DRACARYS! [Velomachus Primer + T1]

Commander / EDH Aftermath Double strike Land Destruction RW (Boros) Voltron

Ardees

Land (30)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flagstones of Trokair
• 1x Gemstone Caverns
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Inspiring Vantage
• 2x Mountain
• 1x Needleverge Pathway  ^Flip
• 3x Plains
• 1x Plateau
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Sunbaked Canyon
• 1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
• 1x Urza's Saga
• 1x War Room
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Creature (8)

• 1x Combat Celebrant
• 1x Dockside Extortionist
• 1x Giver of Runes
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 1x Ranger-Captain of Eos
• 1x Treasonous Ogre

Artifact (21)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Basalt Monolith
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Defense Grid
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Grim Monolith
• 1x Jeweled Lotus
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Moonsilver Key
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Ruby Medallion
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Strionic Resonator
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Thought Vessel

Sorcery (16)

• 1x Armageddon
• 1x Cataclysm
• 1x Chandra's Ignition
• 1x Council's Judgment
• 1x Divine Reckoning
• 1x Emeria's Call  ^Flip
• 1x Imposing Grandeur
• 1x Insult / Injury
• 1x Jeska's Will
• 1x Mizzix's Mastery
• 1x Ruination
• 1x Seize the Day
• 1x Single Combat
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Wheel of Misfortune
• 1x World at War

Commander (1)

Instant (21)

• 1x Akroma's Will
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Cosmic Intervention
• 1x Deflecting Swat
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Flawless Maneuver
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Invoke Calamity
• 1x Kaya's Onslaught
• 1x Oblation
• 1x Onward / Victory
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Red Elemental Blast
• 1x Savage Beating
• 1x Seething Song
• 1x Silence
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Uncaged Fury
• 1x Unleash Fury
• 1x Valakut Awakening  ^Flip

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Paladin Class
• 1x Smothering Tithe

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (8)

• 1x Angelfire Ignition
• 1x Balancing Act
• 1x Epicenter
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Invoke Justice
• 1x Razia's Purification
• 1x Tragic Arrogance

Instant (5)

• 1x Dispatch
• 1x Faith's Reward
• 1x Orim's Chant
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Tibalt's Trickery

Creature (1)

• 1x Moltensteel Dragon

Artifact (1)

• 1x Archaeomancer's Map

Land (3)

• 1x Bonders' Enclave
• 1x Spinerock Knoll
• 1x Witch's Clinic

Enchantment (3)

• 1x Duelist's Heritage
• 1x Price of Glory
• 1x Tectonic Instability

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T1 VELOMACHUS? YES WE CAN

Snapshot

• Commander beatdown voltron strategy with a side mass land destruction back-up strategy.
• Aims at winning in the early game.
• It is good against a wide spectrum of decks, but suffers against heavy control and artifact removal decks.
• Meant mostly for 1v1 games, but it performs surprisingly well in multiplayer due to the mass land destruction strategy. It is further adjustable for multiplayer setup (e.g., adding Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar).
• It is efficient (300+ tests on untap) and fun to play, but also quite salty due to the mass land destruction side strategy.
• Price can be dramatically reduced by removing Wheel of Fortune (e.g., for Wheel of Misfortune), Grim Monolith (e.g., for Hedron Archive or other rocks), Mox Diamond, and Plateau.

T1 OPENING HAND

• Jeweled Lotus, Mana Vault, Mox Opal/Lotus Petal/Chrome Mox/Mox Diamond, Mountain/Plains.

OR

• Jeweled Lotus, Grim Monolith/Mana Vault, Mana Crypt, Mountain/Plains

OR

• Treasonous Ogre, Seething Song, Mana Crypt, Mountain, any white-mana-producing rock.

OR

• Treasonous Ogre, Seething Song, Ancient Tomb, Lotus Petal/Chrome Mox/Mox Diamond, any white-mana-producing rock (Chrome Mox must imprint a red card).

OR

• Mana Crypt, Lotus Petal/Chrome Mox/Mox Diamond, Jeska's Will, Mountain/Plains (works on the draw too as long as the opponent has 6 cards in their hand; Chrome Mox must imprint a white card).

Other T1 combinations requiring 5+ cards exist.

THE STRATEGY

1. Ramp as fast as you can. A good opening hand should allow you to cast Velomachus no later than T5, preferably T4. T2 and T3 Velomachus are not utterly uncommon, whilst T1 are fairly rare.
2. Have some protection (Giver of Runes, Mother of Runes, Benevolent Bodyguard, Ranger-Captain of Eos) ready on the battlefield.
3. Cast Velomachus Lorehold, hope to hit: (a) a booster card (Insult / Injury, Onward / Victory, Rush of Blood, Invoke Justice) for damage; (b) a double strike card (Kaya's Onslaught, Uncaged Fury, Boros Charm, Akroma's Will) for damage; (c) a board wipe (Armageddon, Cataclysm) to gain strategic advantage; (d) an extra combat card (Savage Beating, World at War); (e) or a wheel card to restock your hand, which is usually empty as you're supposed to play ramp cards and other permanents early in the game.
4. Continue to exploit the synergy between booster, double strike, and double combat cards.

5. Add additional triggers with Strionic Resonator or finish your opponent off with an extra combat cards.

6. Expect Velomachus to be a major target. Depending on the decks you are playing against, you should keep a hand that have some protection ready.

7. Expect Velomachus to be removed, which will result in a very high mana expense to cast it again. To cope with this, either tutor commander beacon, or hit a wheel card to restock your hand with ramp cards.
8. Removing lands through mass destruction is generally a priority over a booster or double strike card. But context mostly determines what card to pick with Velomachus' trigger.

REMARKS

Notable Synergies

• Kaya's Onslaught/Uncaged Fury + any booster card = 24 damages on the spot.
• Chandra's Ignition + any booster card makes 10 damage to each other creature and each opponent.
• Armageddon/Cataclysm + Teferi's Protection/Cosmic Intervention wipe each other player's board while yours remains intact. Armageddon also works with Boros Charm.
• Smothering Tithe + Wheel of Fortune or Reforge the Soul gets you 7 treasures (24 in multiplayer).

Anti-control Cards

• Grand Abolisher keeps your turn safely uninterrupted.
• Cavern of Souls prevents Velomachus from being countered. It can be tutored through Weathered Wayfarer or Expedition Map.
• Defense Grid makes countering and removing more expensive.
• Silence prevents Velomachus and its attack triggers from being countered.
• Ranger-Captain of Eos safeguards your turn (while also tutoring for a Mother of Runes or Giver of Runes or Benevolent Bodyguard).
• Homeward Path safeguards against creature steal spells (e.g., Gilded Drake).

Notable Exclusions

• extra combat sorceries such as Relentless Assault, Response / Resurgence, or Waves of Aggression unfortunately do not work when cast during the combat phase (see oracle rulings). These cards are consequently cut out the deck.
• some extra combat creatures such as Aurelia, the Warleader, Port Razer, Aggravated Assault, or Scourge of the Throne have been tested, and they are not consistent with the voltron strategy pursued with this deck. Usually, they are also removed on the spot, or their ability to provide an extra combat phase is prevented somehow.

Top Ranked	Achieved #16 position overall 3 years ago Achieved #11 position in Commander / EDH 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Double strike 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Land Destruction 3 years ago
Date added	3 years
Last updated	1 year
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	17 - 0 Mythic Rares 53 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.67
Tokens	Angel Warrior 4/4 W, Construct 0/0 C, Elephant 3-3 G, Foretell, Treasure
Folders	Interesting Decks, Cool Decks, EDH