<p style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moritte of the Frost" href="#" target="_blank">Moritte of the Frost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.ericdeschamps.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Deschamps</a></span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moritte of the Frost" href="#" target="_blank">Moritte of the Frost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander deck tech will to attempt to build on MTG Muddstah’s <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mistform Ultimus" href="#" target="_blank">Mistform Ultimus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck while leaning further into what makes Shapeshifters special and embracing the many options they enjoy.</span></p>
<h2>Shapeshifter History</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the last few weeks, these deck techs have gone on a sort of tour of <em>Lorwyn</em>’s creature types, in honor of the release of <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/ecl" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Lorwyn Eclipsed</em></a>. It began with the revelation of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="High Perfect Morcant" href="#" target="_blank">High Perfect Morcant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/this-high-perfect-morcant-commander-deck-does-it-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elfball</a>, continued with the new <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mass of Mysteries" href="#" target="_blank">Mass of Mysteries</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/decyphering-the-new-elemental-commander-mass-of-mysteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elementals</a>, followed up with <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-treefolk-typal-with-fangorn-tree-shepherd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Treefolk</a>, <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-merfolk-typal-with-emperor-mihail-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Merfolk</a>, and <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/building-faerie-typal-with-obyra-dreaming-duelist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Faeries</a>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s only one creature type prominently featured in <em>Lorwyn</em> that we haven't dissected: the sneaky Shapeshifters.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shapeshifters are an interesting type, mostly united around the changeling ability, which grants the creature all creature types. The ability hearkens back to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mistform Ultimus" href="#" target="_blank">Mistform Ultimus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in <em>Legions</em>, which meshed well with the Typal-focused <em>Onslaught</em> block. The Ultimus famously helmed a “Typal Typal” deck run by one of my content creation inspirations, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/MTGMuddstah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MTG Muddstah</a>.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mistform Ultimus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Changeling Outcast"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror Entity"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Muddstah’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsUxFl_d7c4&amp;list=PLtMmIcAO3f9qfUe7BSFt3XLVNYNn7-n07&amp;index=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deck</a> was a thing of beauty. Since Ultimus had all creature types, it could take on any boosts offered by Typal lords and any abilities that cared about creature types. It was the sort of fantastic, over the top decadence that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xzibit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xzibit</a>, would’ve loved. Xzibit was famous for embedding the preferences of the client into every aspect of their vehicle on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimp_My_Ride" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pimp My Ride</a>, to the extent that it became a popular <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/xzibit-yo-dawg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meme</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shapeshifters themselves tend to lean into <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clone" href="#" target="_blank">Clone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects, giving us a neat through line: we can clone our Typal synergies and lords, and then use those stacked boosts on our changelings. As a result, our board will be one of the most powerful and creative of any Typal deck we’ve built in the history of this column.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how do we make the hodgepodge feel like a focused deck? And will it feel like a Shapeshifter deck or a deck with Shapeshifters in it? Let's find out.</span></p>
<h2>What Does <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moritte of the Frost" href="#" target="_blank">Moritte of the Frost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Do?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Moritte of the Frost"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moritte is a deceptively simple-looking card. It enters as a copy of any permanent we control, like any other clone, but is legendary and snow, and enters with two +1/+1 counters and has changeling if we have it clone a creature. Shapeshifters are mysterious and amorphous, and this is one of the few that can even be a land! In fact, its possibilities are only limited by what permanents we own.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s worth noting that it enters as a copy of the permanent, so any enters-the-battlefield (ETB) triggers it has or procs happen. It is still legendary, and it doesn’t keep its name, so we want to have cool permanents to copy that aren’t legendary.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But what type are our Shapeshifters masquerading as? Any type we want, and whatever we need them to be.</span></p>
<h2>Key Cards for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moritte of the Frost" href="#" target="_blank">Moritte of the Frost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shapeshifters take on whatever form suits them best, even if they do have a base form. Our Shapeshifters use that craftiness to make tricky plays, get around weaknesses, and create weird but incredibly powerful board states.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Metamorph"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Progenitor Mimic"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of Moritte’s weaknesses is that it can’t copy opponents’ permanents. But what if our permanent copied an opponent’s permanent? <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Metamorph" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Metamorph</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be cast for a reduced cost and can copy any creature or artifact on the board, giving us a wide array of options. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Progenitor Mimic" href="#" target="_blank">Progenitor Mimic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can also copy anyone’s creature, but it makes a copy in each of our upkeeps, which can get out of hand really quickly, even if we don’t copy it with our commander.</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Chomping Changeling"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Realmwalker"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The other major kind of Shapeshifter we’re running is changelings. Changelings have all creature types, so they gain all boosts and trigger all cards that care about creature types. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chomping Changeling" href="#" target="_blank">Chomping Changeling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a new card that gives all green Typal decks a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reclamation Sage" href="#" target="_blank">Reclamation Sage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Since it triggers on ETB, Moritte can re-use it for extra value. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Realmwalker" href="#" target="_blank">Realmwalker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is part of the mysterious <em>Kaldheim</em> Shapeshifters. It lets us cast Shapeshifters from the top of our library, giving us a strong card advantage engine.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But what are we looking for?</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Absorb Identity"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Shrieking Drake"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We might not have a lot of ETB effects, but every <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clone" href="#" target="_blank">Clone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> we run technically has one, and the weakness of cards like them and our commander is that they can only be one thing at a time. If a better target comes around later, they’re locked into what they’ve cloned…unless we bounce them, that is. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shrieking Drake" href="#" target="_blank">Shrieking Drake</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> bounces a clone and leaves a flying blocker, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Absorb Identity" href="#" target="_blank">Absorb Identity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doubles as a finisher by turning all of our Shapeshifters into the bounced card!</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Seraph Sanctuary"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Swarmyard"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even our lands offer an opportunity for creativity by allowing us to utilize some of the strongest Typal lands alongside our changelings. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Seraph Sanctuary" href="#" target="_blank">Seraph Sanctuary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gains us life when Angels enter the battlefield, which our changelings can imitate, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swarmyard" href="#" target="_blank">Swarmyard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us regenerate our changelings. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Notably, our commander remains a changeling when it copies a creature, and can even copy one of these utility lands in a pinch.</span></p>
<h2>How Does This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moritte of the Frost" href="#" target="_blank">Moritte of the Frost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Commander Deck Win?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gilt-Leaf Archdruid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biowaste Blob"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While copying our opponents’ permanents and then copying our own permanents that copied their permanents is a hilarious way to honor Xzibit’s legacy, it does put us at our opponents’ mercy in terms of the power level and ability to goldfish, or present a clock against a random opponent. What we can do pretty well is play lords of various types and then copy them, making our changelings truly scary.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gilt-Leaf Archdruid" href="#" target="_blank">Gilt-Leaf Archdruid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> straddles the line of good taste letting us steal the land out from under our now-helpless opponents, although that ability might be important to disclose in Rule Zero, if mass land denial is an issue (technically not destroying them, but similar spirit). </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Biowaste Blob" href="#" target="_blank">Biowaste Blob</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> pumps Oozes and makes more of itself each upkeep if we control our commander, which can get truly silly if we turn our commander into it!</span></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Baru, Wurmspeaker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tawnos, the Toymaker"></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baru, Wurmspeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Baru, Wurmspeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> takes advantage of our changelings also being Wurms by double-pumping them and granting them trample, in addition to lowering the cost of his activated ability by the largest power among our shifty “Wurms.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tawnos, the Toymaker" href="#" target="_blank">Tawnos, the Toymaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, meanwhile, copies Birds and Beasts on the stack, which our changelings all happen to be. Notably, our commander is a changeling creature on the stack regardless of what it copies, so we can get a ton of value out of the big guy.</span></p>
<h2>Moritte of the Frost Commander Deck List</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Moritte of the Frost Commander Deck Tech" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="&nbsp;
[Commander]
*1 Moritte of the Frost
[/Commander]
&nbsp;
[Creatures]
*1 Aether Adept
*1 Aether Channeler
*1 Aethersnipe
*1 Altered Ego
*1 Amoeboid Changeling
*1 Ayula, Queen Among Bears
*1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
*1 Baru, Wurmspeaker
*1 Biowaste Blob
*1 Bloodline Pretender
*1 Chameleon Colossus
*1 Chomping Changeling
*1 Clever Impersonator
*1 Clone
*1 Dream Stalker
*1 Elvish Archdruid
*1 Faerie Impostor
*1 Feline Sovereign
*1 Gemhide Sliver
*1 Gilt-Leaf Archdruid
*1 Gladewalker Ritualist
*1 Guardian Gladewalker
*1 Krosan Warchief
*1 Littjara Glade-Warden
*1 Littjara Kinseekers
*1 Lord of the Unreal
*1 Malleable Impostor
*1 Man-o&#039;-War
*1 Manaweft Sliver
*1 Masked Vandal
*1 Merfolk Sovereign
*1 Merrow Reejerey
*1 Metallic Mimic
*1 Mirror Image
*1 Mistwalker
*1 Mothdust Changeling
*1 Mutable Explorer
*1 Pheres-Band Warchief
*1 Phyrexian Metamorph
*1 Progenitor Mimic
*1 Quickling
*1 Realmwalker
*1 Shapesharer
*1 Shrieking Drake
*1 Spider-Ham, Peter Porker
*1 Stunt Double
*1 Tawnos, the Toymaker
*1 Undercover Operative
*1 Unesh, Criosphinx Sovereign
*1 Universal Automaton
*1 Winter Eladrin
*1 Woodland Changeling
[/Creatures]
&nbsp;
[Enchantments]
*1 Springleaf Parade
*1 The Bears of Littjara
[/Enchantments]
&nbsp;
[Artifacts]
*1 Maskwood Nexus
[/Artifacts]
&nbsp;
[Sorceries]
*1 Formless Genesis
*1 Mass Appeal
*1 Peer Pressure
[/Sorceries]
&nbsp;
[Instants]
*1 Absorb Identity
[/Instants]
&nbsp;
[Lands]
*1 Animal Sanctuary
*15 Forest
*1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
*15 Island
*1 Mirrorpool
*1 Mutavault
*1 Riptide Laboratory
*1 Seraph Sanctuary
*1 Shifting Woodland
*1 Soulstone Sanctuary
*1 Swarmyard
*1 Tyrite Sanctum
[/Lands]
&nbsp;"></span></div></span></p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shapeshifters can be anywhere or do anything, which makes them remarkably flexible and open-ended. They can be a ton of fun to build, and, as long as more Typal cards are printed in their colors, provide an endless amount of customization and replayability. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That fun can also be a huge challenge, as an endless array of possibilities can create decision paralysis and can lead to “four-move-slot-syndrome” from <em>Pokemon</em>, where you want to include everything but can only fit so much in the deck and it becomes tricky to get all of the cool pieces you want.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, the deck needs a balance of lords, clones, and changelings to present a strong board. Cutting changelings for lords means that the lords may struggle to work together, while cutting clones removes the deck’s glue and makes it tough to ensure that we have what we need when we need it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But how would you build this flexible type? And what are your favorite unusual synergies?</span></p>


moritte

Building Shapeshifter Typal With Moritte of the Frost