Tannuk, Steadfast SecondTannuk, Steadfast Second | Art by Raymond Swanland

Warp Speed!

Hello, and welcome to another Edge of Eternities (EOE) deck tech! I'm Brian, your usual host of Brew For Your Buck (BFYB), but I'm here to dive into building a deck for another commander from Magic's newest set. Today we have a spin on a fairly well-established archetype, though we're bringing a few key differences that will make new cards relevant and introduce some new lines of gameplay.

Tannuk is the next iteration of commanders in the Sneak Attack archetype, named for the eponymous Sneak AttackSneak Attack. These decks love to slam down giant creatures long before they're supposed to be on the battlefield and smash face with them. You might think having to sacrifice them is a downside, but in many cases that can be a huge upside, allowing players to take advantage of "leaves the battlefield" or death triggers. Tannuk is no exception, but brings a new spin with the EOE mechanic: warp. Warp says:

You may cast a card from your hand for its warp cost. Exile that permanent at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.

So we can cast artifacts and red creatures from our hand for , attack with them (if they're creatures) thanks to Tannuk's static ability to give our creatures haste, then they "warp out" to exile and are waiting to be cast on a later turn for their full mana value. If this sounds familiar, it's because we have a VERY similar commander in the format already:

It doesn't get much more similar than that. In fact, to start my build for this deck I simply pasted the average list from Purphoros's commander page straight into Archidekt. It's nice for a starting point, but with our focus on Tannuk, let's examine the crucial differences between the two:

1. Tannuk let's you cast noncreature artifacts via warp, whereas Purphoros only lets you cast artifact creatures (sadly, still no EldraziEldrazi; probably a smart call by Wizards)
2. When you cast a card for its warp cost, you're casting a spell. Purphoros puts the permanent onto the battlefield. This means your warped spells can be interacted with like other spells (countered, copied, etc.). However, we can also take advantage of cast triggers, mostly notably in the form of cascade and discover abilities. We also need to obey timing restrictions for the spell, and we can't cheat something in at instant speed unless it has flash.
3. You don't sacrifice the permanent on your end step; it goes to exile instead, so death triggers won't work with Tannuk, though leaves-the-battlefield triggers are still fair game.
4. When we do re-cast a warped permanent, we do so from exile, so anything that triggers based on that or from casting a spell from somewhere other than our hand should be considered.

There are a few other existing commanders to examine, though none quite as similar as PurphorosPurphoros. Henzie "Toolbox" TorreHenzie "Toolbox" Torre and Kaalia of the VastKaalia of the Vast both have similar playstyles and paths to victory, so if you like those type of decks, TannukTannuk might be for you.

Key Cards

Noncreature Artifacts

The first thing I did was explore the most obvious difference between Tannuk and Purphoros. Being able to cheat in huge, noncreature artifacts for a grand total of three mana is nothing to scoff at. Cards like Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia and Spine of Ish SahSpine of Ish Sah come to mind pretty fast. If you want to lean in a more Vehicle-centric direction to match Tannuk's Pilot flavor, you could throw in Reaver TitanReaver Titan or the new Extinguisher BattleshipExtinguisher Battleship (which won't kill our big-butted commander). You could also consider Caged SunCaged Sun as a "ritual" to double up on your mana for a big turn, or Chimil, the Inner SunChimil, the Inner Sun to protect a key spell from being countered.

My favorite option by far is the aptly named Ingenuity EngineIngenuity Engine, aptly named because I feel like a genius for finding it. Warping this in will trigger cascade (more on that below), but you can use its activated ability to bounce it back to your hand to get multiple cascade triggers in a turn and/or avoid it warping to exile at the end of your turn. We can add Erratic PortalErratic Portal, which allows us to do the Ingenuity EngineIngenuity Engine thing with any of our big creatures as well. We can continue to cheat the warp ability by keeping Sundial of the InfiniteSundial of the Infinite from Purphoros's list. Activate this to end your turn in your second main phase to avoid the second half of the warp ability and just keep everything you warped in from leaving the battlefield.

Two more noncreature artifacts worth mentioning are God-Pharaoh's GiftGod-Pharaoh's Gift and Wondrous CrucibleWondrous Crucible. These can act as "recursion" pieces for the deck by being warped in and doing their thing before they warp back out. We have a lot of large creatures with enters-the-battlfield effects that we'd like to reuse, so it's great to have a few options to recur them in a mono-red deck which doesn't usually have a lot of options for this effect.

Blast from the Cast

Our next group of cards takes advantage of the fact that we are casting the spell when using its warp ability. We talked about abusing cascade with Ingenuity EngineIngenuity Engine, so we'll throw in Maelstrom ColossusMaelstrom Colossus as well. Sunbird's InvocationSunbird's Invocation is basically a cascade card without saying it, so in it goes. Cast the spell for three mana, but cascade equal to its full mana value!

Getting a little bit more creative, the Myojin from the Kamigawa sets are ripe for abuse. Casting them from your hand is the key to getting the indestructible counter for them to activate their powerful abilities. Of course, Infinite RageInfinite Rage might get you kicked out of your play group, but it is funny if your table is cool with mass land destruction. Roaring BladesRoaring Blades should be much more tolerable and is certainly a powerful removal spell in this context.

Excellent Exile

Once all of the warping shenanigans are done, we still have plenty of opportunity to take advantage of re-casting those spells from exile. From what I can see in the data, there's a holy trinity of cards that show up in red-based exile-themed decks: Wild-Magic SorcererWild-Magic Sorcerer, NalfeshneeNalfeshnee, and Passionate ArchaeologistPassionate Archaeologist. Other than all three being great for the deck, there isn't much else to say about them.

Some more interesting options include Charred Foyer // Warped SpaceCharred Foyer // Warped Space, which now allows us to cast our giant spells on the cheap even after they've warped away. Also "Warped Space" is perhaps the most flavorfully named card for this deck in existence. Party ThrasherParty Thrasher works great with the noncreature artifacts in the deck, further reducing the cost to cast them. It's also a Lizard Wizard, which is fun to say.

Casting from exile is not the same as casting from hand, so we can also include cards like Flaming TyrannosaurusFlaming Tyrannosaurus and Keeper of SecretsKeeper of Secrets. They fit the bill for big creatures to cheat in with Tannuk while also giving you the "anywhere other than hand" effects. Lately, Wizards seems to be exploring this design space more frequently, so be on the lookout for more in the future.

Gameplay

The gameplay pattern of this deck is quite similar to the others in the Sneak Attack realm. Play the commander, cheat in something big, profit. In magical Christmasland (turn one Sol RingSol Ring) you can do this as early as turn three. More than likely it'll be on turn four or five. At that point it's just a matter of deciding what to warp.

Our big spells vary from card velocity to board wipes, so choose whatever puts you the most ahead. Etali, Primal StormEtali, Primal Storm might be the best in a vacuum, as getting that attack trigger right away can help catapult you really far ahead. After that, it's about protecting Tannuk and keeping up the pressure. For this reason we have Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat, Bolt BendBolt Bend, and Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves in the list, helping to keep removal off of our Kavu friend. There is some consideration to holding off on casting Tannuk until you have seven mana available to be sure you can get some value. Unless your table has been beaten to a pulp by Tannuk before, I'd say go for the gold.

Wrap Up and mini-BFYB

Like I did with my previous deck tech about everyone's favorite Lobster, I want to do a quick BFYB on the final list in case you're looking to put Tannuk together on a budget:

• Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat ($46.44) --> Wyll's ReversalWyll's Reversal ($0.73)
• Akroma's MemorialAkroma's Memorial ($34.63) --> Eldrazi MonumentEldrazi Monument ($7.76)
• Terror of the PeaksTerror of the Peaks ($28.09) --> Where Ancients TreadWhere Ancients Tread ($0.79)
• Jeska's WillJeska's Will ($26.71) --> Light Up the StageLight Up the Stage ($0.25)
• Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia ($22.77) --> Mimic VatMimic Vat ($0.60)
• Reaver TitanReaver Titan ($18.09) --> Skysovereign, Consul FlagshipSkysovereign, Consul Flagship ($1.32)
• Passionate ArchaeologistPassionate Archaeologist ($14.99) --> Screamer-KillerScreamer-Killer ($0.39)

Tannuk is a great twist on a well-established and very fun archetype. Remember: focus on cast, enters, and attack triggers rather than death triggers and finding ways to bounce cards that were just warped back to your hand seems especially powerful. With red getting more access to and payoffs for casting things from exile, there's bound to be cards in the future to add to this list. In the meantime, drop a comment below if I missed some sweet tech for Tannuk, and let me know what other EOE cards and commanders you're excited for!

Brew For Your Buck will return again in August, but you can check out any of my previous articles here. Until then, have a lovely day and happy brewing!