Under the Radar - Aragorn, Company Leader

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Servant of the Scale" href="#" target="_blank">Servant of the Scale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.winonanelsonart.com/">Winona Nelson</a></h6>
<h1>Get Out Your Dice!</h1>
<p>Hello, and welcome back to <em>Singleton Shmingleton</em>, where I bend the singleton rules of Commander by building decks with as many functional reprints of a certain card as possible. This week, I'll be talking about a design that has started to come up more in recent years: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Servant of the Scale" href="#" target="_blank">Servant of the Scale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This original take came out in <em>Fate Reforged</em>, and it was several years before we got our second: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Star Pupil" href="#" target="_blank">Star Pupil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in <em>Strixhaven: School of Mages</em>. Just in the last year, we've received two more one-drops that move around their counters when they die, plus a couple of other cards with similar text.</p>
<p>Now, four cards is not usually enough to build a 100-card deck centered on consistency, especially when they appear so low-impact at first glance. But I've had a love of +1/+1 counter decks since I started playing Commander, and I've always wanted to make these little guys into an efficient engine that's hard to deal with, so I'm going to try to make it work. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enduring Bondwarden" href="#" target="_blank">Enduring Bondwarden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was the card I was most excited for during <em>March of the Machine</em> previews, and it wasn't even close.</p>
<p>Here's a list of creatures that can move their counters to any of your other creatures when they die:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Star Pupils" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Creatures]
*1 Enduring Bondwarden
*1 Iron Apprentice
*1 Parish-Blade Trainee
*1 Quirion Beastcaller
*1 Reyhan, Last of the Abzan
*1 Servant of the Scale
*1 Spiteful Squad
*1 Star Pupil
[/Creatures]"></span></div>


<p>That's not a lot, but it's not nothing either. The most-played in the ninety-nine of 8,632 decks and co-piloting many others is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reyhan, Last of the Abzan" href="#" target="_blank">Reyhan, Last of the Abzan</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It grants the counter-moving ability to your whole team, and was printed in a preconstructed deck, so it's not surprising to see it doing well. What did surprise me was seeing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iron Apprentice" href="#" target="_blank">Iron Apprentice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> catching up with it at 6,727 decks. Way to go, little Construct! The <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Servant of the Scale" href="#" target="_blank">original</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has found its way into 1,435 decks, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enduring Bondwarden" href="#" target="_blank">Enduring Bondwarden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is lagging behind the rest at only 331 decks. One thing that disappointed me when I saw this list was that there were only these four one-drops that I already knew about. What excites me the most about this mechanic? Its ability to go under other decks and start snowballing +1/+1 counter synergies early.</p>
<p>Yet there's hope for our list, because there's another mechanic very similar to this one. It also moves +1/+1 counters when creatures die, but it's a little more restricted in how that works. I'm talking about <em>Modular</em>, a mechanic from the original <em>Mirrodin</em> block that has received more support with <em>Modern Horizons 2</em>. Here's a list of cards with <em>Modular</em>:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Cards with Modular" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Creatures]
*1 Arcbound Bruiser
*1 Arcbound Crusher
*1 Arcbound Fiend
*1 Arcbound Hybrid
*1 Arcbound Javelineer
*1 Arcbound Lancer
*1 Arcbound Mouser
*1 Arcbound Overseer
*1 Arcbound Prototype
*1 Arcbound Ravager
*1 Arcbound Reclaimer
*1 Arcbound Shikari
*1 Arcbound Slasher
*1 Arcbound Slith
*1 Arcbound Stinger
*1 Arcbound Tracker
*1 Arcbound Wanderer
*1 Arcbound Whelp
*1 Arcbound Worker
*1 Blaster, Combat DJ // Blaster, Morale Booster
*1 Scrapyard Recombiner
*1 Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
[/Creatures]
[Lands]
*1 Power Depot
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p>Now <em>that's</em> more like it! Not only are we getting more cards to build an engine around, but there are also four <em>Modular</em> one-drops. <em>Modular</em> centers around red and white, but we can be flexible on colors since most of the the original cards were colorless. The best +1/+1 counter payoffs are in green, and three of our one-drops are in white, so we should plan on being green and white at the very least.</p>
<h2>How Do We Make Them Big?</h2>
<p>If we want to make little creatures with counters on them good, we'll want to add a bunch of cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hardened Scales" href="#" target="_blank">Hardened Scales</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that help to stack on extra counters. This is another design space that's received a lot of love since we started seeing more cards designed for Commander, and we've got a lot of options. There were two new versions of this effect just in the last set!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hardened Scales"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kami of Whispered Hopes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ozolith, the Shattered Spire"></div></div>
<p>Since we're trying to go low to the ground with our creatures, the cheaper versions of this effect are better than the higher-end ones in this deck. Funnily enough, I think this deck would rather have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conclave Mentor" href="#" target="_blank">Conclave Mentor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, despite the notoriety and price tag of the latter. We want to get our counter multipliers down early and abuse them by moving counters around multiple times.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hardened Scales" href="#" target="_blank">Hardened Scales</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects work particularly well with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Servant of the Scale" href="#" target="_blank">Servant of the Scale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> because these creatures "place" counters on creatures multiple times. Together, they combine to make a 2/2, but when <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Servant of the Scale" href="#" target="_blank">Servant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> dies it gets to put three +1/+1 counters on another creature. That won't make our opponents shake in their boots, but it will continue to snowball, which is why we need to start stacking early.</p>
<p>To fill out the deck more, we need some sacrifice outlets and a lot more artifacts. <em>Modular</em> can only put counters onto other artifact creatures, and we don't want to let any counters go to waste when our creatures die. Luckily, there are plenty of cheap artifact creatures that care about counters.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Walking Ballista"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hangarback Walker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Steel Overseer"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Walking Ballista" href="#" target="_blank">Walking Ballista</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is even better than usual in a deck that can move counters onto it repeatedly, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Steel Overseer" href="#" target="_blank">Steel Overseer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is straight-up busted. It can easily represent four or five counters per turn, twice that with a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hardened Scales" href="#" target="_blank">Hardened Scales</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effect out. Beyond these cards, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Patchwork Automaton" href="#" target="_blank">Patchwork Automaton</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also grows quickly, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triskelion" href="#" target="_blank">Triskelion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> tops off the curve as a worse <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Walking Ballista" href="#" target="_blank">Walking Ballista</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Once we're into the realm of artifact synergies, the rabbit hole goes deeper. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Throne of Geth" href="#" target="_blank">Throne of Geth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> really ties the room together, acting as both sacrifice outlet and counter stacker. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrap Trawler" href="#" target="_blank">Scrap Trawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a perfect way to bring back all of our creatures that we've binned to move around their counters. For the top end, I've added some spicy card advantage creatures that don't have many other homes in other decks like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Etched Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Etched Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mindless Automaton" href="#" target="_blank">Mindless Automaton</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. With only their own counters applied these creatures are unimpressive, but when they can pick up some others off <em>Modular</em> triggers they get downright scary.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Throne of Geth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scrap Trawler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mindless Automaton"></div></div>
<h2>But What About the Nonbos?</h2>
<p>I'll admit that <em>Modular</em> creatures don't work perfectly with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Servant of the Scale" href="#" target="_blank">Servant of the Scale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and their friends. We can't target non-artifact creatures with <em>Modular</em> triggers, and that will limit our options fairly often. But I wouldn't go so far to say that this is a "nonbo", or an anti-combo. The cards still work well together. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Servant of the Scale" href="#" target="_blank">Servant of the Scale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can put its counters onto a <em>Modular</em> creature, and we just need to make sure we have another artifact creature in play to avoid a blowout afterwards. There is, however, one cheeky card that can help us if this does become a problem.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Liquimetal Torque"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liquimetal Torque" href="#" target="_blank">Torque</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is my favorite two-mana mana rock in almost any deck, but in this deck it really pulls some weight. From the obvious use cases to more obscure ones (did you know <em>Modular</em> can target opponents' creatures?), I am always happy to draw it.</p>
<p>In general, cards that care about counters work better together than you'd expect. It's no big deal if <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcbound Slith" href="#" target="_blank">Arcbound Slith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can't put counters onto <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Managorger Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Managorger Hydra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, since the Hydra is already going to be huge. And it also doesn't make much difference that it can't put counters on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armorcraft Judge" href="#" target="_blank">Armorcraft Judge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, since the Judge already fulfilled its purpose. My final decklist has twenty-one artifact creatures, and that's been enough to support the <em>Modular</em> mechanic without feeling like I need to play any real stinkers like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcbound Fiend" href="#" target="_blank">Arcbound Fiend</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Here it is!</p>
<h2>The Decklist</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Modular" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Anafenza, the Foremost
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Arcbound Crusher
*1 Arcbound Javelineer
*1 Arcbound Mouser
*1 Arcbound Prototype
*1 Arcbound Ravager
*1 Arcbound Slith
*1 Arcbound Stinger
*1 Arcbound Worker
*1 Armorcraft Judge
*1 Carrion Feeder
*1 Conclave Mentor
*1 Corpsejack Menace
*1 Enduring Bondwarden
*1 Etched Oracle
*1 Eternal Witness
*1 Evolution Sage
*1 Forgotten Ancient
*1 Ghave, Guru of Spores
*1 Hangarback Walker
*1 Iron Apprentice
*1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
*1 Knight of Autumn
*1 Lae&#039;zel, Vlaakith&#039;s Champion
*1 Lion Sash
*1 Luminarch Aspirant
*1 Managorger Hydra
*1 Mindless Automaton
*1 Myr Retriever
*1 Oswald Fiddlebender
*1 Patchwork Automaton
*1 Quirion Beastcaller
*1 Reyhan, Last of the Abzan
*1 Scrap Trawler
*1 Scrapyard Recombiner
*1 Scute Mob
*1 Servant of the Scale
*1 Siege Veteran
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Star Pupil
*1 Steel Overseer
*1 Triskelion
*1 Walking Ballista
*1 Winding Constrictor
*1 Yotian Dissident
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Abzan Charm
*1 Inspiring Call
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Cathars&#039; Crusade
*1 Hardened Scales
*1 Rancor
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Sevinne&#039;s Reclamation
*1 Wrath of God
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Cranial Plating
*1 Golgari Signet
*1 Liquimetal Torque
*1 Mishra&#039;s Bauble
*1 Nihil Spellbomb
*1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
*1 Selesnya Signet
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Throne of Geth
*1 Urza&#039;s Bauble
[/Artifacts]
[Lands]
*1 Ancient Den
*1 Bloodstained Mire
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Canopy Vista
*1 Command Tower
*1 Darkmoss Bridge
*1 Darksteel Citadel
*5 Forest
*1 Godless Shrine
*1 Goldmire Bridge
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*1 Llanowar Reborn
*1 Llanowar Wastes
*1 Marsh Flats
*1 Murmuring Bosk
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*3 Plains
*1 Polluted Delta
*1 Razorverge Thicket
*1 Scattered Groves
*1 Selesnya Sanctuary
*1 Sunpetal Grove
*1 Swamp
*1 Temple Garden
*1 The Mycosynth Gardens
*1 Thornglint Bridge
*1 Vault of Whispers
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Windswept Heath
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p>This deck is great at creating a huge board of threats quickly. Single-target removal just doesn't stack up well against a deck that can move counters this easily, but board wipes are still a potential liability. Our top end of card advantage pieces and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Triskelion" href="#" target="_blank">Triskelion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> scale with the game state, and we can grind value respectably. This is my favorite deck that has come out of the <em>Shmingleton</em> experiment so far. There's just a wonderful feeling that comes from attacking with a 28/28 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iron Apprentice" href="#" target="_blank">Iron Apprentice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or sacrificing three artifact lands to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcbound Ravager" href="#" target="_blank">Arcbound Ravager</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. There are always tons of options, the starts are fast, and stacking counters never gets old.</p>
<h2>Until Next Time</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skyshroud Ranger"></div></div>
<p>Who needs an expensive <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exploration" href="#" target="_blank">Exploration</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> when you can play fifty cent 1/1s? This card and its friends definitely have potential, but we're going to need to do something more than just play all our lands if we want to make them shine. Stay tuned for the next edition of <em>Singleton Shmingleton</em>, where you'll find out what that is!</p>


enduring bondwarden

Under the Radar - Aragorn, Company Leader

Singleton Shmingleton - Servant of the Scale