Halvar, Divine Voltron

Commander / EDH Aggro Equip Mono-White Multiplayer Voltron

NensouHiebara

Halvar's Armory (20)

• 1x Argentum Armor
• 1x Blackblade Reforged
• 1x Caduceus, Staff of Hermes *f-etch*
• 1x Celestial Armor
• 1x Colossus Hammer
• 1x Commander's Plate
• 1x Hammer of Nazahn *f-etch*
• 1x Kaldra Compleat
• 1x Leyline Axe
• 1x Lion Sash
• 1x Pip-Boy 3000
• 1x Shadowspear
• 1x Sting, the Glinting Dagger
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of Fire and Ice
• 1x Sword of Hearth and Home
• 1x Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1x Sword of Sinew and Steel *f-etch*
• 1x Sword of the Animist

Instant (10)

• 1x Dawn's Truce
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Final Showdown
• 1x Galadriel's Dismissal
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Get Lost
• 1x Parting Gust
• 1x Reprieve
• 1x Sejiri Shelter  ^Flip
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Creature (19)

• 1x Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist *f-etch*
• 1x Claim Jumper
• 1x Codsworth, Handy Helper
• 1x Danitha, Benalia's Hope *f-etch*
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Kemba, Kha Enduring
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid
• 1x Leonin Abunas
• 1x Loran of the Third Path
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Puresteel Paladin
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Restoration Specialist
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Stonehewer Giant
• 1x Sun Titan
• 1x Weathered Wayfarer
• 1x Witch Enchanter  ^Flip

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Emeria's Call  ^Flip
• 1x Farewell *f-etch*
• 1x Ondu Inversion  ^Flip
• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Season of the Burrow
• 1x Steelshaper's Gift
• 1x Winds of Abandon

Artifact & Enchantment (7)

• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Forge Anew
• 1x Haystack
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thousand Moons Smithy  ^Flip

Commander (1)

 ^Flip

Land (34)

• 1x Abstergo Entertainment *f-etch*
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Demolition Field
• 1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1x Kor Haven
• 1x Minas Tirith
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 18x Plains
• 1x Plaza of Heroes
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Sanctum of Eternity
• 1x Talon Gates of Madara
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Urza's Cave
• 1x Urza's Saga
• 1x War Room

Planeswalkers (1)

• 1x Karn, Scion of Urza

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{W} {W}- - December 21, 2024 - -{W} {W}

Duskmorn Update

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2024 Update

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March 24 ~~ Murders at Karlov Manor Update Show

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Murders at Karlov Manor

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Main Set

None

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Commander

Stroke of Midnight -> Unexplained Absence

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Ravnica: Clue Edition

None

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Fallout Commander

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Danitha Capashen, Paragon -> Codsworth, Handy Helper

The Irencrag -> Pip-Boy 3000

Loran's Escape -> Silver Shroud Costume

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Other Additions

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None

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May 14 ~~ Outlaws of Thunder Junction Update Show

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Outlaws of Thunder Junction

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Main Set

Eight-and-a-Half-Tails -> Aven Interrupter

Loyal Warhound -> Claim Jumper

The Eternal Wanderer -> Final Showdown

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The Big Score

None

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Commander

None

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Other Additions

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Salvage Scout -> Restoration Specialist

Sword of Forge and Frontier -> Sword of Sinew and Steel

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August 29 ~~ Bloomburrow Update Show

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Bloomburrow

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Main Set

Swords to Plowshares -> Parting Gust

Unexplained Absence -> Season of the Burrow

Aven Interrupter -> Dawn's Truce

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Commander

None

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Modern Horizons III

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Main Set

Angel of the Ruins -> Witch Enchanter  // Witch-Blessed Meadow  

Timeless Dragon -> Urza's Cave

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Commander

Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire -> Talon Gates of Madara

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Assassin's Creed

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Skrelv, Defector Mite -> Haystack

Mithril Coat -> Caduceus, Staff of Hermes

Buried Ruin -> Abstergo Entertainment

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Other Additions

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None

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{W} {W}- - December 21 ~~ Duskmourn Update - -{W} {W} Show

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Duskmourn: House of Horrors

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Main Set

None

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Commander

None

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Foundations

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Main Set

Inquisitor's Flail -> Leyline Axe

Silver Shroud Costume -> Celestial Armor

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Jumpstart

None

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Other Additions

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Mana Crypt -> Mind Stone

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Description

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Hall of Commanders

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Kemba, Kha Regent

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First Commander

October 26, 2011 - July 23, 2013

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This is my first Commander deck. I started building it in October 2011. The original motivation for this deck was the desire to use The Kaldra Set and assemple Legendary Avatar to the board. To get the best use out of these Equipment, I required a synergistic Commander.

The only options available in 2011 were Kemba, Kha Regent or Raksha Golden Cub. I obviously decided on the former as the First Commander.  Having a Commander that initially costs seven mana would only invite problems.

The early builds of this deck were Voltron/Token hybrid strategies to make use out of Kemba's Cat tokens. I'd equip her and build up a Token army while attempting Combat Damage kills. Overtime, I grew tired of the token half of the deck's strategy and desired to go full Voltron. The support for it dwindled as I began looking for an alternative Commander to better deal Commander Damage.

Eight-and-a-Half-Tails

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Second Commander

July 23, 2013 - February 3, 2017

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My search for a new Commander led me to the format's old treasure trove of Kamigawa. The first set in the Block, Champions of Kamigawa, had the best candidate for the Second Commander: Eight-and-a-Half-Tails. This famous Kitsune offered the ability keep targeted removal off of my permanents while also making himself unblockable. A great fit for my new needs.

8.5-Tails wasn't without his fair share of problems. His abilities required three mana to be open at all times to be effective as a removal deterrant. He was never an early-game play, and keeping his abilities active always stung when mana-screwed. Regardless, I was content with 8.5-Tails as my Commander for the coming years.

Sram, Senior Edificer

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Third Commander

February 3, 2017 - November 30, 2017

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Aether Revolt introduced a peculiar Dwarf, Sram, Senior Edificer. My initial impression wasn't the best. The though of using him as a Commander didn't come to mind right away and I initially dismissed it as a bad Puresteel Paladin, nothing I really wanted in the 99.

After giving it some thought, I figured that this was an opportunity to have Equipment support back in the Command Zone and return to using an early-game Commander, and Sram, Senior Edificer took over as the Third Commander.

Balan, Wandering Knight

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Forth Commander

November 30, 2017 - February 12, 2021

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Sram's reign as Commander was short-lived. Mere months after he took the position, Commander 2017 introduced the Forth Commander.

Balan, Wandering Knight was a game-changer, possessing the ability to be an aggressive win-con. With previous Commanders, getting a vanilla 2 power creature to deal 21 total damage reliably more often than not involves numerous Equipment, causing their clocks to take several turns and giving opponents plenty of breathing room to draw into answers. Balan's natural double strike increases her clock dramatically, requiring less Equipment to be a legitimate threat and take out opponents in a more reasonable amount of time. She would also consistently two-shot opponents with any couple of Equipment, and had the potential to one-shot using a specific pair.

Another great aspect of Balan was her attach ability. For two mana, all Equipment I control attached to her, greatly saving on mana when equipping her. She could also use her attach ability to dodge high equip costs.

Halvar, God of Battle -//- Sword of the Realms

Fifth   Commander  

February 12, 2021 - Present

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As such a proficient win-con, Balan was the best Commander yet. I honestly believed she would be at the helm of this deck for a long time. However, Halvar, God of Battle  emerged from the frigid realms of Kaldheim to become the Fifth Commander.

Possessing double strike when equipped like his predecessor, Halvar  has a blazing fast clock. His double strike requires a single solid Equipment, and can easily two-shot opponents if that lone Equipment increases his power to at least 6 and provides sufficient evasion. Halvar  also shares his double strike to any other equipped creatures, offering the option to focus on multiple opponents at once.

Sword of the Realms  adds a layer of utility alongside the regular Voltron gameplan. It causes any one of this deck's alternative threats to act like a Partner by returning it to my hand when it dies. This devalues my opponents' creature removal and keeps a key creature on board.

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Halvar's Gameplan

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The Three Paths

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This deck has three different path to follow:

• Primary Path: The Skoti Warrior ---- Using Halvar, God of Battle  to deal Commander Damage.

• Auxiliary Path: The Tyrite Blade ---- Using the Sword of the Realms  to support an alternative threat.

• Default Path: The Godless Struggle ---- Using alternative threats without the aid of Halvar  or his Sword.  

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The path I start with each game is dictated by my opening hand. I may have good Equipment and drop Halvar  right away. I may have an early threat and wish to use Sword of the Realms  to keep it around as long as possible. I may have a middling hand and decide to build my resources before committing to either side of my Commander right away. No matter how I begin, whichever path I walk is subject to change as things progress and situations evolve.

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Primary Path: The Skoti Warrior

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The Primary Path is the one I will prioritize throughout the game. As an Equipment Voltron deck, dealing full Commander Damage to each opponent is the main win condition, so I will attempt to have Halvar  active whenever feasible.

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The First Step Show

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An opening hand with a ramp effect and a solid Equipment is the most ideal situation to follow the Primary Path out of the gate. A Protector present in the opener as well is the perfect scenario, as Halvar  can begin dealing Commander Damage before opponents can set up proper defenses and and won't be tagged by a killspell right away.

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Halvar's Assualt Show

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Halvar  is an efficient warrior. Any Equipment that pumps his power by at least 2 and offers sufficient evasion is the most beneficial, as he'll only need two attacks to take out an opponent. A Sword with a relevant protection is especially effective as to completely dodge potential blockers and removal.

Outside of a select few, additional Equipment won't increase his clock any further. Since those extra Equipment will often be superfluous in Halvar's  hands, I may equip an alternative threat to pressure another opponent simultaneously. Halvar   is unlike my previous Commander, and he is willing to share the weapons his Armory and his double strike, allowing the other threat to also deal heavy damage.

I tend to be conservative with any Equipment on hand. Whether Halvar  is attacking alone or not, spare Equipment will only be cast for lifegain, to shore up gaps in evasion, or for necessary Sword triggers. Although, if I have access to the proper Equipment for Halvar   to one-shot an opponent, then I will attempt the kill.

Rogue's Passage is a very potent utility land when Halvar  is active. My opponents' blockers become irrelevant and Halvar  can't be stopped aside from disarming him or killing him outright.

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Straying from the Path Show

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In the event that Halvar  dies, I'll attempt to remain on the Primary Path and immediately recast him. If an alternative threat is already on the field, I may choose to equip that threat first, then recast Halvar  to have a double striker for that turn while he is summoning sick. Halvar  can then be tossed the Equipment with his attach trigger to resume his assault afterwards.

There will be situations where I may have to hold off on recasting Halvar   at all. If I suspect a killspell and I don't have a Protector on board, I wouldn't be able to avoid him getting sniped. If my Equipment were destroyed with him and I have none on hand to replace them, then Halvar  would be pointless. No matter the reason, if Halvar  isn't the proper option to take, I'll have to abandon the Primary Path and traverse one of the others.

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Auxiliary Path: The Tyrite Blade

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Drawing the Blade Show

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The Auxiliary Path is for when things aren't suitable for Halvar  to be effective. A missing key piece in the opener for an early rush. A telegraphed removal spell. He was already tagged and I don't have a Protector available to feel comfortable recasting him. There are plenty of reasons for him to be held back. Unlike other Voltron Commanders, Halvar  isn't completely left without options. Where other Commanders would be cursed to wait in the Command Zone, his other side, Sword of the Realms,  can shine.

Halvar's Sword  is the perfect supplement for an alternative threat. It offers vigilance to keep my defenses up and will return the equipped creature to my hand when it dies. This recursion ability mimics the Partner mechanic, giving me a second creature that I have near-permanent access to. Opponents would have to 'double-tap' the equipped creature before it was re-equipped in order to fully take it down, devaluing their creature removal. Otherwise, they would have to take out the Sword   itself if they're in the colours with artifact removal.

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Tyrite Heroes Show

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Ideally, the Auxiliary Path is best chosen early-game when the Commander isn't heavily taxed. This gives me an early-game presence while building resources before Halvar   can make his proper debut. The deck's cheaper threats work well with the Tyrite Blade,  as they're easier to recast and re-equip.

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Serra Ascendant is the champion of the Auxiliary Path. The hyper-efficient threat benefits greatly from the vigilance and self-recursion granted by Halvar's Sword.   If I ever see Serra Ascendant in my opening hand, I'll immediately follow the Auxiliary Path for the enormous board dominance a large, immortal, vigilant, lifelinking flier provides so early in the game.

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There are many other low-cost threats that can also take up Halvar's Sword  a worthy wielder, spicing up otherwise middling opening hands. Ardenn, and Kemba, Kha Enduring can equip the Sword   for free and start bashing in without fear of death. Puresteel Paladin causes the Sword   to cantrip and can also equip for free when metalcraft is active.

Of course, any threat is made better when wielding such a divine weapon.  These creatures merely take better advantage of the limited resources of the early-game. If the Auxiliary Path is chosen late, the deck's larger threats also benefit from dodging the grave.

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The Burdens of the Sword Show

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The Auxiliary Path is not without downsides. In order to use the Sword of the Realms,   I'll have to forsake the ability to deal Commander Damage until it leaves the battlefield. This will entail waiting for the Tyrite Blade  to fall victim to artifact removal, be it an opponent's removal spell or, if I'm desperate, my own sweepers   as collateral damage.

Another issue of the Auxiliary Path is the fact that Sword of the Realms  is a coloured Equipment. The Swords of Hearth & Home and Light & Shadow cannot be equipped to the same creature that wields Halvar's Sword.   This forces me to have a second alternative threat when one of these Swords are in play to gain the benefits of their trigger.

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Changing Paths Show

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Under normal gameplay, the Primary and Auxiliary Paths are fixed. Even if Halvar  is stripped of his weapons with nothing left, or his Sword  still active with the resources now available for him to take over. I have to keep on the chosen Path until my Commander falls... Unless I don't have to.

Sanctum of Eternity is a valuable land. With its ability to return my Commander back to my hand, I can more freely abandon one Path to walk another. An empty-handed Halvar  can call his Sword   to empower a follower. The Tyrite Blade  can be send back for Halvar  to return to the field and end the game.

Alternatively, I can always keep on the current Path and merely use Sanctum of Eternity to protect my Commander from my opponents attempts to interfere with my attack. I can also return my Commander to my hand before casting a sweeper and walk the Default Path for a short time, reserving a taxless cast on while replenishing the board.

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Default Path: The Godless Struggle

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Fallen God, Shattered Blade Show

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The Default Path is for when my Commander is completely unavailable. Halvar  and Sword of the Realms  are two halves of the same card and therefore share Commander Tax. A low-tax Commander is an ever-dwindling commodity throughout a game, and casting either side haphazardly would be a complete waste. If neither Halvar  nor his Sword  is going to be worthwhile, holding back is the best course of action. Repeated bouts of removal may also have chocked my Commander with high tax. Regardless on why my Commander is unavailable, I'll attempt to defeat my opponents though regular damage without his divine aid.

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Last Resort Show

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The Default Path requires raw strength. Without Commander Damage to take out opponents, I need high power to accomplish the same. As this Path is more frequent in the late-game where everyone has the resources for their best cards to hit the spotlight, my haymakers also need to make their debut.

Stonehewer Giant the single best creature in the deck. If left unchallenged, it can, and will, dominate the board from repeated tutors. It can also to recycle destroyed Equipment with Mistveil Plains, preventing artifact removal from permanently disarming my creatures. The first Equipment I grab is always Sting, the Glinting Dagger if I don't already have it. Argentum Armor is another strong tutor option as long as I have another creature capable of attacking for the removal trigger.

Danitha, Benalia's Hope brings an Equipment with her, whether its fresh from my hand or one scavenged from the 'yard. With her keywords and base 4/4 frame, any potent Equipment will make her a commanding presence on the board. If I can use her ability to get a completely free Argentum Armor on the field, I will take that advantage.

A well-stocked graveyard enables Sun Titan to generate tons of value by returning fallen utility creatures and broken weapons back onto the field.

Serra Ascendant is still a threat that pairs exceedingly well with nearly any Equipment, so long as my life total has remained stable. Ardenn, Puresteel Paladin, and Kemba are also not without purpose on the Default Path. Their abilities to dodge equip costs make them excellent ways to get the deck's more expensive Equipment into the right hands.

The variable P/T tokens from Urza's Saga and Thousand Moons Smithy   can be sizable attackers with enough artifacts. An unanswered Barracks of the Thousand   can bury opponents with an ever-growing legion of Gnome Soldiers.

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Greater Weaponry Show

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While walking the Default Path, the bulkier Equipment perform better than the others. I need high power to break the high life totals Commander has.

Argentum Armor is my favourite Equipment to cheat on costs. It's P/T boost and removal trigger and invaluable when I can pull it off, and not paying the full 12 mana isn't difficult.

Kaldra Compleat is an indestructible monster that breaks anything foolish enough that tries to get in its way. Blackblade Reforged, Colossus Hammer, and Leyline Axe offer the largest P/T boosts, which will be necessary to tackle multiple extensive life totals without access to Commander Damage.

While the Swords aren't terrible on the Default Path, they do lose a lot of their impact when Halvar's   double strike isn't empowering them. Their lower power boost puts them into a support role, using their protections to dodge blockers and killspells for this deck's alternative threats.

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Beacon of Hope Show

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Even with heavily taxed Commander, there is a way out of the Default Path. Command Beacon is a useful tool by providing a one-time tax break to get back into the Primary Path without spending excessive amounts of mana. Sun Titan is able to get further use out of the Beacon for additional tax breaks.

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General Strategies

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Building Resources Show

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Early game is largely focused on setting up the board. Equipment are often very costly to play and equip, so casting ramp effects have a strong priority in the first few turns. A Mana Rock, Knight of the White Orchid or Ancient Tomb can enable Halvar  to be cast early.

Sword of Hearth and Home and Sword of the Animist are land ramp engines that continuously keep the mana flowing. As Equipment, they are easily tutorable and can dig me out of mana screw or to keep pace with any Green mages at the table.

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Angel of the Ruins and Timeless Dragon can set up a land drop when cycled. Mistveil Plains is the go-to target to cycle for unless I need the untapped Basic. Loran of the Third Path is a card draw engine that functions early game, which also helps with consistent land drops.

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Handling Opponents Show

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This deck features an extensive removal package and a number of disruptive effects to hinder my opponents.

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I try to leave mana open for removal every turn for killspells and/or protective effects whenever possible. Keeping mana open for Parting Gust or card:Shejiri Shelter is easy in most scenarios. Having the spare mana left for more expensive options can be tricky if I need the mana for other things, especially early game or if I'm mana-screwed.

Equipment Voltron is a 'Go Big' playstyle, focusing on a single threat. Aggro strategies, especially Token decks, get overwhelming by their sheer numbers, and I have little to defend against them in combat. Sweepers keep the aggro decks in check when they have too many creatures to ignore. Heavy sweepers   are the ultimate reset button for dire situations when opponents have developed their boards too far or I'm greatly falling behind. Such sweepers may seem counterintuitive as they also hit my Equipment, but I don't mind. This deck likely runs better on minimal resources than my opponents', and I'll rebuild faster than they can.

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Grand Abolisher keeps my turn to myself, deterring counterspells and any interaction that could stop Halvar's  assault.

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Card Choices

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Creatures

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Equipment Support Show

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Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist, Codsworth, Handy Helper, & Puresteel Paladin

Creatures that provide free equipping.

• Ardenn suits himself up or another threat when my combat begins. He can be an early threat if my opening hand is slow.

• Codsworth generates mana to cast a fresh Equipment or equips an active one for free. It also safeguards Halvar  or his Sword  with ward.

• Puresteel Paladin grants equip 0 to my Equipment when metalcraft is achieved. It's also a card draw engine, causing my Equipment to cantrip.

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Danitha, Benalia's Hope

A keyword-heavy Dominarian Knight that cheats an Equipment into play and auto-equips it to her, either from my hand or the grave. I can toss that Equipment to Halvar  if needed.

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Kemba, Kha Enduring

An alternative threat that can go-wide on her own with an army of equipped Cats.

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Leonin Abunas

A creatures that grants hexproof to all of my artifacts, keeping them safe from targeted removal.

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Stoneforge Mystic & Stonehewer Giant

Creatures that tutor for Equipment.

• Stoneforge Mystic can cheat an Equipment onto the battlefield for only two mana, circumventing high mana costs and dodging countermagic.

• Stonehewer Giant is the best creatures the 99. Tutoring up my best Equipment directly onto the field every turn is backbreaking. Sting, the Glinting Dagger is the first Equipment to grab if I don't already have it. Argentum Armor is another common choice.

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Land Ramp & Fetch Show

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Land Ramp

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Knight of the White Orchid & Claim Jumper

Land ramp effects on bodies. As long as I'm not going first, they'll function perfectly fine early-game to develop my board. I usually grab Mistveil Plains to get it on the field as soon as possible unless the Knight needs to grab an untapped Basic.

I use these cards instead of loading up on too many Mana Rocks. A mix of different ramp sources avoids complete blowouts from mass artifact removal.

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Land Fetch

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Weathered Wayfarer

A repeatable land tutor. Keeps me from falling behind on land drops and sets up my board with utility lands.

If played on Turn 1, it can grab Ancient Tomb to cast Halvar  early.

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Witch Enchanter  

While it doesn't exactly fetch a land, it acts like a plainscycler by offering a land drop on its back side without the cycle cost.

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Removal & Disruption Show

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Removal

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Loran of the Third Path & Witch Enchanter  

Creatures that provide artifact/enchantment removal when they enter.

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Disruption

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Grand Abolisher

Keeps my turns free from my opponents' shenanigans. Their countermagic is kept at bay and their instant-speed interaction is useless in stopping Halvar's  assault.

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Recursion Show

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Danitha, Benalia's Hope

A Dominarian Knight that possesses a collection of keywords and highly supportive abilities.

Her ETB trigger is capable of returning a fallen Equipment back into the game.

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Restoration Specialist

A cheap source of artifact/enchantment recursion tutorable with Recruiter of the Guard.

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Sun Titan

A potent recursion engine for permanents within 3mv, taking advantage of a well-stocked graveyard.

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Other Utility Show

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Lion Sash

An Equipment creature that picks apart the grave to boost itself or whatever is wielding it.

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Loran of the Third Path

Once she's finished destroying something with her ETB trigger, she provides a steady stream of card draw.

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Mother of Runes

Gives it or another creature protection form a chosen colour, forcing opponents to 'double tap' to actually take out their target.

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Recruiter of the Guard

A tutor for creatures with low toughness. This deck has a variety of creatures to choose from.

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Serra Ascendant

The Scourge of Turn 1

Purely a back-up threat without any utility. I've dialed back on creatures that don't do anything beyond attack in this deck, but Ascendant has persisted due to its unique nature as a 6/6 flying lifelinker for a single {W}.

If I happen to have it early-game, I'll immediately choose the Auxilliary Path and cast Sword of the Realms  to support it.

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Halvar's Armory

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Halvar's Favourites Show

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The Skoti's Sword Collection

The Mirran and Allied Swords are the best Equipment that Halvar   could ever wield. A single Sword's P/T boost push his damage to two-shot range, and their protections give him evasion to dodge blockers and prevent kill spells from taking him down. On top of that, they provide tremendous value with their triggered abilities, which are doubled by Halvar  granting himself double strike when equipped.

When Halvar  is out, I will prioritize using any available Swords to maximize his effectiveness.

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• Sword of Hearth and Home is a dual land ramp/creature flicker engine.

• Sword of Feast and Famine untaps my lands and chews up my opponents hands.

• Sword of Fire and Ice draws cards and shoots damage. The go-to draw engine for the deck.

• Sword of Light and Shadow provides creature recursion and lifegain. It's protections are also the most potent at avoiding killspells.

• Sword of Sinew and Steel rids the field of artifacts and Planeswalkers.

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Commander's Plate

A Sword-like Equipment providing the similar template of P/T boosts and protections, but in larger and broader forms.

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Powerhouses Show

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Argentum Armor

I see it as an indispensable staple of Equipment strategies despite its unwieldy costs. The ultimate payoff for the multitude of ways to circumvent the costs of Equipment. Nothing beats what it offers when at a discounted price.

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Blackblade Reforged & Colossus Hammer

Equipment that provide raw, enourmous P/T boosts. When I have to rely on alternative threats, these are the better Equipment to use to take large chunks out of my opponents' life totals.

• Blackblade Reforged has a P/T boost based on the number of lands I control and is cheaper to equip to Legends.

• Colossus Hammer has a fixed +10/+10 boost that can take advantage of free equip effects in the early-game.

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Caduceus, Staff of Hermes

Serra Ascendant in Equipment form. Provides a large P/T boost and indestructible so long as I have 30 or more life, which I do by default. If my life total happens to be below 30, the lifelink it provides can fill it back up.

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Kaldra Compleat

A living weapon that can take either role of boosting a threat or being a threat. It's a nigh-unstoppable killing machine, untouchable by the most removal and nearly anything that could block it won't stick a round for a second bout.

As a living weapon, the Germ token gains Halvar's  double strike automatically and it can be attached to him immediately with his triggered ability.

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Leyline Axe

An Equipment offering double strike and trample, increasing damage while punching though defenses.

This Equipment is a non-Commander source of double strike available when locked into Sword of the Realms.  

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Utility Show

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Sword of the Realms  

The other half of my Commander.

I'll cast this side instead of Halvar  when he isn't the optimal play to support an alternative threat.

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Celestial Armor

An Equipment with flash that acts like a protective spell. Afterwards, it provides a power boost and flying to bypass blockers.

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Hammer of Nazahn

A well-rounded package providing a power boost, indestructible, and 'snap-on' equipping.

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Lion Sash

An Equipment creature that picks apart the grave to boost itself or whatever is wielding it.

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Pip-Boy 3000

A Wasteland Equipment providing card selection, P/T increases, and additional mana.

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Shadowspear

A mini Loxodon Warhammer, providing trample and lifelink.

It's also able to strip hexproof and indestructible form my opponents' permanents, allowing my removal to tag problems they would otherwise miss.

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Sting, the Glinting Dagger

A cheap source of haste and "vigilance" in the for of an untap trigger.

Stonehewer Giant gets an immense advantage from the untap trigger, allowing it to tutor up twice on my turn and have additional tutors on each opponent's turn.

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Swiftfoot Boots

A very handy Equipment providing hexproof and haste for low costs. An Equipment Votron deck shouldn't go without it.

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Sword of the Animist

An Equipment that grabs a basic Plains every attack. This continuously builds my mana, eases any missed land drops, and sets up Emeria, the Sky Ruin. I see it more as a Mana Rock than a proper Equipment.

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Artifacts & Enchantments

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Artifacts

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Mana Rocks

• Sol Ring is among the best Mana Rocks, providing a substantial bump in mana for minimal costs. It's a staple so ubiquitous it's seen as a symbol of the format. Intentionally excluding it from your deck is a disservice.

• Mind Stone is a 2mv Rock that can be popped for a card when it isn't needed. Creates a card draw engine with Sun Titan.

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Expedition Map

Grabs one of the many utility lands this deck uses for whatever the situation calls for.

If played on Turn 1, it can grab Ancient Tomb to cast Halvar  early.

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Haystack

An on-demand source of phasing to safeguard a threat and the Equipment it wields from any and all forms of removal.

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Sensei's Divining Top

A three-card hand extension. Helps dig for needed cards.

It can also trigger Barracks of the Thousand   every turn without needing to burn up additional resources.

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Thousand Moons Smithy  

An artifact that produces a threatening Gnome Soldier token and can later transform into a token factory.   It offers an effective way to go-wide without detracting from the main Voltron gameplan.

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Enchantment

(Just the one)

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Forge Anew

An Equipment support package providing recursion, instant-speed equipping, and a free equip every turn.

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Spells

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Equipment Tutors Show

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Steelshaper's Gift & Open the Armory

Cheap and efficient Equipment tutors. The core of any Equipment Voltron deck.

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Enlightened Tutor

A broader Tutor that can select any artifact or enchantment. Although, I almost always stick with an Equipment.

If it's in my opening hand, I may use it to get Mana Crypt and play Halvar  very early. Sensei's Divining Top can give me the tutored card right away when cast during my turn.

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Removal Spells Show

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Targeted Removal

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Parting Gust & Winds of Abandon

Simple killspells that exile the target.

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Generous Gift, Get Lost, & Season of the Burrow

Catch-all removal spells that target anything that ails me, leaving behind a relatively non-threatening token or replacing it with a draw off the top.

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Mass Removal

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Austere Command & Farewell

Modal sweepers that adapt to any board state.

• Due to this deck's low amount of enchantments, Austere Command's 'Destroy all enchantments' mode is often used as a blank if I wish to preserve specific creatures or my Equipment.

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Final Showdown

An instant creature sweeper that can cancel out abilities and leave a threat behind.

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Ondu Inversion  

A Modal DFC, with a heavy sweeper on the front side. If drawn too early to cast, I can play the land side instead of it lingering in my hand.

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Winds of Abandon

A full asymmetrical creature sweeper when overloaded. Giving opponents a handful of Basics is a lot better than staring down their legions of creatures. The mass influx of lands enables Knight of the White Orchid and Claim Jumper to function in the late-game.

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Protective Spells Show

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Dawn's Truce

White's Heroic Intervention.

I need to gift an opponent a card to get the full effect, but that's a more than reasonable cost for my board to avoid annihilation.

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Emeria's Call  

A Modal DFC, with a token/protective spell on the front. Creates flying bodies and safeguards my other creatures for the turn cycle.

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Final Showdown

Gives a creature indestructible to botch a killspell or to survive the sweeper mode.

It notably doesn't target, so it can affect a creature with protection from White.

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Galadriel's Dismissal

A phasing spell with a wide array of applications:

• It can spare a creature from removal.
• It can spare an Equipment from removal indirectly by phasing out its wielder.
• It can spare my entire board of creatures and attached Equipment from a sweeper.
• It can stifle an opponent's alpha strike.
• It can clear out an opponent's blockers to set up my own alpha strike.

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Parting Gust

Can be cast on one of my creatures ungifted to flicker it away from being removed, and it comes back with a +1/+1 counter!

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Sejiri Shelter  

A Modal DFC, with a protection spell on the front side. If I don't need the protective effect, I can play the land side instead.

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Teferi's Protection

A potent protective spell that spares me and my board from nearly anything.

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Other Spells Show

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Reprieve

A White Remand to give this deck some direct interaction with the Stack. Handy for delaying a key spell or dodging removal for a turn before the necessary precautions are set up.

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Season of the Burrow

A modal spell that creates spare bodies, removes threats, and recurs a small permanent that becomes resistant to further removal.

The first and third modes together is a decent way to repair my board after a sweeper by bringing back an Equipment and creating a body to wield it right away. Or I could max out the first mode and have an army of bunnies!

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Planeswalker

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Karn, Scion of Urza

A utility Planeswalker that provides card draw and bodies.

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Land

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18 Basic Plains

This deck needs its White mana, and Basic Lands are the major providers.

I need to have plenty of Basics so that Emeria, the Sky Ruin can function properly.

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Modal DFCs

• Emeria, Shattered Skyclave  
• Ondu Skyruins  
• Sejiri Glacier  
• Witch-Blessed Meadow  

Unique cards that allow utility cards and land drops to exist simultaneously.

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Abstergo Entertainment

Dual historic card recursion/grave purge in a land slot.

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Ancient Tomb

A lands that tap for {C}{C} in exchange for 2 life. Helpful for paying for heavy Equipment costs and casting expensive spells.

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Barracks of the Thousand  

Once the Smithy  transforms, it can pump out a Gnome Soldier token every turn so long as I have the artifacts and/or creatures to fuel it. Sensei's Divining Top is an effective way to trigger it without expending resources.

Creating a massive token this way allows this deck to go-wide without detracting from the main Voltron gameplan.

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Command Beacon

A Commander Tax break when Halvar  gets expensive to cast.

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Demolition Field

A utility land that destroys another utility land.

I use it over other Strip Land options due to Field replacing itself so I'm not down a land.

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Emeria, the Sky Ruin

A powerful creature recursion engine just for having a bunch of Plains.

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Kor Haven

A protective utility land that deters my opponents' threats.

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Minas Tirith & War Room

Card draw engines in land slots.

• Minas Tirith can draw cards on the cheap as long as I attack with multiple creatures. It also produces {W} and can enter untapped if I control a legendary creature.

• War Room has a more flexible and unrestricted card draw ability, requiring only the minimal of life payments.

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Mistveil Plains

Tuck cards from my graveyard. This simple ability has a few handy applications:

• Gives instants and sorceries the chance to be used again.
• Allows Equipment to be retutored back into play. This is especially effective with Stonehewer Giant.
• Denies my opponents' targeted grave-hate or recursion effects on my own cards.

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Plaza of Heroes & Talon Gates of Madara

Lands that protects a creature from removal.

• Plaza of Heroes openly safeguards Halvar  or another legendary creature by existing, similar to Mother of Runes.

• Talon Gates of Madara acts like a protection spell by its unique ability to place itself directly on the battlefield from the hand for its enters trigger to phase out a creature.

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Rogue's Passage

Makes a threat unblockable. Very helpful when my available Equipment lack the proper evasion.

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Sanctum of Eternity

A land that bounces my Commander.

Aside from saving my Commander from removal during my turn, it allows me to swap between Halvar  or Sword of the Realms  at will without waiting for either to return to the Command Zone the 'conventional' way.

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Thespian's Stage

A land clone that can repeatedly change what it becomes. It can simply be a Plains when there's no other land worth copying.

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Urza's Cave

A fetchland that gets any utility land that I desire.

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Urza's Saga

A unique Saga that provides a couple of bodies and tutors for a cheap artifact.

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Notable Exclusions

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Specific Mechanics

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Poison Counters Show

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Poison is one of the most annoying and hated mechanics in the game. Having your life total effectively be at 10 with no proper counterplay puts players on edge. Cards bearing the infect keyword and the egregious offenders, allowing poison kills to be feasible in this format.

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This deck has access to two major cards with infect: Grafted Exoskeleton and Inkmoth Nexus.

• This deck used cardInkmoth Nexus in its early days, used solely as a back-up win-con. There was significant distain in every game I had it out, and victory with it personally felt hollow. I took it out in 2015 when I needed space for another utility land.

• I've never bothered with Exoskeleton. Inkmoth Nexus was more than enough enough poison for me. An Equipment offering infect would devolve the deck into achieving poison kills instead of the Commander Damage kills its meant to achieve.

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Poison won't ever be a significant part of this deck anymore. It sours games and places a unwelcome stigma to anything is appears in.

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Catch-up Ramp Show

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I heavily dislike this style ramp that's been given to White. The purpose of ramp is to develop a resource advantage over your opponents. Catch-up ramp doesn't do that. It can only ever bring you at parity with the opponents that ramp, and never offer that advantage for yourself.

Ramp that's tied to an opponent's actions causes another problem. Without a Green opponent at the table or their land ramp being played early enough, you end up with cards that can't do anything outside of correcting missed land drops. And catch-up ramp is completely ineffective against the opponents that prefer to develop their mana with Rocks.

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Despite my animosity, this deck does have a few catch-up cards:

• Knight of the White Orchid and Claim Jumper are hallmarks of what catch-up ramp should be: hyper efficient. If I'm going to use ramp that has this kind of restriction, it should at the very least be on cards that are 'undercosted.' Any one of these creatures early game offers the same advantages as a Mana Rock as long as I'm not going first.

• Weathered Wayfarer is a repeatable hard land tutor as long as I'm behind. While it's not an actual ramp effect, grabbing a few utility lands this easily is its own advantage. And I can still be up mana if I want to.

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White doesn't even need to rely on catch-up ramp to alleviate its mana troubles. Sword of Hearth and Home and Sword of the Animist are effective tools at at providing land ramp. White's catch-up ramp will never come close to repeatable, unrestricted Rampant Growths.

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Mass Land Destruction Show

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I don't like these effects in Commander. They'll only give me the win if I have an overwhelming board advantage. Otherwise, I'm either kingmaking or turning the game into an utter mess. And with the stigma mass land destruction carries, I'm not interested in having my deck getting ostracized.

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Equipment

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The Remaining Swords Show

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I don't run all eleven Swords because they're not all equal in strength. I value each Sword based on what their triggers offer, and I have no desire to use a Sword that doesn't provide anything relevant. There's a finite amount of space for Equipment in this deck. I can't shove everything in without forethought.

I've heard the argument that the Swords can be used "just for the protections." Sword of Light and Shadow is the only Sword I believe this idea applies to, and only because pro-White/Black shuts out the top creature removal colours. However, this deck is still using Sword of Light and Shadow for its triggered ability. This argument is also pretty moot at this point now that Commander's Plate exists.

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Sword of Body and Mind

Milling is a terrible win-con in Commander. Multiple opponents with 99-card decks is a harsh order for such a strategy. With this Sword, it would take about 9 hits to deck a single opponent. Dealing the regular 40 damage is a much faster kill.

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Sword of War and Peace

The weakest of the Swords just by its underwhelming trigger. Neither impacts the board nor generates any tangible value. Lifegain and additional damage are provided by other Equipment in better, more consistent quantities.

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Sword of Truth and Justice

This Sword is a proliferate engine. Nothing more. Without a sufficient focus on counters, it doesn't do anything. The +1/+1 counters it comes with isn't enough on its own.

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Sword of Forge and Frontier

This Sword needs a lot of mana to prevent permanently losing high-value cards in exile, and this makes it very awkward to use early-game.

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Sword of Once and Future

This Sword only works in a deck that's loaded with cheap value spells. I don't have anywhere near enough instant and sorceries to get any proper value out of this Sword.

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Sword of Wealth and Power

This Sword is the olny one who's protections don't provide evasion. It's trigger is lackluster as well, requiring a deck with a lot of value spells like Once & Future to make use out of it. And the Treasure token isn't worth it when I'll need another Equipment to provide evasion just to get it.

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Other Equipment Show

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The Kaldra Set

The original motivation for building this deck.

Unfortunately, they've been heavily antiquated over the years, and I had to drop them. Equipment have gotten much better since their release way back with the debut of the subtype itself. Getting the whole set out at once is also too inconsistent and an inefficient use of tutors. The compleat package that's now available also stifles any chance of the original set coming back.

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Batterskull

Kaldra Compleat has become the go-to living weapon. An indestructible monster is a better threat than a bulky lifelinker.

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Masterwork of Ingenuity

Only two Equipment in this deck are worth copying: Argentum Armor and Inquisitor's Flail. The Armor's +6/+6 boost and removal trigger are potent things to double up on, and dual-wielding Flails quadruples the wielder's damage output.

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The Swords run into massive diminishing returns when copied. Protections don't stack, and the second +2/+2 boost doesn't affect Halvar's  clock.

His natural double strike already doubles their triggers to begin with, so there's little to gain from a second one. The rest of my Equipment don't fare any better. It's more meager P/T boosts, keywords that don't stack, and Legendary weapons that can't be copied at all.

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Clones are only as powerful as what you can copy, and this deck doesn't provide that much to work with.

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Support Show

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Creatures

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Sram, Senior Edificer

With White getting proper card draw, cantrip engines have become less desirable. What hurts him the most is that he doesn't have a secondary function to give him a purpose outside of drawing cards.

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Enchantments

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Sigarda's Aid

This card has the issue of not having another function once my Equipment are already in play. This is especially a problem when drawn late after my hand is spent of its Equipment.

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Artifacts & Enchantments

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Artifacts Show

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Inspiring Statuary

It can only affect less than half of the nonland cards this deck has. Why would I add a Mana Rock that can only be used to cast a small fraction of my spells?

Regardless, its inability to make Equipment spells cheaper is an instant deal-breaker.

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Enchantments Show

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Land Tax

It was in this deck at the beginning, but I disliked waiting for an upkeep trigger and needed something more immediate. It also wasn't the best card to draw late-game.

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Spells

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Sorceries Show

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Day of Judgment & Wrath of God

Simple creature sweepers like these are outclassed by newer options that have additional benefits.

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Instants Show

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Path to Exile & Swords to Plowshares

There has been a such massive increase in the quality of White's killspells that keeping old cards that only remove a single creature is too much of a detriment.

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Return to Dust

White's ever-expanding pool of catch-all removal options has also made this spell unnecessary.

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Land

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Artifact Lands

They don't provide any meaningful utility. Being artifacts and fueling the one card this deck has with metalcraft isn't enough to warrant a spot over any other utility land.

They can also end up as collateral damage from my own sweepers.  

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Fetchlands

They're primarily used for colour-fixing, which a Mono-Coloured deck doesn't need. Deckthinning with them is statistically negligible, especially so in a 99-card deck.

There's also an opportunity cost. Each Fetchlands added is one less utility land I'm able to include. And this deck loves its utility lands.

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Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Building devotion is difficult in a deck with a high concentration of colourless permanents and a plethora of sweepers. I had it in this deck for a number of years before giving up on it entirely.

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Temple of the False God

This card is a trap.

Its promise of {C}{C} is enticing, but it's a dead card when that mana matters the most.

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Top Ranked	Achieved #6 position overall 11 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Mono-White 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Voltron 5 years ago
Date added	12 years
Last updated	2 days
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	18 - 0 Mythic Rares 50 - 0 Rares 11 - 0 Uncommons 2 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.85
Tokens	Angel Warrior 4/4 W, Cat 2/2 W, Construct 0/0 C, Elephant 3/3 G, Fish 1/1 U, Gnome Soldier X/X C, Map, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Rabbit 1/1 W
Folders	favorites, Commander, great edh deck, Faves, EDH, EDH Decks, decks i want to build, edh, EDH, Decks Im going to get soon