Plargg, Dean of ChaosPlargg, Dean of Chaos | Art by Bryan Sola

Welcome back to Bottom of the Barrel! This is a series where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the “bottom of the barrel.” This means that we look at the least played color-combinations and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around!

Today's episode explores around an archetype that's largely based in blue: top-deck manipulation. With over 3000 decks, the most popular commander for this archetype is Mirko, Obsessive TheoristMirko, Obsessive Theorist. The precon built around this legend was full of fun ways to manipulate the top of the library through the surveil mechanic, so this statistic isn't surprising.

While our deck, in theory, is based on manipulating the top of our library, it's probably more accurate to say that this deck is firmly based around the Polymorph theme. Yes, that means we care about what's on top, but it's less focused than it may seem.

Polymorph is largely focused in Temur and Jeskai, but today I want to focus on a color combination that you may not associate with top-deck manipulation or Polymorph at all: Boros ().

According to EDHREC, there are only 16 total decks in the database that care about top-deck manipulation and only 42 decks that care about Polymorph in these colors. Since Boros is my favorite two-color combination, I had to jump on this one.

Our commander today is Plargg, Dean of ChaosPlargg, Dean of Chaos. Plargg is our commander for one reason and one reason only: he can immediately tutor for our "real commander" with his second ability. As long as we build the deck with no other non-legendary cards with mana value three or less, we can guarantee to hit our secret commander every single time.

What's our "real commander"? Well, it's a card you may not have heard of: Shifting ShadowShifting Shadow.

Shifting Shadow forces us to care about what's on top of our deck because every upkeep it "flips" into the next creature on top of our library. This means that we need some absolute heaters to flip into; and boy do we have that.

The important thing to note, however, is that the creatures we get for free are only temporary. Shifting ShadowShifting Shadow destroys whatever it's attached to when it flips into something new.

As previously mentioned, this is more of a "polymorph" strategy, but let's roll with it.

Category #1: "Enters"

If Shifting Shadow is going to let us flip into creatures for free, it's important that they have an impact. They're only temporary, so anything with an "enters" trigger is an ideal include in this deck. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Trumpeting CarnosaurTrumpeting Carnosaur grants us another free spell with mana value five or less when it enters.

• Beza, the Bounding SpringBeza, the Bounding Spring is the perfect way for us to "catch up" to our opponents.

• Angel of IndemnityAngel of Indemnity and Sun TitanSun Titan allow us to get back things that may have been removed (even by our own Shifting Shadow!)

• SolitudeSolitude acts as a Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares-esque effect when it enters the battlefield.

• Loran of the Third PathLoran of the Third Path can remove any pesky artifacts or enchantments in play.

• Zidane, Tantalus ThiefZidane, Tantalus Thief, Molten PrimordialMolten Primordial, and Firbolg FlutistFirbolg Flutist all allow us to "borrow" creatures from our opponents.

• Terror of the PeaksTerror of the Peaks is a great way to throw damage directly at our opponents' faces.

• Preston, the VanisherPreston, the Vanisher capitalizes on us getting free creatures by giving us 0/1 copies of them!

Category #2: "Dies"

Since the creatures we get for free are only temporary, putting in creatures with death triggers seems like a perfect next step for our plan.

• Wurmcoil EngineWurmcoil Engine, Triplicate TitanTriplicate Titan, and Phyrexian TriniformPhyrexian Triniform all create tokens when they die while being huge beaters when they're in play.

• Atsushi, the Blazing SkyAtsushi, the Blazing Sky gives us the opportunity to ramp a little or exile cards from the top of our library to cast later.

• Liberated LivestockLiberated Livestock creates tokens and provides recursion for our Shifting ShadowShifting Shadow if it gets removed.

• Ruin GrinderRuin Grinder lets us wheel our hand away if we're stuck with a bad hand.

Since our creatures will die, it's important that we have plans to bring them back.

Category #3: Recursion/Protection

There are terrific creatures that can recur any of our creatures that die to Shifting Shadow, but here are a few that shine in this deck:

• Breathkeeper SeraphBreathkeeper Seraph can soulbond to any creature that we want to save, and it can also save itself!

• Hofri GhostforgeHofri Ghostforge can turn any creatures that die into Spirits that have trample and haste.

• Adarkar ValkyrieAdarkar Valkyrie can activate to bring back a creature whenever it would die.

• Gerrard's Hourglass PendantGerrard's Hourglass Pendant can return anything that goes to the graveyard on a single-use basis, which can save our board from any board wipes.

• Feldon of the Third PathFeldon of the Third Path can create token copies of anything that's in our graveyard for only three mana.

Outside of recurring things that die, we can also prevent our things from dying at all:

• Soul of New PhyrexiaSoul of New Phyrexia has a repeatable ability to make our all of our permanents indestructible.

• Avacyn, Angel of HopeAvacyn, Angel of Hope keeps our permanents indestructible for as long as she remains in play.

Obviously, if someone plays a FarewellFarewell we're kind of screwed, but there isn't really a way around that card.

Unless we kill them first.

Category #4: Finishers (Including a "Secret Spice" Finisher)

We have four strong finishers in this deck outside of our "secret spice," all of which happen to be indestructible creatures.

• Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus and Darksteel ColossusDarksteel Colossus are huge trampling threats, but one of them just ends the game quicker.

• Ulamog, the Infinite GyreUlamog, the Infinite Gyre and Ulamog, the Ceaseless HungerUlamog, the Ceaseless Hunger both have powerful cast triggers, but are absolutely bonkers when given the haste that Shifting Shadow will grant them.

Our "secret spice" for today's deck isn't a secret for many cEDH players:

Godo, Bandit WarlordGodo, Bandit Warlord and Helm of the HostHelm of the Host.

Flipping into a free Godo thanks to Shifting Shadow provides a very easy win, as we'll most likely have the mana available to equip the Helm in our first main phase.

Like I said, it's a cEDH combo for a reason, so if you don't like that, don't include it in your version.

Closing Thoughts

This deck started off as a meme, but the sheer ridiculousness that Shifting Shadow can offer was too good to pass up. Yes, the deck is crazy strong, and I optimized my list to have nothing Plargg can hit aside from Shifting Shadow. This guarantees that our deck can "do the thing," and that's really all you can ask for.

Check out my decklist below!

Plargg, Dean of Chaos Commander Deck List

Read More: