Hey, I'm just curious but isn't Kytheon, Hero of Akros  ^Flip a better commander here? I mean trading 1 toughness for the ability to become indestructible seems like a good trade to me.

@dlamars

• Kytheon, Hero of Akros  ^Flip would be a suitable alternate commander. The one point of toughness does come into play in the early rounds (attacking past 1/1 creatures) but indestructibility on command could be beneficial, even if it costs 3 mana that could be used for equipment or auras. I prefer to use a vanilla commander as my commander.

Yeah, but then you'd have to change the name of the deck....

Sick deck! May I suggest throwing in some stuff with Exalted, like Cathedral of War and Angelic Benediction? Considering Isamaru's attacking alone, that small boost could be pretty sick early game.

Love it. Btw does it stand any chance against stax decks?

@bushido_man96

• Indeed I would have to change the name of the deck if I swapped out the commander. Another reason to leave Isamaru, Hound of Konda in charge. Plus, he is such a good boy. Yes he is!

@DoctorScarf

• Thanks for the compliment! I have thought about some cards with Exalted, but they never seem to make the cut. Cathedral of War would be included if it did not enter the battlefield tapped. I had not considered Angelic Benediction but it has a similar function to Citadel Siege. I rarely choose "Dragons" except in special cases such as when I face Zur the Enchanter or similar.

@DarkSepho

• Thanks for the approval. This deck does well against stax decks, in my opinion. We run some stax cards of our own so we are generally prepared for similar style cards. Also, having a cheap Commander without special abilities allows us navigate common stax elements.

So what are your thoughts on Stormrider Rig type effects? I've noticed people suggest Hero's Blade, which works similarly, but why not any similar cards?

@TheRedGoat

• Thanks for the comment! For this deck Stormrider Rig is either at its best a worse version of Hero's Blade or an overpriced Honed Khopesh at its worst. If it offered some form of evasion, like Flying, it may have found itself in the deck. It seems like Stormrider Rig should offer Flying based on the art and flavor of the card.

Personally, knowing how the Kolaghan clan works, I feel the rig should come with haste, but that's just me I suppose. Main thing is I understand better that Hero's Blade also doesn't make the cut for exactly that reason that it is not worth just the potential for a free equip (though I do see it as better than Piston Sledge personally).

Regardless, have you done any playtesting with Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Duelist's Heritage? In my mind these would come in for Power Matrix and Battle Mastery respectively, but I do not know if you had tried those cards already. Also, I see Empyrial Armor, but if you run that then why not Empyrial Plate as well? Aren't they the same thing?

Lastly, how often have you felt you needed to recur or resuse any of your cards? I know white doesn't have much for recurring cards, unless it is creatures and probably through attacking, but would this deck benefit or suffer from making space for cards that either can recur themselves or can be brought back?

Have you thought about Godsend?

Great idea for a one creature build! I find Lightmine Field helps prevent attacks and Clock of Omens.might help mana rocks produce more if you tap equipment. What to swap I couldn't think to suggest, killer commander though!

I know you've got a one-creature gig going here, but if you were going to add another, have you considered Sram, Senior Edificer? He would be a huge card-draw engine for you. Hell, he could even be the commander, but I like your theme here.

Just a consideration. You ought to try him once and see.

@TheRedGoat

• I think Elspeth, Knight-Errant can be an acceptable substitution for Power Matrix if needed, although I like the Trample that Power Matrix grants. Likewise Duelist's Heritage is a fair substitute for Battle Mastery and each has their own advantages and disadvantages; Duelist's Heritage sticks around when Isamaru, Hound of Konda dies and this deck has more tutors for Battle Mastery

• Empyrial Plate is an acceptable alternative to Empyrial Armor but I am not certain I would run both of them. This deck tends to run low on cards in hand and when Empyrial Armor is out the play style changes to accommodate that card. As with Duelist's Heritage and Battle Mastery there are advantages and disadvantages to both Empyrial Plate and Empyrial Armor for this deck; Empyrial Plate sticks around and Empyrial Armor comes down a turn faster unless Sigarda's Aid is in play. This deck tends to run faster and riskier in trade for less resiliency. A more resilient play style, though, is an acceptable alternative and I think the deck can be tweaked to adjust for individual groups, play styles, and meta environments.

• Regarding recursion I tend not to worry about it (the "fast and risky" plan). At various times the deck has run recursion effects but they tend to take time and resources to use well. At worst recursion cards are a dead draw if there is nothing to recur and at best it gives you some backup. Instead I would rather be drawing new equipment and resources.

@lescheibak

• Godsend is a fun card but I think it would be too slow for this deck. It is a lot of fun in more casual decks in multiplayer, though, in my experience.

@manbearpig01

• Thanks for the compliment! I can see Lightmine Field and Clock of Omens doing some work for this deck but, as you said, its difficult to find cards to cut. At this point, unless there are more detrimental changes to the banlist, most modifications to the deck are for direct substitutions of existing cards that, for whatever reason, function better than the existing cards.

@bushido_man96

• I actually did try Sram, Senior Edificer as the commander for this deck when he first came out. The raw value is, to say the least, very powerful. If you wanted to swap Isamaru, Hound of Konda for Sram, Senior Edificer the immediate changes I would make to the deck would be to transition some of the spot removal and unattached buffs to cards that take advantage of Sram, Senior Edificer

I am definitely not one for the fast and risky plan myself. I've struggled to face and build decks like that due to my own cautious nature, so I can appreciate the skill with which such decks require to be made and played. Best of luck to you!

Not a huge aggro player myself, but i can appreciate a great deck. Very well done!

Have you thought about Lightning Greaves instead of Swiftfoot Boots

This seems like the perfect sort of deck for Divine Reckoning!

Also, since you'll only ever be attacking with one creature, you might be able to find a home for Angelic Benediction or Cathedral of War.

Reading up on your comments earlier, Sensei's Divining Top is legal in commander, I use it in my Rashmi deck to a great extent!

You might want to slot that in as it IS legal!

It kinda makes me sad that Rafiq of the Many can't fit in this deck.

This deck seem fun to play with, in my humble opinion I know that fast ehquipment are good for this kind of deck but for the long run I would consider the Kaldra set(Sword of Kaldra, Shield of Kaldra, Helm of Kaldra since they can be used to produce a 9/9 hasty, trampley, first strikey, indestructibley creature for one mana.

Accorder's Shield & Cathar's Shield can both provide your Commander with Vigiliance, if you're looking for some.

I would suggest Kusari-Gama. It can really mess up those token decks, or any deck that gets a lot of creatures out. Brave the sands would also allow you to block and attack, making a card like entangler super great.

My Sram list is alot like this deck. Exept each buff is also a cantrip. I think the extra colorless is worth it, but it makes him come out on turn 2 most of the time rather than one. Dope deck, I love the stax aspect, might try replacing the creatures with stax aswell.