Hey, Steemit. It’s been a few days since I’ve posted, which is unusual. All supporting the fact that I know I’ve been “off” lately. I’m not sure what it is. I’ve always loved psychology and the causation of what makes people the way they are. I don’t exclude myself when I’m psychoanalyzing people. If I had to guess, I’d say I’m working through an emotional vacuum now that Dark Pinup has been released. That book represented 10 straight months of tireless work between myself and @wcpublishing. Now that it’s over, the book is released and the parties are over, I kind of feel like I’m floating without a direction or purpose. Fortunately, days that I’m down on myself a bit never last long. I can usually sleep it off, get through a couple of productive days and things are fine.

Another coping skill is Magic: The Gathering, as most following know. That’s what this post is going to be about […sorry @eveuncovered]. Winning at MTG is a great feeling, but the fabric of the game that effects my overall mood is my ability to solve problems. Magic is like a chess game with changing rules, boards, pieces and opponents. Being faced with a near impossible problem and working out the solution is endlessly gratifying. There are several formats played in Magic, but the staple for our @caffetto group is Commander or EDH. At great expense, for weeks, I attempted to build a deck around a card called Firesong and Sunspeaker […and promotional card from the newest set, Dominara]. The problem is, it never won. It sucked, so this deck list examination is how I solved that problem.

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On paper, Firesong and Sunspeaker seem like a great Commander. They give a ton of value off of spells as you cast them. Lifelink off of red burn spells and assigned damage from white life gain spells. What I ran in to every game was either taking a ton of damage during the early mana ramp, or running through my removal spells […which were suppose to be triggering off of Firesong and Sunspeaker]. Also, at 6 converted mana cost, if they’re killed or countered even once, the game is pretty much over. Finally, I gave up on the minotaur team and decided on two new Commanders. Taking of advantage of the Partners mechanic, Akiri, Line Slinger and Vile Smasher The Fierce. Here’s the brew.

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Together, Akiri, Line Slinger and Vile Smasher cost less than Firesong and Sunspeaker by theirselves. You don’t get all the spell value, but Akiri is a two drop Boros Commander with first strike and vigilance, who’s power is equal to the number of artifacts you control. Vile Smasher the Fierce is a three drop red and black Goblin Commander that deals damage to an opponent at random […sweet if you’re playing one vs. one] equal to the converted mana cost of your first spell each turn. After getting beat up so badly with Firesong and Sunspeaker, it’s so gratifying to have both your Commanders on the battlefield on turn three, and that is very consistent with this deck.

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Once the Commanders are in place, let’s take a look at the rest of the deck. The beauty of Partners in EDH is that you can use colors the coordinate with BOTH of your Commanders, so in this case, white, black and red. Artifacts are a big part of this deck because of Akiri’s power ability. The usual Commander mana rocks such as Sol Ring, Guilded Lotus, Boros Signet, Rakdos Signet, Mox Amber and Cultivator’s Caravan all help case spells and speed up the ramp. The also give Akiri some skin in the game. Champion’s Helm [+2/+2 and equipped Legendary Creatures are hex proof], Akroma’s Memorial, Lightning Greaves, Helm of the Host and Thran’s Temporal Gateway are in this deck as well […which is really saying something considering they’re Standard cards from the newest set, Dominaria!].

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Creatures are another part of the synergy that makes this deck work. All but one creature is Legendary. That’ll be relevant in a bit when we get to spells. The creature that isn’t Legendary is Bastion Protector […she gives Commander creatures a +2/+2 and indestructible]. All other creatures are Legendary and heavy hitters, such as Akroma, Angel of Fury, Arvad the Cursed, Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer, Aurelia, the Warleader, Rakdos, Lord of Riots, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendent, Sheoldred, Whispering One, Iroas, God of Victory, Mogis, God of Slaughter and Etali, Primal Storm.

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Almost all the sorceries and instants in this deck have modes, which is a new approach for me decks. The costs are higher, but the flexibility is worth the extra mana cost, especially true with Vial Smasher the Fierce, knowing that a six converted mana cost spell will do six damage to an opponent. A few of these spells are Radkos Charm, Boros Charm, Fiery Confluence, Austere Command and Merciless Eviction. Lightning Helix and it’s big brother, Warleader’s Helix are flexible spells to hit creatures, player’s or deferred damage to planeswalkers. The sleeper spells that can change an entire game are both Dominaria cards. Urza’s Ruinous Blast. Exile all nonland permanents that aren’t legendary. Primeval’s Glorious Rebirth. Return all legendary cards from your graveyard to the battlefield. Both spells are expensive, intended for late game, but if Vile Smasher the Fierce is still not he battlefield, you’re doing a ton of damage and changing the entire board state if either spell resolves.

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Lastly, a few planeswalkers. Nahiri, the Harbinger. Her biggest strength is her -2 ability. Exile target enchantment, tapped artifact or tapped creature. She can be cast on your turn and remove really problematic components of your opponent’s strategy. Daretti, Scrap Savant I’m unsure about. I can’t give him the cut because he gives me a way to move cards and bring artifacts back from the graveyard. Daretti, Indigenous Inconoclast, however, is an absolute must for this deck. He gives you artifact Defenders for chump blocking, that also pump Akiri. Sacrifice an artifact and destroy target artifact. He’s the first priority for @tarotbyfergus to kill, so I know he’s amazing.

Alright. Enough talk. Here’s the decklist.

Commanders

1 x Akiri, Line Slinger

1 x Vile Smasher the Fierce

Lands 12 x Swamps

12 x Plains

12 x Mountain

1 x Rugged Prairie

1 x Stone Quarry

1 x Clifftop Retreat

1 x Rakdos Carnarium

1 x Rakdos Guildgate

1 x Boseiju Who Shelters All

1 x Mystifying Maze

1 x Homeward Path

Creatures

1 x Rakdos, Lord of Riots

1 x Etali, Primal Storm

1 x Mogis, God of Slaughter

1 x Aurelia, the Warleader

1 x For Kadeen, the Prevailer

1 x Iroas, God of Victory

1 x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight

1 x Sheoldred, Whispering One

1 x Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant

1 x Akroma, Angel of Fury

1 x Phyrexian Revoker

1 x Arvad the Cursed

1 x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

1 x Bastion Protector

1 x Hope of Ghirapur

1 x Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts

Planeswalkers

1 x Nahiri, the Harbinger

1 x Daretti, Scrap Savant

1 x Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast

Spells

1 x Boros Signet

1 x Rakdos Signet

1 x Commander’s Sphere

1 x Sol Ring

1 x Mox Amber

1 x Cultivator’s Caravan

1 x Akroma’s Memorial

1 x Gilded Lotus

1 x Deflecting Palm

1 x By Force 1 x Vindicate

1 x Fumigate

1 x In Garruk’s Wake

1 x Abrade

1 x Gideon’s Intervention

1 x Austere Command

1 x Decommission

1 x Lightning Bolt

1 x Shielded by Faith

1 x Authority of the Consuls

1 x Nahiri’s Wrath

1 x Vandalblast

1 x Merciless Eviction

1 x Refurbish

1 x Rakdos Charm

1 x Boros Charm

1 x Lightning Helix

1 x Warleader’s Helix

1 x Hour of Revelation

1 x Reforge the Soul

1 x Fiery Confluence

1 x Primeval’s Glorious Rebirth

1 x Urza’s Ruinous Blast

1 x Collective Defiance

1 x Collective Effort

Thanks for reading if you've made it this far. This was the kind of nerd therapy I needed. It's been a while since I've done a deep dive on a Magic: The Gathering deck build. For more photography, art, illustration and nerd, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!