Choco, Seeker of ParadiseChoco, Seeker of Paradise | Art by Miho Midorikawa

Hey all! My name is Brandon Amico, and readers of Commander's Herald will recognize me from the Flavor of the Month article series where I used the foundation of cards' flavor (text, art, vibes) to build decks, despite the series seldom actually being on a monthly cadence. Today, though, we're taking to the sky with a new commander from the Final Fantasy main set: Choco, Seeker of ParadiseChoco, Seeker of Paradise!

I've interpreted "Seeker of Paradise" a little differently than most will. Whereas others may see this as a "jam-all-the-good-Birds-there-are-in-Magic-(and there are more good ones than I thought before starting this)-typal" kind of card, I think we should take our feathered friend at their word and literally seek paradise. Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise, that is.

I have long wished to play more than one Birds of Paradise in this format. I should say I used to wish, because I don't have to anymore. I'm making it happen, and though the card doesn't do it itself, Choco, Seeker of ParadiseChoco, Seeker of Paradise is the excuse I needed to make an army of BoPs and bop my opponents to death with The Bird Formerly Known as a 0/1. We just gotta make many, many, many copies of it.

What Does Choco, Seeker of Paradise Do?

Before we get too in the weeds on the deck build, let's review our new commander and what it does. Because it actually does a lot. Ramp, card advantage, graveyard stocking, buffing, and sizeable commander damage all in one. It's the greenest commander I've ever seen, though I guess the white and blue in its color identity account for...well, nothing, since this Bird doesn't even fly! What gives, color pie?! At any rate, let's break down the card.

When you attack with Birds — not just Choco, mind you, any Birds, so you can trigger this ability the turn it comes down — count up those Birds and look at that many cards from the top of your deck. One of 'em gets to go to your hand. Any lands in that stack? Great, dump them right onto the battlefield tapped. The rest goes to the graveyard.

And those lands (plus any other lands you play) all juice Choco's power the turn they enter, making it a threat on its own. But you aren't flipping that many lands over if you don't have a critical mass of ornithological specimens swinging in, so lets get to Bird-building. And with what better creature than Richard Garfield's perfect bird, Birds of Paradise? After all, your Birds don't need to do damage, they just need to attack. If you've ever sent a BoP or an Arboreal GrazerArboreal Grazer across the battlefield to do nothing other than "send a message," you too will be delighted that this commander will now reward you for such bravado.

Key Cards for Choco, Seeker of Paradise

Making Copies Like You're In an SNL Skit from 1991 (Alternate subheader title: Copying Others' Hard Work like You're Generative AI)

Let's dust off the old Xerox machine, because we need to make some copies of our BoP. Fortunately, we're in the colors for this, as blue gives us access to some of the best copies in Magic and both white and green let us populate when those copies are tokens and not just CloneClones. Red may have some of the most mana-effective copy effects à la Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, but this deck will want our Birds to stick around beyond the end step, since it's our goal to build a critical mass of them before we go in for the kill.

The single best way to do this is to bestow our BoP with Springheart NantukoSpringheart Nantuko, which will let us make many copies of our Bird when lands enter — and that's kind of our commander's M.O. A swing or two with a bestowed BoP will get out of hand fast. There are many other ways of making copies of our Birds:

• Season of WeavingSeason of Weaving
• Rite of ReplicationRite of Replication
• Repudiate // ReplicateRepudiate // Replicate
• Progenitor MimicProgenitor Mimic

Then we get to populating them with Sundering GrowthSundering Growth, Growing RanksGrowing Ranks, and Second HarvestSecond Harvest.

I've also slotted in one of my favorite pieces of spice, Mystic ReflectionMystic Reflection, and yes, it's probably a better strategic play to target my Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar that just entered before its trigger resolves to make another (let's say) eight copies of it plus 64 plants that get +8/+8 for every landfall...but it's my (Bird) party and I can cry (Bird tears) if I want to, we're going to have Avenger spit out Birds!

And lest we forget, since we are leaning on Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise heavily for this bit, we should be sure we can easily access it every game. That's why I'm including not just staples like Worldly TutorWorldly Tutor and Eladamri's CallEladamri's Call, but a number of more budget-friendly tutors that can retrieve the star of the show for minimal investment in mana or cash. Fauna ShamanFauna Shaman, Nature's RhythmNature's Rhythm, Archdruid's CharmArchdruid's Charm, and The Huntsman's RedemptionThe Huntsman's Redemption all let you Put A Bird On It for about three mana, and come with added utility. Plus, the Final Fantasy set just gave us a Bird tutor in Sazh KatzroySazh Katzroy, so no way we can't run that!

Flocking Around

Though we're focused on Birds of Paradise, there are some other Birds worth messing around with that will also trigger Choco when they fly in to peck at other players. Nesting DovehawkNesting Dovehawk provides a steady stream of Birds provided we made at least one token copy, Keeper of the Nine GalesKeeper of the Nine Gales will keep other players honest, and Traveling ChocoboTraveling Chocobo doubles our landfall (and birdfall, for what that's worth) triggers. MockingbirdMockingbird is another BoP that costs a single blue mana, or it can be a copy of the best creature anywhere on the battlefield.

Here is where we start to see an army of 0/1s start to pay off, too. Empyrean EagleEmpyrean Eagle, Kastral, the WindcrestedKastral, the Windcrested, and Kangee, Aerie KeeperKangee, Aerie Keeper can make our flock seem less like a birdwatching tour and more like a Hitchcock film.

And as the lands get dumped onto the battlefield, our deck will capitalize on this with Tatyova, Benthic DruidTatyova, Benthic Druid, Felidar RetreatFelidar Retreat, and Canyon JerboaCanyon Jerboa. The mass of lands (and mana-producing Birds) also let us sink mana into some reliable outlets. We can make more Birds (DoppelgangDoppelgang, Aggressive BiomancyAggressive Biomancy , and Full FloweringFull Flowering), draw cards (River HoopoeRiver Hoopoe and Airborne AidAirborne Aid), or, if it's a lovely day in the village and we feel like being a terrible guy, just make a big, honkin' goose (The Goose MotherThe Goose Mother).

The upside of making copies of Birds of Paradise, rather than any other random Bird is that our mana output increases significantly along the way. We're likely to find ourselves with enough mana and flying bodies to reliably go in for the win. There's good ol' OverrunOverrun and its patron saint Kamahl, Heart of KrosaKamahl, Heart of Krosa, Banner of KinshipBanner of Kinship and Beastmaster AscensionBeastmaster Ascension usually mean instant death upon resolution and combat, and Rally of WingsRally of Wings can turn what were reasonable blocks into game over for our opponents.

Choco, Seeker of Paradise Commander Deck List

One note of caution is that with a board of small flyers, we could accidentally mill ourselves out — none of the cards you look at with Choco go back into the deck! I wouldn't leave home without a copy of Gaea's BlessingGaea's Blessing to save us from a silly demise. If you want a bit more insurance, Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus and some of the self-shuffling Eldrazi titans are also reasonable in here, not least because you should have plenty of mana to reliably cast them.

This deck can make a lot of other tokens besides Birds of Paradise, such as the generic Birds from Emeria AngelEmeria Angel, the Plants from the aforementioned Avenger of ZendikarAvenger of Zendikar, or some other value creature that we targeted with a QuasiduplicateQuasiduplicate, so exiling Naga FleshcrafterNaga Fleshcrafter from the graveyard to make all our tokens the best thing we have on the field (though let's be honest, how could something be better than a Birds of Paradise?) could mean lights out for our opponents.

And finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that they actually made the perfect card for this deck, though it only exists in MagicCon Unknown Event playtest card form: The Paradise Bird. Print it, Wizards!

Cowards, all of you! Make it real!

That's it for me today! Drop me a comment below with any thoughts on what else we can do with this deck or your own childhood favorite card you still covet to this day. I'm Brandon Amico, reminding you that if you're going to do something, it's worth doing it right. And repeatedly, until you have dozens of 0/1s ready to attack.