use the powers of convoke to reliably cast Hogaak on every turn.</p>
<p>And whilst green isn't the go to color for sacrifice outlets, it's incredibly good at convoking with easy access to token generation and, most importantly for this build, the ability to untap its creatures on every player's turn.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seedborn Muse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Awakening"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Patron of the Orochi"></div></div>
<p>By having seven creatures on board, predominantly ones with aristocrat style effects on them, we can effectively cast Hogaak every single turn for free and then sac him again for a huge amount of value. Getting a free effect on every one of your turns is pretty great.</p>
<p>Getting it four times per turn cycle is incredible. And because we'll be convoking each time we cast Hogaak, we won't actually be spending any mana, allowing us to hold up our lands for protections spells and interaction.</p>
<p>One hurdle we will need to jump however is getting around Gaak's high cost on early turns of the game. For that reason you'll likely want to have some token generators in the deck or at least a little self mill to eat up some of the early cost.</p>
<p>Waiting until you've cast seven different creature spells and hoping they don't die until the seventh hits the board is asking for a bad time.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Awaken the Woods"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Esika&#039;s Chariot"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Horn of Gondor"></div></div>
<p>Having some creatures in your deck that also come with a token themselves is a good way to get bodies on board too. The same is true for any repeatable activated or triggered abilities that generate those tokens.</p>
<p>These cards will help us to generate bodies for convoking but also provide us with alternative sacrifice fodder for our triggered death effects, which is especially useful when we start running into anti-'Gaak graveyard hate.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Arasta of the Endless Web"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Avenger of Zendikar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brightcap Badger"></div></div>
<h2>Free Real Estate</h2>
<p>One of the truly funniest things we could do in a build like this is employ yet another banned Modern card to get up to some very specific shenanigans. It's probably one of the coolest sacrifice outlets in the game and it can do some absolutely heinous things. You know it, you love it. It's the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birthing Pod" href="#" target="_blank">Birthing Pod</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Birthing Pod"></div></div>
<p>With Gaak's big cost of seven mana which we'll largely be spending absolutely nothing to cast, we can tutor some insanely gross creatures directly onto the battlefield by putting Gaak into the pod. The only catch is they have to cost exactly eight mana to meet the pod's effects.</p>
<p>Do you know how many horrendous things in <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> cost exactly eight mana? Did you know that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Craterhoof Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Craterhoof Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> costs exactly eight mana?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Craterhoof Behemoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Breaker of Creation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant"></div></div>
<p>Using this effect we can even tutor out our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Patron of the Orochi" href="#" target="_blank">Patron of the Orochi</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to untap our green creatures on every subsequent turn cycle as mentioned above, ensuring our plan hits the ground the running once we untap on our next turn.</p>
<p>And there's plenty more horrid eight mana creatures you can pop in this deck if you have the budget or inclination:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Platinum Emperion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cityscape Leveler"></div></div>
<h2>Go Forth and Reanimate in Green</h2>
<p>In truth there's a lot of funny ways you can build this deck, and I think it provides a very fun deck building challenge for those of us who love a restriction. I'm sure there's plenty other hybrid commanders that could do the same.</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments if you're tempted to build this monstrosity. And let me know what cards you would add or alternate commanders you want to build out of color identity.</p>
<p>For now though, thanks for reading and I'll see you on the next edition of <em>The Monolith</em>. The home of the weird and wonderful in just one color. Keep sleeving those basic lands and I'll see you next week!</p>


Building Hybrid Commanders as if They Were Monocolored

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chromatic Star|BRR|74z" href="#" target="_blank">Chromatic Star</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>| Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/fooyee">Yeong-Hao Han</a>)</h6>
<h1>Perfectly Balanced, as All Things Should Be</h1>
<p>Hello folks, and welcome back to <em>The Monolith,</em> where this week I'll be providing you a fun and alternative way to play Commander in the format of Star. If you've ever found yourself in the classic and annoying situation of sitting down for a game of Commander with five players, you'll probably know one simple truth: 5 player Commander kinda sucks.</p>
<p>You've likely added another hour or so minimum to your game just accounting for another player taking their turns. The balance of the game has been upset by yet another player messing around with the board state. Not to mention you now need to find a layout that allows you to read the cards of a player two playmats over.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Increasing Confusion"></div></div>
<p>But what if I told you there was a better way? A format that tries to speed up proceedings. That adds a subtle change to Commander's balance that better suits the higher player count. And even a way to increase the amount of politicking at the table for players that want to schmooze their way to victory?</p>
<p>Not to mention, it's played with monocolored decks!</p>
<h2>Introducing Star</h2>
<p>Star (also known as Pentagram or Five-Point) is a format that pits 5 players against each other in any format of <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>. We'll obviously be playing the Commander version, but the rules for converting your favorite rules format into a game of Star are effectively always the same.</p>
<p>Each player represents one of the five colors of <em>Magic</em>: white, blue, black, red, and green. The player assigned to black can only play cards in their deck that are of that color identity, which for us Commander players is pretty familiar. Essentially, just bring a mono black commander to the table. Each other player does the same for the color they've been assigned.</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/throne-of-eldraine-art.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-145503 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/throne-of-eldraine-art.jpg" alt="The art for card Throne of Eldraine by Kieran Yanner. Five Knights kneel before an empty throne, each enrobed in the five colors of Magic." width="626" height="457" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/throne-of-eldraine-art.jpg 626w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/throne-of-eldraine-art-300x219.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 626px) 100vw, 626px" /></a></p>
<h6 style="text-align: center;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Throne of Eldraine" href="#" target="_blank">Throne of Eldraine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.kieranyanner.com/">Kieran Yanner</a>)</h6>
<p>You'll then be seated at the table according to your color's position on <em>Magic's </em>color pie. That means each player will be seated in between their color's "allies" and opposite its "enemies". If you get confused, just look at <em>Magic's </em>card backs for a position chart<em>.</em></p>
<p>From then on, playing Star is just like playing any other game of Commander, just with a little twist. The two players who aren't neighboring you but sat across the table? Those are now your enemies. They represent your ideological opponents as well as your in-game ones. As soon as <em>both</em> of the players sat opposite you are knocked out, you win the game.<a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mtgbackexample.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-145542" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mtgbackexample-215x300.jpg" alt="The back of a magic card labeling your position and your opponents in a game of star, in this case the white player needs to knock out the red and black player." width="215" height="300" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mtgbackexample-215x300.jpg 215w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mtgbackexample-734x1024.jpg 734w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mtgbackexample.jpg 745w" sizes="(max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px" /></a></p>
<h2>Why Play Star Over Regular Commander?</h2>
<p>Five player games are a tricky balancing act to get right, predominantly just because of game length. I'm sure you already know how mind numbing it can feel to wait for three long turns to finish before you can untap and get playing again. Now imagine four.</p>
<p>Star speeds up games by working in an altered win condition. Having only two neighbored players needing to drop before the game ends means endings are far more inevitable. And it achieves that without any artificial extras to the rules or abusable effects added on top.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Politics</h3>
<p>One of my favorite things to do in a game of Commander is politicking the table to get a competitive edge, or out of a bind. I'm a big board gamer outside of <em>Magic</em> hours and that's turned me into the Commander equivalent of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gríma Wormtongue" href="#" target="_blank">Gríma Wormtongue</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Whispering evil deeds into my opponents ears and pulling strings from behind the scenes (and then subsequently making an enemy of every player at the table and being the first to get knocked out. What a game.)</p>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Wormtongue-Theoden.jpg"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-145543 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Wormtongue-Theoden.jpg" alt="Grima Wormtongue whispers into his puppet king Theoden's ear in the Lord of the Rings film series" width="700" height="292" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Wormtongue-Theoden.jpg 700w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Wormtongue-Theoden-300x125.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></a></p>
<p>In Star, the propensity for wheeling and dealing goes through the roof as a complex strategic position rears its head. Not because of the extra player, but because of the two players sitting either side of you.</p>
<p>Your "allies", each of your neighboring players, sit in a strange fragile allegiance with you. You want to actively work together with them, as you share a common enemy with each. One player opposite you both that you'd both like to take out of the game. You even want to keep them safe and protect them, as either one dropping out not only weakens your position, but also plays into the wincon of one of your enemies!</p>
<p>So deals naturally start to work their way into the game. Sharing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wedding Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Wedding Rings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tenuous Truce" href="#" target="_blank">Tenuous Truces</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with one another to build up your collective might. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.</p>
<h3>Interesting Game States</h3>
<p>The problem with sharing just one enemy with your neighbors though is that, by necessity, your neighbors will be enemies with each other. The more you help one friend, the more you annoy the other. And be careful helping either of them too much, because it only takes one of your neighbors taking out the other to potentially lose you the game.</p>
<p>Because specific player elimination is so crucial to the victory condition of Star, plenty of interesting board states emerge through play. Suddenly swooping in to defend the weakest player just as they're about to be knocked out is not only a savvy move, it might actually win you the game. Taking out your opponents quickly is important, but so is ensuring that another player doesn't do it before you get a chance to.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heroic Intervention"></div></div>
<p>Sometimes you'll be desperately trying to defend your enemy from a lethal attack because a prior elimination of one of your allies has set up an opponent to win. Now you need to ensure that one of your enemies loses the game before the other. To ensure that you get named a victor.</p>
<p>With the possibility of shared victories, pacts can be enacted that don't have to end in an inevitable betrayal. With the right set up, two players can win simultaneously. It even makes <em>actual</em> betrayal even juicier.</p>
<h3>Cool Collaboration</h3>
<p>With mono colored decks come mono colored problems. Red for example will always struggle with enchantment removal. But by placing each player next to a potential ally you unlock the ability to collaborate between decks. Red can lean on their green ally to help them remove tricky enchantments that are causing them to struggle. Green can beg the white player to cast a board wipe to save the game for them both.</p>
<p>All of that of course then comes with costs. What are you offering me in exchange? What can you do for me? When the blue player is the only player on the table with access to real counter magic, what spells do they prioritize countering?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forbidden Friendship"></div></div>
<h3>Build Your Own Star!</h3>
<p>"But Wheels!" I hear you cry, "My friends don't have complementary mono decks. How will we play together?". Well that's where this turns into a fun little project! One of my favorite things I did when leaning more into intentional mono deck building is building a sort of Star Cube. Not for drafting, but five custom built decks of each color designed to play against one another.</p>
<p>You can build your five decks to really highlight the specialties and quirks of each mono color, or specifically go against type. By building each deck you can also ensure that there's a well balanced playing field for all decks involved. That every deck has equal chance of winning. To build a truly level game of Commander.</p>
<p>Why not try a Star of underrated Commanders for each color? Or perhaps a Star of the most busted instead? The world is your oyster, whether you want to duke it out and determine the ultimate color, or create an intriguing mess of complicated game states to unpick.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="K&#039;rrik, Son of Yawgmoth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Magda, Brazen Outlaw"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza, Lord High Artificer"></div></div>
<h2>Fix Your Next Five Player Game Night</h2>
<p>Regardless of whether or not you choose to build your own custom game of Star or just crack out the format in situations where one extra player has turned up to your pod, it's a format twist I heartily recommend. It's all too easy to become entrenched in the familiarities of base Commander. Try a new twist to shake up your game night!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Forge Anew"></div></div>
<p>And whilst this is <em>The Monolith. </em>The column in which I plead with the world to build more monocolored decks. I promise I won't be mad at you if you play Star with your standard, multicolored Commander decks. It's definitely a better experience sticking to the core of the principle. Five decks all repping one of the colors of <em>Magic. </em>But regardless, Star is just a great way to introduce a fifth player without dragging games out.</p>
<p>I can't help you with the five playmats problem though, sorry. Find a round table I guess, and I'll see you next week for another edition of, <em>The Monolith.</em></p>


Have You Ever Played Commander Star?

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merchant of the Vale|ELD|293" href="#" target="_blank">Merchant of the Vale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://johnseverinbrassell.com/">John Severin Brassell</a>)</h6>
<h1>Roll Up! Monocolored Marvels For Sale!</h1>
<p>Greetings travelers! Welcome to my humble store of wares. A hall of baubles and trinkets to slot into your EDH decks. Go ahead, take your pick!</p>
<p>But there's a catch. These cards only reach their true potential when played in decks of just one color.</p>
<p>As this is <em>The Monolith</em>, the home for deck builders who reject gold borders and build their 99s with just a single colored commander at the helm. A monocolored paradise!</p>
<p>We've spoken on this column before about a collection of cards in <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> that <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/5-reasons-why-your-next-commander-deck-should-be-monocolored">reward you for keeping your color identity</a> strongly pigmented.</p>
<p>With that in mind, let's take a look at some of these gorgeous pieces I have in store for you today that'll kick your mono decks up a level and reward you for sticking to just one type of pip.</p>
<p>Later down the line we'll certainly visit some stores that cater to a certain color. But for now, these 7 cards will easily slot into any monocolored deck, regardless of the identity you select.</p>
<h2>1. War Room</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="War Room"></div></div>
<p>We're kicking things off with a utility land, and if I'm not mistaken, this is probably one of the only cards in existence that directly rewards you for having less colors in your commander's color identity.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="War Room" href="#" target="_blank">War Room</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a colorless land that enters untapped, and in a mono-colored deck where you're not worried about finding your pips?</p>
<p>Anything else is just free value. And this card will certainly give you some free value with its secondary ability that might a well read, "pay <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and 1 life: draw a card".</p>
<p>There's quite a few situations, especially in the late game, where any player would happily swap three of their mana for another option off the top of their deck.</p>
<p>Sometimes you just need one more card and having War Room either sat in your land base and helping you out when you need, or stopping that land you drew at the start of your turn from ruining your day, will always be welcome.</p>
<p>In our mono decks where colorless lands don't hurt us very much and the land literally literally hurts us less for our devotion to one color? It's a must include.</p>
<h2>2. Throne of Eldraine</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Throne of Eldraine"></div></div>
<p>No, not the set! Although the set itself does have plenty of cards that reward mono building. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Throne of Eldraine" href="#" target="_blank">Throne of Eldraine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is both a mana rock and card draw option that specifically asks you to stick with just one color.</p>
<p>The mana it makes can only cast monocolored spells and the card draw ability can only be activated with mana of the type you chose when it entered.</p>
<p>For gold bordered commanders, this card is probably more hassle than it's worth. But for us mono lovers? What a card it is.</p>
<p>First of all, the card might as well only cost one mana. It can immediately tap for four more mana of the color you're playing and the restriction will only stop you from playing something if it's colorless. That's a huge return on a mana rock.</p>
<p>Second of all, you thought three mana for one card was a good rate on your land? How about two cards instead for the same cost? Every single turn you don't tap it for mana!</p>
<h2>3. Heraldic Banner</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heraldic Banner"></div></div>
<p>Sticking with mana rocks for a while, this rock with an upside costs the standard amount of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> but actually gives you less bang for your buck as it can only tap for a mana of the color you choose when it enters unlike most three drop rocks that will generate any color.</p>
<p>Normally in mono decks you don't really need to pay extra for your rocks as you won't need their help mana fixing and can usually opt for the ones that only generate colorless for a cheaper rate.</p>
<p>Heraldic Banner, though, comes with an upside that becomes all the more powerful when combined with a mono deck.</p>
<p>When it enters and you select your color of choice to tap it for, you also allow it to pump up every creature you control with that color identity.</p>
<p>Unless you're playing a lot of colorless creatures in your deck, that's basically every single creature on your battlefield getting +1/+0 for the cost of just playing a mana rock. A no brainer!</p>
<h2>4. Nyx Lotus &amp; Nykthos Shrine</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nyx Lotus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx"></div></div>
<p>Alright, I'm lumping these two together as they're not only thematically linked, but also effectively do the same thing.</p>
<p>We've just had two from the plane of Eldraine that proves it's a great home for any decks that only play one color. But don't forget the equally devoted plane of Theros!</p>
<p>Both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx" href="#" target="_blank">Nykthos</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nyx Lotus" href="#" target="_blank">Nyx Lotus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> tap for an amount of mana equal to your Devotion to one color.</p>
<p>Devotion is a <em>Theros</em>-centric mechanic that gives you rewards for each right colored mana pip on permanents you control. I.e. <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> provides three devotion to red.</p>
<p>In a mono deck that means the bigger your board state gets, the more mana these suckers will pump out. Nykthos comes with a cost but it's also attached to a land you can play for free and immediately activate, unlike the Lotus that comes in tapped. Combine either of these with repeatable effects that untap lands or artifacts though, and you could very easily go infinite!</p>
<h2>5. Extraplanar Lens</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Extraplanar Lens"></div></div>
<p>Grabbing a big chunk of mana for an already established board state is nice, but it doesn't do much when your board is empty and you're behind on the game.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Extraplanar Lens" href="#" target="_blank">Extraplanar Lens</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides a bonus instead to a part of your board that usually goes relatively untouched: your lands.</p>
<p>For just <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and the cost of exiling a card from your hand, this gaudy monocle will double the output of every basic land in your deck.</p>
<p>Just exile Extraplanar Lens from your hand as it enters, and now all swamps on the battlefield tap for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>.</p>
<p>Now yes, I did say ALL swamps. That includes your opponents'. But if there's one thing we can punish our opponents with non-mono decks for, it's running way too many nonbasics to feed their multicolored habits.</p>
<p>You'll certainly be laughing as your mana base doubles and anyone else playing black with other colors sees their swamp free board missing out.</p>
<h2>6. Caged Sun</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caged Sun"></div></div>
<p>Now whilst this artifact is double the price of our previous entry, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caged Sun" href="#" target="_blank">Caged Sun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> manages to provide the same effect, without benefiting your opponents, and so so so much more.</p>
<p>Not only is the effect of doubling your mana no longer symmetrical, you also don't have to exile a card from hand to activate its effects.</p>
<p>In fact, Caged Sun doesn't even care where your chosen color of mana comes from, it simply adds an additional mana to any land that produces that color. That means all your nonbasic monocolored lands will suddenly join the party as well.</p>
<p>And on top of all that? It provides a +1/+1 anthem to every creature you control that matches the color. What an all star mono card.</p>
<h2>7. Commander's Plate</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Commander&#039;s Plate"></div></div>
<p>Finally, we have a card that's likely on the watchlist for quite a lot of Commander players, regardless of what they're building.</p>
<p>It's another card that, whilst it has a generically good ability, gets stronger and stronger with fewer colors in your commander's mana cost.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Commander&#039;s Plate" href="#" target="_blank">Commander&#039;s Plate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that provides a really cheap way to give your leader a bonus whilst also providing them protection from any color not represented in their color identity.</p>
<p>I probably don't have to spell out why this is good in a mono deck for you. A one drop artifact that gives protection from every color you aren't playing, and +3/+3? Yeah that's not bad, is it?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swiftfoot Boots"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lightning Greaves"></div></div>
<p>Protection can be a far better effect than the hexproof or shroud provided by staples like the two above, as it also provides your equipped creature (doesn't even have to be your commander!) the ability to ignore all damage from sources of those colors, and be unblockable by creatures of that color as well.</p>
<p>This will be a slam dunk in any monocolored deck that wants its commander to stick to the board, and if you end up in a game where none of your opponents are playing decks that match your one color, they're going to have a very hard time getting rid of them.</p>
<h2>What Cards Do You Run in All Your Monocolored Decks?</h2>
<p>Whilst I don't think there's enough cards in circulation that directly reward you for sticking to one color, and there should certainly be some more printed by Wizards of the Coast<em>, </em>I'm also sure that there's some out there I've missed.</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments below what cards you always run in your monocolored decks to give them some extra oomph.</p>
<p>I'll be back with more editions of <em>The Monolith</em> and we'll also be dipping into cards that shine in each of the monocolors as well, so let me know what colors you'd like to see represented first.</p>
<p>Most importantly though, get yourself a brand new monocolored commander deck, and tune in next week for more!</p>


The Monolith - 7 Cards You Should Be Running in any Monocolored Deck

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Reflection" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Reflection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.chrisseamanart.com/">Chris Seaman</a>)</h6>
<h1>Start Your Card Draw Engines!</h1>
<p>Welcome back to <em>The Monolith, </em>the series in which I try to convince the world to put down their multicolored obsessions and pick just a single color to build around for their next deck.</p>
<p>What better way to do that than to entice you with FOMO as we check out one of the freshly spoiled commanders, Vnwxt, from <em>Magic</em>'s next Standard legal set, <em>Aetherdrift</em>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vnwxt, Verbose Host"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vnwxt, Verbose Host" href="#" target="_blank">Vnwxt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is brand new legendary hitting sleeves in <em>Magic's </em>latest set that'll cost you <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-1" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> for a 0/4 Homunculus. From the get-go, Vnwxt provides the benefit of removing your maximum hand size for as long as it's on the battlefield.</p>
<p>But on top of that, this slick cyclopean boasts one of the brand new mechanics in the <em>Aetherdrift</em> repertoire. <em>Start Your Engines!</em> is a, for my part rather corny, new ability popping up on <em>Aetherdrift</em> cards that gives you another new thing to track in Commander games: your speed.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards reverse"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Max Speed"></div></div>
<p>Speed starts at one whenever you play your first <em>Start Your Engines! </em>card and will increase only once on each of your turns whenever an opponent loses one or more life.</p>
<p>Doesn't matter how, you could hit them with a creature, you could burn them with a spell, they could tap one of their <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caves of Koilos" href="#" target="_blank">pain lands</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for colored mana. As long as it happens on your turn.</p>
<p>Once you hit a speed of four, you've reached 'max speed' which will usually unlock a further ability on those cards. In the case of our spotlight commander today, we'll unlock the ability, 'whenever you would draw a card, draw two cards instead'. Wait... is this a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Reflection" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Reflection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in the command zone??</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thought Reflection"></div></div>
<h2>What If Vnwxt Drew Our Entire Deck?</h2>
<p>Vnwxt seems like the perfect leader for a deck that plays into one of my favorite mono-blue deck archetypes, "What if I drew my entire deck?".</p>
<p>There is simply nothing funnier to me in a game of Commander than when you put your hand face down in a pile next to your deck and it's genuinely difficult for someone to tell which is which.</p>
<p>In mono-blue decks it's easy to lean into Control archetypes full of counter spells, bounces and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baral, Chief of Compliance" href="#" target="_blank">cards that make your opponents groan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>To mix things up, I recommend taking a page out of mono-green's strategy book and turning this big eyed pipsqueak and his gang of bookworms into a good old fashioned beat down deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mordenkainen"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hand of Vecna"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Body of Knowledge"></div></div>
<p>Our main objective for each game is to slap down a creature or equipment whose power reflects the overwhelming amount of cards in our hand and then swinging in for big damage. We'll be able to take advantage of blue's natural evasion to get around blockers and maybe even take out our opponents in a single blow. All the while, we'll have half our deck at our disposal to answer our opponent's attempts to halt us.</p>
<h2>Revving Up</h2>
<p>But first, we need to get our hand full and the easiest way to kick that off is using our commander's max speed ability.</p>
<p>As I referenced earlier, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Reflection" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Reflection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a very powerful card that allows you to double all your card draw. The downside of the card is that it costs a whopping seven mana for an enchantment that effectively does nothing when you play it.</p>
<p>By stapling that effect onto a two mana commander, we can do some serious shenanigans. But we have to jump through this 'max speed' hoop first. Luckily, we can get to our second gear right away on turn two by utilising some cheap flying creatures from our blue card pool.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spectral Sailor" href="#" target="_blank">Spectral Sailor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a perfect example of a flying creature that we can flash in our opponent's end step and then force a loss of life after playing Vnwxt on turn two. But there's plenty of other options to perform a little chip damage.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mausoleum Wanderer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merfolk Windrobber"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sunscorched Desert"></div></div>
<p>Once we've hit max speed, that's it. It's effectively an emblem that can't be taken away from us, like the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="City&#039;s Blessing" href="#" target="_blank">City&#039;s Blessing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. So don't worry about Vnwxt getting targeted, bringing him out for a second time will still see your double card draw active. Not to mention he's so lovely and cheap, too!</p>
<h2>Filling Your Hand, and Keeping it Full</h2>
<p>There is one thing you should be wary of when building this deck, and that's being too reliant on your commander's clause to break your maximum hand size.</p>
<p>Having an opponent destroy Vnwxt right as you transition to your end step could see you discarding an upsetting amount of cards. For that reason we should try and keep a good selection of cards in the deck that give us an alternative way to expand our hand size.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Decanter of Endless Water"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reliquary Tower"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thought Vessel"></div></div>
<p>Our deck will need a big hand size to perform properly so anything that helps us keep it big without Vnwxt's help will give us security and stop any nasty surprises.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reliquary Tower" href="#" target="_blank">Reliquary Tower</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides a perfect way to do this as our mono-blue identity means we won't be struggling for color in our mana and it's safe from any board wipes that target creatures and artifacts.</p>
<p>Most importantly though, we need to draw a ton of cards to get this deck moving. Vnwxt's card draw doubling effect is super powerful when it's online but we can go even further by adding more replacement effects on top.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teferi&#039;s Ageless Insight"></div></div>
<p>We already spoke about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Reflection" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Reflection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and if you can afford to get one out then it combining with Vnwxt to turn every card you draw into four cards will absolutely do some work. You can get the same effect for a little cheaper by asking our good friend Teferi instead though. It just won't trigger on your draw step.</p>
<p>Much like with hand size breakers, it's good to have a few of these in the deck to either buff your commander's effect, or replace it when he's not around.</p>
<h2>The Backup Plan</h2>
<p>It's pretty obvious how to win with a deck like this. Once you've got a couple of huge creatures at your disposal, artificially inflated by your giant hand size, all you need to do is connect with an opponent to finish them off.</p>
<p>Pick on the player with no flyers to block yours, or make your commander unblockable with an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Escape Tunnel" href="#" target="_blank">Escape Tunnel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> then equip the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hand of Vecna" href="#" target="_blank">Hand of Vecna</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and deal some lethal commander damage.</p>
<p>But if dealing damage the normal way is proving too tricky, for whatever reason, we might need a few backup options to close out our games.</p>
<h3>Flood the Board</h3>
<p>If tall doesn't work out for you, we can always go wide instead. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chasm Skulker" href="#" target="_blank">Chasm Skulker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will meet us in the middle by getting bigger every time we draw, but also exploding into a pile of potentially-unblockable squids if it ever gets destroyed.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nadir Kraken" href="#" target="_blank">Nadir Kraken</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will give the same effect as the card draw occurs instead, but for a cost. And if you don't mind spreading your card draw across your opponent's turns you can utilize my favorite new stupid card from <em>Foundations:</em></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Homunculus Horde"></div></div>
<h3>Ping 'Em Down</h3>
<p>Who says mono-red has to have all the direct damage fun? Whilst you can expect it to act as a lightning rod for every removal spell in the 99 of your opponents' decks, Psychosis Crawler will massively punish their life totals for as long as it stays on the board.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychosis Crawler"></div></div>
<h3>Empty The Tank</h3>
<p>If those pesky opponents continue to refuse you wins by damage alone then it's time to start bringing out some alternative win conditions instead. When you draw as many cards as we're planning to in this build, two very niche cards (and one very overused one) become seriously dangerous wincons for you.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jace, Wielder of Mysteries"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Laboratory Maniac"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thassa&#039;s Oracle"></div></div>
<p>It'd be foolish not have at least one of these options available to you in your 99, and you can probably get away with just one or two as you'll likely get your entire deck in hand anyway.</p>
<p>Just be warned that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thassa&#039;s Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Thoracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is widely considered to be a very boring way to end a game of Commander, by myself included. Especially if your opponents are used to CEDH.</p>
<p>It just doesn't feel quite as earned when you already have a big mono blue board providing plenty of Devotion!</p>
<p>Whilst we're chatting about intentionally emptying our own library, it's worth pointing out that it's a very easy way to get milled to death. I'd recommend having a safety piece out to protect you in case your wincon gets cleared before the final card is drawn.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Campfire"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elixir of Immortality"></div></div>
<h2>Some Useful Tools</h2>
<p>So we have a strategy, and a few ways to still win the game if it doesn't go well. But there's still plenty of tricks we can hold up our sleeves to smooth the game in our favor.</p>
<p>If you're struggling to find key pieces to push you over the finish line, there's no better color to card select with than blue. Descendant of Soramaro allows you to rearrange the top X cards of your library where X is your hand size.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Descendant of Soramaro"></div></div>
<p>When your hand starts to get as big as (or bigger!) than your library, this effectively turns into an infinitely repeatable, instant speed, two mana tutor. Great to find a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Counterspell" href="#" target="_blank">Counterspell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or Jace that's hiding at the bottom of your deck.</p>
<p>If you've had to abandon your combat damage strategy for whatever reason, maybe your opponent has a board as big as yours or they're able to prevent incoming damage, you can neutralize everyone else's creatures with this weird old tech.</p>
<p>This is definitely a nonbo in most situations though. Careful it doesn't eat up room in your hand. Use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Oboro Envoy" href="#" target="_blank">Oboro Envoy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> instead for a more targeted version.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Meishin, the Mind Cage"></div></div>
<p>If there's one constant in Commander<em>, </em>it's games that take way too long. How many matches have you been in that have outstayed their welcome? You can make your deck more survivable by adding a little life gain to your upkeep with Ivory Tower.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ivory Tower"></div></div>
<h2>Go Forth and Draw!</h2>
<p>What do you think, is having a hand so big you can barely hold it worth the effort? If nothing else it's a hell of a good time. I'm seriously tempted to swap this guy in as the new commander of my current mono-blue deck with the same strategy. Currently fronted by big Jin:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jin-Gitaxias"></div></div>
<p>Let me know in the comments how you'd build around Vnwxt's crazy card draw. And most importantly, keep building those mono decks, and we'll see you next week for more of <em>The Monolith.</em></p>


The Monolith - Vnwxt, Verbose Host Deck Building Spotlight

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raccoon Rallier" href="#" target="_blank">Raccoon Rallier</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://borjapindado.com/">Borja Pindado</a>)</h6>
<h1>Rally The Troops!</h1>
<p>Chuck out those dual lands because <em>The Monolith</em>, the series in which I try to convince you that monocolored decks deserve your respect, is back! This week, it's time to do just that.</p>
<p>On our previous episode we looked through the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-where-did-all-the-monocolored-edh-decks-go">sorry stats for single colored decks</a> on EDHREC with horror, and tried to reason with their absence.</p>
<p>This week? We're being more proactive with a list of reasons why I believe monocolored decks to not only be fun and underappreciated, but also why it might be your next deck building challenge.</p>
<p>And what better way to do that than with an internet friendly numbered list? Here's why your next Commander deck should be monocolored.</p>
<h2>1. Less Is More</h2>
<p>I've always been an evangelist for the concept of restrictions breeding creativity. Outside of my <em>Magic</em> addiction I create a lot of art and design a lot of games.</p>
<p>I can say without a doubt that almost all of my best ideas came to me when I was working under a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High Noon" href="#" target="_blank">self-imposed restriction</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stasis"></div></div>
<p>As we discussed in <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-where-did-all-the-monocolored-edh-decks-go">the last edition of <em>The Monolith</em></a>, modern commanders often hand out extra colors like free candy. Mono-red? Why not make it Boros(<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-rw" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) instead?</p>
<p>But when you introduce another part of the color pie into a commander's identity, a lot of the interesting questions the deck posed to you will be lost.</p>
<p>One of the classic problems with a mono-red deck is trying to remove an opponent's enchantment that's ruining your game. How do you get around that in the color that's worst at dealing with enchantments?</p>
<p>Well when you add in a color that has the best blanket removal in all of <em>Magic</em> you don't really have to think about it anymore.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Get Lost"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Banishing Light"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Generous Gift"></div></div>
<p>You miss out on the creative puzzle solving of the task. And one of the best things monocolored decks provide is a true deck building challenge from the get-go.</p>
<p>When your options are actually restricted and you don't have an obvious answer to all the classic steps of the deck building process (How do I ramp? How do I board wipe? How do I win the game?), the puzzle of picking your 99 cards is far more interesting.</p>
<h3>Creative Solutions</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom"></div></div>
<p>Here's a little example for you, and maybe a challenge for you to figure out in your own time. This is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom" href="#" target="_blank">Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a legendary shrine commander from <em>Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty</em>.</p>
<p>Now Shrines decks are pretty fringe as it is. There's only actually 17 Commander legal cards with the subtype. Mr. Lost Wisdom here wants us to assemble as many Shrines as possible to try and mill out your opponents on your end step.</p>
<p>But this isn't the five color <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Go-Shintai of Life&#039;s Origin" href="#" target="_blank">Go-Shintai of Life&#039;s Origin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that gives you unfiltered access to all of those cards AND the ability to create Shrine creature tokens. This is its weird, mono-blue cousin that less than 100 people have bothered to build according to EDHREC.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Honden of Seeing Winds"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sanctum of Calm Waters"></div></div>
<p>How many blue Shrine cards are there out of the aforementioned 17? Urm, three. And one of them we're already playing as a commander.</p>
<p>Okay, that's fine. How about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Amoeboid Changeling" href="#" target="_blank">Shapeshifters</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> then? They have all creature types and could count for our other Shrines on the board. The niche Typal dream lives on!</p>
<p>Well, actually no. Shrine isn't a creature type. It's an enchantment type.</p>
<p>We could maybe try cloning? Sure! Just have fun dealing with the fact that not only your commander, but also your two other Shrines are legendary. Because all Shrines are. Woof!</p>
<p>So how do you solve a problem like Lost Wisdom? <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/go-shintai-of-lost-wisdom">65 people have tried</a> before you.</p>
<h2>2. Back to Basics</h2>
<p>There's not just a benefit of challenge that comes from mono deck building, but also of simplicity. Let's be honest, there are a lot of cards in <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>. Sometimes it feels like too many.</p>
<p>When you open yourself up to more colors, you also open yourself up to more options. But that's a double-edged sword in <em>Magic's </em>massive card pool, especially for new players.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ad Nauseam"></div></div>
<p>The risk of analysis paralysis is real, and if you're a glutton for leaving half built decks around gathering dust then you may enjoy the freedom of a mono-mindset.</p>
<p>If it's got a gold border or doesn't match your commander's identity, it might as well not exist. Strip down your short-list and get that deck playable.</p>
<h2>3. The Simplest Mana Base You'll Ever Build</h2>
<p>It's not just a glut of card options you'll be cutting down on but also your time fixing mana. I don't know about you, but assembling a pile of lands to power my EDH decks is always an annoying final hurdle when it comes to finishing off my latest 99.</p>
<p>Sometimes I'll have all but finished building my decks, but there's a third of it sat as empty sleeves as I try and figure out a cheap and effective way to handle the multiple color costs I'll be using in the game.</p>
<p>Not to mention the rising cost in keeping multiple constructed decks with similar mana costs. Grabbing a single <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scalding Tarn" href="#" target="_blank">Scalding Tarn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> won't break the bank but if a whole heap of your decks require decent access to red and blue mana that cost might stack up. Not so in a mono deck. Game night is tonight? Chuck me 36 mountains and I'm good to go.</p>
<p>That's not to say you can't dip into the pile of non-basics to power up your mana base though. On the contrary, your lack of required mana fixing means that you can have even more utility lands at your disposal than the average deck.</p>
<p>As long as you draw a basic or two, you'll get the color you need to cast every spell in your deck. That means drawing a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rogue&#039;s Passage" href="#" target="_blank">Rogue&#039;s Passage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn&#039;s Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Karn&#039;s Bastion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> won't have you grumbling as you desperately root for a triome. The odds of you holding a spell you can't cast in hand are near zero.</p>
<p>There's plenty of lands that'll reward you for sticking to a single color in your deck as well, including those that synergize with the quantity of basics you've got on board or those that check your commander's color identity:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="War Room"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Oran-Rief, the Vastwood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cabal Coffers"></div></div>
<h2>4. Punish the Gluttons</h2>
<p>A glut of nonbasic lands that easily and reliably deliver any color you might need for very little downside in <em>Magic's </em>land pool has led to an incredibly small amount of actual basic lands making up the mana base of the average player's deck.</p>
<p>Even at precon level, there's enough dual or higher colored lands available for not very much money that you won't see a basic mountain very often. But, what if they were all mountains?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Moon"></div></div>
<p>Now I of course would never advocate for land destruction or hate in a casual game of Commander. It certainly won't win you any friends.</p>
<p>But I know that those who would immediately turn their nose up at mono decks due to their perceived lack of competitive power in comparison to your opponents are always looking for ways to get the upper hand over their pod.</p>
<p>Mono decks unlock the powerful but controversial strategy of punishing your opponents for playing too many non-basic lands.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Back to Basics"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Burning Earth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dryad Sophisticate"></div></div>
<p>One of the most common responses to my original question of '<a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/the-monolith-where-did-all-the-monocolored-edh-decks-go">Where did all the monocolored decks go?</a>', was that whilst building in mono makes for a fun restriction it doesn't rewards players enough to voluntarily miss out on more cards.</p>
<p>If you're willing to bear a little hate at your table though, there can be a pretty significant advantage to avoiding lands with rules text.</p>
<h3>Mono Mechanics</h3>
<p>You don't have to dip into the Stax dark side to seek a competitive advantage for your mono decks though. Whilst I do think <em>Wizards </em>would do the game a favor by printing more of their ilk, there are cards and mechanics in <em>Magic's </em>repertoire that specifically ask you to stick to a color to reap the most benefit from them.</p>
<p>Devotion is a great example both in mechanical workings <em>and </em>flavor as it specifically rewards you for flooding your board with the same color of pip in your mana costs.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gray Merchant of Asphodel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heliod, Sun-Crowned"></div></div>
<p>There's also <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cauldron&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">Determined</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that acts like a kicker cost in which the kicker is pumping enough of the right colored mana into your generic casting cost.</p>
<p>Or take a look at cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Throne of Eldraine" href="#" target="_blank">Throne of Eldraine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Heraldic Banner" href="#" target="_blank">Heraldic Banner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that give specific bonuses to a single color of spell or permanent.</p>
<p>If you want to meet in the middle a little, you can also just use your monocolored status to turn symmetrical effects into ones that only hurt your opponents:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sunspine Lynx"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ravnica at War"></div></div>
<h2>5. Stand Out From the Crowd</h2>
<p>A final reason that matters most importantly to me is my innate hipster status. It's a tough life to lead but the more popular something gets, the less interested I tend to be in partaking in it.</p>
<p>I've always liked to play off-meta and strike my own path. The higher up a commander is in the rankings of most played, the more my brain shies away from wanting to play with it.</p>
<p>In my humble opinion, Commander as a format is one of the most personalized ways to play a card game that exists today. Almost every single card in <em>Magic's </em>history at your disposal and you picked this deck to play. This legendary creature to helm it. This strategy to take to the table.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Timmy, Power Gamer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spike, Tournament Grinder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Johnny, Combo Player"></div></div>
<p>Maybe it's the flavor of the card that drew you in, or the archetype it fits into. Perhaps this card has a special place in your heart from hours and hours of RCQs or warm memories of kitchen table <em>Magic </em>with friends. Maybe you just thought the art was cool or the combos it can produce are super busted.</p>
<p>But if there's one response I would always raise a skeptical eyebrow to when I ask why you built your Commander deck it'd be, "Well everyone else is playing it".</p>
<h3>Go Against the Grain</h3>
<p>As players en masse decide that mono decks are old-fashioned in a world where you can have a dual land never once come in untapped, I ask you to join me in proving them wrong.</p>
<p>Grab an unloved legendary that, "would have been playable if they added blue" and show the world there's life in these mono veins yet. If not for power then to build something truly unique.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thrun, the Last Troll"></div></div>
<p>Thanks for reading this week's edition of <em>The Monolith</em>! Let me know what reasons you think players should bear in mind when deciding if they should grab a mono deck. Maybe even list your favorite mono strategies! Don't forget to join us next week for more mono leaning madness.</p>


Michael 'Wheels' Whelan