Xantcha: Instigation Agent

Commander / EDH BR (Rakdos) Curse Goad

valbaca

Lands (37)

• 1x Blackcleave Cliffs
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Canyon Slough
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Lavaclaw Reaches
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 6x Mountain
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Shadowblood Ridge
• 1x Smoldering Marsh
• 12x Swamp
• 1x Tainted Peak
• 1x Throne of the High City

Goad (10)

• 1x Agitator Ant
• 1x Bloodthirsty Blade
• 1x Crown of Doom
• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Endbringer
• 1x Karazikar, the Eye Tyrant
• 1x Kardur, Doomscourge
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 1x Vengeful Ancestor
• 1x War's Toll

Curses (3)

• 1x Curse of Disturbance
• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Curse of Vengeance

Threaten (3)

• 1x Angrath, the Flame-Chained
• 1x Frenzied Fugue
• 1x Mob Rule

Mana (15)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Black Market
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Curse of Opulence
• 1x Hedron Archive
• 1x Mana Geyser
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Neheb, the Eternal
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Seize the Spotlight
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence
• 1x Victory Chimes
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Worn Powerstone

Removal (11)

• 1x Bedevil
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Cut / Ribbons
• 1x Endbringer
• 1x Infernal Grasp
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Sudden Spoiling
• 1x Terminate
• 1x Tibalt's Trickery
• 1x Vandalblast

Wipes (6)

• 1x Arcbond
• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Chain Reaction
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Magmaquake
• 1x Rolling Earthquake

Flavor (3)

• 1x Heartstone
• 1x Ill-Gotten Gains
• 1x Oppression

Commander (1)

Draw (11)

• 1x Curse of Vengeance
• 1x Emberwilde Captain
• 1x Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 1x Keen Duelist
• 1x Key to the City
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Seize the Spotlight
• 1x Throne of the High City
• 1x Tome of Legends

Wincon (7)

• 1x Brash Taunter
• 1x Cut / Ribbons
• 1x Master of Cruelties
• 1x Mob Rule
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Stuffy Doll
• 1x Wound Reflection

Utility (5)

• 1x Chef's Kiss
• 1x Opposition Agent
• 1x Praetor's Grasp
• 1x Rampaging Ferocidon
• 1x Reanimate

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Maybeboard

Tutor (3)

• 1x Gamble
• 1x Profane Tutor
• 1x Scheming Symmetry

Mana (1)

• 1x Braid of Fire

Removal (2)

• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Hurl Through Hell

Threaten (1)

• 1x High Market

Draw (1)

• 1x Stormfist Crusader

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Xantcha is a Sleeper Agent with a propensity to instigate aggression.

The plan is to use goad effects to get your opponents attacking each other and to mop up afterward. Even if they’re not literally goaded, opponents are nudged to attacking others with Curses and your creatures with deathtouch or indestructibility. Xantcha’s (3) ability hopefully garners some good will (except with the person she’s deployed to.

You want to keep the heat off you while you bide time to deploy a win condition, most likely Wound Reflection and/or either Stuffy Doll or Brash Taunter combined with Blasphemous Act or Arcbond. You can also generate infinite mana with Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth and dump that all into Xantcha's ability.

The Gold Star victory is one using a card from your opponent’s deck, stolen with either Praetor’s Grasp (my pet commander card) or Opposition Agent (Agents work together!)

Finally, there’s also an intentional emphasis on story flavor with some of the cards from Xantcha’s past…or even from herself! Phyrexian Tower is visible in the background of Xantcha’s card art. Heartstone is literally her heart! No wonder it works perfectly in the deck. Xantcha is prominent in the art of Ill-Gotten Gains and Oppression.

Date added	2 years
Last updated	2 years
Exclude colors	WUG
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 53 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.21
Tokens	Gold, The Monarch, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B