Out of all the commander decks that I have built, this one has by far been my favorite to play. It was also one of the first commander decks I ever built when I started playing magic, so this deck really helped me get a warm welcome into Magic as a game and the Commander format. Because of that I really wanted to trick my deck out with special cards and be sure that every card in the deck wasn’t proxied. It took quite a while to get every card I wanted, but after I finally found an affordable version of Moat I am happy to say that the deck is complete save for a few alternate art cards. The deck performs very well at a mid-tier power level and can easily ramp out Sigarda fast and start hitting opponents hard, making her an unrelenting force in my playgroups.
The goal of the deck is fairly simple, I want to get my commander out as fast as I can with my ramp spells, pump her up with powerful auras, and beat my opponents in the face until I eventually win or die trying. I also have a control subtheme in the deck. Since Sigarda is 5 mana and I usually pump her to 7 power/toughness fairly fast, it puts my opponents on a clock that they need to deal with my fast. However, getting to that point can be a bit difficult with blue players or decks with lots of removal, so I added some stax pieces to deter my opponents from going too hard so that I can swoop in for a win.
Lands
I wanted the land base to be fairly fleshed out. I don’t want it to be all basics because I need a lot of white-heavy mana for my costs in my cards like Moat or Holy Mantle, and I need constant green mana so I can be regenerating my commander with Trollhide or Yavimaya hollow. Because of that, I have a lot of dual lands so that I can get a more versatile mana base that can help me out when I need colored mana. I also wanted lands like Hall of Heliod’s Generosity, Yavimaya Hollow, and Rogue’s Passage so my lands can be useful to me. With these cards, I can help get my enchantments that got blown up back into play, regenerating my commander in case my opponents run a lot of board wipes or even get in my commander for an extra bit of damage against an opponent with a lot of flying/reach blockers. The more my mana base can get to help me out I am all for it. However, that leaves me with a good amount of colorless mana that makes it difficult for me to get the colored mana I need. Because of that, I added Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth. With it I can get my colorless lands to tap for green so, in a pinch, I can use that to give myself some color fixing since I run a good amount of colorless lands. I also run Okina, Temple of Grandfathers, which allows me to pump up my commander by +1/+1. This allows me to hit in for some extra damage, block a big creature that would otherwise kill my commander, or even to help against a card like Toxic Deluge or Black Sun’s Zenith.
Control
This part of the deck is where I have all my stax pieces that allow me to slow down the game for my opponents while I knock them in the face as fast as I can. I use cards like Moat, Dueling Grounds, and Silent Arbiter so that my opponents are forced to not attack with their full force. So decks with cards that produce a lot of tokens or non-flying are in for a bit of trouble when playing up against this deck. If my opponent’s options are limited when attacking and if I have Sigarda as a blocker, players are deterred from attacking me and force them to swing elsewhere. I also have Ghostly Prison as another form of protection, so now players with decks that play cards like Avenger of Zendikar can only swing a limited amount of creatures at me, giving me the space I need to take them out before their next turn comes around and they have the mana to pay for the tax. I also have cards like Brave the Sands and Reconnaissance, which both essentially give my commander vigilance. This is SUPER useful because when I don’t have a blocker I am wide open, even with my other stax pieces. So having these allows me to force my opponents to swing at me and lose momentum or kill my opponents. I also am running Rule of Law and Eidolon of Rhetoric. As a selsenya voltron deck, I only need to be casting two or fewer spells a turn, so it doesn’t have too much of an impact on me. However, it prevents my teammates from playing their decks to their fullest potential. This again is a great way for me to slow down the game and give me the space I need to swing in for lethal damage on the biggest threat.
Tutors
I am running six tutors in this deck because I need to be very efficient in the way I play. The more variance I have the harder it will be for me to win. The goal of these tutors is to get Shield of the Oversoul as fast as possible to give Sigarda that three turn clock and prevent her from being taken out by most board wipes. So I have classic cards like Enlightened Titor and Idyllic Tutor to get me there. But if I already have it on the battlefield or in my hand, it is easy for me to tutor another strong enchantment that can win me the game. I put Academy Rector in the deck not only as a tutor but as a deterrent from attacking. If they swing at me with her on the battlefield, they know I will get my biggest, baddest enchantment and lockout the game or just win. I run Sterling Grove not totally as a tutor but helps in a pinch if it is going to get destroyed or I really need to get that extra enchantment to the top of my library. An odd addition to this deck is Eladamri’s Call, it may not tutor enchantments, but it gets me things like Silverblade Paladin or Bastion Protector, which basically do what I already want to be doing.
Get Through
Since there are decks with flying or reach creatures, I need a way to get around them. So, I added cards that have trample so that I can get by. Cards like Rancor and Prodigious Growth not only pump up Sigarda but allows her to get by those pesky creatures my opponents may have. I also have Bower Passage as a hard way to get around flying creatures. This way, even if my opponents do have some creatures in the way, I can easily get around them to deal a little damage and kill a creature in the process or just straight bypass the creature and get to my opponent’s face.
Damage
This part of the deck is certainly the most important, it is what allows Sigarda to get in damage as soon as possible so that she doesn’t give her opponents the time to win. Cards like Trollhide and Shield of the Oversoul both give my commander +2/+2 and protection, which is exactly the spot I want to be in to start out with. But then I want to start to expand, by adding cards with doublestrike like Battle Mastery of Duelist’s Heritage, Sigarda can swing once as a 7/7, then next turn play one of these enchantments and kill an opponent in just two turns.
Ramp
In order to win any game, I need to get Sigarda out and fast. Because of that, I need a lot of ramp. So, I have cards like Sanctum Weaver and Serra’s Sanctum to capitalize on all the enchantments that I will be playing, so hopefully, by turn four I can have Sigarda out as well as a bevy of other enchantments to start out strong with. I also have cards like Bear Umbra that untaps my lands as I attack, allowing me to have a suite of mana on my second main phase. There is also the classic Carpet of Flowers, which is insane into blue decks. The more lands I play, the more I can ramp into my big spells to finish the game. I also have, of course, more classic forms of ramp, like Smothering Tithe, Three Visits, and Cultivate. These all allow me to get Sigarda out a bit faster so that she can start hitting my opponents. Also, I put Command Beacon into this category because, eventually, Sigarda is going to die and she is very expensive to get out more than a few times. Because of this, it is important to make sure I can get her out in the later stages of the game, and this land lets me do just that when I am in a pinch!
Removal
Every good commander deck needs removal in order to deal with threats. For me, most of my ‘removal’ is tied up in stax cards, meaning that I have much more ‘removal’ than one may think. Casting one spell a turn really limits what players can do, so I don’t need too much removal, but I still run a good amount. I have the classics like Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares for those annoying creatures like Elder Gargaroth. I also run Beast Within, Song of the Dryads, and Generous Gift so that there is some versatility in my removal. So, if I need to remove an annoying land, a huge enchantment, or a troublesome artifact, these cards can all do just that. My Calix planeswalker also has a form of removal, which is nice when I need a free spell on my turn with my stax pieces out.
Graveyard Love
This deck doesn’t run too many of these cards since Selesnya isn’t super strong when it comes to graveyards, but I run these cards anyway in case my win-cons or key pieces get destroyed. I have Hall of Heliod’s Generosity in a pinch if I need an enchantment back really bad, but I also have the ultimate on Calix as well as Replenish so that I can get ALL my enchantments back at once, making for a game-ending turn. Players are going to want to get rid of my powerful enchantments, so it is vital to the deck that I have at least some recursion so that I can keep staying on the path I need to follow in order to win the game.
Protection
This category is all about making sure Sigarda is safe, she may have hexproof and I don’t have to sacrifice her, but she is still not immune to many board wipes, because of that it is important to boost her up with all sorts of good things. Shield of the Oversoul gives indestructible and Yavimaya Hollow/ Trollhide allows me to regenerate my commander at a fair cost. I also have Bear/Snake Umbra, which both have Totem Armor, so it may lose me the enchantment, but it keeps Sigarda alive, so these cards are worth running. I also run Heroic Intervention and Teferi’s Protection to be sure my board, enchantments, and all, are safe from an Austere Command. Destiny Spinner makes it so my enchantments and creatures are uncounterable, meaning that players are going to have to remove Sigarda or my enchantments on the battlefield and not on the stack, adding an extra layer of protection. Also, a star in this deck is Flickerform. By saving 4 mana every turn I can easily phase out Sigarda and all auras attached to her, making her even harder to get rid of in case of a board wipe.
Draw
Any commander deck needs some sort of card draw in order to draw into more cards for controlling the board, ramping into big spells, or winning the game. This deck is no different. There are plenty of three mana enchantress cards like Mesa Enchantress or Eidolon of Blossoms, but those are far too clunky and mana intensive than what they are really worth. So instead I have a lot of two mana enchantress cards. Things like Sythis, Harvest’s Hand, Femereff Enchantress, and Argothian Enchantress all allow me to draw off of enchantments either entering or leaving the battlefield, meaning that either way, I will be getting value from these cards. Of course, since this is a voltron deck, there are also card draw effects based on combat. Cards like Snake Umbra, Keen Sense, and Hunter’s Prowess all allow me to either draw one card at a time or make one BIG hit for lots of damage. There is also the classic Sylvan Library, allowing me to pay a sum of life to draw cards. This gives me a layer of protection so that if I don’t have Sigarda out or if I have no way of attacking with a Peacekeeper effect, I can still draw into some removal or key piece to help me out. There is also Compost, which is a super underrated card. Being able to draw whenever a black card enters an opponents graveyard isn’t a big ask and happens often, meaning that even if I can get three cards out of it for just two mana then it has done the job it needed to.
Board Wipes
Every deck needs board wipes in order to maintain the board in case things get too out of hand. Because I have a lot of stax pieces, I don’t have to worry too hard about removing everything, but just in case I do, I run four board wipes that don’t hurt me as much as they hurt my opponent. My board wipes either all allow me to regenerate my creature or avoid it completely if it is enchanted, making Sigarda easy to get through these effects as well as prevent my opponents from attacking me with something like Promise of Loyalty. There are some board wipes that will hinder me that my opponents may use, like a Damnation or Wrath of God, but since I run none of those and four is a good amount of board wipes, I should be safe for the most part.
Finishers
The last category is for my finisher cards. These are the cards that I play and, situationally permitted, can end the game. Ancestral Mask allows me to pump up Sigarda for a huge amount with all the enchantments I will be playing, and just in case my opponents have any enchantments either, it will only power me up more. Prodigious Growth gives me commander +7/+7, which is essentially doublestrike if she already has +2/+2 on her. It also gives trample so if there are flying tokens Sigarda can easily get through them. Then, perhaps one of the most impactful cards in my deck is Berserks. Since I can easily regenerate my commander or give her indestructible, I can pump her up and make her huge without having to destroy her at the end of the turn. However, I can also cast this onto my opponents’ big, pesky creatures, allowing them to kill my opponents as well as take out a key piece of their game plan.
It took me quite a while to build this deck, but the journey has been so fulfilling and being able to play this deck so often is really awesome. It is just so fun to play and is my go-to deck when I don’t know what to play. I hope this helps others build a deck similar to this one or just try out a deck they love with some of the cards from this list!
Nonbos
One of my big nonbos in this deck is Stony Silence and Smothering Tithe. With both of these cards out on the battlefield at the same time, I won’t be able to use any of the treasures I am making. However, while it may seem like a big deal, it isn’t too much of a concern for me. The first reason for this is the fact that I can choose to not play Stony Silence if I already have Tithe out, or, if I draw into Tithe with Stony Silence already out, I just ramp with my many other ways to ramp. The second reason that it isn’t a big deal is because both of these cards are huge targets for removal, so if a player wants access to their artifacts again they will have to destroy Silence, giving me access to Tithe. Or, if they don’t want me to have Tithe, they just remove that and they still can’t use their artifacts!
Another nonbo in this deck is the multiple regeneration abilities I have in my deck. The reason I consider these nonbos is because it taps my creature and removes it from combat, so if I need to regenerate my creature mid-combat, I will have to lose a ton of momentum even if it means I can keep my creature. I can still effectively block with a creature equipped with a regeneration shield, but attacking makes it a bit more difficult. However, this isn’t too much of a concern because for the most part I am only regenerating my creatures from board wipes and Sigarda is usually big enough that she can take out enemy creatures with no concern for dying due to combat damage.
Notes
- I originally had some MLD spells like Fall of the Thran and Cataclysm in this deck and, while they worked the way they intended, slowed down the games and made it very much not fun for my opponents. So I cut those cards and I will stand by not adding them, even if it is an effective way to play the deck. I just found that a majority of the time I couldn’t win on the spot with it and took multiple extra turns to even potentially win the game, so those are out
- I originally had cards that gave me tokens upon casting enchantments such as Archon of Sun’s Grace in order to get myself some blockers but found that adding stax pieces like Dueling Grounds were much more effective and synergized much better with my deck
- I originally included cards that I could stacks my auras on like Aura Gnarlid or Kor Spiritdancer but found that it was much easier to pump all my resources into my commander since she is much easier protected and has much better evasion. By building the deck as a go wide then big only using auras made the deck not work as optimally and, through much playtesting, decided that having only one creature to put my cool stuff on made the deck function at a much higher level and gave it a fighting chance against other mid-tier decks
- I used to run removal in the form of enchantments like Seal of Primordium which, while nice, telegraphed my plays a bit too much and found that it was much more reliable to keep cards that gave me the opportunity to get rid of something at instant speed without having to worry about cards like Culling Ritual removing it before I can activate it. I also used to run Oblivion ring but removed it for Grasp of Fate since it just does more and is a nice target for removal which, in a weird way, helps protect my other enchantments that I don’t want removed like Shield of the Oversoul. I also have Song of the Dryads, which is a nice catch-all just in case need to get rid of something specific like a land or something with indestructible that I need to stay gone (which is why I run this AND Grasp of Fate because Grasp doesn’t stick around as long as Song of the Dryads does).
- I used to run Exploration in this deck since it is a great enchantment and combos wonderfully with Land Tax, but I found that I could never get that engine going to the point for it to be worth playing. Also, since you need lands in your hand to use Exploration, I much prefer forms of hard ramp like Cultivate or Sanctum Weaver, since they can ramp me regardless of if I have lands in my hand or not. I am aware that it does its job even if it gets me one or two extra lands, but I can get more mana with the ramp options that I chose for this deck and some, like Bear Umbra or Command Beacon, offer more for my deck than just traditional ramp, which can give me a huge upside that Exploration could never do.
