Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser | Art by Lie Setiawan

Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser leaving the Commander ban list was not on my 2026 bingo card! I'm incredibly happy to play with Lutri again.

Before the recent ban announcement, Lutri's only real home was in Oathbreaker, a singleton format where it's still legal to play as a companion, and a couple fringe decks in non-rotating formats like Historic, Timeless, and Vintage. Lutri's unban isn't exactly going to shake up Commander in any meaningful way, as I don't see Lutri ending up as a top tier Izzet () commander. Nevertheless, I'm really excited to build a deck around this cute critter, and that's what I'll be taking a stab at in this deck tech!

What Does Lutri, the Spellchaser Do?

Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser is a three-mana Izzet Otter with flash and one relevant ability for Commander purposes: when Lutri enters, if it was cast, Lutri copies an instant or sorcery its owner controls. It's basically a Dualcaster MageDualcaster Mage in the command zone! However, Lutri comes with some caveats that Dualcaster Mage doesn't. First Lutri only triggers when cast; that means no blinking or copying shenanigans with the likes of TwinflameTwinflame. Second, Lutri is legendary, so unless there's a Mirror GalleryMirror Gallery in play, the Twinflame combo wouldn't work anyway.

Lutri's direction seems pretty clear. Lutri wants a Spellslinger deck that can cast cheap but impactful spells and have enough mana left over to copy them with Lutri. Powerful card draw spells, like Dig Through TimeDig Through Time or Stock UpStock Up, are among the first that come to mind. Also, since Lutri only gets its trigger on cast, a deck that maximizes Lutri's abilities should have several ways to bounce Lutri.

Key Cards for Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser

Copying Spells Even Harder

Twinflame TravelersTwinflame Travelers and Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne both double LutriLutri's enters trigger. The first time I resolved three Stock UpStock Ups with one of these two in play, I knew they'd be making the final cut. Lutri being an Elemental really comes in clutch here, as it not only unlocks Twinflame Travelers as a trigger-doubler, but it allows me to include a few other Elementals that contribute to this deck's game plans and squeeze even more value out of them. I will freely admit that I'm a little sad that I won't get to name Otter with Roaming Throne, though.

Twinning StaffTwinning Staff has an insane ceiling here. Of course, the most common scenario is having this artifact in play by itself and simply doubling up on Lutri's enters trigger. However, at the top end, a Twinning Staff that sits in play alongside one of the two trigger-doublers can produce absurd game states!

Picking Up Lutri for Fun and for Profit

Crystal ShardCrystal Shard and Portal of SanctuaryPortal of Sanctuary are both artifacts that can be used to bounce LutriLutri to hand at instant speed. In the early stages of the game, this will most often be used to pick up Lutri to copy a spell on a future turn. In the late stages of the game, this becomes a powerful engine to that soaks up extra mana and converts it into an extra copy of whatever powerful spell is on the stack.

Dour Port-MageDour Port-Mage is a repeatable way to bounce Lutri that also acts as a powerful draw engine. There are plenty ways to get additional value out of Dour Port-Mage, like using SnapSnap or Sink into StuporSink into Stupor to bounce a creature, or Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker, a blink spell that doesn't have any synergy with Lutri, but amplifies the power of other components of this deck's engine.

I've also included a few other creatures that can easily get a lot of value from being replayed with the aforementioned repeatable bounce cards. Thundertrap TrainerThundertrap Trainer is perhaps the most compelling reason to name Otter with Roaming ThroneRoaming Throne, acting as a cheap, repeatable source of card selection that can dig for just about every important combo piece in the deck.

ArchaeomancerArchaeomancer and Pinnacle MonkPinnacle Monk act as recursion engines that really relieve a lot of the anxiety around being forced to use many of the deck's best spells before the engine pieces are in place to get maximum value out of them. Combined with the bounce engines and Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker, they also give the deck a surprising amount of late game reach via recurring burn spells, like Price of ProgressPrice of Progress.

SpellseekerSpellseeker is simply one of the best tutors in this deck. Ironically, Spellseeker's best use case is often searching for another tutor, like Merchant ScrollMerchant Scroll or Muddle the MixtureMuddle the Mixture, before being bounced and replayed to find interaction throughout the middle and late games.

How Does This Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser Deck Win the Game?

Release to the WindRelease to the Wind and Baral's ExpertiseBaral's Expertise both go infinite with LutriLutri! Baral's Expertise is a little stronger, as it nets two additional bounces which can be used to Cyclonic RiftCyclonic Rift away opposing permanents in the process. While these two do go infinite with Lutri, they don't win the game without another piece, like an Impact TremorsImpact Tremors or Altar of the BroodAltar of the Brood, in play. Still, the infinite enters, leaves, and Magecraft triggers are easy enough to take advantage of by the stage of the game that these interactions are coming up.

In total, there are six cards in the deck that provide a way to win once an infinite loop with either Baral's ExpertiseBaral's Expertise or Release to the WindRelease to the Wind have been established. Ral, Storm ConduitRal, Storm Conduit pings the opponents each time a spell is copied. Impact TremorsImpact Tremors, alongside four analogous cards, will ping opponents each time LutriLutri enters, and Altar of the BroodAltar of the Brood will mill the opponents out, provided they don't have a card that shuffles itself back in when it hits the graveyard, like Nexus of FateNexus of Fate or Ulamog, the Infinite GyreUlamog, the Infinite Gyre.

This deck's backup plan is burning the opponents out by copying and recurring burn spells. Price of ProgressPrice of Progress and Sunspine LynxSunspine Lynx typically offer the most damage, with the drawback being that they deal damage to each player. However, it's pretty easy to ensure that these two will kill the opponents first, given the deck's 13 basic lands and 8 fetch lands. I've even included Ghost QuarterGhost Quarter and Strip MineStrip Mine as ways to reduce my nonbasic count before resolving one of these spells.

BoltwaveBoltwave is an interesting case. Its floor is being three copies of Lava SpikeLava Spike, which is horrendous. However, with the trigger-doublers, bounce spells, and recursion engines this deck wants to set up, this one copy of Boltwave can easily turn into three, four, five, or more over the course of a turn or two. In the late game, this will be surprisingly effective at closing out a game. I've chosen two mass goad spells, Disrupt DecorumDisrupt Decorum and Spectacular ShowdownSpectacular Showdown, in lieu of traditional board sweepers in an effort to force the other three players to hit one another into the range of a big Boltwave play!

Lutri, the Spellchaser Commander Deck List

Conclusion

I don't think Lutri, the SpellchaserLutri, the Spellchaser will be making waves in cEDH or even Bracket 4 (Optimized) any time soon. However, I think my inaugural effort building around my favorite Otter is a good starting point for making a splash in Bracket 3 (Upgraded). While the deck is looking to win with an infinite combo, I'd argue that due to the high mana cost to execute it and the fact that it's not really an A + B combo as much as it is an A + B + C combo, leaves this build of Lutri it firmly in Bracket 3 territory, even if it might lay somewhere on the higher end of the Bracket 3 spectrum.

I agonized over this deck list for quite some time, and the final build I arrived at was the fourth iteration of the deck that I went through. I ended up reverting to cube theory to arrive at a final product that felt good to play. That is, after adding 35 lands + the commander, there are 64 deck slots. Those 64 cards were broken into 8 packages, each dedicated to fulfilling one of the deck's core functions. The end result was a deck that had to mulligan less than previous iterations and was able to find the pieces of its game plan more readily.

Each package has a 66% chance that one of its cards appear in the top 12 cards of the deck, and that's felt really good so far! The only gripe I often have with this method of building decks is that 35 is an atrociously low land count for most casual Commander decks, but that issue was solvable by finding 5 MDFC lands to sprinkle amongst the various packages.

I'm excited to hear from other aspiring Lutri players in the comments!