Conditions Allow - Hakim, Loreweaver

Conditions Allow - Ormos, Archive Keeper

Ultra Budget Brews - Talrand, Sky Summoner

Archetune Up - I'll Have a Blue Christmas WITH You

Conditions Allow - Chisei, Heart of Oceans

Uncommonders - Death By Pingers!

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive" href="#" target="_blank">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</a> | Art by <a href="http://www.vargasni.com/">Randy Vargas</a>)</h6>
<h1>A Quick, Clean Kill</h1>
They cannot keep us apart, beloved Commander faithful! No matter what they do, no matter what they say, I will always come back to you! For our love is not ordinary: it is quite...UNCOMMON!
Bad introductory jokes aside, welcome to this week's edition of Uncommonders, the series that explores underappreciated commanders printed at the uncommon level. I am going to preface this article with a bit of a revelation. Often with this series, I will stare blankly at the Uncommonder I am going to write about and pick up little details, make a list of possible deck ideas or archetypes, and eventually pick one or two for the article and run with it. This week was not that easy. I struggled to find a good, unique way to build this deck. In the end, I decided to buckle down and say that if I could not make it super unique or "out there", I would simply build it to the commander's strength to the best of my ability in an effort to make the deck as mean as possible. Naturally, I expect you to be curious which uncommon legendary creature we are looking at today, so without further ado, today we are talking about...
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive"></div></div>
Before we talk about the deck and the cards in it, I do want to point out some of the ideas I looked into and ultimately was dissatisfied with. First, I wanted to build a more aggressive deck and looked up all the blue and colorless creatures that had a toughness of 1 but a power of 2 or more. This would mean that the creatures would be able to slip by with Tetsuko's ability but deal more damage than creatures with low toughness normally do. Unfortunately, for this idea, the two top cards Scryfall gave me were <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snapcaster Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Snapcaster Mage</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Metallic Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Metallic Mimic</a>, which turned me off the idea almost immediately. While looking at this list, I did notice a number of Faeries, some of which were Wizards and some of which were Rogues, and I considered some kind of tribal theme, either with Faeries or Rogues, but those searches did not inspire me much, either. They were especially lackluster when adding the requirement to have either power or toughness equal to 1, so I toyed around with another couple of ideas (there are sadly not enough Ninjas with power or toughness equal to 1 in mono-blue) and threw up my hands thinking "fine, I will just have to be the meanest person at the table with this!"
When thinking about "what is the meanest thing to do with unblockable, small creatures in mono-blue" I eventually settled on what Tetsuko already does very well:
Infect.
That may sound crazy, as there are only six creatures with the Infect ability in mono-blue with power or toughness equal to 1. However, four of those creatures are artifacts, and blue is pretty good at making duplicates of their creatures and their artifacts, so I decided to double down on my idea and Infect the table out. Also, blue is one half of the normal color combination that deals with counter manipulation, so Proliferate shenanigans are not hard to come by for the deck. One poison counter can quickly become fatal in most scenarios, so all we need to do is get the party started with these smaller creatures.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">A Pinprick of Poison</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plague Myr"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Viral Drake"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ichorclaw Myr"></div></div>
In addition to the three cards shown above, the other three main Infect cards are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blighted Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Blighted Agent</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Necropede" href="#" target="_blank">Necropede</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Digester" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Digester</a>. There are other Infect sources in the deck and some with interesting roles to play (like recursion on <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpse Cur" href="#" target="_blank">Corpse Cur</a>, and the sometimes-creature <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inkmoth Nexus" href="#" target="_blank">Inkmoth Nexus</a>) but I want to focus on some of the other supportive cards for our endgame of infecting the entire table.
With War of the Spark, blue got some interesting new cards for Infect wins with new sources of Proliferate. Naturally, these cards were intended to pump up Standard-legal planeswalkers, but I'll take a win where I can find one! <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guildpact Informant" href="#" target="_blank">Guildpact Informant</a> feels like a variant of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thrummingbird" href="#" target="_blank">Thrummingbird</a>, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flux Channeler" href="#" target="_blank">Flux Channeler</a> can get out of control quickly if we have some card advantage cantrips or just a grip filled with counterspells. Speaking of cantrips, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contentious Plan" href="#" target="_blank">Contentious Plan</a> is a fun new inclusion. Finally, the new <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Karn&#039;s Bastion" href="#" target="_blank">Karn&#039;s Bastion</a> is a repeatable effect similar to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Viral Drake" href="#" target="_blank">Viral Drake</a>.
Of all these new cards, the one I struggled the most with did not come from War of the Spark but from Modern Horizons. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Truth and Justice" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Truth and Justice</a> is a continuation of the iconic 'Sword of X and Y' cycle and helps get us where we want to be. Unfortunately, there are two major drawbacks to the card with our strategy. For starters, we normally do not want to put +1/+1 counters on our creatures because we need to keep either their power or toughness low enough for Tetsuko to help them remain unblockable. Second, the Sword itself gives the creature holding it +2/+2, meaning even if we put it on a 1/1 body, it definitely is not going to remain unblockable as a 3/3. In the end, I decided to include the Sword because we simply needed more Proliferate abilities, and hopefully the added protection the sword provides can assist with keeping the creature difficult to block. Even if the Sword-wielding creature only hits once or twice, it will also work as a diversionary target, making our opponents want to get rid of it and maybe ignoring some of our other pieces on the table.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Colorless and Deadly</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Contagion Engine"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Krark-Clan Ironworks"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Myr Retriever"></div></div>
I have recently reignited my love for artifact decks, having built a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teshar, Ancestor&#039;s Apostle" href="#" target="_blank">Teshar, Ancestor&#039;s Apostle</a> deck for my 3DH streams. Noticing that four of our six main Infect cards are artifacts and that some of our main synergy pieces were also artifacts (like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contagion Clasp" href="#" target="_blank">Contagion Clasp</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Contagion Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Contagion Engine</a>), I decided to dive into some colorless shenanigans to round out the deck. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krark-Clan Ironworks" href="#" target="_blank">Krark-Clan Ironworks</a> has been dropping in price since the Modern ban and is basically a better <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod&#039;s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod&#039;s Altar</a> for our deck. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ugin, the Ineffable" href="#" target="_blank">Ugin, the Ineffable</a> makes many of our artifacts free. I like the idea of having recursion options for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meteor Golem" href="#" target="_blank">Meteor Golem</a> to strengthen our removal suite for things like artifacts and enchantments. Thopters and Myrs mostly come in the forms of 1/1 bodies, so <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sharding Sphinx" href="#" target="_blank">Sharding Sphinx</a> is a walking army in the making, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sai, Master Thopterist" href="#" target="_blank">Sai, Master Thopterist</a> can get that army started just by casting some artifacts.
With all of this synergy, we are going to need to support it with as much ramp as blue can manage, card advantage galore, some Wraths and removal, to ultimately get a list that looks like this:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Tainted Blade of Umezawa" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
[/Commander]
[Creature]
*1 Blighted Agent
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Core Prowler
*1 Corpse Cur
*1 Eternal of Harsh Truths
*1 Flux Channeler
*1 Guildpact Informant
*1 Ichorclaw Myr
*1 Junk Diver
*1 Meteor Golem
*1 Mist-Syndicate Naga
*1 Mistblade Shinobi
*1 Myr Retriever
*1 Necropede
*1 Neurok Commando
*1 Nimble Obstructionist
*1 Phyrexian Digester
*1 Pilgrim&#039;s Eye
*1 Plague Myr
*1 Sai, Master Thopterist
*1 Scrap Trawler
*1 Scroll Thief
*1 Sharding Sphinx
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Tandem Lookout
*1 Thrumming Bird
*1 Tribute Mage
*1 Trophy Mage
*1 Viral Drake
[/Creature]
[Artifact]
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Blinkmoth Urn
*1 Contagion Clasp
*1 Contagion Engine
*1 Gilded Lotus
*1 Hedron Archive
*1 Krark-Clan Ironworks
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Mirrorworks
*1 Ovalchase Dragster
*1 Sapphire Medallion
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Sword of Truth and Justice
*1 Throne of Geth
[/Artifact]
[Instant]
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Counterspell
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Disallow
*1 Pongify
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Swan Song
[/Instant]
[Sorcery]
*1 Contentious Plan
*1 Notorious Throng
*1 Saheeli&#039;s Artistry
*1 Stolen Identity
*1 Tezzeret&#039;s Gambit
[/Sorcery]
[Enchantment]
*1 Coastal Piracy
*1 Inexorable Tide
[/Enchantment]
[Planeswalker]
*1 Tezzeret the Seeker
*1 Ugin the Ineffable
[/Planeswalker]
[Land]
*1 Academy Ruins
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Desert of the Mindful
*1 Ghost Quarter
*1 Inkmoth Nexus
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*23 Island
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Remote Isle
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Strip Mine
[/Land]"></div> 

<hr />
The last article about <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boris Devilboon" href="#" target="_blank">Boris Devilboon</a> was a little on the unorthodox side, even for me. I have to admit, I was slightly worried about how it would be received by you, the readers, breaking so far away from the commander and those printed abilities to do something as janky as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liliana&#039;s Contract" href="#" target="_blank">Liliana&#039;s Contract</a>. Still, there were some cool comments, like this one by regular commenter Cyberium! They wrote:
<blockquote><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Choice of Damnations" href="#" target="_blank">Choice of Damnations</a> is oddly fitting here. In addition to chaotic effects, I love forcing opponent to make a decision, that's something a demon would do. 
Slightly off topic: Given the new expansion is Throne of Eldraine, with a royalty-ish feel, perhaps the Round Table deck could be revisited.</blockquote>
I cannot begin to tell you how many of the decks I make for EDHREC articles are listed in the "go back and update now that new, cool cards have come out since writing those articles" mental list I keep! Actually, maybe I can: almost all of them! Honestly, I am the kind of deck brewer that is never truly satisfied with a deck. Wizards of the Coast comes out with so many new awesome cards in each set, I find it impossible to ever stop tweaking and tuning decks, trying to hit that sweet spot where they feel perfect. I even look back at my favorite, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Krenko, Mob Boss" href="#" target="_blank">Krenko, Mob Boss</a> and constantly think about adjustments to make the deck faster, more consistent and meaner.
Of course, if you like how mean I can be when tossing cardboard around a kitchen table (or sometimes online) then make sure you are <a href="https://www.twitter.com/DM_Cross">following me on Twitter</a> to talk about all things Magic: the Gathering! You can also join the public <a href="https://discord.gg/CrNHmTE">Praetor Magic Discord server</a> to talk to me there daily, not to mention see our awesome gameplay videos on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/praetormagic">YouTube channel</a>! We also have a podcast called Reflections of the Council; new episodes are posted every Thursday after we record them on YouTube at 9 PM EST, so search "Praetor Magic" or "Reflections of the Council" on your favorite podcast platform to find us! And until next time, remember...
Drop bombs and Infect the table!

Uncommonders - Umezawa's Tainted Blade

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evermind" href="#" target="_blank">Evermind</a> | Art by <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&amp;artist=[%22Matt%20Thompson%22]">Matt Thompson</a>)</h6>
<h1>Deckbuilding Postbellum</h1>
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Forgotten Harvest, where I highlight the most hyper-underplayed cards in EDH. For today's article, we're going to take a look at one of the new commanders from War of the Spark. First, however, I should discuss my policy when digesting a new set.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-33747 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Spaghetti-Policy-Always-Sunny.gif" alt="" width="325" height="183" />
During each spoiler season, I keep an eye out for the missing pieces to complete decks on my "wish list." These are cards or commanders that will complete a deck idea I have and make it a legitimate build instead of just a sorry attempt at a deck. I mean, my decks are already full of jank, but at least it's cohesive jank. The hype gets especially heavy for me when tribal themes are spoiled, as a bunch of these ideas are founded in creature types. Anyway, when preview season for War of the Spark began, I had my eye out for any of these missing pieces, ready to pounce.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ilharg, the Raze-Boar" href="#" target="_blank">Ilharg, the Raze-Boar</a> was the first such piece to emerge, but I'm saving that deck for two weeks from now. The second meatball to roll out of WAR was <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Eternal Kefnet" href="#" target="_blank">God-Eternal Kefnet</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="God-Eternal Kefnet"></div></div>
My goodness, this commander is wonderful! He plays so well with blue's spellslinger tendencies, especially if you can control the rate of card draw. Additionally, he's very hard to get rid of, slipping back into the library if removed. I knew this birdie would be a popular commander and would likely get paired up with the plethora of extra-turn spells that always crop up whenever folks talk about great blue cards. However, I saw him commanding a different kind of spellslinger deck.
<hr />
<h2>On Top of Spaghetti / All Covered with Cheese...</h2>
The deck I'm talking about is Arcane and Spirit tribal. From all the way back in Kamigawa block, these two themes go hand-in-hand. The Splice onto Arcane cards work especially well with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Eternal Kefnet" href="#" target="_blank">God-Eternal Kefnet</a>, as you can splice cards onto the copy generated by Kefnet, including the actual card you copied. For example, let's say I draw <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dampen Thought" href="#" target="_blank">Dampen Thought</a> (105 decks on EDHREC) and reveal it using Kefnet's ability. I get a copy of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dampen Thought" href="#" target="_blank">Dampen Thought</a> that I can cast while the real one goes to my hand. I want to splice the real <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dampen Thought" href="#" target="_blank">Dampen Thought</a> in my hand onto the copy, so I reveal it (again), and then pay the full cost of the spell, reduced by two generic mana (the last bit of Kefnet's ability), which makes it UU to mill eight cards while losing no card advantage. The next time I draw an Arcane spell, I can splice <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dampen Thought" href="#" target="_blank">Dampen Thought</a> onto the copy again with no card loss.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dampen Thought"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Consuming Vortex"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lifted by Clouds"></div></div>
Now, I would love to get into each and every underplayed Arcane card, both those that splice and those that can be spliced upon. But nearly every blue card of this spell type is underplayed, so instead I'm going to hit some highlights. There isn't really a clear theme among the effects caused by these Arcane cards, and as the mechanic only appeared in Kamigawa block, there isn't a huge pool to draw from. But one common theme that I've seen is that these spells tend to target creatures a lot! As such, despite being a spellslinger deck devoid of pump spells, the main win condition becomes combat.
Some Arcane spells, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Consuming Vortex" href="#" target="_blank">Consuming Vortex</a> (142 decks) and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychic Puppetry" href="#" target="_blank">Psychic Puppetry</a> (80 decks), can be used to remove blockers and clear a path. Others, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lifted by Clouds" href="#" target="_blank">Lifted by Clouds</a> (20 decks) and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Veil of Secrecy" href="#" target="_blank">Veil of Secrecy</a> (158 decks), provide evasion to your creatures to get those attacks through (<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/forgotten-harvest-block-party-with-virtus-and-gorm/">Virtus and Gorm</a> from two weeks ago would be so proud). And if a more permanent form of removal is required, I've got <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dismiss into Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Dismiss into Dream</a> in the deck to make all that targeting magic lethal. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reweave" href="#" target="_blank">Reweave</a>, in 270 decks, also gives some great spot removal for any kind of permanent on its own, assuming you keep on casting/splicing it.
<hr />
<h2>I Lost My Poor Meatball / When Somebody Sneezed</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Teller of Tales"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloudhoof Kirin"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Unspeakable"></div></div>
In addition to providing Arcane spells, Kamigawa block also brought us a series of Spirits that care about them. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teller of Tales" href="#" target="_blank">Teller of Tales</a> (53 decks) and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Guardian of Solitude" href="#" target="_blank">Guardian of Solitude</a> (35 decks) are both a continuation of the themes above, removing blockers or providing evasion whenever a Spirit or Arcane spell is cast. Similarly, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kiri-Onna" href="#" target="_blank">Kiri-Onna</a>, in 122 decks, can help clear the field with bounce effects and can be repeatably cast. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quillmane Baku" href="#" target="_blank">Quillmane Baku</a> provides even more tapping shenanigans, while only seeing play in 33 decks.
An alternative wincon in this deck is mill, though it's the more difficult option. The presence of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dampen Thought" href="#" target="_blank">Dampen Thought</a> is bolstered by <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudhoof Kirin" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudhoof Kirin</a>, found in only 138 decks. Given the card draw in the deck, and the duplication of spells thanks to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Eternal Kefnet" href="#" target="_blank">God-Eternal Kefnet</a>, all these abilities should be triggering regularly.
The uber-mono-blue Spirit from the same block, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Unspeakable" href="#" target="_blank">The Unspeakable</a>, also makes the deck, despite only being in 206 decklists. This also includes the three spells that help summon him directly out of the deck: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reach Through Mists" href="#" target="_blank">Reach Through Mists</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Peer Through Depths" href="#" target="_blank">Peer Through Depths</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sift Through Sands" href="#" target="_blank">Sift Through Sands</a>. Given the amount of library manipulation and draw in this deck, I expect the alternate summoning route to be a regular occurrence.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lantern Spirit"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soulsworn Spirit"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Supreme Phantom"></div></div>
As the modern Magic player knows, not all great Spirits come from Kamigawa. The plane of Innistrad has supplied its fair share of Spirit spells. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lantern Spirit" href="#" target="_blank">Lantern Spirit</a> is currently only in 45 decks, but it fits into the theme of wanting to repeatedly cast Spirit spells, and its self-bounce can pay off big in this deck. When its cost is reduced thanks to a card like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza&#039;s Incubator" href="#" target="_blank">Urza&#039;s Incubator</a>, this card can be a real all-star!
Since we're playing Spirits repeatedly, we might as well throw in <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nebelgast Herald" href="#" target="_blank">Nebelgast Herald</a> (190 decks). Again, we have a phantasm that helps tap down opposing creatures that gets better as we play more and more Spirit spells. Tapping down a creature isn't the same as a full neutralization, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soulsworn Spirit" href="#" target="_blank">Soulsworn Spirit</a> can provide that option while keeping to our theme. It's a wonder that it only sees play in 75 decks.
Finally, we have the true Spirit tribal cards: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Battleground Geist" href="#" target="_blank">Battleground Geist</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Supreme Phantom" href="#" target="_blank">Supreme Phantom</a>. This duo will help pump our team, making sure that our attacks count for more. Given its fairly weak power level overall, this deck is going to win primarily on tempo and explosive turns, and these cards are going to play a big role in keeping up the pressure. They're in 194 and 133 decks, respectively.
Let's take a look at the final deck, shall we?
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div> 
[Commander] 
*1 God-Eternal Kefnet 
[/Commander] 
[Creatures] 
*1 Mausoleum Wanderer 
*1 Departed Deckhand 
*1 Ghost-Lit Warder 
*1 Guardian of Solitude 
*1 Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch 
*1 Mindshrieker 
*1 Rattlechains 
*1 Supreme Phantom 
*1 Callous Deceiver 
*1 Drift of Phantasms 
*1 Lantern Spirit 
*1 Latch Seeker 
*1 Nebelgast Herald 
*1 Niblis of the Breath 
*1 Soulsworn Spirit 
*1 Battleground Geist 
*1 Cloudhoof Kirin 
*1 Kiri-Onna 
*1 Quillmane Baku 
*1 Soul Seizer 
*1 Sturmgeist 
*1 Teller of Tales 
*1 Keiga, the Tide Star 
*1 Sire of the Storm 
*1 The Unspeakable 
[/Creatures] 
[Instants] 
*1 Evermind 
*1 Reach Through Mists 
*1 Consuming Vortex 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Dampen Thought 
*1 Disrupting Shoal 
*1 Peer Through Depths 
*1 Psychic Puppetry 
*1 Stream of Consciousness 
*1 Veil of Secrecy 
*1 Lifted by Clouds 
*1 Murmurs from Beyond 
*1 Sift Through Sands 
*1 Toils of Night and Day 
*1 Shifting Borders 
*1 Reweave 
[/Instants] 
[Sorceries] 
*1 Eye of Nowhere 
*1 Ideas Unbound 
*1 Eerie Procession 
*1 Heed the Mists 
*1 Petals of Insight 
*1 Ribbons of the Reikai 
[/Sorceries] 
[Artifacts] 
*1 Library of Leng 
*1 Sensei's Divining Top 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Baku Altar 
*1 Long-Forgotten Gohei 
*1 Urza's Incubator 
*1 Lux Cannon 
*1 Primal Amulet 
*1 Gilded Lotus 
[/Artifacts] 
[Enchantments] 
*1 Imprisoned in the Moon 
*1 Rhystic Study 
*1 Jace's Sanctum 
*1 Future Sight 
*1 The Mirari Conjecture 
*1 Dismiss into Dream 
[/Enchantments] 
[Planeswalkers] 
*1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 
[/Planeswalkers] 
[Lands] 
*1 Desert of the Mindful 
*1 Evolving Wilds 
*1 Halimar Depths 
*26 Island 
*1 Lonely Sandbar 
*1 Moonring Island 
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx 
*1 Remote Isle 
*1 Soldevi Excavations 
*1 Teferi's Isle 
*1 Terramorphic Expanse 
[/Lands] 
[/Deck]

<hr />
<h2>Time to Roll Out!</h2>
That about does it for this edition of Forgotten Harvest. If you have any questions, comments, or snide remarks, you can find me in the comments section below. I'll be down there to talk about how I keep building Spirit tribal or how <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evermind" href="#" target="_blank">Evermind</a> would make a really great name for a band. Let me know about the decks on your wish list that are just waiting for a missing card or commander to become a reality, or any hyper-underplayed cards you'd like to see featured on this series in the future. In the meantime, I'll be working out the kinks in this little red-green number that's all set to abuse <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ilharg, the Raze-Boar" href="#" target="_blank">Ilharg, the Raze-Boar</a>. See you later!

Forgotten Harvest - Splicey Meatballs

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive" href="#" target="_blank">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/vargasni">Randy Vargas</a>)</h6>
<h1>Blocking is for Chumps</h1>
Hello, and welcome back to another installment of Strategic Planning, a column where we goldfish a commander's EDHREC Average Decklist to get a better sense of what works and what doesn’t before brewing them ourselves.
The commander we’ll be building around today is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive" href="#" target="_blank">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</a>, a mono-blue legend from Dominaria, and the 23rd most popular mono-blue commander, with 165 decks at the time of this writing. Let’s take a look at what we’re working with.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive"></div></div>
Two mana is easily manageable, even in a color as starved for efficient ramp as mono-blue. We can reasonably count on having our commander available early and often, making a focused build that abuses Tetsuko’s ability much less risky.
She has a powerful build-around unblockability, her 1/3 stats allow it to affect her herself as well. The fact that Tetsuko’s ability affects power or toughness allows us much more versatility. We can emphasize creatures with 1 power and useful on-hit effects, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cephallid Constable" href="#" target="_blank">Cephallid Constable</a>, and we can also use creatures with 1 toughness and higher power, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ovalchase Dragster" href="#" target="_blank">Ovalchase Dragster</a>, to push more damage through.
<hr />
<h3>The Average List:</h3>
The EDHREC average list for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive" href="#" target="_blank">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</a> is as follows:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Tetsuko, Average Fugitive" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Blighted Agent
*1 Cephalid Constable
*1 Chasm Skulker
*1 Daring Saboteur
*1 Eternal of Harsh Truths
*1 Gateway Sneak
*1 Illusory Ambusher
*1 Jhessian Thief
*1 Looter il-Kor
*1 Master of Waves
*1 Mindshrieker
*1 Mistblade Shinobi
*1 Neurok Commando
*1 Nightveil Sprite
*1 Nimble Obstructionist
*1 Phyrexian Digester
*1 Plague Myr
*1 Raven Guild Master
*1 Riptide Entrancer
*1 Riptide Pilferer
*1 Rootwater Thief
*1 Scroll Thief
*1 Siren Stormtamer
*1 Skyship Plunderer
*1 Surrakar Spellblade
*1 Tandem Lookout
*1 Thrummingbird
*1 Wharf Infiltrator
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Aetherize
*1 Aetherspouts
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Counterspell
*1 Cyclonic Rift
*1 Devious Cover-Up
*1 Negate
*1 Rapid Hybridization
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Swan Song
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Arm with Aether
*1 Curse of the Swine
*1 Knowledge Exploitation
*1 Notorious Throng
*1 Stolen Identity
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
*1 Captain&#039;s Claws
*1 Fireshrieker
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Loxodon Warhammer
*1 Mask of Memory
*1 Ovalchase Dragster
*1 Quietus Spike
*1 Rogue&#039;s Gloves
*1 Sapphire Medallion
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Umezawa&#039;s Jitte
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Coastal Piracy
*1 Military Intelligence
*1 Psychic Corrosion
*1 Sigil of Sleep
*1 Thopter Spy Network
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Desert of the Mindful
*1 Faerie Conclave
*1 Halimar Depths
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*29 Island
[/Lands]"></div>

This list has an average CMC of 2.69 and a retail price of $150.17 through TCGplayer. Let's take it for a spin!
<hr />
<h2>Tests Results and Fine Tuning:</h2>
<h3>1. Getting the engine running</h3>
Tetsuko’s cheap cost and the density of cheap creatures with powerful on-hit triggers in the average list meant that many opening hands allowed us to start drawing cards from creatures like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neurok Commando" href="#" target="_blank">Neurok Commando</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scroll Thief" href="#" target="_blank">Scroll Thief</a> early in the game. Opening hands with an on-hit damage effect (and enough lands to cast it) were by far the most reliable, and the snowballing effect of our extra draws often drew us even more on-combat effects. In other words, we could simultaneously develop an impressive board state while maintaining a full hand of cards throughout the early game. Given how powerful this was in testing, and to maximize the power of our card draw creatures, we’ll make sure to include an even higher density of them in our final build, with some new additions like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deepfathom Skulker" href="#" target="_blank">Deepfathom Skulker</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coastal Piracy" href="#" target="_blank">Coastal Piracy</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tandem Lookout" href="#" target="_blank">Tandem Lookout</a>, making sure we draw fistfuls of cards every time we turn our creatures sideways.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rogue’s Gloves"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tandem Lookout"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bident of Thassa"></div></div>
Another powerful effect that was often able to generate value in the first few turns came in the form of our 1-power or 1-toughness creatures with on-hit disruption effects. Creatures like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Riptide Pilferer" href="#" target="_blank">Riptide Pilferer</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mistblade Shinobi" href="#" target="_blank">Mistblade Shinobi</a> can help to ensure none of our opponents get too explosive a start, and creature theft on combat damage like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thalakos Deceiver" href="#" target="_blank">Thalakos Deceiver</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Riptide Entrancer" href="#" target="_blank">Riptide Entrancer</a> can help us defend ourselves from counterattack by stealing beefy creatures, or sabotage our opponents strategies by stealing a commander. Enchantments that add this disruption are helpful too, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sigil of Sleep" href="#" target="_blank">Sigil of Sleep</a>, so they'll definitely make the final build.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cephalid Constable"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Riptide Entrancer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sigil of Sleep"></div></div>
<hr />
<h3>2. Keeping the engine running</h3>
Though the average list was reliably able to construct a card advantage engine from its opening hand, simulated board wipes and to a lesser extent targeted removal hit us hard and were sometimes difficult to recover from. To ensure the creatures we stick on the field will generate as much value as possible while they’re out, we’ll be including a suite of Equipment that can turn even a single unblockable weenie into a must-answer threat.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Quietus Spike"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Umezawa’s Jitte"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloodforged Battle-Axe"></div></div>
Some of the strongest performers from our Equipment suite are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fireshrieker" href="#" target="_blank">Fireshrieker</a>, which allows us to double up on any of our combat damage triggers, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quietus Spike" href="#" target="_blank">Quietus Spike</a>, which allows any of our weenies to do a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Virtus the Veiled" href="#" target="_blank">Virtus the Veiled</a> impression, and the self-copying <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodforged Battle-Axe" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodforged Battle-Axe</a>, which we can use to buff the power of our 1-toughness creatures without them losing unblockability. We’ll also include <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispersilk Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Whispersilk Cloak</a> to provide protection for key creatures, and to ensure we can still attack with at least one unblockable creature if our commander is offline. To ensure we have access to these Equipment, we’ll also include <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trinket Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Trinket Mage</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trophy Mage" href="#" target="_blank">Trophy Mage</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadeye Quartermaster" href="#" target="_blank">Deadeye Quartermaster</a> in our final brew. Trinket Mage also comes with the added utility of being able to fetch <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meekstone" href="#" target="_blank">Meekstone</a>, an effect that misses nearly every creature we’re running while causing serious problems for our opponents.
Given our commander, one of the most versatile and flavorful Equipment we could run is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Umezawa’s Jitte" href="#" target="_blank">Umezawa’s Jitte</a>. It can stockpile charge counters to buff our equipped creature, snipe down our opponents' utility creatures, or in a pinch, bolster our own life totals.
Another effect made much more powerful by Tetsuko’s unblockability is Cipher. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stolen Identity" href="#" target="_blank">Stolen Identity</a> allows us to either copy our own creatures for even more damage triggers or fashion ourselves a copy of the biggest threat on the board. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hidden Strings" href="#" target="_blank">Hidden Strings</a> can tap down our opponents' problematic permanents or provide pseudo ramp in blue by untapping our own lands or mana rocks.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stolen Identity"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hidden Strings"></div></div>
<hr />
<h3>3. Closing out the game</h3>
While the two or three combat damage dealt to our opponents every turn does start to add up faster than you’d expect, in a four player format where victory via combat requires us to do 120 points of damage across the table, combat damage isn’t a particularly viable win condition unless we’re able to prey on opponents who’ve already taken large chunks of damage from other sources. Since we can’t count on that, we’re going to steer into the infamous Infect mechanic to finish our opponents off before they have time to stop us. Since our commander turns every Infect creature with 1 power or toughness into a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blighted Agent" href="#" target="_blank">Blighted Agent</a>, we have a good number of options, and we’ll be running most of them in our final brew.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blighted Agent"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Digester"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Viral Drake"></div></div>
These creatures have the added bonus of being excellent candidates for our Equipment suite; an Infect creature with double strike from <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fireshrieker" href="#" target="_blank">Fireshrieker</a> or a power boost from <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodforged Battleaxe" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodforged Battleaxe</a> or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Umezawa’s Jitte" href="#" target="_blank">Umezawa’s Jitte</a> puts our opponents on a very short clock.
<hr />
<h2>Our final results:</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Tetsuko’s Infectious Good Mood" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Blighted Agent
*1 Cephalid Constable
*1 Chasm Skulker
*1 Deadeye Quartermaster
*1 Deepfathom Skulker
*1 Eternal of Harsh Truths
*1 Gateway Sneak
*1 Ichorclaw Myr
*1 Looter il-Kor
*1 Marchesa’s Infiltrator
*1 Mistblade Shinobi
*1 Necropede
*1 Neurok Commando
*1 Ophidian
*1 Phyrexian Digester
*1 Plague Myr
*1 Riptide Pilferer
*1 Scroll Thief
*1 Silver Myr
*1 Siren Stormtamer
*1 Surrakar Spellblade
*1 Tandem Lookout
*1 Thalakos Deceiver
*1 Thrummingbird
*1 Trinket Mage
*1 Viral Drake
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Aetherize
*1 Counterspell
*1 Dissolve
*1 Reality Shift
*1 Sinister Sabotage
*1 Spell Swindle
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Arm with Aether
*1 Curse of the Swine
*1 Hidden Strings
*1 Notorious Throng
*1 Rite of Replication
*1 Stolen Identity
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Explorer&#039;s Scope
*1 Fireshrieker
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Mask of Memory
*1 Meekstone
*1 Mind stone
*1 Ovalchase Dragster
*1 Quietus Spike
*1 Rogue&#039;s Gloves
*1 Sapphire Medallion
*1 Sky Diamond
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Umezawa&#039;s Jitte
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Coastal Piracy
*1 Curiosity
*1 Sigil of Sleep
*1 Thopter Spy Network
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Jace, Cunning Castaway
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Coral Atoll
*1 Desert of the Mindful
*27 Island
*1 Lonely Sandbar
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Remote Isle
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Terrain Generator
*1 Throne of the High City
[/Lands]"></div>

<hr />
At an average CMC of 2.66 and a TCGPlayer retail price of $138.48, we’ve cut down a bit on our mana cost and how much money we’ll have to spend to achieve our dream of losing all our friends with mono-blue Infect aggro.
While goldfishing our revised brew I was pleased with the added consistency our Equipment tutors added to our threat production. Also of note, our higher density of Infect creatures increased our chances of being able to suit one up and swing in with it before our opponents realized how much trouble they’re in. Don’t expect to swing in for five unblockable Infect damage by turn 6 without cementing yourself as the archenemy of the table for the rest of the game - that's inadvisable unless you think you can finish the other three players in short order - but with careful planning and threat assessment, we can find our opponents in a moment of weakness and use Tetsuko to sneak ourselves to victory.
That’s it for this week! Please let me know in the comments if you think there’s anything I missed or if there’s a particular commander you’d like to see on a future installment of Strategic Planning!

Strategic Planning - Mono Blue Aggro

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sigiled Starfish" href="#" target="_blank">Sigiled Starfish</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.originalmagicart.store/collections/nils-hamm">Nils Hamm</a>)</h6>
<h1>Krakens on Horseback with Swords</h1>
Welcome back, everyone, to another iteration of Forgotten Harvest, the article series where I highlight cards in 300 decks or less on EDHREC. This week will be all about sticking to a challenging deckbuilding restriction, and the underplayed cards that can look great with those restrictions in mind. I'm also super-excited, because this means I can talk about my most favorite deck ever!
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-30586" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/giphy-2.gif" alt="" width="500" height="349" />
Travel back with me to the year 2015. It's a Saturday morning around 10:00 AM. Past-Kyle has popped into his local gaming store, Gabi's Olympic Cards and Comics in Olympia, WA, to take in the goings-on. He has a reputation at the store for adoring the jankiest builds, and for hunting through box after box for a copy of some obscure card that he looked up on Gatherer the other night. Scott, the gentleman tending the Magic counter, brings up his latest Commander build for sale at the store, called Water Polo. The premise of the deck hearkens back to a previous conversation about how much fun it would be to put Equipment on creatures that obviously wouldn't be able to use the item, like putting <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Champion&#039;s Helm" href="#" target="_blank">Champion&#039;s Helm</a> on a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stillmoon Cavalier" href="#" target="_blank">Stillmoon Cavalier</a>. This lead to thoughts of an Octopus wielding a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Loxodon Warhammer" href="#" target="_blank">Loxodon Warhammer</a> while riding on horseback, and thus the deck was born. After a quick peek at the contents, Kyle decides Water Polo will be coming home with him.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Loxodon Warhammer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lorthos, the Tidemaker"></div></div>
I've spent the last 4 years improving, tweaking, and "fancifying" the deck. When Kaladesh introduced Vehicles, they were quickly slotted in. When I finally landed a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jace, the Mind Sculptor" href="#" target="_blank">Jace, the Mind Sculptor</a>, it was an immediate add. All the while, I've held true to three rules:
<ol>
<li>Water Polo must be about Krakens on horseback with swords. There must always exist the themes of big sea creatures and Equipment in the deck.</li>
<li>Water Polo isn't a control deck. I can't run a bunch of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Counterspell" href="#" target="_blank">Counterspell</a> variants. Some removal is okay, but always keep the deck about Rule #1.</li>
<li>With the exception of it's general, Water Polo can't have anthropomorphic creatures. No Humans, no Merfolk, no Pirates, no Spirits. Every creature in the 99 must look ridiculous when equipped, or on horseback, or crewing a Vehicle.</li>
</ol>
Rule #3 is the big challenge. I've had to make some very interesting design choices in order to keep Merfolk out and still manage a decent mana curve. We'll get more into that later, but first I should get into some of the heavy-hitters in the deck.
<hr />
<h2>Denizens of the Deep</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sun Quan, Lord of Wu"></div></div>
Commanding the Water Polo team is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sun Quan, Lord of Wu" href="#" target="_blank">Sun Quan, Lord of Wu</a>. I grant him a special exception on the anthropomorphic rule, as he is the only way I can get all my sea creatures on horseback. While this is primarily there for the gimmick, it also greatly affects my choice of which big bubble-blasting beasts to include in the 99. In Commander, Horsemanship essentially keeps my creatures from being blocked in all instances, so already-unblockable creatures like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep-Sea Kraken" href="#" target="_blank">Deep-Sea Kraken</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrapdiver Serpent" href="#" target="_blank">Scrapdiver Serpent</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tidal Kraken" href="#" target="_blank">Tidal Kraken</a> are no longer necessary. It also makes <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stormsurge Kraken" href="#" target="_blank">Stormsurge Kraken</a> far worse than normal, hence its exclusion from the list.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tromokratis" href="#" target="_blank">Tromokratis</a> technically falls into that category as well, but it has proven to be an excellent opportunity to take advantage of opponents' misplays. Those on the other side of the table have been so focused on making sure they have a way to stop this big'un that they avoid the red zone or hold off on activated abilities.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Creatures] 
*1 Draining Whelk 
*1 Shipbreaker Kraken 
*1 Aethersquall Ancient 
*1 Colossal Whale 
*1 Fleet Swallower 
*1 Scourge of Fleets 
*1 Tromokratis 
*1 Elder Deep-Fiend 
*1 Kederekt Leviathan 
*1 Lorthos, the Tidemaker 
*1 Stormtide Leviathan 
*1 Inkwell Leviathan 
[/Creatures]
[/Deck]
<hr />
<h2>Swords and Hammers and Boots, Oh My!</h2>
I want to make sure my Water Polo crew has only the best polo equipment, so a good chunk of the deck is filled with the best attachable artifacts I could find. This also serves a second purpose of helping to drop the mana curve. It isn't enough on its own, which is why there are plenty of mana rocks to help.
Equipment generally serve one of three purposes: protect the team, do something great when attacking, or provide help when blocking. There's not much need for additional pump or making my creatures unblockable, but keeping something alive with a <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Plate" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Plate</a> is more along the lines of what the deck needs. The same is true of <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Feast and Famine" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Feast and Famine</a> untapping lands. The Vehicles work better with the smaller sea creatures, and potentially offer something on their own, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cultivator&#039;s Caravan" href="#" target="_blank">Cultivator&#039;s Caravan</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Artifacts] 
*1 Basilisk Collar 
*1 Lightning Greaves 
*1 Sword of the Animist 
*1 Umezawa's Jitte 
*1 Cultivator's Caravan 
*1 Darksteel Plate 
*1 Loxodon Warhammer 
*1 Strata Scythe 
*1 Sword of Feast and Famine 
*1 Sword of Fire and Ice 
*1 Sword of Light and Shadow 
*1 Conqueror's Galleon 
*1 Fleetwheel Cruiser 
*1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship 
[/Artifacts]
[/Deck]
<hr />
<h2>Those in Under 300 Leagues</h2>
The cards mentioned above are classics of the genre, but the deck is also full to brimming with underused cards that show up in less than 300 decks on EDHREC. Let's see what gems lurk beneath the depths.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Giant Oyster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sand Squid"></div></div>
One of the critical pieces this deck struggles with is removal. There's plenty of bounce from the Leviathans above, and from <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whelming Wave" href="#" target="_blank">Whelming Wave</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cyclonic Rift" href="#" target="_blank">Cyclonic Rift</a>, but repeatable removal is lacking. Offering some support with this, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Giant Oyster" href="#" target="_blank">Giant Oyster</a> (174 decks) can help tap down a problem creature and slowly crush it to death. Another creature tapper is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sand Squid" href="#" target="_blank">Sand Squid</a>, an oft-forgotten gem from Mercadian Masques, only appearing in 105 decks. It fills a similar role, just without the -1/-1 counters, trading them for a 2/2 body capable of crewing a Vehicle, not to mention the very relevant Islandwalk, given the <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stormtide Leviathan" href="#" target="_blank">Stormtide Leviathan</a> in the deck.
These creatures not only aid in removal, but they meet the non-anthropomorphic requirement and drop the mana curve slightly. I've found these cards to be just powerful enough to provide removal without drawing the ire of the table. I've never had either removed before getting to use them at least once, and usually they stick around far longer. There's also nothing like throwing some Equipment on either of them and swinging in with a bizarre Jitte-wielding Oyster.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Spiny Starfish"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chambered Nautilus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dandan"></div></div>
Talk about weird abilities in blue! <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spiny Starfish" href="#" target="_blank">Spiny Starfish</a> from Alliances is one of the hard-to-find aquatic regenerators. Not only that, it also makes baby starfish when the regeneration triggers! What a kooky three-drop that slots perfectly into the sea creatures theme. Found in 121 decks on EDHREC, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spiny Starfish" href="#" target="_blank">Spiny Starfish</a> provides some excellent hard-to-remove defense while the deck ramps up to dropping its first Kraken.
Another three-drop helping out in the early game is <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chambered Nautilus" href="#" target="_blank">Chambered Nautilus</a>. With its "when blocked" trigger, this mollusk is an excellent target for Equipment. When the Nautilus is holding a sword, it becomes a lot harder to just let it on through. It's only seeing play in 10 decks right now, but I think that number could be much higher.
I expect to get so much grief for including <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dandan" href="#" target="_blank">Dandan</a> in a Commander deck, but hear me out: it's a cheap sea creature, it's a threatening blocker, and it can Crew any Vehicle in the deck. Somehow, it sees play in 42 decks right now. Honestly, I think that number is high, likely due to some Islandhome-themed builds. In this specific instance, I've had trouble finding something as effective as this two-drop, especially since I'm not running any Merfolk or Wizards.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kraken&#039;s Eye"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mystic Decree"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Homarid Spawning Bed"></div></div>
One of this deck's (many) faults is difficulty recovering in the late game. To help keep life totals from dipping too low, I've included <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kraken&#039;s Eye" href="#" target="_blank">Kraken&#039;s Eye</a>. All of these life-gaining artifacts tend not to see much play, with the Eye only included in 245 decklists. As a bonus, I get some life from other players' blue spells as well. The only hard part is remembering the trigger.
Another weakness for this deck is facing down flyers. Luckily, the world enchantment <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mystic Decree" href="#" target="_blank">Mystic Decree</a> helps out a bunch! Sure, lots of sea creatures will end up losing their Islandwalk, but the ability isn't very relevant when they already have Horsemanship. I especially like dropping this right after <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stormtide Leviathan" href="#" target="_blank">Stormtide Leviathan</a> hits the battlefield. The break from combat can be a big help, and serves as a political play as well.
Finally, I've found it necessary to prepare for spot removal against the big Leviathans. Blue doesn't offer much in the way of recursion, but <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Homarid Spawning Bed" href="#" target="_blank">Homarid Spawning Bed</a> does offer something before the beastie hits the bin. The Camarid tokens it generates function as great chump blockers, or can be used to Crew vehicles. While it's only in 165 decks, I think this is a great option for most blue/black reanimator builds.
Let's have a look at the full list:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div>
[Commander] 
*1 Sun Quan, Lord of Wu 
[/Commander]
[Creatures] 
*1 Dandan 
*1 Sigiled Starfish 
*1 Chambered Nautilus 
*1 Chasm Skulker 
*1 Guard Gomazoa 
*1 Man-o'-War 
*1 Spiny Starfish 
*1 Giant Oyster 
*1 Reef Worm 
*1 Sand Squid 
*1 Draining Whelk 
*1 Shipbreaker Kraken 
*1 Aethersquall Ancient 
*1 Colossal Whale 
*1 Fleet Swallower 
*1 Scourge of Fleets 
*1 Tromokratis 
*1 Elder Deep-Fiend 
*1 Kederekt Leviathan 
*1 Lorthos, the Tidemaker 
*1 Stormtide Leviathan 
*1 Inkwell Leviathan 
[/Creatures]
[Instants] 
*1 Spell Burst 
*1 Cyclonic Rift 
*1 Reality Shift 
[/Instants]
[Sorceries] 
*1 Whelming Wave 
*1 Inundate 
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts] 
*1 Basilisk Collar 
*1 Bident of Thassa 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Kraken's Eye 
*1 Lightning Greaves 
*1 Sky Diamond 
*1 Sword of the Animist 
*1 Umezawa's Jitte 
*1 Crawlspace 
*1 Cultivator's Caravan 
*1 Darksteel Plate 
*1 Extraplanar Lens 
*1 Loxodon Warhammer 
*1 Proteus Staff 
*1 Strata Scythe 
*1 Sword of Feast and Famine 
*1 Sword of Fire and Ice 
*1 Sword of Light and Shadow 
*1 Conqueror's Galleon 
*1 Fleetwheel Cruiser 
*1 Quicksilver Amulet 
*1 Thran Dynamo 
*1 Gilded Lotus 
*1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship 
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments] 
*1 Quest for Ula's Temple 
*1 Homarid Spawning Bed 
*1 Imprisoned in the Moon 
*1 Propaganda 
*1 Rhystic Study 
*1 Mystic Decree 
*1 Treachery 
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers] 
*1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 
*1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets 
*1 Tezzeret the Seeker 
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands] 
*1 Academy Ruins 
*1 Ancient Tomb 
*1 Coral Atoll 
*1 Darksteel Citadel 
*1 Evolving Wilds 
*1 Halimar Depths 
*1 Haunted Fengraf 
*21 Island 
*1 Lonely Sandbar 
*1 Mage-Ring Network 
*1 Myriad Landscape 
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx 
*1 Remote Isle 
*1 Seat of the Synod 
*1 Soldevi Excavations 
*1 Teferi's Isle 
*1 Temple of the False God 
*1 Tolaria West 
[/Lands]
[/Deck]

<hr />
<h2>The Tide's Going Out</h2>
Well, that's about it for this time on Forgotten Harvest. Got a question, comment, or snide remark? Leave it for me in the comments. What are some interesting restrictions you've used when building a deck? Are there any neglected cards in 300 decks or less on EDHREC that you'd like to see featured? Or maybe there's a less-than-popular deck idea that you'd like to see fleshed out, like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis" href="#" target="_blank">Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis</a> enchantress or <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a> Voltron. Let me hear all about it below!

mono blue