Featured card: Arahbo, Roar of the World

Arahbo's Kitted-Out Kitties [Primer]

Commander / EDH* Artifact Casual GW (Selesnya) Primer Theme/Gimmick

sagramore

Cat Play Areas (Land) (36)

Tutors, Return, & Draw (10)

Kitties (18)

Removal & Wipes (8)

Other Stuff (7)

Commander (1)

Commander: foil Arahbo, Roar of the World

Cat Toys (Equipment) (15)

Rocks & Ramp (5)

Maybeboard

Other (9)

A theme-strong kitty-oriented selesnya voltron deck that actually works! From the mind that brought you:

Crazy Cat Menagerie [Primer, Rotated]

Standard sagramore

SCORE: 201 | 140 COMMENTS | 25413 VIEWS | IN 89 FOLDERS

Presenting......

Arahbo's Kitted-Out Kitties!!

Please UPVOTE if you love cats!!

PLEASE NOTE: This is (as all good decks should be) an ever evolving work in progress thanks to the great comments from other tappedout users. Please check any "EDIT" remarks at the bottom of this description if the main description no longer makes sense as I might have moved some of the cards out.

Shout out to helpful users that have made valuable comments to improve the deck: Rivenor, medozzz, MegaMatt13, Arkheid, superhuman21, JAPuckett85, Spirits, solarseraph, and Pickacantaloupe. Thank you!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for CAT TRIBAL EDH to be a thing, thanks to Commander 2017 and Arahbo, Roar of the World. This is my take on a "Go Tall" equipment-centric cat tribal deck, primarily in but with a decent splash of aiming to keep the price around $300 but still keeping it's claws and making it fun to play.

What do cats like? TOYS! So, let's get into the description and justifications for each card.

Kitties!

Cat toys (Equipment)

These cats would be bored without their toys.

Behemoth Sledge - Low(ish) cost, decent buff, trample, lifelink.
Commander's Plate - It's expensive to equip but +3/+3 and "protection from , , and "? Madness!
Godsend - This little piece costs you some white mana but it really makes people think twice about trying to chump block you or attack you if the kitty holding it is untapped!
Grafted Exoskeleton - I know I know, it's a dirty trick.
Hammer of Nazahn - Free equip abilities, plus it buffs one cat and makes it indestructible.
Heirloom Blade - The power is great and it means when a kittie finishes off his/her 9 lives it gets replaced by another one!
Helm of Kaldra - To compete the Kaldra cycle of cards and we've got tutor for them all.
Loxodon Warhammer - See Behemoth Sledge, above :)
Mask of Avacyn - Hexproof is good.
Mask of Memory - A good way to draw some more cards when your kitties hit.
Masterwork of Ingenuity - Got a good toy on the go? Need another one for a different cat? This is your card.
Swiftfoot Boots - A classic, needs no explanation.
Sword of Feast and Famine - This card doesn't need much introduction. One of the best equipment pieces out there if you can afford it!
Sword of Kaldra - +5/+5 and it REMOVES CREATURES FROM THE GAME!
Sword of the Animist - Not only a small buff but you get to tutor our more land. Great card.

Tutors, return, draw

Not drawing what you need? Tutor for them! Not drawing enough? Draw more!

Eladamri's Call - A very versatile call that brings your chosen kitty (or snake god) to hand.
Enlightened Tutor - Really helpful for getting that cat toy your kitties have been waiting for or to pop out one of those killer enchantments, like Mirari's Wake or Aura Shards.
Explore - Some extra draw with added land ramp.
Greater Good - Someone removing your big cat? Sac it for more cards!
Hunter's Insight - A big hand refill when your big kitty hits face.
Open the Armory - Search for a cat toy or that Rancor when you need it most.
Rishkar's Expertise - As we're going "tall" and should have some beefy cats out then this will net us a bunch of cards.
Soul's Majesty - A little pricey but use it after combat on a pumped cat and you'll be drawing a bucket of cards. You don't even need to attack!
Steelshaper's Gift - Find the toy you want, plain and simple.
Worldly Tutor - Grab a kitty!

Rocks and Ramps

You need some rocks and you need some ramps. This is EDH after all...

Cultivate - Useful land ramp to get more space for kitties to roam!
Farseek - A low-cost ramp spell for even more space.
Mirari's Wake - Amazing card. +1/+1 for all creatures and double mana output from lands.
Rampant Growth - More land ramp.
Sol Ring - If you need me to justify this card, you need to go back to EDH 101.

Removal and Wipes

All good EDH decks should come with ~5 spot removal and ~5 board wipes. Or so my good friend Betulas tells me and seeing as he usually beats me he's either lying to trick me or he knows what he's talking about.

Beast Within - A solid spot removal of one permanent.
Darksteel Mutation - Deals with annoying commanders and other hard to remove stuff. Just be careful of giving your "friends" an indestructible blocker if you can't trample over it!
Generous Gift - A decent single target removal like Beast Within.
Krosan Grip - Split-second artifact & enchantment removal.
Path to Exile - Simple spot removal.
Phyrexian Rebirth - This one's like Fumigate but instead of getting lots of life you get one HUGE horror creature to swing in with afterwards.
Swords to Plowshares - Classic spot removal, needs no discussion in W decks.
Single Combat - A way to keep our best creature and have everyone get rid of most of their boards.

Other Stuff

Asceticism - A little pricey but gives all the kitties hexproof and regenerate.
Dueling Grounds - This little card grants us some protection from token/go wide strategies as well as avoiding any nasty multiple-blocking.
Heroic Intervention & And They Shall Know No Fear - Ways to keep our big kitty safe. Plus, if you happen to have the mana for it, play these before one of those nasty wipes above and you're almost guaranteed a win!
Berserk - 1 green mana, doubles your damage for one turn (at the cost of your kitty). However, you can also use this as spot-removal and player removal! Did player 2 just swing at player 3 for lots of damage? Buff the creature, kill player 3, and then the creature dies!
Sigarda's Aid - Equipment cards, played and attached at instant speed. For .... bonkers good.
Teferi's Protection - Will help a lot like Heroic Intervention, above.

Land

There are a number of standard lands in here so I won't list them all, but I will mention the following:

Mosswort Bridge - It should be pretty easy to get 10 power of creatures out and cast something big for free!
Rogue's Passage is so so handy for helping your big vehicles get through when they're facing chump blockers or even nastier stuff, like deathtouch.
Strip Mine can help you get rid of the enemy Maze of Ith or Mystifying Maze.

So yeah, Arahbo and his kitted out kitties! It is not a deck full of complicated mechanics that mean your turns take 30 minutes each and have your opponents checking their watches. It is, however, fun as hell to play, full of cat-flavour, and it'll hopefully win a few games for you too.

The deck is designed to have a low curve and play out quickly so you can start swinging hard, which is how I justify dropping a few lands in place of more instants/sorceries than similar decks.

There is a strong push for a cat tribal to go into tokens pretty hard, and I have thought about this. However I think that the best thing to do in these situations is pick one thing and focus on doing it properly. In this deck we look at equipment synergy. I will almost certainly be making another cat tribal deck based around the same commander but looking primarily at token generation and going very wide, rather than tall. Watch this space!!

There are a number of cards I know could go in this deck, and probably lots I haven't considered. But here's a list to pre-empt a few of the suggestions that might come up:

Bloodforged Battle-Axe - This might actually go in there, I'm not sure yet... need more playtesting.
Leonin Arbiter - I like this and it might be good, however we're running a few tutors and it works against us as well!
Green Sun's Zenith - There aren't enough creatures in this deck to make this worthwhile I don't think....
Umezawa's Jitte, and some of the other big swords - These are great, I want them, but I don't own and can't afford them all right now. The deck should function without them but if you've got them then by all means throw them in!!
More expensive pain lands, fetch lands, etc. - If you own them, put them in. I don't :(

Thanks for reading and if you liked it, put it in a folder, or feel like commenting then please do and please don't forget to UPVOTE and comment!!

EDIT 1 (2017-08-28)

And so the edits begin.... I decided the deck needed a little more streamlining for the "Go Tall" strategy and some of the cards that we had been using were better suited for lots of cats rather than a few strong ones.

Out:

Jazal Goldmane - Still a great card that might come back in but it works better with "wide" strats rather than tall ones.
Harmonize - Swapped out for Soul's Majesty
Kindred Summons - Again, this works better with lots of cats on the board and we're only going to have a few big 'uns.
Uncage the Menagerie - There are other tutors in there, although I really like this card so it might come back.
Aura Shards - Once more, fewer bigger cats means less value for this card.
Skullclamp - There aren't enough outlets for this really, however good it is.

In:

Steppe Lynx - Thanks to the comment from Rivenor I think it made sense to add at least one more 1-drop for early game aggression if you draw it.
Behemoth Sledge - More toys for the cats! This one's a decent mid-range card that will fit for now.
Rishkar's Expertise - All the draw power from the big cats!
Traverse the Outlands - All the lands from the big cats!
Teferi's Protection - Just too good to leave out.
Plains - We needed more mana. Simple as that.

EDIT 2 (2017-08-28)

Some helpful comments via the Commander Society's FB page as well as medozz have led to some further changes!

Out:

Oketra's Monument - The ramp is low and an Urza's Incubator would be preferable here. I just need to buy one!
Curse of Bounty - It's a weak card.
Lightning Greaves - Swapped for Swiftfoot Boots. The equip cost is higher but hexproof > shroud every day, especially if I need to equip other things!
Whisperskilk Cloak - Again, shroud could cause problems.
Leonin Den-Guard, Skyhunter Cub, and Prowling Serpopard - Replaced for better flying cats, see below.

In:

Skyhunter Skirmisher, Skyhunter Prowler, and Pride Sovereign - Just stronger cats than the ones I had before.
Aura Shards - Fine, it's back in again!
Swiftfoot Boots - See above, replacing Lightning Greaves
Shield of Kaldra and Helm of Kaldra - A good set that should come together really, especially as we have some reasonable equipment tutor in the deck.

EDIT 3 (2017-08-20)

Some helpful insights via the Command Zone's YouTube video on Arahbo as well as MegaMatt13 have led to yet more changes!

Wing Shards swapped for Beast Within - The Wing Shards are just not great and Beast Within really is!
Planar Cleansing swapped for Rout - You don't want to wipe all your precious equipments away!
Stoneforge Masterwork swapped for Mask of Memory - Draw in this deck is quite low and we needed a way to improve it.
Leonin Squire swapped for Fleecemane Lion - A 2-drop swap and we're not running so many 1-drop artifacts to get value from the Squire.
Dragon Throne of Tarkir swapped for Asceticism - Yes, this is swapping an equipment for an enchantment but the Dragon Throne needs you to have a big creature to buff lots of other creatures. We're looking more at having just a few big creatures so I don't think it fits here. Asceticism, while a little pricey, gives all your creatures hexproof, which is amazing when you really don't want them to die!
Sword of Vengeance swapped for Smuggler's Copter - The sword was always a little weak and the card draw from the copter is amazing. It also flies, does damage, blocks, and if you have some reduced equip costs it can use the equipment too.
Frantic Salvage swapped for Hunter's Prowess - Yes, it would be bad to lose some equipment, but a lot of it is indestructible and this way we can just draw for more.
Caged Sun swapped for Cultivate - I am worried about the cost of the Sun and Cultivate gives more direct, cheaper ramp.
Gavony Township swapped for Heirloom Blade - I love the Township but we aren't that bothered about a couple of +1/+1 counters when we're going tall. This Blade helps to keep cats on the board.

EDIT 4 (2017-09-01)

Leonin Elder swapped for Sacred Cat - The Elder only gives a tiny bit of life gain but the Sacred Cat does lifelink and has card value in the Embalm ability. Much much better card.

EDIT 5 (2017-09-06)

Having looked around and done some more thinking I decided it was time to beef the deck up to the next half a level or so with some decent cards. Now I just need to source/buy them.....

Konda's Banner swapped for Sword of Feast and Famine - I think the banner was the weakest toy in the deck and the Sword is just incredible.
Lifecrafter's Bestiary swapped for Urza's Incubator - Very decent ramp replacement.
Rout swapped for Sylvan Library - Some extra card draw as well as being able to see what is coming in your deck. Rout is nice but it's expensive and there are other wipes in the deck.
Sacred Cat and Oreskos Explorer swapped for Enlightened Tutor and Worldly Tutor - These two cats were always a bit of a "maybe" in this deck and the tutors are going to be invaluable so it should be a good swap.
1 x Plains, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and Saltcrusted Steppe swapped for Buried Ruin, Fortified Village, and Maze of Ith - The Ruin will help return lost artifacts from the graveyard, the Maze is just plain broken if you're facing a big single threat, and the Village should give some better colour fixing.

EDIT 6 (2017-09-20)

Sunspear Shikari swapped for Lost Leonin - The Shikari is nice but Lost Leonin is a hate-drawing game winner.

EDIT 7 (2017-10-23)

EDIT 8 (2017-10-29)

Mask of Memory

Whispersilk Cloak

EDIT 9 (2017-11-02)

Sword of the Animist out, Dowsing Dagger in. I think the latter is better as it only needs to land once but playtesting will tell!
Sram, Senior Edificer out, Rhonas the Indomitable in. A good recommendation. Still not a cat and no draw, but it feels a lot stronger.
Hunter's Prowess out, Soul's Majesty in. Doesn't rely on you actually landing damage to draw lots of cards! Can still be used after pumping with Arahbo, you don't need to attack.
Smuggler's Copter out, Mask of Memory in. It's a better fit for the theme of the deck but still gives great card draw through combat.

EDIT 10 (2017-12-09)

A simple tweak to the mana base to help with speed and possible land hate. I have removed Myraid Landscape, Mystifying Maze, Maze of Ith, and Tree of Tales for 3 x Forest and 1 x Plains.

EDIT 11 (2018-01-12)

A reasonably large exchange of 10 cards. I won't go through each one specifically but the overall aim of the update was to lower the average CMC of the deck, streamline some of the mechanics, speed the deck up, and remove some of the cards that didn't seem to be performing as well as I had hoped.

OUT:

IN:

EDIT 12 (2018-01-27)

Taj-Nar Swordsmith out, Hunting Cheetah in. This looks ridiculous because I'm taking out an equipment tutor for more ramp, however in all my playtesting I have *never* cast the Swordsmith with an X above 0 (never had the mana at the right time). Plus, the Cheetah is really nice ramp!
Pride Sovereign out, Prowling Serpopard in. Another one that looks weird on the surface of it. My justification is that with U creeping into my meta more & more and this deck being very much a "go tall" (you often only have 1 or 2 cats at a time) deck I value the protection from counters more than the tokens and (slow) big cat.
Mask of Memory out, Grafted Exoskeleton in. Some people hate it, but in a pseudo-voltron deck like this one the ability to shove infect on a cat is REALLY strong. This exoskeleton won me a game the first time I played it.

EDIT 13 (2018-06-16)

Simple swap of 1 Forest for the new Bountiful Promenade from Battlebond.

EDIT 14 (2018-08-15)

Kemba, Kha Regent out, Jareth, Leonine Titan in. Seeing as this is a "go tall" rather than "go wide" deck I think Jareth might be a better fit. He's also great at blocking.
Selesnya Signet out, Explore in. Swapping a mana rock for some land ramp/draw. Not sure if this will work out better but it's what green does best!
Aura Shards out, Loxodon Warhammer in. The Shards are amazing, but they rely on you bringing lots of creatures in to be effective. I don't think we run enough creatures to warrant it and we do have Qasali Slingers doing this already. The Warhammer gives us more swing power and trample.
Urza's Incubator out, Teferi's Protection in. Again, Urza's is amazing ramp in a tribal deck but we need to cast two or three more cats after it comes down for it to benefit us at all. I think the Teferi's might be a better card in the slot.

EDIT 15 (2018-10-25)

Herald's Horn out, Dueling Grounds in. Protection from "go wide" strategies and no multiple-blocking to destroy our big kitty. The Horn never seemed to do much because we run quite lean on cats anyway.

EDIT 16 (2019-02-26) THE REBREW UPDATE

I was previously using a "shared cards folder" to enable the use of medium and high cost cards in multiple decks. Having decided to stop using this folder I have had to make some modifications to all of my decks to fit the cards in. I also took this opportunity to make a few minor tweaks to my decks, which are also included in this update.

REMOVED:

ADDED:

EDIT 16 (2019-05-12)

REMOVED:

ADDED:

EDIT 17 (2020-07-07)

REMOVED:

ADDED:

EDIT 18 (2020-08-16)

REMOVED:

1x Plains

ADDED:

Ash Barrens

EDIT 19 (2021-03-17)

REMOVED:

Jareth, Leonine Titan

ADDED:

Armored Skyhunter

EDIT 20 (2021-06-28)

I will call this a "streamlining" update. A few newer cards came out and I can feel there was almost too much ramp with not enough draw and removal so I hope these little tweaks might help adjust that.

REMOVED:

ADDED:

EDIT 20 (2021-06-28)

REMOVED:

ADDED:

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94% Casual

Competitive

Revision 36 See all

(1 year ago)

-1	Ajani's Presence	main
-1	Alms Collector	main
+1	And They Shall Know No Fear	main
+1	Feline Sovereign	main
-1	Prepare / Fight	maybe
+1	Prepare / Fight	maybe

Top Ranked	Achieved #12 position overall 7 years ago
Date added	7 years
Last updated	1 year
Exclude colors	UBR
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 38 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.94
Tokens	4/4 C Token Legendary Creature Avatar, Adorned Pouncer 4/4 B, Beast 3/3 G, Elephant 3/3 G, Phyrexian Horror X/X C
Folders	COMMANDER, Commander fun, Other Decks worth checking out, x - EDH inspiration (TraumWandler), Inspiration, EDH, Feline Ferocity (For Gray's EDH Cat Deck), Interesting edh, Printed, Decks to Try
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