<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neriv, Crackling Vanguard" href="#" target="_blank">Neriv, Crackling Vanguard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.lucasgraciano.com/">Lucas Graciano</a></h6>
<p>If you’re one of the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/mardu-surge-precon-guide-tarkir-dragonstorm">countless people who picked up the new Mardu precon</a> for <em>Tarkir: Dragonstorm</em>, you probably got pulled towards running <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zurgo Stormrender" href="#" target="_blank">Zurgo Stormrender</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as your commander.</p>
<p>His mix of life drain, while drawing cards is a hard combo to pass up. However, today I will be shining a spotlight on the other legend in the box: Neriv, Crackling Vanguard, one of the new Spirit Dragons!</p>
<p>Neriv’s synergy with unique tokens is a deckbuilding challenge that a lot of <em>Magic</em> players will likely gravitate towards. The precon does a nice job with making tokens with a wide array of names, but I wanted to take that theme to the next level by highlighting a few mechanics and budget singles that will only amplify that plan.</p>
<p>Whether you’re building from the ground up or adding some cards to the deck off the shelf, this list will help you along the way! My name is Tyler ‘Savesya’ Bucks, and here are fourteen cards under $14 to help you build around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neriv, Crackling Vanguard" href="#" target="_blank">Neriv, Crackling Vanguard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">The Commander - Neriv, Crackling Vanguard</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Neriv, Crackling Vanguard"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neriv, Crackling Vanguard" href="#" target="_blank">Neriv, Crackling Vanguard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> loves nothing more than variety. As proof of that, whenever your commander attacks, you’re going to exile a card for each uniquely named token you control. With that in mind, I found plenty of synergistic cards that make very specific tokens, all to appease the mighty Neriv.</p>
<p>So, because this deck will be filled with many one-off tokens, you might want to pick yourself up a fresh pack of <a href="http://www.infinitokens.com">InfiniTokens</a> (not a sponsor of this article, just a really good product to have on hand for this kind of build.)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Toby, Beastie Befriender</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Toby, Beastie Befriender"></div></div>
<p>Starting off our list, we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toby, Beastie Befriender" href="#" target="_blank">Toby, Beastie Befriender</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This card is an example of something that benefits your deck in two different ways. First, it helps give your board evasion if you have four or more tokens, which is great for closing out games.</p>
<p>Second, it does something that this deck will really take advantage of by being one of the only cards in these colors that can create a beast token. I can just imagine the excited look on Neriv's face when he sees that beastie on the board as he attacks!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Lagomos, Hand of Hatred</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lagomos, Hand of Hatred"></div></div>
<p>Our next card, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lagomos, Hand of Hatred" href="#" target="_blank">Lagomos, Hand of Hatred</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, ensures that you always have a new token at the start of each of your combats. Making a hasty Elemental each turn will be very helpful with triggering your commander, but its second ability is great in this type of deck as well.</p>
<p>Since you will most likely be swinging all out with your board, it’s inevitable that a lot of creatures won’t survive combat, making that tutor effect all the more possible.</p>
<p>Plus, even if five creatures don’t die when you attack, sacrificing that Elemental along with any of the Warrior tokens you make with the new <em>‘</em>mobilize’ mechanic will be sure to get you there.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Iraxxa, Empress of Mars</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Iraxxa, Empress of Mars"></div></div>
<p>A great way to capitalize off of casting so many spells from exile in this deck is with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Iraxxa, Empress of Mars" href="#" target="_blank">Iraxxa, Empress of Mars</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a lesser-known legend from the <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/who">Doctor Who</a> </em>set. Playing this creature on a turn where you’ll be casting a whole bunch of cards from exile will help amplify your board presence, especially since those Alien Warrior tokens are unique only to Iraxxa.</p>
<p>Plus, during combat, that battle cry ability will give a power buff to your creatures, making it even harder for your opponents to decide on blocks.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Elturel Survivors</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elturel Survivors"></div></div>
<p>Myriad is already powerful; in this deck, however, it can be taken to the next level. When you attack with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Elturel Survivors" href="#" target="_blank">Elturel Survivors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, you’ll make a copy of it attacking each of your other opponents, which your commander will see as a token with a new name and exile a card for you to play.</p>
<p>On top of that value, this is just a great creature in the deck, making some really big trampling bodies to pressure your opponents' life totals,; especially that one player who somehow always ends up having seventeen lands on the board…</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">The Jolly Balloon Man</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="The Jolly Balloon Man"></div></div>
<p>I hope you're not afraid of clowns, because <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="The Jolly Balloon Man" href="#" target="_blank">The Jolly Balloon Man</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> helps this deck on its quest to make as many one-off tokens as possible, by creating balloon copies of your creatures.</p>
<p>Say you have a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Beetleback Chief" href="#" target="_blank">Beetleback Chief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> on the battlefield (which comes in the <em><a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/mardu-surge-precon-guide-tarkir-dragonstorm">Mardu Precon</a></em>); you can have the Balloon Man make a 1/1 flying token copy of it. Neriv will then see that as a token with a new name once you move to combat, all while you get to reuse that ETB effect, and hit someone in the face with a goblin shaped balloon! Sounds like a good time, right?</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon"></div></div>
<p>Now believe it or not, Gnome tokens can be made by a few different cards, but none do it better than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon" href="#" target="_blank">Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. In this deck, if this card goes unchecked, each combat will be more impactful than the last.</p>
<p>Hitting your foes over and over again with a growing army of Gnomes is a great enough gameplan, but the fact that you have a way to repeatedly make unorthodox tokens will ensure you’re consistently exiling at least one card with your commander when you attack.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Quintorius Kand</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Quintorius Kand"></div></div>
<p>The planeswalker <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Quintorius Kand" href="#" target="_blank">Quintorius Kand</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great example of a card that helps you at several different points in the game. Its static ability of shocking the table and gaining you some life when you cast spells from exile will help pad your life total while you push forward a very aggressive gameplan.</p>
<p>The first plus ability making a 3/2 Spirit can give you some benefits if you don’t already have a Spirit on the board. Even its two minus abilities can help the deck, either discovering into something impactful or using its ultimate and recurring some spells, plus gaining a whole bunch of mana to cast them!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Darkstar Augur</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Darkstar Augur"></div></div>
<p>Flying in from <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/blb"><em>Bloomburrow</em></a>, we have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darkstar Augur" href="#" target="_blank">Darkstar Augur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, bringing card draw and offspring along with it! When you cast the Augur you have the option to pay a mana to get a token copy of it, which again works very well with your commander.</p>
<p>However, even though Neriv’s ability is a form of ‘card draw’, you could get stuck in a spot where you can’t get any good attacks in and those cards stay in exile, and you don’t want to be caught in that position, so adding additional ways to gain some card advantage along the way will be very important.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Space Marine Devastator</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Space Marine Devastator"></div></div>
<p>A mechanic very similar to offspring is squad, showcased here on <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Space Marine Devastator" href="#" target="_blank">Space Marine Devastator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. When it comes to squad, you can pay its cost as many times as you would like, which turns this into a partial board wipe if you have the resources for it.</p>
<p>Of course, by the end of it, you’ll have a unique token to go with your gameplan, all while messing with your opponents' boards. That type of crossover will assist your deck with not feeling too one-note, and a dynamic deck is always more enjoyable to play!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Curse of Opulence</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curse of Opulence"></div></div>
<p>A card I was surprised didn’t show up in the Mardu precon was <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of Opulence" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of Opulence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (it did however appear in the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/jeskai-striker-precon-guide-tarkir-dragonstorm"><em>Jeskai</em> deck</a>). Neriv doesn’t just love looking at different types of <em>creature</em> tokens but instead marvels at any token you can create! So, in a deck where you’ll be constantly pushing into the red zone, having a cheap way to gain some mana back will help your engine to continue forward.</p>
<p>Also, since <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of Opulence" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of Opulence</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes a Gold token, you can still have all the Treasure-makers you want, and you’ll still be triggering your commander often.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">We Ride at Dawn</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="We Ride at Dawn"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of helping with mana, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="We Ride at Dawn" href="#" target="_blank">We Ride at Dawn</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> offers a powerful twist to this list. It gives all those creature tokens you’re making a way to assist with casting not just your commander but every other powerful legend in your deck. Not only does it add convoke to your utility belt, but it also makes you a mercenary token whenever your commander attacks, which is this deck’s whole thing.</p>
<p>I can see a nice play pattern where you make a whole board of tokens, tap them for a few big creatures, and move to close out the game as soon as you can.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Not Dead After All</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Not Dead After All"></div></div>
<p>If you can’t tell, this deck is very reliant on its commander, which will make it a big target for removal. <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> only costing a single mana, and bringing your most important piece back from the dead is great, but it also has another layer which helps your deck!</p>
<p>Your creature will come back with a Wicked Role attached to it, which will be yet another unique token to add to your list. Protection, on top of adding to your gameplan, this card fits perfectly into your dastardly plans…</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Caesar, Legion's Emperor</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Caesar, Legion&#039;s Emperor"></div></div>
<p>A commander we got last year in these colors that happens to enjoy tokens as well is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Caesar, Legion&#039;s Emperor" href="#" target="_blank">Caesar, Legion&#039;s Emperor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Adding this card to a token deck brings a lot of necessary toolbox affects you might need. It can give you tokens, card draw, and even removal when you need it the most, just at the cost of one of your creatures.</p>
<p>Caesar also fits nicely into your curve, since you can cast him the turn before your commander and start setting the groundwork for your explosive endgame.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Neyali, Suns' Vanguard</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Neyali, Suns&#039; Vanguard"></div></div>
<p>Finally, we have a card that fits perfectly into this strategy, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neyali, Suns&#039; Vanguard" href="#" target="_blank">Neyali, Suns&#039; Vanguard</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Giving your board full of one-of-a-kind tokens double strike is enough of a reason for it to be here, but there’s more! Neyali also lets you exile cards from the top of your library, with the condition that you can only cast them on a turn you’ve attacked with a token.</p>
<p>Luckily, in this deck, that won’t be a problem. Just be sure not to mix up your exile piles, and prolong the game trying to figure out who exiled what… That will only give your opponents more reasons to dislike this deck.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">In Closing</h2>
<p>Well, there you have it, fourteen cards under $14 to help you upgrade that Mardu precon, or to start a build from the ground up. Neriv is such an interesting take on a token deck, and putting this list together was a whole lot of fun.</p>
<p><a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/12391401/neriv_crackling_vanguard_pillow_fortteen">If you want to see the cards I considered for this deck, check out my Archidekt list</a> for it right here. Let me know in the comments what cards you would add to this list, I would love to see even more ways to make wild tokens!</p>


14 Budget Cards Under $14 for Neriv, Crackling Vanguard

Archetypes of Imagination - Making a Card Draw Deck

Borderland Explorer – Soundwave, Sonic Spy

Brew For Your Buck - Felisa Budget Deck Tech

Under the Radar - Deekah, Fractal Theorist

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jenny Flint" href="#" target="_blank">Jenny Flint</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | art by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/vetyyr/?hl=en">Syd Mills</a></h6>
<p>Welcome back to <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>! This is a series where we pick a theme from EDHREC and look at the “bottom of the barrel.” This means that we look at the least played color-combination and pick a commander in those colors to brew a spicy new deck around!</p>
<p>It’s likely that this commander has not been considered for this theme before, and that’s the point! This allows us to play around with themes that we enjoy while keeping our decks unique and interesting.</p>
<p>Our theme for today's edition is: lifegain. This theme is very common in Selesnya and Orzhov colors (green and white; black and white, respectively), but today we're going to try something new.</p>
<p>According to EDHREC, the least played color combination for the "lifegain" theme is Temur (Green, Red, and Blue), so that's where we'll start. Looking at our options, I ultimately settled on an underrated Doctor Who partner pair: Jenny Flint and Madame Vastra.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jenny Flint"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Madame Vastra"></div></div>
<p>At first glance, this doesn't look like a "lifegain" commander, but Madame Vastra's ability to create Food tokens shouldn't be understated, and Jenny Flint's ability to pump up her partner is just a sweet bonus.</p>
<p>Madame Vastra's Food generation will be our primary source of lifegain from the command zone, but we have plenty of spicy includes for the 99 to ensure our life total remains high while crushing our opponents.</p>
<h2>Category #1: Ways to Gain Life</h2>
<p>Having access to green allows us to play well-known cards like Essence Warden, Courser of Kruphix, and Elder Gargaroth, but we also have the ability to include cards that are seldom seen in commander in 2024.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Essence Warden"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Courser of Kruphix"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elder Gargaroth"></div></div>
<p>Cards like: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Horizon Chimera" href="#" target="_blank">Horizon Chimera</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> benefits us from drawing cards; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lifeblood Hydra" href="#" target="_blank">Lifeblood Hydra</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> gives us a huge beater that can turn into lifegain and card advantage later on; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Candy Trail" href="#" target="_blank">Candy Trail</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allows us to set up our draws in the early turns while providing a way to draw a card later; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scavenged Brawler" href="#" target="_blank">Scavenged Brawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great attacking threat that can distribute its abilities from the graveyard; and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sproutback Trudge" href="#" target="_blank">Sproutback Trudge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a huge threat that we can cast over and over again.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Horizon Chimera"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lifeblood Hydra"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Candy Trail"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scavenged Brawler"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sproutback Trudge"></div></div>
<h2>Category #2: Benefitting From Lifegain</h2>
<p>The most obvious lifegain payoff comes in the form of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and while that is included in this deck, there are a few other cards that are much more interesting. For example, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Trudge Garden" href="#" target="_blank">Trudge Garden</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can turn our lifegain into 4/4 trampling beasts; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assemble the Entmoot" href="#" target="_blank">Assemble the Entmoot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can create 3 huge treefolk; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fortifying Draught" href="#" target="_blank">Fortifying Draught</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> could potentially knock out an opponent out of nowhere; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Azor&#039;s Gateway" href="#" target="_blank">Azor&#039;s Gateway</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can generate TONS of mana; and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marina Vendrell&#039;s Grimoire" href="#" target="_blank">Marina Vendrell&#039;s Grimoire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> acts as a "We Have Lich's Mastery At Home", drawing us cards for the amount of life we gain.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aetherflux Reservoir"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Trudge Garden"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Assemble the Entmoot"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fortifying Draught"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Azor&#039;s Gateway"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Marina Vendrell&#039;s Grimoire"></div></div>
<h2>Category #3: Finishers</h2>
<p>While <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a great finisher in this deck, my personal favorite way to close out a game is with Blossoming Bogbeast.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blossoming Bogbeast"></div></div>
<p>This deck also includes a spicy lifegain-centric combo: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sporeweb Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Sporeweb Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> plus <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blazing Sunsteel" href="#" target="_blank">Blazing Sunsteel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Outside of being a combo piece, Sporeweb Weaver is an amazing blocker that creates a saproling when its dealt damage, but with Blazing Sunsteel you can choose to deal damage to <em>any target.</em></p>
<p>This means we can target the Sporeweb Weaver, and if it's equipped with the Blazing Sunsteel, we rinse and repeat the process. Deal a damage to the Sporeweb Weaver, gain a life and create a saproling, deal another damage to the Sporeweb Weaver, etc.</p>
<p>The important thing to note with this combo: <em>it is not infinite unless Sporeweb Weaver has indestructible! </em></p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sporeweb Weaver"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blazing Sunsteel"></div></div>
<h2>Category #4: Our First Secret Spice = A Secret Commander?</h2>
<p>As always, we have some "secret spice" for this deck, but today's "secret spice" acts a "secret commander" of sorts. Allow me to introduce you to Soulgorger Orgg.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soulgorger Orgg"></div></div>
<p>This card seems strange, right? Losing all but 1 life seems extremely risky, but that's what makes it fun! This card allows us to repeatedly gain a ridiculous amount of life, all while providing a sneaky way to win.</p>
<p>We can get the Orgg's "leave the battlefield "trigger in two ways:</p>
<ol>
<li>Bouncing it to our hand with Temur Sabertooth.</li>
<li>Sacrificing it with cards like Greater Good or Momentous Fall, and then recurring it with cards like Resurrection Orb or Mimic Vat.</li>
</ol>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Temur Sabertooth"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Greater Good"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Momentous Fall"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Resurrection Orb"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mimic Vat"></div></div>
<p>While this might sound cool, we aren't <em>only</em> looking at the Orgg's ability to gain us life. When we're at 1 life, we can pull off some really sneaky things. Things like: swapping life totals with Soul Conduit or doubling our card draw and lifegain with Phial of Galadriel.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Soul Conduit"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phial of Galadriel"></div></div>
<h2>Category #5: Our Second Secret Spice = Coin Flips?</h2>
<p>Our second "secret spice" for this deck exists in the form of a game: a Game of Chaos. This card is a little ridiculous, especially considering that if you lose a flip your "game" is over, but if you can win a few flips in a row, this could be the most efficient lifegain spell in the entire deck.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Game of Chaos"></div></div>
<p>Even though this is isn't super reliable, it will definitely create some memories at the table.</p>
<p>This brings us to the end of our second edition of <em>Bottom of the Barrel</em>! I hope you enjoyed exploring a lesser-played color-combination in the world of lifegain, and hope you’ll take my ideas to brew your own craziness in the world of Temur lifegain!</p>
<p>Check out my decklist below!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Bottom of the Barrel #2 - Jenny Flint and Madame Vastra" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Jenny Flint
*1 Madame Vastra
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Accomplished Alchemist
*1 Blossoming Bogbeast
*1 Courser of Kruphix
*1 Disciple of Freyalise // Garden of Freyalise
*1 Elder Gargaroth
*1 Essence Warden
*1 Forgotten Ancient
*1 Horizon Chimera
*1 Hydroelectric Specimen // Hydroelectric Laboratory
*1 Hydroid Krasis
*1 Lifeblood Hydra
*1 Prize Pig
*1 Prosperous Innkeeper
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Scavenged Brawler
*1 Soulgorger Orgg
*1 Sporeweb Weaver
*1 Sproutback Trudge
*1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
*1 Temur Sabertooth
*1 Uro, Titan of Nature&#039;s Wrath
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Blunt the Assault
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Fortifying Draught
*1 Momentous Fall
*1 Nature&#039;s Claim
*1 Pulse of Murasa
*1 Sheltering Word
*1 Worldly Tutor
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Aetherflux Reservoir
*1 Ancient Cornucopia
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Azor&#039;s Gateway // Sanctum of the Sun
*1 Basilisk Collar
*1 Blazing Sunsteel
*1 Candy Trail
*1 Cosmos Elixir
*1 Elixir of Immortality
*1 Loxodon Warhammer
*1 Marina Vendrell&#039;s Grimoire
*1 Mimic Vat
*1 Phial of Galadriel
*1 Resurrection Orb
*1 Shadowspear
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Soul Conduit
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary
*1 Cultivate
*1 Fabricate
*1 Farseek
*1 Game of Chaos
*1 Healing Technique
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Pest Infestation
*1 Primal Command
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Scale the Heights
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Assemble the Entmoot
*1 Azusa&#039;s Many Journeys // Likeness of the Seeker
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Greater Good
*1 Trudge Garden
*1 Well Rested
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Alchemist&#039;s Refuge
*1 Brokers Hideout
*1 Cabaretti Courtyard
*1 Command Tower
*1 Demolition Field
*1 Emergence Zone
*10 Forest
*1 Frontier Bivouac
*1 High Market
*4 Island
*1 Kessig Wolf Run
*1 Littjara Mirrorlake
*1 Miren, the Moaning Well
*4 Mountain
*1 Rugged Highlands
*1 Spire Garden
*1 Swiftwater Cliffs
*1 Thornwood Falls
*1 Training Center
*1 Witch&#039;s Clinic
[/Lands]"></span></div>




Bottom of the Barrel - Jenny Flint and Madame Vastra

How to Build a Treasure Deck in EDH

<p style="padding-left: 120px;"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://player.twitch.tv/?video=2252153328&amp;parent=edhrec.com" width="620" height="378" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start">﻿</span></iframe></p>
<h1></h1>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Codie's Big Pile of Tokens</h1>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Codie, Vociferous Codex" href="#" target="_blank">Codie, Vociferous Codex</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/9223204/codies_big_pile_of_tokens">Archidekt Link</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Welcome back to another deck tech from this week's episode of <del>The Sunday Stream</del> Communal Brewing! Yes, you read that correctly. After using a generic working title of "The Sunday Stream" for the last year or so, we decided to finally give this series a name, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Communal Brewing" href="#" target="_blank">Communal Brewing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was mentioned by multiple people in the chat.</p>
<p>After some brief deliberation, we felt like it was a perfect name for the show since we commonly take lots of suggestions from the chat throughout the deck-building process.</p>
<p>Another exciting part of this episode is a guest appearance from EDHRECast member Dana Roach, who stopped by to help us build around this challenging commander.</p>
<p>And hoo boy, is Codie ever a challenging commander to build around. Codie is a five color commander, which obviously gives us access to every card in Commander, and has an activated ability that essentially functions as <em>cascade</em>, which is neat.</p>
<p>However, the first line of text on Codie is what makes it such a challenge to build around.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><em>You can't cast permanent spells.</em></strong></p></blockquote>
<p>Not being able to cast any permanent spells, even one you Codiescade into, is a massive obstacle to taking the most advantage of Codie, at least as it pertains to the typical flow of a commander deck.</p>
<p>So what exactly do we want to do with Codie?</p>
<p>If you watch the VOD posted above, you'll notice that we had a significant amount of trouble figuring this out ourselves. <a href="https://edhrec.com/commanders/codie-vociferous-codex">Codie's EDHREC page</a> contains the usual suspects we see with commanders that allow us to cast stuff for free, like "Spellslinger" and "Big Mana." But the third-most popular archetype is....lands?</p>
<p>And the fifth-most popular archetype is sacrifice? Apparently lots of people are having trouble figuring out what to do with Codie.</p>
<p>Our first idea was to do some stuff with copying creatures. Then we pivoted to the idea of a burn theme, using Codie's ability to Codiescade into multiple mass burn spells in the same turn, then reflecting that damage with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boros Reckoner" href="#" target="_blank">Boros Reckoner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brash Taunter" href="#" target="_blank">Brash Taunter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>After a relative lack of enthusiasm from the group about this strategy, we eventually got an idea from chat to build this deck backwards.</p>
<p>Instead of limiting the number of permanents in the deck and trying to get Codie out as soon as possible to cast a wide variety of instants and sorceries, we could make Codie's activated ability as efficient as possible by playing a small number of instants and sorceries and making sure that we can hit the <em>exact </em>spells we want to hit exactly when we want to hit them.</p>
<p>So what's the best way to approach that?</p>
<p>Dana suggested the idea of using Codie to cast multiple <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Overrun" href="#" target="_blank">Overrun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects in the same turn, and use those to transform a board full of tokens into a full-on alpha strike to win the game.</p>
<p>So what's the best way to create a wide board state as quickly as possible so we can set up our win?</p>
<p>We decided to take inspiration from our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds" href="#" target="_blank">Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck that we built back in April, which is a powerful token creation deck. I personally own that exactly Ghired deck, and can attest to its effectiveness in building big board states quickly.</p>
<p>Finally, we have our strategy. Codie is going to masquerade as a Naya tokens deck until we can play our commander and Codiescade directly into our win condition.</p>
<p>I'm not going to through every piece of our Naya tokens package, but you can check out the deck we're pulling from <a href="https://archidekt.com/decks/7364703/ghired_mirror_of_the_wilds">right here</a>.</p>
<p>Let's go over the cards that are unique to our Codie deck and are central to the win condition of the deck.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Haste Enablers</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Anger"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fervor"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rising of the Day"></div></div>
<p>Since we're planning to wait to cast Codie until the very end of the game when we're ready to send our alpha strike, having a way to give Codie haste will make it much easier to pull off our strategy instead of having to wait entire turn where Codie will be vulnerable to removal.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei" href="#" target="_blank">Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is cheap to cast, and has a one-mana ability to give all creatures haste until end of turn, which is a very low price to pay.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anger" href="#" target="_blank">Anger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a classic piece of any deck looking to gain haste. While we don't have a great way to manually send this to the graveyard via discard, we should still be able to play it and have it destroyed in combat fairly easily.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fervor" href="#" target="_blank">Fervor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another classic way to grant haste to your battlefield.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rising of the Day" href="#" target="_blank">Rising of the Day</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is simply a strictly better Fervor. No need to reinvent the wheel.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Card Draw</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mentor of the Meek"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Symmetry Matrix"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Welcoming Vampire"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jeskai Ascendancy"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mentor of the Meek" href="#" target="_blank">Mentor of the Meek</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Symmetry Matrix" href="#" target="_blank">Symmetry Matrix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are both efficient card draw enchantments that will trigger regularly as we assemble our token army.</p>
<p>While it only triggers once per turn, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Welcoming Vampire" href="#" target="_blank">Welcoming Vampire</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another creature that will keep us drawing cards as we create tokens.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jeskai Ascendancy" href="#" target="_blank">Jeskai Ascendancy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a <em>very</em> powerful draw engine. While it typically finds a home in spellslinger decks that can cast a handful of noncreature spells in a single turn and essentially draw a whole new grip of cards.</p>
<p>However, between our artifacts and enchantments, we have 23 possible triggers for Jeskai Ascendancy without counting our Overrun sorceries.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>The Overruns</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overwhelming Encounter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Overwhelming Stampede"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Titanic Ultimatum"></div></div>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tromp the Domains"></div></div>
<p>All four of these cards essentially amount to "Until end of turn, all of your creatures get +X/+X and trample until end of turn" with some other extra payoff bonus.</p>
<p>Ideally, we are going to be casting either <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Titanic Ultimatum" href="#" target="_blank">Titanic Ultimatum</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tromp the Domains" href="#" target="_blank">Tromp the Domains</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Conflux" href="#" target="_blank">Conflux</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> with our commander's activated ability, allowing us to automatically Codiescade into a second Overrun spell, producing a massive board state of gigantic tokens that you can swing to victory.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Closing Summary</h3>
<p>Despite the deck's fairly simple and straightforward gameplan at the end, building this deck was no simple task. It's very easy to get distracted by interesting interactions and lose focus on what you want the deck to do, leading to a messy final product that doesn't work well.</p>
<p>Turning Codie into any sort of a high-power deck is a very tall task, but our streamlined focus on building a huge board with a Naya tokens strategy and finishing with stacked Overrun effects via Codie's ability should make this an effective deck that can hang at a medium power table with ease.</p>


tokens