Light-Paws, Emperor's VoiceLight-Paws, Emperor's Voice | Art by Randy Vargas

The House Always Wins

Welcome back to Power Sink, the article series where we even the odds with the strongest commanders in the format. This time we're going to roll the dice with a commander who tends to be a sure bet: Light-Paws, Emperor's VoiceLight-Paws, Emperor's Voice.

Light-Paws is the second most popular commander in mono-white, with 8,316 decks on EDHREC. Her ability to find an Aura and attach it to her every time an Aura you cast enters the battlefield makes her quite the high roller. This essentially means you're getting two Auras for the price of one, and since the second one comes out of your deck, she's essentially a card advantage engine in the command zone. While she doesn't have any keywords and her power and toughness are pretty low, that quickly becomes irrelevant as her ability finds way to make her a hard-to-remove threat in no time.

What's truly wild about Light-Paws is that's she's only two mana, meaning she can come early or you can sandbag her for a turn when you have more mana and can deploy a few Auras on her the turn you cast her. Her low cost also makes her a viable target for the recursion effects in white that hit things of mana value three or less. Being mono-white is still a setback, but the color identity doesn't struggle nearly as much as it has in the past, so there are at least decent card draw options to go alongside the best removal and protection in the format. Let's take a look at the average deck to see what the deal is.

Considering what the commander does, it was a sure bet we'd be getting an Aura-based Voltron deck. Light-Paws can load up the field with enchantments in no time, so Ethereal ArmorEthereal Armor, All That GlittersAll That Glitters, and Eidolon of Countless BattlesEidolon of Countless Battles can bring the commander's power to lethal levels quickly, while Sage's ReverieSage's Reverie provides some card draw on top of that power boost. Getting through is also no issue with things like Spirit MantleSpirit Mantle, On Serra's WingsOn Serra's Wings, and Angelic GiftAngelic Gift.

Light-Paws players also seem to be hedging their bets against people packing removal. I found about fourteen different pieces of protection in the average list. Timely WardTimely Ward, and Shielded by FaithShielded by Faith grant Indestructible, or you could get Totem Armor from Felidar UmbraFelidar Umbra or Umbra MysticUmbra Mystic. Protection can be had from the likes of Benevolent BlessingBenevolent Blessing or Mask of Law and GraceMask of Law and Grace. StoneskinStoneskin is an unexpected choice here, but Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge shows up in over 270,000 decks on EDHREC and this is a clever way to save your commander from that and similar effects.

Even with no protective permanents on the field, trying to remove something is a gamble against this deck with all the cheap instants. Loran's EscapeLoran's Escape and Karametra's BlessingKarametra's Blessing grant hexproof and Indestructible to a creature. Surge of SalvationSurge of Salvation only grants hexproof, but it grants it to everything and the fact that it prevents damage from red and black sources is useful against the commonly used Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act. Galadriel's DismissalGaladriel's Dismissal is particularly awesome here. It can save the commander and all attached permanents from just about anything and it's flexible as a temporary removal spell.

Finally the deck is held together with some typical enchantress fare. Mesa EnchantressMesa Enchantress, Kor SpiritdancerKor Spiritdancer, and Sram, Senior EdificerSram, Senior Edificer keep you in cards as you're casting all these auras. Transcendent EnvoyTranscendent Envoy, Hero of IroasHero of Iroas and Starfield MysticStarfield Mystic reduce aura costs, and if all those auras get lost in the graveyard, there's Brilliant RestorationBrilliant Restoration and RetetherRetether to get it all back.

With any other commander these card in conjunction lead to a largely fair deck, but Light-Paws adds a level of speed and consistency that puts it on another level. That consistency also poses a problem as having a tutor in the command zone can lead to overly similar play patterns. Luckily I've got a plan for both tuning down this commander and adding some variance.

Roll the Dice

We're going to be limiting what Light-Paws can find in the deck by randomizing which Auras go in. Rather than shuffling a number of random Aura cards, we're going to take a cue from another Magic product and format, Jumpstart. Jumpstart is played by shuffling two seeded booster packs together to make a deck. In the case of our Light-Paws deck, we're going to have a base deck of 76 cards, which contains our lands and basic support cards and we'll complete our deck by adding two packs from among the eight theme "boosters" which contain most of the Auras that will be in the deck.

First of all, let's talk about the main deck. This time I kept much of the main deck intact with just a few additions. Mesa EnchantressMesa Enchantress, Sram, Senior EdificerSram, Senior Edificer, and Sage's ReverieSage's Reverie are still there, but we've also added Tenuous TruceTenuous Truce as a fun way to draw cards and trigger our commander. We're also keeping Helm of the GodsHelm of the Gods, Thran Power SuitThran Power Suit, and Archon of Sun's GraceArchon of Sun's Grace to develop power. Since we might not end up with many Auras that add to our damage output, we're also adding Ajani's ChosenAjani's Chosen and Boon of the Spirit RealmBoon of the Spirit Realm.

OblationOblation has fallen out of favor since the tuck rule was implemented and commanders can be sent back to the command zone instead of getting shuffled in. I still think it's a good include, because anything you're removing is likely worse than two random cards, and in this deck, we can shuffle away one of our auras to draw two cards and our commander can just tutor it back to the field later. Speaking of enchantments hitting the field, SkybindSkybind is one of my favorite enchantment payoffs. Since we're often getting two enchantments for the price of one, we're going to be able to clear out blockers or get more use out of AuramancerAuramancer or Heliod's PilgrimHeliod's Pilgrim. We can even use it to blink our lands so they're ready for instant speed effects later.

Back-arat

Now let's talk about the "Jumpstart" packs. Each pack contains 12 Aura cards based around a specific strategy. For example, this pack contains cards that return themselves or other cards to hand or to the battlefield such as ConvictionConviction. This pack incidentally has a lot of control in it as Forced WorshipForced Worship, ShacklesShackles, and Cage of HandsCage of Hands all have activated abilities to return them to hand, as well as a bit of evasion thanks toAngelic DestinyAngelic Destiny and Skyblade's BoonSkyblade's Boon. This pack can be surprisingly powerful as bouncing and recasting Auras will trigger the commander as well as the numerous cards that care about enchantments being cast or entering the battlefield.

Boxcars

Like a train, this is all about having a lot in the back. For the most part, it's toughness boosting effects like StoneskinStoneskin and Holy ArmorHoly Armor with Gauntlets of LightGauntlets of Light and Solid FootingSolid Footing being the key cards. It's simple, but there are some cool defensive tricks like blocking infinite creatures with EntanglerEntangler or a surprise fog with Saving GraceSaving Grace

King of Hearts

This pack is focused on life gain. We can get lifelink with cards like On Serra's WingsOn Serra's Wings and Felidar UmbraFelidar Umbra or gain it more directly with Luminous WakeLuminous Wake and Ordeal of HeliodOrdeal of Heliod. Regardless of how we get it, we're looking to weaponize that life gain with Light of PromiseLight of Promise and SunbondSunbond.

Wild Cards

This pack is focused towards giving keywords to our commander. For the most part, we're looking at flying with effects like Angelic GiftAngelic Gift and Serra's EmbraceSerra's Embrace or protection from creatures with cards like Holy MantleHoly Mantle and Unquestioned AuthorityUnquestioned Authority. Vigilance from Sentinel's EyesSentinel's Eyes and Daybreak CoronetDaybreak Coronet are particularly useful as the evasion available to us serves to make our commander a potent blocker.

Poker Face

This is the protection package of the deck. Our opponents are going to have a hard time removing our commander with effects like Shielded by FaithShielded by Faith and Mask of Law and GraceMask of Law and Grace. We can even give our commander a power boost while protecting her with Spectra WardSpectra Ward and Mammoth UmbraMammoth Umbra. With so many protection and Indestructible effects it's quite likely PariahPariah will make us incredibly difficult to damage.

Ante-Up

With this pack, we're adding tokens to the pile. Auras like Cartouche of SolidarityCartouche of Solidarity, Nurturing PresenceNurturing Presence, and Squire's DevotionSquire's Devotion make tokens when they enter the battlefield. This normally wouldn't amount to an army, but our commander guarantees we can find FlickerformFlickerform to blink those auras. We've also got more passive token makers like Cathar's CallCathar's Call and Commanding PresenceCommanding Presence. Rounding out this pack are cards that increase our commander's power like Born to DriveBorn to Drive and Mantle of LeadershipMantle of Leadership as well as Martial ImpetusMartial Impetus which we can use as an anthem for our tokens.

Hold 'Em

This is the Control pack. We can lock down our opponents' cards with effects like Prison TermPrison Term and Planar DisruptionPlanar Disruption. We also have the option to remove them entirely with Chains of CustodyChains of Custody and Faith UnbrokenFaith Unbroken. Problem commanders can be dealt with by Darksteel MutationDarksteel Mutation and ReprobationReprobation. Finally we can lock up some of an opponent's mana by attaching Soul TitheSoul Tithe to a permanent they really want to keep.

High Roller

The last pack is all about power. Ethereal ArmorEthereal Armor and All That GlittersAll That Glitters are no surprise and IdolizedIdolized from the upcoming Fallout set can do some serious damage here as it's likely we'll have a ton on nonland permanents. We can also build up power a little more slowly with Glacial PlatingGlacial Plating or by passing around counters with Gleam of AuthorityGleam of Authority. Finally, we can further weaponize our power by turning it into removal with Sinstriker's WillSinstriker's Will.

Cash Out

Admittedly this deck would take a bit more managing than a regular commander deck, but I think it's a great way to add variance to Light-Paws. I've encountered a fair number of people who have taken this commander apart because it plays out the same way and hopefully this idea helps them see it in a new light. I've seen other decks out there that randomize their 99 and I definitely want to shout out my inspiration where I can. Quinn, one of the hosts of MTGLexicon has a reanimator deck led by Sedris, the Traitor KingSedris, the Traitor King that uses Craw WurmCraw Wurm as a placeholder for reanimation targets. My good friend Drake also does something similar with Mayael the AnimaMayael the Anima. If you've ever done something similar with a deck I'd love to hear all about it in the comments.

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Lenny Wooley

Lenny has been in an on again off again relationship with Magic since Fallen Empires. He fell in love with Commander in 2010 when his friends forced him to build Niv Mizzet, the Firemind and has been with the game ever since. When he's not turning cardboard sideways or trying to justify using bad draft commons in EDH decks you can find him playing something from his massive board game collection or practicing the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. Follow Lenny on twitter @LennyWooley