<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kilnmouth Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Kilnmouth Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.carlcritchlow.com/">Carl Critchlow</a>)</h6>
<h1>Every Card Deserves a Good Partner...</h1>
<p>Hey there, my name is Jordan, and I run the<em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjaHYyBX_RTuM-HtvI_qsoA"> EDH Jank Center</a> </em>on YouTube. Welcome to <i>Finding Homes For Janky Cards</i>, the series where we rifle through that big pile of bulk you've got lying around, find a package of five janky, budget, or underutilized cards, and pair them with a commander that will help them shine. The deck we get out of it might not be the fanciest or most extravagant at the table, but we're still going to build it, because <b>every</b> card deserves a loving home!</p>
<p>Today's lovely hosts are: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Halana and Alena, Partners" href="#" target="_blank">Halana and Alena, Partners</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Halana and Alena, Partners"></div></div>
<p>This lovely couple have been on my building radar for a good while now. I opened this card in the first <em>Innistrad: Crimson Vow</em> pack I bought and have just never gotten around to building around it. Good thing EDHREC gives me an excuse to do that now! What excites me about this kind of commander is that you can really take them in so many different directions. Their ability is<em> so</em> good and wide-ranging, which allows for the inclusion of cards that might otherwise be considered for certain decks.</p>
<p>The idea here is very simple: make our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Halana and Alena, Partners" href="#" target="_blank">commander</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> huge and then buff up an army of janky and/or underutilized cards! Sounds like the exact spirit of my channel and my articles, so with that out of the way, let's take a look at the average decklist for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Halana and Alena, Partners" href="#" target="_blank">Halana and Alena, Partners</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Halana and Alena Average Decklist" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Halana and Alena, Partners
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Akki Battle Squad
*1 Armorcraft Judge
*1 Arwen, Weaver of Hope
*1 Beast Whisperer
*1 Cankerbloom
*1 Champion of Lambholt
*1 Defiler of Vigor
*1 Duskshell Crawler
*1 Etali, Primal Storm
*1 Evolution Sage
*1 Fertilid
*1 Forgotten Ancient
*1 Fyndhorn Elves
*1 Goblin Anarchomancer
*1 Gyre Sage
*1 Herd Baloth
*1 Heronblade Elite
*1 Incubation Druid
*1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
*1 Kodama of the West Tree
*1 Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
*1 Llanowar Elves
*1 Loyal Guardian
*1 Pridemalkin
*1 Quirion Beastcaller
*1 Reclamation Sage
*1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
*1 Samut, Vizier of Naktamun
*1 Thundering Raiju
*1 Toski, Bearer of Secrets
*1 Verdurous Gearhulk
*1 Wild Beastmaster
*1 Xenagos, God of Revels
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 All Will Be One
*1 Branching Evolution
*1 Fight Rigging
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Hardened Scales
*1 Invigorating Hot Spring
*1 Rhythm of the Wild
*1 Tribute to the World Tree
[/Enchantments]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Blackblade Reforged
*1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 The Ozolith
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Gaea&#039;s Gift
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Hunter&#039;s Insight
*1 Inspiring Call
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker
*1 Ruinous Intrusion
*1 Snakeskin Veil
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blasphemous Act
*1 Cultivate
*1 Farseek
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Rishkar&#039;s Expertise
*1 Three Visits
[/Sorceries]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Domri, Anarch of Bolas
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Cinder Glade
*1 Command Tower
*1 Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway
*16 Forest
*1 Game Trail
*1 Gruul Turf
*1 Kessig Wolf Run
*1 Mossfire Valley
*1 Mosswort Bridge
*4 Mountain
*1 Rockfall Vale
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Rootbound Crag
*1 Spire Garden
*1 Stomping Ground
*1 Temple of Abandon
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>As per usual, we're seeing a ton of expensive staples smattered throughout the deck. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Xenagos, God of Revels" href="#" target="_blank">Xenagos, God of Revels</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="All Will Be One" href="#" target="_blank">All Will Be One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> do a lot of heavy lifting and for good reason: they're objectively great.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Xenagos, God of Revels"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="All Will Be One"></div></div>
<p>But you know what isn't objectively great? Spending A LOT of money when you could be spending... less money? I tried to come up with a clever transition to tell you that my version of the build is under $50 but yeah: <strong><em>the deck I built is under $50!</em></strong></p>
<p>So, without further ado, let's take a look at the five cards I've chosen to highlight today:</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kilnmouth Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Kilnmouth Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: center;">0% of 1,402,365 decks</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kilnmouth Dragon"></div></div>
<p>To be honest, I totally understand that most players who pay seven mana for a creature want it to be a bit more...impactful than this. That reason is why (I think) this chunky Dragon doesn't see more play. However, in our build today, this guy does WORK.</p>
<p>This deck wants to put counters on creatures and in my search for unique and fun cards this went to the top of my list. If this card gets big enough, it doesn't even have to attack to take a player out of the game! We can also remove problem creatures with that damage as well. Even with one singular counter on it this card can take care of a good number of EDH problem creatures like:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Esper Sentinel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Artist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zulaport Cutthroat"></div></div>
<p>At it's worst, this card is a 5/5 flyer that in conjunction with our overall strategy will become a bigger and bigger beater for us throughout the game! Not bad for something that's sub-$1. Now let's talk about another really fun selection:</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Summit Apes" href="#" target="_blank">Summit Apes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: center;">0% of 1,358,440 decks</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Summit Apes"></div></div>
<p>Outside of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kibo, Uktabi Prince" href="#" target="_blank">Kibo, Uktabi Prince</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> decks this doesn't get played very often, which makes a ton of sense. But that's never stopped me before and it certainly won't now!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kibo, Uktabi Prince"></div></div>
<p>First of all: in our deck we'll most likely always have a mountain out at all times, thus guaranteeing this card being a 5/2 with menace at all times. On top of that, we throw in the +1 counters every turn from our commander and we're looking at quite the scary attacker. Also, if I can run Apes in a deck...I'm gonna run Apes in a deck, ya know?</p>
<p>Anyways, let's have a chat about another creature that loves to throw damage around:</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spikeshot Elder" href="#" target="_blank">Spikeshot Elder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: center;">0% of 1,382,788 decks</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spikeshot Elder"></div></div>
<p>This is like a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fling" href="#" target="_blank">Fling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effect but without the drawback of having to sacrifice the creature! This card is a repeatable <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul&#039;s Fire" href="#" target="_blank">Soul&#039;s Fire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on a body that we can also attack with if we need to.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soul&#039;s Fire"></div></div>
<p>I love cards that provide us with versatility in our game plan. In other words: sometimes game scenarios will be such that we can't attack without risking losing advantage, a strong creature, or a powerful board state. Our deck relies mostly on combat, BUT it's really great to have cards in there that can skirt around that limitation.</p>
<p>And I don't know about you, but I really do think it's sometimes more satisfying to just shotgun a player's life total rather than slug it out in combat.</p>
<p>On to the next one!</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bouncer&#039;s Beatdown" href="#" target="_blank">Bouncer&#039;s Beatdown</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: center;">0% of 1,089,163 decks</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bouncer&#039;s Beatdown"></div></div>
<p>Any other <em>Streets of </em> <em>New Capenna</em> fans out there? A member of my Discord recently brought this card to my attention and I loved it immediately. I feel like every day I find a card from <em>New Capenna</em> that I absolutely love. Anyway, the tech here is honestly pretty simple: we're going to have a ton of high-power creatures in the deck, making this card one of our best pieces of removal!</p>
<p>We can snipe black permanents at a discounted rate, AND on top of that whatever creature we kill will be exiled instead of going to the graveyard, which is always super choice!</p>
<p>(Also, the idea of a normal-sized bouncer at a club beating up something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is really funny to me.)</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt"></div></div>
<p>Alright let's chat about our last (and most flavorful) card of the day:</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gingerbrute" href="#" target="_blank">Gingerbrute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p style="text-align: center;">1% of 2,932,726 decks</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gingerbrute"></div></div>
<p>Here's the facts: If I CAN put a gingerbread man into a deck, I WILL put a gingerbread man into a deck. This build is no different, and honestly, this card is one of our best attackers in the deck!</p>
<p>In our colors we don't have a ton of pure evasion, a lot of it is menace and trample-style effects. There's always flying I suppose, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gingerbrute" href="#" target="_blank">Gingerbrute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can make itself purely unblockable which is incredible for us when we're trying to throw a ton of damage around in combat!</p>
<p>Now that we've covered our list of cards, let's take a look at the jankified decklist that comes out to a price of $41.96 without basic lands!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Halana and Alena &lt;$50!" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Halana and Alena, Partners
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Almighty Brushwagg
*1 Ambush Viper
*1 Beast Whisperer
*1 Bond Beetle
*1 Deepwood Denizen
*1 Defiant Elf
*1 Duskshell Crawler
*1 Forgotten Ancient
*1 Gilded Goose
*1 Gimli of the Glittering Caves
*1 Gingerbrute
*1 Goblin Anarchomancer
*1 Kalonian Tusker
*1 Kilnmouth Dragon
*1 Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
*1 Managorger Hydra
*1 Orcish Lumberjack
*1 Pollenbright Druid
*1 Quirion Beastcaller
*1 Radha, Heir to Keld
*1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
*1 Satyr Grovedancer
*1 Spikeshot Elder
*1 Summit Apes
*1 Taurean Mauler
*1 Thorn Mammoth
*1 Thundering Raiju
*1 Wild Beastmaster
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Butcher&#039;s Cleaver
*1 Gavel of the Righteous
*1 Lifecrafter&#039;s Bestiary
*1 Mage Slayer
*1 Rhonas&#039;s Monument
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Cultivate
*1 Domri&#039;s Ambush
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Overwhelming Stampede
*1 Relentless Assault
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Arni Slays the Troll
*1 Bard Class
*1 Blood Mist
*1 Fight Rigging
*1 Hydra&#039;s Growth
*1 Invigorating Hot Spring
*1 Raised by Giants
*1 Rancor
*1 Tavern Brawler
*1 Unnatural Growth
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Bouncer&#039;s Beatdown
*1 Krosan Grip
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker
*1 Snakeskin Veil
*1 Soul&#039;s Fire
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping
*1 Unleash Fury
*1 Wilt
*1 Wrap in Vigor
[/Instants]
[Lands]
*1 Drannith Ruins
*17 Forest
*1 Kessig Wolf Run
*17 Mountain
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Tyrite Sanctum
[/Lands]"></span></div>


<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>I love this list and had so much fun building around a commander that I've loved for a while. I hope you've enjoyed reading the article, and remember: Every card deserves a chance to shine.</p>
<p>That just about does it for this month's installment. Let me know in the comments down below what cards you'd like me to find a home for next! Your suggestions might just make it into the next article. Cheers!</p>


gingerbrute

Finding Homes for Janky Cards - Halana and Alena, Partner

Do Your Worst - Mono-Green Artifacts

Too-Specific Top 10 - Singular Subtypes

Evasive Maneuvers — Misfits