Sephiroth, Planet's HeirSephiroth, Planet's Heir by Magali Villeneuve

Welcome to Roman Begs Anybody Else To Build a Bracket One Deck - Deck Tech Edition. If you’re looking for the more “competitive” version of this deck, it will be coming later. But first, please, bear with me a moment and consider the following.

Obviously the new Final Fantasy Magic: the Gathering set has a ton of very, very powerful cards. It has a creature which can attack for ten thousanda creature which can attack for ten thousand. It has SinSin, who you only have to read once to know that it will be used with pure criminal intent. Heck, just the spoiler release of Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier caused upward of 50 reported hospitalizations. These cards are busted. 

This means that but a single question remains about this set: Which card is the most fun? And to answer that, I present to you Sephiroth, Planet’s HeirSephiroth, Planet’s Heir.

I missed the Final Fantasy games as a kid, so I know Sephiroth from two things. First, the incredible moment where he torpedoes 500 feet down from the sky to put a sword straight through Aerith. It’s a moment so iconic that they had him recreate it with Mario when they introduced him in Smash. The second is his wonderful cameo in Kingdom Hearts where he serves as a harsh reminder of the consequences of curiosity.

Given that the Kingdom Hearts version of this deck would require the inclusion of upwards of 50 Lorcana cards, we’ll stick with the first moment when looking to idolize Sephiroth with his own Bracket 1 deck. And to pay homage to that glorious moment, we’ll play it out again, and again, and again, in a deck I’ve lovingly titled Oops, All Sephiroths.

What Does Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir do?

Sephiroth, Planet’s HeirSephiroth, Planet’s Heir, has two main abilities. The first pays wonderful tribute to that moment of terminal velocity swordplay. When he enters, creatures your opponents control get -2/-2 until end of turn. Eat that, KrenkoKrenko. Sephiroth is a one-man board wipe for tokens and mana dorks. When he enters he really resets the playing field.

His second ability is what really sends him to the moon. Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, he gets a +1/+1 counter. And given that he already has vigilance, this makes him a pretty tough customer to deal with. Especially if he has a deck to back him up that's loaded with removal. A deck very much like Oops, All Sephiroths.

But not just any removal. The one thing Sephiroth, Planet's HeirSephiroth, Planet's Heir loses thematically, especially as a commander, is the suddenness of that moment. Everybody sees him up there, waiting to descend and wreak mass destruction. Where’s the surprise? The drama? This deck seeks to rectify this injustice.

How do we do this? By making as many Sephiroths as we can. Not copies of Sephiroth, mind you. But creatures that come in suddenly and remove opposing creatures. But do they come in on our turn? Absolutely not! We're going to do our damage in cutscenes. Well, the closest thing Magic has to cutscenes: our opponents' turns. To that end, we’re giving everything flash.

Key Cards for Sephiroth, Planet’s Heir

Flash: The 500-Foot Divebomb of Magic: the Gathering

These three beauties are going to help us bring out our creatures anytime. This is necessary to create removal at the height of drama, as is the Sephiroth way. There are only a few such cards in the deck, but your first mulligan is free, so don’t be afraid to search for them - especially that Leyline of AnticipationLeyline of Anticipation. And don’t be afraid to mulligan down to six, five, even four for them, as reckless, insane risk taking in the pursuit of power is very much the Sephiroth way!

You'll also find a couple of other helpers in this regard, notably High Fae TricksterHigh Fae Trickster and Teferi, Mage of ZhalfirTeferi, Mage of Zhalfir, for as long as you can keep them on the board. I've also included Emergence ZoneEmergence Zone and Borne Upon a WindBorne Upon a Wind for some single-turn Sephirothing if you don't have access to these other tools. If you happen to have a Winding CanyonsWinding Canyons sitting around in your collection, this is certainly a use for it. But when I'm designing for Bracket 1, I use cards worth over $5 very sparingly, and never over $10, so the canyons didn't make the cut.

It's Just Sephiroths, All The Way Down

Behold: These are our Sephiroths. Bring them in with drama. With panache. These will come in to immediately remove opposing creatures, threats or no, all in service of powering up Sephiroth himself. For additional fun, I’d encourage you to use “Sephiroth” as a verb when playing these. For example, “I’m going to play Big Game HunterBig Game Hunter to Sephiroth your Brion StoutarmBrion Stoutarm.” And for extra credit, have a button on your phone to play the “Sephiroth” sting from One Winged Angel whenever you do.

Speaking of which, based on some research, it seems that Meteor GolemMeteor Golem is a fairly solid thematic and mechanical inclusion to this deck. Let me know in the comments if there are other thematic inclusions you'd make. As this is a Bracket 1 deck, thematic inclusions are just as important, if not more so, than actual mechanical cohesion.

You Haven't Even Seen My Final Form

These two are nasty combo pieces with Sephiroth. If you can play a FlatlineFlatline before bringing in Sephiroth, he’ll get almost everything in one go (except for that troublesome Ms. BumbleflowerMs. Bumbleflower with 80 +1/+1 counters, Sephiroth’s eternal nemesis). This means that if you have your Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots on the board, Sephiroth, Planet's HeirSephiroth, Planet's Heir may be able to Sephiroth a whole player out of the game, which just feels correct.

Massacre GirlMassacre Girl is also a fun combo, as she’ll progressively blow things up around the board, but Sephiroth’s +1/+1 counter for each death should help him outpace the coming storm. This is another one where I'd have to rely on MTG Arena triggers to keep me in line, but please get in the comments and let me know if I'm wrong.

How Does Oops, All Sephiroths Win?

Well, as with all Bracket 1 gameplay, you win by having the silliest, most fun time at the table. But in terms of winning by the actual rules of Magic, you do have some options.

Your first option is, of course, winning by commander damage. It’s relatively easy to get Sephiroth, Planet’s HeirSephiroth, Planet’s Heir up to the point where he’ll be swinging for 21. And in a deck with so much removal, it'll be hard for many opponents to keep up enough blockers to stop you.

But you can also make use of the cards above, as well as board wipes like In Garruk’s WakeIn Garruk’s Wake or Toxic DelugeToxic Deluge to ensure that he’s both strong enough to swing for lethal and unhindered by pesky blockers.

Oops, All Sephiroths Commander Deck List

Some Final Thoughts For Sephiroth, Planet's Heir

Look, this is a bad guy deck. It has a lot of removal, and that can make for an unfun time for others at the table. My advice: delight in it. Make yourself the villain. Call that Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide an “Inferior Dullard.” Decide that things with swords are primary targets. Break out a villainous laugh if you must. If this causes everyone else to turn against you and overcome you in the end, excellent; you played your role well. The joy of this deck isn’t in the outcome, it’s in the experience.

Also, feel free to make this deck your own! Use whatever you have on hand. Put in Butch DeLoria, Tunnel SnakeButch DeLoria, Tunnel Snake if you want to. See if your friends will let you run The Nipton LotteryThe Nipton Lottery outside of color (a must-include in every Bracket 1 deck in my book), just to see if you can use it pre-combat, Oliver Swanick Sephiroth, Planet’s HeirSephiroth, Planet’s Heir, and swing for lethal in the funniest way possible. Just get out there and have fun with it. It’s what Sephiroth would want*.

*Disclaimer: I can’t stress this enough, I really don’t know Sephiroth very well.