"Helmsmasher? I barely know her!"

Commander / EDH Aggro Budget Casual RBW (Mardu) Voltron

Bezter

Artifact (23)

• 1x Armillary Sphere
• 1x Assault Suit
• 1x Boros Cluestone
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Infiltration Lens
• 1x Inquisitor's Flail
• 1x Kusari-Gama
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Mardu Banner
• 1x Orzhov Cluestone
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Prowler's Helm
• 1x Rakdos Keyrune
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sunforger
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Tenza, Godo's Maul
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak
• 1x Worldslayer

Instant (11)

• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Celestial Flare
• 1x Celestial Purge
• 1x Crackling Doom
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Hour of Glory
• 1x Onward / Victory
• 1x Radiant Purge
• 1x Temur Battle Rage
• 1x Uncaged Fury
• 1x Utter End

Land (34)

• 1x Bloodfell Caves
• 1x Boros Garrison
• 1x Boros Guildgate
• 1x Cinder Barrens
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Foreboding Ruins
• 1x Forsaken Sanctuary
• 5x Mountain
• 1x Nomad Outpost
• 1x Orzhov Basilica
• 1x Orzhov Guildgate
• 6x Plains
• 1x Rakdos Carnarium
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Rupture Spire
• 1x Scoured Barrens
• 1x Stone Quarry
• 1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
• 4x Swamp
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Blood Mist
• 1x Gift of Immortality
• 1x Gratuitous Violence
• 1x Indestructibility
• 1x Kismet
• 1x Protective Sphere
• 1x Sigarda's Aid
• 1x Spectra Ward
• 1x Spirit Mantle
• 1x True Conviction

Commander (1)

Sorcery (13)

• 1x Debt to the Deathless
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Dreadbore
• 1x Hallowed Burial
• 1x Insult / Injury
• 1x Merciless Eviction
• 1x Never / Return
• 1x Open the Armory
• 1x Planar Cleansing
• 1x Razaketh's Rite
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Winds of Rath

Creature (7)

• 1x Arashin Foremost
• 1x Combat Celebrant
• 1x Divinity of Pride
• 1x Generator Servant
• 1x Glorybringer
• 1x Indulgent Tormentor
• 1x Resolute Archangel

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor

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Sideboard

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Arrest
• 1x Berserkers' Onslaught
• 1x Blue Ward
• 1x Burning Anger
• 1x Tainted Remedy

Instant (3)

• 1x Doom Blade
• 1x Lapse of Certainty
• 1x Retaliate

Sorcery (5)

• 1x Behold the Beyond
• 1x Fell the Mighty
• 1x Killing Wave
• 1x Raise Dead
• 1x Unburial Rites

Artifact (2)

• 1x Hedron Matrix
• 1x Nemesis Mask

Creature (4)

• 1x Avatar of Hope
• 1x Chaos Maw
• 1x Flameblast Dragon
• 1x Necropolis Regent

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Maybeboard

Land (1)

• 1x Rogue's Passage

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"Helmsmasher? I barley know her!" is now the #1 Zurgo Helmsmasher Commander deck on TappedOut! Thank you!

Zurgo is hungry. Zurgo is thirsty. Zurgo is ready.

Aggro, Voltron deck, based on getting Zurgo Helmsmasher out as quickly as possible, buffing and protecting him, and swinging for huge amounts of damage. Best case scenario is a turn 3 win (Which I will explain below). Keep in mind some of the cards in here are fitted to my playgroup, so if they seem bad or useless, you might not know why I have them in. Feel free to leave a comment about anything though!

I won't be going over every card in the deck, but I'll highlight some of the more important ones.

Note: This deck is super-budget. You won't see any $10, $20+ cards here( Glorybringer and Sorin, Solemn Visitor were lucky pulls from packs). Nevertheless, this deck still works really well. Possible turn 2 Zurgo, possible turn 3 win. I've played $100, $200+ decks and still won. You don't need to spend all your money on a deck for it to be good! :) #gobugdetdecks

There are 7 creatures in my mainboard. They all serve a purpose.

Arashin Foremost = Gives Zurgo double-strike.

Combat Celebrant = Extra Combat, extra damage from Zurgo.

Divinity of Pride = Life gain, big flyer, big blocker. Keeps my life total up.

Generator Servant = Ramp for Zurgo to get out sooner.

Glorybringer = Extra damage and removal.

Indulgent Tormentor = Card draw or removal/life drain.

Resolute Archangel = Saving me from dying when I need more time to let Zurgo feast.

Buff:
Temur Battle Rage, Uncaged Fury, Insult // Injury, and Onward // Victory are some of the most useful. Double-strike makes a win that much faster.

Spot Removal:
Celestial Purge, Radiant Purge, Hour of Glory, Utter End to name a few. Removal for all kinds of permanents, not just creatures, is important.

Board Wipes:
Very important in Zurgo (and all) EDH decks. There's no downside to destroying all creatures on your turn since Zurgo is Indestructible. Planar Cleansing and Winds of Rath are the main two that wouldn't hurt me. Merciless Eviction and Hallowed Burial get around opponent's indestructible creatures.

Other:
Debt to the Deathless and Torment of Hailfire are in here for late game damage if it's too risky to get Zurgo out again, if he costs too much to cast, or what have you. They can both be win-cons in both 1v1 and multiplayer games. Debt to the Deathless is probably better in multiplayer because you'll gain a ton of life.

Gratuitous Violence, Blood Mist and True Conviction for lasting double-strike/double damage.

Indestructibility and Spectra Ward to protect Zurgo.

Kismet and Protective Sphere help keep the opponent(s) from catching up on the speed and damage Zurgo entails.

RAMP RAMP RAMP. I've added even more mana rocks to make sure Zurgo gets out as soon as possible and, if killed, can keep coming out. Zurgo is a huge target in multiplayer, with his 7 power and all around intimidating presence.

Equipment:
Equipment is very important in most Zurgo Helmsmasher EDH decks. Whispersilk Cloak, Kusari-Gama, Tenza, Godo's Maul, Inquisitor's Flail, Worldslayer, Swiftfoot Boots, and Assault Suit as well as others are all key pieces. Assault Suit is incredible in multiplayer games, because if you have it equipped to Zurgo, you let your opponents take control of him and smash each other's faces with him while you sit back and watch. #Raaa

Synergies:

Loxodon Warhammer + Kusari-Gama or Inquisitor's Flail or any double strike. 10/2 with double strike and lifelink? Heck yeah!

Debt to the Deathless or Torment of Hailfire + all the ramp in the deck. You can make X pretty darn high with all the ramp there is in this deck.

Zurgo Helmsmasher + Worldslayer. Pretty self explanatory, blow everything but Zurgo but Worldslayer up. Lolz!

To make this deck even more budget:

Take out: Sorin, Solemn Visitor, Glorybringer, True Conviction, Boros Charm and Torment of Hailfire. Taking out these cards will bring the price down about $20.

Possible replacements: Behold the Beyond, Burn from Within, Berserkers' Onslaught, Mardu Charm, Killing Wave. Whatever you feel will do the best for you!

1v1 Turn 3 win best scenario:

Turn 1: Plains, > Sol Ring, > Rakdos Signet OR Mountain > Sol Ring > Orzhov Signet OR Swamp > Sol Ring > Boros Signet (as long as you have one of each mardu color)

Turn 2: Land (preferably colored), Play Zurgo Helmsmasher, attack for 7 commander damage.

Turn 3: Attack with Zurgo, give him doublestrike with Temur Battle Rage or Uncaged Fury.

If they have no blockers and no fogs and no ways to slow Zurgo down, that's a turn 3 win. #Raaa

That about wraps it up

I didn't want to make this too long, and thanks so much if you read it all!

I would love to hear thoughts, feedback, and suggestions. What do you think of this budget Zurgo deck? Would you play it? How would you build it differently?

(This deck was also named "We Live Free Under the Wind" and "Avengers: Age of Voltron")

Top Ranked	Achieved #13 position overall 7 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Aggro 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Budget 5 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH RBW (Mardu) 5 years ago
Date added	7 years
Last updated	5 years
Exclude colors	UG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	3 - 2 Mythic Rares 27 - 9 Rares 35 - 5 Uncommons 18 - 3 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.42
Tokens	Emblem Sorin, Solemn Visitor, Vampire 2/2 B, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Other people's shit, Options, EDH interests, Hmmmm. Fun., Red white black Voltron, ideas for commander , Budget EDH, Edh, Ideas, Budget Decks