Gavi Threshold (LCP Homework)

Commander / EDH Blue Moon Control Multiplayer RUW (Jeskai, America) Value Engine

Agnos

Land (35)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Ash Barrens
• 1x Cephalid Coliseum
• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forgotten Cave
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 14x Island
• 1x Lonely Sandbar
• 2x Mountain
• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 2x Plains
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Raugrin Triome
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Terrain Generator

Removal (8)

• 1x Akroma's Vengeance
• 1x Aura Extraction
• 1x Cast Out
• 1x Cleansing Meditation
• 1x Dismantling Wave
• 1x Forsake the Worldly
• 1x Kirtar's Desire
• 1x Terminus

Midrange Value (6)

• 1x Curator of Mysteries
• 1x Kykar, Wind's Fury
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Taigam, Ojutai Master
• 1x The Locust God
• 1x Unpredictable Cyclone

Draw (13)

• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Dig Through Time
• 1x Finale of Promise
• 1x Jace's Archivist
• 1x Khorvath's Fury
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Memory Jar
• 1x New Perspectives
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Rielle, the Everwise
• 1x Toothy, Imaginary Friend
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Windfall

Protection (8)

• 1x Angelsong
• 1x Astral Drift
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Complicate
• 1x Countervailing Winds
• 1x Narset's Reversal
• 1x Neutralize
• 1x Teferi's Protection

Cantrip (7)

• 1x Flash of Insight
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  ^Flip
• 1x Mizzix's Mastery
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Nexus of Fate *list*
• 1x Personal Tutor

Cheat (4)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x God-Eternal Kefnet
• 1x Mana Geyser
• 1x Underworld Breach

Commander (1)

Speed (12)

• 1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Curious Homunculus  ^Flip
• 1x Energy Tap
• 1x Everflowing Chalice
• 1x Goblin Electromancer
• 1x Izzet Cluestone
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Victory Chimes
• 1x Walking Atlas
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Hate (6)

• 1x Alms Collector
• 1x Back to Basics
• 1x Blood Moon
• 1x Decree of Annihilation
• 1x Magus of the Moon
• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils

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Sideboard

Other (15)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Desperate Ritual
• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Dramatic Reversal
• 1x Expansion / Explosion
• 1x High Tide
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Pyretic Ritual
• 1x Retraced Image
• 1x Scorched Ruins
• 1x Scrap Mastery
• 1x Turnabout
• 1x Voltaic Key

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Maybeboard

Other (15)

• 1x Chart a Course
• 1x Desert of the Fervent
• 1x Desert of the Mindful
• 1x Desperate Ravings
• 1x Magmatic Sinkhole
• 1x Purify the Grave
• 1x Radical Idea
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Tectonic Reformation
• 1x Thought Scour
• 1x Thousand-Year Storm
• 1x Thrill of Possibility
• 1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
• 1x Wheel and Deal
• 1x Winds of Change

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Completed via Legendary Creature Podcast's April 2020 "Homework Assignment."

Mini-Primer for a Gavi Deck, promoting an idea of playing well with others (but not too nicely).

The goal in a nutshell: Establish Threshold while punishing greedy opponents; leverage Wheel effects; filter to Approach of the Second Sun; fast-track to a second cast.

A few notes: This is one of a handful of ideas I'd draw on for building this commander - and the list as is is my choice for the most adaptive decklist for a blind meta. It runs 18x cards that can be Cycled, as a point of reference, chosen from upwards of 45 that were considered (and ~66 total available).

I've included a sideboard and maybeboard, each of 15 cards, to pivot the deck in other directions without losing the core archetype and philosophy. I've also listed general archetypes below, which are vaguely in order of best to shakiest, in my opinion.

The sideboard cards detail a possible suite in a meta where speed is more of a factor, rather than consistency. I don't believe random LGS pods are quite so focused on speed, and therefore prefer the mainboard as a midrange option. However, fast mana and Rituals are not to be discounted. The mainboard mana base is built with the sideboard in mind, as "too many islands" is rarely an issue, but "not enough islands" is huge, especially with High Tide in the 99.

With that said, the maybeboard moves the deck in the other direction. These cards represent options to deal with control decks, including less efficient but more consistent suites - namely a graveyard hate package, a few cards to support a backup plan of milling opponents (but not yourself), and red cantrips that support a bigger graveyard and more consistent draws in long games.

Fair warning: This deck is entirely theoretical, built from my experiences playing Jeskai (since 2012) and Izzet (since early 2019).

Name:

Jason #JasonDiesFirst

Pronouns:

He/Him/His

Discord Handles:

Agnos#7692

Assigned Card:

Gavi, Nest Warden

Viable Commander?

Yes!

Possible Archetypes:

Ritual-Wheel / Approach (This Decklist)

Tectonic-Eggs / Grinding-Breach Mastery

Hatebear-Stax / Infinite Fireball

Divergent-Polymorph / Oracle

Interesting Synergies:

Gavi synergizes well with several notable packages, leveraging both of her abilities to filter toward win conditions, and create creatures for either protection or as fuel for the deck's engines.

My vision of the deck uses cards like Alhammarret's Archive to mine value out of cycling every turn, and cards like Blood Moon to slow down opponents in the hopes of allowing as many turns as possible without being threatened.

Gavi's token producing ability is gravy, synergizing with cards like Victory Chimes and New Perspectives to allow doubling up on cycling effects, creating blockers and midrange pressure to threaten life totals and opposing Planeswalkers.

Gavi's natural inclination toward using the Cycle mechanic to filter cards into the graveyard synergizes well with Threshold abilities, Delve, and Artifact 'Welding,' as well as allowing for greedier decklists that play lower land counts and aggressive win conditions (notably, Approach of the Second Sun).

Her token-producing ability also makes her a suitable Mass Polymorph Commander, especially coupled with her Jeskai pairing. Where warranted, this is ideal for a light Stax shell, supporting numerous other back-up plans.

As an aside, Gavi being a Five Drop allows for greedier ramp packages to be included at no further loss of speed - particularly Rituals and dynamic 3CMC rocks that would be too slow to assist with a 4CMC-top-of-curve, but fit quite nicely here.

PS: Decree of Annihilation for "free," with Boros Charm/Teferi's Protection can be brutal. Instant speed!

Blindspots:

Gavi is a 5CMC commander with no access to green acceleration, and no inherent protection. Neither ramp nor counterspells have much easy room in the decklist, as she forfeits deckslots to a suite of fundamentally inefficient cards with the Cycling mechanic. Moreover, Gavi is Jeskai, which is one of the most complicated land bases to build well, given no access to Green fixing. This last point is magnified in a Blood Moon deck, though the reward is worth the risk, I believe.

More than anything, Gavi requires a linear strategy and an all-in mindset to excel in any one of the possible builds she supports. However, the hoops she asks you to jump through are not readily apparent in her text box, nor simple to achieve without extensive consideration in the deckbuilding stage.

Overall Impression:

Gavi is not a simple commander by any means, and I would argue is not suitable for an entry-level player, while at the same time not being your typical "good-stuff" build. She might also struggle at the absolute top levels of play, despite her identity including Blue.

Overall, I was surprised at how much I came to respect her as a Commander, after she was assigned for my review. She at first seems pigeonholed into one type of list, but supports several distinct engines and multiple unique win conditions, while still having space leftover for personal preference and a modest toolbox.

Even with an inherent need for sub-optimal card quality, a deck full of Cyclers can filter quite effectively to the cards you need, and enough Cycling cards have been printed to allow for individual consideration and shoring up weaknesses of the deck. In particular, Gavi has access to an extensive suite of Removal and Protection spells, many of which synergize with her directly.

After completing my assignment, I'll be building her, for sure!

Moxfield Decklist Clone

Top Ranked	Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Control 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH RUW (Jeskai, America) 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Value Engine 4 years ago
Date added	4 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 1 Mythic Rares 41 - 7 Rares 17 - 3 Uncommons 13 - 4 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.35
Tokens	Dinosaur Cat 2/2 RW, Emblem Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, Insect 1/1 UR, Spirit 1/1 W, Treasure
Folders	Gavi