By Scoopphase
Multiplayer Magic is an odd beast. The fundamentals of Magic theory are contorted when you add two or more players to the equation. Politics come into play as you try to avoid the ire of the rest of the table in order to prevent the dreaded “let’s all gang up on that guy!” Yet the strangest facet of multiplayer Magic to a newcomer like me is the unwritten rules. You see at each table you’ll find a set of unwritten rules: thou shalt not play counterspells, thou shalt not play discard, thou shalt not play land destruction, thou shalt not play cards that cost over $10, thou shalt not play any combination, thou shalt not play competitive decks, thou shalt not play casual decks, etc. Break any of the unwritten rules and you risk players quitting the game or staging a coup. The worst part is you never know what the rules for a particular game are. Furthermore you could be playing against players with a contradictory set of unwritten rules. Ah, the madness!
Over the past several weeks I’ve been clashing with legends via the Commander format in the multiplayer room on MTGO. Commander is MTGO speak for Elder Dragon Highlander or EDH, perhaps the fastest growing movement in Magic.
You can find information about the format here: Dragon Highlander Rules.
I started by building a Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck which contained lots of you know, dragons. With Scion of the Ur-Dragon as my general or commander I could: make an opponent discard their hand with Nicol Bolas, one-shot kill a player with Dragon Tyrant and enough red mana, or do fun things with Bladewing the Risen, Teneb the Harvester, Yosei, and Quicksilver Dragon. The deck also has a finishing move in Patriarch’s Bidding or Living Death. The dragon deck makes some strong plays and does it with a fun tribe. It may break an unwritten rule or two but is generally well received.
My next foray into Commander was a deck filled with enchantments and enchantresses led by the well-protected hydra — Progenitus. It was nothing more than an attempt to kill people with Progenitus and have an excuse to play Maelstrom Nexus. Bonus points were granted for cascading off of Progenitus!
But I have been itching to make a deck similar to my first EDH deck led by the venerable Captain Sisay. I had put off building Sisay due to the lack of some of Sisay’s favorite targets on MTGO: Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, Predator Flagship, and most importantly Gaea’s Cradle. Nonetheless, nostalgia and a love for card advantage led me to start working on a MTGO approved Captain Sisay decklist. Readers beware — Captain Sisay is going to team up with the elven horde to produce a deck filled with combos and unconcerned with the 5th commandment of multiplayer Magic.
The strength of Captain Sisay is in her activated ability which allows you to fetch a legendary card. As a result I start with a legends package.
Lands
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers, Eiganjo Castle, Flagstones of Trokair, and Miren, the Moaning Well grant access to mana.
Hate
Kataki, War’s Wage and Glissa Sunseeker put the hurt on artifact heavy decks. Crovax, Ascendant Hero spells the end to any army of small tokens. And Dosan the Falling Leaf shuts down any pesky counterspells.
Removal
Mangara of Corondor serves as a tutorable vindicate while Myojin of Cleansing Fire can be tutored up as a wrath effect.
Protection
Saffi Eriksdotter and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails shield their Commander from fire.
Utility
Reki, the History of Kamigawa keeps the cards flowing, Mindslaver is game changing, and Umezawa’s Jitte is Umezawa’s Jitte…
Enablers
Skyship Weatherlight allows you to hunt down any non-legendary piece you might want for a combo. Yomiji, who Bars the Way combines with Yosei and Miren, the Moaning Well to loop the untap preventer!
Possibilities
Both Gaddock Teeg and Hokori, Dust Drinker are available online and can make for crippling plays if you are so inclined. However after a few days of play I’ve decided they are a bit over the top and tend to make games less enjoyable. Arashi, Sky Asunder is the one legendary card on MTGO I continue to consider for inclusion as a way to tutor up an answer for problematic fliers or swarms of pesky winged critters.
****CAUTION MED III SPOILER****
Once MED III releases a copy of Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale will certainly warrant inclusion as a way to punish token strategies and other creature swarms.
**** END SPOILER****
Combo Time
Captain Sisay and her elvish companions are looking to setup one of many combos:
Yosei, the Morning Star + Miren, the Moaning Well + Yomiji, who Bars the Way
The aforementioned combo will allow you to loop Yosei to tap down your opponents and keeping them from untapping. Yomiji can also be supplemented by Mindslaver to deny an opponent his/her turn.
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa + Crovax, Ascendant Hero
With the two legends in play you can start placing your opponent’s lands in their graveyard one G at a time.
Gilt-Leaf Archdruid + 6 Druids
Taking your opponents’ lands is even more fun than destroying them!
Mana, Mana, Mana
The most common combos generate infinite mana via Staff of Domination or Umbral Mantle. Staff of Domination can be used in conjunction with Elvish Archdruid or Wirewood Channeler as long as you have five or more elves in play. Umbral Mantle combines with either Elvish Archdruid or Wirewood Channeler and four elves or Viridian Joiner and two mana. The nice thing about both pieces of equipment is that they provide a kill to go along with the mana — Staff of Domination will allow you to draw as much of your deck as needed and Umbral Mantle will make all of your creatures infinitely large. Plus if Captain Sisay is in play you can untap and fetch as many times as you’d like, drawing with Reki or giving your team infinite overrun with Kamahl, Fist of Krosa.
Synergy
I enjoy pairing Captain Sisay with the elven horde as the deck provides the opportunity to pull-off some fun combos, which are quite susceptible to disruption I might add, while also granting a synergistic base. All the elves that power up the Archdruids and Channeler also accelerate your mana and can be fed to Skullclamp.
Sisay herself enjoys untapping as much as possible so Seedborn Muse, Patron of the Orochi, Thousand-Year Elixir, and Umbral Mantle all make additional cameo appearances. Furthermore, Thousand-Year Elixir makes the mana elves stronger by making many of them essentially free. Kamahl, Fist of Krosa can function as combo piece or lead a finishing alpha strike.
However the synergy of the deck is perhaps best demonstrated by a game state this past week in which I had Thousand-Year Elixir, Captain Sisay, Viridian Joiner, Reki, and Dosan the Falling Leaf. I was able to tutor up Kamahl, Fist of Krosa and activate the overrun ability — giving Viridian Joiner more power which leads to more mana. I was able to use the elixir to untap Viridian Joiner to then be tapped again such that I was able to activate overrun five times on my turn and animate two lands. Apparently giving your creatures +15/+15 and trample is often enough to finish the three other players at the table in one swing. No infinite combo, just synergy throughout the deck that created a monstrous turn.
The Rest
I filled out the rest of the deck with the best in green-white utility cards: artifact and enchantment destruction, removal, mana acceleration, wrath protection, and regrowth effects. Cards like Acidic Slime, Krosan Grip, Akroma’s Vengeance, Wrath of God, Kodama’s Reach, Dauntless Escort, and Eternal Witness. Which produced the list I’m currently playing:
| Creatures 1 Captain Sisay 1 Acidic Slime 1 Boreal Druid 1 Captain Sisay 1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero 1 Dauntless Escort 1 Dosan the Falling Leaf 1 Duplicant 1 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails 1 Elvish Archdruid 1 Elvish Harbinger 1 Eternal Witness 1 Fyndhorn Elves 1 Genesis 1 Gilt-Leaf Archdruid 1 Glissa Sunseeker 1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa 1 Kataki, War’s Wage 1 Llanowar Elves 1 Mangara of Corondor 1 Myojin of Cleansing Fire 1 Patron of the Orochi 1 Quirion Ranger 1 Reki, the History of Kamigawa 1 Saffi Eriksdotter 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder 1 Seedborn Muse 1 Seeker of Skybreak 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Viridian Joiner 1 Weathered Wayfarer 1 Wirewood Channeler 1 Yomiji, Who Bars the Way 1 Yosei, the Morning Star 34 cards Other Spells |
Lands 1 Eiganjo Castle 1 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Flood Plain 1 Flooded Strand 14 Forest 1 1 Krosan Verge 1 Miren, the Moaning Well 1 Mountain Valley 1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers 8 Plains 1 Savannah 1 Temple Garden 1 Wasteland 1 Windswept Heath 1 Wooded Foothills 36 cards |
If you haven’t dabbled with the Commander format I encourage you to find a general and build a deck for yourself and give it a whirl. Good times are to be had and the deckbuilding process is itself is a rather unique and exciting endeavor. And remember, while a world without rules isn’t fun, neither is a world in which you never break them!