<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anthem of Champions|fdn|344" href="#" target="_blank">Anthem of Champions</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.ryanpancoast.com/">Ryan Pancoast</a></em></p>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <i>Archetypes of Imagination</i>, the series in which <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/cooper-gottfried?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cooper Gottfried</a> builds decks based on popular Commander archetypes. I'm back again to help Cooper out as we build around an archetype whose name might lead you to think that it can't win games, but trust me, it can. That's right, today we're talking <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/pillow-fort">Pillow Fort</a> decks.</p>
<p>We'll be using <a href="https://tagger.scryfall.com/?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Scryfall's tagging system</a> and<a href="https://edhrec.com/tags?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> EDHREC's Tag pages</a> to build a deck around the theme of <a href="https://tagger.scryfall.com/tags/card/pillowfort">Pillow Fort</a>. If you're not familiar with the term, Pillow Fort decks essentially tool themselves up to make it nigh impossible for their opponents to deal combat damage to them. Whether it's through tax effects, a giant barricade of Walls and defenders, or through goading and pacifying, Pillow Fort decks simply won't let you resolve combat damage to them.</p>
<p>With that kind of deck set up, we can stall out a game and win through alternative win conditions and noncombat damage, but to lead our strategy we need a commander at the helm that'll make it easier to keep our opponents from swinging on us, and what creature type could be better to lead a fort deck than...</p>
<h2>The Ultimate Wall</h2>
<p>Introducing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pramikon, Sky Rampart" href="#" target="_blank">Pramikon, Sky Rampart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>! A Jeskai(<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-r" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) 1/5 flying defender that is, perhaps understandably, the only legendary wall in <em>Magic: The Gathering</em>. Pramikon is actually one of the first decks I built for Commander, and we'll be making a tooled up version of my original, stupid, Wall kindred list that can actually win games.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pramikon, Sky Rampart"></div></div>
<p>The most important thing on this card, as is usually the case for your commander, is Pramikon's static effect. When it enters the battlefield, we choose left or right, and for as long as Pramikon stays on the battlefield, players will only be able to attack in that direction.</p>
<p>This is quite a fun and silly effect to play with as is, but it also provides an incredible bit of tech for those looking to avoid getting hit: whilst this card remains in play, there's only a single opponent in the game who even has the ability to attack us.</p>
<p>We can't always rely on Pramikon not drawing heat and getting removed, but when it's in play you've just completely written out two players as threats to your game plan, and that's pretty priceless!</p>
<h2>So What is Our Gameplan?</h2>
<p>It's simple really. We try and make it impossible for our opponents to hit us, then with our giant Walls and taxes established, we take advantage of effects like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Monarch" href="#" target="_blank">The Monarch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Initiative" href="#" target="_blank">The Initiative</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Monarch"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Initiative"></div></div>
<p>These mechanics usually pass from player to player as they do combat damage to the current holder. With our impenetrable wall we'll be able to keep hold of them and continue to reap the rewards, but first we need to make sure that no one at the table can even contemplate dealing damage to us.</p>
<h2>Erect the Walls</h2>
<p>So step one is to put up our barricades. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pramikon, Sky Rampart" href="#" target="_blank">Pramikon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> itself will largely deal with two of the players on the board, but it won't always be around, and we've still got to deal with our neighbor who can continue to get through. Let's start with some decent blockers.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fog Bank"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wall of Vapor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wall of Denial"></div></div>
<p>Some good Walls will make sure that any attackers our opponent does manage to swing at us will at least have something to stop them. In general, Wall creatures have a much bigger toughness than their cost suggests. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wall of Denial" href="#" target="_blank">Wall of Denial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great early drop, as its combo of flying and shroud, complete with its 0/8 stat line, will make it hard to get rid of and easy to block with.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fog Bank" href="#" target="_blank">Fog Bank</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wall of Vapor" href="#" target="_blank">Wall of Vapor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are effectively indestructible when it comes to blocking so they can be put in front of any single, giant creatures. We can actually make any of our creatures into a Fog Bank in fact with a nifty little Aura.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghostly Possession"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hundred-Handed One"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghostly Possession" href="#" target="_blank">Ghostly Possession</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is such a fun card, and the ultimate target for it is a monstrous <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hundred-Handed One" href="#" target="_blank">Hundred-Handed One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Good luck getting less than 101 creatures through that! For added points, combine Ghostly Possession with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pariah" href="#" target="_blank">Pariah</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the same creature to make you effectively immune to combat damage. Put Pariah on an indestructible creature to make you immune to ALL damage.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pariah"></div></div>
<h2>Tax Them to Death</h2>
<p>Blockers are all well and good but you can't always put enough of a wall to block every single thing that comes at you. What if your opponent makes a creature unblockable? Or they swing in with more tokens than you can deal with? That's when we resort to taxing effects.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Propaganda"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Windborn Muse"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archangel of Tithes"></div></div>
<p>There's a huge supply of creatures and enchantments in <em>Magic</em> that punish your opponents for swinging at you. In fact, that's largely what decks like this are built on. The biggest pain in the arse we'll be handing any would be swingers is a big old heap of tax.</p>
<p>Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Propaganda" href="#" target="_blank">Propaganda</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> charge your opponent for each creature swinging at you. In this case, <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> per attacker. For token decks, that's an absolutely unreasonable cost. It's a surefire way to lock down the attacks of wide boards from being able to get through.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lightmine Field"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bident of Thassa"></div></div>
<p>Alternatively, we look to cards that hurt anything that attacks. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lightmine Field" href="#" target="_blank">Lightmine Field</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of my favorite Pillow Fort cards as it not only board wipes any token decks that try and swing at us, but it'll disincentivize combat in general. This could really take the legs out from underneath any combat reliant decks on the table. If the lightmines are out, you can use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bident of Thassa" href="#" target="_blank">Bident of Thassa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to perform targeted board wipes on players going wide.</p>
<h2>Build Your Court</h2>
<p>Now it's time to talk winning the game, and as we spoke about before, this isn't a deck that wants to deal combat damage to our opponents. In fact, a fair amount of our creatures can't even attack. And if they did? We might end up hurting them with our enchantments.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Court of Grace"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Court of Ire"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Court of Vantress"></div></div>
<p>Instead we're going to assemble the greatest court the land has ever seen and establish ourselves as the one true king. The two cycles of court cards provide us with a new benefit for holding onto the monarch, as well as triggering the monarch as well. The <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Court of Ire" href="#" target="_blank">Court of Ire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> being a great example as it can ping our opponents to death. We can even use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Court of Vantress" href="#" target="_blank">Court of Vantress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to keep making copies of it on our upkeep.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Champions of Minas Tirith"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caves of Chaos Adventurer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sarevok&#039;s Tome"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Champions of Minas Tirith" href="#" target="_blank">Champions of Minas Tirith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides a perfect combo with the rest of our deck as it not only grants us the monarch on entry but also provides another tax effect for would be attackers. If just being the king isn't enough then we can also start delving into the dungeon by grabbing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Initiative" href="#" target="_blank">The Initiative</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caves of Chaos Adventurer" href="#" target="_blank">Caves of Chaos Adventurer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will grant us the token as well as giving us some card advantage should we choose to attack.</p>
<h2>Sneak Your Way to Victory</h2>
<p>With our ability to make games drag we can try and sneak out a cheeky win with some subtle alternate victory conditions. These cards will seem very mundane on their own until they end up sweeping the game for you.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Azor&#039;s Elocutors"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Millennium Calendar"></div></div>
<p>Both <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Azor&#039;s Elocutors" href="#" target="_blank">Azor&#039;s Elocutors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Millennium Calendar" href="#" target="_blank">The Millennium Calendar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are very slow cards that can ultimately win you the game when left unanswered. The Millennium Calendar will slowly accumulate counters over time and eventually cause our opponents to lose an insane 1,000 life.</p>
<p>The Elocutors, however, simply need five upkeeps to win the game. At the start of each of your turns they'll gain a filibuster counter, and when they receive their fifth this way, you'll win the game. The downside is that you'll be losing one of these counters if your opponent ever manages to deal damage to you.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crystal Barricade"></div></div>
<p>This will be tricky to pull off if we're playing against any burn effects, but at least we can very easily stop combat damage, and the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crystal Barricade" href="#" target="_blank">Crystal Barricade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides us, the player, with hexproof to stop any shenanigans. Its ability to stop all noncombat damage to our other creatures will also prevent any red removal from taking out the Elocutors before we can get away with our sneaky win.</p>
<h2>Build it Yourself</h2>
<p>If you've been inspired by this article to sit behind your own wall and laugh at the peasants squabbling outside, don't worry! I've got you covered with a rough deck list to either build straight away or use a starting point below. Enjoy your very own Pillow Fort on me:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pillow Fort - Archetypes of Imagination" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Pramikon, Sky Rampart
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Archangel of Tithes
*1 Archon of Absolution
*1 Azor&#039;s Elocutors
*1 Baird, Steward of Argive
*1 Caves of Chaos Adventurer
*1 Champions of Minas Tirith
*1 Crystal Barricade
*1 Esper Sentinel
*1 Fog Bank
*1 Hundred-Handed One
*1 Magus of the Moat
*1 Wall of Denial
*1 Wall of Stolen Identity
*1 Wall of Vapors
*1 Windborn Muse
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Court of Ardenvale
*1 Court of Embereth
*1 Court of Grace
*1 Court of Ire
*1 Court of Vantress
*1 Darksteel Mutation
*1 Ghostly Possession
*1 Ghostly Prison
*1 Karmic Justice
*1 Lightmine Field
*1 Luminarch Ascension
*1 Mystic Barrier
*1 Pariah
*1 Propaganda
*1 Rite of the Raging Storm
*1 Sphere of Safety
*1 Tenuous Truce
*1 War&#039;s Toll
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Aetherize
*1 Counterspell
*1 Dovin&#039;s Veto
*1 Ephemerate
*1 Ghostly Flicker
*1 New Way Forward
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Teferi&#039;s Protection
*1 Three Steps Ahead
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Austere Command
*1 Supreme Verdict
*1 Vanquish the Horde
*1 Wrath of God
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Commander&#039;s Sphere
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Marble Diamond
*1 Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield
*1 Sarevok&#039;s Tome
*1 Sky Diamond
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Talisman of Conviction
*1 Talisman of Creativity
*1 Talisman of Progress
*1 The Millennium Calendar
[/Artifacts]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 The Wanderer
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Adarkar Wastes
*1 Battlefield Forge
*1 City of Brass
*1 Clifftop Retreat
*1 Command Tower
*1 Deserted Beach
*1 Evolving Wilds
*1 Floodfarm Verge
*1 Glacial Fortress
*6 Island
*1 Maze of Ith
*5 Mountain
*1 Mystic Monastery
*6 Plains
*1 Prairie Stream
*1 Riverpyre Verge
*1 Sea of Clouds
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Spectator Seating
*1 Stormcarved Coast
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Sunbillow Verge
*1 Sundown Pass
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Training Center
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p></p>
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Making a Pillow Fort Deck With Pramikon, Sky Rampart

Dueling Deck Techs: Brewing With Cantrips in Commander

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Martial Coup|40k|189" href="#" target="_blank">Martial Coup</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art By <a href="https://www.artstation.com/diegogisbert">Diego Gisbert Llorens</a>)</h6>
<h1>Winner Winner, Chicken Pinger</h1>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <i>Archetypes of Imagination</i>, the series in which <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/author/cooper-gottfried">Cooper Gottfried</a> builds decks based on popular Commander archetypes. I'm jumping in to help Cooper out with this edition as we talk about one of my favorite ways to win games and annoy your opponents: pingers!</p>
<p>Today I'll be using<a href="https://tagger.scryfall.com/?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Scryfall's tagging system</a> and<a href="https://edhrec.com/tags?utm_source=edhrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> EDHREC's Tag pages</a> to build a deck around the theme of <a href="https://tagger.scryfall.com/tags/card/pinger">Pingers</a>. These are permanents that routinely deal small amounts of chip damage to our opponents either as activated or triggered abilities.</p>
<p>Sometimes they come stapled onto a creature like the classic, color-pie-breaking, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prodigal Sorcerer" href="#" target="_blank">Prodigal Sorcerer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Often they're in the form of triggered abilities on enchantments like the wonderful <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Impact Tremors" href="#" target="_blank">Impact Tremors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin Sharpshooter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Manabarbs"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Guttersnipe"></div></div>
<p>Most players will have one or two pingers in a deck, offering small amounts of chip damage to slowly turn the game in their favor, but oftentimes these Pingers will be one of many rewards for doing what their deck does. Playing lots of lands, drawing lots of cards, or (most commonly) playing noncreature spells:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spitfire Lagac"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychosis Crawler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Firebrand Archer"></div></div>
<h2>A Deck By Pingers, For Pingers</h2>
<p>Today we want to make a deck that doesn't just benefit from playing pingers, but is built around them specifically, and for that end, we're enlisting a friend from <em>Universes Beyond</em> to help us.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph" href="#" target="_blank">Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an Izzet (<span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-ur" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>) Tyranid Human that cares about sources we control doing exactly one damage to any target. Whenever one of our cards does one damage, Ghyrson will jump in to help out and deal two damage himself to the same target.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph"></div></div>
<p>Ghryson is incredibly powerful as a commander for a few reasons. First of all, he doesn't care how you do your single bits of damage. You could play a burn spell, hit someone with a 1/1 token, or of course have one of our myriad pinger effects trigger. Every time he'll add two more damage on top.</p>
<p>Secondly, Ghryson isn't just adding two damage on top of what's already there, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Torbran, Thane of Red Fell" href="#" target="_blank">Torbran, Thane of Red Fell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> might. He's actually doing that two damage himself. That means we can load him up with Auras and Equipment that benefit us whenever an attached creature does damage.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="End the Festivities"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tectonic Hazard"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blazing Volley"></div></div>
<p>And lastly, Ghyrson is a "whenever" trigger. No, "only once per turn" or "one or more". He's going to trigger on every single instance of one damage we create. That means cards that deal mass amounts of one damage like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="End the Festivities" href="#" target="_blank">End the Festivities</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will generate an absolutely huge amount of triggers.</p>
<h2>Which Ping is Right?</h2>
<p>There's a few different ways in which we can trigger our pinger effects. We could just have a board full of creatures with activated abilities, forming a gun wall against our opponents. That would be pretty on theme for a <em>Warhammer 40K</em> commander.</p>
<p>We could also focus on slinging spells for our triggers. Use effects like that of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Firebrand Archer" href="#" target="_blank">Firebrand Archer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and try to storm off on our turns with a load of cantrips, dealing a tonne of damage to our enemies.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krenko, Mob Boss"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Howlsquad Heavy"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pashalik Mons"></div></div>
<p>To get as much benefit as possible from our commander's ability however, I think we're better off leaning in another direction. For this build we're going to try and flood the board with tokens, largely Goblins. With a wide board we have three different ways in which our board can dish out single points of damage:</p>
<h3>Impact Tremors Effects</h3>
<p>Most often we'll be hitting our opponents with a lot of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Impact Tremors" href="#" target="_blank">Impact Tremors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-style effects. That is, whenever a creature enters under our control we'll deal one (three!) damage to each of our opponents. There's a few different cards available in red that give us this effect, including Tremors itself.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Witty Roastmaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Molten Gatekeeper"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Agate Instigator"></div></div>
<p>Once you get a few of these on board, even just a couple of creatures entering can cause some serious problems for your opponents. With three on the board, we're dealing three damage to our opponents every time we have a creature enter. With Ghyrson on board as well, that damage triples. Nine damage per Goblin we make? Absolutely rotten stuff.</p>
<p>The absolute queen of this effect, and one that'll provide us both with the tokens we need to make and the tremors effect that we want to trigger, is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="General Kreat, the Boltbringer" href="#" target="_blank">General Kreat, the Boltbringer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Not only does she have the Tremors-style effect stapled onto her, but she's also going to make us a new Goblin token every time we attack with at least one of our pre-existing Goblins.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="General Kreat, the Boltbringer"></div></div>
<h3>Attack Triggers</h3>
<p>There's not quite as many of these cards in our deck, but a few things exist in red that reward us for attacking with low power creatures. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raid Bombardment" href="#" target="_blank">Raid Bombardment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for example triggers whenever we attack with a creature with power two or less.</p>
<p>We can't always swing out with our board, especially when we need to hold up blockers, but cards like this effectively give us a second hit of Impact Tremors whenever we attack. Albeit, only targeting the player we're attacking.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Raid Bombardment"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cavalcade of Calamity"></div></div>
<h3>Combat Damage</h3>
<p>Finally, for each of our 1/1 tokens that hit something we get one final bit of single point damage for Ghyrson to add two on top of. Nothing flashy here, basically everything that hits for one, now hits for three! On top of any other fun bonuses we can get from Ghyrson's Equipment and Auras. Speaking of, let's talk about that.</p>
<h2>Kitting Out Ghyrson</h2>
<p>There's a load of different goodies we can fill our deck with to get added benefit from Ghyrson's repeated triggers. With enough tokens on board and pinger effects in play, these should trigger quite a lot to boot. First of all, we should make sure we have a bit of card draw online. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curiosity" href="#" target="_blank">Curiosity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a perfect fit to pop onto our commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curiosity"></div></div>
<p>Now, whenever we deal a single point of damage from any source, Ghyrson will add some more on top and also draw us a card. Importantly, this is also a <em>may </em>trigger. That'll save us from accidentally decking ourselves whenever a million of our triggers hit the stack.</p>
<p>Next up, let's make Ghyrson even more lethal. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gorgon&#039;s Head" href="#" target="_blank">Gorgon&#039;s Head</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will case any creatures he hits to drop like flies, even if the initial three damage wasn't enough to take them down, by adding deathtouch to the damage he deals. We can also gain life from every instance of his ability with something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shadowspear" href="#" target="_blank">Shadowspear</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or combine those two effects with the nasty <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Basilisk Collar" href="#" target="_blank">Basilisk Collar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gorgon&#039;s Head"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shadowspear"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Basilisk Collar"></div></div>
<p>With deathtouch online, we can perform a one-mana board wipe with our commander by casting an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="End the Festivities" href="#" target="_blank">End the Festivities</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-style spell. Ghyrson sees all the single points of damage and follows them up with two points of deathtouch damage, killing pretty much everything in sight whilst your board stays untouched.</p>
<h3>Kill/Steal</h3>
<p>Wiping our opponents' boards is of course hilarious, but we can be even funnier with Ghyrson's ability. Using this bizarre old card that I'm sure will be very familiar to those with a paticular fondness for pinging:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Charisma"></div></div>
<p>That's right, for <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span><span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and the cast of a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tectonic Hazard" href="#" target="_blank">Tectonic Hazard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we can deal three damage to every creature our opponents control and then take control of every creature that survives. After that they'll be wishing you board-wiped.</p>
<p>If each other players' board is big enough, this can quite easily win a game, but don't worry, we've got even more options to mess with our opponents. For even cheaper, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sigil of Sleep" href="#" target="_blank">Sigil of Sleep</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will activate whenever we trigger our Tremors effects and then add insult to the injury by bouncing creatures back their owners' hands.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sigil of Sleep"></div></div>
<h3>Ending the Game</h3>
<p>There's always a few games where one person in your pod gains such a ridiculous amount of life that it's effectively impossible to take them out of the running. This isn't necessarily a deck that wants your games to go long, and lifegain can really slow it down. We definitely won't be swinging in for commander damage any time soon, so we'll need some kind of backup plan.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grafted Exoskeleton"></div></div>
<p>Introducing <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grafted Exoskeleton" href="#" target="_blank">Grafted Exoskeleton</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a card that will likely make you the biggest threat on the board as soon as you declare its cast, but also one that will likely win you the game very quickly if your opponents don't have a response. Giving Ghyrson infect will effectively make five triggers of Impact Tremors game over as he deals his damage in the form of poison counters. Ten of those and it's game over for the bearer. No matter how high their life total!</p>
<h2>Build it Yourself</h2>
<p>This deck is sure to gain some ire from those who play against it. Whilst it does rely a lot on the commander being out, the core shell of Tremors effects and Goblin spamming should be plenty strong on its own. If you want to give it a go, you can find a rough decklist I've put together below. Feel free to change it to suit your play style and power level!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pingers - Archetypes of Imagination" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
[/Commander]
[Creature]
*1 Agate Instigator
*1 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
*1 Devilish Valet
*1 Enduring Curiosity
*1 General Kreat, the Boltbringer
*1 Goblin Chainwhirler
*1 Grinning Ignus
*1 Howlsquad Heavy
*1 Krenko, Mob Boss
*1 Legion Loyalist
*1 Lobber Crew
*1 Loyal Apprentice
*1 Molten Gatekeeper
*1 Niv-Mizzet, Visionary
*1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
*1 Norin the Wary
*1 Pain Distributor
*1 Pashalik Mons
*1 Razorkin Needlehead
*1 Scalding Viper // Steam Clean
*1 Searslicer Goblin
*1 Siege-Gang Lieutenant
*1 Spitfire Lagac
*1 The Locust God
*1 Witty Roastmaster
*1 Roaming Throne
[/Creature]
[Enchantment]
*1 Cavalcade of Calamity
*1 Charisma
*1 Circle of Flame
*1 Curiosity
*1 Impact Tremors
*1 Kindred Discovery
*1 Makeshift Munitions
*1 Quicksilver Dagger
*1 Raid Bombardment
*1 Repercussion
*1 Sigil of Sleep
[/Enchantment]
[Sorcery]
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Blazing Volley
*1 Chain Reaction
*1 End the Festivities
*1 Tectonic Hazard
[/Sorcery]
[Instant]
*1 Aetherize
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Electrickery
*1 Untimely Malfunction
[/Instant]
[Artifact]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Basilisk Collar
*1 Commander&#039;s Sphere
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Fire Diamond
*1 Gorgon&#039;s Head
*1 Grafted Exoskeleton
*1 Izzet Signet
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Liquimetal Torque
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Shadowspear
*1 Skullclamp
*1 Sky Diamond
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifact]
[Land]
*1 Arena of Glory
*1 Cascade Bluffs
*1 Command Tower
*1 Desert
*1 Eroded Canyon
*1 Exotic Orchard
*10 Island
*9 Mountain
*1 Muraganda Raceway
*1 Path of Ancestry
*1 Riverpyre Verge
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Scalding Tarn
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
*1 Spirebluff Canal
*1 Steam Vents
*1 Stormcarved Coast
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Training Center
[/Land]"></span></div>



Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Pinger Deck

Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Flicker Deck

Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Death Triggers Deck

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria, Riptide Rogue</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://borjapindado.com/">Borja Pindado</a></h6>
<h2><b>One odd otter</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello! Welcome to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Archetypes of Imagination</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a brand new series where I'll be building decks based on popular Commander archetypes. I'll be using</span><a href="https://tagger.scryfall.com/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scryfall's tagging system</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and</span><a href="https://edhrec.com/tags"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">EDHREC's Tag pages</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to build around a new theme each week. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scryfall has a really cool way of categorizing cards, where each card has specific labels attached to it for later reference. For example, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivate" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the ramp tag and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Carrion Feeder" href="#" target="_blank">Carrion Feeder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the sacrifice outlet tag. EDHREC's tag system is really cool too, letting users see popular cards associated with a given strategy. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, the toughness matters tag shows users that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wall of Denial" href="#" target="_blank">Wall of Denial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works well with the strategy and the Blink tag does the same for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ephemerate" href="#" target="_blank">Ephemerate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This week, we'll be taking some really, really long turns. We're building a deck based around <strong>cantrips</strong>! 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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> One famous example, which you'll see in this week's full decklist, is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opt" href="#" target="_blank">Opt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. 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 </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bloomburrow</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, my favorite recent set, this deck's commander is… <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria, Riptide Rogue</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bria, Riptide Rogue"></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides all of our creatures prowess, meaning they'll get temporarily bigger when we cast a noncreature spell. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'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!</span></p>
<h3><b>On the prowl…</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives all of our creatures prowess, we want to ensure that we've got a relatively wide board to capitalize on that ability. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My favorite is the ever-popular <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shark Typhoon" href="#" target="_blank">Shark Typhoon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Not only is this a noncreature spell (which will trigger prowess), but it makes big, evasive creature tokens.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> I also think that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Young Pyromancer" href="#" target="_blank">Young Pyromancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lastly, I'm a big fan of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drake Hatcher" href="#" target="_blank">Drake Hatcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I know this card came out recently, but I don't think it got nearly the amount of popularity it's due.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><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></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Drake Hatcher" href="#" target="_blank">Drake Hatcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another card I think is underplayed finds a slot here: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Khenra Spellspear" href="#" target="_blank">Khenra Spellspear</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. 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 <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-2" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The rate only gets better from there. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kiln Fiend" href="#" target="_blank">Kiln Fiend</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crackling Cyclops" href="#" target="_blank">Crackling Cyclops</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slickshot Show-Off" href="#" target="_blank">Slickshot Show-Off</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all very similar, growing progressively larger when we cast certain types of spells.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lastly, I wanted to shout out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balmor, Battlemage Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Balmor, Battlemage Captain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This is, essentially, a cheaper and slightly-worse version of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He provides +1/+0 to our whole team when we cast an instant or sorcery (slightly worse than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s +1/+1), and provides our whole team trample (arguably on par with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s ability to make one creature unblockable at a time).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If our commander ever becomes too expensive to recast, or is otherwise locked out of the game, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balmor, Battlemage Captain" href="#" target="_blank">Balmor, Battlemage Captain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great second option.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><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></span></p>
<h3><b>Dancing the can-can</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This deck is, at its core, based around cantrips. So, let's talk about a few of the best ones I've included. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crimson Wisps" href="#" target="_blank">Crimson Wisps</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Expedite" href="#" target="_blank">Expedite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 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 <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s ability to make one of our creatures unblockable. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If we can land a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kiln Fiend" href="#" target="_blank">Kiln Fiend</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the board, make it unblockable, and give it haste, we can easily knock out a player in the late game. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I also wanted to point out the inclusion of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychotic Fury" href="#" target="_blank">Psychotic Fury</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, 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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There's a bunch of other cantrips too, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Opt" href="#" target="_blank">Opt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Scour" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Scour</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but those cards just aren't as much fun as the others I've mentioned.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><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></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There's also a small package of cards that care about our graveyard, all of which work quite well together. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler" href="#" target="_blank">Dragon&#039;s Rage Channeler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will provide some nice card selection while also becoming a threatening attacker as the game goes on.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Haughty Djinn" href="#" target="_blank">Haughty Djinn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 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, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rise from the Tides" href="#" target="_blank">Rise from the Tides</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can provide that easily.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Combined with some cantrips to fill the graveyard (like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Consider" href="#" target="_blank">Consider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, these cards will be super effective here).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><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></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Again, because of the immense power of double strike, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Savage Beating" href="#" target="_blank">Savage Beating</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one of the top choices here. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For 7 mana, we can push through a crazy amount of damage with a sufficiently wide board of creatures. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="World at War" href="#" target="_blank">World at War</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is great too, providing a cast trigger twice (triggering prowess again)! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And, a new addition, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aetherdrift</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">'s <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Full Throttle" href="#" target="_blank">Full Throttle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> 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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><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></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And, here's the full decklist:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><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]"></span></div></span></p>
<h3><b><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wave Goodbye" href="#" target="_blank">Wave Goodbye</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That's it for this week, everyone! I really like this deck, as it's a more focused version of a classic Spellslinger deck. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead of just casting spells and hoping to eventually find a wincon like, this deck goes for our opponents' life totals aggressively.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I'd love to know: who's your favorite Spellslinger commander? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bria, Riptide Rogue" href="#" target="_blank">Bria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'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!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I'll see you all next week, when we make a deck focused on death triggers!</span></p>


Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Cantrip Commander Deck

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Niv-Mizzet, Visionary" href="#" target="_blank">Niv-Mizzet, Visionary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>| art by <a href="https://danscottart.com/">Dan Murayama Scott</a></h6>
<h2><b>Which </b><a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=Niv-Mizzet"><b>Niv-Mizzet</b></a><b> is it?</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hello! Welcome to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Archetypes of Imagination</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a brand new series where I'll be building decks based on popular Commander archetypes. I'll be using</span><a href="https://tagger.scryfall.com/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Scryfall's tagging system</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and</span><a href="https://edhrec.com/tags"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">EDHREC's Tag pages</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to build around a new theme each week.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Scryfall has a really cool way of categorizing cards, where each card has specific labels attached to it for later reference. For example, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrath of God" href="#" target="_blank">Wrath of God</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the sweeper tag and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirari&#039;s Wake" href="#" target="_blank">Mirari&#039;s Wake</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the mana increaser tag. EDHREC's tag system is really cool too, letting users see popular cards associated with a given strategy. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Equipment tag shows users that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Puresteel Paladin" href="#" target="_blank">Puresteel Paladin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works well with the strategy and the Landfall tag does the same for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rampaging Baloths" href="#" target="_blank">Rampaging Baloths</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This week, we'll use those two systems to build a Commander deck centered around everybody's favorite 60-card archetype: burn! Burn can sometimes struggle to keep up in a format with three players who each start with 40 life, but I've got some plans that should power this strategy up well. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To that end, I've chosen a super cool commander: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Niv-Mizzet, Visionary" href="#" target="_blank">Niv-Mizzet, Visionary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Niv-Mizzet, Visionary"></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is Niv's seventh appearance on a </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Magic: The Gathering</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> card, which is quite something. I do think that this version is my favorite so far, and that's coming from someone who played <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Niv-Mizzet, Parun" href="#" target="_blank">Niv-Mizzet, Parun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in cEDH for years.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> And, hilariously, this version of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Niv-Mizzet, Visionary" href="#" target="_blank">Niv</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> goes infinite with two of his previous iterations. Check out these combos from Commander Spellbook, a database with information on over 40,000 EDH combos:</span></p>
<div id="2353-6092" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
<script id="2353-6092" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/embed.js?v=1&uses=%5B%22Niv-Mizzet%2C%20Visionary%22%2C%22Niv-Mizzet%2C%20Parun%22%5D&requires=%5B%5D&produces=%5B%22Near-infinite%20damage%22%2C%22Infinite%20card%20draw%22%2C%22Infinite%20draw%20triggers%22%5D&id=2353-6092&color=UR&extraRequirementCount=1"></script></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="4971-6092" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
<script id="4971-6092" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/embed.js?v=1&uses=%5B%22Niv-Mizzet%2C%20Visionary%22%2C%22Niv-Mizzet%2C%20the%20Firemind%22%5D&requires=%5B%5D&produces=%5B%22Near-infinite%20damage%22%2C%22Infinite%20card%20draw%22%2C%22Infinite%20draw%20triggers%22%5D&id=4971-6092&color=UR&extraRequirementCount=1"></script></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That aside, let's talk about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Niv-Mizzet, Visionary" href="#" target="_blank">Niv-Mizzet, Visionary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card wants us to do non-combat damage to our opponents, rewarding us with tons of card draw when we do so. So, I've packed this deck with lots of ways to ping our opponents for little bits of damage, lots of ways to hit them hard with big amounts of damage, and leaned hard into an Izzet spellslinger theme this week. I'm excited to show you what I've come up with, so let's go!</span></p>
<p><b>Burn, baby! Burn!</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This deck is focused heavily on instants and sorceries, having a total of 32 cards that fall into those categories. And, out of those cards, 11 of them can deal damage directly to our opponents. My favorite from this sub-group is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fiery Confluence" href="#" target="_blank">Fiery Confluence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can act as a board wipe, a way to hit our opponents in the face, and even some targeted artifact removal. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cave-In" href="#" target="_blank">Cave-In</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is from all the way back in 1999's </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mercadian Masques</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and can draw us a total of 6 cards for free if we cast it with our commander on the field. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wheel of Misfortune" href="#" target="_blank">Wheel of Misfortune</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is extremely interesting too, adding even more complexity to its already-difficult mini-game by punishing our opponents who pick a high number. If one of our opponents wants to outbid us so that they can draw a full seven-card hand, then we'll be be drawing a ton of extra cards.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fiery Confluence"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cave-In"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wheel of Misfortune"></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And, with all the instants and sorceries we'll be casting, there's some sweet payoffs to let us draw even more cards. My favorite pinger in the deck is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coruscation Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Coruscation Mage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, acting as a typical two-mana one-damage pinger with the option to become a four-mana two-damage pinger if we cast it later in the game. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I think <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch" href="#" target="_blank">Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another fantastic card, both pinging our opponents whenever we cast a spell and rebuying a card at random on each of our turns. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And, as a pretty cool storm enabler, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urabrask" href="#" target="_blank">Urabrask</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is here too. This Praetor will ping our opponents, as most of the creatures in this deck do, while also providing us some extra mana to keep slinging spells. And, should we choose to, he can flip into a saga that synergizes perfectly with our deck.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Coruscation Mage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urabrask"></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, I hear you asking, what if we run out of instants and sorceries to cast? Well, I hope that never happens. But, in case it does, there's a few other ways to deal noncombat damage to our opponents.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> One of my favorite cards from last year, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Razorkin Needlehead" href="#" target="_blank">Razorkin Needlehead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will ensure at least one point of noncombat damage on each of our opponents' turns, and will usually provide even more pings as they inevitably take game actions. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I also love <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scalding Viper" href="#" target="_blank">Scalding Viper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a creature that can hit our opponents pretty easily combined with a (somewhat lackluster) removal spell. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While neither half of this card is absolutely stunning, the two halves combine to make a pretty good whole. Lastly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Descent into Avernus" href="#" target="_blank">Descent into Avernus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has a slot here too.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> This card can speed up the game drastically, lowering life totals and raising the amount of mana available to players. We break parity on this card easily, drawing a boatload of cards once we have our commander and this card on the board together</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Razorkin Needlehead"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scalding Viper"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Descent into Avernus"></div></div></span></p>
<p><b>Now that's a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gut Shot" href="#" target="_blank">Gut Shot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>!</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, we'll be dealing a lot of noncombat damage to everyone at the table. But, most of that damage is coming in small increments (usually in ones). Let's see what we can do to bump those numbers up. </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Foundations</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">' <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Twinflame Tyrant" href="#" target="_blank">Twinflame Tyrant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an awesome card, doubling damage dealt to our opponents and providing a combat-relevant 3/5 flying creature all for just five mana! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not to sound like a broken record, but this is yet another of my favorite cards from the past year. There's another damage doubler here too: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solphim, Mayhem Dominus" href="#" target="_blank">Solphim, Mayhem Dominus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Again, this creature can double damage while also acting as a pretty big 5/4 creature. Plus, this one can defend itself from removal at the low cost of discarding two cards, paying four life, and paying one mana. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lastly, there's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might" href="#" target="_blank">Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card is fantastic, usually quadrupling the damage that we'll be dealing to our opponents. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And, much like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Solphim, Mayhem Dominus" href="#" target="_blank">Solphim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this card is quite hard for our opponents to get rid of permanently.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Twinflame Tyrant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Solphim, Mayhem Dominus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might"></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here's the full decklist:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Archetypes of Imagination - Burn" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="&nbsp;
[Commander]
*1 Niv-Mizzet, Visionary
[/Commander]
&nbsp;
[Creatures]
*1 Archmage Emeritus
*1 Archmage of Runes
*1 Ashling, Flame Dancer
*1 Chandra&#039;s Incinerator
*1 Coruscation Mage
*1 Electrostatic Field
*1 Erebor Flamesmith
*1 Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch
*1 Firebrand Archer
*1 Goblin Electromancer
*1 Guttersnipe
*1 Harmonic Prodigy
*1 Kessig Flamebreather
*1 Laboratory Maniac
*1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
*1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
*1 Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might // Temple of Power
*1 Pink Horror
*1 Psychosis Crawler
*1 Razorkin Needlehead
*1 Scalding Viper // Steam Clean
*1 Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
*1 Stormcatch Mentor
*1 The Locust God
*1 Thermo-Alchemist
*1 Twinflame Tyrant
*1 Unruly Catapult
*1 Urabrask // The Great Work
*1 Veyran, Voice of Duality
[/Creatures]
&nbsp;
[Instants]
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Brainstorm
*1 Desperate Ritual
*1 Fierce Guardianship
*1 Flame of Anor
*1 Frantic Search
*1 Ghostfire Slice
*1 Gut Shot
*1 Into the Flood Maw
*1 Lightning Bolt
*1 Opt
*1 Pongify
*1 Pyretic Ritual
*1 Rush of Inspiration // Crackling Falls
*1 Seething Song
*1 Untimely Malfunction
[/Instants]
&nbsp;
[Sorceries]
*1 Boltwave
*1 Cave-In
*1 End the Festivities
*1 Fiery Confluence
*1 Flame Rift
*1 Gitaxian Probe
*1 Inner Fire
*1 Jeska&#039;s Will
*1 Mana Geyser
*1 Ponder
*1 Rite of Flame
*1 Season of Weaving
*1 Slagstorm
*1 Tectonic Hazard
*1 Wheel of Misfortune
[/Sorceries]
&nbsp;
[Enchantments]
*1 Descent into Avernus
*1 Ominous Seas
[/Enchantments]
&nbsp;
[Lands]
*1 Cascade Bluffs
*1 Command Tower
*1 Ferrous Lake
*1 Fiery Islet
*12 Island
*11 Mountain
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Riverglide Pathway // Lavaglide Pathway
*1 Riverpyre Verge
*1 Shivan Reef
*1 Stormcarved Coast
*1 Sulfur Falls
*1 Training Center
[/Lands]
&nbsp;
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifacts]
&nbsp;"></span></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some of you may notice upon looking at this list that there's very few mana rocks. This is on purpose, I promise! For a spellslinger deck, I much prefer to run rituals. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mana Geyser" href="#" target="_blank">Mana Geyser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has much more synergy with the rest of this deck than something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Izzet Signet" href="#" target="_blank">Izzet Signet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, I get to run some super cool, powerful rituals like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inner Fire" href="#" target="_blank">Inner Fire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that can provide enough mana to end the game outright.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mana Geyser"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Izzet Signet"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inner Fire"></div></div></span></p>
<h2><b><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fiery Finish" href="#" target="_blank">Fiery Finish</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thanks for reading this week's edition of </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Archetypes of Imagination</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">! Before you go, I wanted to talk about a few of my favorite cards in the deck. I like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage Emeritus" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage Emeritus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but I love <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archmage of Runes" href="#" target="_blank">Archmage of Runes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It's exactly the kind of big, dumb five-mana creature that I think commander is all about. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I think that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chandra&#039;s Incinerator" href="#" target="_blank">Chandra&#039;s Incinerator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is great in this deck too, both as an easy-to-cast big creature and as a payoff for all the noncombat damage we'll be dishing out. Finally, I also wanted to shoutout <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashling, Flame Dancer" href="#" target="_blank">Ashling, Flame Dancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> This card does everything that this deck wants out of a creature: it adds mana, burns our opponents, and even provides card selection.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archmage of Runes"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chandra&#039;s Incinerator"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashling, Flame Dancer"></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I'll see you all next week, when I build another EDH deck centered around cantrips!</span></p>


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