Saint Traft and Rem KarolusSaint Traft and Rem Karolus | Art by Lucas Graciano

Greetings and salutations dear brewers, from the distant plane of Innistrad currently waging its 1,547^th war this year. I'm Arnaud, and I'm delighted to take you on a journey of fair tokens, tapped creatures, and convoked presences.

Last time, we parted ways with the usual poll. I'm rather happy at how things turned out, with 149 voters total. Once more, thank you so much for taking the time to choose a contender!

With 40 votes (27%), third place went to Juri, Master of the RevueJuri, Master of the Revue. Looks like the Rakdos showman will have to wait for another opportunity to shine. Earning 47 votes (32%), the second spot was awarded to Regna the Redeemer and Krav, the Unredeemed. No Demon and Angel shenanigans... this time.

Therefore, with 62 votes (42%), the grand winner is none other than Saint Traft and Rem KarolusSaint Traft and Rem Karolus.

I'll admit I was rooting hard for this one to emerge. This is the second time I've submitted this wild pair to you all, and it's one of my own favorite brews of all time, from one of my favorite sets of all time. An all-time winner.

Featured in the Divine Convocation precon from March of the Machine, this secondary commander has been rather slept on all this time. It's currently helming 1,748 decks on EDHREC, at rank #1,078. Not too bad, but neither an all-star by any means.

Indeed, it suffers from two major drawbacks. The first is the fact that it was in a precon, but largely outranked by the face legend, Kasla, the Broken HaloKasla, the Broken Halo. The second is that it requires a bit of work to get the machine going.

This could in some way be seen as a hidden advantage, as players seldom figure out what's going to happen at first glance. But more on that in the Thematic Trim section.

For now, let's grab each and every card from the regular and the budget sections, and gather them all in Archidekt.

312 cards. Let's have some fun.

First Trim – Keeping It Cheap

For all of you joining this series for the first time, as always a warm welcome. Trims are all about building on a strict budget, with no cards worth $1.11 and more allowed.

First things first, let's cut everything above $2 first, and see where this leads.

Already I can see several pet cards being cut due to their relatively high price. Freed from the RealFreed from the Real, Aura of DominionAura of Dominion, and Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm are all extraordinary tools in this deck. If you're not hellbent on keeping it budget, I would strongly recommend adding these three, if nothing else.

Granted, they cost respectively $8, $6.40 and $2.60, so I wouldn't blame you for shying away.

With that being said, let's have a look at the best options in the $1.11-$2.00 range, before giving them the ax:

• Thousand Moons SmithyThousand Moons Smithy: An interesting tap outlet, that can thereafter provide a steady flow of increasingly bigger creatures.
• Aerial SurveyorAerial Surveyor: Easy to crew, and can provide a steady flow of lands.
• Invasion of SegoviaInvasion of Segovia: One of the best untap outlets out there, period.
• Elspeth, Sun's ChampionElspeth, Sun's Champion: Sure, it costs six mana, but for that price you get an army of tokens and a recursive board wipe.
• Split UpSplit Up: This is a magnificent board wipe, which you can usually tweak to what suits you best.
• Jeskai AscendancyJeskai Ascendancy: The poor man's Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm. Fantastic untapper.
• Relic of LegendsRelic of Legends: Looking for a way to tap your commander and make some value in the process? Look no further
• The Wandering RescuerThe Wandering Rescuer: A combination of keywords that synergize splendidly with one another.

This leaves three cards in the $1.00-$1.10 range:

• Secure the WastesSecure the Wastes: Great way to make a massive number of tokens.
• Wrenn's ResolveWrenn's Resolve: Impulse draw is great, but since there's blue in the list, I'm unsure whether it'll stay in the end.
• Wear // TearWear // Tear: One of the best removal spell when it comes to versatility.

After these initial cuts, the list is already down to 207 cards. Onwards.

Second Trim – French Veggies

Before anything else, let's see how things currently stand:

This is rather an odd one to figure out. I usually don't delve in the strategy before the next section, but I feel like some explanations are in order to make sense of the following cuts.

Most of this deck revolves around two things: spells with convoke, and outlets that allow you to tap and untap your creatures, and more specifically your commander, as many times as you can.

As such, I'm going to privilege veggies that, in one way or another, do one of those things. Bonus points if they do both.

The rest of the categories will follow suit. I wish to keep a rather high count of draw outlets, as this commander requires a lot of gas to do its thing.

Also note that Plargg, Dean of ChaosPlargg, Dean of Chaos, is technically a looter, but it's really the Augusta side that's of interest in this list, allowing for multiple untapping and tapping during combat.

After giving the land base a healthy makeover, the list is down to a much more manageable(ish) 150 cards.

Third Trim – Tapping the Convokers

The original precon leant strongly toward playing as many spells with convoke as possible. And while this is certainly a commendable path, it's not quite the one I had in mind when I started this brew.

In my book, the core idea (and most of the fun) lies in making as many tokens with your commander while still remaining fair to the rest of the table. There are a million ways to make an infinity of tokens, but trying to get three of them each and every turn can be winning all the same, while making it an interesting puzzle to solve.

Sadly, the core outlets are missing here. No DrumbellowerDrumbellower, no Aura of DominionAura of Dominion, no Freed from the RealFreed from the Real, and such. Still, I believe there are some blatant omissions from this list that need correcting, even at this budget level.

These concern mostly the untapping package, which looks sorely lackluster. There are currently a lot of those effects that are mere one-shots, and that simply won't do. To make this work, I strongly believe you need to pack in a good number of ways to consistently untap your commander, in order to produce a slew of tokens.

This brings me to the second point: spells with convoke. I get it, the commander untaps whenever you cast one of those. That's splendid. But that also means that you need a constant flow of cards in your hand to keep the machine running. On the other hand, having an outlet that allows you to tap to get something alongside another one that allows you to untap means you don't really have to rely on cards in your hand. Even better, these could actually contribute to keeping your hand full.

For these reasons, I'm going to give both these categories a serious makeover. I'll first proceed to the cuts, then add stuff back in. Don't worry, I'll provide an explanation for each.

There are also a million token makers, and a lot will leave the build. Keeping a plan B is a solid option, but most don't look decisive enough.

As for the remaining categories... There's a bunch of pump spells, which look cute but not game-winning; a couple recursive outlets that look a bit out of place; some miscellaneous stuff.

First, the cuts.

Just with that, the list would already be at 100 cards, and probably rather playable. But I'm going to add some stuff back in now:

• Nanoform SentinelNanoform Sentinel: Use it to convoke, untap your commander with the convoke ability, tap it to make another token, then untap it with the Sentinel for an Angel.
• Clever ConjurerClever Conjurer: Another cheap untapper
• Vizier of Tumbling SandsVizier of Tumbling Sands: Same, but can be cycled in a pinch.
• Ocular HaloOcular Halo: Draw on demand.
• Oracle's InsightOracle's Insight: Draw and scry on demand.
• Harmonized CrescendoHarmonized Crescendo: A recent addition from Lorwyn Eclipsed, will usually draw at least four cards.
• Unexpected AssistanceUnexpected Assistance: Another one from the same set. It's deceptively efficient.
• Rose Room TreasurerRose Room Treasurer: This will net you a serious number of Treasures. One of the best ramp outlets in the list.
• Moonlit MeditationMoonlit Meditation: Make an Angel, enchant it. Now every time you tap your commander for the first time, you get another Angel. And they pile up quick. Or make a bunch of the aforementioned TreasurerTreasurer.

And if you feel like indulging yourself a bit more, I can't praise Prosperous PartnershipProsperous Partnership enough. This card has produced an insane number of treasures whenever I've played it.

Beguiler of WillsBeguiler of Wills is also worth a second look, despite its $2.33 price tag. Getting one creature a turn is nice. Stealing three or four is just gross.

With all that in mind, the list is "down" to 109 cards. Time to end this.

Final Trim – Choose Your Tap!

As usual when reaching this section, I'd like to emphasize that there aren't really any bad decisions left. Most of the cards here are worth their salt.

This is what I'd cut:

• Zephyr SingerZephyr Singer: Cute bird, but not quite impactful enough.
• Tetsuko Umezawa, FugitiveTetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive: I love this card, I really do. But the impact is not that significant here.
• Elsha of the InfiniteElsha of the Infinite: While I appreciate the card advantage it provides, it's still a hefty five mana to cast.
• Knight-Errant of EosKnight-Errant of Eos: Drawing two cards is nice, but if I'm digging I'm not really looking for creatures.
• Bident of ThassaBident of Thassa and The IndomitableThe Indomitable: They're classic and efficient card draw engines, but given the size of the tokens I'm not 100% convinced they'll make it through that often.
• Secure the WastesSecure the Wastes: After careful consideration, I'm giving this a pass. It would be a different story altogether if it had convoke. Right now, I believe you can put your mana to better use elsewhere.
• Frontline RushFrontline Rush: Useful if drawn early, rather useless later on.
• A Mountain: At 3.36 average, the mana curve is fairly high, but it's mitigated by the number of convoke spells. Thirty-six lands is enough.

And with that, let's give a warm welcome to:

Saint Traft and Rem Karolus Commander Deck List

If you're curious about my personal brew, you can find the list here.

Additional Trim – A Look Into the Past

Before we go our own separate ways, let's have a look at a past Trim. Isshin, Two Heavens as One is today's guest!

It is my sad duty to report that time has not gone easy on this list. There are currently nine cards above the $1.10 mark:

• Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares: $1.17
• Sundering EruptionSundering Eruption: $1.25
• Aurelia, the Law AboveAurelia, the Law Above: $1.28
• Battlegrace AngelBattlegrace Angel: $1.28
• Two-Handed AxeTwo-Handed Axe: $1.43
• Enduring CourageEnduring Courage: $1.85
• Krenko, Tin Street KingpinKrenko, Tin Street Kingpin: $2.04
• Disrupt DecorumDisrupt Decorum: $2.42
• Otharri, Suns' GloryOtharri, Suns' Glory: $11.92 (!!!)

I think Otharri has set a new record for the highest spike a cheap card has undergone in this series. Let's find some suitable replacements:

• Sol RingSol Ring: Currently sitting (finally!!!) at $0.73, that's a refreshing inclusion. Probably tied to the fact that the latest iteration is (heavy sigh) a pizza.
• Ruinous UltimatumRuinous Ultimatum: Asymetrical board wipe anyone?
• Captain Lannery StormCaptain Lannery Storm: I'm not scoffing on two Treasures per attacks.
• Hero of BladeholdHero of Bladehold: Getting four tokens per attack is not half bad.
• DesparkDespark: Not as good as Swords, but still very solid removal.
• Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act: Again, I suppose the Turtles have served some purpose.
• Adriana, Captain of the GuardAdriana, Captain of the Guard: How about giving the board +6/+6 on attack?
• Mardu SiegebreakerMardu Siegebreaker: A very fun recent addition from Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Shall we turn some tables?
• Zurgo, Thunder's DecreeZurgo, Thunder's Decree: More tokens, mooooooooore!

You can find the updated list here.

Conclusion

I'm so very happy I got to share some thoughts on this gem of a commander. I really hope you enjoyed this in-depth analysis, and I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this build.

Don't be shy, share your takes, and I'll see you in two weeks!

View Poll