Tifa LockhartTifa Lockhart | Art by Laurel Austin

Lands Matter and Landfall decks are common archetypes in Commander; most players have dabbled in them in some way. My own journey went something like building Lord WindgraceLord Windgrace, to The NecrobloomThe Necrobloom, to Titania, Protector of ArgothTitania, Protector of Argoth, to Omnath, Locus of RageOmnath, Locus of Rage, to Zimone, Mystery UnravelerZimone, Mystery Unraveler, with a lot left over to build another Lands Matter deck.

Final Fantasy has a lot of really good cards for these themes. The one I'm interested in talking about today is Tifa LockhartTifa Lockhart. Is she particularly good or worth playing in this archetype as your commander or at all in the 99? Let's find out.

What Does Tifa Lockhart Do?

Tifa LockhartTifa Lockhart costs to cast, which is good for this kind of commander because we anticipate a ton of removal for her. She is a 1/2 which is relevant because her power is critical to her effect, and her biggest weakness.

She reads:

Trample

Landfall - whenever a land you control enters, double Tifa Lockhart's power until end of turn.

With one land she'll go from one to two power. With a total of five lands entering on your turn, she can get up to 32 trample damage, which is likely lethal to most players.

Tifa's Main Weaknesses Compared to Similar Commanders

The first thing I did was look up mono-green Landfall commanders on EDHREC, to see what other Baddies were out there for her color combination to fairly compare her stats to staples in the archetype.

Until End of Turn

Her landfall triggers only last until the end of the turn, which is notably worse than other commanders in her archetype. Greensleeves, Maro-SorcererGreensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer or Titania, Protector of ArgothTitania, Protector of Argoth make tokens from lands entering or lands going to the grave, respectively, which are good blockers and attackers on future turns. Tifa uses her landfall triggers only once.

Glass Canon

Tifa only increases her power, which means she's a glass canon. You have to be very careful with your landfall triggers to stack enough of them on board to make her lethal on a single turn and would likely only be able to kill one player at a time because of the nature of combat. Bristly Bill, Spine SowerBristly Bill, Spine Sower at least gives the counters permanently.

Toughness Issue

Additionally she is very likely to die in combat because her effect doesn't buff her toughness, so she will need an additional turn to get over summoning sickness. If she had a little red maybe we could run a very successful Kediss, Emberclaw FamiliarKediss, Emberclaw Familiar combo with her, killing the table with one death.

No Protection

She doesn't have any protection stated on her. She is very lethal to one player if the lands come in right and she needs to go to combat, but players can use most kinds of single target removal on her to remove her before she connects. She doesn't have ward or regenerate, so on top of having to recast her each turn, she won't have haste to attack right away. It's not a ton, but Greensleeves at least has protection from planeswalkers and Wizards.

Lands Accessibility

She doesn't have a way to supply extra lands for more landfall triggers; Tifa doesn't provide a way to see more lands like an Oracle of Mul DayaOracle of Mul Daya, or play more lands like an Azusa, Lost but SeekingAzusa, Lost but Seeking, or a way to make creatures become lands like Yedora, Grave GardenerYedora, Grave Gardener or Ashaya, Soul of the WildAshaya, Soul of the Wild.

How I Would Maximize Her Ability

No Voltron

I talked with my partner at length about this deck because I really like the idea of a landfall punch face deck, but the initial trap I fell into was thinking of this as a Voltron deck. She doesn't have enough tools to be a successful Voltron commander in her colors outside of splurging on Sword of Feast and FamineSword of Feast and Famine. She still becomes a glass cannon and ripe for removal as a Voltron commander.

Ghalta, Primal HungerGhalta, Primal Hunger Deck Insights

My partner plays one of the most successful mono-green decks I've ever experienced, and it too runs a very large trample creature at the helm: Ghalta. What makes this deck powerful isn't just trying to swing in for lethal by buffing Ghalta, but also getting value off of her size. For example, Return of the WildspeakerReturn of the Wildspeaker and Greater GoodGreater Good can draw you a lot of cards. Tifa could work similarly.

Cards that buff your whole table could be beneficial as well. Running Pathbreaker IbexPathbreaker Ibex and Overwhelming StampedeOverwhelming Stampede are excellent closers with Tifa because on a given turn she can get crazy big. Cards like Selvala, Heart of the WildsSelvala, Heart of the Wilds is another way to push that huge power into your favor, casting more spells after ramping lands.

Protection Protection Protection

The biggest issue facing Tifa is that she'll likely be explosive early game, drawing all the removal and ire from the rest of the table. There will likely be early game removal wasted on her, and she needs a way to evade it. I just have to run tons of protection.

A deck I loved to play that never really could cut it was my Blanka, Ferocious FriendBlanka, Ferocious Friend deck. It was really fun but suffered from really explosive turns early game that led to most removal being used on him. I often used single pip protection in that deck and I think it'll work here too.

Tyvar's StandTyvar's Stand, Tamiyo's SafekeepingTamiyo's Safekeeping, and Gaea's GiftGaea's Gift all protect from single target removal and destruction by giving indestructible and hexproof at instant speed. This is important since she will likely be targeted during combat, as opponents will wait until attacks are declared, in hopes that you're swinging her at someone else. I also mentioned Sword of Feast and FamineSword of Feast and Famine earlier, which would give her a buff and protection from black, which is a common removal color.

Permanent Buffs

We need a way to get Tifa to lethal more easily, and we need a way to protect her measly toughness. Bristly Bill, Spine SowerBristly Bill, Spine Sower's landfall trigger can give her a +1/+1 counter, and if stacked properly (counter first, then Tifa's double) could make her even bigger. It will likely make her a bigger target for anxious removal, but at least they need to have it to kill her.

The goal here is to permanently buff her with power or counters, making the necessary landfall triggers fewer. Cards like RancorRancor give a huge buff. The same with Blackblade ReforgedBlackblade Reforged, which synergizes with the amount of lands in play as well. Double power potential on a turn.

Landfall Staples

Tokens

We need all the staples in mono-green we can get to buff the value of this deck. Let's run all the token makers like Zendikar's RoilZendikar's Roil, Rampaging BalothsRampaging Baloths, and Greensleeves, Maro-SorcererGreensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer. We want to make a decent token army as we go along, for alternate strategies outside of Tifa. Maybe even Titania, Protector of ArgothTitania, Protector of Argoth with how many sac lands we'll use to guarantee multiple landfall triggers a turn.

Draw

We'll need Garruk's UprisingGarruk's Uprising for drawing cards off all the tokens entering, and maybe even a Guardian Project as well, depending on how often the deck can trigger it. Up the BeanstalkUp the Beanstalk too, if there are enough high-cost spells.

Burst draw is good too, so a Shamanic RevelationShamanic Revelation, Return of the WildspeakerReturn of the Wildspeaker, and a Rishkar's ExpertiseRishkar's Expertise wouldn't hurt either. Crucible of WorldsCrucible of Worlds, Ramunap ExcavatorRamunap Excavator, Oracle of Mul DayaOracle of Mul Daya, and Ancient GreenwardenAncient Greenwarden all extend your hand with the ability to play lands from other zones.

RAMP

We're playing the full package of green ramp:

• CultivateCultivate
• Kodama's ReachKodama's Reach
• Nature's LoreNature's Lore
• Three VisitsThree Visits
• Traverse the OutlandsTraverse the Outlands
• Springbloom DruidSpringbloom Druid
• Skyshroud ClaimSkyshroud Claim

These are all great ways to put lands into play immediately or put them in hand for the next turn.

Additional Lands Per Turn

Azusa, Lost but SeekingAzusa, Lost but Seeking, Oracle of Mul DayaOracle of Mul Daya, ExplorationExploration, Wayward SwordtoothWayward Swordtooth are all good ways to guarantee additional land drops from hand. With a Crucible or Ramunap you can grab the fetches and sac lands from the grave to double the amount of landfall per turn.

Double Triggers

If we're running low on lands in hand, we'll need to double the value of those lands. Things like the Traveling ChocoboTraveling Chocobo and Ancient GreenwardenAncient Greenwarden will do the trick, doubling each trigger for Tifa.

Instant Speed Lands

Being able to attack with Tifa, wait for blockers, and then turn her trample damage into lethal with instant speed landfall would be huge. Cards like Crop RotationCrop Rotation, HarrowHarrow, and Entish RestorationEntish Restoration would be huge for ending a game out of nowhere.

Closers

Craterhoof BehemothCraterhoof Behemoth is a must-play in many green decks. Overwhelming StampedeOverwhelming Stampede, Triumph of the HordesTriumph of the Hordes, and Pathbreaker IbexPathbreaker Ibex are all ways to end the game with or without Tifa.

Conclusion

Tifa Lockhart is very playable, but not in the way we'd expect. It's not a commander where the whole deck surrounds her. It's more of a really good mono-green Landfall deck with a big game closer built into the command zone.

But that's just my thoughts. I want to hear yours. I'm Strixhavendropout on Blue Sky! Send me some cards I forgot to mention here. Or your own insights about the deck!