Bans run rampant in Magic these days. Part of that is e there are so many formats these days. In looking back as cards that have been banned you'll see Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero. It's a very unassuming creature with the ability to cheat in any other rebel....by paying its mana cost and tapping Lin Sivvi. She can also put a rebel from your graveyard to your deck for 3, which is very useful when creatures are dying left and right. You need to make a choice though, do you use Lin Sivvi and your other rebels to fetch up new creatures or do you use them to further fetch up more rebels?
Rebels have always held a special place for me when it comes to creature type. I got a pile of them when I first started buying cards and used them to good effect at the kitchen table. I was really excited when I saw they were a returning type in Phyrexia All Will Be One. I personally would have liked a Black White option so I could live my dream of using Rebel Informer and Mercenary Informer together to synergistic effect. No such luck. But the set did move the tribe into Red, which makes thematic sense, and pushed an equipment theme, which is very Boros. This wouldn't fly in a Make EDH Weird Again article or deck idea, but with a Stripped Out deck it's ok to be a little more straight forward. So this week I'll use the Rebellion Rising deck as a shell to lean heavily into the tribe and the equipment theme of the existing deck.
My first order of business is the commander itself. Neyali, Suns' Vanguard was the lead choice for the deck, but the set also included another Rebel option, Jor Kadeen, First Goldwarden. Neyali provides an aggressive strategy and card advantage which are very attractive for a precon. I also happen to enjoy being aggressive and drawing cards. My problem with Neyali is the need for tokens. The whole thing falls apart without token creatures. There are token producers in the deck but I want the rebels to be the real role player. Jor Kadeen on the other hand is very cheap, wants me to have multiple creatures that happen to be equipped, and has some card advantage. I feel like this is more in line with my strategy. So of course I'm going to pick Otharri, Sun's Glory.
Hear me out. I can't completely abandon my notion of making things weird. I'm averse to putting a non tribal member in a tribal deck, but the phoenix makes rebel tokens. This means it will enable Neyali when she hits the field to draw cards and the tokens can be equipped which will supercharge Jor Kadeen when he comes out. Being a phoenix it also has natural recursion. I get to save on commander tax so I'm less worried if it eats removal or I lose out in a combat situation.
So I know the benefit of putting Otharri into the command zone but there's also a benefit of putting Neyali and Jor Kadeen into the deck. I like the rebels for their ability to go up the chain and keep finding more powerful friends. Even something as simple as Ramosnian Sergeant on turn 1 can get me in for damage on turn 2 and tutor up Jor Kadeen, First Goldwarden on turn 3. Any of my higher CMC rebels could find him too since the tap ability lets you recruit smaller creatures and those one CMC higher. So the same is true for Neyali once I get a 3 CMC rebel. You may be asking what such old school rebels are shaking things up in the deck. I have Ramosnian Captain and Ramosnian Lieutenant to go along with the Sergeant. Defiant Falcon is nice because of the evasion but Nightwind Glider and Thermal Glider are even better with the protection. They are great at moving damage through especially when equipped properly as well as keeping themselves from popular removal like Vindicate or Blasphemous Act respectively.
There are some old school utility rebels in here too. Reveille Squad lets me use my tutoring rebels twice or more in a turn cycle as long as it is untapped and I'm attacked. People will want to attack me when they see how aggressive I am and how fast I can build my board out. Ramosnian Revivalist has a very expensive tap ability at 6 mana but it lets me pull rebels out of my graveyard and put them directly into play. Shield Dancer is the ultimate blocker as it turns the damage back around on the attacking creature. People forget it also deals damage itself so you can still knock out a creature with more toughness than power. The deterrence of Shield Dancer doesn't play nicely with the desire to be attacked with Reveille Squad so don't deploy them together.
That was a lot of old school rebels but there are plenty of newrebels here too. I've already talked about two red white legends so far, Neyali and Jor Kadeen. The set also has a mono red goblin legend. Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber lets me cheat on equip costs and provides some insurance as creatures die but going all in can be dangerous in it's own right. Leonin Lightbringer is a great early aggressive play. The Ward helps to deter early targeted removal and the +1/+1 is a nice little bonus when the cat gets equipped.
The choices felt a little limited for new creatures. What's really nice though is the new equipment out there with For Mirrodin! come with a 2/2 rebel token and snap equip it onto that token. This fuels Neyali and Jor Kadeen and keeps Otharri out of the graveyard. No one can argue with Hexplate Wallbreaker being here. Extra combats are key with combat focused decks. It's a no brainer and easy include. Dragonwing Glider and Bladehold War-Whip are new adds to the deck while Kemba's Banner makes the cut from the original deck too. Heirloom Blade works in reverse. When the equipped creature dies I can flip cards until I find another Rebel and put in safely in hand to cast when convenient.
My equipment can do double duty here too. I included Goldvein Pick and Beamown Beatstick make treasures when my creatures connect. I can immediately recoup part of the equip cost with a profitable attack. Sword of The Animist is more conventional, pulling a land out. This deck wants to be aggressive, so why not reward yourself for being aggressive.
With all this aggression I need to temper it so I don't get blown out. Fervor and Hammer of Purphoros are here to make sure I can use my creatures in whatever fashion right away. There's nothing worse than filling up the board and losing because you couldn't do anything with your creatures. Brave the Sands gives everyone vigilance so I can attack and either block or tap to tutor later on at my own convenience. I also extend this idea into my removal. A board wipe like Single Combat can save a key creature for me to protect myself later or immediately rebuild my board. The same is true with Divine Reckoning. It seems a boardwipe like that would reduce the bad feelings as people get to keep their most important creature.
The deck has a solid suite of options for ramp and removal that made it above the cut line. Arcane Signet, Boros Signet and Mind Stone all come down early and supercharge my following turns. Generous Gift can target anything. Don't be afraid to use it against a utility land. A lot of these new options are more narrow but for a cheaper cost. Give everyone at the table the gift of blowing up a problem land. No resource should be safe. In addition to Generous Gift I kept Rip Apart. 3 damage can finish off most problematic creatures in the format. The ability to switch gears and hit other permanents provides invaluable flexibility. I love collective effort. I'll have plenty of creatures at any given moment, why not put them to work convoke style to power up additional modes?
What did the deck turn out like? This
Otharri, Sun's Glory
Neyali, Sun's Avatar Sigarda's Aid Bladehold War-Whip
Jor Kadeen, First GoldwardenOpen The Armory Dragonwing Glider
Rhuk, Hexgold Nabber Fighter Class Glimmer Lens
Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero Goldwarden's Gambit Hexplate Wallbreaker
Armou Scout Nahiri, Storm of Stone Kemba's Banner
Armou Seekers Unbreakable Formation Mirran Barichade
Children of Korlis Valorous Stance Blood Forged Battleaxe
Cho-Manno, Revolutionary Resistance Reunited Sun Forger
Defiant Falcon Response//Resurgance Sword of the Animist
Leonin Warleader Single Combat Loxodon Warhammer
Nightwind Glider Divine Reckoning Beamtown Beatstick
Ramsonian Sergeant Fervor Goldvein Pick
Ramsonian Captain Hammer of Purphoros Maul of the Skyclaves
Ramsonian Lieutenant Brave the Sands Conjurer's Mantle
Ramsonian Revivalist Disenchant HeirloomBlade
Reville Squad Rip Apart Clever Concealment
Riftmarked Knight Soul-Guide Lantern Flawless Maneuver
Shield Dancer Chain Reaction Arcane Signet
Thermal Glider Generous Gift Boros Signet
Pious Warrior Cut A Deal Commander's Sphere
Boros Charm Collective Effort Mind Stone
Talisman of Conviction
Path of Ancestry Unclaimed Territory Secluded Courtyard
Buried Ruin Castle Ardenvale Castle Embereth
Command Tower Forgotten Cave Furycalm Snarl
Kher Keep Myriad Landscape Secluded Steppe
Slayer's Stronghold Temple of Triumph Windbrisk Heights
Mountain x10 Plains x10
Ok. I have a problem. I can't bring myself to play more than 36 lands. I don't like that half a deck is supposed to go toward lands and ramp. It makes deckbuilding less exciting. It makes me want to go back to the original mulligan rule for commander. If I could sculpt a hand I would play closer to 30 lands. It would be great. I don't mind Temple of the False God as a ramp option. It seems unnecessary here especially since I'm not pulling many additional lands out of my deck.
Out of the original 62 non land cards in the deck I kept 21 for a 34% retention rate. That's a big jump from previous weeks. I like keeping more of the original deck in tact. I feel like you're retaining more of your original investment that way. I made it my mission to retain more cards with this one and I would say it's a success. Next time I'm looking to go further back with decks and pick one without red in it. 3 in a row was enough for me. Let me know what you think of the deck.
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