Rashmi, Control Crafter [Primer]

Commander / EDH Battlecruiser Control GU (Simic) Midrange Primer Ramp

Thedudeabides117

Creature (32)

• 1x Acidic Slime
• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
• 1x Coiling Oracle
• 1x Courser of Kruphix
• 1x Deadeye Navigator
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Greenwarden of Murasa
• 1x Gretchen Titchwillow
• 1x Kruphix, God of Horizons
• 1x Lotus Cobra
• 1x Magus of the Future
• 1x Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
• 1x Mystic Snake
• 1x Oracle of Mul Daya
• 1x Peregrine Drake
• 1x Priest of Titania
• 1x Progenitor Mimic
• 1x Rampaging Baloths
• 1x Seedborn Muse
• 1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
• 1x Thassa, God of the Sea
• 1x Torrential Gearhulk
• 1x Trinket Mage
• 1x Venser, Shaper Savant
• 1x Vizier of the Menagerie
• 1x Void Grafter
• 1x Voidmage Husher
• 1x Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
• 1x Walking Ballista
• 1x Wood Elves
• 1x Yeva, Nature's Herald

Land (36)

• 1x Alchemist's Refuge
• 1x Botanical Sanctum
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 11x Forest
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 1x Hinterland Harbor
• 12x Island
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Yavimaya Coast

Sorcery (10)

• 1x Boundless Realms
• 1x Bribery
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Journey of Discovery
• 1x Merchant Scroll
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Rite of Replication
• 1x Skyshroud Claim
• 1x Temporal Mastery

Artifact (3)

• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring

Commander (1)

Instant (12)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Desertion
• 1x Disallow
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Faerie Trickery
• 1x Harrow
• 1x Krosan Grip
• 1x Mystic Confluence
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Plasm Capture

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Imprisoned in the Moon
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation
• 1x Mind's Dilation
• 1x Mirri's Guile
• 1x Soothsaying
• 1x Sylvan Library

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Sideboard

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Baral's Expertise

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"I think this might be it, Mitul," she whispered. "I can feel it in the aether."
-Rashmi, aether-seer

Rolling up in the Inquirium isn't the most intimidating entrance. It's big and a little slow sometimes, a bit dusty from the frequent dust storms on Kaladesh, and Saheeli Rai is always coming over without calling first (although she's not in at the moment, something about her cat getting loose)...but still- it's hers and that't just how she likes it. Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is resourceful and methodical, and being able to control the flow of events like the Aether is her strong suit. Once she hits her stride, not much can stand in her way.

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You may like this deck if:

-You enjoy playing the long game
-Board control is your playstyle
-Ramping into more ramp sounds exciting
-You don't mind playing an "opressive" deck

You may not like this deck if:

-You enjoy racing to combo to win
-Bringing your own fatties to the table is better than stealing someone else
-You don't like having to think about your moves
-You'd prefer not to play a reactive deck

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Rashmi mechanic is similar to Cascade. When you cast your first spell of any turn, you'll trigger her ability which allows you to reveal the top card of your library- and if it's a non-land card with a CMC of less than the CMC of the spell you just cast, you may cast it for free. Otherwise, uncast spells (and lands) go right into your hand. This ability triggers once every turn, so you'll want to be counterspelling and flashing as much as you can. This deck has a lot of moving parts, and focuses on steering the game to your preferred wincon though control and manipulation. Let's take a look at her workshop:

Deck Manipulation: The Toolbox

A place for everything, and everything in its place:

Top-Deck Manipulation & Usage:

-Courser of Kruphix
-Halimar Depths
-Magus of the Future
-Mirri's Guile sets up your draw and plan your trigger
-Ponder Better than Brainstorm since you get that free shuffle option
-Sensei's Divining Top why not?
-Soothsaying is my personal favorite, you'll probably have some mana, and you can shuffle for 3UU
-Sylvan Library the same, or refill your hand a little if needed
-Thassa, God of the Sea

2. Tutor

-Green Sun's Zenith t1 Dryad Arbor #teamTryhard
-Merchant Scroll + Mystical Tutor + Worldly Tutor

3.Recursion

-Noxious Revival
-Eternal Witness
-Greenwarden of Murasa
-Ramunap Excavator don't miss a land drop, or helps recover from a Strip Mine

Spot removal/Countermagic: Pliers, tweezers, and optical punches

The right tool for the job:

Control:

-Faerie Trickery exiles the countered spell
-Insidious Will is a very versatile counterspell, that can also Twincast
-Mystic Confluence soft counter, bounce, and/or draw
-Mystic Snake is Counterspell with ...legs? Snake-legs? A tail.
-Disallow for those things you really don't want to resolve
-Plasm Capture dat mana doe

Disruption:

-Acidic Slime + Reclamation Sage are staples, but those ETB pair nicely with Deadeye Navigator
-Bribery is just the best.
-Cyclonic Rift Sometimes I switch this out with Evacuation in friendly games
-Beast Within + Nature's Claim (of course)
-Imprisoned in the Moon can deal with those annoying Planeswalkers
-Mind's Dilation is amazing disruption, since it usually triggers on their turn, and exiles their top card if you don't want to cast it
-Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir gives all your creatures flash, and prevents your opponents from ever responding with spells
-Voidmage Husher counters activated abilities and bounces a little like Norin the Wary for reuse!

Draw: Mitul! We need more supplies!

Better head to the market:

1. Creatures
-Coiling Oracle is more of a cantrip
-Rashmi, Eternities Crafter if you can't play it, draw it! (essentially)
-River Hoopoe has some draw built in as a nice mana sink
2. Spells
-Fact or Fiction of course
-Mystic Confluence 5 cmc trigger, plus you can draw up to three cards- it's a better Tidings

Ramp: Increased diameter piping, to reduce turbulence and decrease volatility

Let's give it a little more power and see what happens:

Ramp:

-Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse + Myriad Landscape yawn
-Boundless Realms is utterly broken in this deck. Doubles your lands (it sees Dryad Arbor too!) and can easily fetch most or all of the rest of your basics if played mid-game. Best ramp in the deck
-Harrow
-Journey of Discovery Early game you have a slightly worse Cultivate, mid game you'll get to drop a few of those extra lands you've been whiffing, late game you have minimum two extra landfall triggers. Second best ramp in the deck
-Kruphix, God of Horizons Indestructable colorless ramp
-Ramunap Excavator isn't exactly ramp, but it's a great option
-Nature's Lore Fetches dual lands
-Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx let's face it: your devotion is going to make it worth this every time
-Oracle of Mul Daya lol
-Priest of Titania taps for G based on Elves in play, which includes herself, Rashmi, Wood Elves, opponent's elves, etc.
-Skyshroud Claim Essentially 1G for two extra forests
-Wood Elves they bring the forest with them

Synergies, etc.: "I glimpsed the Blind Eternities, and this is what I saw"

Successful experiments:

Flash! (ah-ahh):

You'll want to take advantage of Rashmi's triggers on your opponents turn(s), these will help:
-Alchemist's Refuge 1UG to flash anything in a pinch
-Leyline of Anticipation casts for free from your opening hand, or slightly less vulnerable Vedalken Orrery
-Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir + Yeva, Nature's Herald are flash-enablers

Just for fun

-There is the classic infinite combo:
Deadeye Navigator + Peregrine Drake go infinite for whatever combination of lands, and if you have Kruphix, God of Horizons out, you can bank as much of that as you want as colorless mana that sticks around between turns. Some playgroups won't allow this, but you can always use Navi to blink other things for value instead.

There isn't much in here that doesn't synergise with something else :D

Protection: Safety first!

Workshop safety equipment and supplies:

Protection:

Being able to draw/cheat-out something every turn is going to get old quick, so here's how you can keep your stuff on the board:
-Lightning Greaves is a staple
-Sensei's Divining Top and Deadeye Navigator can get out of the way of spells on their own, and are extremely difficult for your opponents to completely remove without some luck, especially your Top if you have something with cycling, or are waiting on your first Rashmi trigger for the turn (so you can pull it right back off your deck)
-Void Grafter is a neat way to get a blocker, as well as protect someone in a hurry
-Disallow is great to keep other commanders' weird abilities in check, and your healthy counterspell suite is costed for better triggers

Promising experiments and other other honorable mentions (#Winning)

Possible wincons/goodstuff:

With Rashmi; you have options. Control the board however you need to, then let your fatties do the heavy lifting. Everyone will see it coming if you rift with your Avenger out, but why not blink something painful (Acidic Slime) and win by attrition? Don't be afraid to play with your food before you eat it! That being said:

-Progenitor Mimic is fantastic for copying Avenger of Zendikar or Rampaging Baloths which is a tried-and-true wincon since the +1/+1 scales with every Avenger that is out: so with three Avengers for example, one landfall nets you +3/+3 per plant

-Rite of Replication is an awesome way to make a herd of fatties. Their fatties, your fatties; whatever. There are so many ways you can use this to your advantage in this deck that it's really not fair. This has won a lot of games for me

-Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger is mind-games at the table. You will become the target immediately, but if you can get them out pretty quickly they'll end the game before your opponents have a chance to mount a defense. Too bad it's legendary!

You can always Bribery your opponents' wincon, insult to injury

Crafting eternities on a budget

When the Consulate's got you down:

I have been playing it since it was a ~$100 budget deck by mostly trading and sometimes buying upgrades for a while; so please don't let the price listed on here deter you from trying this deck. She quickly became my favorite commander- and my go-to deck if I don't know the table and want to see how competitive they are. You can make it more budget pretty easily by switching out parts for something that still works with the rest.
Try swapping Mystic Confluence out for Capsize or Tidings, or try replacing Oracle with Courser of Kruphix.
Crystal Ball can stand-in for Sensei's Divining Top, or try Murkfiend Liege for Seedborn Muse.
Use the Guildgate and Simic Growth Chamber.
Key cards to keep are Mind's Dilation, Cyclonic Rift, Sensei's Divining Top, and Rite of Replication. You can get away with swapping out most of it, but those are the cards with the most utility in the deck. It played fine without the other, more flashy, stuff; but you can get away with it as long as you can set up your draws and wipe the board.

"Alright inventor Rashmi, impress me..."

Some final thoughts:

There are a lot of synergies in this deck, and Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is an extremely open-ended commander; you can play spellslinger control, strobe light creatures, or a mix of both. See what works in your playgroup and go with it.

This is v5.2 of my Rashmi deck, and it's being modified as I see what does and doesn't work- so please feel free to comment with suggestions if you would like, as I'm always open to trying new things. This started as a budget oriented deck that I actually play regularly and has evolved into an oppressive, super fun to play deck to play in pods. They'll leave you alone since you're not really threatening, until you drop that Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger with a Peregrine Drake off the trigger.

The deck plays out like this:

T1-3

Can you Forest+GSZ+Dryad Arbor this turn? Follow up with land drops, and some kind of ramp. Possibly Disallow if they're ramping harder or w/e

T4

Rashmi

T5+

Have fun! Continue to ramp as hard as you can, while controlling what's happening. Hang on to your Desertion this turn in case they haven't played their commander yet. It's easy to say this deck plays itself, but you should be judicious in using your countermagic so you don't overextend yourself early-on. This is designed for a longer game than some, so don't fret if you fall behind in creatures, since you can tutor Cyclonic Rift several ways (and bring it back with a few as well)
The earlier you start setting up your draws (via Sensei's Divining Top, Mirri's Guile, etc.) the better, because you want to be able to trigger into stuff as much as possible (of course).
Seedborn Muse is the oil that keeps the gears turning, so protect her as much as you can. You can live without Rashmi for a turn or two, but being able to untap everything every turn is clutch.
Decks with paltry control/stax like Gaddock Teeg or Winter Orb are yawnfests for Rashmi+Seedborn Muse, they may as well just concede.
Use Progenitor Mimic or Rite of Replication to get as many ETB triggers as you can (Avenger gets out of control in a hurry, for example) and then Rift whenever it's convenient before you decide you're done playing with your food.

Thanks for looking at my work-in-progress! Please leave a comment to let me know what you think, or with any suggestions.
In a vacuum, the best chance of getting a good trigger is going to be off of a 5 drop spell. 46% of the spells in the deck are 4 drop and under, but even casting a 4 drop will still roughly get you a trigger 1/3 of the time. Again, this is wildly variable, but for the most part; once you have enough mana to cast Rashmi, you should be in a good place to start getting good triggers. Skewing the curve lower would make it harder to set up a good wincon while still maintaining the amount of control I like

Note: Rashmi's story (where the ideas for some quotes and headings) can be found at: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/time-innovation-2016-08-31

Date added	7 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 33 - 1 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 12 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.62
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Beast 4/4 G, Copy Clone, Plant 0/1 G
Folders	possible edh, Frontier, maybe, Things to make, Favorable Fodder, Interesting Commander Decks, ideas, EDH deck ideas, Playtesting, rashmi