From the Brim to the Trim - Auras And Absolute Awe
(Yenna, Redtooth Regent | Art by Justyna Dura)
Amorous Auras And Absolute Awe
Greetings and salutations from a country getting increasingly close to hosting what promises to be... let's say interesting Olympic Games. I'm Arnaud and I'm thrilled to take you on a journey of budget brews and silly shenanigans.
It's been a while, folks! We've had a longer than usual interlude, between my mad scientist quirks focused on specific mana values and the various analyses of the new Outlaws of Thunder Junction cards. I'm really happy to be back, and with a tricky commander with that.
Last time, I left you with the choice between landfall, creature copies and enchantments. Azusa, Lost but Seeking fell a bit behind, earning 99 votes (29.29%, cute double prime). Rionya, Fire Dancer fared a bit better, with 116 votes (34%), but failed to convince you entirely. Therefore, our winner this week is Yenna, Redtooth Regent, with 123 votes (36%).
So what does this absolutely beauty of an Elf do? We've got a 4/4 for four mana, not too shabby stats. And then she allows us to copy any enchantment we control. And if it so happens to be an Aura, we get to untap her to repeat our shenanigans. With that in mind, I have a feeling we're heading towards a possible Voltron build. Since I'm a bit worried about the price tag Enchantress decks usually fetch, I'll include the usual list from EDHREC, as well as the cards from the Cheap filter, just to be on the safe side.
Which brings us to a comfortable 288 cards.
First Trim – The Cardboard Chainsaw Massacre
Let's go, let's go, and let's go again! As usual, we'll trim down each and every card above the $1 threshold, while allowing some potential leniency for anything up to $1.10, in hopes these plummet below our mark at some point.
With most of the expensive trinkets out of the way, there are still 20 cards between $1.10 and $2, the most notable being:
- Open the Armory: Not a huge fan of tutors in a casual budget deck, but it's nonetheless a very powerful outlet here.
- Kor Spiritdancer: I'll regret her not so much for the buff as for the great card advantage she can provide.
- Swiftfoot Boots: Here goes one of the best protection outlets. Oh well.
- Sythis, Harvest's Hand: She has gone down in price consistently, yet not quite enough just yet. A shame.
- Timely Ward: A superb surprise for your opponents, all the more since you can double up on it.
- Idolized: Much as I hate Universes Beyond, I must admit this has a certain blunt charm to it.
- Stroke of Midnight: Grab yours while you can! I wouldn't be surprised to see this reach the $3-4 threshold eventually.
- Wrath of God: Down it spirals, continuously outclassed by more and more board wipes. Just a bit more and we'll get there.
- Verduran Enchantress: And yet another CA outlet down the drain.
Painful, painful cuts. However, I was pleased to find some definite gems within the $1-$1.10 range:
- Weaver of Harmony: By now you know I write these articles as I refine the list, so I'm not entirely sure how relevant this is going to be. At $1.04, it's tempting to keep it in, just in case.
- Boon of the Spirit Realm: 5 mana is a lot for a card that does nothing on its own, but I bet this could become a solid boost in no time. It reminds me a bit of Cathars' Crusade (albeit being significantly worse).
- Surge of Salvation: Heroic Intervention it is not, but it will save you board or your most relevant creatures from targeted removal spells and/or the infamous Blasphemous Act
- Kenrith's Transformation: To this day one of my favourite ways to deal with a problematic commander.
- Daybreak Coronet: This fantastic aura has come down a long way since its inception in Future Sight. And that's a definite and happy include.
Don't you feel better, with all of that load of cash off your shoulders? And better still, there are 190 remaining cards to wade through! Shall we?
Second Trim – Cardward Scissorhands
Did you know that I had some wonderful pasta with creamy spinach, garden peas and Parmigiano-Reggiano the other night? Why am I telling you this crucial information, you may ask? Well, because it's time for veggies!
As usual, let's have a look at how things currently stand:
Not bad at all. Looks like there's some nice cleaver wielding to do there. I'm not going to touch to the board wipes section just yet, as 3 seems a safe number to hang on to. At the other end of the spectrum, Ramp is going to undergo a severe diet, but I'll probably keep a high count, so that we can keep our engine going long enough with our commander.
| Draw | Ramp | Removal |
Before we move on, I feel like there are a few significant issues I have to address regarding my choices.
First, yes, I cut Generous Gift, Swords to Plowshares and Path. You can burn me at the stake for the heresy, but given the amount of removal that we can copy ad libitum with our commander, I feel like this is as good a time as any to try and forego these three major staples. This is also why I have decided to cut the mana rocks route almost entirely, leaving only a spot for Sol Ring and Thought Vessel. And the Ring might very well end up getting axed further down the road.
Second, I think this is the first time I have had trouble removing several of the veggies, as many of those make total sense. The more I look into this list, the more I feel like this is turning into a soft control and less a Voltron. We'll see how this goes after the next trim.
146 cards, and still a lot of work to do.
Third Trim – Cutting off the rough edges
It's funny. Looking at this list from high above, I can't help but feel it's a bit all over the place, trying to do too many things at once.
So let's see, where do we want this deck to go, what do we want to do with it, and how do we intend to win?
Clearly, there is a nice Voltron streak here, with 19 Auras and/or creatures providing some generous oomph. We'll most likely win through combat, by consistently pounding down monstrous creatures onto our opponents' defenses.
There's also a significant will to provide strong protection to our critters. The corresponding category currently accounts for 12 spells, many of which are auras. While not all of them are relevant, this is a thing to consider. Our commander will draw unwanted attention, especially once we start churning those auras and make massive value.
We have a nice recursion package, but 11 cards in there is perhaps a bit too high a count to keep them all. So we'll trim.
There are also a few things that strike me as odd, which we'll promptly remove, as well as the three remaining tutors, because, well... tutors.
Finally, I feel like there are some cruel omissions to this list. Therefore, I'm adding a few cards that I feel are absolutely necessary here:
I've also given a thought to Claws of Gix and Lunarch Mantle. The idea here is simple. Our commander can copy any enchantment we control, provided there are no other permanents with the same name. There are a decent number of said enchantments that provide some kind of advantage entering the battlefield, mostly cards. Therefore, by being able to sacrifice them, we can then reuse Yenna to get even more value.
This is also the reason why I feel I must include the two following enchantments:
The wording on these cards is essential. If you can manage to sacrifice them before their exiling ability resolves, their second ability returning their target will resolve first, yielding nothing, and will then exile their primary quarry forever. Granted, it's a bit far-fetched and Magical-Christmas-Landsy to hope to see both a sacrifice effect and one of these enchantments together on the field, but it's better to try that than to stick to a much weaker Banishing Light.
And finally, I'm adding Regal Bunnicorn. With all of our Auras, I feel like it could become a huge creature in no time.
With that in mind, here is what we're cutting, in a futile attempt to reach the fated and much hated 110-card threshold.
| Protection | Recursion | Pump | Misc. (including tutors) |
Well, I tried. For the love of all the mana, I tried. I just can't lower the count from these categories. I'm stuck at 114 cards. So onward to the last section, let's see what bones we can scrape a little more.
Final Trim – Heart-wrenching-and-ripping-and-agonizing choices
I'm curious. Do you people feel the same? When you build a deck and get to those final cuts, do you go over your list again and again, saying "this no, this I can't, this definitely no, this has to stay... Ok, let's go over it once more........."
I mean, I know the 100 card count is part of the fun, and that no decision will ever be perfect, but sometimes I really feel the decks are... too small?
At any rate, we still have 14 cards to go. None of the following cuts are to be considered bad. And since I can't really make up my mind, I'll go for small cuts in each category.
- Lignify, Petrify and Ossification and Reprobation: All three are great ways to neutralize nasty critters, especially with our commander to copy them. But room must me made, and there are still 7 other removal options at hand, as well as Calix, Destiny's Hand
- Angelic Gift, Mesa Enchantress, Satyr Enchanter and Elvish Archivist: I'm prioritizing cards that react to enchantments entering the battlefield. But it's always painful to cut card advantage outlets. The Elf is off due to it triggering only once each turn, but it was a close call.
- Ajani's Chosen: Of the four token makers, I feel these are the less effective. Siona, Captain of the Pyleas would have taken their place were it not for the value she provides when cast.
- Surge of Salvation: Out of all the protection outlets, I feel this is the one that will be the less effective, mostly because it doesn't save our creatures from destructive board wipes.
- Dawn's Reflection, Market Festival and Rampant Growth: Let's cut the two most expensive ramp outlets left, as well as the weakest link.
- Expel the Interlopers: We'll simply have to make do with two board wipes.
And just like that, Yenna was made Regent.
Conclusion
I wasn't expecting how many readers read these budget tidbits. I want to thank you all, fellow brewers. It's been a wild ride, and I hope you'll stick around for more of these enjoyably janky builds.
Also, I'm interested in your opinion in this specific build. Any hidden gems you'd like to share? What do you think of the inclusions? Any major mistake? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you in two weeks!
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Arnaud Gompertz
Arnaud Gompertz has been playing Magic since 4th Edition, back in 1995. He's been an assiduous EDH enthusiast since 2012, with a soft spot for unusual and casual Commanders. He'll always favour spectacular plays against a boring path to victory. Aside from mistreating cardboard, he's a dedicated board games player, loves a challenging video game and occasionally tries to sing with his choir.
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