Norin the WaryNorin the Wary | Art by Heather Hudson

Hey Sister, Soul Sister

Hello fellow brewer and welcome back to Brew For Your Buck, where we swap out the top 10 most expensive cards in a deck with 10 budget cards that add a unique twist.

I hope you're enjoying the Tarkir: Dragonstorm previews as much as I am! We're back with another deck tech, with a really fun concept I had never heard of before.

John wrote in all the way from France to ask for some help with his Rocco, Cabaretti CatererRocco, Cabaretti Caterer deck. Only it's not a Rocco deck, it's a Norin the WaryNorin the Wary deck!

The concept comes from 60-card formats, where you use Norin to trigger lifegain cards like Soul WardenSoul Warden over and over. John has asked for help transferring that gameplan to Commander. Since we've never done a "secret commander" list, I'm happy to oblige!

Rocco is a perfect commander for the deck. His color identity gets us access to lifegain effects in white and green, and we can use Rocco to always find Norin. The tricky part is his average list.

The influence of cEDH is pretty clear from a cursory glance, so including that price seems irrelevant especially with the specific gameplan. John's list comes out to $179.95, so we'll look to improve on that. Here are the most expensive cards from John's list:

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne ($32.19)
               2. Finale of DevastationFinale of Devastation ($25.51)
               3. Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge ($20.51)
               4. Delighted HalflingDelighted Halfling ($14.65)
               5. Aven InterrupterAven Interrupter ($5.12)
               6. Witch EnchanterWitch Enchanter ($4.98)
               7. Mother of RunesMother of Runes ($3.60)
               8. Soul's AttendantSoul's Attendant ($3.55)
               9. Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude ($2.87)
               10. PanharmoniconPanharmonicon ($2.81)

Total Value of Cuts: $115.79

Clearly the cost of the deck is very top heavy, and for the sake of clarity, Norin himself would have made this list but removing him defeats the whole purpose.

As usual, we'll swap out the lands that would make this list with two basics and Krosan VergeKrosan Verge, a wildly underrated land that can ramp and fix colors in any -based deck leading to an additional $19.07 in savings, for a total of $134.86.

So our gameplan is to cast Rocco, find Norin, and start the shenanigans. Cards that trigger off of creatures entering or leaving the battlefield are key, and it's pretty easy to make Norin disappear on our opponents' turns, unless they don't feel like attacking or casting spells. I've also noticed that John's list has A LOT of ramp and not a lot of card velocity, so that's a way to improve the list as well.

Additions

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I found this card after I wrote up the ten cards below, so today we're getting a bonus 11th card that will go in place of a mana dork.

I wanted to add it at the top since it might be the most crucial card that I found. Since Norin is our primary game plan, building redundancy for him is crucial. Therefore, I give you Saltskitter ($0.23)

I had no idea this card existed, but since it's more or less a second copy of Norin, it's pretty much essential.

No Gain, No Pain

First, let's build up the count of soul sisters: creatures that gain you life when another creature enters. We need to throw in Prosperous InnkeeperProsperous Innkeeper ($0.12).

It's another soul sister, and crucially if cast on turn 2, the treasure can be used to ramp into Rocco (and find Norin) on turn 3. Hinterland SanctifierHinterland Sanctifier ($0.67) is a new one-drop soul sister, which we'll consider as our replacement for Soul's AttendantSoul's Attendant.

Lunarch VeteranLunarch Veteran ($0.05) also works, and the flip side will trigger as Norin and friends leave the battlefield, allowing us to double down with one card. Suture PriestSuture Priest ($1.60) is my last suggestion.

It works with our plan while simultaneously pinging our opponents as they play creatures, and we can accelerate this with the Genesis ChamberGenesis Chamber in our deck.

There are plenty of other soul sisters around, so you can customize as you see fit. Here's a list for all of the options under $2 if you're curious.

Supporting the Sisters

This deck gets to play some very unique cards like Return to the RanksReturn to the Ranks and ReveillarkReveillark thanks the the large amount of small creatures.

We can add some more support cards to the mix to go along. Raise the PastRaise the Past ($1.78) is basically a second copy of return to the ranks, and will come in handy after a board wipe, something this creature heavy deck is extra vulnerable to.

Ranger of EosRanger of Eos ($0.27) can go find Norin if we don't have access to Rocco for some reason, but also finds the sisters to go along with our secret commander.

Velocity

Pretty quickly we're going to need ways to use our mana. We don't have any big haymakers, so keeping the flood of creatures up is our path to victory. Welcoming VampireWelcoming Vampire ($1.63) seems like an obvious choice, working with Norin to draw up to four cards per turn cycle.

Shamanic RevelationShamanic Revelation ($1.40) is another one that can draw a huge amount of cards in this deck, even if the Ferocious clause doesn't go off too often.

Irreverent GremlinIrreverent Gremlin ($0.04) might not seem like much but it helps you get through the lands and ramp cards that you don't need after the first few turns and find the pieces you do need to win the game or remove a threat.

Finally, I can think of no other deck than this one as a home for Assemble the PlayersAssemble the Players ($0.28). Knowing what's on top of your deck is always nice, and being able to play a huge chunk of cards from there speeds up how quickly you can go through it.

Wrap Up & Savings

Let's see what we saved:

70% savings and way under $100! This deck seems like a blast to play and has a lot of cool upgrades to make it stronger. Special shoutout to Confusion in the RanksConfusion in the Ranks. It's over the budget limit but really funny with Norin.

You can give an opponent Norin for their good creature, but Norin will blink back to your side of the battlefield, so you can basically just steal opposing threats as needed.

Don't forget, this is also a Rocco deck, so you can include a toolbox of creatures that can take care of whatever threat you're facing down.

John, I hope you like the new list! I made a few additional tweaks focused on card velocity and removing some of the cards that (in my opinion) didn't push the gameplan enough.

If you've got any suggestions for John and myself, let me know in the comments! And if you want to have your deck featured on Brew For Your Buck, send an email to [email protected], include an Archidekt link and a few sentences explaining your goals.

Next time I'll definitely be featuring some commanders from Tarkir: Dragonstorm, so be on the lookout and I'll see you next time when we brew for your buck!

Please note: card prices listed in this article are accurate at the time of writing, but prices can vary over time and between locations.

Brian Cain

Brian played Magic intermittently between 2003 and 2017 when he fully embraced his love for Commander. Finding ways to maximize the value of each piece of cardboard in the deck is one of his favorite things to explore, especially if it involves putting lands in the graveyard! Outside of Magic, Brian works as a consultant in the marine industry, turning his passion for boats and ships into a career.