Winota, Joiner of ForcesWinota, Joiner of Forces | Art by Magali Villeneuve

Welcome once again to Fire and Ice! This is the data-driven series where I go over cards that are becoming more or less popular for different Commander decks, and talk about why they may be gaining or losing popularity. I'm Julia, EDHREC's Duchess of Data, and I'm super excited to jump into today's article!

EDHREC, of course, has a ton of data. We'll draw conclusions from that data about how certain commanders' decks have changed over time, give insight into how the format's players are thinking about new cards, and hopefully provide some tech for your favorite commander's list.

It's time for a cEDH edition of Fire and Ice! We'll be focusing today's efforts on a commander that mostly sees play in Bracket 5 (although she admittedly does make quite a strong Bracket 4 pick): Winota, Joiner of ForcesWinota, Joiner of Forces!

Winota, Joiner of ForcesWinota, Joiner of Forces

What's Hot and What's Not for Winota, Joiner of Forces

For , Winota lets us peek at the top six cards of our library whenever a non-Human creature we control attacks. We get to take a Human creature from those six cards and put it onto the board, tapped, attacking, and indestructible (until end of turn). We can turn a few cheap, evasive creatures into fearsome, game-ending threats with Winota on the field.

Winota decks want to get a few powerful, low mana cost non-Humans onto the battlefield, cast their commander, and start flooding the board with stax pieces and scary creatures. When nobody can cast spells or take other meaningful game actions (and the Winota player has a board full of strong attackers) the game is sure to end soon.

Among Winota's most popular cards are Blade HistorianBlade Historian (in 87% of decks), GingerbruteGingerbrute (66% of decks), and Ethersworn CanonistEthersworn Canonist (47% of decks).

What's Fiery for Winota Decks?

Raph & Leo, Sibling RivalsRaph & Leo, Sibling Rivals - Fire Score of 7.64

This is one of the best cards to come out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set. For just , we get an extra combat on every single one of our turns. That lets us get two more Winota triggers, putting two more powerful Humans onto the board. This card is even better because it's a 2/4 (which lets it survive combat more easily) and because it's a non-Human (meaning we can untap it for an extra trigger if we don't have other non-Humans).

This Mutant Ninja Turtle is a slam dunk inclusion in Winota decks, and deserves its high Fire Score.

Hexing SquelcherHexing Squelcher - Fire Score of 7.53

This is an interesting card to evaluate, because Winota decks don't need to cast many spells to win the game. We can just land one or two powerful non-Humans, resolve Winota, and snowball our way to victory from there.

But, if we can land Hexing Squelcher in the early game, it allows us to ensure that our commander doesn't get countered. Plus, much like Raph & Leo, it's a non-Human! Combined, those two facts make it a great play on turn one or two.

Kinscaer SentryKinscaer Sentry - Fire Score of 4.92

Sometimes, our best creatures can get caught in our hand. If we've already got a Phyrexian CensorPhyrexian Censor or an Eidolon of RhetoricEidolon of Rhetoric on the field, it may be difficult to get those powerful cards onto the stack. This Kithkin Soldier helps us get around that problem, while also having some great keyword abilities for just .

If we're able to pair Kinscaer Sentry with a token generator or two, it'll provide us with immense value throughout the game. Plus (I feel like this is getting old now), it's an inexpensive non-Human creature that can hit the battlefield before our commander does.

Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning - Fire Score of 4.75

Winota's color identity doesn't allow us access to many good counterspells, meaning we're quite weak to opposing interaction. Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat is one great way to deal with opponents' removal and countermagic, and Redirect Lightning is essentially another copy of that free spell. While spending and five life isn't ideal, it's still a good rate for this effect!

We've seen a few redirection spells printed recently. While it's a bit too expensive for cEDH lists, I'm also partial to Untimely MalfunctionUntimely Malfunction. It's got multiple useful modes, but is too much to spend in such a fast format.

Clarion ConquerorClarion Conqueror - Fire Score of 3.07

This is a fantastic stax piece. Activated abilities are everywhere in cEDH, from Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond to Retraction HelixRetraction Helix, and this Dragon turns them all off. This Null RodNull Rod-esque effect even disables commanders like Sisay, Weatherlight CaptainSisay, Weatherlight Captain and Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy. It's also a 3/3, letting it survive combat and Orcish BowmastersOrcish Bowmasters pings quite easily.

However, Clarion Conqueror also has some "nonbos," disabling a few of our cards too. It turns off our mana rocks, Hope of GhirapurHope of Ghirapur, and Ranger-Captain of EosRanger-Captain of Eos. The symmetrical nature of this creature's stax effect can hurt us sometimes, but it seems that many Winota players are willing to run it regardless.

Ainok Strike LeaderAinok Strike Leader - Fire Score of 2.16

This creature is a non-Human that makes more non-Humans. That's a lot of Winota triggers! Ainok Strike Leader's second ability, which protects our tokens from board wipes, is nice to have. Sweepers aren't super common in cEDH pods, but it's a nice panic button to have.

I'm reminded of Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar. While Adeline carries a much scarier stat line, this creature costs less and can protect our tokens from harm. I'd rather have Adeline in most Commander decks, but Ainok Strike Leader seems like a better choice for Winota lists specifically.

This Dog Warrior also goes infinite with a certain Aura that I'll talk about in just a moment...

Auratouched MageAuratouched Mage and Breath of FuryBreath of Fury - Fire Scores of 2.70 and 2.13, Respectively

Breath of Fury is a super powerful enchantment. When paired with a way to make at least one extra creature per combat, we can take infinite combat steps and win the game. We can pair this Aura with Loyal ApprenticeLoyal Apprentice, Voice of VictoryVoice of Victory, and the aforementioned Ainok Strike Leader! Each of those creatures provides a ton of value on their own, so their synergy with Breath of Fury is just icing on the cake.

Auras are somewhat difficult to resolve in Commander, though. They can be countered on the stack or the creature that they target can be removed. It's already hard to get Auras onto the battlefield in Brackets 1 through 4, so it's even harder in Bracket 5 where Force of WillForce of Will and Deadly RollickDeadly Rollick are common.

But Winota decks can get Breath of Fury out in a much more protected manner. Our commander's ability lets us get Humans onto the board with ease. While Auratouched Mage's mana cost is absurdly high, we can just cheat it out onto the battlefield. That lets us get Breath of Fury onto the battlefield too, without giving our opponents the opportunity to interact meaningfully with our combo line.

One Winota player noted that we likely wouldn't run Auratouched Mage if Breath of Fury didn't exist. But they also noted that they'd likely still run Breath of Fury if Auratouched Mage didn't exist. Drawing either Breath of Fury or Auratouched Mage makes it much harder to pull off this sequence, but it's nice to have such a powerful, hard-to-interact-with combo in our 99 regardless!

What's Icy for Winota Decks?

Dauntless DismantlerDauntless Dismantler and Cathar CommandoCathar Commando - Ice Scores of -2.63 and -2.48, Respectively

Removing artifacts is important in cEDH games, but the most powerful artifact in the whole format is the indestructible One RingOne Ring! Both of these creatures are nice to flip into with Winota's attack trigger, but they fail to deal with one of the format's most problematic cards effectively.

Some Winota players would rather win before their opponents than try to interact with them. These players focus more heavily on creatures like Lightning, Army of OneLightning, Army of One than Magus of the MoonMagus of the Moon, and try to reduce their opponents' life totals to zero as fast as possible. This "turbo" version of Winota may be gaining popularity, explaining why these cards are somewhat Icy.

Mother of RunesMother of Runes - Ice Score of -2.60

Mother of Runes is a great creature. But you know what's even better? Giver of RunesGiver of Runes. Yes, Mother of Runes can protect itself while Giver of Runes can't, but the Giver can protect creatures from colorless too. That means that we get to swing past creatures like Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne and the somehow-cEDH-playable Ulalek, Fused AtrocityUlalek, Fused Atrocity, while also avoiding being targeted by the occasional Kozilek's CommandKozilek's Command.

It's not necessary to run both of these creatures, and Giver of Runes has just a little bit more utility than its motherly counterpart.

Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude - Ice Score of -2.27

When I asked Winota pilots about Flare of Fortitude, their opinions were somewhat split on the card. They acknowledged that its applications are a bit narrow, as it won't often save us from losing the game. But it can be extremely clutch. It can save us from a huge attack by an opponent, protect our board from removal, and even let our creatures survive an aggressive swing we made in combat to get a few extra triggers from our commander.

I'm not sure if this spell is good enough for a spot in Winota decks. It can save us from tons of sticky situations, but we may be better served by including another powerful creature to lower our opponents' life totals more quickly. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

What's in a Winota, Joiner of Forces Deck?

I put together a Winota list with all of her Fiery cards and none of her Icy cards. This deck was based heavily on Winota: Snowball Stax, which can be found on the cEDH Decklist Database.

Conclusion

This article couldn't have been put together without the help of the fine folks over at Winota's cEDH Discord server. They provided some great insights on a few of the cards that I discussed today, and are super passionate about this commander.

Winota has long been tricky to evaluate in cEDH. She provides a massive amount of value, and can close out games super quickly if she's left alone, but stax is generally not considered to be a strong strategy at the moment. Turbo decks move too fast and midrange decks can generate too much value in the long run, leaving stax decks in a strange spot.

But if anyone can make this game plan work, it's Winota. If you've got any spicy cards in your Winota 99, sound off in the comments! For now, though, I'll see you all next week for another edition of Fire and Ice.