Za-Draw Ascendancy (Hidden Commander: Zada)

Commander / EDH Combo

biobrush

Lands (37)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Forest
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Island
• 1x Ketria Triome
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Mutavault
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Plains
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Raugrin Triome
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Zagoth Triome
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sejiri Shelter  ^Flip
• 1x Bala Ged Recovery  ^Flip
• 1x Valakut Awakening  ^Flip
• 1x Ondu Inversion  ^Flip

Combo support (6)

• 1x Narset's Reversal
• 1x Season of Growth
• 1x Feather, the Redeemed
• 1x Jeskai Ascendancy
• 1x Rhythm of the Wild
• 1x Mirrorwing Dragon

Removal (4)

• 1x Pest Infestation
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Kamahl's Will
• 1x Ondu Inversion  ^Flip

Draw card per creature (16)

• 1x Cerulean Wisps
• 1x Crimson Wisps
• 1x Expedite
• 1x Leap
• 1x Shadow Rift
• 1x Twisted Image
• 1x Accelerate
• 1x Fists of Flame
• 1x Refocus
• 1x Shelter
• 1x Startle
• 1x Verdant Rebirth
• 1x Dark Dabbling
• 1x Infuse
• 1x Jolt
• 1x Twitch

Protect the combo (13)

• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Grand Crescendo
• 1x Heroic Intervention
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Narset's Reversal
• 1x Sejiri Shelter  ^Flip
• 1x Shelter
• 1x Verdant Rebirth
• 1x Dark Dabbling
• 1x Force of Will

Untap your dorks (8)

• 1x Cerulean Wisps
• 1x Benefactor's Draught
• 1x Dramatic Reversal
• 1x Refocus
• 1x Infuse
• 1x Jeskai Ascendancy
• 1x Jolt
• 1x Twitch

Make creatures (5)

• 1x Pest Infestation
• 1x Grand Crescendo
• 1x Startle
• 1x Twinflame
• 1x Heat Shimmer

Dualcaster combo (3)

• 1x Twinflame
• 1x Dualcaster Mage
• 1x Heat Shimmer

Isochron combo (2)

• 1x Dramatic Reversal
• 1x Isochron Scepter

Commander (1)

Mana dorks (16)

• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Mutavault
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Noble Hierarch
• 1x Bloom Tender
• 1x Earthcraft
• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Harabaz Druid
• 1x Llanowar Loamspeaker
• 1x Circle of Dreams Druid
• 1x Faeburrow Elder
• 1x Life / Death
• 1x Natural Affinity
• 1x Sylvan Awakening
• 1x Kamahl's Will

Find the combo (9)

• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Solve the Equation
• 1x Spellseeker
• 1x Valakut Awakening  ^Flip

Get stuff back (7)

• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Regrowth
• 1x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x Bala Ged Recovery  ^Flip
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Life / Death
• 1x Past in Flames

The Game Plan (3)

• 1x Cerulean Wisps
• 1x Sylvan Awakening
• 1x Zada, Hedron Grinder

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Sideboard

Other (2)

• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Generous Gift

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TL;DR: check out "The Game Plan" category. Those three cards sum it up.

Jeskai Ascendancy is my favorite magic card and the inspiration for the deck, hence the deck's name. The Ascendancy strategy is all about deploying mana producing creatures and then casting a series of cheap cantrips to generate mana, draw more cantrips and protection, and buff your team +1/+1 per spell. As you'll see, Zada, Hedron Grinder and "targeting cantrips" can accomplish the same task in a super fun and explosive way.

Here's how:

1. Play Tazri to find Zada.

2. Cast Zada while holding protection.

3. Turn your lands into creatures.

4. Target Zada with a cantrip (Target creature ____. Draw a card). NOTE: This lets you draw cards for each creature you control, including animated lands!

5. Untap your animated lands and mana dorks. NOTE: This works with a cantrip like Cerulean Wisps targeting Zada.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have a ton of creatures (Pest Infestation and Grand Crescendo help). Dualcaster Mage + Heat Shimmer or Twinflame will generate infinite hasty creatures. Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter + a combination of creatures and artifacts that produce 3+ mana will generate infinite mana. It's not hard to win when your hand is half your deck!

Let me know what you think. Please, please, please suggest new synergy pieces and/or provide advice if you've played Zada or Ink-Treader Nephilim!

Thanks for stopping by!

Date added	4 years
Last updated	2 years
Key combos	Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter Dualcaster Mage + Heat Shimmer
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 57 - 0 Rares 12 - 2 Uncommons 17 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.30
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Bird 2/2 U, Citizen 1/1 GW, Copy Clone, Elephant 3/3 G, Pest 1/1 BG, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B w/ Decayed
Folders	The Lexicon