Interpret the SignsInterpret the Signs | Art by Cynthia Sheppard

It's time to announce the finalists for this month's Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest!

In case you missed the announcement post, this is a monthly contest with a different theme each month. Your goal is to build a Commander-legal deck that fulfills the prompt in a creative or unique fashion. At the end of each month, three finalists will be selected for you to vote on. Whoever gets the most votes will be crowned the winner, although all three finalists receive a prize.

As a reminder, this month's prompt was to brew a Commander-legal deck based on the name of a competitive 60-card deck. Old tournament decks often have strange names, like Tin Fins, Ice Station Zebra, and Full English Breakfast. The goal for this contest was to interpret the name, rather than adapting the deck strategy to Commander.

We collected submissions from the Archidekt Discord and Archidekt newspost and evaluated them based on their creativity. It was important to have a tactical reason to abandon a color or take a particular commander in a new direction.

Now, it's your turn to decide who will be crowned the winner.

Read about each deck list below, then visit your favorite and upvote them on Archidekt. Whoever has the most upvotes by Wednesday, May 28, 2025 will be the winner, and receive $250 credit to cardsphere.com.

Second and third place will receive $150 and $100 cardsphere.com credits, respectively.

Finally, here are the three finalists chosen for this month's contest, presented in no particular order. Follow the link in each decklist to vote on your favorite!

Red Deck Wins

Full of cards that specifically target cards of every color except red, this deck is designed to help any red deck it plays against win while stopping everyone else from doing much of anything. A green or white deck will struggle to play through PutrefactionPutrefaction, while the blue and black decks will crumble under Nature's WrathNature's Wrath. Even multi-colored decks are hit by these effects, ensuring only the mono-red player can survive unscathed.

Not content with simply stopping every other deck, this deck also includes plenty of cards to help the red players it encounters. Gauntlet of PowerGauntlet of Power and Gauntlet of MightGauntlet of Might both buff every red creature in play, while doubling the mana made by Mountains. And if anyone is able to sneak a board wipe through, Balthor the DefiledBalthor the Defiled is on standby to reset the red player's board.

A majority of the hate pieces in this deck are enchantments, so Marina VendrellMarina Vendrell helps keep your hand stocked from the command zone. Zur the EnchanterZur the Enchanter and Sterling GroveSterling Grove are also here to hold this pile of silver bullets together. And while HavocHavoc and Blood MoonBlood Moon are sure to stifle your game plan as well, it's worth it so long as the red deck wins.

Cazur, Ruthless StalkerCazur, Ruthless Stalker and Ukkima, Stalking ShadowUkkima, Stalking Shadow entirely exclude Boros from their color identity, but their strategy is remarkably similar to many a red-white deck. Get small creatures into play, including tokens from Sai, Master ThopteristSai, Master Thopterist, then buff them with +1/+1 counters and Equipment. Those Equipment also form the core of this deck's limited card advantage. The AethersparkThe Aetherspark in particular is an exciting new option for "Boros" decks such as this.

This deck also ramps primarily through Treasure generation and cost reduction effects. Goldvein PickGoldvein Pick pairs well with the Equipment subtheme, as does Brass SquireBrass Squire. Golden GuardianGolden Guardian is a potential removal effect before flipping into an Ancient TombAncient Tomb that can also make tokens in a pinch.

Even the removal suite for this deck is chosen to mimic the best options available in red and white. Beast WithinBeast Within and DamnationDamnation are functionally identical to Generous GiftGenerous Gift and Wrath of GodWrath of God, while Deadly RollickDeadly Rollick and ResculptResculpt do reasonable impressions of Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares.

Burn

Flavor text is an oft overlooked part of Magic cards, but there are some excellent tidbits to be found there. From the glimpses of characterization found on Vhati il-DalVhati il-Dal and Hedron ArchiveHedron Archive to the standalone insults of Adorned CrocodileAdorned Crocodile, it's always exciting when a Magic card has that little extra space for flavor text.

A line of flavor text is also a great way to elevate an otherwise mediocre card. GreataxeGreataxe is nothing to write home about, but it's flavor text is good enough to make it stand out in my mind. Especially when paired with the card art, the text really helps nail the flavor of any card in a way mechanics alone can't quite manage.

Of course, when you pick cards for their flavor text, the mechanics of the deck are bound to suffer. But it's only natural for a burn deck to pick cards for maximum emotional damage.

And there you have it, the three finalists for the May 2025 Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest.

Which is your favorite? Be sure to follow the links in the headers of each section to visit the deck pages and upvote the one you think should win!

The final rankings based on your votes will be announced on Wednesday, May 28th, 2025.