The Surgin' General [Primer]

Commander / EDH Aggro Artificer Clone Energy Midrange Multiplayer Primer RUW (Jeskai, America) Shapeshifter Tokens

Crow_Umbra

Creature (34)

• 1x Esper Sentinel
• 1x Guide of Souls
• 1x Serra Ascendant
• 1x Agate Instigator
• 1x Pollywog Prodigy
• 1x Razorkin Needlehead *f-pre*
• 1x Roil Cartographer
• 1x Silent Hallcreeper
• 1x Aether Channeler
• 1x Enduring Innocence
• 1x General Kreat, the Boltbringer
• 1x Glasspool Mimic  ^Flip
• 1x Imperial Recruiter
• 1x Loran of the Third Path
• 1x Professional Face-Breaker
• 1x Skyclave Apparition *f-pp*
• 1x Whirler Virtuoso
• 1x Beza, the Bounding Spring
• 1x Bronzebeak Foragers
• 1x Displacer Kitten
• 1x Enduring Curiosity
• 1x Glen Elendra Archmage
• 1x Mondrak, Glory Dominus
• 1x Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1x Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Spark Double *f-list*
• 1x Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
• 1x Goldspan Dragon
• 1x Port Razer
• 1x Riptide Gearhulk
• 1x Swooping Pteranodon
• 1x Terror of the Peaks
• 1x Territorial Aetherkite

Land (36)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Aether Hub
• 1x Battlefield Forge
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Floodfarm Verge
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 3x Island
• 3x Mountain
• 6x Plains
• 1x Plaza of Heroes
• 1x Raugrin Triome
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Riverpyre Verge
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Sea of Clouds
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Spectator Seating
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stormcarved Coast
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Sunbillow Verge
• 1x Sundown Pass
• 1x Training Center

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Reconnaissance
• 1x Flowering of the White Tree
• 1x Grasp of Fate
• 1x Warleader's Call

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Jeska's Will
• 1x Seize the Spotlight
• 1x Farewell

Commander (1)

Instant (12)

• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Boros Charm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Soul Partition
• 1x Eerie Interlude
• 1x Generous Gift
• 1x Teferi's Protection
• 1x Akroma's Will

Artifact (9)

• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Dolmen Gate
• 1x Pearl Medallion
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Talisman of Creativity
• 1x Talisman of Progress
• 1x Winged Boots
• 1x Cursed Mirror

---

Energy Commander? Nah, Surgin' General. This is a token copies & clones deck first, Energy deck second.

The most difficult thing about making this deck was picking a name I liked; "Creatively Cloned Combatants", or some other option wasn't entirely off the table. The second most difficult thing was convincing myself that my third attempt at piloting a Jeskai commander will finally be my most fruitful attempt. My last two attempts with Jeskai were Vadrok, Apex of Thunder (one of my first attempts at a combo deck, which I eventually trimmed down to just U/R), and Hinata, Dawn-Crowned(one of the most control & spellslinger focused decks I've piloted to date). Hopefully the third time is the charm.

I pulled a full art foil Satya from a MH3 pack, and upon closer inspection, realized that he might be up my alley after all:

• Aggro focus that wants to swing at faces.
• Provides opportunity to snowball value, especially by getting copies of valuable creatures.
• The build direction is open-ended enough to have a couple of potential different directions, & doesn't railroad brewers to one specific path.
• Satya is gas for the deck, which can function without him.

I am looking to keeping things fairly familiar and straightforward, but still allowing room for adjustments to what I feel the deck needs. For now the game plan pacing is fairly simple:

1. Play creatures with a variety of ETB effects
2. Utilize Satya and a handful of Clone effects to get additional copies of creatures with ETBs, or non-legendary Clones of Satya that he can then copy.
3. Semi-optional: utilize Energy accumulation to keep around value-engine creature copies, or utilize the Energy for a variety of Energy related pay-offs.
4. Snowball value from token copies and Clones
5. ???
6. Have fun and all that good stuff.

Cards most seriously under consideration

As I get to know this deck and get some games under my belt, here are the cards that I'd consider for initial swaps, also since I know I have these in my collection:

More Blink stuff

From brewing, play-testing, and general eye-balling so far, my gut is telling me that I might be able to scale back on some of the Energy cards. If I do, I think that some of those slots can probably be swapped out for stuff that can blink creatures, and enable additional re-uses of ETBs. Of the stuff listed here, I'm a bit more inclined to include one of the instant speed options, given the flexibility to also act as protective effects.

Non-creature spells

• Cloudshift
• Ephemerate
• Ghostway
• Semester's End
• Teleportation Circle
• Conjurer's Closet

Creatures

• Aethergeode Miner
• Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
• Fiend Hunter
• Displacer Kitten
• Felidar Guardian

Different Energy Payoffs

Given that Energy is more of a secondary focus to the deck, I will continue to play around with which pay offs fit best. For now, banking Energy to pay for "valuable" creatures (think Professional Facebreaker or other combat damage/attack triggers) will be the primary use.

• Electrostatic Pummeler

• Aetherworks Marvel

Creatures with death triggers

Although getting additional copies of ETB triggers is helpful, I've also considered adding in a sprinkling of Death or Leaves the Battlefield triggers. Taking advantage of death triggers on Legendary creatures could also prove useful.

• Mogg War Marshal
• Oracle of Tragedy
• Resplendent Marshal
• Atsushi, the Blazing Sky

Condensed Maybeboard

The Maybeboard for any of my decks is more so a mix of stuff on my radar for quick reference on future swaps, as well as a general reference list for anyone checking out the deck. This is everything that was listed in the Maybeboard as of 01/14/25. I wanted to clean up the page a bit.

Artifacts

• Lavaspur Boots
• Lightning Greaves
• Solar Transformer
• Swiftfoot Boots
• Aetheric Amplifier
• Aetherworks Marvel
• Conjurer's Closet
• Gonti's Aether Heart

Creatures

1 MV

• Legion Loyalist

2 MV

• Amped Raptor
• Aurora Shifter
• Charming Scoundrel
• Dockside Extortionist
• Mogg War Marshal
• Oracle of Tragedy
• Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
• Tempest Harvester
• Vexing Radgull
• Volatile Stormdrake

3 MV

• Banisher Priest
• Corsair Captain
• Electrostatic Pummeler
• Emissary of Soulfire
• Fiend Hunter
• Filigree Familiar
• Flux Channeler
• Overclocked Electromancer
• Recruiter of the Guard
• Rex, Cyber-Hound
• Rumor Gatherer
• Welcoming Vampire
• Zinnia, Valley's Voice

4 MV

• Amphin Mutineer
• Aragorn, King of Gondor
• Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
• Curiosity Crafter
• Eomer, Marshal of Rohan
• Felidar Guardian
• Nesting Dovehawk
• Roaming Throne
• Sower of Temptation
• Stonehorn Dignitary
• Vengeful Ancestor

5 MV

• Aerial Extortionist
• Ao, the Dawn Sky
• Karlach, Fury of Avernus
• Lightning Runner
• Yorion, Sky Nomad

6 MV

• Bloodthirster
• Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer
• Kairi, the Swirling Sky
• Wurmcoil Engine

7 MV

• Agent of Treachery
• Salvation Colossus

Enchantments

• Determined Iteration
• Grim Reaper's Sprint
• Impact Tremors
• Tocasia's Welcome
• Aether Revolt
• Reconnaissance Mission
• Teleportation Circle

Instants

• Cloudshift
• Ephemerate
• Galvanic Discharge
• Reprieve
• Rootborn Defenses
• Stroke of Midnight
• Unexplained Absence

Sorceries

• Jolted Awake
• Council's Judgment
• Wheel of Potential
• Localized Destruction

Clones & Creative Copies

For this deck, I'm primarily focusing on creatures that have Enter the Battlefield or Combat Damage triggers, since copies created by Satya enter tapped and attacking. Focusing on these types of triggers helps ensure that creatures are impactful as soon as they hit the table, & can snowball value with repeated usage from token copies & Clone effects.

Clones

• Cursed Mirror - Excellent utility for this deck, copying whatever the best creature is around the battlefield, & can be an extra mana rock if a Satya copy is kept around.

• Silent Hallcreeper

• Glasspool Mimic   - Can copy 24/30 creatures currently in the 99, as of 7/15/24, technically 25 if you count Sakashima of a Thousand Faces. I'd prefer not to play its land side, but that kind of utility can help in a pinch.

• Phyrexian Metamorph -Another clone effect with additional upside.

• Sakashima of a Thousand Faces - Will be used as a copy of Satya the overwhelming majority of the time.

• Spark Double - Ditto as Sakashima. Can also be a fun copy target for Satya.

Copies need sources

These are truly all stars that I love to slam down and make as many copies of as I can get away with. I'm not listing every creature in this deck with an ETB or combat trigger, just the ones that can really help snowball your momentum:

• Guide of Souls - After a few games with Satya, Guide of Souls truly stood out as a key piece that helped with life stabilization and accruing Energy. At 1 mana, this is an easy copy to keep around, if it can survive combat.

• Agate Instigator - An Impact Tremors effect that can copy itself with Offspring, & be copied by Satya the same turn it enters.

• Imperial Recruiter - An excellent tutor for this deck, which can grab 15/30 creatures in the 99, as of 7/15/24. Recruiter can grab two out of the three Clones listed above, as well as most of the other creatures in this section.

• Skyclave Apparition - Great repeated and versatile single target removal.

• Solemn Simulacrum

• Aerial Extortionist - Can essentially 3 for 1 on "removal" if copied the turn it hits the table.

• Terror of the Peaks - Although the 15/30 creatures in the 99 (as of 7/15/24) have power 2 or less, being able to make multiple copies of ToP to balloon damage & create a challenging board presence feels great.

Draw

Given that Satya can make copies of creatures, I tried to include some cantrip draw on creature ETBs as a means of getting that repeated value.

• Raugrin Triome
• Esper Sentinel
• Mystic Remora
• Charming Scoundrel - I think most of the time, I'll likely select the Treasure option. I prefer Looting/Rummaging draw more so for decks that can also make use of their graveyards. If I do select that mode, it will likely be to pitch extra lands or stuff that's out of CMC range that I can feasibly cast.
• Pollywog Prodigy -
• Roil Cartographer - In play-testing, it hasn't been too difficult to get up to 6 {ENERGY} most of the time, especially if I can copy her with Satya.
• Aether Channeler - I like the modal options here. I will likely pick draw most of the time, but getting those extra copies helps to get use out of those other modes.

• Enduring Innocence - The Glimmer cycle has some awesome builtin durability. An excellent copy target, given how many small power creatures the deck runs.

• Jeska's Will

• Loran of the Third Path - Playing politics with draw.
• Professional Face-Breaker - Helpful to get a Satya copy to increase treasure production on combat damage, and get additional fuel for Impulse draw.
• Beza, the Bounding Spring - Excellent catch up value.
• Enduring Curiosity - Like a more durable Reconnaissance Mission on a body that Satya can copy.
• Solemn Simulacrum - Sad Robot is a solid value engine for a commander that makes temporary copies.
• Aerial Extortionist - As Impulse draw becomes more common, especially with a new Rocco, Street Chef deck in my meta, this should be a fairly decent draw option.

Ramp

A mix of mana rocks for early game acceleration, and treasure production and rituals for bursts in the mid to late game. Ideally, Satya can either drop turn 3 to start chipping damage at open boards, or accelerate out a copy target before Satya hits the board.

Rituals

• Jeska's Will

Rocks

• Sol Ring

• Arcane Signet

• Pearl Medallion

• Talisman of Conviction

• Talisman of Creativity

• Talisman of Progress

• Cursed Mirror

Sad Robot

• Solemn Simulacrum - Sad Robot does a lot of work the turn it comes down. If Satya is around to make a copy, that's two tapped lands to the field, and a drawn card if the copy isn't kept around.

Treasure

• Professional Facebreaker

• Beza, the Bounding Spring

• Goldspan Dragon

Feeling Energetic

As mentioned earlier in the primer, I don't intend for Energy to be the primary focus of this deck. I intend to utilize Energy to keep around copies of value creatures when possible, or to dump into one of the outlets listed here. Many of these cards gain chip amounts of Energy either as a one-off, or have potential for repeated production if they're on a creature with an ETB trigger.

• Aether Hub

• Guide of Souls - Absolute All Star in this deck, and a great copy target for Satya. He really does it all: Energy production, incidental life gain, and an effective outlet to help get combat damage through.

• Roil Cartographer - An excellent early curve set up, and decent Satya copy target for early turns. In play-testing, it isn't too difficult to get to 6 {ENERGY}, so getting the card draw activation isn't unrealistic.

• Whirler Virtuoso - Mostly here for the 3 Energy on ETB. Can make thopters as needed for chump blocking in a pinch.

• Localized Destruction - Scale for asymmetrical wipe.

Removal

A mixture of instant speed options, and removal options on creature ETBs that Satya can copy up as needed. The creature-based removal has a bit more of a tempo lean to it, as much of the removal is temporary. Although temporary, this creature-based removal is key for removing blockers.

• Swords to Plowshares

• Soul Partition

• Generous Gift

• Grasp of Fate

• Loran of the Third Path

• Skyclave Apparition

• Bronzebeak Foragers - Kind of like a Grasp of Fate on legs.

• Aerial Extortionist

• Localized Destruction

• Swooping Pteranodon - This is a fun card to read to the table and experience everyone's reactions to the "target land deals 3 damage to that creature" bit.

• Terror of the Peaks

• Farewell

Protection and Control

Satya can quickly snowball value if his copies can stick around. This section will help to keep the board as intact as possible, threaten life totals, & throw wrenches into all sorts of plans.

Landscaping

• Scavenger Grounds

• Strip Mine

Please Don't

• Swan Song

• Counterspell

• Dovin's Veto

• Mana Drain

• Glen Elendra Archmage

• Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines

Protection

• Plaza of Heroes

• Reconnaissance - Pseudo-Vigilance to ideally remove creatures from combat after they've dealt combat damage.

• Boros Charm

• Dolmen Gate

• Flowering of the White Tree - The Ward 1 is often enough to direct removal away to cheaper targets.

• Soul Partition - Part removal, part delayed "blink" spell.

• Winged Boots - Ward 4 is almost mathematically hexproof.

• Eerie Interlude

• Teferi's Protection

• Akroma's Will - Ideally an overrun finisher, but can be a defensive board protection if needed.

• Displacer Kitten - Adds extra utility to any instant speed actions.

Table Slappers

• Agate Instigator

• Razorkin Needlehead

• General Kreat, the Boltbringer

• Warleader's Call

• Terror of the Peaks

Top Ranked	Achieved #1 position overall 6 months ago
Date added	7 months
Last updated	1 day
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 59 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 2 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.92
Tokens	Agate Instigator 1/1 R, Bird 1/1 W, Bird 2/2 U, Copy Clone, Elephant 3-3 G, Energy Reserve, Fish 1/1 U, Goblin 1/1 R, Illusion */* U, Thopter 1/1 C, Treasure
Folders	Favorite Decks, untap decks to try, Decks to try, Decks to Play, EDH Deck Ideas, Other Peoples decks to use for ideas, Decks I Use, EDH, to try <3, Cool deck