<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mannichi, the Fevered Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Mannichi, the Fevered Dream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://x.com/pilcerova?lang=en">Martina Pilcerova</a>)</h6>
<h1 style="text-align: left;">Technically Playable - <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mannichi, the Fevered Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Mannichi, the Fevered Dream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h1>
<p>Welcome to <em>Technically Playable</em>, where our mission statement is "Every commander is Technically playable" (the best kind of playable).</p>
<p>The way this works is every article will have a commander generated using EDHREC's random button, I'll talk through the card and then write about how we can build around it!</p>
<p>This week's random commander is</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mannichi, the Fevered Dream"></div></div>
<p>When I started playing Magic (what must have been about 10 years ago now) I was very much a mono-white player. Not entirely because I got an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elspeth, Sun&#039;s Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Elspeth, Sun&#039;s Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> from one of my early drafts, but it certainly helped.</p>
<p>As I pivoted to playing Standard a little more competitively I was introduced to the glory of mono-red through <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Rabblemaster" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Rabblemaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stoke the Flames" href="#" target="_blank">Stoke the Flames</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>My all time best event I went 5-0 at a GP main event that I didn't even want to play in before losing three rounds and dropping because I was no longer in the running for day two of the event.</p>
<p>Since those early Rabblemaster-filled days I've been a huge fan of red decks. Mono-Red, Jund, Rakdos Reanimator, I love them all.</p>
<p>It was also around this time that I was introduced to my one true love <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Daretti, Scrap Savant" href="#" target="_blank">Daretti, Scrap Savant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and I decided that I was absolutely going to build a deck for every single mono-red commander.</p>
<p>Fast forward to today and sadly between playing the game less often and not being able to keep up with releases, I no longer have that dream, but the endless hours looking at the mono-red EDHREC page have stuck with me. So when I saw <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mannichi, the Fevered Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Mannichi, the Fevered Dream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was the commander for this article I was overcome with nostalgia.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin Rabblemaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stoke the Flames"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Daretti, Scrap Savant"></div></div>
<h2>Can't Block This!</h2>
<p>Mannichi's main goal is to make a bunch of creatures have huge toughness, get them through unblocked and then switch their power and toughness for some solid damage.</p>
<p>This would be really easy to do if you were in blue and had access to skulk-enablers and cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive" href="#" target="_blank">Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to ensure you could get your low powered creatures through.</p>
<p>Unfortunately these types of effects are not as common in red, but they do definitely exist.</p>
<p>The best of these is probably <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Break Through the Line" href="#" target="_blank">Break Through the Line</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as it is repeatable and unlike cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin Tunneler" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin Tunneler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pathmaker Initiate" href="#" target="_blank">Pathmaker Initiate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> it doesn't need haste to be usable.</p>
<p>In the same vein <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner" href="#" target="_blank">Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, is also a great fit here and while it is susceptible to a wider range of removal, it also has the upside of an ability that can potentially fill up your hand if you decide not to switch any of your creatures power and toughness after the blocking step has passed.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Break Through the Line"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner"></div></div>
<h2>The Best Defense is a Good Offense</h2>
<p>But just getting your creatures through isn't enough. Swapping a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wildfire Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Wildfire Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>'s power to four is good but it's not enough to win in a game of Commander, so we need to beef up those numbers.</p>
<p>The goal here is to beef the creature's toughness up without getting their power too high so that we can still use our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Break Through the Line" href="#" target="_blank">Break Through the Line</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects to ensure our creatures connect.</p>
<p>Luckily, there's an Equipment (or loads of Equipment) for that. Probably the best option is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slagwurm Armor" href="#" target="_blank">Slagwurm Armor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, this card effectively gives your creature six extra power while not making it untargetable by the unblockable effects that we are running.</p>
<p>Similarly but with smaller numbers are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Accorder&#039;s Shield" href="#" target="_blank">Accorder&#039;s Shield</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cathar&#039;s Shield" href="#" target="_blank">Cathar&#039;s Shield</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which are free to cast and give +0/+3 with the downside of being expensive to equip, so you may want to consider something like an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Armory Automaton" href="#" target="_blank">Armory Automaton</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brass Squire" href="#" target="_blank">Brass Squire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to help.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slagwurm Armor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cathar&#039;s Shield"></div></div>
<p>We also have access to some creatures that are great at this by default. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dancing Scimitar" href="#" target="_blank">Dancing Scimitar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> becomes an unblockable 5/1 flier that can easily remove planeswalkers, or with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slagwurm Armor" href="#" target="_blank">Slagwurm Armor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can deal 11 damage to a player each time it attacks.</p>
<p>Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ensouled Scimitar" href="#" target="_blank">Ensouled Scimitar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can become a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dancing Scimitar" href="#" target="_blank">Dancing Scimitar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or give another creature the +1/+5 buff.</p>
<p>Equipping an Ensouled Scimitar to a Dancing Scimitar gives you an unblockable 2/10 that ends up dealing 10 damage while still remaining a legal target for any of your unblockable buffs.</p>
<p>We can also go a little larger on the scale with creatures like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Earth Servant" href="#" target="_blank">Earth Servant</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> who can deal huge amounts of damage thanks to being in a mono-red deck but trade off the ability to be unblockable for that raw power.</p>
<p>The <em>Modern Horizons 3 </em>Commander decks have also given us <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Inversion Behemoth" href="#" target="_blank">Inversion Behemoth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a back up to Mannichi's ability and a solid beater that can still be made unblockable with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Break Through the Line" href="#" target="_blank">Break Through the Line</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>One small benefit of this is that because it says "any number", you can pick and choose the creatures whose power and toughness you want to change at the beginning of combat. This means you'll never accidently punish yourself by forcing all of your own creatures to change before you make them unblockable.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ensouled Scimitar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Earth Servant"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Inversion Behemoth"></div></div>
<h2>I Just Think They're Neat</h2>
<p>As well as our hard hitters and our unblockable-enablers there are a lot of small interactions with Mannichi's ability that make a lot of cards you might never think of playing in Commander into real powerhouses.</p>
<p>One of the best ways to play Mannichi is with the wide array of weak power, higher toughness double striking creatures in the game. The way to balance double strike in Draft is to make the creature quite weak but with a reasonable toughness to survive combat. This makes Mannichi great by allowing you to swap the power and toughness around to make them deal a ton of damage.</p>
<p>Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Two-Headed Cerberus" href="#" target="_blank">Two-Headed Cerberus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raging Redcap" href="#" target="_blank">Raging Redcap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are suddenly viable but the best of the bunch is definitely <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Efreet Flamepainter" href="#" target="_blank">Efreet Flamepainter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a 4/1 after Mannichi's ability that also allows you to play instants and sorceries for free, an absolutely amazing card that probably doesn't get the love it deserves in a format for of 10 mana spells.</p>
<p>This strategy also makes one of my all-time favorite underrated cards, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prophetic Flamespeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Prophetic Flamespeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> playable as well. The big benefit of the Flamespeaker is access to trample, this means that if you are blocked you can still swap its power and toughness to try to get damage through to be able to trigger its effect.</p>
<p>This in conjunction with the first strike part of double strike means you can potentially kill an opponent's creature and trample over on both of the strikes giving you a swing on the board and in card advantage.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Raging Redcap"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Efreet Flamepainter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Prophetic Flamespeaker"></div></div>
<p>There are also some really powerful cards that can quickly win you the game, as long as you're willing to put some effort in. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ogre Menial" href="#" target="_blank">Ogre Menial</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is an incredibly powerful creature that with some of the Equipment I talked about above, can easily one-shot an opponent. The issue is ensuring you get its power above zero to ensure it doesn't die when you activate Mannichi.</p>
<p>I've already mentioned <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Efreet Flamepainter" href="#" target="_blank">Efreet Flamepainter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> above but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wildfire Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Wildfire Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dreadhorde Arcanist" href="#" target="_blank">Dreadhorde Arcanist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also work extremely well at getting instants and sorceries out of your hand for free.</p>
<p>Being able to make <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wildfire Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Wildfire Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> unblockable and then playing something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soulfire Eruption" href="#" target="_blank">Soulfire Eruption</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or even something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chandra&#039;s Ignition" href="#" target="_blank">Chandra&#039;s Ignition</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can quickly close out a game that's stalled.</p>
<p>Lastly is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer" href="#" target="_blank">Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for two mana Baeloth lets you goad everything that isn't a huge beater, giving you some instant speed protection from those pesky tempo decks that may be able to kill you before you can get set up.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ogre Menial"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wildfire Eternal"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer"></div></div>
<p>I've really enjoyed this nostalgic walk down memory lane, looking at some of the sweet new cards that are great with Mannichi as well as reminders of the old but gold ones from when I've brewed this deck in the past. I have loved writing this article so I hope you enjoy it just as much.</p>
<p>As with all <em>Technically Playable</em> articles, this was a very quick look at <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mannichi, the Fevered Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Mannichi, the Fevered Dream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a commander, and a few of the cards that can really make a deck with Mannichi as the commander tick.</p>
<p>Let me know in the comments below if you play <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mannichi, the Fevered Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Mannichi, the Fevered Dream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, if you want to build a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mannichi, the Fevered Dream" href="#" target="_blank">Mannichi, the Fevered Dream</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck, or even if you just enjoyed this article!</p>


Technically Playable - Mannichi, the Fevered Dream

Borderland Explorer – Kaima, the Fractured Calm

Recross the Paths - Building a Spirits Deck with Marneus Calgar

Archetune-Up - Spirited Away

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Spirit of the Night" href="#" target="_blank">Spirit of the Night</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Nielsen">Cliff Nielsen</a>)</h6>
<h1>Introduction</h1>
<p>We find ourselves in a transitory place. A place that marks the arrival, or the passing, of a great scholar or fabled ruler. This ephemeral land is heralded by the <em>qilin</em>, or Kirin. The Dragon Giraffe. They inhabit a duality of space, for the transmundane quickly descends back to grounded earth. For that brief auspicious hour that they do appear, they are arbiters of chiaroscuro perception - they are at once scaled in dazzling jewels, precious metals, and the fragments of stars - and modestly unadorned, armored by mud and the austere bells of mountain ascetics.</p>
<p>They are fearsome and exactingly just. They see guilt or innocence, good or evil, but not the humanity between.</p>
<p>Perfect for a <em>Dual Shot</em>.</p>
<p>And welcome to this latest experiment, where we brew two decks at the same time... in one deck. Our Kirin commander today is not quite as auspicious as the myths would hold - this one has been twisted, its voice of bells now detuned. Our deck-within-a-deck is led by <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Kirin" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Kirin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and it would have us play a proper divergence.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Infernal Kirin"></div></div>
<hr />
<h1>Any Color You Want... So Long as it's Black</h1>
<p>All of the <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&amp;order=name&amp;q=%28type%3Alegendary+type%3Akirin%29">Kirin Legends</a> want us doing multiple things. Most immediately in that manner particular (and parasitic) to Kamigawa, whereby Spirit and Arcane are lumped together. But then they each do something else. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bounteous Kirin" href="#" target="_blank">Bounteous Kirin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gains you life, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudhoof Kirin" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudhoof Kirin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> mills. So firstly, you have the instances of overlap between <a href="https://edhrec.com/tribes/spirits">Spirit</a> creatures and Arcane spells.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Devouring Greed"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skullmane Baku"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kami of the Waning Moon"></div></div>
<p>Effects like <em>Splice</em> and <em>Soulshift</em> are very clearly predicated on this. But each Kirin allows us to go beyond this encouraged combination of subtypes. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Kirin" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Kirin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> wants us to play <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/discard">discard</a>, and to that end, there are bridges to be seen through the mist.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kemuri-Onna"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="He Who Hungers"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Banshee of the Dread Choir"></div></div>
<p>As our commander's discard effect is quite specific, and targeted, it's not advisable to rely on that channel for hand hate, and indeed, one might consider utilizing the abilities of this Kirin - or any of its peers - in an incidental capacity. So although we're running several discard effects as Arcane sorceries or Spirit creature abilities, our discard payoffs are minimal. We look to prioritize our winning strategy through mass mana generation into something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exsanguinate" href="#" target="_blank">Exsanguinate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and by generating a wide board state full of Spirits to sink into <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Devouring Greed" href="#" target="_blank">Devouring Greed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. All the while nattering away at our opponents' longevity with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thief of Hope" href="#" target="_blank">Thief of Hope</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or heavier guilts like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Choice of Damnations" href="#" target="_blank">Choice of Damnations</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and the black classic <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gray Merchant of Asphodel" href="#" target="_blank">Gray Merchant of Asphodel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Dragon Giraffe" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Infernal Kirin
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Kami of the Waning Moon
*1 Kyoki, Sanity&#039;s Eclipse
*1 Kemuri-Onna
*1 Skullmane Baku
*1 Thief of Hope
*1 He Who Hungers
*1 Balthor the Defiled
*1 Iname, Death Aspect
*1 Akuta, Born of Ash
*1 Spirit of the Night
*1 Banshee of the Dread Choir
*1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
*1 Ghost-Lit Stalker
*1 Crypt Ghast
*1 Graveborn Muse
*1 Hypnotic Specter
*1 Tergrid, God of Fright
*1 Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
*1 Orzhov Racketeers
*1 Orzhov Enforcer
*1 Pitiless Plunderer
*1 God-Eternal Bontu
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Charcoal Diamond
*1 Sundial of the Infinite
*1 Baku Altar
*1 Maskwood Nexus
*1 Nihil Spellbomb
[/Artifacts]
[Instants]
*1 Dark Ritual
*1 Cabal Ritual
*1 Goryo&#039;s Vengeance
*1 Horobi&#039;s Whisper
*1 Soulless Revival
*1 Hideous Laughter
*1 Broken Visage
*1 Songs of the Damned
*1 Seize the Soul
*1 Call for Blood
*1 Sickening Shoal
*1 Soul Shatter
*1 Price of Fame
*1 Doom Blade
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Devouring Greed
*1 Choice of Damnations
*1 Cranial Extraction
*1 Footsteps of the Goryo
*1 Swallowing Plague
*1 Sink into Takenuma
*1 Waking Nightmare
*1 Three Tragedies
*1 Kindred Dominance
*1 Languish
*1 Feed the Swarm
*1 Exsanguinate
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Black Market
*1 Dawn of the Dead
*1 Raiders&#039; Wake
*1 Bastion of Remembrance
*1 The Eldest Reborn
*1 Underworld Connections
[/Enchantments]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage
*1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
[/Planeswalkers]
[Lands]
*1 Hagra Mauling
*1 Pelakka Predation
*25 Swamp
*1 Everglades
*1 Crypt of Agadeem
*1 Barren Moor
*1 Bottomless Vault
*1 Shizo, Death&#039;s Storehouse
*1 Rogue&#039;s Passage
*1 Field of Ruin
*1 Bojuka Bog
*1 Castle Locthwain
*1 Cabal Stronghold
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<hr />
<h1>Transitory Lands</h1>
<p>Ah, speaking of lands, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crypt of Agadeem" href="#" target="_blank">Crypt of Agadeem</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is one part of a powerful and elaborate win condition for us. Elsewise, the lands in this list provide pretty typical utility and, uh, black mana, but together with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Songs of the Damned" href="#" target="_blank">Songs of the Damned</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Crypt of Agadeem" href="#" target="_blank">Crypt of Agadeem</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can do some pretty vile things with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iname, Death Aspect" href="#" target="_blank">Iname, Death Aspect</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We can fuel <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Exsanguinate" href="#" target="_blank">Exsanguinate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Swallowing Plague" href="#" target="_blank">Swallowing Plague</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> if we need to deal with something, or we can pivot into something more traditionally aggressive with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Balthor the Defiled" href="#" target="_blank">Balthor the Defiled</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, with the hopes of creating a greatly asymmetrical board state in our favor. At a smaller scale, you can churn the dead souls of the past with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goryo&#039;s Vengeance" href="#" target="_blank">Goryo&#039;s Vengeance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dawn of the Dead" href="#" target="_blank">Dawn of the Dead</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, playing with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sundial of the Infinite" href="#" target="_blank">Sundial of the Infinite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to cheat impermanence.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Crypt of Agadeem"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Kirin" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Kirin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does a good job of performing hand hate and disrupting combos, but we're not really trying to win with discard - instead, our general tends to glide more along the lines of interruption. Also, for one added boon, shout-out to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrgBD_tuz9f7qIiooB8LVLQ/featured">EDH Deckbuilding</a> for the Iname + Maskwood <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES6kHlqPEmU">idea</a>, which ricocheted into our Rogues and Specters and Gods becoming Spirits, pleasing our Kirin, and enabling Balthor to pump our whole board, since with Maskwood, everything is a Minion!</p>
<p>Even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will be a Minion! Skittles is as robust an alternate win condition as ever, but everyone's favorite Dragon Skeleton costs half as much as THPS1+2 for the PS4 (or costs as much as half a copy, if you're in the market for something like THPS1+2-2).</p>
<p>I, uh... look, if you want to replace it, start by bolstering the discard strategy with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liliana&#039;s Caress" href="#" target="_blank">Liliana&#039;s Caress</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or if you want to replace <em>that</em>, then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Megrim" href="#" target="_blank">Megrim</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Megrim"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Painful Quandary"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tinybones, Trinket Thief"></div></div>
<p>You can go pretty nuts with upgrading the discard side of the deck, with big movers like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Waste Not" href="#" target="_blank">Waste Not</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Painful Quandary" href="#" target="_blank">Painful Quandary</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but then you run the risk of just streamlining, leaning hard into optimization, and turning into a Tinybones deck, and we wouldn't want that. <em>(Wait, wouldn't we?)</em></p>
<hr />
<h1>Conclusion</h1>
<p>That's it for this experiment. Finding cards that act as powerful bridges between themes is integral when trying to do everything a busy commander might have you doing. You can easily (and perhaps responsibly) pilot <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alela, Artful Provocateur" href="#" target="_blank">Alela, Artful Provocateur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a flying tribal or Faerie tribal commander, and rely on her <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/dual-shot-true-duality/">other abilities</a> for incidental value - you were going to run <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Banishing Light" href="#" target="_blank">Banishing Light</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <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> anyway, right? But finding cards that ford those rivers allows room for interesting, undiscovered synergies - not to mention added elegance and enjoyment of the game.</p>
<p>Here, cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baku Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Baku Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kemuri-Onna" href="#" target="_blank">Kemuri-Onna</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> proved to be capable unifiers, where <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Akuta, Born of Ash" href="#" target="_blank">Akuta, Born of Ash</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> seems an obvious first cut. And the interplay between <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iname, Death Aspect" href="#" target="_blank">Iname, Death Aspect</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Maskwood Nexus" href="#" target="_blank">Maskwood Nexus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows us to get a lot stranger with this list. Just keep in mind that <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Infernal Kirin" href="#" target="_blank">Infernal Kirin</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> rewards a variety of converted mana costs (or, mana values). What unexpected synergies have you gleaned from pseudotribal commanders like the Kirin? What about from abilities generally considered to be parasitic, like <em>Splice</em>? Let us know in the comments! Til next time.</p>


spirit

Technically Playable - Mannichi, the Fevered Dream

Borderland Explorer – Kaima, the Fractured Calm

Recross the Paths - Building a Spirits Deck with Marneus Calgar

Archetune-Up - Spirited Away

Dual Shot - The Dragon Giraffe