(Greymond, Avacyn's StalwartGreymond, Avacyn's Stalwart and Gerrard, Weatherlight HeroGerrard, Weatherlight Hero | Art by Bram Sels and Zack Stella, respectively)

Scars of War

Good day, friends! Welcome back to Commander Fusion, the series where we scratch that ol’ Simic BiomancerSimic Biomancer itch and see if we can combine two random commanders into one (semi)coherent deck, using EDHREC data!

Step in line, cadets: we’re having a military fusion today, combining the strategies of two of the most renowned (but not that kind of Renownedbut not that kind of Renowned) soldiers across the multiverse. Can Greymond, Avacyn's StalwartGreymond, Avacyn's Stalwart and Gerrard, Weatherlight HeroGerrard, Weatherlight Hero work together and strategize a path to victory with a new commander that combines their greatest strengths?

I assume that’s what you’re here to find out, so let’s get started!

A Stalwart Friend

Greymond, a soldier and member of the Church of Avacyn on Innistrad, comes to us today bearing much more than just a sweet mustache.

It’s no secret that Greymond began life as Rick, Steadfast Leader, and thus can be seen as the Innistradi (Innistradian? Innistraden?) counterpart of the Walking Dead protagonist with similar proclivities for killing zombies and, in general, acting steadfastly and stalwartly, one would assume.

Greymond proves a pretty potent anthem, giving all Humans a nice +2/+2 boost to power and toughness when he’s on the field.

That’s in addition to providing some good evasion by allowing you to choose two of three possible keywords to give to all your Humans, as well.

What are the key synergistic pieces to a Greymond EDH deck? Here are some of the highest synergy cards for Greymond, according to EDHREC:

1. Dauntless VeteranDauntless Veteran
2. Horn of GondorHorn of Gondor
3. Thalia's LieutenantThalia's Lieutenant
4. Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar
5. Coppercoat VanguardCoppercoat Vanguard
6. Champion of the ParishChampion of the Parish
7. Templar KnightTemplar Knight
8. Odric, Master TacticianOdric, Master Tactician
9. Kwende, Pride of FemerefKwende, Pride of Femeref
10. Frontline MedicFrontline Medic

This looks to be a kind of deck that really plays into the strengths of White as a color. Dauntless VeteranDauntless Veteran provides an additional power boost to your creatures, while KwendeKwende ensures that if you choose first strike with Greymond, it will actually be double strike instead.

Horn of GondorHorn of Gondor and AdelineAdeline can fill your board with plenty of Human tokens that will essentially have their power tripled by Greymond. Thalia's LieutenantThalia's Lieutenant and Champion of the ParishChampion of the Parish will grow bigger and bigger the more Humans are entering, and Coppercoat VanguardCoppercoat Vanguard and Frontline MedicFrontline Medic serve to keep your creatures as protected as possible.

Greymond proves himself to be potent in the command zone or in the 99 of other Human-loving decks. WinotaWinota, ÉowynÉowyn, and KylerKyler all like to have Greymond as part of their army, but he is absolutely strong enough to stand on his own, as well.

A Heroic Sacrifice

Our next commander, Gerrard, is none other than the protagonist of the Weatherlight Saga, one of Magic’s first epic stories that was depicted in sets from 1997-2001.

If you want to read more, you can do so here(at the new and improved MTG Wiki, no less!); it’s beyond the scope of this article to go too into detail on his history.

This version of Gerrard debuted as the “sub-commander” (a new legendary creature printed in a preconstructed commander deck that’s missing one of the deck’s colors) of the Mystic Intellect deck led by Sevinne, the ChronoclasmSevinne, the Chronoclasm in Commander 2019.

Gerrard serves as a form of protection in the command zone, sacrificing himself for the greater good to return all other artifacts and creatures that entered the graveyard on the same turn he dies back to the battlefield.

How might one go about building a deck around Gerrard? Here are some of his key synergies:

1. Hare ApparentHare Apparent
2. Ichor WellspringIchor Wellspring
3. Goblin BombardmentGoblin Bombardment
4. Ashnod's AltarAshnod's Altar
5. Faith's RewardFaith's Reward
6. Hour of RevelationHour of Revelation
7. Myr RetrieverMyr Retriever
8. Arbaaz MirArbaaz Mir
9. Nevinyrral's DiskNevinyrral's Disk
10. Pyrite SpellbombPyrite Spellbomb

Hour of RevelationHour of Revelation and Nevinyrral's DiskNevinyrral's Disk both become a lot more effective when Gerrard is on the field and you can bring all your stuff back…in the case of the Disk, you even get it back to do it all over again should you so choose.

Pyrite SpellbombPyrite Spellbomb can serve as single target removal or card draw that Gerrard can bring back upon his demise, and since most of your cards will end up in the graveyard with this strategy, Faith's RewardFaith's Reward and Myr RetrieverMyr Retriever can help you make sure you’re getting all your cool stuff back even if Gerrard is currently out of commission.

Despite being printed in a commander precon, Gerrard doesn’t seem to be a hugely popular commander.

In general, I think we see commanders with death triggers (especially outside of Black) don’t end up being super popular or practical due to the amount of hoops that have to be jumped through.

Other commanders, such as WinotaWinota, JodahJodah, and General Ferrous RokiricGeneral Ferrous Rokiric seem to like him in the 99 as a protection piece that is also relevant to their particular strategies.

We Could be Heroes

Now that we’ve examined our commanders, what do you think? Is there a middle ground where Greymond and Gerrard can meet together and work towards a goal for the betterment of all humanity (or, at least, our side of the board?)

Taking these twenty high-synergy cards from above, we’re looking for another Boros () commander that also takes advantage of these cards in their own strategy. What have we got?

1. Commander MustardCommander Mustard
2. Winota, Joiner of ForcesWinota, Joiner of Forces
3. Théoden, King of RohanThéoden, King of Rohan
4. Arabella, Abandoned DollArabella, Abandoned Doll
5. The Jolly Balloon ManThe Jolly Balloon Man

It is only fitting that two heroic soldiers should join together under the leadership of a quite-literal Commander. Commander Mustard takes the evasive maneuvers of Greymond’s strategy and applies them to Soldiers rather than Humans (however, you will quickly find in Magic that most Soldiers are also Humans, so it’s not that much of a stretch)

.We can see Gerrard’s strategy in…well…honestly, this was a tricky one. Gerrard is so mechanically unique, especially in Boros colors, that it’s hard to find another commander that even resembles him.

However, we can find some inspiration somewhere- the other Boros commander that shared most of Gerrard’s high-synergy cards specifically was Arabella, Abandoned Doll.

How about we build a deck with Commander Mustard in the command zone, but where Arabella can serve as an “alternate” commander?

A focus on Soldiers, especially with power 2 or less, and the burn damage that both Mustard and Arabella have in common, could give us a fun restriction.

"Plans are Useless, but Planning is Indispensable"- Unknown

If we’re playing with Mustard (the commander, not the condiment) we want to fill our side of the board with as many Soldiers as possible.

For a change, both of our previous commanders actually work pretty darn well in the 99 of this deck: Greymond can choose first strike and lifelink when he enters, meaning that all your Human Soldiers will have a very impressive five keywords, and we’re not even playing OdricOdric!

In addition, his anthem effect makes all those Human Soldiers hit a lot harder. Many of our Soldiers will be tokens that we generate from other spells, meaning that Prava'sPrava's considerable buffs will also be appreciated.

Warleader's CallWarleader's Call, arguably one of the best Boros cards ever printed (at least for EDH,) also gives our creatures a nice power boost in addition to burning our opponents when our creatures enter.

That brings us to our next aspect of the strategy: creature burn!

Many burn-based decks may rely on instants and sorceries to do damage, but we’re going to be using our creatures to damage our opponents, and we don’t even have to swing if we don’t want to.

In addition to Warleader's CallWarleader's Call, we also have Agate InstigatorAgate Instigator, Impact TremorsImpact Tremors, and Witty RoastmasterWitty Roastmaster to produce the same effect, meaning our opponents will quickly be feeling the heat if we can reliably get creatures onto the field.

Our alternate commander, Arabella, will also burn our opponents for (hopefully) massive damage, especially since we’ve focused on Soldier tokens and low-power Soldiers for our build, and Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge will deal a whopping 2 damage for each creature that enters.

Gerrard finds his place in the 99 as well. Since we’re working with lots of creatures, we want to make sure that those creatures are as protected as they can be.

Baird, Steward of ArgiveBaird, Steward of Argive, Coppercoat VanguardCoppercoat Vanguard, and Selfless SquireSelfless Squire also do their part to keep the unit safe.

I also want to highlight some unique Boros cards that work really well in this deck. Sophina, Spearsage DeserterSophina, Spearsage Deserter will help us draw cards by making Clues, which is very valuable in a deck that lacks Blue. Craig Boone, Novac GuardCraig Boone, Novac Guard can force your opponents into an uncomfortable position of having to decide to let a creature die or take a massive hit to their life total.

Anim Pakal, Thousandth MoonAnim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, Assemble the LegionAssemble the Legion, and Skyknight VanguardSkyknight Vanguard are also fantastic sources of creature tokens that can help us overrun the board as quickly as possible.

Once you’ve filled your board with Soldiers, you’ll want to swing out with everything and activate Mustard’s ability to deal massive burn damage to the player or players you’re attacking. Ideally, this will be how you finish out a game.

If you need an alternate path to victory, you have a few options. Cards like Thousand Moons SmithyThousand Moons Smithy and Horn of ValhallaHorn of Valhalla can help you go tall with one creature if going wide is not working, giving/making one creature in particular a massive power boost based on how many creatures you control.

You can also sink a lot of mana into a Finale of GloryFinale of Glory to make an angelic army to visit destruction on your foes from above.

Mustard Seed Faith

That’s it for this article, folks! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below, along with your preference- yellow mustard or brown mustard? I’ll see you next time!

Quinn Lambert

Quinn has been playing Magic since Kaladesh. A Bant player at heart, his number-one goal in any game is always to have more cards in hand than anyone else at the table. Outside of Magic, he is a licensed mental health counselor, non-professional but eager Jesus-imitator, and totally unlicensed toddler-wrangler.