Emet-Selch of the Third SeatEmet-Selch of the Third Seat | Art by by Magali Villeneuve

Hey, nerds! Welcome to my first Final Fantasy $50 budget deck tech featuring Emet-Selch of the Third SeatEmet-Selch of the Third Seat (excluding the cost of the commander). I’ve been looking for an interesting spellslinger commander for years now. My first spellslinger deck was a pile of cards I opened from Guilds of Ravnica and bulk I owned featuring Niv-Mizzet, ParunNiv-Mizzet, Parun. It was a hot mess that kind of functioned, but it wasn’t great. Then I got gifted a budget Krark, the ThumblessKrark, the Thumbless // Kydele, Chosen of KruphixKydele, Chosen of Kruphix partner deck one Christmas. It was such a fun deck, but it only came out on occasion since the turns would take longer than I wanted, so I put it back on my shelf and accepted the fact I’d never find a spell commander that jived with me.

That was until Emet-Selch of the Third SeatEmet-Selch of the Third Seat was spoiled.

What Does Emet-Selch of the Third Seat Do?

Emet-Selch of the Third SeatEmet-Selch of the Third Seat reduces the cost of any spell you cast from your graveyard by two. This effect might seem innocuous, but cheating on mana is one of the strongest things you can do in a game. If you only cast two spells from your graveyard, it's like you got to cast Emet for free. However, that second ability is what drew me in. There are two key things to note about this ability. First, you don’t need to be the one to deal the damage. Second, the spell would only be exiled if it were put back into the graveyard.

The first idea I had was a Dimir Buyback deck. Buyback is an additional cost, which Emet would reduce. Let’s say you cast ClockspinningClockspinning from your graveyard and pay for the buyback cost. Instead of being exiled, it would return to your hand, since Emet’s second ability only exiles the spell if it goes back to your graveyard. However, there are only 18 spells with buyback in Dimir, and that isn’t enough to build a dedicated deck.

That was when I remembered a deck I played a few weeks ago. My best friend built a budget Lord of the NazgûlLord of the Nazgûl Dimir spells deck. He wanted some feedback, so I took it for a spin. After playing it, it got me thinking about how to improve the deck. One idea I had was to use it as a Spellslinger Aristocrat deck. The deck makes tokens that can be sacrificed for value, and black has plenty of cards that drain when creatures die.

So instead of doing a buyback deck or some generic Dimir spells deck, I want to build a Dimir Tokens deck. The idea is simple. You play instants, sorceries, and creature-token-generators, Blood ArtistBlood Artist effects for value when your creatures die, and sacrifice outlets to enable the deaths of said creatures, plus some other key cards you’ll play in any Emet deck.

Key Cards for Emet-Selch of the Third Seat

The first set of spells is the token-generators. These spells either make their own tokens, such as Lab RatsLab Rats, Retrieve the EsperRetrieve the Esper, and Otterball AnticsOtterball Antics, make token copies of your creatures, like Cackling CounterpartCackling Counterpart, QuasiduplicateQuasiduplicate, and Self-ReflectionSelf-Reflection, or creatures that are payoffs for casting spells, like Lord of the NazgûlLord of the Nazgûl, Sedgemoor WitchSedgemoor Witch, and Geralf, the FleshwrightGeralf, the Fleshwright. When choosing token-generators, I prioritized cards that we could cast from the graveyard without Emet’s ability.

Next are value sacrifice spells. These are usually cheap instants that require us to sacrifice a creature to draw cards. Cheap cantrips, like Nasty EndNasty End, Deadly DisputeDeadly Dispute, and Corrupted ConvictionCorrupted Conviction, are great here. Because of how the stack works, you won’t be able to cast a Deadly Dispute from your graveyard the same turn you cast it, unless you have your opponent lose life again, since it won’t be in the graveyard to target, which is why I’d add more sacrifice outlets, like Carrion FeederCarrion Feeder, Viscera SeerViscera Seer, and Yahenni, Undying PartisanYahenni, Undying Partisan.

Now, before we get into the Blood Artist effects, I wanted to share five cards I think are worth considering in nearly every Emet deck, those being Lier, Disciple of the DrownedLier, Disciple of the Drowned, River KelpieRiver Kelpie, Taigam, Master OpportunistTaigam, Master Opportunist, Oona's GraceOona's Grace, and Syphon LifeSyphon Life. Lier turns Emet into a powerful mana acceleration tool, allowing you to recast your instants and sorceries for cheaper. River Kelpie provides card advantage by just existing, and persist makes it a bit harder to kill. Taigam can put spells you cast from your graveyard with Emet’s ability suspend instead of them getting exiled forever. This interaction works great with ClockspinningClockspinning. Oona's Grace essentially gives lands in your hand cycling for if Emet is in play, and Syphon LifeSyphon Life provides a consistent way to trigger Emet’s ability at the cost of a land.

How to Win with Emet-Selch of the Third Seat

There are three ways to win with the deck. First are the aforementioned Blood Artist effects. These are cards that ping to our opponent when creatures die, such as Al Bhed SalvagersAl Bhed Salvagers, Blood ArtistBlood Artist, Mirkwood BatsMirkwood Bats, Zulaport CutthroatZulaport Cutthroat, and Bastion of RemembranceBastion of Remembrance. They make great kicked Rite of ReplicationRite of Replication targets.

The second option is just to beat face with the tokens. Many of the tokens have some evasion, either flying or menace. I even toyed around with the idea of adding Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus, ConspiracyConspiracy, or Arcane AdaptationArcane Adaptation to make Lord of the NazgûlLord of the Nazgûl, and Geralf, the FleshwrightGeralf, the Fleshwright better, but that interaction is too cute and doesn’t help the main gameplan enough.

Finally, I always like adding one generically powerful win condition to a deck. Sometimes your key cards are exiled, or you’re too behind on the board. My go-to budget option is ExsanguinateExsanguinate. It can get your opponents low enough to finish off with drain effects, or if you have enough mana, just end the game on its own.

Emet-Selch of the Third Seat Commander Decklist

Conclusion

I love playing decks that break the norms of what people expect, and this particular build of Emet is exactly that. I wouldn’t put it up against any Bracket Four decks, but if you’re looking for a solid middle-of-the-road deck that can have insane turns and is always doing something, I’d try Emet.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this list below. Do you think I missed any cards? What upgrades would you make? Alrighty nerds, I’ll see you in the next one!