Inspirit, Flagship VesselInspirit, Flagship Vessel | Art by Titus Lunter

When the robots rise up to claim our society as their own, there will be no "off" switch. We'll be forced to endure wave after wave of deadly automatons until, battered and bruised, we band together as a planet to take out the base of operations. I've seen enough films to recognize this as prophecy.

I'd imagine this target would look a lot like Inspirit, Flagship VesselInspirit, Flagship Vessel, the new face commander of the Edge of Eternities Counter Intelligence preconstructed Commander deck — chilling innocuously just out of reach until it's time for an alpha strike. The power it lends its loyal robo-subjects is undeniable; some might call it "win more," but robots were never known to be demure.

For this take on a tentpole EOE commander, I opted to recreate what it might feel like to be overtaken by swarms of mechanical droids who cannot, and will not, let themselves be destroyed. This involved envisioning a society aboard the Inspirit Spacecraft where the will of the many far outweigh the needs of the few…

What Does Inspirit, Flagship VesselInspirit, Flagship Vessel Do?

Inspirit welcomes stationers of all sizes, from the meagerest Servo to the meatiest Construct, and offers varying degrees of protection.

With only one charge counter on it, the Spacecraft doles out either a +1/+1 counter or two charge counters to another artifact at the beginning of combat on your turn. (The logic behind offering twice the number of charge counters than +1/+1 counters eludes me; part of me thinks there may have been a typo.)

What begins as a trickling of value gushes at eight charge counters, when your other artifacts become practically unkillable by gaining hexproof and indestructible — not to mention Inspirit can start swinging in as a 5/5 flyer. Suffice it to say, your opponents won’t be psyched.

Inspirit arrives alongside a new ruling that legendary Spacecraft and Vehicles can be commanders. As such, there aren’t many other commanders that resemble the way Inspirit plays out: essentially an anthem attached to a concealed threat hiding in plain sight.

Fittingly, the closest analogies to this Edge of Eternities commander entered Magic’s galaxy from Universes Beyond, playing the Jeskai game of victory via value.

Guile, Sonic SoldierGuile, Sonic Soldier from Street Fighter, aka Immard, the StormcleaverImmard, the Stormcleaver, plays like Inspirit but focuses on itself, rather than the team, using combat steps to expand its board presence and protect its most important assets. It’s a rough comparison, for sure, but at least it also brings charge counters into play.

Fallout’s Dr. Madison LiDr. Madison Li shares Inspirit’s focus on artifacts, channeling their casting to generate card advantage and scary board states. And, unlike Guile but much like Inspirit, Dr. Madison Li remains safely outside of combat.

The format also contains a number of cards that don’t enter the battlefield as creatures: Theros gods like Xenagos, God of RevelsXenagos, God of Revels and Thassa, God of the SeaThassa, God of the Sea; products of Duskmourn’s impending mechanic like Overlord of the BalemurkOverlord of the Balemurk; or one-off anomalies such as Arixmethes, Slumbering IsleArixmethes, Slumbering Isle.

Inspirit is easier to kill than the bunch, but still dodges creature removal early on and sticks around after most board wipes.

Key Cards for Inspirit, Flagship VesselInspirit, Flagship Vessel

The Counter Intelligence precon splits its focus between cards that want charge counters and those that want +1/+1 counters. The threats are bigger and more singular. I opted to take a more egalitarian approach and envisioned a colony where power has been given back to the people — a place where the masses hold sway.

A deck like this requires plenty of token-makers, and I selected as many as I could that deploy artifact creature tokens specifically.

• Most provide tokens as you load the board, including Pinnacle EmissaryPinnacle Emissary, Station MonitorStation Monitor, Sai, Master ThopteristSai, Master Thopterist, Oltec MatterweaverOltec Matterweaver, and Mirrodin BesiegedMirrodin Besieged.
• Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain GalleryDollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery does a decent impression of Adeline, Resplendent CatharAdeline, Resplendent Cathar and throws in an anthem effect for later in the game.
• Cayth, Famed MechanistCayth, Famed Mechanist and Oltec MatterweaverOltec Matterweaver manufacture tokens when we cast creatures, of which there are 31.
• Retrofitter FoundryRetrofitter Foundry produces tokens and occasionally allows us to trade up for bigger bots.
• Illustrious WanderglyphIllustrious Wanderglyph serves as an army in a can. Like its spiritual predecessor Tendershoot DryadTendershoot Dryad, it gets out of hand pretty quickly.
• Spawning PitSpawning Pit and Golem FoundryGolem Foundry synergize with charge counters but operate just fine on their own.

This droid army is highly skilled and capable of performing any number of functions, up to and including:

• Reckless FireweaverReckless Fireweaver, Ingenious ArtilleristIngenious Artillerist, Weftstalker ArdentWeftstalker Ardent, and Hedron DetonatorHedron Detonator get in some pings; then Sunshot MilitiaSunshot Militia and Ghirapur Aether GridGhirapur Aether Grid ping ’em again.
• Illustrious WanderglyphIllustrious Wanderglyph, Tempered SteelTempered Steel, Urza, Prince of KroogUrza, Prince of Kroog, Cathars' CrusadeCathars' Crusade, and Cyberman PatrolCyberman Patrol provide nice anthems to buff the team for combat. Not just tokens, either: Most of the deck's creatures are artifacts themselves.
• Each token grows Kappa CannoneerKappa Cannoneer, which is a must-kill threat in this deck.
• All Will Be OneAll Will Be One dishes out damage when your units station or when Inspirit triggers each turn.

The important thing is that these colorless automatons usually wind up tapped so Throne of the God-PharaohThrone of the God-Pharaoh and Alibou, Ancient WitnessAlibou, Ancient Witness can yield maximum profit.

This deck is more focused on achieving Inspirit’s ultimate ability, but there are still plenty of uses for the counters it doles out along the way—especially for ramp and card draw:

• Astral CornucopiaAstral Cornucopia and Everflowing ChaliceEverflowing Chalice can tap for insane amounts of mana.
• Reckoner BankbusterReckoner Bankbuster never runs out of steam — or, does, and gets refilled — and Insight EngineInsight Engine primes its own pump.
• Uthros Research CraftUthros Research Craft, an engine and payoff all its own, certainly wouldn’t say no to a few spare charge counters.
• This deck is also test running the new Planet lands: Adagia, Windswept BastionAdagia, Windswept Bastion, Kavaron, Memorial WorldKavaron, Memorial World, and Uthros, Titanic GodcoreUthros, Titanic Godcore. (I hear Tolarian AcademyTolarian Academy is a decent card.)
• Thopter and Drone tokens wear +1/+1 counters pretty well, as does Riptide GearhulkRiptide Gearhulk.

How Does This Inspirit, Flagship Vessel Commander Deck Win?

Primarily, Inspirit’s army of hexproof and indestructible robo-beasts wants to do what it does best: beat face.

Start by playing at least one creature followed by Inspirit, which can be immediately stationed in time for its first trigger. Ideally, you’ll target a mana rock or a token-producer, though a strategic +1/+1 counter placement isn’t bad, either.

Continue slow-rolling tokens, which can be great chump blockers, alongside one of your pingers to begin whittling down opponents’ life totals. It’s worth stationing here and there every so often, but you can certainly hold off until you’ve amassed seven creatures to station the Inspirit all in one fell swoop.

From here, the game plan can adapt to what you’ve drawn:

• An anthem effect or two (Cybermen SquadronCybermen Squadron, Depthshaker TitanDepthshaker Titan, Cyberdrive AwakenerCyberdrive Awakener, etc.) help to
• Swing the token masses freely into opponents until they’re overwhelmed and, ideally, dead.
• All Will Be OneAll Will Be One means stationing the Inspirit until it’s beyond overcrowded.
• Finding either Throne of the God-PharaohThrone of the God-Pharaoh or Alibou, Ancient WitnessAlibou, Ancient Witness further incentivizes both of the above strategies.
• I suppose you could snag an easy W off Mirrodin BesiegedMirrodin Besieged, but this deck isn’t necessarily banking on this strategy.

Inspirit, Flagship Vessel Commander Deck List

There Inspirit

If you picked up the Counter Intelligence precon, I'd love to hear how you like it and how you wish it played differently. Plus, what do you think about the token route I chose? Please let me know!

This version of the strategy involves a few pricier but important (if not niche) cards, but it's still unclear what prices the Edge of Eternities cards will settle into. Until next time, see you among the stars!

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