Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Card Draw Deck

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria, Riptide Rogue</a> | Art by <a href="https://borjapindado.com/">Borja Pindado</a></h6>
<h2>One odd otter</h2>
Hello! Welcome to Archetypes of Imagination, a brand new series where I'll be building decks based on popular Commander archetypes. I'll be using<a href="https://tagger.scryfall.com/"> Scryfall's tagging system</a> and<a href="https://edhrec.com/tags"> EDHREC's Tag pages</a> to build around a new theme each week. 
Scryfall has a really cool way of categorizing cards, where each card has specific labels attached to it for later reference. For example, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivate" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivate</a> has the ramp tag and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Carrion Feeder" href="#" target="_blank">Carrion Feeder</a> has the sacrifice outlet tag. EDHREC's tag system is really cool too, letting users see popular cards associated with a given strategy. 
For example, the toughness matters tag shows users that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wall of Denial" href="#" target="_blank">Wall of Denial</a> works well with the strategy and the Blink tag does the same for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ephemerate" href="#" target="_blank">Ephemerate</a>.
This week, we'll be taking some really, really long turns. We're building a deck based around cantrips! For those who don't know, a card is considered a cantrip when it provides its caster with a card draw in addition to some other effects.
 One famous example, which you'll see in this week's full decklist, is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opt" href="#" target="_blank">Opt</a>. There's tons of commanders that work well with cantrips, especially cantrips that happen to be instants or sorceries, and I'm pretty happy with the one I picked. From Bloomburrow, my favorite recent set, this deck's commander is… <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria, Riptide Rogue</a>!
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bria, Riptide Rogue"></div></div>
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a> provides all of our creatures prowess, meaning they'll get temporarily bigger when we cast a noncreature spell. 
She also makes one of our creatures unblockable for a turn when we cast a noncreature spell, meaning that they'll be able to chip in for damage with their buffed-up power and toughness. 
While <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a>'s abilities encourage a somewhat straight-forward gameplan, there's still a lot of room for creativity in this decklist. Let's get going, and I'll show you what I mean!
<h3>On the prowl…</h3>
Because <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a> gives all of our creatures prowess, we want to ensure that we've got a relatively wide board to capitalize on that ability. 
But, we also need to ensure that we've got enough noncreature spells in the deck to actually trigger that prowess. Some of you may already know where I'm going within this: token creators! 
There's a ton of creatures in Izzet colors that make tokens when we cast instants and sorceries, so I've included a whole host of them here.
My favorite is the ever-popular <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shark Typhoon" href="#" target="_blank">Shark Typhoon</a>. Not only is this a noncreature spell (which will trigger prowess), but it makes big, evasive creature tokens.
 I also think that <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Young Pyromancer" href="#" target="_blank">Young Pyromancer</a> is an all-star here. It only costs two mana, meaning that we can have it hit the board well before our commander, and start churning out tokens as early as turn two. 
Lastly, I'm a big fan of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drake Hatcher" href="#" target="_blank">Drake Hatcher</a>. I know this card came out recently, but I don't think it got nearly the amount of popularity it's due.
 This creature has prowess already, and our commander will give it a second instance of prowess, meaning it'll grow by +2/+2 for every noncreature spell we cast. 
And, it acts as a sneaky efficient way to make evasive tokens at any time. This is the exact kind of card I want to play in my commander decks, and I think this deck is a perfect home for it.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shark Typhoon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Young Pyromancer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Drake Hatcher"></div></div>
Just like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drake Hatcher" href="#" target="_blank">Drake Hatcher</a>, there's a cadre of creatures that already have prowess (or an ability that's very close to it) in the 99 of this deck. 
Another card I think is underplayed finds a slot here: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Khenra Spellspear" href="#" target="_blank">Khenra Spellspear</a>. With our commander out, and this creature transformed, it has three separate instances of prowess. With just one noncreature spell cast, that means we've got a 6/6 trampler with ward . 
The rate only gets better from there. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kiln Fiend" href="#" target="_blank">Kiln Fiend</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crackling Cyclops" href="#" target="_blank">Crackling Cyclops</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slickshot Show-Off" href="#" target="_blank">Slickshot Show-Off</a> are all very similar, growing progressively larger when we cast certain types of spells.
 Plus, because our commander can make some of our creatures unblockable, meaning that the less evasive creatures from among this bunch can be sure to punch through for damage. 
Lastly, I wanted to shout out <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balmor, Battlemage Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Balmor, Battlemage Captain</a>. This is, essentially, a cheaper and slightly-worse version of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a>. 
He provides +1/+0 to our whole team when we cast an instant or sorcery (slightly worse than <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a>'s +1/+1), and provides our whole team trample (arguably on par with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a>'s ability to make one creature unblockable at a time).
If our commander ever becomes too expensive to recast, or is otherwise locked out of the game, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balmor, Battlemage Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Balmor, Battlemage Captain</a> is a great second option.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Khenra Spellspear"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kiln Fiend"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Balmor, Battlemage Captain"></div></div>
<h3>Dancing the can-can</h3>
This deck is, at its core, based around cantrips. So, let's talk about a few of the best ones I've included. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crimson Wisps" href="#" target="_blank">Crimson Wisps</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expedite" href="#" target="_blank">Expedite</a> are functionally identical cards, and the ability to provide haste to any one of our creatures (particularly a creature with an instance of double prowess), can be game-ending when combined with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a>'s ability to make one of our creatures unblockable. 
If we can land a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kiln Fiend" href="#" target="_blank">Kiln Fiend</a> on the board, make it unblockable, and give it haste, we can easily knock out a player in the late game. 
I also wanted to point out the inclusion of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychotic Fury" href="#" target="_blank">Psychotic Fury</a>, which can provide double strike to our commander and a select few other creatures in the deck. When combined with a pump effect like prowess, double strike is obviously immensely powerful in this deck. 
There's a bunch of other cantrips too, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opt" href="#" target="_blank">Opt</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Scour" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Scour</a>, but those cards just aren't as much fun as the others I've mentioned.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crimson Wisps"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Expedite"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychotic Fury"></div></div>
There's also a small package of cards that care about our graveyard, all of which work quite well together. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler</a> will provide some nice card selection while also becoming a threatening attacker as the game goes on.
 <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Haughty Djinn" href="#" target="_blank">Haughty Djinn</a> will reduce the cost of our most important spells, while also becoming huge as the game goes on. And, should we need a boatload of tokens, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rise from the Tides" href="#" target="_blank">Rise from the Tides</a> can provide that easily.
 Combined with some cantrips to fill the graveyard (like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Consider" href="#" target="_blank">Consider</a>, these cards will be super effective here).
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Haughty Djinn"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rise from the Tides"></div></div>
Lastly, I wanted to talk about a few cards in the deck that provide extra combat steps. Every extra combat card in this deck is either an instant or a sorcery, meaning that they all trigger prowess. 
Because prowess lasts until the end of the turn, our creatures will keep their pumped-up stats for all the combat steps we go through. 
Again, because of the immense power of double strike, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Savage Beating" href="#" target="_blank">Savage Beating</a> is one of the top choices here. 
For 7 mana, we can push through a crazy amount of damage with a sufficiently wide board of creatures. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="World at War" href="#" target="_blank">World at War</a> is great too, providing a cast trigger twice (triggering prowess again)! 
And, a new addition, Aetherdrift's <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Full Throttle" href="#" target="_blank">Full Throttle</a> can provide two extra combats for the price of one card. That's really strong, and I think this card will become an instant staple in EDH.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Savage Beating"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="World at War"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Full Throttle"></div></div>
And, here's the full decklist:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Archetypes of Imagination - Building a Cantrip Deck" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Bria, Riptide Rogue
[/Commander]

[Instants]
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Brainstorm
*1 Consider
*1 Counterspell
*1 Crimson Wisps
*1 Cryptic Command
*1 Disdainful Stroke
*1 Expedite
*1 Fists of Flame
*1 Flame of Anor
*1 Frantic Search
*1 Great Train Heist
*1 Leap
*1 Mental Note
*1 Opt
*1 Pongify
*1 Psychotic Fury
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Rush of Inspiration // Crackling Falls
*1 Savage Beating
*1 Strix Serenade
*1 Swan Song
*1 Thought Scour
*1 Untimely Malfunction
[/Instants]

[Creatures]
*1 Archmage Emeritus
*1 Balmor, Battlemage Captain
*1 Crackling Cyclops
*1 Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler
*1 Drake Hatcher
*1 Goblin Electromancer
*1 Harmonic Prodigy
*1 Haughty Djinn
*1 Khenra Spellspear // Gitaxian Spellstalker
*1 Kiln Fiend
*1 Murmuring Mystic
*1 Pinnacle Monk // Mystic Peak
*1 Slickshot Show-Off
*1 Stormcatch Mentor
*1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
*1 Third Path Iconoclast
*1 Valley Floodcaller
*1 Veyran, Voice of Duality
*1 Young Pyromancer
[/Creatures]

[Sorceries]
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Chart a Course
*1 Crash Through
*1 Enter the Enigma
*1 Full Throttle
*1 Gitaxian Probe
*1 Haze of Rage
*1 Jeska&#039;s Will
*1 Ponder
*1 Preordain
*1 Relentless Assault
*1 Renegade Tactics
*1 Rise from the Tides
*1 Season of Weaving
*1 Serum Visions
*1 Slip Through Space
*1 Warlord&#039;s Fury
*1 World at War
[/Sorceries]

[Lands]
*1 Cascade Bluffs
*1 Ferrous Lake
*1 Fiery Islet
*12 Island
*11 Mountain
*1 Otawara, Soaring City
*1 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
*1 Riverpyre Verge
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
*1 Stormcarved Coast
*1 Training Center
[/Lands]

[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Izzet Signet
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Talisman of Creativity
[/Artifacts]

[Enchantments]
*1 Shark Typhoon
[/Enchantments]"></div>
<h3><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wave Goodbye" href="#" target="_blank">Wave Goodbye</a></h3>
That's it for this week, everyone! I really like this deck, as it's a more focused version of a classic Spellslinger deck. 
Instead of just casting spells and hoping to eventually find a wincon like, this deck goes for our opponents' life totals aggressively.
 I think that's a more fun way to build this archetype of deck, as it avoids the bad feelings that result from long turns without game state advancement.
I'd love to know: who's your favorite Spellslinger commander? <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a>'s probably my new favorite, for all the reasons I listed above and because she's from my favorite set from last year. Let me know your favorite in the comments below!
I'll see you all next week, when we make a deck focused on death triggers!

cantrip

Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Card Draw Deck

Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Cantrip Commander Deck