Rendmaw, Creaking NestRendmaw, Creaking Nest | Art by Ryan Pancoast

Greetings and salutations dear brewers, from a place where I'm still wondering whether Mother Nature has gotten confused between winter and spring. I'm Arnaud, and I'm thrilled to take you on an avian journey of goaded flyers, Swiss-army knives, and obscure cardboard.

Last time, we parted ways with the usual poll. Third place went to Najeela, the Blade-BlossomNajeela, the Blade-Blossom. With only 10 votes (10%), this has to be one of the lowest scores ever achieved since the beginning of the series. Quite an achievement, given how powerful that commander is. Second place was awarded to Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov, with 21 votes (22%). Not much better.

My guess is that you people prefer seeing brews for uncanny commanders rather than established staples. Do you confirm?

With 65 votes and a staggering 68% rate, the winner is undisputedly Rendmaw, Creaking NestRendmaw, Creaking Nest. I don't think any other legend has ever gathered such a consensus in these parts.

This is a very fun big boy, and in some ways quite akin to Joey's much beloved Baby Lasagna, in the sense that it cares about stuff with multiple types.

There is one fundamental difference though that sets these quite apart. Rendmaw cares about stuff being played, whereas Baba looks at what's already on the field. And that changes the entire philosophy of the deck. More on that later.

For now, let's take each and every card from the commander's regular and budget pages, and throw them all into Archidekt, for a first overview.

288 cards. Sounds like a decent start. Let's dive in.

First Trim – The Cardboard Chainsaw Massacre

Let's begin with the usual recap. These brews all follow one rule: no cards worth $1.11 or more allowed. This may look like an insurmountable challenge to some – where would those decks be without beloved expensive cardboard? – but rest assured, this is in fact a great way to boost creativity, and leave more room for obscure or underplayed gems.

With this out of the way, I'll begin by removing everything costing more than $2.

This usually trims the list by about a third, and Rendmaw's no different, leaving exactly 200 cards in the list.

Before axing any further, let's see what niceties lie in the $1.11-$2.00 range, just in case you have a bit of spare cash lying around:

• Sol RingSol Ring: This comes and goes so often above and below the threshold I'm honestly tempted to make a perennial exception for it. For now though, at $1.13, it's out of range.
• Insidious RootsInsidious Roots: At $1.17, this is still a bargain, and an excellent enabler, granting mana, giving your Birds an escape route if you don't feel like attacking, and some situational oomph to the Plants it creates.
• Treasure VaultTreasure Vault: Artifact lands are always worth playing here. A shame Vault of WhispersVault of Whispers is even pricier.
• March of the World OozeMarch of the World Ooze: An extremely fun finisher. This essentially gives +4/+4 to your army of flyers.
• Scrap TrawlerScrap Trawler: All of the recursive cards are a boon in this deck, and this is no exception.
• Dryad ArborDryad Arbor: I still remember a time when this used to cost $10. Usually I'm not a fan of lands that are vulnerable to removal, but in here this is simply superb.
• Massacre WurmMassacre Wurm: Guess who's about to omnomnom all of the Birds on the board?

This leaves a couple of excellent outlets to cover, both priced at exactly $1.00 at the time of writing:

• Darksteel CitadelDarksteel Citadel: Artifact and land, what more could you ask for?
• Destiny SpinnerDestiny Spinner: Both an enchantment and creature, so doubly vulnerable, but also a great protection against blue mages.

And with that, the list has already been trimmed down to 175 cards, a rather low count compared to the usual standards. Onwards.

Second Trim – Cardward Scissorhands

So, there's good news, and there's bad news.

The good news is that there's a plethora of veggies to pick from. See for yourself:

The bad news is that there are so many good cards in there it's going to be rather tough to decide what to keep and what to throw away.

I'm not kidding. You could basically decide to slap in 12-14 cards among most of the options in the draw and ramp categories, five or six removals, a couple of wipes, and you're good to go.

Yes, I know that's my job, but here the task is made particularly difficult (or easy, depending on the point of view) since so many of these are a good fit.

I'm going to focus on keeping some of the most fun and usually underplayed stuff, leaning heavily on cards with at least two types. But honestly, there aren't many bad decisions you could make here. Quite refreshing, I must say.

Much better.

Before moving on, there's one single oddity I'd like to raise. My fellow Rendmaw players, please stop playing CompostCompost in your brews. I know it may look enticing to draw a card for each dead Bird token you gently provided and that so happens to be black, right? It would indeed... if it worked. Tokens are not cards, so sadly they won't trigger Compost. Since the card is played in 15% of almost 10,000 decks, I thought it called for some clarification.

I would also like to point out that Trickster's ElkTrickster's Elk is also prone to misleading interpretation. When you cast the card paying the bestow cost, it does not count as being played as both a creature and an enchantment, and thus will not trigger Rendmaw. Granted, you could decide to keep it as a versatile outlet, able to both make a Bird or take out a creature (which you'll choose 99% of the time). Not a nonbo stricto sensu, but not as good value as one may imagine.

With all of this out of the way, and after a healthy revamp of the land base, the list is already down to 123 cards. Getting closer.

Third Trim – Cutting Off the Rough Edges

So, what's left to consider?

To be honest, not that much. The goal is simple: cast Rendmaw, then play a bunch of stuff to trigger it as much as possible, creating a storm of Birds that will wreak havoc on life totals across the table. Easy.

There's a bunch of cards I've labelled Double type – Other, which encompass a wild variety of enablers, aimed mostly at triggering the Scarecrow. Most are relevant to the strategy, so let's focus on the most expensive ones.

There's also a hefty milling package that puzzles me a bit. While I could certainly imagine a build focused on recurring artifact lands from the graveyard, the stuff that's still at hand is clearly not cut for the task. So off with those.

There are quite a few protection outlets, and these I'm rather keen on keeping, for the most part. The commander is an essential part of the plan, so you want to keep it around as much as possible.

And then there's some random stuff, between pingers, token-makers, and whatevers.

Time to bring this list down.

Usually at this point I already struggle to reach 110 cards, and there's another section with more rant about those last ever-so-painful-o-woe-is-me-life-is-unfair cuts.

Not this time. Because guess what, it's already done. 100 cards. Never before have I had such a clean brew.

Rendmaw, Creaking Nest Budget Commander Deck List

Additional Trim – A Look Into the Past

Finally, let's have a look at how well a list brewed a year and a half ago has aged.

In a word: Ouch. In two words: not well. In more words: What in the name of the Holy Triforce happened here?

There are 12 cards that, to date, command a price higher than $1.10:

• Bridgeworks Battle: $1.12
• Sol Ring: $1.13
• Mystic Sanctuary: $1.19
• Rivendell: $1.33
• Rishkar's Expertise: $1.52
• Thassa, God of the Sea: $1.70
• The Watcher in the Water: $1.84
• Murkfiend Liege: $1.88
• Decanter of Endless Water: $1.89
• Thran Dynamo: $2.01
• Disciple of Freyalise: $2.50
• Entish Restoration: $3.30

12 cards accounting for 40% of the whole price? Let's fix this.

• Koma, World-EaterKoma, World-Eater: A big boy that's not quite as annoying as its first iteration, yet can become a massive menace if left unchecked.
• Kiora, Behemoth BeckonerKiora, Behemoth Beckoner: Excellent draw engine, and quite thematic at that.
• Summon: LeviathanSummon: Leviathan: A great addition from the recent Final Fantasy set, fits perfectly the theme and adds threat management.
• StarwinderStarwinder: I'm still baffled at how this is still below $1.
• Vineglimmer SnarlVineglimmer Snarl: To make up for one of the lost lands
• Grappling KrakenGrappling Kraken: You don't realize how annoying this is until you've played against it.
• Rapid HybridizationRapid Hybridization: Reprints in Tarkir Commander decks have brought the price down. Let's add it in.
• Sin, Unending CataclysmSin, Unending Cataclysm: This is one big flyer, that can become absolutely monstrous.
• Exotic OrchardExotic Orchard: To replace the other lost land.
• Migration PathMigration Path: Ramp for ramp.
• Colossal Majesty: Additional card draw never hurt anyone
• Benthic AnomalyBenthic Anomaly: Fantastic two for one
• FarseekFarseek: Final Ramp piece

You can find the updated list here. 

Conclusion

This has been a fun journey. Now I'd like to hear from you.

Any prior experiences with Rendmaw? Anything I blatantly missed?

Let me know in the comments below, and I'll see you in two weeks!

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