Miles "Tails" ProwerMiles "Tails" Prower | Art by John Thacker

I’m not that into video games, but Sonic is one of the few I do have some history with, as I grew up with a neighbor that had a Sega system with Sonic 2. I loved that game because, unlike Final Fantasy, it had a multiplayer mode, so I got to play, too.

My neighbor would get first pick of character because it was his system and game, so I would be Tails while he would be Sonic. With the advent of the most recently-announced Secret Lair, I can relive those memories by making a Tails deck and suiting him up with every machine known to man (and some known only to Foxes).

Interestingly enough, Foxes were recently featured in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, along with the return of Vehicles and the creation of the Pilot creature type. Vehicles are an artifact subtype that have power and toughness only when animated or crewed, although their other abilities can be used whether they're crewed or not.

Their tapping abilities are affected by summoning sickness when animated or crewed, but not otherwise. As a result, one needs to be careful when crewing or animating Vehicles.

Tails never was the more intuitive of the two characters, but figuring things out always made me feel like a genius, and this Tails deck can make you feel that way, too!

What Does Miles "Tails" ProwerMiles "Tails" Prower Do?

Miles is a 3/1 flier for three with flash, which is fairly aggressively costed for an Azorius () legendary creature. Flash functions a lot like haste, enabling Tails to come down on an open board or one post-wrath and get some chip in. Do it seven times, and you can steal a game with commander damage!

Speaking of functioning like haste, crewing Vehicles is an outside ability, so creatures that are summoning sick can still be used to crew. Crewing cares about power and protects the creature from combat (although that part I never understood from a Vorthos perspective: How does the destruction of a Vehicle not affect those crewing it? They must have excellent safety precautions!). Tails’s small toughness, therefore, is not all that important.

There are two primary commanders people tend to think of when it comes to Azorius Vehicles: Shorikai, Genesis EngineShorikai, Genesis Engine and Kotori, Pilot ProdigyKotori, Pilot Prodigy. Both of them happen to be in this deck, primarily because of how powerful they are.

Shorikai is a Vehicle that can be a commander, and it generates Pilots to crew itself and other Vehicles. It also functions as a card draw/selection engine and a means of loading up the graveyard. Kotori is a Pilot that alters crew costs to be crew 2, which can significantly lower the cost of crewing and enable aggressive turns. It also gives an artifact creature lifelink and vigilance on each of our combats.

What sets Tails apart from the others, in addition to the IP and nostalgia factors, is that Tails combines the draw from Shorikai with the augmenting and crewing from Kotori. Tails draws a card when a Vehicle with flying enters or gives flying to a Vehicle entering without it.

Vehicles tend to have above-rate power and toughness, enabling them to attack for large amounts of power at the cost of needing to be crewed. Tails has a body that crews Vehicles easily and an ability that makes those above-rate Vehicles evasive. He combines what the others do well in one adorably aggressive package.

Key Cards for Miles "Tails" ProwerMiles "Tails" Prower

Tails’ primary need is Vehicles. A lot of them. Without Vhicles, he can still be an interesting tempo commander, but the Vehicles are where the draw engine and evasive addendums come into play.

Smuggler's CopterSmuggler's Copter is the poster child for the power of Vehicles, having been banned in Standard almost as quickly as it entered. Speaking of it entering, it has flying, so Tails can draw a card when the Copter enters, and it can block and loot (hence the Looter Scooter nickname) the same turn it comes down.

Peacewalker ColossusPeacewalker Colossus is an ironically-named beater, given that it neither promotes peace nor walks (if Tails comes down first). It also has an activated ability that animates Vehicles, making it one of the more dangerous cards in the deck.

The reason why the Colossus is so dangerous is because it can animate multiple Vehicles. One of the downsides of playing too many Vehicles is that going up the crewing ladder has diminishing returns. Vehicles stacking up like Matryoshka dolls goes tall but not wide, and can only go as tall as the last Vehicle crewed.

Cyberdrive AwakenerCyberdrive Awakener animates and pumps the Vehicles, while Armed and ArmoredArmed and Armored animates, and Dance of the ManseDance of the Manse reanimates. All three of these cards make it so our collection of mechs can be controlled remotely; you could even call them autopilot cards!

One of the primary benefits Tails has over other Azorius Vehicles commanders is that he has a built-in engine: Each Vehicle entering either draws cards or gains flying. In order to use the card draw engine, we need to be casting multiple Vehicles in a turn, digging as deep as we can to try to find one of the autopilot cards.

While digging, we don't want to be hamstrung on mana, so we need cost-reduction effects. Etherium SculptorEtherium Sculptor is one that comes to mind quickly, having fueled powerful artifact decks since players were just learning the name “Esper.” It and Foundry InspectorFoundry Inspector help to give the deck the velocity to rip through our library and fill up our garage with as many mechs, skyships, cars, and boats as we can fit.

A quality of Vehicles that's a double-edged sword is that they aren’t creatures when they aren’t crewed. This is a benefit in that they're difficult to remove: they can’t be hit by creature removal, mass or spot, on anyone else’s turn, unless we make them vulnerable. The downside is that it means that we're wide open to being attacked when they aren’t animated.

As a result, we need to pack removal for when opponents inevitably turn on us. Much of our removal is instant-speed stock removal, like Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares and DispatchDispatch, both of which exile opponents' threats for the low, low price of one white mana. We want stuff dead and not coming back, and we want it done for cheap, as our mana should be spent advancing our board.

How Does This Miles "Tails" Prower Commander Deck Win?

Miles wins through a fairly linear play pattern: cast Vehicles, crew Vehicles, smash with Vehicles. He has an easier time smashing with them when they have flying and an easier time building the board by drawing off of the ones that already do.

What we're hoping to find through all of that digging is a mass animation spell, so that all of our Vehicles can attack, preferably with flying, and eliminate multiple opponents.

Miles "Tails" Prower Commander Deck List

Conclusion

This is a medium-speed engine-based deck, so those who enjoy midrange and fairly standard Commander strategies will like this. We also have just enough explosive power to appeal to those who enjoy combo decks.

It’s always fun to find an Azorius commander that doesn’t look to stifle opponents’ fun and/or creativity, and this one is a ton of fun to play, whether you like the IP or not!