Kwende, Pride of FemerefKwende, Pride of Femeref | Art by Daarken

Knights have been around since the first expansions of Magic, and for good reason. There’s a lot of interest in the heroes and villains of feudalism, from King Arthur to Game of Thrones and even, in some interpretations, allusions as far removed as Pulp Fiction.

As long as armor, rules, and humanity can intersect, Knights can exist. And adding supernatural powers to the armor or spiritual binding adhering them to the rules adds layers to the conflicts those can form with their humanity, creating some of the most compelling stories in history.

Today we're talking about how to build Knight typal in Commander, featuring the mono-white legend Kwende, Pride of FemerefKwende, Pride of Femeref.

Knights in 60-Card Formats

Knights have a long history of supporting White Weenie archetypes in 60-card Magic, including the first competitive deck I knew by name: Sleight Knight. The armor of Knights has been shown in the mundane, in the form of first strike, as well as the magical, in the form of protection.

This makes them excellent sideboard threats against the colors they’re protected from, but can also make them generic threats with the aid of Sleight of MindSleight of Mind effects. Sleight of MindSleight of Mind changes the color of the Knights’ protection and adds blue to the White Weenie deck, allowing it to pressure opponents while protecting against bigger threats, akin to the Counter Cat Zoo deck that would win the first Modern Pro Tour.

What Does Kwende, Pride of FemerefKwende, Pride of Femeref Do?

Kwende works well with the Knights that have first strike, upgrading that ability into double strike. Now, instead of just dominating combat by outmaneuvering opponents, our Knights effectively hit twice, taking out larger blockers or carving through life totals.

Even as the protection Knights semi-archetype went by the wayside, Knights like Knight of MeadowgrainKnight of Meadowgrain and Knight of the White OrchidKnight of the White Orchid still have the first strike ability, enabling Kwende to turn our solid "French Vanilla" or better creatures into legitimate threats.

Knights have a few different options at to helm a Commander deck, some of which are quite powerful. Sidar Jabari of ZhalfirSidar Jabari of Zhalfir has one of the most broken mechanics in Commander in eminence and brings the archetype into Esper. If you’re looking for a Sleight Knight deck, Sidar’s the perfect choice, providing a stream of card filtering and recursion.

Syr Gwyn, Hero of AshvaleSyr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale puts the deck into Mardu and is a primarily Equipment, secondarily Knight commander. Aryel, Knight of WindgraceAryel, Knight of Windgrace is a more midrange Orzhov option, making Knight tokens and tapping those Knights to remove threats.

There are other commanders that happen to be Knights, but perhaps the most interesting is the original Sidar JabariSidar Jabari, which has flanking and taps blockers when it attacks. While flanking hasn’t seen much support recently, it was the go-to Knight ability for a while, showing their ability to use tactics to outmaneuver opponents.

Still, none of these options have the power and simplicity of Kwende.

Key Cards for Kwende, Pride of FemerefKwende, Pride of Femeref

While Sidar Jabari of ZhalfirSidar Jabari of Zhalfir might be the best commander for the Sleight Knight deck, Kwende can also use protection to enable alpha strikes. Akroma's WillAkroma's Will, Brave the ElementsBrave the Elements, and even Aven WarcraftAven Warcraft can help us punch through large amounts of double strike damage.

One of the cuter protection spells is Spare from EvilSpare from Evil, which gives us and our creatures protection from non-Humans. This can help us push through damage or even prevent an alpha strike and enable a counterattack.

What makes Knights such an interesting creature type is that they're masters of combat, both offensive and defensive. This is shown in our commander using first strike offensively by upgrading it to double strike, as well as in our card selection.

We use protection spells to enable alpha strikes as well as anti-removal like Flawless ManeuverFlawless Maneuver and Make a StandMake a Stand to maintain our board when players try to wipe it. This creates openings to maintain the beatdown, using defense to enable counterattacks like true tactical geniuses.

The magic of Knights is that they not only dominate on the battlefield, they can dominate the stack, too. Even in mono-white, we use instants to enable attacks, protect our board, and yes, even remove threats.

Our Knights will outmaneuver opponents any way we can, whether it’s via fogs like Dawn CharmDawn Charm, spot removal like Path to ExilePath to Exile, or even the odd white CounterspellCounterspell like ReprieveReprieve.

No matter what happens, we’re going to have a say in it, using the mana left open from casting cheap Knights.

Our nonbasic lands provide mana sinks and card advantage, letting us play like a control deck should the position be beneficial.

Leaving up mana to interact on opponents’ turns is great when we have traps to spring, but, if those traps remain un-sprung, we need things to do with our mana. We can activate lands like War RoomWar Room and Arch of OrazcaArch of Orazca on the end step of opponents’ turns, which lets us leave up mana but not completely skip our turns.

How Does This Kwende, Pride of FemerefKwende, Pride of Femeref Commander Deck Win?

The goal of the deck is to make small creatures and then outmaneuver our opponents, dealing damage in large chunks with double strike. As an aggressive-leaning midrange deck, we can adopt offensive or defensive positions easily.

Kwende, Pride of FemerefKwende, Pride of Femeref Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Knights are masters of combat, and this deck looks to push that as far as it can go. There are ways to add more colors, abilities, or card types, but those risk losing what makes Knights special: the power of simplicity.

Read More: