60 to 100 - Bant Company

Building a Dinosaur EDH Deck with Yidris and Keruga

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Diabolic Tutor" href="#" target="_blank">Diabolic Tutor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | <a href="https://www.originalmagicart.store/collections/mark-winters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Winters</a>)</h6>
<p>Each color in <em>Magic</em> has its own strengths and weaknesses. This is one of the first things you learn about the game when you start and is what keeps most people playing for years.</p>
<p>Broadly speaking, you know what a “blue deck” can do and what it can’t. When they have untapped mana, you have to be careful not to get countered. If you have permanents that grow over time, you have to prepare for them to be returned to your hand.</p>
<p>You have to keep an eye on their hand size to ensure they don’t draw their whole deck by turn four. Or mill you out!</p>
<p>Similarly, if someone is playing Boros (red and white), you can expect a board-spanning conflict where they’ll attempt to win with martial superiority. Expect token generation, life gain, equipment, and pinging. All the wonders of white and red brought together.</p>
<p>So what if you threw all that to the wayside and did the exact opposite of what each color lends itself to?</p>
<h2>What Is Playing “Out Of Type?”</h2>
<p>The neat thing about the <em>Magic </em>color pie is that, despite the fact each color has its strengths, it’s rare a mechanic is completely devoid from a color.</p>
<p>For instance, countering is the domain of blue decks. But there are cards in other colors which either counter a card or cause a similar effect. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tibalt’s Trickery" href="#" target="_blank">Tibalt’s Trickery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is perhaps the most famous (or infamous) of such an example, but there are certainly others.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lapse of Certainty"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Red Elemental Blast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Veil of Summer"></div></div><br />
<em>To varying degrees of how strictly it “counters” something</em></p>
<p>Certainly, there aren’t enough non-blue counters to have any other color reasonably claim to be a true competitor. The same is true with life gain in white or mana production in green. Each color has its competencies and its deficiencies.</p>
<p>But isn’t it interesting that other colors can flirt with mechanics normally seen as foreign to them? And does that not necessitate the exploration of such an idea?</p>
<h2>A Quick Disclaimer</h2>
<p>While it certainly wouldn’t be competitive - and I would argue it goes against common wisdom as well - there’s a certain joy to purposefully avoiding the strengths of the color you’re playing. It gives an emphasis to cards that aren’t traditionally given the time of day and completely overhauls how you interact with the game.</p>
<p>While you can certainly play out of type of a multicolored deck, the theme is most clear with a monocolored, which means you’re limiting yourself quite heavily by doing this.</p>
<p>So in order to exemplify how this might work, I wanted to choose what I feel is the most flexible of the colors: black.</p>
<h2>What Black Does Well in <em>Magic</em></h2>
<p>When I think of black in <em>Magic</em>, I think of needless sacrifice.</p>
<p>Your cards? Don’t need them.</p>
<p>Your creatures? Expendable.</p>
<p>Your life? The only one that matters is the last.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Unlife"></div></div><br />
<em>And sometimes the last life doesn’t even matter!</em></p>
<p>But crucially, all of these sacrifices give massive benefits to the one making them. Whether life gain or card draw or token creation, black excels at spending one resource to make another. And then, of course, spending that new resource to create yet another.</p>
<p>That removal also extends to opponents’ boards! Primarily creature removal, but no one excels at clearing a board quite like black.</p>
<p>Other colors might have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blasphemous Act" href="#" target="_blank">“damage”</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sunfall" href="#" target="_blank">“board</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherize" href="#" target="_blank">“bounce</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But it’s black that can do it cheaply, repeatedly, and at scale.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cut Down"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Murder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Feed the Swarm"></div></div><br />
<em>There are a lot of black removal cards</em></p>
<p>As in, there are so many black creature removal spells that the fact Commander limits cards to a single copy per deck is functionally meaningless.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Smother"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Terror"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Diabolic Edict"></div></div><br />
<em>There are a LOT of black removal cards</em></p>
<h3>Finding Cards</h3>
<p>While I don’t think of this as one of my first associations with black, I would be remiss not to mention its tutors. When it comes to building engines or putting together combos, few colors have the means to actually find what they need like black does.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grim Tutor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Diabolic Tutor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cruel Tutor"></div></div><br />
<em>Black literally caused the namesake of “tutors”</em></p>
<p>Further, while red is the home of impulse draw and blue has traditional drawing, black has access to more than tutors. With some surveilling and draw-discard, black can go through its library faster than most colors if not simply choose which cards to acquire.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sinister Starfish"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seizan, Perverter of Truth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Asmodeus the Archfiend"></div></div><br />
<em>Black certainly has options</em></p>
<p>It also has fantastic graveyard retrieval, bringing cards back for a second casting. Or, knowing black, out for the first time since it got discarded initially.</p>
<p>This can even extend to opponents’ cards, taking them from the battlefield and turning them against their former master.</p>
<h3>In Summary</h3>
<p>Black decks excel at hurting everyone. They hurt you, they hurt your opponents, they hurt the people temporarily aligning themselves with you.</p>
<p>Life totals are a suggestion, and the graveyard is a second hand. Creatures are a resource to be spent ruthlessly and without consideration.</p>
<h2>But What If…</h2>
<h3>… You Play a Black Deck Where You Jealously Keep Your Permanents Safe?</h3>
<p>Of all the colors, black is the one that plays the most fast and loose with its permanents. And hand. And life.</p>
<p>So to play against type in black, it’s a rather straightforward methodology. Instead of sacrificing your creatures and discarding your hand, minimize the damage dealt to you.</p>
<p>Play a game where more than just the last life matters.</p>
<h3>Protect Your Permanents</h3>
<p>Luckily - and somewhat surprisingly - black excels at this!</p>
<p>While black lacks many keywords such as hexproof in abundance, or protection from colors, it has quite a few ways to protect its creatures.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Offer Immortality"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Offer Immortality" href="#" target="_blank">Offer Immortality</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great demonstration of this on two fronts. The first is the direct indestructibility it grants. While not exceedingly common, black has a fair number of ways to impose temporary protections on its permanents.</p>
<p>But the mindgames start with granting your creatures deathtouch.</p>
<p>Assuming your opponents aren’t running a traditional black deck which sacrifices its creatures readily, they'll often be reluctant to sacrifice their creatures. Sure, a token deck might swarm you or an aggro deck might not have the patience to avoid deathtouch. But in a fair number of cases, opponents will hesitate to attack if they know you can give your creatures deathtouch, which has the pleasant effect of keeping your creatures safe!</p>
<p>And if that doesn’t work, just threaten your opponents. If you set up a series of enchantments to destroy their creatures or bring back yours, suddenly it becomes a lot less appealing to destroy your creatures.</p>
<p>All without having to get your hands dirty.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grave Betrayal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grave Pact"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Not Dead After All"></div></div><br />
<em>Who said black never treated its creatures well?</em></p>
<h3>Environmentally Sustainable Mana Production</h3>
<p>Though it should be mentioned that sacrificing permanents is more of a symptom than the disease. Black decks sacrifice their creatures to achieve an end, whether that be damage, life gain, or mana. So perhaps instead of focusing on protecting your creatures, you focus on overhauling mana production?</p>
<p>The fact that green is the monarch of mana means nothing to the industrious black deck. While you can certainly invest in a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and commit a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark Ritual" href="#" target="_blank">Dark Ritual</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to sit awash in your ill-gotten currency, those are your creatures!</p>
<p>How cruel could you be to sacrifice them for, what, temporary gains? You aren’t even holding onto mana between phases unless you’ve opted for a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omnath, Locus of All" href="#" target="_blank">“very</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></p>
<p>Think sustainably! There are means for you to access additional mana that leaves your creatures unharmed.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cabal Coffers"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cabal Stronghold"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crypt Ghast"></div></div><br />
<em>It’s incredibly green of you to get so much mana</em></p>
<p>Aside from the somewhat comical adherence to protecting your permanents, leaving your creatures alive and well has the benefits of… having a board full of creatures!</p>
<p>Many of black’s strongest creatures come with a cadre of negatives to offset their positives. Whether <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Carnophage" href="#" target="_blank">“costing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the field or literally causing you to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archfiend of the Dross" href="#" target="_blank">“lose</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> if not dealt with, black often incentivizes you to cycle through creatures.</p>
<p>Resist the temptation.</p>
<h3>Choke the Stars With Life</h3>
<p>Black has some quite strong <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodthirsty Conqueror" href="#" target="_blank">“life</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> often accompanied or preceded by damage dealt, but not always. Aside from the flat benefit of gaining life and reducing your chance of losing the game, black can synergize its life gain with damage dealing in order to have a legitimate win condition from this.</p>
<p>Now, this would involve direct damage which isn’t exactly playing “against” black’s color typing. But hey, we’re doing the best we can with what we got. The goal is to win, so unless you want to play alternative win conditions, this is your best bet!</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Exquisite Blood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sanguine Bond"></div></div><br />
<em>A simple spell, yet quite unbreakable</em></p>
<h2>When to Do This</h2>
<p>There are many ways to play <em>Magic</em>, and some are more likely to lead to victory than others. Commander damage, poison counters, alternative win conditions - all are valid and even can be competitive!</p>
<p>This is not one such strategy.</p>
<p>But if you felt you were struggling to connect to black decks or the monotony of the same <a href="https://edhrec.com/top/game-changers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game Changers</a> was boring you, try to see what you can come up with when you push the bounds of the color pie. You might just find that building a deck out of type shines a whole new light on a color.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Exsanguinate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Creeping Bloodsucker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nullpriest of Oblivion"></div></div><br />
<em>There’s always another way</em></p>


How to Play Black Differently in EDH

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Safana, Calimport Cutthroat" href="#" target="_blank">Safana, Calimport Cutthroat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=a%3A%E2%80%9CWisnu+Tan%E2%80%9D&amp;unique=art" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wisnu Tan</a></h6>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Am I the Bolas? </em>This column is for all of you out there who have ever played some <em>Magic </em>and wondered if you were the bad guy. I'm here to take in your story with all of its nuances so I can bring some clarity to all those asking, "Am I the Bolas?"</p>
<p>I'm ready to hear you out and offer advice. All you have to do is email amithebolas@gmail.com with your story, a pseudonym you want to use, and of course, only include details you don't mind in the column! You might see your story below one day. You might even hear it on the podcast. Which podcast?</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25893" src="https://commandersherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/bolcast_logo430x430-300x300.png" alt="" width="249" height="249" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AmITheBolcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">THIS PODCAST!</a></p>
<p>I'm Mike Carrozza, aka Mark Carbonza, and it seems like my real name got out...</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gladiolus Amicitia"></div></div>
<p><i>WHO TOLD!?!?!</i></p>
<p>This week, do you stop playing your slow deck your playgroup dislikes?</p>
<p>(Post edited for brevity, clarity, and then some.)</p>
<hr />
<h2>HEY, MIKE</h2>
<p><em>First, thank you for the Am I the Bolas? series, I learned a lot over time just being exposed to new problems and new cards and being more aware of potential pitfalls at the table. Now, I have a problem of my own - maybe you have some advice.</em></p>
<p><em>Among my Commander decks (way too many at this point... ) is one I rarely dare to pick up anymore, and that is my <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Safana, Calimport Cutthroat" href="#" target="_blank">Safana, Calimport Cutthroat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> / <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dungeon Delver" href="#" target="_blank">Dungeon Delver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck. I once played in an Adventures in the Forgotten Realms draft game where we had tons of fun messing around in the dungeons, and when the Baldur's Gate set dropped I immediately fell in love with Safana. Also, as a regular green player, I really wanted to build a Dimir deck for once.</em></p>
<p><em>The majority of the deck is very much the stuff you also see on EDHREC, but I've added a few more treasure token generators and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revel in Riches" href="#" target="_blank">Revel in Riches</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a secondary win condition. No tutors, though. There's also a trickery subtheme with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Trickster-God&#039;s Heist" href="#" target="_blank">The Trickster-God&#039;s Heist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ertai&#039;s Meddling" href="#" target="_blank">Ertai&#039;s Meddling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or one of the bigger hitters being <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sower of Discord" href="#" target="_blank">Sower of Discord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</em></p>
<p><em>The problem is that the deck takes too long to do its thing in the eyes of the table and people are visibly annoyed when I pull it out. And I get that, in principle. Having to look up what each card does when you advance two or more rooms in the dungeon each turn, with trigger doublers galore, isn't super fun as an observer when it doesn't impact the rest of the table. I've tried to smooth the process as much as possible, played tons of test games, learned the ins and outs of all my cards to not get stuck looking up stuff on Scryfall. Still, not exactly fast gameplay compared to a green stompy deck where you ramp and trample in like five seconds.</em></p>
<p><em>But it's not like I'm the only one having to go through a bunch of triggers when playing my deck. My pod is super casual, Commander isn't the main hobby for any of us, so people regularly ask rules questions or have to math their boards state for a minute. Yet, whenever I want to play Safana, eyes are being rolled. I asked if the deck was being maybe perceived as too unfair/powerful/something and if I should rebuild it, but apparently it's just too slow, which I think is patently untrue within our pod's meta.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Am I the Bolas for wanting to continue playing Safana?</em></strong></p>
<p><em>- Arne</em></p>
<div dir="auto"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dungeon Delver"></div></div></div>
<div dir="auto"></div>
<hr />
<h2>HOWDY, RAVEN!</h2>
<p>Thank you for writing and asking me to weigh in on your story. As I mention every week, if folks don't write to me, there's no column, so if you, the reader, want to send me a story, whether it's your own or one from Reddit or a friend's, please send it to amithebolas@gmail.com and I'll get to it here.</p>
<p>Let me begin by admitting a little bias: I love <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Safana, Calimport Cutthroat" href="#" target="_blank">Safana, Calimport Cutthroat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I think the handful of legends that care about the initiative without granting you the initiative were neat design space in the <em>Baldur's Gate</em> set. I've drafted that set a decent amount and also built Safana once, but with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Street Urchin" href="#" target="_blank">Street Urchin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I really think that set is so much fun and recommend everybody draft it at least once.</p>
<p>I will say that I have a difficult time understanding where the bottleneck is here. I'm not sure the trickery subtheme is the culprit. Is it needing to look something up on Scryfall? Is that something a dungeon or The Undercity? If you're looking up what each dungeon does while you play your deck, I would also get a little tired of seeing you pull out your phone and look up something you probably should know, only to put the phone away and do it again the next time you venture. If this is the case, I highly recommend you purchase the tokens for the dungeons and copies of The Initiative / The Undercity. You'll cut down on time and confusion there for sure.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, something I've been doing a lot lately is adding five copies of The Initiative / The Undercity to the Quiver I use for the accessories I need for the game - Life counters, Infinitokens, markers, too many dice, and of course, a package of tokens that come up all the time (e.g., Treasure, Clue, etc.). I love the initiative and I'm a big fan of the cards that bring it along!</p>
<p>That said, if your opponents are just upset you're in the tank, that's a bummer. Everybody gets to go in the tank! It's <a href="https://commandersherald.com/solitaired-study-declares-magic-worlds-most-complex-tabletop-game/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most complex games</a>, even when you're just goldfishing a deck - now add three other decks trying to disrupt and tussle; it's not easy! I think there's an element of perception to the types of slower play. Because you're likely going through multiple chains of small triggers, it seems like you're doing many things in a short time and it feels like you're taking a long turn. Whereas an opponent trying to figure out an attack to find the win can take the same amount of time, but because it's one crucial action, it seems like less so.</p>
<p>If your playgroup doesn't enjoy playing against it and you've surveyed them for ways to improve the experience to no avail, then I reckon it's a deck that doesn't get played much. That's a bummer! If you have another outlet for games, like an LGS or a Discord for Spelltable games, maybe scratch the Safana/Delver itch there and spare your playgroup the long game. But otherwise, if they'll keep allowing it and you do enjoy the deck, then keep trying to find a way to make it work for everybody. Come prepared, goldfish the deck, and make sure that your actions aren't just wheel-spinning. Have a win-con or two you can get to when your opponents start whining.</p>
<p>You want to keep playing this deck and that does not make you the Bolas. Keep asking your friends and make sure they're aware they can say no. If people don't want to play against this one, drop me another line and I'd love to play against it.</p>
<p>Not the Bolas. If you force the issue when folks say no, then you'll cross that line. But not the Bolas!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Safana, Calimport Cutthroat"></div></div>


Am I The Bolas? - Playing a Trigger Intensive Deck

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Call the Spirit Dragons" href="#" target="_blank">Call the Spirit Dragons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/liiga" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liiga Smilshkalne</a></h6>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>How To Be New</em>, where I give a new player's perspective on how to start playing Commander before the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jumbo Cactuar" href="#" target="_blank">cactus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes everyone quit.</p>
<p>As this series makes the jump from Commander's Herald to EDHREC proper, this week's article addresses both new <em>and</em> veteran players, and it concerns my biggest, most persistent frustration since beginning my journey into Commander last October.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abzan Ascendancy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jeskai Ascendancy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mardu Ascendancy"></div></div>
<p>Okay, so <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> has just come out. The new set takes place on the plane of Tarkir, a place where a lot of things have happened in <em>Magic</em>'s history. For instance, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Spice8Rack/featured" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spice8Rack</a>, one of my favorite <em>MTG</em> YouTubers, has a <a href="https://youtu.be/dAksq3bCjLY?feature=shared" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four-hour-long video about Tarkir</a>. Now, Spice has been known to run long, but their videos usually (and by "usually" I mean "always") end up much shorter than that.</p>
<p>Suffice it to say that Tarkir is an important place for <em>Magic</em> players. From what I gleaned from Spice's video (which I had open on my second monitor as I grinded daily <em>MTG Arena</em> quests), a lot of the things in Tarkir have to do with five Clans. Each of these Clans are associated with a combination of three of <em>Magic</em>'s five colors of mana, and the names of these Clans, first introduced in 2014, are still used as shorthand by many <em>Magic</em> players when describing these combinations of colors.</p>
<p>This is a mistake.</p>
<p>For you, a new player who still groups your lands in a way that feels inefficient but that you don't know how to improve upon, these color combination names are absolute gibberish, and why wouldn't they be?! The other five three-color combos were named in a <em>different</em> set in 2008! And the ten two-color combos were named all the way back in 2005, when planeswalkers were still just a glint in Mark Rosewater's eye.</p>
<p>Between all of those, that's 20 unhinged words to have to learn, plus the four four-color combo names (you thankfully don't hear them as much, and honestly, just based on word count alone, those I actually am fine with abbreviating). That's too much information to be expected to learn, especially considering you're supposed to learn it alongside at least one 100-card (without repeats!) deck, plus the most frequent cards played by other players, plus so many different mechanics. It's like studying for the ACT, but somehow more useful.</p>
<p>Any veteran players reading may be surprised to hear this, but please do hear these words: the color combination names are the hardest thing to learn as a new player, especially because very often they're said casually in conversation without an actual card on hand that one could actually look at for reference. By the time your brain has processed the sounds you've made into an unfamiliar word which you find yourself unable to derive further meaning from, the conversation has long moved on. It's truly like hearing another language. Or the word "nonplussed." It's a conversational stun counter for new players.</p>
<p>To tell you the truth, the two-color pairings are much more palatable for me. Maybe it's because they're just so well-written to convey the general vibe of the pairing they represent. Across the board they have a real <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouba/kiki_effect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bouba/Kiki</a> thing going on. Izzet sounds like the aggressive chaos of <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. Boros sounds warm but regal in a very <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> sort of way. Golgari (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) sounds like the exact noise Swamp Thing would make. They're perfect.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boros Charm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rakdos Charm"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Simic Charm"></div></div>
<p>As a newer player, those two-color names will be some of the first things you pick up. You'll definitely learn the name for the color identity of your first couple of decks. But past that, you might as well make flash cards. Or just ignore them until you pick them up through osmosis... which I assume must happen at some point? Unless every veteran Commander player actually did make flash cards... which, I mean, I wouldn't put it past them. I firmly believe that if <em>Wizards</em> released a card which required the player to recite a Shakespearean soliloquy for three free mana, we'd all know "To be, or not to be" as well as we know "Do you pay the one?"</p>
<p>So I say all of this, not just to provide you a warm, comforting blanket over your shoulders after you've gone numb at hearing the word "Jund" one too many times, but because <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> is here, and with it, an unprecedented chance to internalize some of these color combinations. Because I've been playing Commander for six months now, and "just picking them up as I go along" has not been cutting it.</p>
<p>Check out your local game store for any leftover prerelease kits. There are five different kinds, each of which relate to one of the three-color Clans in Tarkir. Each box will contain an extra pack of cards specific to the color combination you've selected, and given that I can identify Temur (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) since I play a commander in that color combination; I should know Grixis <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, which accounts for two of my Commander decks, but it simply doesn't stick in my brain; I guess "Temur" is more fun, and I can associate it more closely with my boi <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flubs, the Fool" href="#" target="_blank">Flubs, the Fool</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> than I can associate "Grixis" with these two <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Valeyard" href="#" target="_blank">absolute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Don Andres, the Renegade" href="#" target="_blank">bastards</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>) maybe this will help you get one or two of these crazy combo names down.</p>
<p>So keep faith, friends. You may not know all these gibberish color words, but as long as you're learning to say "<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swords to Plowshares" href="#" target="_blank">Swords to Plowshares</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>" with a confident yet conciliatory tone, then your Commander education is coming along just fine.</p>


Why Do the Magic Color Combinations Have Names?

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant" href="#" target="_blank">Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by Yumeko)</h6>
<p>Hello, and welcome back to <em>The Monolith</em>, the series in which I, your intrepid host, try to get the world of Commander players to build more mono-colored decks.</p>
<p>With the dust of <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm </em>beginning to settle, we can start to look ahead at upcoming sets and theory craft around all the previews we've been shown way, way, way too early. Of all the commanders revealed so far from <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/fin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final Fantasy</a></em>, there are only two cards that are actual, factual mono. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zell Dincht" href="#" target="_blank">Zell Dincht</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> seems like an interesting <em>Landfall</em>-based, mono-red commander, which we might tackle in a later article. Seems like there's some combo potential there for sure.</p>
<p>But for this edition of <em>The Monolith </em>we're going to build around something a bit more... mean. It's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant" href="#" target="_blank">Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant"></div></div>
<h2>Gifts Unwanted</h2>
<p>For the stunningly cheap cost of a single <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, we get a 1/2 Moogle with lifelink, and it's Stiltzkin's activated ability that we'll be building around in this deck. For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-tap" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> we can have one of our opponents assume control of another target permanent we control. Once they get it, we get to draw a card. Kind of like us receiving payment; we are a merchant, after all.</p>
<p>But for this little market stall we'll be running, we're not exactly aiming to come off as a reputable seller. In fact, we'll be sending our opponents some defective wares on purpose.</p>
<h2>Damaged Goods</h2>
<p>That's right! Today we're building a <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/donate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donate deck</a> all about giving our opponents cards that you wouldn't want under your control. This is traditionally a deck you'd see with some <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-b" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> in it to get access to all the nasty "deal with the devil" type effects of that color that we could force into the hands of other players.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Harmless Offering"></div></div>
<p>There's definitely other color combos that can make it work, and Jeskai(<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) commander <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zedruu the Greathearted" href="#" target="_blank">Zedruu the Greathearted</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the more popular in this archetype, but in mono-white, we're going to need to rifle through the basement of <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> to find some decent targets for our ability, and that, of course, is half the fun of these articles!</p>
<h3>The Archetypal Gift</h3>
<p>There's already quite a few cards that exist in <em>Magic's </em>long history that play by "gifting" things to your opponent's control. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akroan Horse" href="#" target="_blank">Akroan Horse</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, is a classic card from the original <em>Theros</em> block that might seem terrible to the untrained eye.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Akroan Horse"></div></div>
<p>"A creature I have to give to my opponent? What's the point of that?" The point of course is that the card is a trap that slowly fills your own board with 1/1 tokens as your enemy only gets a measly 0/4 defender.</p>
<p>But there's plenty more where that came from. There's some really fun cursed object style cards that we can very much put into today's deck that fit the theme perfectly.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jinxed Idol"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jinxed Choker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jinxed Ring"></div></div>
<p>The jinxed cards will be thrown around the table like a hot potato whenever one of our opponents wants to avoid the effect. Normally we'd be a very valid target to take the things back. But with our commander we can just have them leave our control before the trigger goes off, making us a waste of an activation for our competitors.</p>
<p>A handful of artifacts like this in the deck will allow us to sit back and watch the chaos unfold as our opponents argue among themselves over who should take control of the nasty thing next.</p>
<h2>Like a Hole in the Head</h2>
<p>But the true horrors of cards we can force onto our opponents' boards come in the form of things they can't just give away whenever they like. These things will be a constant headache for them. And hopefully, they'll be enough of a drawback that we can potentially win the game whilst our opponents suffer.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archfiend of the Dross"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Evil Eye of Urborg"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ebon Drake"></div></div>
<p>The reason we normally want to be running black in a deck like this is we get access to cards that are intended to give you a statistical advantage in the short term with under-costed stats and abilities, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archfiend of the Dross" href="#" target="_blank">Archfiend of the Dross</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But after a while, they become more of a problem than a boon.</p>
<p>We don't have a huge amount of obvious cards to draw from that fill this archetype in mono-white. And even in general, you need to look at some cards that literally no one plays to find a good selection of cards that fill this niche. Because the cost they come with usually makes them pretty unplayable in standard decks.</p>
<h3>A Great Example of a Bad Card</h3>
<p>An absolute must-include in this deck will be something we can steal from the aforementioned Zedruu lists. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nine Lives" href="#" target="_blank">Nine Lives</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an enchantment that can prevent up to nine instances of damage for its controller. When the ninth source of damage is stopped, and Nine Lives receives its ninth counter, you exile it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nine Lives"></div></div>
<p>When Nine Lives leaves the battlefield, its controller loses the game. This honestly isn't a great card on its own, maybe made a little better by a deck that can easily remove counters from its permanents. But now we can gain almost its full benefit and then just as we're about to take a ninth chunk of damage, send it over to an opponent of our choice to lose the game instead!</p>
<p>Not to mention that the card itself has hexproof, so removing it will be very difficult for our opponents, and if they attempt to board wipe all enchantments, you can hoist it onto someone else in response and have them suffer the consequences. If you're feeling petty, probably the board wiper.</p>
<h2>What the Hell Am I Supposed to Do With This?</h2>
<p>Don't worry, the cards we can gift will get far weirder and far more niche. Most white cards don't give you downsides apart from on themselves, so we'll need to be creative.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Enduring Renewal"></div></div>
<p>For example, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enduring Renewal" href="#" target="_blank">Enduring Renewal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is what I would call "a pretty bad way to recur your creatures." For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> we get the stunning ability of putting any creatures we control that die back into our hand, which ain't bad at all.</p>
<p>The cost, however, is that we not only have to play with our entire hand revealed, we also get a very wacky draw effect. Now, whenever we would draw a card, we instead have to reveal the top card of our library. If it's a creature card, we have to put it into the bin instead.</p>
<p>Wow, that's bad. Unless someone has built a very specific deck to utilize this strange effect, this is going to be a huge pain for our opponents. Although it would go pretty hard in our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage" href="#" target="_blank">Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck we built in a <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/mono-white-aristocrats-with-anafenza-unyielding-lineage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previous article</a>.</p>
<h3>How About Some Fetching Headwear?</h3>
<p>Our opponents' heads are looking a little cold; perhaps we could help them out with a lovely new hat. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mindstorm Crown" href="#" target="_blank">Mindstorm Crown</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will do some annoying chip damage over the course of the game - best placed on a player that's taken a lot of damage early on. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crown of Doom" href="#" target="_blank">Crown of Doom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> however will act like an <em>Innistrad </em>style curse that our opponents will be throwing around like our aforementioned jinxed collection.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grafted Skullcap"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mindstorm Crown"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crown of Doom"></div></div>
<p>The absolute worst of the bunch has to be <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grafted Skullcap" href="#" target="_blank">Grafted Skullcap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, though. You can hear the finger of the monkey's paw curling as a player said, "I need some more card draw." Here you go, now you draw two every turn! And you also discard your entire hand on your end step...</p>
<h3>Who Needs Creatures Anyway?</h3>
<p>It was bad enough that we made one of our opponents never draw creature cards again. At least they get to replay the ones they lose. This next target is going to be even more screwed over, though.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Steel Golem"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grid Monitor"></div></div>
<p>Courtesy of some very ugly artifact creatures, these lovely items will stop your players from being able to cast creature spells indefinitely! What the hell! I'm sure there's plenty of decks out there that wouldn't be too bothered by this, but you'd be hard pressed to find a deck that doesn't want to play a single creature in a turn - including their commander, by the way.</p>
<h3>Artifacts Are Overrated</h3>
<p>Is someone playing a lot of artifact cards? What if they had to sacrifice one every single turn? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rust Elemental" href="#" target="_blank">Rust Elemental</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will see to that.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rust Elemental"></div></div>
<p>Even better though is when we pop one of these guys onto the board of a player who isn't playing any artifacts. Enjoy losing a tenth of your life every turn, and now you don't even get to attack with the creature we gave you...</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lich&#039;s Tomb"></div></div>
<p>If your opponent is upset about having to take that much damage, you could always offer them an alternative with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lich&#039;s Tomb" href="#" target="_blank">Lich&#039;s Tomb</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. What a wonderful gift! Now you won't lose the game if you have zero or less life - except you'll be sacrificing a permanent for every single point of damage you would take from now on. And that's permanent by the way, not <em>nonland</em> permanent.</p>
<p>Be sure to gift this just as an opponent is about to eat a big chunk of damage. We don't want them to sacrifice the Tomb right away after a measly one or two damage.</p>
<h3>A Secret Burn Deck?</h3>
<p>White isn't exactly know for being able to play direct damage against players. I'm sure there's strange old cards out there that I'm not aware of that'll do it, but this special gift allows us to do something similar.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bronze Bombshell"></div></div>
<p>Who designed this card? This is so bizarre. They're making these in <em>Ravnica</em>? Man, old <em>Magic</em> is weird.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mishra&#039;s War Machine"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of old <em>Magic, </em>if we want our opponents to take some damage, why not gift them this terrible old contraption?</p>
<h2>Does This Business Have Legs?</h2>
<p>This was truly one of the strangest decks I've theory-crafted here on <em>The Monolith. </em>Usually when you build these odd contraptions, out of color identity and pushing the boundaries, you at least find a few cards that seem like slam dunks. And whilst there's certainly a couple of options for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant" href="#" target="_blank">Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, he does seem like he's going to stay a pretty niche commander.</p>
<p>If you were building this cursed collection of curiosities, what strange old cards would you be running? I'd love to know down in the comments below! But whilst you're working on those, I'll see you on the next edition of <em>The Monolith</em>, your home for strange and wonderful mono-colored decks!</p>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="JP0YYgCeJp"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/mono-white-aristocrats-with-anafenza-unyielding-lineage/">Mono-White Aristocrats with Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden;" title="&#8220;Mono-White Aristocrats with Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage&#8221; &#8212; EDHREC" src="https://edhrec.com/articles/mono-white-aristocrats-with-anafenza-unyielding-lineage/embed/#?secret=QTDZUvaZvD#?secret=JP0YYgCeJp" data-secret="JP0YYgCeJp" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="q9sUF64CSk"><p><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/mechanical-memories-a-history-of-gifting/">Mechanical Memories - A History of Gifting</a></p></blockquote>
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Stiltzkin, Moogle Merchant Deck Building Spotlight

Brew For Your Buck - Teval Delving For Budget

<p>Welcome back to <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>, where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the least played color combinations and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around.</p>
<p>Today's theme is a tremendously popular one: lands. Specifically, EDHREC labels this category as "<a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/lands-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lands matter</a>." If you look at the most popular decks in this strategy, they all share one common denominator: the color green. Today's deck asks the question: what happens when you take green away?</p>
<p>The most popular color combination for "lands matter" decks, with a whopping 15,000 decks in the database, is Simic (blue and green). This isn't surprising, as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Omo, Queen of Vesuva" href="#" target="_blank">Omo, Queen of Vesuva</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was a recent precon commander, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tatyova, Benthic Druid" href="#" target="_blank">Tatyova, Benthic Druid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the most cracked uncommons I've ever seen.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Omo, Queen of Vesuva"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tatyova, Benthic Druid"></div></div>
<p>The least popular color combination, unsurprisingly, doesn't include green (or even blue!). With 40 decks in the database, Mardu (white, black, and red), has the fewest decks focused around the "lands matter" theme. As soon as I saw this color combination, I immediately thought of my favorite commander from <em>Commander Legends</em>: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith" href="#" target="_blank">Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith"></div></div>
<p>Toggo makes Rocks, and that's hilarious.</p>
<p>In order to make Toggo work as our commander, we needed to add an Orzhov (black and white) partner. The most powerful choice would be <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a known powerhouse in cEDH, but I went for the safer option in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ravos, Soultender" href="#" target="_blank">Ravos, Soultender</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tymna the Weaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ravos, Soultender"></div></div>
<p>Yes, Tymna is strictly better, so if you want to build with Tymna, go for it. Just be aware that you may be targeted first.</p>
<h2>Category #1: Ramping Without Green</h2>
<p><em>Wizards of the Coast</em> has been printing a lot of cards in white lately that people lovingly call: "catch-up ramp." In order for us to get ahead with this deck, we must first be behind, and let's be honest, if we're playing against a green deck, we're already behind.</p>
<p>There are the usual suspects in white, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archaeomancer&#039;s Map" href="#" target="_blank">Archaeomancer&#039;s Map</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Knight of the White Orchid" href="#" target="_blank">Knight of the White Orchid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keeper of the Accord" href="#" target="_blank">Keeper of the Accord</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solemn Simulacrum" href="#" target="_blank">sad robot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but there is also the "new hotness" in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Claim Jumper" href="#" target="_blank">Claim Jumper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Gnome Terramancer" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Gnome Terramancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archaeomancer&#039;s Map"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Knight of the White Orchid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Keeper of the Accord"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Solemn Simulacrum"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Claim Jumper"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deep Gnome Terramancer"></div></div>
<p>Most of these cards search for a "<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Plains" href="#" target="_blank">Plains</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> card," so I made sure the deck is stocked full of them.</p>
<p>As I previously mentioned, we need to be behind in some cases, and that's not always guaranteed. That brings us to our next category...</p>
<h2>Category #2: Getting Behind</h2>
<p>There are several ways to force ourselves onto the back foot, and I'll be focusing on two specific strategies.</p>
<h3>Strategy #1: Bounce Lands</h3>
<p>Three multi-color bounce lands are available in this color combination: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rakdos Carnarium" href="#" target="_blank">Rakdos Carnarium</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orzhov Basilica" href="#" target="_blank">Orzhov Basilica</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boros Garrison" href="#" target="_blank">Boros Garrison</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Outside of those, I've included <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guildless Commons" href="#" target="_blank">Guildless Commons</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as an extra way to enable our "catch-up" ramp cards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rakdos Carnarium"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orzhov Basilica"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boros Garrison"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Guildless Commons"></div></div>
<h3>Strategy #2: Sacrificing Our Lands</h3>
<p>Bounce lands are much safer than this, but a huge part of this deck's chemistry relies on our ability to sacrifice lands and profit from it. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming" href="#" target="_blank">Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can potentially allow us to re-trigger <em>Landfall</em> effects. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reprocess" href="#" target="_blank">Reprocess</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pitiless Carnage" href="#" target="_blank">Pitiless Carnage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Eternal Bontu" href="#" target="_blank">God-Eternal Bontu</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> all let us sacrifice any number of permanents to draw <em>that many cards</em> (between Toggo's Rocks and our lands, that's a ton of value!), and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Braids, Arisen Nightmare" href="#" target="_blank">Braids, Arisen Nightmare</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows us to control what we want to sacrifice, oftentimes putting our opponents in a difficult position.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reprocess"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pitiless Carnage"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="God-Eternal Bontu"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Braids, Arisen Nightmare"></div></div>
<p>Since we're sacrificing lands, we need ways to bring them back...</p>
<h2>Category #3: Regrowing Our Lands</h2>
<p>White has a really great ability to return permanents from our graveyard, and this can often include lands. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation" href="#" target="_blank">Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Serra Paragon" href="#" target="_blank">Serra Paragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> both allow us to recur anything we want from our graveyard within reason. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Sunrise" href="#" target="_blank">Second Sunrise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Faith&#039;s Reward" href="#" target="_blank">Faith&#039;s Reward</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brought Back" href="#" target="_blank">Brought Back</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allow us to bring back everything we sacrifice in a given turn (imagine casting <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reprocess" href="#" target="_blank">Reprocess</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, sacrificing all of our lands, then getting them all back!). And outside of white, we have the most obvious inclusion in the deck: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crucible of Worlds" href="#" target="_blank">Crucible of Worlds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Serra Paragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Second Sunrise"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Faith&#039;s Reward"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brought Back"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crucible of Worlds"></div></div>
<p>There's an extra special card to recur our lands, but I'm saving that one until later.</p>
<h2>Category #4: <em>Landfall</em></h2>
<p><em>Landfall</em> abilities are a bit scarce in Mardu colors, but the options that we do have are pretty crazy. Every time I've seen <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Felidar Retreat" href="#" target="_blank">Felidar Retreat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> hit the board since it was printed, it has been an absolute house. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emeria Shepherd" href="#" target="_blank">Emeria Shepherd</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an insane "reanimation" effect. And <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emeria Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Emeria Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> creates 1/1 flying tokens, which are more relevant than you might think.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Felidar Retreat"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emeria Shepherd"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emeria Angel"></div></div>
<h2>Category #5: The "Secret Spice"</h2>
<p>The secret spice for this deck includes a relatively unpopular commander: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yomiji, Who Bars the Way" href="#" target="_blank">Yomiji, Who Bars the Way</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Yomiji, Who Bars the Way"></div></div>
<p>There aren't a whole lot of legendary lands in Mardu colors, but I had to include them when I thought of how cool all of our sacrifice effects would be with Yomiji. We can't combo off immediately with Yomiji, but sacrificing lands feels less bad when you just get them all back to your hand.</p>
<p>While all this "looping lands" stuff seems cool, I'm sure you're asking the question: "How does it win?" Well, outside of the token plan with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Felidar Retreat" href="#" target="_blank">Felidar Retreat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emeria Angel" href="#" target="_blank">Emeria Angel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, there's an absolute heater I need to talk about: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Valakut Exploration" href="#" target="_blank">Valakut Exploration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Valakut Exploration"></div></div>
<p>This card can provide us with extra card advantage, which is very good, but if we have one of those crazy turns where we're "looping lands," we could potentially kill the entire table with its second ability.</p>
<h2>Closing Thoughts</h2>
<p>This deck has been sitting in my drafts for a few months now, but I'm glad it finally gets to see the light of day. I hope you enjoyed my journey into "lands matter" today, and I hope you find inspiration in this article to build something wacky on your own!</p>
<p>Check out my decklist below:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bottom of the Barrel #11 - Ravos and Toggo Landfall" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ravos, Soultender
*1 Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Brought Back
*1 Cosmic Intervention
*1 Deflecting Palm
*1 Faith&#039;s Reward
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Second Sunrise
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
[Creatures]
*1 Beza, the Bounding Spring
*1 Bloodghast
*1 Braids, Arisen Nightmare
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Claim Jumper
*1 Deep Gnome Terramancer
*1 Emeria Angel
*1 Emeria Shepherd
*1 God-Eternal Bontu
*1 Hardened Tactician
*1 Hedron Detonator
*1 Keeper of the Accord
*1 Knight of the White Orchid
*1 Loyal Warhound
*1 Serra Paragon
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Trove Warden
*1 Walking Atlas
*1 Yomiji, Who Bars the Way
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Curse of the Restless Dead
*1 Felidar Retreat
*1 Ghirapur Aether Grid
*1 Goblin Trenches
*1 Land Tax
*1 The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration
*1 Valakut Exploration
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Cleansing Wildfire
*1 Farewell
*1 Nahiri&#039;s Lithoforming
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Painful Truths
*1 Pitiless Carnage
*1 Planar Birth
*1 Reprocess
*1 Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation
*1 Sundering Eruption // Volcanic Fissure
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Archaeomancer&#039;s Map
*1 Claws of Gix
*1 Crucible of Worlds
*1 Dragonspark Reactor
*1 Gerrard&#039;s Hourglass Pendant
*1 Ghirapur Orrery
*1 Mirage Mirror
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Staff of Titania
*1 Sunstone
*1 Surveyor&#039;s Scope
*1 Sword of Forge and Frontier
*1 Sword of Hearth and Home
*1 Zuran Orb
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Abstergo Entertainment
*1 Alpine Meadow
*1 Boros Garrison
*1 Cactus Preserve
*1 Dark Depths
*1 Elegant Parlor
*1 Fabled Passage
*1 Field of the Dead
*1 Flagstones of Trokair
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Guildless Commons
*1 Horizon of Progress
*1 Kor Haven
*1 Lazotep Quarry
*1 Lotus Field
*1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
*1 Mines of Moria
*1 Mouth of Ronom
*1 Orzhov Basilica
*1 Prismatic Vista
*1 Rakdos Carnarium
*1 Rath&#039;s Edge
*1 Savai Triome
*1 Shadowy Backstreet
*3 Snow-Covered Mountain
*6 Snow-Covered Plains
*3 Snow-Covered Swamp
*1 Snowfield Sinkhole
*1 The Black Gate
*1 Thespian&#039;s Stage
*1 Tomb of Urami
[/Lands]"></span></div>


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