Clement, the WorrywortClement, the Worrywort | Art by Cory Godbey

Hello there! Welcome back to Archetypes of Imagination, the series where we build decks based on popular Commander archetypes. I'll be using Scryfall's tagging system and EDHREC's Tag pages to build around a new theme each week. This week, we'll be building a deck focused on bouncing creatures. But, a deck focused on UnsummonUnsummon variants likely wouldn't be fun to play (and it definitely wouldn't be fun to play against). So, we'll be focused on bouncing our own creatures! Why would we do that? To recast them, and get value from cast triggers and enters triggers. Getting value from taking normal game actions is, definitively, a Simic trait. So, in case you hadn't guessed yet, this deck will be led by Clement, the WorrywortClement, the Worrywort.

ClementClement is from my favorite set in recent memory: Bloomburrow. This frog's got some serious legs, too. For just , we get a Cryptolith RiteCryptolith Rite on a stick, the ability to send a small creature back to our hand every time that one of our creatures enters, and a 3/3 vigilant creature. This card does so much for us, and asks for so little mana investment.

So, we'll be casting cheap creatures, most of them Frogs for ClementClement's sake, and then recasting them later for even more value. This deck can string together some super impressive game actions once we've got a critical mass of mana available, and I'm really excited to show you all what I've come up with. Let's hop to it!

They've Got Hops

This deck will, hopefully, be casting a ton of creatures. It's got a full 39 of them, but we'll be returning them to our hand so often that it'll feel like a lot more. To that end, let's talk about the best enters and cast triggers that this deck has to offer.

Beast WhispererBeast Whisperer and The Great HengeThe Great Henge are classic green cards, providing huge amounts of card advantage over the course of the game. These cards are hard to beat, and Beast WhispererBeast Whisperer will be easy to cast with the mana that ClementClement provides us. Next, I think I finally found the perfect deck for Haze FrogHaze Frog. Not only does this guy fit into our pre-existing typal shell, but a repeatable FogFog on a Frog (see what I did there?) can be backbreaking for our opponents.

Let's talk about a few other creatures with powerful cast triggers. The somewhat newly printed OctomancerOctomancer can be a repeatable source of 8/8 beaters, ending the game in short order if we can find a way to recast him multiple times in one turn. And, although it doesn't have a cast trigger itself, I wanted to shout out Silverback ElderSilverback Elder. The ramp, removal, and lifegain provided by this card are hard to beat, and the in his casting cost can easily be handled by our commander.

Speaking of our commander, Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm can do some absolutely bonkers things with him out. This card feels very, very strong with ClementClement on the board, but it may lead to solitaire-style gameplay. Your mileage may vary, so I suggest a bit of caution including Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm in your ClementClement deck.

Lastly, I wanted to talk a bit about some special items in this deck. Murkfiend LiegeMurkfiend Liege or Valley FloodcallerValley Floodcaller combined with either Final-Word PhantomFinal-Word Phantom or High Fae TricksterHigh Fae Trickster can essentially let us share each of our opponents' turns with them. Given the huge amount of mana that our commander can provide to us with a board full of kindred creatures, these cards can be extremely powerful. But, like I said with Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm, that sort of play style isn't for everyone. Just something to keep in mind.

Up and Down, Up and Down…

This deck isn't just about casting creatures and getting payoffs when they enter the battlefield. It's also about returning creatures to our hand so they can be played over and over again. One of the best ways to do this is Dour Port-MageDour Port-Mage, providing a relatively cheap way to bounce something we control and drawing cards along the way. For just , this can even hit the battlefield before our commander for a sweet curve-out. I'm also a big fan of Run Away TogetherRun Away Together and This Town Ain't Big EnoughThis Town Ain't Big Enough - removal spells we don't mind the downside of. And, as a one-mana 2/2 with upside, it's hard for me to not include Mistbreath ElderMistbreath Elder.

Finally, there's a few cards that I couldn't leave out of this write-up: Three Tree ScribeThree Tree Scribe, Barrin, Tolarian ArchmageBarrin, Tolarian Archmage, and Gossip's TalentGossip's Talent. I really love cards like this; they provide us with several small advantages that add up to one solid card. My favorite among the bunch is probably Gossip's TalentGossip's Talent. Although it doesn't let us recast the creature, it does let us get repeatable ETB (enter the battlefield) triggers, card selection, and evasion for our creatures. It's got many less notable, but powerful, effects that this deck really wants consistent access to.

Clement, the Worrywort Commander Deck List

And, here's the full decklist:

A Positively Ribbiting Conclusion

Before I end this article, there's a few more cards I'd like to talk about. This deck is mostly Frogs, so there's room for some sweet typal payoffs. We've got plenty of on-theme card advantage, like Kindred DiscoveryKindred Discovery and Grolnok, the OmnivoreGrolnok, the Omnivore, and even on-theme removal like PolliwallopPolliwallop.

But my favorite card in this whole deck is Long River LurkerLong River Lurker. This card does basically everything we want. It's a Frog, so it taps for mana. It protects all of our other Frogs. And it provides evasion to our best attacker every single time it enters the battlefield. This card is fantastic, and I think it works perfectly in a ClementClement deck.

Thanks once again for reading! I'll see you all next time, for another edition of Archetypes of Imagination: a fling deck!