Mog, Moogle WarriorMog, Moogle Warrior | Art by OTUMAMI

Hello everyone, welcome back for another Final Fantasy deck tech. I'm Command Zoe, and I hope you've all been enjoying the newest set as much as I have. I keep finding new commanders I overlooked on my first go-through of the set, or that I just forgot about after they were previewed.

For today I've thrown together a fun, little Reanimator list featuring everyone's favorite Final Fantasy VI character, Mog. He was the first playable Moogle character in Final Fantasy. He was so popular that they made Mog a recurring name for Moogles throughout the rest of the series. He's probably most widely recognized as the tutorial character in many of the games' menus.

Just like a Moogle, I've been dancin' my whole life...

What Does Mog, Moogle Warrior Do?

At first glance, Mog is not a flashy commander. At three mana value, he costs more than his stats provide, even with lifelink. The entire reason to play this card is tied to his second ability, Dance. How it works is each player decides whether they want to discard a card to draw a card. Then if anyone discarded a creature this way, Mog's controller creates Moogle token. Then, if anyone discarded a non-creature this way, Mog's controller puts a +1/+1 counter on each Moogle they own.

It should be noted that each of these effects can only happen one time. If multiple creatures are discarded, only one Moogle token is created; ditto for the +1/+1 counters. In practice, the dance ability turns into a neat, little guessing game where each opponent who goes for a card's trying to throw away the same category of card as Mog's owner in order to keep them from getting any extra buffs.

Given its ability to filter through the library while providing a way to go both wide and tall, Mog is quite the versatile commander. There are many Boros commanders that do either one or the other, but Mog is the first that does both.

General Ferrous RokiricGeneral Ferrous Rokiric, Quintorius, Field HistorianQuintorius, Field Historian, and Pia Nalaar, Consul of RevivalPia Nalaar, Consul of Revival are all popular Boros commanders that can go wide quickly, but lack the ability to make their tokens bigger.

Éomer, King of RohanÉomer, King of Rohan, Ash, Party CrasherAsh, Party Crasher, and Kalemne, Disciple of IroasKalemne, Disciple of Iroas all have the ability to get tall, but lack any support for going wide.

The commander that's most similar to Mog is probably Anim Pakal, Thousandth MoonAnim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, who can make herself tall while providing an army of Gnomes to attack with. The key differences between the two are the card filtering and the politics of Mog's ability. Mog also makes all creatures taller rather than just himself.

What if we made Anim Pakal and all her Gnomes into Moogles...

This version of Mog, Moogle Warrior is a Reanimator deck. The deck will use Mog's dance ability to put big threats into the graveyard, then cast reanimation spells to bring them back. The early Moogles can trade with attackers, or they can not block then get that life back by attacking open opponents on the crack-back.

Later the ever-growing Moogle tokens on top of the pressure from the reanimated creatures should be too much for opponents to handle.

Key Cards for Mog, Moogle Warrior

The most important part of any Reanimator strategy is the package of cards it targets to get back from the graveyard. This list packs fifteen cards that cost seven mana or more. The Reanimator package's goal is to facilitate and enable the deck's token plan, and it does that in a few different ways.

The first group of cards makes tokens themselves. Cards like Overlord of the MistmoorsOverlord of the Mistmoors, Phyrexian TriniformPhyrexian Triniform, and Triplicate TitanTriplicate Titan all create their own tokens in some way.

Just roll good — it's easy.

The next group of bombs defends our tokens by protecting them in some way. Cards like Avacyn, Angel of HopeAvacyn, Angel of Hope and Serra's EmissarySerra's Emissary are obvious in how they keep our board safe, but Angel of the RuinsAngel of the Ruins and Luminate PrimordialLuminate Primordial are also great for protection. Removing threats to Mog and his board can be crucial.

One powerful interaction the deck can do is to reanimate Velomachus LoreholdVelomachus Lorehold, then use his attack trigger to immediately cast another reanimation spell.

What? I'm just keeping my Moogles safe from your Brotherhood's EndBrotherhood's End.

Another critical part of this deck is the token support. It runs all the token doublers and triplers that it can, as well as a few cards with the populate mechanic, like Nesting DovehawkNesting Dovehawk, Rootborn DefensesRootborn Defenses, and Muster the DepartedMuster the Departed. Warleader's CallWarleader's Call not only helps whittle opponents down, but also will gain life via all the Moogle tokens' lifelink.

You wanna make some Moogles? I wanna make some Moogles.

One last key card for Mog is Palantír of OrthancPalantír of Orthanc. Its floor is scry two plus an extra card draw, but if opponents are foolhardy enough to choose to mill, there are fifteen cards in the deck with a mana value of seven or more. With two or more influence counters, opponents risk taking heavy damage from not allowing the card draw, plus this deck already wants those big creatures in the graveyard anyway.

How Does This Mog, Moogle Warrior Commander Deck Win?

The most common way for this deck to win is by amassing a huge board of Moogle tokens, then alpha-striking with support from cards like Moonshaker CavalryMoonshaker Cavalry, Elspeth, Storm SlayerElspeth, Storm Slayer, or Serra's EmissarySerra's Emissary to get around blockers. Gisela, Blade of GoldnightGisela, Blade of Goldnight and Elesh Norn, Grand CenobiteElesh Norn, Grand Cenobite can also come out in the right situation to end a game with a big attack.

Boros CharmBoros Charm plays double duty in this deck. Not only is it defending with the indestructible, but giving all Moogle tokens double strike and removing an opponent should give enough life from the lifelink to let you survive any impending repercussions.

If attacking isn't an option as a win condition because of some reason or another, there's a backup win condition in group slug cards like Impact TremorsImpact Tremors and Warleader's CallWarleader's Call. Reach critical mass by stacking token doublers and triplers and pinging everyone else to death with your ever-growing army of Moogle tokens.

You can always finish them with Mega Flare,
or as I call it, Mountain Dew Baha-mut Blast.

Mog, Moogle Warrior Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Mog, Moogle WarriorMog, Moogle Warrior has been an absolute delight to tinker with. Any player looking for a Boros list will be able to do something with Mog. He's both powerful and versatile, while allowing for the perfect amount of politicking. Opponents who take the card draw will quickly find themselves struggling to choose between keeping Mog around for the filtering or getting buried under an avalanche of massive Moogle tokens.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read the deck tech. I'm Command Zoe, be sure to follow me across the socials so you don't miss any of content, like last week's Growing up Fast: A Rydia, Summoner of Mist Commander Deck Tech.

Until next time, hope to catch you slingin' Moogle tokens out there.