Trazyn the InfiniteTrazyn the Infinite | Art by Michal Milkowski

The Necron Dynasty, one of the Xenos factions of Warhammer 40,000, is a race of skeletal cyborgs hailing from the Tomb Worlds of the Milky Way Galaxy in the 41st Millennium. So, it stands to reason that the Necrons should, could, and absolutely would have spaceships.

However, Magic: The Gathering's innovations came a bit too late for Spacecraft to coincide with their Warhammer 40k Commander decks. Therefore, we had to wait nearly three whole years for Edge of Eternities to release before we could fathom bringing this deck tech to you!

This deck tech, featuring Trazyn the InfiniteTrazyn the Infinite as its commander, is a fantastic spin on how this Necron collector of rare and valuable esoterica could make the most out of his artifacts. The synergistic fashion in which Trazyn can assimilate the station keyword from any one of his Spacecraft cards is so interesting.

That's why this deck reaches for the stars by using a skeleton (ha!) of charge counter manipulation. So, if you're ready to go where no cardstock Necron has gone before, let's begin!

What Does Trazyn the InfiniteTrazyn the Infinite Do?

Trazyn is a 4/6 legendary Necron artifact creature with deathtouch for . This is a fairly simplistic stat line for a legendary creature, and potentially below rate considering its mana cost and legendary status. That is, until you read the next ability.

Trazyn has all the activated abilities of every artifact card in your graveyard. What does this mean? It means exactly what it reads. Trazyn can produce mana, sacrifice permanents for a benefit, and even have creatures put charge counters on him through the station keyword of Spacecraft cards.

At this time, Trazyn only has one similar legendary rival in Mairsil, the PretenderMairsil, the Pretender. Mairsil is restricted to using each of his activated abilities only once per turn, but can also utilize nonartifact creatures in this endeavor. Trazyn boasts no such conceit; he can do what he wants, whenever he wants, with no quantitative restriction whatsoever.

In a sense, he's far more similar to a Necrotic OozeNecrotic Ooze, but even that is a stretch. After all, Necrotic Ooze only gains activated abilities from creatures, and isn't even legendary!

As for the strategy within the 99 of this deck, we want to fill our graveyard with a minimum of one Spacecraft as the key priority. Then, we'll proceed to station Trazyn with as many creatures as we can comfortably afford to. After this, it's anyone's guess as to what we'll use Trazyn's charge counters for.

We've got plenty of cards that remove charge counters, count charge counters, or preserve counters in some way, so the verdict is out... Until it's too late.

Key Cards for Trazyn the InfiniteTrazyn the Infinite

As I normally compartmentalize my key cards within my deck techs, there are three major camps that the cards in this deck go into:

• Self-Mill: These are cards that fill the graveyard with the necessities that Trazyn will later use to enact the strategy mentioned above.
• Charge Counter Accrual: These are cards that, in some way or another, Trazyn will use to gain charge counters. Spacecraft cards fit in this category, but they're not the only way Trazyn can do this.
• Charge Counter Manipulation: This last category denotes our payoffs. The cards could either care about removing charge counters or counting their number. Some lesser-considered cards will see a home in this category.

Self-Mill Cards

Plenty of cards fit into the self-mill category, but I had to curate this list to include only so many. A majority of these are creatures, as they have application stationing Spacecraft cards in the right circumstances.

For example, Stitcher's SupplierStitcher's Supplier is a great self-mill creature. Even though its power is low at just one, its propensity to mill upwards of six cards was a great way for me to justify including it.

Furthermore, I've added Doom WhispererDoom Whisperer, Vile EntomberVile Entomber, and Disciples of GixDisciples of Gix, as these can either fill the graveyard en masse or select a few cards of my choice to bin.

Dredge is also a good source of self-mill. I like high dredge counts for this deck because the graveyard is exactly where I want a majority of these cards to go. So, I have three cards with dredge in this list: Stinkweed ImpStinkweed Imp, Golgari ThugGolgari Thug, and Dakmor SalvageDakmor Salvage. The first two are creatures and, therefore, helpful for preliminary stationing. Dakmor Salvage is simply an extremely utilitarian land for this deck.

Finally regarding creatures in this category, I may occasionally run into the issue where I draw a combo piece instead of milling it. To that end, I've included Patchwork GnomesPatchwork Gnomes, an artifact creature that can discard a card to regenerate itself. To that end, the only place it's functionally useless to me is in exile, since Trazyn steals its activated ability when it's in the graveyard.

Beyond the creatures, I'm also running Unmarked GraveUnmarked Grave and Buried AliveBuried Alive. Unmarked Grave can't put any legendary cards into my graveyard, but many of my combo pieces are not legendary. Buried Alive is slightly more restrictive as it only bins creatures. However, putting three into the graveyard is a decent deal for only .

Charge Counter Accrual

With self-mill covered, I'll next discuss how this deck accrues charge counters. The first and most important way for Trazyn the Infinite to gain charge counters in this deck is through Spacecraft cards.

In this deck, I run a total of six Spacecraft artifacts. It's not necessarily vital to be selective with which ones you add, as to Trazyn, a station is a station (excepting, of course, Susur Secundi, Void AltarSusur Secundi, Void Altar, which I've added but notably isn't an artifact).

In fact, in my personal Trazyn list, I'm not running Dawnsire, Sunstar DreadnoughtDawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought. I don't own a copy, so instead I'm running The Eternity ElevatorThe Eternity Elevator. The reason I have Dawnsire in this deck tech's list is because I'm gearing up to get ahold of one soon. However, the cards are so similar that it truly doesn't matter which one I choose to include in either list.

Spacecraft aside, there are plenty of other, albeit less potent, ways to add charge counters to Trazyn. The OzolithThe Ozolith is a godsend when it comes to retaining charge counters and therefore saves you on adding new ones to your Necron commander. Yes, this counts!

Furthermore, Gemstone ArrayGemstone Array is a tried and true means of converting mana into charges, and doubles as a way to produce mana when Trazyn might need it. Finally, the new card from Edge of Eternities' Commander decks, Surge ConductorSurge Conductor, allows Trazyn to proliferate whenever a nontoken artifact enters my side of the battlefield.

It's not a huge accrual overall, but it adds up in time.

However, all in all, I mostly want to bin a Spacecraft and go to town by tapping my creatures, adding their power to the charge count for Trazyn. What, then, do I do with my charge counters? Well...

Charge Counter Manipulation

Besides the aforementioned Gemstone Array and any Spacecraft, this deck contains an approximate total of eleven methods of manipulating charge counters with Trazyn. These eleven cards are the ones that, most likely, will win you the game. The possibilities with these cards are quite varied, and their ceiling for overall utility is also often very high.

However, many players may not realize how useful some of these cards are in the deck. For example, Lost JitteLost Jitte is an Equipment that manipulates its charge counters for a variety of abilities. Many players might gloss over this card, not realizing that the charge counters are put onto Lost Jitte and removed from the same card. In the graveyard of this deck, all it loses is the ability to put +1/+1 counters on an equipped creature.

Be that as it may, Trazyn doesn't rely on this ability to defeat opponents. After all, we care more about charge counters than +1/+1s.

To this end, Commander Spellbook has a magnificent combo profile detailing some tricks we can do with Lost Jitte in this deck:

It may run afoul of your playgroup in lower brackets, but Magistrate's ScepterMagistrate's Scepter is another combo piece for Trazyn the Infinite. With a Spacecraft and the Scepter in your graveyard, you can station Trazyn via a 3+ power creature each turn to then take demonstrably infinite turns. It's backbreaking, yes, but it will often answer a stalled board state. And, with Out of the TombsOut of the Tombs on the battlefield, you won't even draw out your deck and lose in that way!

These are just a few ways to combo out with Trazyn in this deck. There may be more, so why not try this out for yourself?

How Does Trazyn the InfiniteTrazyn the Infinite Win?

As demonstrated above, Trazyn is well-suited to a combo deck such as this. The combos included in the deck are the means to victory here. Unlike many other Trazyn builds, this one doesn't rely solely on one solitary combo to do the trick.

Furthermore, there are a plethora of redundant components to ensure that if one fails, there'll be more on the way.

Trazyn the Infinite Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Trazyn is a monster of a card if played correctly. This deck is explicitly not for beginner players, and those who use it have to have a mastery of board state extension. The way to counter Trazyn the most effectively is through graveyard exile effects and other anti-mill strategies. However, if you're trying to counter Trazyn yourself, be wary that this deck will find a way to bounce right back in very short order.

So now, I'd like to open the floor to you, dear readers. Have you used Trazyn the Infinite before, either as a standalone commander or in the Necron Dynasties precon for Warhammer 40,000?

Did you enjoy using Trazyn in either instance, or did he prove too many moving parts for your liking? Alternatively, what is your opinion of Necrotic Ooze and similar cards, or even Mairsil, the PretenderMairsil, the Pretender? Do either hold a candle to Trazyn?

Sound off in the comments below!

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