Alistair, the BrigadierAlistair, the Brigadier | Art by Thanh Tuấn

Three-Color Shards on the Borderlands

Welcome to Borderland Explorer, the EDHREC series that takes a closer look at commanders right on the border of popularity – not too obscure, but nowhere near the “Top Commanders” front page either.

This is the second episode of a five-part series highlighting commanders in Magic's three-color "shards." Last week's deck was (Naya), so this week will focus on the final shard, (Bant).

The series focuses on commanders helming between 1,000-2,000 decks.

The general plan is to:

• Identify a commander that falls into this range for each allied three-color shard
• Highlight interesting game plan(s) for this commander
• Build a budget-friendly (~$40) "Core" power level deck following these plans
• Highlight important card categories and use synergy numbers to discuss notable inclusions and exclusions
• Describe mid-budget upgrades (<=$20 per card) for the option to invest more into this strategy

The goal is to find commanders with some established traction but lots of room for exploration and innovation; so let’s get into the brewing spirit!

Filtering by number of decks, I see Storvald, Frost Giant JarlStorvald, Frost Giant Jarl, Rigo, Streetwise MentorRigo, Streetwise Mentor, Amareth, the LustrousAmareth, the Lustrous, and Alistair, the BrigadierAlistair, the Brigadier each leading between 1,200 and 1,400 decks. While these are all interesting options, Alastair definitely looks like the kind of commander we've been building – setting up an interesting puzzle to balance Soldier tokens, historic spells and permanents, and the ability to ramp up to for a powerful board pump.

The Game Plan(s)

Historic is the name of the game with Alastair; this deck wants a high density of artifacts, legendary permanents, Sagas, and/or producers of historic ClueClue and FoodFood tokens. There will also be a few subthemes related to this commander: legendary creatures matter, Soldiers matter, and tokens matter. Taken all together, this deck can spit out tons of creature and noncreature tokens, draw cards, create lots of mana, and finish the game with the commander's overwhelming mass-pump effect.

Historic Permanents

Historic + Historic

These cards are perfect for this deck because they're all efficient historic cards that create additional historic tokens:

• Dennick, Pious ApprenticeDennick, Pious Apprentice
• Lonis, CryptozoologistLonis, Cryptozoologist
• Samwise GamgeeSamwise Gamgee
• Sarah Jane SmithSarah Jane Smith
• Peregrin TookPeregrin Took
• Rosie Cotton of South LaneRosie Cotton of South Lane
• Volo, Itinerant ScholarVolo, Itinerant Scholar
• Zimone, All-QuestioningZimone, All-Questioning
• The Birth of MeletisThe Birth of Meletis

Legends Matter

Many historic cards have synergies with casting additional historic/legendary spells:

• Gold-Forged ThopteryxGold-Forged Thopteryx grants much of your board ward
• Niambi, Esteemed SpeakerNiambi, Esteemed Speaker and Ballad of the Black FlagBallad of the Black Flag help you filter through cards
• Blackblade ReforgedBlackblade Reforged, Jedit Ojanen, MercenaryJedit Ojanen, Mercenary, Kellan Joins UpKellan Joins Up, and Legolas GreenleafLegolas Greenleaf give you a more ferocious board precence.

Historic Mana

Although this deck has access to green, normal inclusions like CultivateCultivate, FarseekFarseek, Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach, Three VisitsThree Visits, and Nature's LoreNature's Lore (respective synergies of -12%, -22%, -6%, -14%, and -23% in low-budget decks) have been replaced by mana rocks like the three on-color Talismans (+27 to +39 synergy in low-budget decks) and the three on-color Signets (+19 to +36 synergy in low-budget decks). Because Signets serve as both historic spells (creating SoldierSoldier tokens) and historic permanents (counting towards Alistair's mass pump), these numbers make a lot of sense.

Beyond the straightforward choice of artifact mana rocks, there are some other historic mana synergies like:

• Gilded GooseGilded Goose
• The Restoration of EiganjoThe Restoration of Eiganjo
• Arixmethes, Slumbering IsleArixmethes, Slumbering Isle
• and The Ring Goes SouthThe Ring Goes South, which has the potential to create an additional legendary creature through The RingThe Ring and become an upgraded Explosive VegetationExplosive Vegetation effect that can even get nonbasics.

Speaking of nonbasic lands, they can also count as historic permanents, whether they're part of the Bridge cycle of artifact lands or legendary lands like:

• Abstergo EntertainmentAbstergo Entertainment
• PendelhavenPendelhaven
• RivendellRivendell
• The Grey HavensThe Grey Havens
• The ShireThe Shire
• Trenzalore ClocktowerTrenzalore Clocktower (yes, the deck even includes a few Time Lords).

Finally, We Ride at DawnWe Ride at Dawn, Peri BrownPeri Brown, and Jaheira, Friend of the ForestJaheira, Friend of the Forest allow the deck to leverage its tokens to cast additional spells.

Neither of these is on the commander's page, but these geese work towards different parts of Alistair's goals, with Gilded GooseGilded Goose getting toward the target and The Goose MotherThe Goose Mother serving as a historic spell that creates multiple historic permanents.

Also not on the page, this creature is a historic spell that creates a historic permanent and is even a Soldier to boot – a welcome sight for Skystrike OfficerSkystrike Officer and Harbin, Vanguard AviatorHarbin, Vanguard Aviator.