Conditions Allow - Kiyomaro, First to Stand

Rolebuilding - Identity Thief

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/lukacs/">Chuck Lukacs</a>)</h6>
<h1>Prologue</h1>
Hello, and welcome to another installment of Lore Seeker, an article series devoted to the legendary creatures to whom Wizards of the Coast forgot to give a story. I’ll guide you through each aspect that makes up a legendary creature and finally give them a little extra background attention. This time around I’ll be highlighting <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polukranos, Unchained" href="#" target="_blank">Polukranos, Unchained</a>.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Polukranos, Unchained"></div></div>
<hr />
<h1>Story Circle</h1>
Polukranos, known as the World Eater, fell to Theros from its celestial lair during the battle between Purphoros and Heliod, where he was quickly sealed under the Nessian Forest. Elspeth was tasked by Heliod to defeat the Hydra, who had recently escaped its stasis and was ravaging the land. Polukranos was defeated and, in death, was locked away in the Underworld. As we see in his recent depiction, however, Polukranos is back, freed from his chains and angrier than ever.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Heliod, God of the Sun"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Elspeth, Sun&#039;s Champion"></div></div>
<hr />
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Card Analysis</h1>
<hr />
<h2>Name:</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosName.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-45677 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosName.jpg" alt="" width="289" height="65" /></a>
Polukranos loosely translates from Greek to "many heads." More accurately, it means "many helmets," but I think we know what Wizards was going for. An apt name for a Hydra, and a good direction to go for the deck, but more on that later.
Chains seem to be a large trope in Theros Beyond Death. Looking through the creatures, specifically those with Escape, the majority have some element of chains hanging from them. The imagery of chains, especially in conjunction with their attachment to manacles, gives the underworld a much stronger prison feel than it previously had in my mind.
<hr />
<h2>Mana Cost//Color Identity:</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosCost.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-45676 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosCost.jpg" alt="" width="87" height="58" /></a>
Black: Amorality and pragmatism; no waste, no qualms, and no feelings.
Green: Survival of the fittest, pure and simple. What lives will die.
Golgari (green/black): The colors of the graveyard, rot, and necromancy. As we explored in <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/lore-seeker-creepy-kraul-y/">my last article</a>, the Golgari are interested in recycling. Specifically, the Golgari necromancers make use of the dead, bringing back others to do their bidding for them. In the case of Polukranos, he is his own necromantic master.
I initially wanted to avoid doing creatures of the same color identity back-to-back in this series, but I made an exception because this black-green deck is going to use the graveyard in a very different way than the previous installment. In order to fuel our commander, this is a self-mill deck, so we're going to see a lot of cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Stitcher&#039;s Supplier" href="#" target="_blank">Stitcher&#039;s Supplier</a> that actively put cards in the graveyard, not to revive them like Meren, but to exile them and keep Polukranos around.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hermit Druid"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Satyr Wayfinder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nyx Weaver"></div></div>
<hr />
<h2>Art:</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosArt.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-45675 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosArt.jpg" alt="" width="488" height="325" /></a>
As we can see, the head that was destroyed in the battle with Elspeth has regenerated in the underworld into two new heads, zombified, discolored, and horrible. It's interesting to me that Polukranos still has faces. <a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/lore-seeker-murder-king-fury-road/">When we explored Theros last</a> with <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymaret, the Murder King" href="#" target="_blank">Tymaret, the Murder King</a>, we discovered that the Zombies in the underworld lose their faces, adopting clay masks created in the underworld to hide their disfigurement and then replaced with the gold ones forged when they escape and become Returned. We also see Elspeth exempt from this mutation; likely her spark protected her (we also see her with a gold mask presumably still in the underworld, but I'll leave that rant for another day.)
Does this mean Polukranos has the power of a planeswalker, or are the rules just different for beasts of his nature? We will likely never know, but it does seem like a missed opportunity to put some rad gold Hydra masks on him.
<hr />
<h2>Type Line:</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosType.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-45679 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosType.jpg" alt="" width="455" height="67" /></a>
The Hydra originated from Greek mythology in the tale of Heracles (most commonly known as Hercules, the Roman adaptation). Heracles was tasked with a set of labors to redeem himself for prior actions. The Hydra was destroyed with the help of an ally and, more importantly, a golden sword that the goddess Athena bestowed upon him.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Godsend"></div></div>
As a Greek-themed set, we can see a lot of the tropes of this story adapted in to Magic. Elspeth acts as Heracles, having been given a weapon from a God (<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Godsend" href="#" target="_blank">Godsend</a>) and tasked with defeating the Hydra. The biggest difference between MTG Hydras and those in Greek myths is their amphibious nature; the Lernaean Hydra of myth lived in a lake. We see a lot of large beasts in the water, like Leviathans, so I'm guessing they didn't want to add another big creature to blue's roster.
<hr />
<h2>Rules Text:</h2>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosRules.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-45678 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosRules.jpg" alt="" width="461" height="255" /></a>
Removing all six heads from the beast kills it, sending it to the underworld once more. We are going to imagine each head as a +1/+1 counter for the remainder our discussion here. Since the Hydra will create a new head for each removed, the fact that Polukranos comes back with twelve heads (counters) is extremely flavorful. This rationale falls apart when we get to his ability when being dealt damage removes counters, but does not regenerate heads on its own.
Let's introduce Polukranos to his new best friend: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vigor" href="#" target="_blank">Vigor</a>. The way replacement effects work is beneficial to us in this case, so instead of losing the counters, Polukranos will gain that many heads. Problem solved!
I want Polukranos to recreate that scene in the Disney version of Hercules. I want so many heads on this beast that they take up the entire sky.
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/hydraHeads.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-45904 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/hydraHeads.jpg" alt="" width="488" height="325" /></a>
How do we accomplish this? <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Doubling Season" href="#" target="_blank">Doubling Season</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Corpsejack Menace" href="#" target="_blank">Corpsejack Menace</a> are the key pieces. With one in play, Polukranos enters with 12 from a normal casting or 24 with Escape. With both on the field, the fun really begins, giving us 24 heads from a normal cast or 48 with Escape. That's more like it!
Now, there are a few other options to add additional counters to creatures, but because these are really only interacting with the commander and not any other cards in the deck, two will be plenty.
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Doubling Season"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Corpsejack Menace"></div></div>
<hr />
<h1 style="text-align: center;">The Deck</h1>
<hr />
Theros Beyond Death introduced a new style of basic land: the Nyx basics (or the Pokelands.) I am not a fan of these, whether for this deck or any other. The only place I think I would consider them is in a deck helmed by one of the Therosian Gods or in an enchantress deck. For this particular deck, I was having a hard time nailing down exactly what type of basic fits, but I decided to take this as an opportunity to talk about some of my favorite basics. These two were both done by my favorite Magic artist, <a href="http://www.johnavonart.com/">John Avon</a>. I love the saturation and depth of these two pieces, and the old border looks more like dirt, perfect to fill our graveyard with.
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosBasics.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-46170 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/polukranosBasics.jpg" alt="" width="520" height="311" /></a>
This deck is running a shockingly low number of lands, but we have a work around that I learned from the <a href="https://www.commandersbrew.com/">Commanders Brew</a> podcast. The idea in question is to lower the land count and instead run a bunch of those single-mana spells that tutor for a land, such as <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lay of the Land" href="#" target="_blank">Lay of the Land</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Traverse the Ulvenwald" href="#" target="_blank">Traverse the Ulvenwald</a>. The reason we want these here is to fill our graveyard with the instants/sorceries that only exist to find the land we need. Because Polukranos doesn't care what type of card is in the graveyard and simply wants a larger number of cards in there, we can use these to both fix our mana and fill the graveyard. It's a neat trick that I have wanted to incorporate in a meaningful way for some time.
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Second Labor" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Polukranos, Unchained
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Walking Ballista
*1 Deathrite Shaman
*1 Stitcher&#039;s Supplier
*1 Bloodghast
*1 Glowspore Shaman
*1 Hermit Druid
*1 Lotleth Troll
*1 Millikin
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Satyr Wayfinder
*1 Nyx Weaver
*1 Prowling Serpopard
*1 Splinterfright
*1 Springbloom Druid
*1 Stinkweed Imp
*1 Acolyte of Affliction
*1 Brawn
*1 Corpsejack Menace
*1 Erebos, God of the Dead
*1 Polukranos, World Eater
*1 World Shaper
*1 Cavalier of Thorns
*1 Doom Whisperer
*1 Underrealm Lich
*1 Nemesis of Mortals
*1 Vigor
*1 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis
*1 Ghoultree
*1 Molderhulk
[/Creatures]
[Artifacts]
*1 Expedition Map
*1 Horizon Spellbomb
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
*1 Altar of Dementia
*1 Golgari Signet
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Perpetual Timepiece
*1 Talisman of Resilience
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Ancient Stirrings
*1 Attune with Aether
*1 Caravan Vigil
*1 Lay of the Land
*1 Traverse the Ulvenwald
*1 Dread Summons
*1 Mulch
*1 Nature&#039;s Lore
*1 Night&#039;s Whisper
*1 Rampant Growth
*1 Ransack the Lab
*1 Regrowth
*1 Sylvan Scrying
*1 Winding Way
*1 Read the Bones
*1 Damnation
*1 Increasing Ambition
*1 Traverse the Outlands
*1 Rishkar&#039;s Expertise
*1 Decree of Pain
[/Sorceries]
[Instants]
*1 Veil of Summer
*1 Assassin&#039;s Trophy
*1 Corpse Churn
*1 Evolution Charm
*1 Grapple with the Past
*1 Grisly Salvage
*1 Beast Within
*1 Harrow
*1 Moonlight Bargain
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Crop Sigil
*1 Vessel of Nascency
*1 Greater Good
*1 Doubling Season
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Ash Barrens
*1 Blooming Marsh
*1 City of Brass
*1 Command Tower
*1 Evolving Wilds
*9 Forest
*1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
*1 Llanowar Wastes
*1 Mana Confluence
*1 Nurturing Peatland
*1 Overgrown Tomb
*6 Swamp
*1 Terramorphic Expanse
*1 Verdant Catacombs
*1 Woodland Cemetery
[/Lands]"></div>

<hr />
<h1>Epilogue</h1>
If you're a fan of big creatures and a deck full of two-for-ones, this is the build for you. I'm very intrigued by <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polukranos Unchained" href="#" target="_blank">Polukranos Unchained</a>. That which at first looks like just a big creature leads to some interesting deckbuilding decisions. A big thanks to Tom, EDHREC's resident Greek expert, for giving me some insight into the name of Polukranos and some other general tidbits for this article.
Thank you for reading! As always, let me know which legendary characters you’d like to see get the story spotlight in the future!

Lore Seeker - The Hydra

Dual Shot - There Can Only Be One

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tahngarth, First Mate" href="#" target="_blank">Tahngarth, First Mate</a> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/depingo">Anna Steinbauer</a>)</h6>
<h1>Your Deck... It Needs More Cowbell!</h1>
Hello again, Commander faithful! Welcome back for another installment of Replacement Commanders, the series designed to look at the legendary creatures from the annual Commander precon product that didn't make it onto the face of each deck, and build a precon-like list specifically for them! Each year, we get these amazing commanders that are placed in decks built around a different legendary creature and those abilities and strategies. The series is quickly ending, though I have no idea how soon we'll have even more replacements, what with 2020 being the “Year of Commander” for Wizards of the Coast.
In the last article, we ended with a poll for the remaining two legendary creatures that are missing a color from the decks they were originally printed in. Readers got to vote on which to cover first, and which would be the last of the series. It was close in the end, but most of you wanted to see…
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Tahngarth, First Mate!</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tahngarth, First Mate"></div></div>
Admittedly, Tahngarth was not high on my rankings of legendary creatures from last year’s product. For as much as I enjoy the way his first ability works when we can give him menace, nothing in his second ability prevents the person we loan Tahngarth to from just sacrificing him. As someone who loves to use and abuse sacrifice outlets and strategies, it’s mildly unnerving to see a commander that wants to go under other people's control without having the same kind of protection that an <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Assault Suit" href="#" target="_blank">Assault Suit</a> would give. However, looking at the EDHREC page for Tahngarth, we can see that people have gravitated more toward an Equipment-based Voltron strategy. This makes me like the way the deck is bound to turn out, as it means that even if there are sacrifice players at the table, it shouldn’t be hard to suit up Tahngarth and get the work done ourselves.
For those games where there are no sacrifice players at the table, a third archetype that people are using with our Minotaur Warrior is “Forced Combat.” Ironically, I said in the last Replacement Commanders installment that I didn’t think this was a category on EDHREC, and <a href="https://edhrec.com/themes/forced-combat">it looks like I was wrong</a>! Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised to see how thorough the site’s themes are. After all, it collects so much data from around the internet, I’m sure we have a snapshot of every kind of archetype in the format!
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Building a Better Beater (or Oooh, Shiny New Toys!)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Embercleave"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hammer of Nazahn"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blackblade Reforged"></div></div>
The Equipment and Voltron parts of Tahngarth are interwoven, as one of the best ways to make him hit hard and fast is to pile him up with Equipment that makes him stronger. Whenever I look at a commander that wants to wear a lot of Equipment, I always think that, while there should be some bomb cards that shock and awe the table, it’s just as important to have Equipment that act as support cards. This way we don’t have to make the tough choice between taking up card slots on Equipment vs. taking up slots on ramp, removal, etc.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of the Animist" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of the Animist</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Prying Blade" href="#" target="_blank">Prying Blade</a> provide different variations of ramp, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rogue’s Gloves" href="#" target="_blank">Rogue’s Gloves</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mask of Memory" href="#" target="_blank">Mask of Memory</a> give us some incremental card advantage. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argentum Armor" href="#" target="_blank">Argentum Armor</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sword of Sinew and Steel" href="#" target="_blank">Sword of Sinew and Steel</a> will get rid of a few pesky parts of our opponents’ battlefields. We will need to also include those bombs that will turn our commander into a one-shot machine. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Embercleave" href="#" target="_blank">Embercleave</a> has been tearing up the Standard scene and still has massive value in Commander. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blackblade Reforged" href="#" target="_blank">Blackblade Reforged</a> is another great option, especially given that we’re in green and will have access to many ways to ramp with our lands. This next card is going to surprise some of you to list as a “bomb” card, but <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodthirsty Blade" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodthirsty Blade</a> does a surprising amount of work to facilitate Tahngarth's strategy, ensuring the rest of the table joins us in the red zone.
<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">This Minotaur Brings the War!</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Curse of the Nightly Hunt"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Incite War"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Vow of Wildness"></div></div>
<a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/replacement-commanders-furballs-of-warfare/">In our last article</a> for <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marisi, Breaker of the Coil" href="#" target="_blank">Marisi, Breaker of the Coil</a>, we discussed cards that force combat for the table. This means that it's slightly awkward to have another such theme for this article, especially when the commanders share two colors (out of a possible three from Marisi). I don’t want to focus too much on the cards that we went over in the Marisi article that also appear on Tahngarth’s EDHREC page, so instead I want to focus on some other cool cards that are unique to Tahngarth.
<a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vow of Wildness" href="#" target="_blank">Vow of Wildness</a> and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vow of Lightning" href="#" target="_blank">Vow of Lightning</a> are interesting, inspiring enemies to attack each other with some extra damage, while not being a bad fit on Tahngarth as well. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Curse of the Nightly Hunt" href="#" target="_blank">Curse of the Nightly Hunt</a> can be tricky, since the enchanted player may point their aggression in our direction. Still, this opens them up for attacks from our other opponents, so there is room to play the political game, making deals about who to give Tahngarth to, depending on who wants to attack us. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Incite War" href="#" target="_blank">Incite War</a> is a unique card for this situation, giving Tahngarth first strike before he runs out to assist someone who suddenly is compelled to do some damage on their turn!
Don’t forget the standard card advantage, ramp, removal, and Wraths! Put together, we might have a list like this:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div> 
[Commander] 
*1 Tahngarth, First Mate 
[/Commander] 
[Creature] 
*1 Anger 
*1 Beast Whisperer 
*1 Brawn 
*1 Burnished Hart 
*1 Etali, Primal Storm 
*1 Eternal Witness 
*1 Fumiko the Lowblood 
*1 Goblin Diplomats 
*1 Goblin Racketeer 
*1 Goblin Spymaster 
*1 Ogre Battledriver 
*1 Reclamation Sage 
*1 Solemn Simulacrum 
*1 Warmonger Hellkite 
[/Creature] 
[Sorcery] 
*1 Blasphemous Act 
*1 Chandra's Ignition 
*1 Cultivate 
*1 Farseek 
*1 Harmonize 
*1 Kodama's Reach 
*1 Overwhelming Stampede 
*1 Pir's Whim 
*1 Rampant Growth 
*1 Rishkar's Expertise 
*1 Vandalblast 
[/Sorcery] 
[Enchantment] 
*1 Curse of the Nightly Hunt 
*1 Frenzied Rage 
*1 Grand Melee 
*1 Madcap Skills 
*1 Rancor 
*1 Rhythm of the Wild 
*1 Rite of the Raging Storm 
*1 Vow of Lightning 
*1 Vow of Wildness 
[/Enchantment] 
[Instant] 
*1 Beast Within 
*1 Chaos Warp 
*1 Incite War 
*1 Krosan Grip 
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker 
*1 Thrill of Possibility 
[/Instant] 
[Artifact] 
*1 Arcane Signet 
*1 Argentum Armor 
*1 Assault Suit 
*1 Blackblade Reforged 
*1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe 
*1 Bloodthirsty Blade 
*1 Captain's Hook 
*1 Chitinous Cloak 
*1 Commander's Sphere 
*1 Darksteel Plate 
*1 Embercleave 
*1 Fellwar Stone 
*1 Gruul Signet 
*1 Hammer of Nazahn 
*1 Mask of Memory 
*1 Prying Blade 
*1 Rogue's Gloves 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Swiftfoot Boots 
*1 Sword of Sinew and Steel 
*1 Sword of the Animist 
[/Artifact] 
[Land] 
*1 Cinder Glade 
*1 Command Tower 
*1 Evolving Wilds 
*8 Forest 
*1 Forge of Heroes 
*1 Forgotten Cave 
*1 Game Trail 
*1 Ghost Quarter 
*1 Gruul Turf 
*1 Inventors' Fair 
*1 Kazandu Refuge 
*1 Kessig Wolf Run 
*10 Mountain 
*1 Opal Palace 
*1 Rogue's Passage 
*1 Rootbound Crag 
*1 Scavenger Grounds 
*1 Sheltered Thicket 
*1 Stomping Ground 
*1 Temple of Abandon 
*1 Terramorphic Expanse 
*1 Tranquil Thicket 
[/Land] 
[/Deck] 

<hr />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">A Warrior From the Stars? (Get it? Constellation!)</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Nylea’s Colossus"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bear Umbra"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Setessan Champion"></div></div>
Something caught my eye when I was reviewing Tahngarth’s EDHREC page: <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bear Umbra" href="#" target="_blank">Bear Umbra</a>. It got me wondering how many Totem Armor enchantments there were in both green and red, since I am aware of quite a few in green and white. A quick <a href="https://scryfall.com/">Scryfall</a> search showed me that there are only five Totem Armor cards in our colors. Then I added Constellation into the mix. This added eleven more cards to the idea, and with sixteen total, I decided to go all-in on an enchantment version of Tahngarth!
Some of the Constellation cards I want to draw special attention to are <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nylea’s Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Nylea’s Colossus</a> and the new <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Setessan Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Setessan Champion</a> from Theros Beyond Death. Colossus turns Tahngarth into a massive threat very quickly, while Champion is another Enchantress-style effect, which is going to be a major subtheme for this list. Naturally, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eidolon of Blossoms" href="#" target="_blank">Eidolon of Blossoms</a> is another great Constellation card for card advantage, and we're going to include <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Argothian Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Argothian Enchantress</a>, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Enchantress’s Presence" href="#" target="_blank">Enchantress’s Presence</a>, and <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Verduran Enchantress" href="#" target="_blank">Verduran Enchantress</a> as well, so we can draw all the cards! Since this list won’t be running Equipment cards as our bombs, <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Runes of the Deus" href="#" target="_blank">Runes of the Deus</a> works similarly to <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Embercleave" href="#" target="_blank">Embercleave</a>, while <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ancestral Mask" href="#" target="_blank">Ancestral Mask</a> might just end games. <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Destiny Spinner" href="#" target="_blank">Destiny Spinner</a> seems like a great way to keep control decks from stopping us, while cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eternal Witness" href="#" target="_blank">Eternal Witness</a> and even <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Road of Return" href="#" target="_blank">Road of Return</a> give us some recursion.
Wrap the list up with some removal, Wraths, ramp, and a few more bits of card advantage, and the list comes out looking like this:
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"></div> 
[Commander] 
*1 Tahngarth, First Mate 
[/Commander] 
[Creature] 
*1 Acidic Slime 
*1 Argothian Enchantress 
*1 Burnished Hart 
*1 Destiny Spinner * 
*1 Eidolon of Blossoms 
*1 Eternal Witness 
*1 Eternal Witness 
*1 Humbler of Mortals 
*1 Manglehorn 
*1 Nessian Wanderer * 
*1 Nexus Wardens * 
*1 Nylea's Colossus 
*1 Ohran Frostfang 
*1 Reclamation Sage 
*1 Setessan Champion * 
*1 Skullwinder 
*1 Solemn Simulacrum 
*1 Verduran Enchantress 
*1 Wood Elves 
*1 Xenagos, God of Revels 
[/Creature] 
[Sorcery] 
*1 Blasphemous Act 
*1 Cultivate 
*1 Faithless Looting 
*1 Farseek 
*1 Kodama's Reach 
*1 Rampant Growth 
*1 Regrowth 
*1 Rishkar's Expertise 
*1 Road of Return 
*1 Seasons Past 
*1 Soul's Majesty 
*1 Vandalblast 
[/Sorcery] 
[Artifact] 
*1 Arcane Signet 
*1 Commander's Sphere 
*1 Fellwar Stone 
*1 Sol Ring 
*1 Swiftfoot Boots 
*1 Thran Dynamo 
*1 Worn Powerstone 
[/Artifact] 
[Enchantment] 
*1 Ancestral Mask 
*1 Asceticism 
*1 Bear Umbra 
*1 Boar Umbra 
*1 Colossal Majesty 
*1 Enchantress's Presence 
*1 Frenzied Rage 
*1 Giant Spectacle 
*1 Goblin War Drums 
*1 Gruul War Chant 
*1 Keen Sense 
*1 Madcap Skills 
*1 Rancor 
*1 Runes of the Deus 
*1 Sixth Sense 
*1 Snake Umbra 
*1 Spider Umbra 
*1 Sylvan Library 
[/Enchantment] 
[Instant] 
*1 Beast Within 
*1 Heroic Intervention 
*1 Krosan Grip 
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker 
[/Instant] 
[Land] 
*1 Command Tower 
*1 Evolving Wilds 
*12 Forest 
*1 Forge of Heroes 
*1 Forgotten Cave 
*1 Ghost Quarter 
*1 Kessig Wolf Run 
*9 Mountain 
*1 Opal Palace 
*1 Rogue's Passage 
*1 Rootbound Crag 
*1 Scavenger Grounds 
*1 Stomping Ground 
*1 Strip Mine 
*1 Taiga 
*1 Temple of Abandon 
*1 Terramorphic Expanse 
*1 Tranquil Thicket 
*1 Wooded Foothills 
[/Land] 
[/Deck] 

<hr />
NOTE: Just a friendly reminder that this second list is less about that "precon" feel and more just "What would Seth do with this commander?" Therefore, there is less of a budget restriction in the list, hence seeing cards like <a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Taiga" href="#" target="_blank">Taiga</a>!
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">First Mate, But Not the Last Replacement!</h2>
Phew! I won’t lie, this was not the easiest article of the series to write. As I said in the beginning, in my eyes, Tahngarth was not the most interesting legendary creature to come out of this year’s product. Still, that is obviously down to personal preference, and I recognize that Tahngarth is still a very powerful commander with explosive plays. I'm both very excited and very nervous for this year, since we're getting so many additional precons. Hopefully this means we'll be getting an even wider array of unique abilities and strategies to play with!
There are three more Replacements left to go over for the 2019 product, and they have some spicy, interesting builds to investigate! Of course, if you need some more Commander talk in your life, you can <a href="https://www.twitter.com/DM_Cross">follow me on Twitter</a> or join the <a href="https://discord.gg/CrNHmTE">public Praetor Magic Discord server</a>. Praetor Magic is the content creation team I run with my wife and some friends, so feel free to check us out throughout the week on <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/praetormagic">Twitch</a> or see our previous content on our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/praetormagic">YouTube channel</a>! Until next time…
Thanks for reading!

Replacement Commanders - Tahngarth Goes to War!

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Replacement Commanders - Time to Troll!

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