"Nothing is more real than the masks we make to show who we are."
With the new 2018 Commander decks now officially released, the access to powerful enchantments (such as
Privileged Position
, and
Enchanted Evening
) make this deck a veritable fortress of protection. The commander may be reliant on auras and other enchantments, but what it lacks in strength through sheer damage; it makes up for in strategic planning and stacking layers of protection that make it nigh impossible to land a solid hit unless you boardwipe.
In this deck list there are lots of synergies between certain enchantments that further benefit your end of the field, and great selection of creatures that provide support to where it is needed.
Here are the following synergies for enchantments that interact with other cards in the deck:
Parallax Wave
+
Opalescence
= Recurring Permanent Exile (target all legal targets and then Parallax wave at the end with the last counter)
Serra's Sanctum
+
Urban Burgeoning
(enchanting Serra's Sanctum) +
Gemstone Array
+
Enchanted Evening
= TONS of mana charges on everyone's turns.
Estrid's Invocation
(targeting Eidolon) +
Skybind
+
Eidolon of Blossoms
+ a non-enchantment permanent with an EtB effect = Consistent card draw and non-enchantment blink every time an enchantment enters your field either on upkeep or any other time an enchantment enters field (masks trigger this too!).
As for the creatures that provide support, they are the following:
Enchantress package:
Argothian Enchantress
,
Verduran Enchantress
,
Mesa Enchantress
,
Eidolon of Blossoms
,
Femeref Enchantress
.
Argothian Enchantress has built in shroud and is cheap in CmC, draws cards when enchantments are cast. Verduran and Mesa are the opposites of each other in color but same in effect, card draw happens on cast.
Eidolon of Blossoms counts itself and other enchantments entering the battlefield in order for its card draw has happen. Costs slightly more than Verduran or Mesa but bulkier in power and toughness.
Finally Femeref Enchantress makes value out of enchantments that are destroyed on either players' field, collecting card draw as a result for each one sent. If a mask token (or any other enchantment tokens) are sent to the grave, you draw a card! Quite effective and very cheap for a reverse enchantress at low GW.
Utility package:
For the sake of this deck many creatures included in this list provide further stability and situational options you can use to your benefit, such as the first card,
Dowsing Shaman
.
This bro of a card is little expensive in cost, but gets the job done by recurring an enchantment card at instant speed from your graveyard for 2 colorless and a green mana. This can be used in conjunction with the next card to provide stable and effective recursion with a satisfying effect to boot!
Faith Healer
.
This card is cheap in its CmC and extremely versatile in evasion for enchantments that are about to be destroyed/sacrificed/exiled, by allowing you to respond and sacrifice them to gain life based on the enchantments' converted mana cost! In conjunction with
Dowsing Shaman
,
Alhammarret's Archive
, and
Enchanted Evening
, it can sacrifice any permant you have in play and gain double life for each enchantment sacrificed at instant speed! Add in
Femeref Enchantress
and you also gain 2 cards per each enchantment sacrificed! Talk about value!
Seedborn Muse
.
This gem of a card is an exceptional green creature that allows you to basically untap EVERYTHING on your field during EACH opponents' turn! You can see how insane this card can be if paired with other cards in the deck (such as
Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix
,
Gemstone Array
, and
Dowsing Shaman
). Needless to be said, if you play this card, expect full attention on you and prepare for any threat that comes your way.
Sigarda, Host of Herons
.
By herself, a potent commander that sees play often for her voltron strategies. In this deck, she fills the role of protector for all of our permanents by negating any sacrifice-based effect entirely (screw you Fleshbag Marauder)! Sigarda herself has a strange casting cost, but provides herself as a flying, nigh-untouchable, beatstick in case you are lacking flying protection. A great addition to this decklist (however if you are having trouble finding a copy of her, replacing her with the weaker, but more widespread version of herself
Angel of Jubilation
is just as good).
Karametra, God of Harvests
, this awesome card is not only a previous enchantress commander of mine; but a super strong card that doubles as a indestructible creature and land tutor! Not to mention she herself is an enchantment! Because of these reasons and my appreciation of the card, she is in this deck. Her ability triggers when you cast a creature spell; at that point you have to stack the triggers (if there is multiple present) if you do want a specific land search (searches forest and plains cards, including basics). Since she relies on devotion to become a creature, it is not that hard to achieve 7 devotion of both green and white symbols to get her to be online from enchantments, and creatures. Once she is online however, she can provide both ample damage and defense based on the situation.
Simic Guildmage
, this card intrigued me upon seeing it for the first time, what caught my eye was its second activated ability; pay 1 blue and a colorless, change an auras' location to another target with the same owner! For a creature that has little mana cost and ability, this card is very helpful when it comes to saving another cards bacon at instant speed! With this card, you can swap auras such as mask tokens, auras that have totem armor, and prison auras placed on your creatures to another legal target and protect or bypass restrictions! An honorable mention is
Kitsune Mystic
, works similar and costs less in both CmC and ability than Guildmage, but targets in creatures. Regardless, a decent card to add in case you can't find a Guildmage.
Lastly is
Umbra Mystic
.
This fascinating (and sometimes confusing) card allows all auras on your end to gain totem armor! Sounds and is fantastic, but what does that mean to your mask tokens or any other auras that have totem armor already? Well it requires two, yes, TWO destroy effects to happen before the card enchanted is exposed! With this, you can protect your weakest of creatures by giving necessary protection from board wipes (but not exile or effects) or other threats to the cards' existence. A very cheap and unexpected card that can save your butt in case stuff happens.
Combo Package:
For creature cards in the Combo Package, they provide either effects to create a win condition, or provide extra resources to generate a potential explosive ( and possibly game-winning) turn based on their abilities.
Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix
. This card was also a commander of mine for a wheel n' deal style of deck when it first came out; now it serves as a progressive mana rock that can create huge bonuses for cards in my deck that have either X-costed spells, or for using her huge colorless mana supply to spend instead of wasting it on colors I own on field. With cards that can untap her, she can go infinite very easily based on how many cards you have drawn that turn (includes your first card drawn on your turn). Try to play her when you own multiple card draw based enchantress effects, as it will definitely help you out in the long run and possibly close out a game.
Nylea's Colossus
.
This beast of a card is both a enchantment creature and a 6/6 body with trample that has one of the few effects in MTG exisitance; to double its own, or other creatures power and toughness based on all enchantments entering your side of the field, stacking each time! If this card is on field along with
Enchanted Evening
, any card you play from your hand and entering the field (even lands!) will be considered an enchantment and will trigger Colossus' ability; making this a super scary card to behold if any mass recursion spells are cast before that point in time
Living Death
, Splendid reclaimation, Eerie Prelude. If that does happen, your opponent can expect a massive buff to one of your creatures, and then promptly swinging at their weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE and sending their unfortunate selves to the Shadow Realm. A great inclusion to any enchantress deck!
Lands:
For the lands it is purely what you are comfortable with and can afford within your budget.
Certain lands like
Serra's Sanctum
is a much desired, expensive card that is a huge boon for this kind of deck, but is not entirely necessary for its use. There are other ways of generating mana at a rapid rate, but in a more inexpensive matter. I added them into the deck list to display their potential.
Having shock lands like
Breeding Pool
,
Temple Garden
, and
Hallowed Fountain
are very much appreciated and considered a staple for these colors in the deck; but in the case where the budget is tight, then basic lands are capable of doing the job just fine.
Filter lands like
Wooded Bastion
,
Flooded Grove
, and
Mystic Gate
are a necessary need for Tri-color decks that need assistance in filtering of colored mana. If you are able to find a Wooded Bastion and/or a Mystic Gate for cheap then those are fine editions to the deck. Having access to a
Chromatic Lantern
or (if you own one) a
Prismatic Omen
will definitely help you out should you be having issues with tapping for specific colors of mana.
Search lands such as
Polluted Delta
,
Scalding Tarn
,
Misty Rainforest
,
Windswept Heath
, and
Flooded Strand
are also very helpful when looking for your shock lands or tango lands if your deck budget is ok with that.
For everything else in regards to utility lands and other forms of mana, the list has what you need to see. The notable ones that in particular are Thesipan's Stage,
Deserted Temple
,
Command Tower
,
Alchemist's Refuge
,
Forge of Heroes
, and Minamo, School at the Water's Edge. If you can include any one of these (except commander tower, that is a must in multi-color decks), then I guarantee that they will serve you very well.
For artifact ramp, I suggest the signets from the Ravnican guilds;
Azorius Signet
,
Selesnya Signet
, and
Simic Signet
. These are the core colored mana-producing artifacts you need to have in the deck to start your deck, along with any other inexpensive artifact mana sources such as Commander Sphere,
Darksteel Ingot
, Felwar Stone, and
Manalith
.
Colorless artifact ramp such as
Sol Ring
,
Basalt Monolith
, Golem's Eye, and
Worn Powerstone
are all good, basic artifacts you can use to generate colorless mana with their inclusion should you have a lower budget; however the powerful mana rocks such as
Mana Crypt
,
Mana Vault
, Guilded Lotus, and
Grim Monolith
are exceptional in ability, but costly in budget (unless if you are able to allow your budget to include them).
Useful artifacts that are a big help in this decklist are:
Expedition Map
, which allows you to tutor any land card from your deck and put it into your hand for 1 colorless mana to cast, and 2 more colorless mana to activate it.
Gemstone Array
, an artifact that allows you to store mana for 2 colorless to add 1 charge counter (which can be spent at instant speed to add 1 mana of ANY color!). Very helpful when you got lots of mana left over and don't know what to invest it into.
Alhammarret's Archive
, this card is not only a doubler for life gain effects, but also a card doubler too for 5 colorless mana; talk about value! Any card draw effects will significantly improve your speed in how you set up your turns and provide answers for fire situations or pesky threats to your well being. What is also nice about this card is that even if you over-draw and have to discard most of the cards you want to the graveyard, Estrid can ultimate and get ALL enchantments back plus any she mills into the grave with her effect! Definitely an auto-include due to the amount of card draw effects in the deck.
Lastly, there is one of the main, and most powerful artifacts we can run in this deck (with beneficial effects for us and detrimental effects for our opponents);
Keening Stone
. What this artifact does is that for 6 colorless and tapping it, that player places cards from the top of their library into their graveyard based on the amount of cards already in their grave! Using this card can synergize really well with your commander Estrid, and as well with many other cards that have recursive properties in the deck (
Open the Vaults
,
Regrowth
,
Cleansing Meditation
, etc). However, should your opponent be playing a graveyard deck themselves you can use it to take them out swiftly and unexpectedly with correct understanding of their situation (just be careful you yourself don't get
Mindslaver
ed with the artifact on field!) and win the game. If you own a copy of this card, or plan to acquire this card, I suggest you include it into your deck; it will be of great use to you and best of all, nobody will see it coming (except those who run a
Praetor's Grasp
)!
If you have any suggestions or comments that you would like to give towards the betterment of the deck list, then please share them in the comment section below and I will make sure to respond to you faster than a blue player tapping for the mana to
Counterspell
.
Jokes aside, thank you for taking a look at my deck list and please upvote or share it if you want to. It is much appreciated :)
