Taigam, Keeper of the Doves

Commander / EDH Control Primer Tokens WU (Azorius)

Calebthelion

Instant (25)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cryptic Command *list*
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Expel from Orazca
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x High Tide
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Intuition
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Oblation
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Shadow Rift
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Thirst for Knowledge
• 1x Unsubstantiate
• 1x Winds of Rebuke

Artifact (8)

• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

Land (33)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 10x Island
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Nimbus Maze
• 7x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Tundra
• 1x Windswept Heath

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Dovescape
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation
• 1x Omniscience
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Reconnaissance
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Steel of the Godhead

Creature (6)

• 1x Academy Rector
• 1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Monastery Mentor
• 1x Mother of Runes
• 1x Thassa, God of the Sea

Commander (1)

Sorcery (18)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Bribery
• 1x Call to Mind
• 1x Chart a Course
• 1x Compulsive Research
• 1x Fumigate
• 1x Idyllic Tutor
• 1x Merchant Scroll
• 1x Not Forgotten
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Relearn
• 1x Replenish
• 1x Serum Visions
• 1x Spectral Procession
• 1x Sram's Expertise
• 1x Time Warp
• 1x Treasure Cruise

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Ever since the first time I had ever seen the card Dovescape I knew it was some special. I had to have a copy but didn't know what to do with it and so it sat, unused and under appreciated, in my binder just waiting for the right moment. That moment came with the C17 spoilers in the form of Taigam, Ojutai Master. It was a dream come true and boy had brewing never been so simple. So here we are now with a list that has been fairly tested and an absolute blast to pilot. Of course, as new cards come out and since I don't know every card in the entirety of the game, there are sure to be improvements so feel free to leave suggestions in the comments.

First off, I feel I should also mention that this deck isn't meant to be cEDH level though I think it could do alright at a cEDH table, I built it with the intention to play it in more mid-high power casual games where it has really shined and yet to make anybody too salty.

Secondly, who is this deck for? Well let's see... Do you like casting lots of spells? Do you like manipulating the stack? Do you like to draw cards? Do you love everything about Dovescape? Do you like birds? Hell, do you want to have an army of 20/20 birds ready to beat face? if the answer is YES to any of these then this deck is probably for you.

Now, on to the gameplan.

The Gameplan

So the reason Taigam, Ojutai Master and Dovescape are a match made in heaven is because Taigam prevents your instants and sorceries from being countered i.e. with Dovescape out your non-creature spells resolve and you get the birds while everyone else at the table is stuck with a bunch of 1/1s. So the plan is to get Dovescape out onto the field and make a bunch of birds, seems simple enough, but there's one big issue, you're opponents are making birds aswell. So we need to have bigger, badder birds and this is where Cathars' Crusade comes in, suddenly your 1/1s now have 5-10-15 1/1 counters on them. This may seem all fine and dandy but once again there's an issue, just to get these rather threatening enchantments on the field it cost 11 mana and unfortunately Taigam doesn't prevent enchantments from being countered so there is a major risk involved not to mention the fact that after you get these enchantments out you still need to cast spells to get some birds on the field. This is where Replenish comes in.

With Replenish we are able to return all enchantments from the GY to field with a potential rebound incase someone is able to remove one of the crucial components.

The primary gameplan: To get Dovescape, Cathars' Crusade and Omniscience into the GY and then cast Replenish to set up for the win.

How We Get There

Believe it or not getting there really isn't that bad, the fastest way to set up for a win is when you have 5 mana and have just attacked with Taigam to cast Merchant Scroll grabbing/casting Intuition then grabbing 3 enchantments. I usually grab Omniscience, Cathars' Crusade and Leyline of Anticipation to start but this greatly depends on hand and board state. On the rebound grab Mystical Tutor with scroll and either grab 3 more enchantments (Dovescape for sure if you don't in the first cast) or 3 loot spells (eg Frantic Search) if you don't have one in hand which will allow you to put any crucial enchantments in the GY. Now if you have a cantrip in hand (eg Ponder) you can cast mystical after declare attacks, if not, cast mystical before your draw phase grabbing Replenish. After combat, cast Replenish and cast what you can to build your army of birds. This 90% of the time this will be game and in the situations where people have responses, we run a suite of counters and removal but remember, we're at an advantage cause we have Taigam.

To ensure we get the tools we need we run a suite of cantrips and tutors which we can abuse and stack in various ways to max out the return using Taigam's Rebound granting ability. Basically, if you don't get lucky and have Merchant Scroll in the first 2-4 turns just dig, dig, and dig till you get there.

There are plenty of other ways to set up using tutors combined with loot cards (eg Thirst for Knowledge) and remember Taigam gives your instants and sorceries rebound which enables you to do some interesting things with the stack on your next upkeep.

Protection

It is very important that Taigam stay alive/on the field, if someone removes Taigam in response to us casting Replenish it can really put a damper on things as is then makes our previously uncounter-able Replenish, counter-able which can single-handedly foil our whole game. This is what we hold up counterspells for, it is crucial that we try and be the best prepared for this type of scenario. This is also why we run Whispersilk Cloak and Lightning Greaves, not only because Haste and Unblockable greatly help us get in but also because they provide excellent protection from targeted removal. Unblockable is also very important as it allows us to enter combat for the Rebound trigger and not have to worry about larger blockers, though Taigam is not weenie at 3/4.

Now what if Replenish is countered and stuck in the yard with our enchantments? As much as we'd like to be preemptive and prevent this type of outcome sometimes there not much we can do and so we run cards like Call to Mind and Relearn which let us get back an important Instant or Sorcery, plus these are just crazy good with Rebound.

They're overrunning me! Well good thing we have a couple boardwipes. Fumigate may seem questionable but once people in your group figure out what your deck does they're gonna try to kill you first so getting some life back and wiping the board while you're at is can be an absolute game-changer. We also run Propaganda in our suite of enchantments and of course, Cyclonic Rift.

Back-Up Plan

To be honest I win more with Approach of the Second Sun than anything else in this deck once I get Omniscience out cause it's absolute cake to play again in the same turn with just a couple cantrips/draw spells (Ugin's Insight being the best choice).

You can also take infinite turns with Time Warp + Call to Mind + Relearn aslong as Taigam is out and you're able to get the Rebound triggers.

Opening Hand

Ideal hand:

Merchant Scroll, Sol Ring, Lightning Greaves, 2x UW land, a counterspell/removal, and Frantic Search

With a hand like this you can Replenish T4 as long as you get a land in the next 3 draws and be able to pitch everything you need to the GY.

The important thing to have in your opening hand is a clear plan as well as a response if there is some interruption to that plan. If you can't produce U and W, mulligan (unless you have a really good hand otherwise with a means to fixing your mana). If you don't have any drawspells or tutors, mulligan. If you don't have protection for Taigam but have a clear path to the win, go for it if there isn't any other control players at the table. If you're matched up against some faster decks then be sure to have removal and counters on hand. You may not be the fastest deck at the table but you have great card advantage and a slough of interaction.

Some Considerations

If you are looking to make this deck more competitive I would consider trading out a few of the less optimal enchantments (eg annointed precession ) with the likes of Aura of Silence or Blind Obedience. I think this is a deck that could greatly benefit from a lite Stax package because it isn't extremely fast. Aven Mindcensor or Hushwing Gryff would be a decent replacements for our token generating creatures.

A few for pieces of fast mana (eg Mana Vault or Mox Diamond) could also be decent inclusions, even the new Mox Amber though that doesn't particularly accelerate us much.

Thanks for looking and hope you enjoyed the decklist and write-up on, quite possibly, my new favorite deck. Feel free to leave some recommendations and questions in the comments, they're much appreciated.

Date added	6 years
Last updated	6 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 34 - 0 Rares 27 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.88
Tokens	1/1 WU Token Creature Bird, Ape 3/3 G, Bird 2/2 U, City's Blessing, Manifest 2/2 C, Monk 1/1 W, Servo 1/1 C, Spirit 1/1 W
Folders	EDH