Aunt MayAunt May | Art by Randy Gallegos

Hello and welcome to Spider-Man preview season! Or is it Avatar: The Last Airbender preview season? Didn't Edge of Eternities just get released? All of these things are true. So, it's as good a time as any for a Spider-Man deck tech! We've already seen 30 commanders from this set, but one of them caught my eye for its simplicity. While there's certainly more unique options for interested deckbuilders, today's deck tech will be focused on... Aunt MayAunt May!

What Does Aunt May Do?

Aunt May's a pretty simple card. For , we get a 0/2 Human Citizen that lets us gain a life whenever another creature we control enters the battlefield. She also puts a +1/+1 counter on that creature if it's a Spider (but there's only one Spider in this deck, so that line of text is largely irrelevant).

I love how straightforward this card is. So many modern commanders have got far too much text on them, so it's refreshing to return to something a little bit more down-to-earth once in a while. Plus, Aunt May doesn't sacrifice on power. Although she's only got one ability, it's a strong one that a lot of white cards can capitalize on. 

Aunt May is, of course, the latest in a long line of Soul Sisters - creatures that let us gain life whenever a creature we control enters the battlefield. She's essentially a cheaper version of Daxos, Blessed by the SunDaxos, Blessed by the Sun (but without the death trigger) and a monocolored version of Elas il-Kor, Sadistic PilgrimElas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim (also without the death trigger).

Notably, though, Aunt May costs just one mana. This small change makes a world of difference, as it means we'll always have an impactful turn-one play that can set us on a great path for the early game. Long term readers of my articles will know I love a good curve out, so I'm especially excited for this deck tech!

Let's get down to brass tacks. How are we actually going to win? All lifegain decks face this problem, and far too many of them fail to answer it effectively. Here, we'll gain a boatload of life by flooding the board with creatures. Then, we'll convert that lifegain into victory through alternate win conditions and those creatures into super effective combat steps through anthems.

It might not be the most glamorous game plan, but it's a very way to win! Let's get going, and see what this deck can do!

Key Cards for Everyone's Favorite Auntie

Alongside Aunt May, this deck's got a full seven soul sister effects. While the deck can certainly gain enough life with our commander alone, it becomes significantly more effective with another Soul WardenSoul Warden variant on board.

My favorite among these is Haliya, Guided by LightHaliya, Guided by Light, which triggers itself and can provide us with card advantage. I'm also a fan of both Suture PriestSuture Priest and Guide of SoulsGuide of Souls, both of which provide upside compared to the OG effect. I love cards that improve on a timeless classic in some subtle way, while still allowing room for unique deckbuilding by not being too overpowered.

Because we've got constant access to creaturefall effects, cards that can repeatedly make tokens shine in this deck's 99. Among them, my favorite is Angelic Sell-SwordAngelic Sell-Sword. This creature is fantastic, letting us get an extra body every time a creature we control enters. Plus, it'll provide us with an effective attacker, blocker, and an extra card draw on each of our turns! is admittedly a lot to ask, but this creature pays us off quite well for that investment.

There's also Thousand Moons SmithyThousand Moons Smithy, an awesome card from Lost Caverns of Ixalan that makes some huge tokens. It makes what I affectionately refer to as a "super karnstruct" on ETB, and can keep making those super karnstructs if we've got a big enough board. These tokens, of course, trigger our enters effects, but they can also serve as win conditions if we make enough of them.

There's lots of other ways to make tokens, including Voice of VictoryVoice of Victory, Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar, and even Charismatic ConquerorCharismatic Conqueror. But, those cards are already well known and well understood.

For our last card in this group, I'll talk about another high mana value card that makes a huge impact on the game: Silverwing SquadronSilverwing Squadron. This Human Knight is a huge, flying, vigilant body. And, it'll make us three tokens every time it attacks (which also means this creature becomes even bigger)! It might cost six mana, but Silverwing Squadron is a nice way to transition from the mid- to the late-game, and even close out grindier matches.

With all these creatures entering the battlefield, we'll be gaining a lot of life. How can we turn those life points into actual, factual on-board advantage?

Well, by far the best way to do that is Archangel of ThuneArchangel of Thune. We'll usually have a big board of small creatures, and this Angel can turn that army into a fearsome fighting force. Spider-Man, Peter ParkerSpider-Man, Peter Parker, Heliod, Sun-CrownedHeliod, Sun-Crowned and Nykthos ParagonNykthos Paragon have similar effects, but the aforementioned Angel is significantly more effective.

There's also quite a few ways to turn lifegain into tokens. Crested SunmareCrested Sunmare, Resplendent AngelResplendent Angel, and even Speaker of the HeavensSpeaker of the Heavens are just three of several ways that we can make tokens if we keep gaining life.

How Does This Aunt MayAunt MayCommander Deck Win?

As the game goes on, there's a few ways that we can ensure that we turn the corner and secure victory. First up, there's anthems like Leyline of HopeLeyline of Hope, Angel of InventionAngel of Invention, and Warren WarleaderWarren Warleader. The latter two creatures can even create extra tokens, should we need to gain more life or simply have more blockers.

There's a few creatures that get progressively bigger as we gain more and more life, like Voice of the BlessedVoice of the Blessed, Elenda's HierophantElenda's Hierophant, and (my favorite) Qala, Ajani's PridemateQala, Ajani's Pridemate. Qala, in particular, excels here. This Cat Warrior gets huge as the game rages on, acts as another anthem effect, and can even turn our excess mana into extra lifegain!

Finally, we've got a trio of alternate win conditions: Aetherflux ReservoirAetherflux Reservoir, Angel of DestinyAngel of Destiny, and Felidar SovereignFelidar Sovereign. We should easily be able to gain enough life to activate these win cons, making them relatively consistent ways to end the game.

Aunt May Commander Deck List

Conclusion

That's it for this week, folks! I'm pretty happy with how this list turned out. We've turned a simple, one-drop commander into a fun mono-white lifegain list that can hang with much more complex decks.

I wanted to shoutout one of my favorite cards in this list before I end this writeup. Sunscorch RegentSunscorch Regent can get really big, really fast. And, this Dragon can repeatedly trigger our lifegain-matters effects. In case you can't tell, I really like five- and six-drops that can accelerate us towards victory. Long live battlecruiser EDH!

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