As soon as I saw Commander 2020 drop and met Kelsien, the Plague, I said, we need to get Him some deathtouch! So with that concept, the idea of an "Assassin Tribal" deck was born! We built Version 1.0 as a collection of Assassins, but quickly realized this was not competitive at all.
Version 2.0 of this deck is pretty much 100% dependant on Kelsien to win. You will feel like you are playing D&D or Diablo 3 when killing things to gain XP points which do not go away, even when Kelsien does. Focusing on the Commander as the win con is not my typical way to build a deck, but Kelsien is a low cost commander and can be cast several times in a game without too much mana. (He WILL be a target).
The game plan is to get Kelsien out early, give Him Deathtouch, and let Him tap to kill things for experience accumulation. Tapping and untapping Kelsien a lot speeds up the process so we have several ways to do this in the deck. We want Kelsien to be Indestructible or we want to be able to avoid the command tax and bring Him back cheaply since He is typically public enemy #1. We want to control the board state through board wipes and targeted removal until Kelsien can start killing opponents in combat with enough experience. We want Kelsien Unblockable in the late game for massive swings and victory.
Kelsien he has a ton of equipment and toolbox options.
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Command Beacon OR Campfire - let you cast Kelsien from hand cheaply once per game. Excellent for when he gets removed a lot and the tax is high.
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Everybody Lives! OR Inkshield OR Teferi's Protection OR Haystack - are panic buttons that save Kelsien and stops people from combo killing. Inkshield is a reversal effect that can swing a game to your favor.
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Shielded by Faith OR Mithril Coat OR General's Kabuto OR Darksteel Plate give indestructibility to Kelsien. Let's keep our guy on the Board.
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Whispersilk Cloak, OR Prowler's Helm OR Brotherhood Regalia OR Rogue's Passage OR Sonic Screwdriver - the theme here is to make Kelsien unblockable. This is our win condition late game.
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Drumbellower - untapping Kelsien means he can ping and kill to control the board state and accumulates experience quicker. This combos nicely with Rite of the Raging Storm, as you kill the elemental after combat every turn.
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Stoneforge Mystic, Kellan, the Fae-Blooded AND/OR Inventors' Fair - are here to tutor for Thornbite Staff or Whispersilk Cloak mainly. Just look up the artifact you need and go for it.
Ways to grant deathtouch to Kelsien or other creatures
- Gorgon's Head
- Quietus Spike
- Basilisk Collar
- Virulent Swipe
- Nazgul Battle-Mace
- Vault of the Archangel
- Grasping Shadows
- Bladebrand
- Hunter's Blowgun
- Hidden Blade
- Battle-Rage Blessing
- Toxin Analysis
Equipment that let's you untap Kelsien is especially useful, so you can tap 2 or more times in a turn with deathtouch and slay multiple creatures.
- Magewright's Stone
- Thornbite Staff
- Umbral Mantle
- Thousand-Year Elixir
- Drumbellower
Kelsien is joined by other "ping" creatures with effects that deal damage to targets. Giving any of the pingers Deathtouch makes them all into murderers. Deathbringer Thoctar with death touch is a board wipe.
- Deathbringer Thoctar
- Cunning Sparkmage
- Orcish Bowmasters
There are finishing spells which kill off things Kelsien has shot and take them out for Experience for Kelsien if there is no Deathtouch available.
- You Are Already Dead
- Termination Facilitator is flipping perfect for Kelsien and other pingers to guarantee a kill.
- Mirrodin Avenged
- Royal Assassin
You will struggle against opponent's who have massive board states, so Kelsien carries several board wipe effects. Well, technically 2 additional wipes if you combo Thornbite Staff with Kelsien & Deathtouch or Deathbringer Thoctar with Deathtouch.
- Shatter the Sky
- Damn - can go for a single target or Board Wipes.
- Fumigate
- Crackling Doom
- Kaya's Wrath
Graveyard/re-animator decks are a problem for Kelsien because you need to make sure what you kill stays dead. There are 5 tools to clear Graves:
- Jirina, Dauntless General
- Kaya's Guile
- Abstergo Entertainment
- Bojuka Bog
We leave home with a few different targeted removal spells so you should have an answer for anything somewhere in the deck.
- Fatal Push
- Kaya's Guile
- Chaos Warp
- Rakdos Charm - gets Artifacts
- Mortify - one of only a few cards that deal with Enchantments in the deck.
- Murder
- Silumgar Assassin
What if you can't Kill it with Deathtouch? We bring the following spells for that:
- Shay Cormac - shadow spear on a body.
- Reprobation - make the enemy into a Coward that is pingable.
- Slice from the Shadows - uncounterable spell, deals with things that are indestructible by applying -X/-X to them.
An assassin needs to be able to adapt to the situation on the field, and Mardu lack of card draw/ cantrips is a weakness here. Some effects enabling card draw involve lands Savai Triome, Sunbaked Canyon, Silent Clearing, and Shattered Landscape. Card draw is built into a board wipe Shatter the Sky, and combat tricks such as Bladebrand and You Are Already Dead. Political options such as Humble Defector and Keen Duelist allows for early game alliances. Senu, Keen-Eyed Protector offers repeatable Scry.
A fun idea is to always have something you can tap Kelsien and kill. Usually, there will be mana dorks around but if not, there are 3 ways to guarantee Kelsien a target. Humble Defector gives you 2 cards and you can easily ping him when he passes to an opponent, you can even be political and choose not to ping. Rite of the Raging Storm creates 5/1 Elementals which can never attack you, and that you may always ping. Forbidden Orchard not only gives you mana of any color, but a guaranteed 1/1 Spirit target every turn for experience.
Winning the Game::
There is really only one win condition, attacking with Kelsien and dealing Commander Damage/Combat Damage. You basically need to control the flow with your various spells and removal options.
The plan is to get Kelsien out early and get him pinging things for greater experience, so each time you cast Kelsien, he grows. The fun thing about experience counters is that they do not go away, so Kelsien can be killed and when he comes back, he has this buff on Him in addition to haste. This is another reason why we have so many ways to make Kelsien Indestructible. Kelsien can also ping creatures that later get board wiped and still earn experience. Making Kelsien unblockable with Rogue's Passage OR Brotherhood Regalia OR Whispersilk Cloak means he will be able to deal lethal 20 Commander damage to other players in the late game.
:: Random Notes ::
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The Mana Rock Dept is bare bones, but essential to make the deck work without a lot of ramp. We run 5: Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Sonic Screwdriver, Orzhov Signet and Rakdos Signet.
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I have the VIP pack foil copy of Stoneforge Mystic which I opened as a gift for helping an LGS during COVID-19 get emergency funding from the City. I opened the Foil Full Art Sword of Light and Shadow and decided it must go here.
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Signature Spell book Sheldon had a major influence on card selection. Included from this Secret Lair are: Sol Ring, Command Tower, Inkshield, Teferi's Protection and Keen Duelist. Sheldon was the godfather of EDH and is a legend, whom I honor with these cards. I'd like to think He would enjoy piloting this original creation.
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Our entire deck operates for 6 Mana or less, so no need to go too heavy on lands.
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The deck has few token requirements too, which is by design. Keeping the deck nice and clean in any standard deckbox was the goal. I use a Life Counter Wheel as "Experience" for this build.
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Added Orcish Bowmasters to the deck. This just punishes card draw decks heavily. Also enables a body to help you.
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I used the White Border copy of Thornbite Staff because it is the best card in the deck by far and the one card you will tutor for the most. The White Boarder makes it easy to find.
