Kill with Borrowed Knives

Commander / EDH* Battlecruiser Casual Multiplayer Ramp RUG (Temur)

nagonjin

Creature (28)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Archetype of Endurance
• 1x Bazaar Trader
• 1x Coiling Oracle
• 1x Courser of Kruphix
• 1x Dominus of Fealty
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Elvish Piper
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Farhaven Elf
• 1x Jalira, Master Polymorphist
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Mina and Denn, Wildborn
• 1x Molten Primordial
• 1x Perplexing Chimera
• 1x Progenitor Mimic
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Roil Elemental
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Shaman of the Great Hunt
• 1x Siege Behemoth
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Thalakos Deceiver
• 1x Thunderfoot Baloth
• 1x Willbreaker
• 1x Wolfir Silverheart
• 1x Xenagos, God of Revels
• 1x Yavimaya Elder

Instant (5)

• 1x Berserk
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Momentous Fall

Land (35)

• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Command Tower
• 8x Forest
• 1x Frontier Bivouac
• 1x Ghost Quarter
• 1x Grove of the Burnwillows
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 6x Island
• 1x Karplusan Forest
• 1x Kessig Wolf Run
• 1x Mosswort Bridge
• 5x Mountain
• 1x Rootbound Crag
• 1x Spire Garden
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Decimate
• 1x Explosive Vegetation
• 1x Harmonize
• 1x Insurrection
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Life's Legacy
• 1x Rite of Replication
• 1x Seize the Day
• 1x Windfall

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Xenagos, the Reveler

Commander (1)

Artifact (15)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Birthing Pod
• 1x Champion's Helm
• 1x Conjurer's Closet
• 1x Gruul Signet
• 1x Gruul War Plow
• 1x Hammer of Nazahn
• 1x Hero's Blade
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Mage Slayer
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Vengeance

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Aggravated Assault
• 1x Goblin Bombardment
• 1x Lignify
• 1x Shivan Harvest
• 1x Song of the Dryads

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The philosophy of this deck can be described in a Chinese idiom, 借刀杀人 (jiè dāo shā rén), which means to 'kill with a borrowed knife'. Borrowing a knife to kill means making use of others' resources for one's own gain--meaning that, if you can cause someone else to do a difficult job for you, it will certainly save yourself a great deal of trouble. It comes from the 36 Strategems, a collection of ancient Chinese strategies applied to military engagement.

Playstyle

With Yasova at the helm (and based on the Asiatic themes in the Tarkir block) We prepare for all out war against our opponents. We conscript their soldiers, rush headlong into the foray. We can only achieve victory if our determination exceeds that of our opponents.

Yasova offers a fun hybrid approach between an aggressively oriented midrange strategy with lots of ramp, and creature stealing and sacrifice to help the big dudes without trample punch through.

Strategy/ Turn by Turn

Turns 1-4
Ramp Hard, and drop smaller utility creatures to serve as chump blockers.

Turns 4-9
Steal opponents creatures. Drop your own powerful creatures. Swing with your motley crew into your opponents' fields. Drop removal when you can, but be judicious.

Turns 9-Endgame
This deck tries to close out games in the combat phase, as there are no combos in the current iteration. Those may come with time, as my wife develops more knowledge of card interactions and the general card pool.

Future Changes

Deck I'm building for my wife based on her playstyle preferences. Being both aggressive in the combat phase, and playing control during her off-phases (not her turn).

Need to tweak the Mana curve and the land base.

Possible Adds
Fling, Mimic Vat Domri Rade?

Planned Cuts

There's a lot more work that needs to go into this deck. It's just built out of the scraps of an older Xenagos Deck, with some binder scraps thrown in. As it gets playtested more and I buy some more of the cheaper Yasova staples it will start to come into its own. For now, this is a major work in progress.

Date added	8 years
Last updated	4 years
Exclude colors	WB
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	4 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 12 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.55
Tokens	Copy Clone, Satyr 2/2 GR
Folders	Want This, EDH, I want