#theme commander

Behind the Leader ~

Our runners-up for this week are @alextfish, @dimestoretajic and @teaxch.

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@alextfish — Codruska, Defiant Snapcaster

Sure, UG flash. I think this card is a functional legendary supporter. I like how it also supports an instant theme. I won’t say that she wins anyone the game, but sometimes support commanders are just that. I’m not sure where you’re getting the “Snapcaster” in the name, considering its Innistradian nomenclature, but it’s not the worst thing in the world. Your wording is all correct, I think, and yeah. Doesn’t light the world on fire, but it’s pretty good.

@dimestoretajic — Kenrith, the Crowned

This card was almost a winner, and then I noticed that the first line said “creatures” and not “other creatures.” I don’t know how intentional that was, and perhaps it was, but the nomenclature should give him vigilance and then buff other creatures. Nitpicks aside, I do really like this card for a Boros Aggro commander with multiplayer functionality. I love the monarch ability whenever it shows up, and the use of additional combat really makes this card fun for go-wide strategies. 

@teaxch — S’pile, Mercenary Captain

Functionally, this card’s pretty fun. It relies on you to have artifacts to begin with, and encourages artifacts with a group theme and other “creature-stealy” shenanigans. Act of Treason tribal with artifact subtheme? Could be fun! There are a lot of questions, though. For one, what’s with the apostrophe in the name? Is there some pronunciation thing I’m not getting. Two, why are they not a pirate when they feel so pirate-y? Third, I personally don’t really like how “scrips” don’t do anything. Their non-function feels, well, just like that. They could just as easily have been Clues or Treasures. “Scrip” also has no resonance.

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I was looking through my creatures and wanted to build a new Commander deck. I had a Mangara, so I thought, well, what can I do with this? Then I had the brilliant idea of making a Mangara artifact deck... Well, sort of. That didn’t really fit well. I wanted badly to make a mono-white artifact deck, but there aren’t any good themed commanders for it. White has a lot of synergy, but where are the legends that care about artifacts in general? Lots of equipment, yes, but that’s not what I’m here to do. 

And that gave me an idea for this week’s contest. Each color has plenty of themes and great things that it does. Not every legendary creature demands that a deck be built around them, but that’s what we’re after.

Design a one-or-two colored Commander (legendary creature or planeswalker) that is built around a specific theme. The themes should be in those colors, and preferably, there shouldn’t be a legendary creature who already cares about that.

Go broad, go specific, just make it focused on a theme. What does X color(s) care about? What legendary creatures are good for that, and how can I make one that’s either better or different?

Winners will be based around how much fun and how much space there is in their design. I’ll be consulting with other Commander players and see what their brewing ideas are.

I know Commander isn’t for everyone, but it’s impossible to ignore. And people do like legendary creatures! Push some boundaries. Make some history.

@abelzumi​ 

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From Among the Ashes ~

Congratulations to @demimonde-semigoddess, @mardu-lesbian and @reaperfromtheabyss for winning this week’s contest!

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@demimonde-semigoddess — Khinn, Curse Bleeder is a surprising and fun take on enchantments. Not only are there cool enchantment synergies that you can use, but with specifically auras, there’s the curses, as you intended, plus some awesome aggro to be done in mono-black. Small utility creatures plus threatening auras, and/or beefing up Khinn itself to get some awesome Voltron shenanigans? It could be fun! Enchantment removal isn’t always prioritized in Commander, but Khinn might change that. I have a soft spot for this card. It’s well-realized and appropriately powerful.

@mardu-lesbian — Beatrice, Time Sailor also plays into a deck type that I particularly enjoy: blue/green control. Green flash creatures plus blue instants? The untapping is a very interesting choice, and remarkably powerful, powerful enough to see play in potentially other formats! I think that you let Beatrice play into a number of strategies that all work well together, resulting in the best of blue/green without siphoning all the best cards from the archetype. You gotta build around her.

@reaperfromtheabyss — Vronti, Fury of Keranos creates...scry tribal? Scrybal? It turns Anticipate into a Bolt. It makes Orcish Librarian viable. I think it’s a fine rare, and perhaps a little shallow on the red side, but it’s a combo and burn commander that makes all your blue cards into insane removal. This is a fast and powerful commander that can easily take out players and planeswalkers alike, and it taps into an under-utilized but very common subset of cards.

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Commanding Entries pt. 1 ~

Commanding Entries pt. 2 ~

One is the artifact commander I’ve always wanted! Almost entirely flavor-based, too. She enters the battlefield and surveys her domain and its prosperity. Whenever she erects a monument, she gets her servants/worshippers to emerge. And she can throw them in front of her beautiful statues to save them from destruction.

Commanding Entries pt. 5 ~

Commanding Entries pt. 4 ~