<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zidane, Tantalus Thief|fin|405" href="#" target="_blank">Zidane, Tantalus Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/katanacanata/profile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canata Katana</a></em></p>
<p><em>Final Fantasy</em> is already released, but I've still got a lot of awesome cards to look at, so we're checking out one more today. Today's deck is gonna be built around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zidane, Tantalus Thief" href="#" target="_blank">Zidane, Tantalus Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a commander that incentivizes us to steal creatures, but just for a little bit.</p>
<p>I absolutely love theft decks, especially in Pauper, because they tend to match the power level of your opponents' decks. Of course, right? Because you're playing with their creatures. This means that I can play this deck against non-Pauper decks, because even though those decks are built with stronger cards than mine, I can just snatch them, and boom, my deck is just as powerful.</p>
<p>So this is gonna be a lot of fun.</p>
<h2>What Does Zidane, Tantalus Thief Do?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zidane, Tantalus Thief"></div></div>
<p>While Zidane is shiny and new, what he's doing isn't particularly fresh. We've had cards that snatch creatures from opponents' boards for years. But Zidane really gives us something to build around, and offers a payoff in the form of Treasure tokens when we give our creatures back.</p>
<p>Though having a big scary creature for a turn is a pretty decent payoff on it's own.</p>
<p>In addition to this, Zidane nearly doubles the amount of theft cards we can run in our deck, just by having that effect on an ETB. How? Because of the color white, which lets us run blink spells. Essentially, we can turn <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudshift" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudshift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into a one-mana copy of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Act of Treason" href="#" target="_blank">Act of Treason</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>And for whatever reason, Zidane also grants lifelink to our stolen creatures, making it even better.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloudshift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Act of Treason"></div></div>
<h2>Key Cards for Zidane</h2>
<h3>Blink Spells</h3>
<p>So of course, we're gonna run all the blink spells we can. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrollshift" href="#" target="_blank">Scrollshift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, awesome. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flicker of Fate" href="#" target="_blank">Flicker of Fate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, even better. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ephemerate" href="#" target="_blank">Ephemerate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, hell yeah!</p>
<p>There are more than enough great options in Pauper, from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Justiciar&#039;s Portal" href="#" target="_blank">Justiciar&#039;s Portal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Acrobatic Maneuver" href="#" target="_blank">Acrobatic Maneuver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slip On the Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Slip On the Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We should be able to blink Zidane constantly, and reap the rewards of his theft ability.</p>
<p>And the Treasure we get afterwards just fuels further robbery. Unfortunately, some of these spells, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Otherworldly Journey" href="#" target="_blank">Otherworldly Journey</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, only return Zidane at the end of the turn, skipping combat. But this doesn't make them totally useless, and you'll see why in a bit.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scrollshift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ephemerate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slip On the Ring"></div></div>
<h3>Theft Spells</h3>
<p>First though, let's complete our arsenal of theft spells. Obviously, our supply of blink spells isn't infinite, so we have to dip into actual theft spells, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hijack" href="#" target="_blank">Hijack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But that's no big worry, because some of these spells are quite decent.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goatnap" href="#" target="_blank">Goatnap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for instance, gives +3/+0 if what we're stealing is a Goat. Haha, ok, obviously not that one, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Traitorous Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Traitorous Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can give trample to something huge. That'll be particularly funny when you hear your opponent muttering that they "could win this game if they only had trample."</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hijack"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goatnap"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Traitorous Blood"></div></div>
<p>Then there are just some generic ones, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrangle" href="#" target="_blank">Wrangle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Price of Loyalty" href="#" target="_blank">Price of Loyalty</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloody Betrayal" href="#" target="_blank">Bloody Betrayal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, etc. Nothing special, but it's not the spells that need to be big and threatening; it's our opponents' cards. And we can usually count on that.</p>
<p>Yes, I did consider running some cards that give our opponents big creatures, but I doubt that'll be necessary</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wrangle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Price of Loyalty"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloody Betrayal"></div></div>
<h3>Evasion</h3>
<p>Anyways, now that we've got some big creatures on our side of the board, sometimes with lifelink, what are we gonna do with them? Well, we're gonna attack with them, obviously. So let's get some evasion in here.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin War Drums" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin War Drums</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a personal favorite of mine. Trust me, the difference between one chump blocker and two is huge. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orcish Oriflamme" href="#" target="_blank">Orcish Oriflamme</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also a decent anthem that'll give us a boost if all we're doing is trading hits with an opponent.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin War Drums"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orcish Oriflamme"></div></div>
<h3>Sacrifices</h3>
<p>But attacking isn't all we can do. I mean, you can't reduce a creature's worth to just their power and toughness. That'd be so dehumanizing. Don't forget their value as sacrifice fodder!</p>
<p>Yes, if we sacrifice the creature, we don't get Zidane's Treasure token, but it's absolutely worth it to steal a creature for three mana, swing for a ton of damage, and then rob our opponents of a huge creature while gaining some bonus for ourselves.</p>
<p>There's plenty of ways to do this. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod&#039;s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod&#039;s Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, of course, although two mana isn't really that helpful post-combat. We'd rather use something that's useful any time, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Angelic Purge" href="#" target="_blank">Angelic Purge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tavern Scoundrel" href="#" target="_blank">Tavern Scoundrel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark-Dweller Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Dark-Dweller Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are pretty handy as well, sitting around until we need them.</p>
<p>And of course, we can't forget <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fling" href="#" target="_blank">Fling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the iconic game ender.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Angelic Purge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark-Dweller Oracle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fling"></div></div>
<p>I ultimately decided to go fairly light on the sacrifice outlets, because constantly stealing your opponents creatures and then sacrificing them over and over again is a pretty nasty game plan. And hey, it means Zidane triggers more. But if you really wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult at all to make an extremely powerful, if toxic deck.</p>
<p>The rest of the deck is just some support for the main game plan. A bunch of ramp, and a ton of removal for the things we can't steal. Our whole plan is essentially just to snatch the biggest things on the board and win with that, so there doesn't need to be a whole lot else here. As long as we make sure that we've always got the mana and cards to carry out that game plan, we should be golden.</p>
<p>And just for extra safety, we'll throw in a few protection spells, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gods Willing" href="#" target="_blank">Gods Willing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Apostle&#039;s Blessing" href="#" target="_blank">Apostle&#039;s Blessing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to protect Zidane, because he is a five-mana commander and we really don't want to be recasting him too often.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gods Willing"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Apostle&#039;s Blessing"></div></div>
<p>Yeah, the blink spells could double as protection, but we'd rather use them on our turn, and not in response to a removal attempt.</p>
<h2>Zidane, Tantalus Thief Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Zidane, Tantalus Thief" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Zidane, Tantalus Thief
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Abrade
*1 Acrobatic Maneuver
*1 Apostle&#039;s Blessing
*1 Big Score
*1 Cloudshift
*1 Crib Swap
*1 Demand Answers
*1 Ephemerate
*1 Flicker of Fate
*1 Fling
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Gods Willing
*1 Justiciar&#039;s Portal
*1 Otherworldly Journey
*1 Scrollshift
*1 Slip On the Ring
*1 Thraben Charm
*1 Thrill of Possibility
*1 Unexpected Windfall
*1 Your Temple Is Under Attack
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Ashnod&#039;s Altar
*1 Boros Signet
*1 Commander&#039;s Sphere
*1 Decanter of Endless Water
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Bitter Reunion
*1 Fanatical Devotion
*1 Goblin War Drums
*1 Journey to Nowhere
*1 Makeshift Munitions
*1 Oblivion Ring
*1 Orcish Oriflamme
*1 Shiny Impetus
*1 The Shattered States Era // Nameless Conqueror
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Act of Treason
*1 Angelic Purge
*1 Bloody Betrayal
*1 Coronation of Chaos
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Glimpse the Impossible
*1 Goatnap
*1 Hijack
*1 Involuntary Employment
*1 Mark of Mutiny
*1 Pack&#039;s Betrayal
*1 Price of Loyalty
*1 Settle Beyond Reality
*1 Shackles of Treachery
*1 Traitorous Blood
*1 Witch&#039;s Mark
*1 Wrangle
[/Sorceries]
[Creatures]
*1 Blood Aspirant
*1 Dark-Dweller Oracle
*1 Icewind Stalwart
*1 Pegasus Guardian // Rescue the Foal
*1 Tavern Scoundrel
*1 Vanguard Seraph
[/Creatures]
[Lands]
*1 Boros Garrison
*1 Command Tower
*1 Forgotten Cave
*17 Mountain
*17 Plains
*1 Secluded Steppe
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>Welp, that's the whole deck. To be honest, I'm surprised it never occurred to me to make a theft deck before. I don't really have a Pauper pod, so I often have to hurl my commons at a bunch of rares and mythics. But this way, I can just steal those shiny cards for myself. Awesome!</p>
<p>Just due to the nature of the strategy, this deck is pretty strong, and I'm quite happy with how it came out.</p>


Pauper Commander - Zidane, Tantalus Thief

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/simondominic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simon Dominic</a></em></p>
<h2>A New Meld Commander?</h2>
<p><em>Final Fantasy</em>'s release date is coming up and I'm quite eager to write about some of these new commanders. There's so much neat stuff for Pauper in here! I haven't even looked at the whole list, but I've already got a few I want to write about, the first of which are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>The last time we saw the meld mechanic was in <em>The Brother's War</em>, and we got some of the coolest commanders we've ever had in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titania, Voice of Gaea" href="#" target="_blank">Titania, Voice of Gaea</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord Protector" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord Protector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mishra, Claimed by Gix" href="#" target="_blank">Mishra, Claimed by Gix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. So does this new pair of melding legends live up to the hype of the past set?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie"></div></div>
<p>Well, they're not quite as cool. Unfortunately, the flip side of this meld pair is just a big avatar with some keywords and a death trigger. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance" href="#" target="_blank">Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is mostly just a beat stick. It doesn't do a whole lot, but hey, it is cool, and we're gonna try and make something fun with it.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance"></div></div>
<h2>Rule Zero</h2>
<p>But first, I need to establish a few ground rules about this deck. Mainly the fact that I'm going to rule zero <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie" href="#" target="_blank">Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into the command zone, along with Vanille, as if they were partners with each other.</p>
<p>I'm not doing this because of color identity issues preventing us from running both otherwise; Vanille has both a black and green pip in her textbox, and could lead the deck by herself legally. But the problem is that we'd never be able to find Fang if we did that. And trust me, I've tried everything. Generic tutors? They just don't exist in pauper. Transmute cards? None of them can find creatures with mana value three. Milling our deck until we mill Fang, then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dread Return" href="#" target="_blank">Dread Return</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>ing her? I couldn't find a way to mill the whole deck without just losing. Cascading for a mana value of three? We can't afford to play no other three-, two-, or one-drops.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fierce Empath"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dimir House Guard"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Natural Reclamation"></div></div>
<p>I swear I tried to figure this one out, but I came to the conclusion that even if there were some convoluted way of pulling Fang out of our deck like a rabbit out of a hat, it would take up way too much deck space anyways. And all I really wanted to do was build a cool graveyard deck with the opportunity to meld. So because this deck isn't gonna be great either way, I decided to go with the more fun route, and treat them like they have partner.</p>
<h2>The Game Plan With Fang and Vanille</h2>
<p>Now for the actual strategy of the deck. We have a few things to consider: our commanders on the front, and our commander on the back. On the front, we've got Vanille, who doesn't do anything more than a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grapple with the Past" href="#" target="_blank">Grapple with the Past</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and a fairly potent card advantage engine in Fang. On the back, we've got a big monster. So our strategy shapes itself pretty well: we use Fang to sculpt our hand and collect assets for the first half of the game, then we merge our two commanders together and beat face, taking advantage of the cards we've hoarded.</p>
<p>So how are we gonna get that card advantage out of Fang? Fang is phrased really similarly to <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/brewing-a-pauper-commander-deck-with-kheru-goldkeeper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a card I wrote about a week ago</a>; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes a Treasure every time a card leaves our graveyard, and Fang draws us a card whenever the same happens. So many of the cards that worked there will be just as good here. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merrow Bonegnawer" href="#" target="_blank">Merrow Bonegnawer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in particular are spectacular, giving us a card every turn for the low cost of a tap.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Relic of Progenitus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merrow Bonegnawer"></div></div>
<p>But while those are the best, there's plenty more that'll put in work. For instance, any card that returns something from the graveyard. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tortured Existence" href="#" target="_blank">Tortured Existence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revive the Shire" href="#" target="_blank">Revive the Shire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Evolution Charm" href="#" target="_blank">Evolution Charm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are all great ways to get back lost pieces, and they draw us a card with Fang. Or, cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Grisly Salvage" href="#" target="_blank">Grisly Salvage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will have a similar effect, milling, then snatching something out of the graveyard. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mulch" href="#" target="_blank">Mulch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Winding Way" href="#" target="_blank">Winding Way</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cache Grab" href="#" target="_blank">Cache Grab</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Commune with the Gods" href="#" target="_blank">Commune with the Gods</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and plenty more are card advantage fountains. Some grab a land, some grab a creature, some even grab enchantments, but they all draw cards with our commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tortured Existence"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grisly Salvage"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mulch"></div></div>
<p>And because we've got all this card advantage, we might as well throw in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Vessel" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Vessel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Decanter of Endless Water" href="#" target="_blank">Decanter of Endless Water</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to preserve it while we move to the next stage of our plan.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thought Vessel"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Decanter of Endless Water"></div></div>
<p>Which is, of course, just beating face with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance" href="#" target="_blank">Ragnarok, Divine Deliverance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I won't lie, there's not a whole lot special going on here, just the typical Auras and Equipment to add things that aren't already covered by our commander's keywords. (I was briefly running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Haunted Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Haunted Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> before I realized that Ragnaraok already has all three keywords that the Cloak grants.) We'll take some flying from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cliffhaven Kitesail" href="#" target="_blank">Cliffhaven Kitesail</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, some double strike from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brass Knuckles" href="#" target="_blank">Brass Knuckles</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and some shroud from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Whispersilk Cloak" href="#" target="_blank">Whispersilk Cloak</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vampiric Link" href="#" target="_blank">Vampiric Link</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives lifelink, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Snake Umbra" href="#" target="_blank">Snake Umbra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives umbra armor. Everything has something to help.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cliffhaven Kitesail"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Brass Knuckles"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Snake Umbra"></div></div>
<p>And then, because we don't want our really cool, awesome commander to die, we're gonna run a bunch of stuff to keep Ragnarok safe: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping" href="#" target="_blank">Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> kinda stuff that'll grant indestructible. There are a good amount of cards to choose from, which range from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gaea&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">Gaea&#039;s Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armor of Shadows" href="#" target="_blank">Armor of Shadows</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We can also use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Undying Evil" href="#" target="_blank">Undying Evil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Not Dead After All" href="#" target="_blank">Not Dead After All</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, although those cards have the downside of returning our commanders to the battlefield split up. But hey, in that case, we can just pay five mana and meld them again. Or alternatively, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Undying Evil" href="#" target="_blank">Undying Evil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be used to trigger Fang early in the game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gaea&#039;s Gift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Undying Evil"></div></div>
<h2>Fang and Vanille Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Fang and Vanille" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Fang, Fearless l&#039;Cie
*1 Vanille, Cheerful l&#039;Cie
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Brass Knuckles
*1 Cliffhaven Kitesail
*1 Decanter of Endless Water
*1 Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell
*1 Golgari Signet
*1 Kitesail
*1 Relic of Progenitus
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
*1 Wings of Hubris
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Blanchwood Prowler
*1 Circle of the Land Druid
*1 Eccentric Farmer
*1 Glowspore Shaman
*1 Masked Vandal
*1 Merrow Bonegnawer
*1 Patient Naturalist
*1 Persistent Specimen
*1 Pothole Mole
*1 Satyr Wayfinder
*1 Scaretiller
*1 Town Greeter
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Armor of Shadows
*1 Cache Grab
*1 Corrupted Conviction
*1 Costly Plunder
*1 Evolution Charm
*1 Feign Death
*1 Gaea&#039;s Gift
*1 Grapple with the Past
*1 Grisly Salvage
*1 Harrow
*1 Heritage Reclamation
*1 Moment&#039;s Peace
*1 Not Dead After All
*1 Orcish Medicine
*1 Pulse of Murasa
*1 Raise the Draugr
*1 Supernatural Stamina
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Safekeeping
*1 Undying Evil
*1 Undying Malice
*1 Village Rites
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Crawling Infestation
*1 Eternal Thirst
*1 Lignify
*1 Scion of Halaster
*1 Snake Umbra
*1 Tortured Existence
*1 Vampiric Link
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Commune with the Gods
*1 Cultivate
*1 Feed the Swarm
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Mulch
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Revive the Shire
*1 Unearth
*1 Urborg Repossession
*1 Walk with the Ancestors
*1 Winding Way
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Barren Moor
*1 Evolving Wilds
*17 Forest
*15 Swamp
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Tranquil Thicket
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>That's pretty much the whole deck, minus a bit of ramp and removal. There are just two phases to our game plan: get ready to fight, and fight! While this deck isn't legal, it is a lot of fun, and I doubt I'd have any trouble playing with it in a pod. One thing I'm curious about, however, is how lore accurate these commanders are. <em>Final Fantasy</em> players, do these two seem right? And if not, how would you have designed them? Let me know in the comments.</p>


Meld Ragnarok With Fang and Vanille In Pauper Commander

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://vargasni.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Randy Vargas</a></em></p>
<p>Today I'm tackling a commander that I've wanted to do for a while, ever since <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em> came out. When I was reviewing this set I immediately singled out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a unique Pauper commander that does a few things I've never seen before.</p>
<h2>What Does Kheru Goldkeeper Do?</h2>
<p>First, it mixes graveyard and artifact strategies. Technically, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> doesn't say anything about artifacts, but it makes Treasure tokens, and that really incentives us to lean into some cards that trigger off of artifacts being created or sacrificed. Second, it asks us to remove cards from our graveyard. That's pretty unusual, as most cards you see care about cards entering your graveyard, or dying in some way. Thanks to these oddities, building around this commander is going to be quite the interesting challenge. So let's see what's up.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kheru Goldkeeper"></div></div>
<p>Let's get our priorities in order. We need cards in our graveyard. Then we need cards that remove either themselves or other cards from the graveyard. After that, we want some stuff that takes advantage of the artifacts we're making. We could just use the Treasures for more mana, but that'd be boring, and I'm certain there's some advantage to be gained from treating this like an artifact deck, so I'm gonna insist on it. Finally, we need a way to win with all this stuff. That's the part I'm most concerned about, but we'll figure it out when we get there.</p>
<h2>Self Mill</h2>
<p>Milling ourselves is pretty simple. I'm fond of cards that sit around and do their thing, like:</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scion of Halaster" href="#" target="_blank">Scion of Halaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crawling Infestation" href="#" target="_blank">Crawling Infestation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chronic Flooding" href="#" target="_blank">Chronic Flooding</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
<li><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of the Bloody Tome" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of the Bloody Tome</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p>Yes, there's the risk of that Curse just killing us, but I'm sure it's a risk we can take. Yeah, I totally won't regret casting that on myself. But anyways, we've also got <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deranged Assistant" href="#" target="_blank">Deranged Assistant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell" href="#" target="_blank">Ghoulcaller&#039;s Bell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a bit more, and if we really need some cards in the graveyard ASAP, we can cast <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tome Scour" href="#" target="_blank">Tome Scour</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Twist" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Twist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curse of the Bloody Tome"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deranged Assistant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tome Scour"></div></div>
<h2>Triggering Kheru Goldkeeper</h2>
<p>Next up, cards leaving the graveyard. Ok, I can think of several ways to do that. The first is exiling cards from graveyards. Basically, we're just gonna play a bunch of graveyard hate cards, and then use them on our own graveyard.</p>
<p>But because <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kheru Goldkeeper" href="#" target="_blank">Kheru Goldkeeper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> says "One or more cards," <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tormod&#039;s Crypt" href="#" target="_blank">Tormod&#039;s Crypt</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is no good here. We don't want to sacrifice our entire graveyard for just one Treasure token, now do we? Instead, we'll happily take <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which we can tap every turn to produce a Treasure. Does that mean it's basically just a one-mana <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Arcane Signet" href="#" target="_blank">Arcane Signet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> that's fueled by our graveyard? Yes, but when we get some cards that trigger off of artifacts entering, it'll prove to be quite strong. We'll also run <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Merrow Bonegnawer" href="#" target="_blank">Merrow Bonegnawer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for the same purpose.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Relic of Progenitus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Merrow Bonegnawer"></div></div>
<p>We can also trigger our commander by returning cards from our graveyard to our hand, and that's certainly more efficient than exiling cards. So I quickly started adding cards that would return targets. But what I noticed was that there were a lot of instants and sorceries that returned creatures, and a lot of creatures that returned instants and sorceries. Huh. Well, the solution here is pretty obvious. We can't run either group exclusively, so we'll just run both sets of cards, and then they can return each other. It means the cards are less likely to have targets than if we were able to run creatures that returned creatures, but we can't do that, so this'll work just fine.</p>
<p>We'll even throw in some sacrifice outlets so that we can get <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archaeomancer" href="#" target="_blank">Archaeomancer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> style cards into the graveyards. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mnemonic Wall" href="#" target="_blank">Mnemonic Wall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Revive the Shire" href="#" target="_blank">Revive the Shire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shipwreck Dowser" href="#" target="_blank">Shipwreck Dowser</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pulse of Murasa" href="#" target="_blank">Pulse of Murasa</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Salvager of Secrets" href="#" target="_blank">Salvager of Secrets</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul Manipulation" href="#" target="_blank">Soul Manipulation</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which can return <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mnemonic Wall" href="#" target="_blank">Mnemonic Wall</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Perfect!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Archaeomancer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mnemonic Wall"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soul Manipulation"></div></div>
<p>Finally, the best way to trigger our commander is with flashback and unearth. Both of these are great mechanics that can actually have more of an effect than just making a treasure. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dream Twist" href="#" target="_blank">Dream Twist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Otherworldly Gaze" href="#" target="_blank">Otherworldly Gaze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can mill us a bit, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eviscerator&#039;s Insight" href="#" target="_blank">Eviscerator&#039;s Insight</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Think Twice" href="#" target="_blank">Think Twice</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deep Analysis" href="#" target="_blank">Deep Analysis</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can draw us some cards. One of my personal favorites is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Moment&#039;s Peace" href="#" target="_blank">Moment&#039;s Peace</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a card that will catch our opponents unaware one time, then ward them away for a long while afterwards.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dream Twist"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Eviscerator&#039;s Insight"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Moment&#039;s Peace"></div></div>
<h2>How to Win With Kheru Goldkeeper</h2>
<p>Now that we've got a solid engine triggering our commander over and over again, let's try and take advantage of those artifacts, and maybe turn all that cycling into a win.</p>
<p>Now what can we do with Treasures? We can sacrifice them to cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deadly Dispute" href="#" target="_blank">Deadly Dispute</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reckoner&#039;s Bargain" href="#" target="_blank">Reckoner&#039;s Bargain</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Card advantage is always fantastic, and this is a pretty good way to do it. But usually artifact decks will use cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reckless Fireweaver" href="#" target="_blank">Reckless Fireweaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to turn Treasures into raw damage. We can do something similar with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Disciple of the Vault" href="#" target="_blank">Disciple of the Vault</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>; it's a bit slower, but it still gets the job done.</p>
<p>And because Treasures are tokens, we can also use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nadier&#039;s Nightblade" href="#" target="_blank">Nadier&#039;s Nightblade</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to thrash our opponents life totals.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deadly Dispute"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reckoner&#039;s Bargain"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirkwood Bats"></div></div>
<p>And with all of that ready, we can just toss in some ramp and removal, and call it good!</p>
<h2>Is This Kheru Goldkeeper pEDH Deck Good?</h2>
<p>Ok, so as you were reading this article, I'm sure you noticed a bit of a flaw with this deck. The whole thing is built around spending two mana to cast something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raise the Draugr" href="#" target="_blank">Raise the Draugr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and return a creature to hand, making a Treasure that sacrifices itself for one mana. Do you see the problem? Yeah, half the time, we're spending upwards of three mana to make one. The term "spinning your wheels" applies to this deck. I've crafted a library around triggering our commander purely to trigger our commander. A few good cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will make us free mana, but most of the cards in this deck do nothing but make mana disappear.</p>
<p>That being said, I don't think this deck is a complete wreck. While it does a lot of nothing, eventually, that nothing can be converted into card advantage and damage. And that's what wins games. I'm not certain that there's enough density of damage dealing cards in here to really be consistent, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirkwood Bats" href="#" target="_blank">Mirkwood Bats</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> absolutely can take us to victory. And because we're running so much recursion, our few important pieces are really difficult for our opponents to deal with.</p>
<p>In a long game, this deck really has a good shot.</p>


pedh

Pauper Commander - Zidane, Tantalus Thief

Meld Ragnarok With Fang and Vanille In Pauper Commander

Brewing a Pauper Commander Deck With Kheru Goldkeeper