Shantotto, Tactician MagicianShantotto, Tactician Magician | Art by Joshua Raphael

Well, this is about the most up to date I've ever been in terms of new releases. As of the day I'm writing this, May 7th, the commander I'm doing a deck tech for hasn't even made it's way into the EDHREC database. But Shantotto, Tactician MagicianShantotto, Tactician Magician is just too interesting to not write about immediately. She's just been spoiled for the new Final Fantasy Set, and while I don't know a single thing about Final Fantasy, I do know a good deckbuilding challenge when I see one. So lets dive right into this weird spellslinger commander.

Shantotto, Tactician Magician

Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell. If X is 4 or greater, draw a card.

Ok, so I've done more than a few spellslinger commanders on this series. Balmor, Battlemage CaptainBalmor, Battlemage Captain, Adeliz, the Cinder WindAdeliz, the Cinder Wind, Third Path IconoclastThird Path Iconoclast, they're all blue-red commanders that care about casting noncreature spells. It's a pretty basic formula. All you need for those decks is a bunch of cheap instants and sorceries that can draw cards or buff your team or whatever is helpful. Then you get a bunch of creatures like Kessig FlamebreatherKessig Flamebreather that'll ping your opponents whenever you cast one of those spells. It's a pretty tried and true formula, but I've built it a few too many times at this point. I've gotten quite bored of the whole game plan, and I need a challenge.

How Is Shantotto Different From Other Izzet Spellslinger Decks?

So that's why I was elated when my editor recommended that I check out Shantotto. Yes, at the surface level, it's just another Izzet spellslinger commander. But there's a bit more to it than that. Rather than request the usual one-drop suspects of OptOpt, PreordainPreordain, Serum VisionsSerum Visions, and all those other crummy cantrips, Shantotto wants us to play spells with mana value four or greater. That's certainly a big difference from what other commanders want.

Shanotto doesn't technically require us to play big spells, but we draw a card whenever we do, and I'm certainly not one to turn down card advantage. Other than that, the only thing she does is get bigger when we play spells. But, man does she get a lot bigger. So let's build a deck around big noncreature spells and one big creature. I think that's pretty doable, and even if it's not, I'm sure it'll be interesting.

As with any big mana deck, the question is: how much? How big can our average mana value get before it becomes unmanageable? Well, there's a pretty clear minimum we have to follow. If we want to take advantage of our commander's ability throughout the game, we need to be drawing a four-drop every three cards or so. Because otherwise, our commander's ability is just gonna be a random bonus that occurs every once in a while. It would be like playing Miirym, Sentinel WyrmMiirym, Sentinel Wyrm and only cloning a Dragon every other turn. We've got a cool commander, let's use it.

Big Pauper Spells for Shantotto

Unfortunately, there's a slight problem. I'm not sure if there are enough great four-drops to play in Pauper. Yeah, you've got Unexpected WindfallUnexpected Windfall, Pirate's PillagePirate's Pillage, and Big ScoreBig Score, which are all fantastic, but I don't think there are 30+ four drops that are worth playing. I certainly don't want to play Airborne AidAirborne Aid just to draw a card. There are a decent number of good cards though, so let's check those out first before giving up.

We've got plenty of card draw, from Behold the MultiverseBehold the Multiverse to Deep AnalysisDeep Analysis. Even Tamiyo's EpiphanyTamiyo's Epiphany is worthwhile here. Then there's some red aggression in Goblin War PartyGoblin War Party, Hazardous BlastHazardous Blast, and Empty the WarrensEmpty the Warrens. Are Goblins particularly useful to us? Nah, but every deck needs chump blockers, and we'd rather create them with noncreature spells.

After that, we have to reach into five-mana spells. Luckily, there are a few that are great inclusions even if our commander didn't ask for it. Lórien RevealedLórien Revealed is just a handy card to have, early and late game. Temporal FissureTemporal Fissure can decimate a board state. And Mana GeyserMana Geyser just makes a ridiculous amount of mana. Then, even more expensive than those is Treasure CruiseTreasure Cruise. Eight Mana? How could that possibly be worth it? Oh, hold up, it's got delve. Basically, it's castable for just a single mana. And it'll still trigger our commander! Right?

This Commander Got Nerfed

Well, actually, there's something unusual about our commander that I've concealed. I said that Shantotto checks the mana value of your cards when deciding what X is, but actually, she checks how much mana is spent. That means that Treasure CruiseTreasure Cruise doesn't give Shantotto +8/+0, it gives Shantotto +1/+0 if you delve away all the generic mana. That's super disappointing, especially considering that Shantotto is one of the first commanders to be worded like this. I'm sure it was a balancing decision, but honestly the result of it is that Shantotto is extremely underpowered.

This is the reason that I haven't been including cards like Meeting of MindsMeeting of Minds. Normally, for a commander that checks mana value, Meeting of MindsMeeting of Minds would be great because it can be cast for less than its advertised cost, but still trigger an ability. But here, if we don't pay any mana, we don't get any value. This is also the reason that I'm not including Goblin ElectromancerGoblin Electromancer, despite it being one of the best spellslinger staples of all time. If it reduces a four-cost card to three mana, we just don't get the card draw from Shantotto.

The most I can do to patch this deck up is add a ton of ramp and some stuff to make Shantotto unblockable, like Artful DodgeArtful Dodge. Maybe we'll also add Temur Battle RageTemur Battle Rage into the mix, because double strike on our commander sounds pretty intimidating. But I think that's about all I can do. Unfortunately, all we have right now is a deck with an absurdly high average mana value, and a pretty lousy payoff for it. I know I made a comparison to Miirym, Sentinel WyrmMiirym, Sentinel Wyrm earlier in this article, but anyone with eyes can see that drawing a card for casting a four-mana spell is not the same as making a copy of a Dragon for two mana.

Shantotto Pauper Commander Deck List

I'm not gonna lie, this deck is hilariously bad. A lack of good four-drops wasn't even my biggest problem, because trying to take advantage of the four mana clause was just a terrible idea when the payoff is so bad. I think this deck would be better off if you just played a bunch of one-drops, like Balmor, Battlemage CaptainBalmor, Battlemage Captain. But then you should just play Balmor.

The one thing that could've saved this deck would've been Goblin ElectromancerGoblin Electromancer, but the wording of Shantotto makes that card actively detrimental. I understand why the card is phrased like that, and it'll probably make some future legend much less abusable. But here, it just makes the commander mediocre.