Firion, Wild Rose WarriorFirion, Wild Rose Warrior | Art by Elizabeth Peiró

As someone who knows next to nothing about Final Fantasy, I was a little hesitant about tackling a brew around a legendary creature (especially considering the sheer amount of legends in the new set). This was the case until I saw Firion, Wild Rose WarriorFirion, Wild Rose Warrior.

The Equipment game plan has always felt incredibly linear and somewhat simple, so it hasn’t really stood out to me as a player. Don’t get me wrong, I love cards like Akiri, Fearless VoyagerAkiri, Fearless Voyager, but there haven’t been many other Equipment legends that have interested me before Firion.

Firion is amazing for two reasons:

1. Giving equipped creatures haste is incredibly strong when equipped creatures are usually magnets for removal.
2. Making copies of Equipment, albeit temporary copies, can lead to someone ridiculous shenanigans.

First, I thought to go the experimental route. Firion + a card like Bludgeon BrawlBludgeon Brawl or Dan LewisDan Lewis means we get token copies of any nontoken artifact that enters the battlefield under our control. Add a little card called Mycosynth LatticeMycosynth Lattice and we get a token copy of every single nontoken permanent that we play. Sounds crazy, right? The biggest issue with this strategy is that red lacks the ability to tutor consistently enough to get these cards reliably. Also, let’s be honest, tutors aren’t very fun. So, I pivoted away from this idea and started thinking about ways we can get the maximum benefit from our commander.

While brainstorming, it hit me. Living Weapon, for Mirrodin!, anything that enters with a creature - copying these gives us more creatures that stick around. So, while this is an Equipment deck, it’s also a token deck with ways to benefit from extra creature tokens, as well as our temporary Equipment tokens.

Category #1: Living Weapon/Living Weapon Adjacent

As I mentioned previously, the living weapon Equipment are very strong with Firion, so I added as many as I could. We have the usual suspects in ScytheclawScytheclaw, BatterskullBatterskull, and NettlecystNettlecyst, as well as the "new hotness" in Hexplate WallbreakerHexplate Wallbreaker, Hexgold HalberdHexgold Halberd, and Standard powerhouse Cori-Steel CutterCori-Steel Cutter.

While getting extra 0/0 Germ tokens doesn't necessarily help, they do gain haste right away with our commander, and that's nothing to scoff at.

Category #2: Benefitting From Artifact Tokens

Our token Equipment copies are artifact tokens, and we can do a lot with that in mono-red. First, we can benefit from the artifacts entering with something like Quicksmith GeniusQuicksmith Genius, and keep our tokens around with Sundial of the InfiniteSundial of the Infinite.

Since our Equipment tokens need to be sacrificed at the end of turn, there are multiple ways we can sacrifice them for value before the end step. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Legion ExtruderLegion Extruder can turn a token into a 3/3 Golem.
• Krenko, Baron of Tin StreetKrenko, Baron of Tin Street can give us Goblins and pump them.
• Gleeful DemolitionGleeful Demolition is a sneaky piece of removal that we can use on our own tokens for extra creatures.
• Gut, True Soul ZealotGut, True Soul Zealot turns our temporary Equipment into 4/1 Skeleton creatures.
• Broadside BombardiersBroadside Bombardiers turns our tokens into removal.
• Breya's ApprenticeBreya's Apprentice can grant us impulse draw or a temporary buff in a pinch.

To top it all off, Tarrian's SoulcleaverTarrian's Soulcleaver goes absolutely bonkers in a deck like this.

Category #3: Finishers

Yes, the whole "copy our Equipment" thing is fun, but we need a way to win the game. Luckily for us, there are three great ways we can end the game with our commander in play. The first involves a simple creature called Crackdown ConstructCrackdown Construct.

Crackdown ConstructCrackdown Construct is famous for going infinite with something that has an equip cost of , and our commander gives our Equipment tokens a reduced equip cost. What this means is we can make the Crackdown Construct infinitely huge if our commander is onboard. Just equip one of our tokens to the Construct, then move it to our commander, then move it back. Each time the Construct is targeted by the equip ability, it will get +1/+1. Do all of this with an Equipment that grants trample? It's game over for at least one of our opponents.

Our second finisher comes in the form of Armory AutomatonArmory Automaton.

Armory AutomatonArmory Automaton is very simple; when it attacks we equip all Equipment to it. If we have a critical mass of Equipment in play, it can easily be game over for a player.

Our third and final finisher isn't guaranteed, but it grants extra combat steps, which can lead to a lethal attack.

Akki Battle SquadAkki Battle Squad is a terrific card in any deck with "modified creatures." Creatures are modified if they have any kind of Auras, Equipment, or counters on them. Luckily for us, our creatures will most likely have Equipment attached to them, so we can easily trigger the extra combat ability. Like I said, it isn't immediately a win, but it can get us closer to one.

Closing Thoughts and Deck List for Firion, Wild Rose Warrior

Until this point, I have never brewed around a mono-red commander, but I'm happy to change that today. This was a fun process, and I'm curious about who this character is in Final Fantasy lore. Thank you for joining me on this journey! Check out my decklist below.