Inalla, Archmage RitualistInalla, Archmage Ritualist | Art by Yongjae Choi

Inalla, Archmage RitualistInalla, Archmage Ritualist is one of the most formidable commanders. One of the very few commanders with an eminence ability, Inalla can sway the flow of the game without even being cast. As such, this Grixis () legendary Human Wizard is extremely powerful in and out of the command zone.

What if we took cards from the new Final Fantasy expansion and made Inalla even stronger?

In this Rebuilding deck tech article, we'll examine the new Wizard creatures from Final Fantasy and other synergies that can push Inalla decks over the edge.

What Does Inalla, Archmage Ritualist Do?

Inalla, Archmage RitualistInalla, Archmage Ritualist works as a facilitator to combo decks, aggro decks, and control decks alike.

Her eminence ability makes temporary copies of Wizard permanents that enter the battlefield under your control for just .

If you have a sizable mass of Wizards, Inalla can also be used to reduce one target opponent's life by seven. We don't necessarily want to do that, but it's certainly an option we have. Our goal is mainly to make token copies of the Wizards we play.

However, as you'll soon read about, we have more planned than just the usual route.

Commanders Similar to Inalla

Inalla cloning Wizards is unique commander since it can trigger when she's in the command zone. However, the idea that you can clone creatures with a commander isn't novel. Similar legendary creatures include Delina, Wild MageDelina, Wild Mage, Orvar, the All-FormOrvar, the All-Form, and Rhys the RedeemedRhys the Redeemed.

However, none of these can quite achieve the results that Inalla can.

What Will This Inalla Deck Do?

First and foremost, this deck is meant as a Wizard kindred deck with added support for maximizing triggered abilities.

Simply put, we want to use Inalla's eminence ability to create a bunch of Wizard creatures and utilize their entry triggers to control the flow of the game. This means life totals, hands, graveyards, and pretty much anything else we can think up.

In this way, the deck acts as a fairly dedicated control deck with combo elements added in for good measure.

The deck we're showcasing today is classified as a Bracket 3 deck due to the presence of three Game Changers and three tutors. I don't think the Game Changers, shown above, must be overstated as strong cards. However, if your playgroup objects to them, consider making substitutions to facilitate fair gameplay.

Furthermore, while combos exist in the deck, they require more than two cards to pull off infinitely. We'll go over one big one we're using in the next section.

Key Cards for Inalla

Inalla needs a few specific cards to make her deck operate smoothly.

Two to three of these cards create a notable infinite combo for the sake of mana generation. With Inalla in play or in the command zone, Bloodline NecromancerBloodline Necromancer and Ashnod's AltarAshnod's Altar allow infinite colorless mana, while adding in a Phyrexian AltarPhyrexian Altar gives you infinite colored mana as well.

The combo line is conducted as such:

• With Inalla on the battlefield or in the command zone, and an Ashnod's Altar on the battlefield, cast Bloodline Necromancer.
• With the Necromancer's and Inalla's triggered abilities on the stack, sacrifice the Necromancer to Ashnod's Altar.
• Then, use one of the generated mana to pay for Inalla's trigger. Make a token copy of the Necromancer, which will then be used to bring the original Necromancer back.
• Rinse and repeat until you have enough colorless mana to start using things like Phyrexian Altar for colored mana, or Impact TremorsImpact Tremors to defeat your opponents.

That's just one example of a combo you can achieve in a given Inalla deck. However, there are plenty of other things we can do with her at the helm. And they're very much facilitated by the Black Mages of Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy Additions

In the Final Fantasy expansion and its associated Commander decks, various cards generate 0/1 black Wizard tokens, which I'll be referring to in this article as "Black Mages." These tokens deal one damage to each opponent every time you cast a noncreature spell. Think of a mini-GuttersnipeGuttersnipe, but with the potential to be far more numerous, and therefore more dangerous.

Yes, one mere 0/1 is flimsy, but a bunch of Black Mages together are beyond strong. This is why we're playing a glut of these Black Mage generators in the deck.

These include:

• Kuja, Genome SorcererKuja, Genome Sorcerer: Kuja, a double-faced card, generates a Black Mage at every end step, and doubles their output if he ever transforms.
• Black Waltz No. 3Black Waltz No. 3: A Black Mage card itself, this creature has double the output of a standard-issue Black Mage.
• Mysidian ElderMysidian Elder: This creature is your bread and butter in Inalla decks. Upon entering the battlefield, he brings along a Black Mage. If you copy, blink, or flicker him, or otherwise double his entry trigger, you'll soon have a ton of Black Mages to work with.

Furthermore, we've added a few synergies involving Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier. Vivi is a Black Mage already (down to the damage output), but he also gets much bigger than your average Wizard.

What's more, he's an extremely potent mana outlet. Now, we haven't added Quicksilver ElementalQuicksilver Elemental, but if you wanted to spruce the deck up for a higher level of play, it's one helluva good card to add.

How Does Inalla Win?

This Inalla deck wants to play a bunch of Black Mages, followed up with a glut of noncreature spells to maximize damage. This is similar to how a Purphoros, God of the ForgePurphoros, God of the Forge deck wants to win, except in this build we want to play cheaper noncreature alternatives such as Impact TremorsImpact Tremors.

When the Final Fantasy Through the Ages copy of Purphoros was revealed, believe me, I was sorely tempted to add it in. However, in this deck, we want cards with a very low-to-the-ground mana cost. These kinds of cards will almost always be your best bet here.

We want our opponents to hit zero life fast, and we want to do this to them simultaneously if possible, so there's no time for them to get too suspicious.

As an alternative to wearing our opponents down with Black Mages, we have other, more conventional means of winning.

For one, there's also the option to make a ton of mana with the Bloodline NecromancerBloodline Necromancer combo mentioned above. This will ultimately allow us to cast a ton of the Wizards in our hand very quickly and then use their copies for various tasks, including but not limited to attacking.

If all else fails, we can tap our Wizards with Galecaster ColossusGalecaster Colossus, classic favorite Supreme InquisitorSupreme Inquisitor, or Inalla herself to make use of Inalla's token copies before they leave existence. Before too long, we'll take our opponents out of existence, too!

Inalla, Archmage Ritualist Commander Decklist

Conclusion

If you like a deck that can keep up with the times, you can't go wrong with a Wizard kindred deck. Inalla is the classic poster child for the stronger end of Wizard kindred. However, Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier certainly seems to be giving her a run for her money lately.

If you want more information about Vivi as a commander, be sure to check out Michael Celani's deck tech on the rascally Black Mage. Alternatively, you may want another control-based Grixis Commander deck built by yours truly. If that's what you're looking for, you can find one on Kefka, Court MageKefka, Court Mage by clicking here.

And now, let's open the floor to you, dear readers. Do you believe that Black Mages are a good fit in an Inalla, Archmage Ritualist deck? Are there other synergies from Final Fantasy that you see as good for this kind of build? And what else would you do to improve this decklist? Let us know what you'd suggest for this deck in the comments below!