<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos" href="#" target="_blank">Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Illustrated by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/fedyczak">Bartek Fedyczak</a></h6>
<h2>An Unexpected Challenger</h2>
<p>If, by some wild coincidence, that opening line makes sense in <em>Assassin's Creed</em> lore, please assume I did it on purpose. But if it doesn't, that means I was referring to my reaction upon seeing the ranking of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos" href="#" target="_blank">Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in PDHREC. When the <em>Assassin's Creed</em> set came out, I did take note of Alexios, but I pretty quickly dismissed him as a gimmicky Voltron commander, comparing him to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tahngarth, First Mate" href="#" target="_blank">Tahngarth, First Mate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I mean, they both do the same thing, right? Your opponents can use them to attack your opponents, and if you stack them with Equipment, they can dole out a ton of damage. They even have the same mana cost! But if you look a bit closer, it becomes pretty apparent that Alexios is a much stronger version of Tahngarth, and that's why he's trending as a pauper commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tahngarth, First Mate"></div></div>
<p>The first thing that Alexios has going for him is trample. I've played a lot of Voltron commanders, and let me tell you, it makes a huge difference! You really d0n't want to be committing six or seven cards in your deck to just giving your commander trample, but it's absolutely necessary for a Voltron commander, and if your general doesn't already have it, you don't get much of a choice.</p>
<p>Then, there's the clause that Alexios can't be sacrificed. Yes, you could always choose to just not give Tahngarth to an opponent with a sacrifice outlet, but then you're losing out on an attack, and of course, there's always the risk that they have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadly Dispute" href="#" target="_blank">Deadly Dispute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in hand. Losing your commander that way is a massive feel-bad, and I'm so glad they fixed the issue for Alexios.</p>
<p>But I think the biggest difference is that Alexios can attack alone. Tahngarth only triggers if your opponents swing, so if they don't have a disposable 1/1 or a creature they feel safe attacking with, Tahngarth isn't attacking either. Alexios doesn't have that problem: each and every player gets a turn with him, starting on their upkeep, and he's more or less guaranteed to be attacking every turn, of course, because your opponents might as well.</p>
<p>So that's Alexios. A four-mana beater that will attack your opponents every single turn instead of every turn cycle. What more could you want? Oh, what's that? He also grows every single time he attacks? Okay, maybe it does get better. The point is, Alexios is a huge upgrade of Tahngarth, and now I feel pretty foolish for not recognizing that, but there's only one way to redeem my misjudgement, and that's to build a sick deck around the guy. Let's see what we can cook up.</p>
<h2>Auras and Equipment</h2>
<p>So, we're building a Voltron commander. What does that mean? Equipment and enchantments, of course. Alexios does a pretty good job of growing by himself, but there's still a myriad of cool things we can put on him. First, evasion. In pauper, we've got a ton of different wings to choose from, ranging from the hastily made <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cobbled Wings" href="#" target="_blank">Cobbled Wings</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to the far more elegant <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gilded Pinions" href="#" target="_blank">gilded ones</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. There are wings that give haste, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloak of the Bat" href="#" target="_blank">Cloak of the Bat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and there are wings that represent iconic Grecian parables in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wings of Hubris" href="#" target="_blank">Wings of Hubris</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cobbled Wings"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gilded Pinions"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloak of the Bat"></div></div>
<p>But evasion does come in more forms than flying. The menace granted by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beamtown Beatstick" href="#" target="_blank">Beamtown Beatstick</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sticky Fingers" href="#" target="_blank">Sticky Fingers</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does wonders, and the intimidate from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Executioner&#039;s Hood" href="#" target="_blank">Executioner&#039;s Hood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does a ton of work as well. Of course, the best of the bunch is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispersilk Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Whispersilk Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a card that practically nullifies the rest of our deck. It gives perfect evasion and perfect protection. I mean, as soon as you draw this card, you can just let Alexios go to town without a sliver of worry. It's that good!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Beamtown Beatstick"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Executioner&#039;s Hood"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Whispersilk Cloak"></div></div>
<p>Then, there are some Equipment that just benefit us, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goldvein Pick" href="#" target="_blank">Goldvein Pick</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prying Blade" href="#" target="_blank">Prying Blade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which will create a Treasure token for us every time Alexios connects. With those triggering four times a turn cycle, we'll never have to worry about mana. Same with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shiny Impetus" href="#" target="_blank">Shiny Impetus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which also has the benefit of forcing Alexios to attack. Plus, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Explorer&#039;s Scope" href="#" target="_blank">Explorer&#039;s Scope</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the potential to flood our board with lands.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goldvein Pick"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prying Blade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shiny Impetus"></div></div>
<h2>Always use Protection</h2>
<p>But unfortunately, Whispersilk Cloak is one of a kind, and we won't find shroud on a single other red common, so we'll have to figure out some way to keep Alexios safe, and we're gonna have to do it without hexproof, counterspells, or indestructiblity, because, well, protection spells in mono-red pauper are kind of scarce. The literal best card I could find beyond Whispersilk Cloak is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Chirurgeon" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Chirurgeon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a one-mana Goblin that can sacrifice itself to regenerate Alexios. Once. Yeah, it's pretty bad. I mean, there's also <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pyroblast" href="#" target="_blank">Pyroblast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Red Elemental Blast" href="#" target="_blank">Red Elemental Blast</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which are strong cards of course, but they're completely dead in the water when it comes to a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doom Blade" href="#" target="_blank">Doom Blade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so we're gonna have to get pretty creative.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin Chirurgeon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pyroblast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Red Elemental Blast"></div></div>
<p>I went through a lot of strategies here. Blink cards? Nonexistent. Bouncing Alexios to hand? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dead // Gone" href="#" target="_blank">Dead // Gone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is our only option, and that's a pretty inefficient strategy anyways. I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that our only option is to start talking politics. Basically, if you bring up the current state of the American government during a game of <em>Magic</em>, your opponents won't be able to cast a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Murder" href="#" target="_blank">Murder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> through the argument that breaks out.</p>
<p>Okay, obviously we're not gonna do that, but I wasn't kidding when I said we're gonna play politics. Think about it: our commander's terrifying, but only for one opponent at a time, the one who's being attacked. If we can negate our own threat in response to the threat of removal, our commander should be totally safe. Here's what's gonna happen. On our turn, we enchant our commander with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire Whip" href="#" target="_blank">Fire Whip</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Veteran&#039;s Voice" href="#" target="_blank">Veteran&#039;s Voice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, cards that lets us tap our commander at any time, even when we no longer control it. Then, we have a way to remotely prevent our commander from attacking. If we broadcast this information to the table, then we can trade an attack for our commander's safety.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dead // Gone"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fire Whip"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Veteran&#039;s Voice"></div></div>
<p>This strategy does suffer if our opponents know how to bluff well, and often we'll just have to gamble, but if we can keep two thirds of our opponents' goodwill, we should have a lot of success. In addition, we can also use this strategy to prevent the archenemy from using Alexios to win the game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper EDH - Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Abrade
*1 Big Score
*1 Dead // Gone
*1 Demand Answers
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Pyroblast
*1 Raking Claws
*1 Raze the Effigy
*1 Red Elemental Blast
*1 Seething Song
*1 Siege Smash
*1 Temur Battle Rage
*1 Thrill of Possibility
*1 Uncaged Fury
*1 Unexpected Windfall
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Alchemist&#039;s Vial
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Armory of Iroas
*1 Beamtown Beatstick
*1 Bladed Pinions
*1 Brass Knuckles
*1 Ceremonial Knife
*1 Cliffhaven Kitesail
*1 Cloak of the Bat
*1 Cobbled Wings
*1 Executioner&#039;s Hood
*1 Explorer&#039;s Scope
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Fire Diamond
*1 Gilded Pinions
*1 Gimli&#039;s Axe
*1 Goldvein Pick
*1 Heart-Piercer Bow
*1 Lotus Petal
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Prismatic Lens
*1 Prying Blade
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
*1 Wings of Hubris
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Claws of Valakut
*1 Fire Whip
*1 Insolence
*1 Latulla&#039;s Orders
*1 Madcap Skills
*1 Shiny Impetus
*1 Sticky Fingers
*1 Vessel of Volatility
*1 Veteran&#039;s Voice
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Assault Strobe
*1 Coronation of Chaos
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Glimpse the Impossible
*1 Grab the Prize
*1 Reckless Impulse
*1 Tormenting Voice
*1 Witch&#039;s Mark
*1 Wrenn&#039;s Resolve
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Forgotten Cave
*36 Mountain
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
*1 Generator Servant
*1 Goblin Chirurgeon
*1 Goldhound
*1 Iron Myr
*1 Ornithopter of Paradise
[/Creatures]"></span></div>
<p>And that's the whole deck. Not much to it, huh? It's pretty basic, just a Voltron deck with a cool commander, but I think calling it Voltron is a bit misleading, because, at its heart, this a red chaos deck, designed to throw around as much damage as possible. Who knows what will happen when our commander hits the board. Are we gonna become problem #1? Or will our opponents go to town with our massive general? It's a mystery, and I for one am thrilled to find out.</p>


alexios deimos of kosmos

Pauper Commander - Alexios, Deimos of Kosmos

The Over/Under - Predicting the Popularity of Assassin's Creed Commanders