Jodah EDH, Fire Emblem Themed.

Commander / EDH

Xizzy

Land (34)

• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Gemstone Mine
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Savannah
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Scrubland
• 1x Sea of Clouds
• 1x Spire of Industry
• 1x Spirebluff Canal
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Tropical Island
• 1x Tundra
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Volcanic Island
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Creature (18)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Aurelia, the Warleader
• 1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Bloom Tender
• 1x Bringer of the Black Dawn
• 1x Deathrite Shaman
• 1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• 1x Jhoira of the Ghitu
• 1x Lotus Cobra
• 1x Maelstrom Wanderer
• 1x Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
• 1x Noble Hierarch
• 1x Peacekeeper
• 1x Reya Dawnbringer
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Spellseeker
• 1x The Ur-Dragon

Artifact (14)

• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Chromatic Orrery
• 1x Chrome MoxGC
• 1x Coalition Relic
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox DiamondGC
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sphere of the Suns

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Exploration
• 1x Humility
• 1x Omniscience
• 1x Rhystic StudyGC
• 1x Sylvan Library

Commander (1)

Sorcery (15)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Channel the Suns
• 1x Conflux
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Demonic TutorGC
• 1x Enter the Infinite
• 1x Farseek
• 1x In Garruk's Wake
• 1x Merchant Scroll
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Personal Tutor
• 1x Plague Wind
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Restore Balance

Instant (13)

• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Assassin's Trophy
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Cyclonic RiftGC
• 1x Enlightened TutorGC
• 1x Force of WillGC
• 1x Intuition
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mystical TutorGC
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Vampiric TutorGC

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Jodah, Archmage Eternal. A Fire Emblem Tribute.

Concept and Design

The idea for the deck started when Jodah was spoiled in the Dominaria. Reading his flavor text "_Chronicles across the ages describe Jodah. They likely refer not to one mage, but to a family or to an arcane title._" reminded me of the identity that Lehran adopts when he reemerges into the world as "Sephiran". His identity as a whole shrouded in mystery. This thought sparked the idea that I could develop a deck which focused on the characters in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, but also still included some of my favorites across the Fire Emblem universe as a whole.

Deck Focus and Direction

The deck itself has a very large variety of cards, starting with our standard Jodah "big mana" spells, but also contains several cards that stay on the theme of the deck. These are cards that you wouldn't generally see in common Jodah builds, but allow me to change the pace of the game very significantly, including cards like Peacekeeper and Humility. These inclusions are more for flavors sake, and less about perfection.

Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn Character Card Choices

Jodah, Archmage Eternal as Lehran / Sephiran: Sephiran was once known as Lehran, the thousand year-old heron who supported the “Three Heroes” in their fight against the Dark God Yune. It was thanks to Lehran’s suggestion that the Goddess Ashera decided to seal Yune within the medallion that would one day be known as the Fire Emblem, rather than erase her entire existence. In exchange, he, along with others, took a vow that there would be no war for a thousand years. The plan was that, after that period, and should both Beorc and Laguz follow through on the promise, Ashera would become one with Yune again, forming the original goddess of creation –known as Ashunera, or the Goddess of Dawn. Lehran faded into history, only to reappear when the world had betrayed him. After the assassination of the Empress of Begnion Misaha, he rejoined the world as the Duke of Persis, and adopted the identity Sephiran, to awaken the goddess prematurely so that she may pass judgment on the world. Eventually becoming Prime Minister, Lehrans main goal was to protect Sanaki, and to awaken the goddess so that she may pass judgment. I felt Sephiran and Jodah were a wonderful match, in that both of their identities have come and gone throughout history, and their power is rather unknown in limit.

Bringer of the Black Dawn as The Black Knight: Zelgius, being branded at birth, met Lehran in Daein and confided in him of his branded status. Lehran, seeing much of his own struggle in Zelgius, asked for his help in seeing out his plans. The two of them rose to power in Begnion, in an attempt to keep Ashera's promise for a world without war for 1000 years. I see the two as a clear fit for one another; Bringer of the Black Dawn having the ability to be cast for WUBRG already, implies his affinity to Jodah.

Jhoira of the Ghitu as Sanaki, Empress and Apostle of Begnion: Sanaki, the youngest Empress of Begnion, ascends to the throne at the age of five, after her sister is assassinated. The Senate appointed Prime Minister Sephiran to watch over the newly appointed Empress, as he is the only one she has come to trust. (Unknown to her and the Senate, she is his descendant.) Originally intended to be nothing more than a puppet for the Senate, Sanaki and Lehran kept the Senates manipulation at bay. I chose Jhoira for Sanaki, because Jodah and Jhoira are very close in the story. This, and Jhoira fits very well in Jodah's theme, letting me suspend large spells if I cannot keep Jodah around to do the work.

Reya Dawnbringer as Micaiah: Micaiah, the silver haired Maiden, and the true Apostle of Begnion. I chose Reya Dawnbringer for her, as Micaiah's ability to sacrifice her own life force to heal others. With Yunes help, she successfully resurrects Sephiran after his death in the Tower of Guidance. Unknown to her, Sephiran has been looking out for her, sending the Black Knight to protect her. I felt Reya resurrecting things was a good fit for Micaiah, and also fit with some of the "larger spell" theme of Jodah.

Austere Command as Sephiran: When approached in the Tower of Guidance, Sephiran reveals his true intentions to everyone; to awaken the goddess and have her restore order to the world. Austere Command fits uniquely into this space, as he destroys exactly what has worked against him.

Restore Balance as Ashera, Goddess of Order: Ashera, once awaken, was to quite literally restore balance to the world, if there was infact balance to be restored. This card, uniquely perfect in its fit, is either suspended to imply a balance restored as planned, or can be cast with Jodah, to restore balance before planned.

Najeela, the Blade-Blossom as Altina, One of the Three Heroes: Altina, the founder of Begnion, and Lehran's partner. I chose Najeela, as very little is known about Altina's personality, and Najeela fit the affinity of Altina's base identity, a sword wielding terror; while also being forming her own small army and eventually having the ability to conquer all.

The Ur-Dragon as Dheginsea, King of Goldoa: Dheginsea, King of dragons and one of the three heroes, tries to stay completely neutral, as to keep Ashera's promise. He exiles all of Goldoa from the rest of the world. While the remaining territories are at war, and the laguz are made into slaves by human-kind, he remains completely neutral, and is looked down upon by other Laguz for not interfering in their mistreatment. The Ur-Dragon was a clear fit for Dheginsea, being as they are both the strongest dragons in their respective histories.

Swords to Plowshares as Ike: Ike was a difficult character to pinpoint onto a card that made sense. I went with Swords to Plowshare as a simple, strong piece of interaction that allowed for his importance not to be understated.

Noble Hierarch as Mist: Ike's younger sister, Mist was an integral part in the story of keeping the Fire Emblem safe. Lehran entrusted the medallion to Mist, after realizing she was immune to its energy, and would sing to it to keep Yune at bay after her mother was killed. I chose Noble Hierarch for Mist, as a simple noble girl, I felt it was an alright match, as she provides support to the cast.

Serra Ascendant as Reyson: Third Prince of Serenes, Reyson was rescued by Tibarn during the Serenes Massacre. After the world is petrified by Ashera, Reyson says to Ike that he feels stronger than ever, but feels bad knowing that it's because everyone is gone. The Herons are very empathic, and feed on the energy of those surrounding them. In times of great peace, the herons are at their strongest, and in times of war and conflict, they fall ill. Reyson, of the 3 herons, always was the brash one, being raised by Tibarn and the hawks, he always wanted to be strong like them. I found Serra Ascendant to be a good fit for Reyson, allowing his strength to shine through when conditions are met, but falling to be weak again when the conditions are not on his side.

Peacekeeper as Rafiel: First Prince of Serenes, Rafiel was viewed as the epitome of what a heron should be; soft spoken, passive, and frail. Ike has once commented that he feels like his shouting will injure Rafiel unintentionally, as he sees Rafiel as so frail. Being that Rafiel is completely pacifist, Peacekeeper felt like an excellent choice for him. In a time plagued by war and strife, he always stayed completely in belief that peace was the only answer, unlike his brother Reyson and his sister Leanne.

Humility as Leanne and Elincia Leanne, presumed dead during the Serenes Massacre, survived by being put to sleep by her sisters magic. 20 years later, she awoke in the forest, alone. Ike, traveling through Serenes Forest, finds her and rescues her from Oliver. Later on in Crimea, when Queen Elincia finds out they are trying to overthrow her rule, she speaks to Leanne and Nealuchi. Leanne responds to her in common speak, for the first time. Elincia, realizing she cannot hide her feelings from Leanne, falls to her knees and cries in front of her. This scene felt like the perfect scene to put on Humility. Showing Elincia's true character, and Leannes compassion and understanding despite everything. This card is also a very interesting card to use in a deck that is so multi-dimensional. One can go from threatening to combo kill the table, to putting the table at a relative standstill on a moments notice.

Command Tower as the Tower of Guidance

Other Fire Emblem Characters

Spellseeker as Nino, and Assassin's Trophy as Jaffar: Nino was one of my favorite characters in FE7. In my thinking, I wanted her on a card which could in some way connect with Jaffar. Shortly thereafter, Assassins Trophy was printed, and a perfect combination came into play. Nino could call upon Jaffar whenever needed, so they go hand in hand together.

Avacyn, Angel of Hope as Saint Seiros: Seiros, such a key character in FE3H, was easily put on Avacyn. Seen as the savior of the world, Avacyn and Seiros coincide perfectly with one another.

Enlightened Tutor as Archbishop Rhea: Rhea, Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, was seen as the pinnacle leader and guider of Fódlan. I chose Enlightened Tutor for her mostly to pay respect to her importance in FE3H, as a card which lets me guide my future turn choices.

Plague Wind as Lyon, Prince of Grado: I decided to include Lyon on one of the black board wipes, depicting him casting Naglfar. I consider him a very iconic character in FE8, and he felt like a great fit for Plague Wind.

Omniscience as Archsage Athos: Athos, one of the Eight Legends in FE7, was obsessed with information and mastered all forms of magic. Said to know all of history, he felt like a perfect fit for Omniscience.

Reflecting Pool as Azura: I came up with this concept on my own, with help from the artist. Reflecting Pool was seen as a perfect fit for Azura's affinity with water. Seeing her own reflection in the pool just made sense to me, as a homage to her part in FE14.

Other Spells an additions.

The remaining creatures and spells are additions that I believe fit the dynamic theme of the deck. Cards like Aurelia, the Warleader and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight are cards I wanted to include in the deck, as Fire Emblems core identity as a game with a lot of war. These cards don't have good character fits, as there are no angels in Fire Emblem, but still feel integral to the decks idea.

Spells like Mana Drain and Cyclonic Rift, ramp such as Bloom Tender and Birds of Paradise, and other typical commander staples like Rhystic Study and Sylvan Library are cards that glue the deck together, and allow it to feel like a functioning deck, despite the obvious flavor choices. I wanted the deck to feel like a mixture of accurate theme, but also not be completely miserable to play by focusing too heavily on the theme.

Closing Remarks

Thank you for reading through my thoughts for the deck! It is a constant work in progress. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas, if you are familiar with the Fire Emblem franchise.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	16 - 0 Mythic Rares 68 - 0 Rares 10 - 0 Uncommons 6 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.35
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Spirit 1/1 C, Warrior 1/1 W
Folders	Great EDH Ideas