Tale of Two Commanders #6: Time to Suit Up!

Features

GoldGhost012

21 May 2014

2834 views

Last time on Dragon Ball Z Kai...

Alright, I'm back and I'm ready to do an article! Sorry about the wait though; it's been a long couple weeks testing, track-ing, and getting ready to graduate.

For the last two contests, I've faced Commanders that summon huge creatures to beat face with. This time, I've decided to face a deck that plays in a style I'm actually very fond of: Voltron.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term “Voltron,” it refers to an old TV show where five individuals piloting different robots combine their machines together to form one giant, superfighting robot. Or if you’re like me, think of the Megazords from Power Rangers. Or this guy:

But Voltron in Magic isn't playing a bunch of creatures then casting Polymerization to fuse them into one giant dude; it's a play style where one creature is loaded up with a bunch of Artifacts and/or Auras and swings in to inflict massive damage. In Commander, usually the loaded creature will be the Commander so that the game ends quickly with Commander damage. Ideally this Commander will be hard to destroy and not intense on the mana. So without further ado, let me introduce you all to Spootyone's entry, deck-large:justice-at-any-cost-sigarda-voltron

According to my helpful list, Sigarda, Host of Herons isn't one of the more popular Commanders. In fact, there were 8 people from the poll that played her, which actually turned out to be more than Memnarch, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, or Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund (sad face). But let's move on to the deck!

Deck Tech

A lot of Voltron decks are Equipment centric decks, focusing on Equipments like the Mirran Swords (Sword of Fire and Ice) and Umezawa's Jitte because they're relatively hard to get rid of- they don't disappear if the equipped creature dies, they just hang around on the battlefield until the next creature gets suited up. Not this Voltron deck- Spooty declares right in the description that it's more pointed towards Auras because they're cheaper, both in monetary and casting cost. And it's at least semi-competitive, which could be bad for me and my Tribal Dragons. With Sigarda, Host of Herons being the main creature wearing the pants, quite a bit of damage is going to get through due to her evasion and protection from spot removal.

So, five of the most powerful cards in the deck (or at least ones I'll have the most trouble against):

1. Sigarda, Host of Herons. Seriously. Attach Auras, beat face. Hexproof means I can't hit her with my usual removal like the pings from Scourge of Valkas or Flameblast Dragon's burn, and she and other creatures can't be sacrificed. No, instead I'll have to use my Dragons to block her. And since she usually won't attack unless she's suited up… I'll probably be losing a lot of Dragons.

2. Spirit Mantle. Since I'll have to be relying on mostly creatures to stop Sigarda, this Aura makes that effort worthless. But this is just a monstrosity of an Aura anyway, since the enchanted creature can be the ultimate attacker or blocker.

3. Battle Mastery/Silverblade Paladin. Double strike. That's all folks. Makes a great finishing move when paired with a pantsed Sigarda and Commander damage.

4. Darksteel Plate. One of the few Equipments in here, it sticks around when more vulnerable Equipments would be destroyed. And it keeps the equipped creature around after boardwipes. It makes Sigarda just that much harder to kill. Seriously, mass exile is needed.

5. Thrun, the Last Troll. Can't be countered and hexproof. With regenerate. He's sticking around. And he has a nice 4/4 body for 4 mana. Sure, I'd love to stick some pants on him.

So, what do I have on the defense?

1. Sword of Feast and Famine. Good for offense or defense. Can block Sigarda and survive or can slip through past green defenders. The only natural fliers are at least part green. And it comes with natural bonuses when damage is dealt!

2. Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon. Useful in whittling down Sigarda's power, able to stick around due to regenerate.

3. Spearbreaker Behemoth. A way to keep defending fliers around when Sigarda's suited up. And unlike Asceticism, this stops Winds of Rath.

So I might still be at a disadvantage here, but at least I won’t have Demons with 7+ power popping out at me every turn. Honestly I’m pretty psyched to play this- I really love how powerful Sigarda is and how quickly she can end the game.

D will stand for Dragons and have thoughts be italicized while S will stand for Sigarda and thoughts will be bolded.

Disclaimer: Both these decks are played by me on the Tappedout playtester. I am definitely not a MTG pro. Far from it. I WILL make mistakes and misplays. This is for me to improve my skills as well as for the viewers.

Let's Begin

D wins the roll and will go first. He keeps a hand of Birds of Paradise, Greater Good, Forest, Elvish Piper, Fire-Lit Thicket, Hellkite Tyrant, and Oblivion Stone. Birds will help me accelerate with mana a bit, but I need to draw into lands. That said, if I can drop Elvish Piper I'll be able to drop Hellkite Tyrant, hopefully putting some heavy damage on.

S keeps a hand of Kor Spiritdancer, Eladamri's Call, Plains, Sungrass Prairie, Umbra Mystic, Mana Vault, and Mesa Enchantress. Not terrible, especially if I can draw into another land that gives me white mana. I'll be able to set up a great draw engine with Kor Spiritdancer and Mesa Enchantress.

Turn 1

D plays Forest and casts Birds of Paradise.

S draws and plays Plains and casts Mana Vault.

Turn 2

D draws Oracle of Mul Daya. He plays Fire-Lit Thicket and taps Birds of Paradise to cast Oblivion Stone.

S draws Keen Sense. She plays Sungrass Prairie, then taps her Plains to activate the Prairie's effect, adding GW to her mana pool, then casting Kor Spiritdancer.

Turn 3

D draws Scourge of Valkas. Well, crap. Passes.

S draws and plays Plains. She taps Mana Vault, adding 3 colorless mana to her mana pool. She spends one of them to activate Sungrass Prairie. Taps a Plains to cast Mesa Enchantress and uses the floating G to cast Keen Sense. Let the draws begin! Both the Kor Spiritdancer's and the Enchantress's effects trigger, and S draws Command Tower and Mirri's Guile. Keen Sense enchants the Spiritdancer, making it a 2/4, which attacks and D chooses not to block (D: 38, S: 40). Keen Sense triggers, and S draws Spirit Mantle. Ooh. This one!

Turn 4

D draws Mountain. Oh, thank goodness. Plays the Mountain and taps Birds of Paradise to cast Oracle of Mul Daya. He reveals the top of his library, which shows Dolmen Gate. Really? Come on.

At the beginning of S's draw step, Mana Vault is tapped, so it deals one damage to her (D: 38, S: 39). She draws Wooded Bastion and plays Command Tower. Kor Spiritdancer attacks, and D chooses not the block (D: 36, S: 39). Keen Sense triggers, and S draws Knight of the Reliquary. She taps Command Tower to cast Mirri's Guile, triggering Mesa Enchantress and drawing Selesnya Signet. Taps Plains to activate Sungrass Prairie and casts Umbra Mystic.

Turn 5

D draws Dolmen Gate. The top of his library now reveals Command Tower. Yay! Plays the Tower from his library via Oracle of Mul Daya. The top card of his library now reveals Into the Wilds. Do I want to wait out the next turn so I can instant speed Oblivion Stone? Truthfully the Spiritdancer is not a real threat yet, but I think I want to save it for when Sigarda's unleashed. Casts Elvish Piper.

At the beginning of S's upkeep, Mirri's Guile lets her look at the top three cards of her library and rearrange them. The top three are Utopia Sprawl, Brushland, and Aegis of the Gods. Utopia Sprawl's an automatic no, since I don’t control any Forests. Brushland’s not necessary since I have my colorfixing. I guess I'll go with Aegis then. Hexproof's nice. Puts Brushland on bottom, then Utopia Sprawl, then Aegis on top. At the beginning of her draw step, Mana Vault is tapped, so it deals one damage to her (D: 36, S: 38). She draws Aegis of the Gods and plays Wooded Bastion. She attacks with Kor Spiritdancer and D decides not to block (D: 34, S:38). Keen Sense triggers, and S draws Utopia Sprawl. Taps a Plains to activate Sungrass Prairie to cast her Commander, Sigarda, Host of Herons for the first time. Do I O-Stone now? Still want to say no because that Spiritdancer will still survive because of Umbra Mystic. Hoping for the best!

Turn 6

D draws Into the Wilds. The top of his library now reveals Sword of Feast and Famine. He activates Elvish Piper's ability, putting Hellkite Tyrant onto the field. He taps Birds of Paradise to cast Greater Good.

At the beginning of S's upkeep, Mirri's Guile lets her look at the top three cards of her library and rearrange them. The top three are Brushland, Banishing Stroke and Razorverge Thicket. Well, the Thicket goes immediately to the bottom, and Banishing Stroke is great since it'll be cast for its Miracle cost. Definitely on top. Puts Razorverge Thicket on bottom, then Brushland, then Banishing Stoke on top. At the beginning of her draw step, Mana Vault is tapped, so it deals one damage to her (D: 34, S: 37). She draws Banishing Stroke and immediately casts it for its Miracle cost, putting Hellkite Tyrant on the bottom of D's library. In response, D sacrifices Hellkite Tyrant to Greater Good, drawing 6 cards and discarding 3. D draws Sword of Feast and Famine, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Forest, Skarrg, the Rage Pits, Ryusei, the Falling Star, and Krosan Drover. Holy crap, could I... I might just be able to pull off a win! D discards Krosan Drover, Dolmen Gate, and Into the Wilds. The top of his library now reveals Patriarch's Bidding. S plays Plains and casts Spirit Mantle, triggering Kor Spiritdancer and Mesa Enchantress. She draws Brushland and Razorverge Thicket and Spirit Mantle enchants Sigarda, Host of Herons. Spiritdancer and Sigarda attack, D chooses not to block (D: 26, S: 37; D: 6 Commander Damage). Keen Sense triggers, and S draws Ancient Tomb. Taps Plains to activate Sungrass Prairie to cast Aegis of the Gods, triggering the Enchantress and drawing Winds of Rath. Yes, this looks very promising.

Turn 7

D draws Patriarch's Bidding. The top of his library now reveals Rootbound Crag, which D plays via Oracle of Mul Daya. The top of his library now reveals Moonveil Dragon. And now for my master plan! Plays Skarrg, the Rage Pits via Oracle of Mul Daya and activates Elvish Piper's ability, putting Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre onto the battlefield. Ulamog's ability triggers, destroying Umbra Mystic. Taps Birds of Paradise and activates the effect of Oblivion Stone, sacrificing it to destroy all nonland permanents... except Ulamog. Sigarda, Host of Herons moves back to the Command Zone. So in one turn I managed to turn the game completely in my favor. Pretty good if I do say so myself. And now I have nothing. This... does not look good.

S draws Shield of the Oversoul. Yay, a chump blocker... Plays Brushland and taps Plains to activate Sungrass Prairie, casting Selesnya Signet. Taps Brushland to activate the Signet and cast Knight of the Reliquary and enchants the Knight with Shield of the Oversoul. Ulamog doesn't have trample, so my Knight can absorb all the damage with its new indestructibleness. On the downside, I have to sacrifice 4 permanents a turn.

Turn 8

D draws Moonveil Dragon. Plays Forest and casts Sword of Feast and Famine, equipping it to Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. Well, looks like my Knight is just about worthless now... Ulamog attacks, and Annihilator triggers; S sacrifices Brushland, Selesnya Signet, Plains, and Sungrass Prairie. With 3 lands in S's graveyard, Knight of the Reliquary becomes a 7/7. The Sword gives Ulamog protection from the Knight (D: 26, S: 25). The Sword triggers, and D untaps all his lands while S discards Razorverge Thicket, making the Knight an 8/8. D casts Scourge of Valkas, triggering Scourge's ability (D: 26, S: 24) and equips the Sword to it. And now Scourge has pro green to defend against a Knight attack! At the end of D's turn, S taps Knight of the Reliquary, sacrificing a Plains and getting Temple Garden, shuffling her library, making the Knight a 9/9.

S draws and plays Cavern of Souls, naming Angel and casts Utopia Sprawl on Temple Garden, choosing green.

Turn 9

D draws Knollspine Dragon. He equips Sword of Feast and Famine to Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and attacks, triggering Annihilator; in response S casts Eladamri's Call, searching her library for Qasali Pridemage and putting it into her hand and shuffling her library. She sacrifices Plains, Cavern of Souls, Wooded Bastion, and Utopia Sprawl, making Knight of the Reliquary a 12/12 (D: 26, S: 12). The Sword triggers, and D untaps all his lands while S discards Winds of Rath. D casts Knollspine Dragon, triggering Scourge of Valkas's ability (D: 26, S: 10). Knollspine's ability triggers, and D discards his hand (Ryusei, the Falling Star, Patriarch's Bidding, and Moonveil Dragon to draw 14 cards. D draws Sarkhan Vol, Stomping Ground, Awakening Zone, Coat of Arms, Swamp, Dragonspeaker Shaman, Bojuka Bog, Dragonmaster Outcast, Broodmate Dragon, Reflecting Pool, Reliquary Tower, Twilight Mire, Elfhame Sanctuary, and Liliana Vess. Since he hasn't played a land yet this turn, he plays Reliquary Tower.

S draws and plays Plains. She casts Qasali Pridemage and activates its ability, sacrificing it to destroy Sword of Feast and Famine. Not going to make much of a difference in the long run, but really satisfying now. And since I'm going to lose anyway... Attacks with Knight of the Reliquary, D decides not to block (D: 14, S: 10).

Turn 10

D draws Bear Umbra. He plays Reflecting Pool and casts Broodmate Dragon, triggering Scourge of Valkas's ability (D: 14, S: 7). With Broodmate comes a 4/4 Dragon token, triggering Scourge's ability again (D: 14, S: 3). Attacks for game.

Excuse Me, But There's A Dragon Eating Your Face

Commander / EDH GoldGhost012

SCORE: 66 | 104 COMMENTS | 14393 VIEWS | IN 39 FOLDERS

wins the game!

Afterword

Woo! I knew this would be a fun game, but wow!

And as I look back over the match I can see I made one glaring misplay- I hit Hellkite Tyrant with Banishing Stroke instead of hitting Oblivion Stone. Sorry Spootyone! If Banishing Stroke had hit O-Stone I wouldn't have been able to boardwipe Sigarda back to the Command Zone. The game would have changed drastically, but would the outcome have changed? With Sword of Feast and Famine and Ulamog coming up in the next two draws, maybe I would've had a beatstick and a counter to Sigarda. Or maybe not. The world will never know...

But basically the only way to slow down fast and heavy Voltron decks like Sigarda, Host of Herons or even Isamaru, Hound of Konda is boardwipe. Then boardwipe again. Then mass exile. Destroy all artifact spells work too (well, less so for this deck).

And that draw engine with Kor Spiritdancer and Mesa Enchantress is very powerful too because you're usually drawing at least one card a turn. Need an answer to something (say, Ulamog)? Just dig for it.

Greatest Contributors: Mesa Enchantress, Kor Spiritdancer, Sigarda, Host of Herons

Let's be honest with ourselves here- the only reason I won was because I managed to drop Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, then boardwipe away Sigarda, Host of Herons. If Sigarda had somehow survived, I would've had a much harder time winning since Annihilator wouldn't have worked.

But Oblivion Stone was the biggest reason for this win, since it removed everything except the indestructible Ulamog. Sword of Feast and Famine as well, its protection abilities providing an unblockable creature or a wall against a large Knight of the Reliquary, and it triggered abilities helped inflict some hurt too. Greater Good was the sole reason I managed to obtain those cards to begin with too! And of course, big beatstick Ulamog.

Greatest Contributors: Oblivion Stone, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Sword of Feast and Famine, Greater Good.

Lessons to Take Away:

Eldrazi have the potential to turn the game around very quickly. If you see one that doesn't belong to you, KILL IT WITH FIRE!

Oblivion Stone: one of the best boardwipes in the format. Not only does it sit and wait until you need it, but it also spares things from its own wrath.

Sigarda, Host of Herons is very hard to kill, especially when wearing pants like Shield of the Oversoul and Spirit Mantle.

A great big thank you to Spootyone for submitting Justice, At Any Cost | Sigarda Voltron! It was so much fun to play and play against. I hope you and everyone else can forgive me for my misplay.

And now, onward to the next article! Submit your decks below, and I shall choose one to do battle with!

Stipulations for next article: None, another 1-v-1 match.

I also wanted to ask you all a question. Would you like to see this deck go round after round after round for the single matches, the multiplayer matches, and the EDH variants (barring Pauper, of course). Or would you rather have this deck play the single matches, another deck play the multiplayer matches, and another deck play the variants?

Personally I like switching out decks based on the match type, mostly because it would change things up a bit. But it's up to you. Let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading! Have a nice day guys.

This article is a follow-up to Tale of Two Commanders #5- Crushing Power The next article in this series is Tale of Two Commanders #7: The Battle for Kapsho, Part Dos