There is so much talk lately about deck power levels. What really is a 7? Is this Tier 1? What bracket am I in? Today's deck is unclassifiable. That's not hyperbole, it's by design. I built a Judo deck. If you're not familiar with the strategy it takes the strengths of other players decks and turns them against their owner. This is not my first foray into the archetype. My Orvar Heroic deck was one of my first and more recently I put together a Myrkul deck that steals creatures to sacrifice them. I'm giving the BIRD to both of those and starting something new.
Bloomburrow had a slew of great and powerful Legendary Creatures to choose from. Some people love Flubs the Fool, everyone loved Ms. Bumbleflower. For me, the most interesting option was Zinnia, Valley's Voice. He copies my best creatures thanks to Offspring. He easily turns into an evasive commander damage powerhouse. The deck could have easily turned into a pile of good stuff value creatures but I knew I could do so much more. I'll have 4 piles for good stuff creatures instead. I owe this all to Clone. Clone comes down and becomes a copy of the most impactful creature on the field. A lot of options don't even target the creature of my desire, I just get to choose the one I want, so I get around protection abilities.
We've all played in games where someone drops a Blightsteel Colossus, Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, or Hullbreaker Horror and seen the game warp around that card. My usual answer is removal. Exile that creature or wipe the board and be done with it. Even if you beat them, why not join them? A lot of creatures that shake up the table tend to be expensive. For 4 mana, on average I get to cheat on that investment. Clone has been around since the beginning of the game and it's not exactly setting the world on fire. Offspring however, gets me even more mileage. For 2 extra mana I get a second copy of that creature. 6 mana, 2 bodies, double etbs or dies triggers. That's sick.
Clone might not be super sexy of a card to play, but its derivatives all tend to bring a unique effect with them. Undercover Operative provides a benefit if I copy my own creature. That could be, and has been, my own Clone or Offspring. In that case, I get a shield counter on it. This is a great card to copy a value creature with, not necessarily an opponent's beater. Phantasmal Image is way below rate at only 2 mana. It's a little more fragile, but anyone targeting it is probably going to kill it anyway. Vizier of Many Faces provides a little insulation for my plan since I can Embalm it from the graveyard. A threat from the graveyard usually has a surprise factor to it that opponents neglect. More to come on the clones. I don't want to overwhelm you all at once.
I got to play a game where my opponent resolved Defiler of Vigor. I had no use for the cost reducing of Green spells, but a 6/6 Trampler is a sizeable threat. I went and copied it with Mocking Doppelganger and made a copy. I of course paid the Offspring cost out of habit and made a copy. That was a bit of a mistake. Doppelganger Goads all the creatures with the same name. That meant my opponent's Defiler was double goaded, which meant nothing. The bad part was each of my Defilers were also goaded, from each other. So I got attacked and I was forced to use my real clone to block his Defiler. Why you might ask? The offspring copy was only a 1/1 and would get steamrolled by a 6 power trampler. If the offspring died it would free up my Defiler, but why wouldn't I want to attack with it anyway? So I blocked his 6/6 with my 6/6 and I was left with a 1/1 Trampler that did nothing for me. But that is why we play and learn more about how a deck interacts with itself. Maybe I'll be more careful with Mocking Doppelganger and the Offspring ability.
Clones are great. The drawback to any creature based strategy though is creature effects are generally one and done. There are a couple of ways around that. I'm not going to beat around the bush, I have access to Blue and White in this deck, two of the best colors for bouncing. I have some single use effects and some repeatable sources for this effect. On the single use side, I have Crush of Tentacles. This is a big board wipe as it gets artifacts, enchantments, and any other nonland permanent. I only like to play this for the surge cost. The 8/8 is worth more to me on an open board so I'll gladly play something cheap or mid cost only to have it returned to hand. Flood of Tears is another single use board wipe in the same vein. It's great to put a mana reducer or Zinnia back onto the field right away. Aether Channeler offers lots of modes. With Offspring, I can even bounce it and get another mode all for 5 mana. It's not great, but it keeps my options open in the future. Crystal Shard sits on the field and lets me bounce something for a single Blue, or 3 but never really 3. I can use it offensively if an opponent is tapped out. I can use it politically to save a permanent from removal. Mostly I just use it to bounce a Clone back to my hand or save my own commander from removal. 1 mana is not a lot to keep open.
There are 2 more bounce effects worth talking about: Tragic Lesson and Essence Reliquary. You might think these have nothing in common, but they both let me return a land to hand. This is beneficial because I'm running 3 Double Faced Lands. Generally, I hold off as long as possible when it comes to playing double faced lands on their land side. These cards allow me to play them sooner, since they bounce lands back to hand, which is beneficial since the land side comes in tapped. I can recoup the spell option when it's most effective. Getting back Witch-Blessed Meadow to my hand so I can cast Witch Enchanter and remove one or two problem permanents is great in the mid game. Bouncing Glasspool Shore is even better since I get a great clone effect in Glasspool Mimic.
Speaking of clone effects, Gigantoplasm. I like this more than I should but it works great with my commander. Changing the base power and toughness is fine for the regular version but with the offspring I can pump it up when necessary to make it a real threat. Spark Double also winds up better than a 1/1 in every case since it comes in with a +1/+1 counter. I don't often copy a planeswalker, but it has happened. No, I like to use this on an opposing commander. I'm waiting for the day an opponent has a Nekusar, the Mind Razer in play so I can have 2 of my own. Let's see if he wants to cast a wheel then. Copycrook is another clone that improves it's power thanks to Connive. Connive is just a good way to filter away cards I don't need. The last clone that increases its overall power is Dack's Duplicate. Haste is a killer in a creature strategy. Dethrone is nice too, as long as I'm not the threat at the table.
The deck isn't just clones. I have some value creatures of my own and I really want to highlight some of the control elements they bring to the deck. I included Curse Catcher and Judge's Familiar as great turn 1 threats. The bird attacks better than the fish but they shine as walking Force Spikes. In the early game, people don't think I'll trade the creature to counter a ramp spell, but I certainly will. Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, etc, you're on notice. Delay those spells an extra turn. One Cursecatcher is ok, but 2, thanks to offspring, is better. 3,4,5 and so on are even better than that for the late game to threaten game winning spells and board wipes. Mage's Attendant is more expensive but more versatile since it makes a token that sacrifices to counter spells. More so, the token hits more targets than just instants and sorceries.
Still in the vein of control, I have Aerial Extortionist to highlight. This bird is great tempo based removal. He has an immediate effect on the board and if he sticks around he can keep removing threats. The Extortionist is great in multiples for this reason and as a draw engine. People are always playing stuff from exile these days thanks to impulse draw, adventure, and from the command zone. I can encourage this with Aven Interrupter. It hits the field and plots a spell on the stack. When an opponent recasts it, that card happens to cost 2 more. Aven Interrupter isn't great with offspring, but it does work well with my flash clones like Stunt Double. Double flies in as a copy of Interrupter and plots a game ending spell that now costs 4 more to cast. The last control creature to talk about is Elite Spellbinder. He may not be a bird, but at least he flies. He enters the battlefield and exiles a card from an opponent's hand to be cast later with a 2 mana tax. He is great in multiples.
The rest of the deck has some good synergies with my plan. I have Militia Bugler and Imperial Recruiter to help tutor up my clones since they tend to have 0 power. I added in Welcoming Vampire and Rumor Gatherer allow me to draw cards especially when I use the offspring ability. Deep Gnome Terramancer and Stoic Farmer provide good land based ramp for the deck. March of Swirling Mist, Cosmic Intervention, and Legion's Initiative are here to protect my board. A poorly timed Wrath of God can mess up my whole game plan up. Whatever that plan happens to be in the moment.
Let's talk about closing out the game. There is a straightforward way and everything else. Straightforward, I have the best creatures on the field to beat faces with. Zinnia is an evasive threat that often flies under the radar as a threat at the table. I think people forget about the +1/+0 he gets for each 1/1 I have. After that, it gets more complicated. With a Judo deck, I need to let an opponent's strategy develop and then try to steal it. It's even better if you can steal from more than 1 player and find a different avenue. Like that time I copied Enduring Scalelord and got an offspring copy of it so I could make an infinite number of +1/+1 counters on each of them. They got removed before I could attack with them, but the point still stands.
The point of a Judo deck is to use strengths against people. Mocking Doppelganger is great against people with a ton of tokens. Just cast her and goad the board into damage. I could imagine more scenarios that haven't happened yet, like using Clever Impersonator to copy a key enchantment like Omniscience or using Phyrexian Metamorph to copy a key artifact like Bolas's Citadel.
How does the deck look now? Like this
Clone | Aerial Extortionist | Wear//Tear |
Undercover Operative | Aven Interrupter | Collective Effort |
Phantasmal Image | Elite Spellbinder | War Priest of Thune |
Mocking Doppelganger | Judge's Familiar | Plundering Barbarian |
Gigantoplasm | Cursecatcher | Duergar Hedge-Mage |
Spark Double | Mage's Attendant | Winds of Abandon |
Copycrook | An Offer You Can't Refuse | Crush of Tentacles |
Dack's Duplicate | Equilibrium | Dusk//Dawn |
Phyrexian Metamorph | Crystal Shard | Flood of Tears |
Stunt Double | Essence Reliquary | Tragic Arrogance |
Body Double | Reflector Mage | Stoic Farmer |
Visage Bandit | Aether Channeler | Deep Gnome Terramancer |
Wall of Stole Identity | Unbreakable Formation | Kor Cartographer |
Clever Impersonator | Flawless Maneuver | Pearl Medallion |
Curse of Verbosity | Remember the Fallen | Sapphire Medallion |
You Find the Villain's Lair | March of Swirling Mist | Kefnet's Monument |
Militia Bugler | Cosmic Intervention | Cursed Mirror |
Imperial Recruiter | Legion's Initiative | Boros Cluestone |
Rumor Gatherer | Tragic Lesson | Ojutai Monument |
Vizier of Many Faces | Welcoming Vampire | Forsake the Worldly |
Deep Analysis | ||
Arid Archway | Steam Vents | Raucous Carnival |
Mountain x7 | Plains x11 | Island x12 |
Glasspool Mimic/Shore | Jwari Disruption/Ruins | Witch Enchanter/Blessed Meadow |
Maestros Theater | Obscura Storefront |
The deck has been a blast. I don't know what's coming from opponents and trying to mix and match what they're doing to win the game keeps my mind moving throughout the game. It really helps the better I know an opponent's deck or strategy but it's not a requirement to win or have a good time. The next tweak might be to add another land. 35 and 3 MDFCs is doable but has been a strain at times. I might add in another win condition to the deck itself. Approach of the Second Sun has been on my mind, but with blue in the deck, I think people will get weird about it.
Thanks for reading and all the support to date. I have affiliate links with Mana Pool and TCG Player to help fund these off the wall strategies. It's what makes all this possible,
And that's all..... Right?
Not quite. I have a bonus for you for getting this far. Another way to take Zinnia that hasn't been explored yet. Use those links so I can get the remaining cards or try it out yourself.
The idea revolves around Persistent Petitioners replacing my Clone effects and turning this into a Mill deck. I'm planning to throw in some other spice to the deck. Azor's Elocutors happens to be an Advisor that fits with the petitioners. I can use them to block and not tap them until the end step before my turn. Coat of Arms is also a must here. I can turn my plan on its head, abandon my mill plan, and swing for lethal since I'll have over a dozen creatures to power each other up. Door of Destinies would work the same way in the deck. The last things I would add are untap effects like Drumbellower and To Arms! These are great to double up my mill plan in a given turn cycle.
There is is. Let's make it happen.
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