Grixis colors always seem to throw me for a loop. I don’t know what it is to be honest; the color combination represents a tremendous amount of power, and it should be a slam-dunk to piece together something that can stand up to a table of players, wreak havoc, and be ‘awesome’ (as you put it!).

Historically, though, my attempts seem to mirror yours, Michael. They come out of the gate swinging, manage to hit the midgame, trip over their own feet, and fall flat on their faces.

Some of my memorable misses:

-I had Sedris, the Traitor King and Lord of Tresserhorn trading Zombie tribal duties. I couldn’t pack enough card draw in to make either one last long enough to overcome midgame board sweepers. In the end, what I had was a second-rate Zombie theme deck that turned and…er…shambled off in the opposite direction at the first sign of Wrath of God or Oblivion Stone. And when a second sweeper hit? DOA. Powerful cards and recursion strategies just couldn’t carry mediocre creatures that needed to be present in numbers to be a reasonable threat.

-I tried Tetsuo Umezawa. Three different times. Each time, I ended up feeling like I was playing a fair deck that could never develop a reasonable advantage in tempo. My lists typically looked very similar to the one at the top of this page; I had a pile of great cards, but I was simply outclassed at every turn by decks that had synergy and strategy.

I’d watch as green decks ramped so far past me that I was finding Bribery just in time to witness a Genesis Wave for about twelve.

I’d then scrape together enough mana for Decree Of Pain just to save myself from being wiped out by a pile of big green creatures, only to watch the guy across the table running Intet, the Dreamer go into a massive chain of Survival of the Fittest interactions that ended with a flurry of creatures, a huge board position, my Decree being countered with Mystic Snake, and my wallet, car keys, and the deed to my house somehow going home in his pocket. This wasn’t working.

I knew that I needed to work on using the tools the color combination provided me to create advantages that I could leverage. I needed to focus on what I could achieve synergistically in order to stand up to the decks that were manhandling me regularly.

I finally did manage some tangible success with Thraximundar. While the deck still didn’t quite seem to hit the ground running as hard as I would have liked it to, it was winning on the back of a sacrifice strategy that focused on the commander. I could maintain pressure by attacking every turn with Thraximundar, while clearing problem threats strategically at the same time. A Reanimation package allowed me to pick up the pieces and gain access to the creatures I was removing in the process so I could custom tailor answers to my needs. I was also able to protect myself with cards like Grave Pact that would allow me to further control the board and provide more tools to use in the process. It felt really strong.

I also found that I wasn’t missing playing with the staples that I shoehorned into my previous attempts. This isn’t to say that I cut them completely; I leveraged the ones that fit my theme and helped forward my goals, and jettisoned the rest to make room for other cards that worked with the deck better.

You see, the thing about staples that often gets overlooked is that they’re called staples because they’ve been proven to do the job needed as efficiently as possible, but sometimes the job isn’t what you’re expecting and you’re left with the wrong tool. Consecrated Sphinx is terrible when you’re trying to abuse Spiteful Visions, and your Primeval Titan is really making it hard to leverage that Land Equilibrium you just played.

Now, there are probably already some Commander fundamentalists that are sharpening pitchforks and lighting torches, preparing to march on the “Dear Azami” headquarters in protest until I pull Sol Ring and Bribery and replace them with Honor-Worn Shaku and Legacy’s Allure or something like that. That’s all well and good; I applaud players who try to get outside of the box and find alternate solutions to common problems. But I’m also not going to de-tune a deck just for the sake of earning Commander street credibility.    

The other side of the ‘staple’ coin is that it’s correct to play a card like Debtors’ Knell if it fits what you’re trying to accomplish with a deck. Sure, it’s an auto-include for ninety-percent of decks with white and black color identity out there. But what if your deck is designed to lean on Reanimation? Why leave out a card that fits the bill perfectly and provides a serious bump in power level just because it’s strong and commonly represented? I’d argue it’s not only fine, but it’s a great include to both further your stated strategy and increase the potency of your deck.

After all, Commander is a great format, but it can lose some luster if you feel like your cards are underpowered and you never come close to winning—or worse—enjoying the game.

Long story short, play the card that does the job. ‘Nuff said.

Getting back to your list, Michael—

You defined your deck as one that, “…doesn’t really have a theme other than just a pile of good control cards and answers within Grixis colors.” I’d tend to agree; what I see is a list front-loaded with a lot of very good cards, but no real synergy or theme to tie them together. You state that there’s a lack of late game pressure, and I think the same issue is at the root of this as well. You’ve made a great Grixis Control list here, but it doesn’t seem to have a real long-term plan. You’re playing answers in hand against whatever threats pop up, and that’s a sure-fire way to get buried in the long run against decks that adhere to a strong strategy.

Here’s the plan:

First, I’m keeping Nicol Bolas in the commander seat. Part of the reason for not switching him out for Garza Zol, Plague Queen is that the last time I laid eyes on a copy of that card, I nearly went blind from the terrible art. I can’t possibly suggest that switch in good conscience unless you know someone who can do a good alteration or you wear glasses and haven’t updated your prescription since you turned six.   

The other part of the reason I’m keeping Nicol Bolas at the helm is that there’s a great opportunity in Grixis colors to build a solid, synergistic deck around a flavorful theme here. Bolas is an evil planeswalker that takes advantage of others for his own advancement and loves to leverage them to do his bidding. I’m going to use the natural strengths of the colors to bolster this strategy, and the end result should be a deck that feels fun but can also make power plays, interact heavily with the other players, and stay strong in the late game.

There are some holes that need to be filled. Right off the bat, I suspect that part of the reason this deck runs out of gas in the late game is a decided lack of card draw. The combination of black, blue, and red also tend to have a pronounced issue fixing and accelerating mana production.

I am going to be trimming some cards that seem to be included for no other reason other than the fact that they’re good cards. I don’t intend to throw the baby out with the bath water, though; cards that deserve (or need) to stay will stay, and I won’t think twice about coming in with other strong role-players if it fits the need.

You asked for ‘awesome,’ Michael. I feel I can deliver something that fits the bill.

LANDS

The land count in this deck is pretty spot-on, taking into consideration the acceleration and mana fixing it will have when I’m finished as well as the extra Tutoring options your Trinket Mage package brings to the table. There are some head-scratchers on the list, however.

I’m going to pull some cards that don’t seem to serve much of a purpose here, and tweak your suite of dedicated mana fixers. I also want to sneak in a few extra sacrifice outlets, considering you’ll be borrowing creatures from your opponents regularly that you won’t always want to give back.

OUT – Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Cabal Coffers

These made the list…to power a big Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief activation? Possibly to make Black Sun’s Zenith stronger? I don’t see much else in the way of compelling reasons to include these two. Considering that Urborg and Coffers are so hated on that they may as well have been key-worded with ‘vanishing,’ I’m going to find some cards that serve a better purpose.

IN – High Market, Phyrexian Tower

I’m raising the number of effects that steal creatures from your opponents, and it’s always good form to cover your bases and have a sacrifice outlet for your own creatures as well. High Market is the baseline for sacrifice effects, and Phyrexian Tower offers a slight bump in mana acceleration. These two join Miren, the Moaning Well on your list.

OUT – Reliquary Tower, Ghost Quarter

I’m hoping there’s a group-hug player in your local metagame who enjoys firing out Rites of Flourishing and Font of Mythos regularly. Otherwise, I just don’t see a reason to include Reliquary Tower in this deck.

As for Ghost Quarter, it shares the same functional space that Strip Mine lives in already, but it lets your opponents down lightly when it goes off. Nicol Bolas doesn’t ever let opponents down lightly.

IN – Desolate Lighthouse, Tectonic Edge

As I noted before, this list is light on card draw. Lighthouse adds some welcome card filtering to the list. Tectonic Edge could be Wasteland just as easily in every way, but it’s a bit taxing on the budget; Edge fulfills the same duties 99.9% of the time. And to be fair, how often are you destroying basic lands anyway? You should be blowing up Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.

OUT – Marsh Flats, Creeping Tar Pit, Lavaclaw Reaches, Dreadship Reef

I’m a big fan of running Revised dual lands and the appropriate fetchlands in my decks. This is mostly because I spend a ton of time and effort worrying about aesthetics instead of things like not making stupid play mistakes and making sure I can cover rent this month. If you find yourself in position, pick up a Polluted Delta and Bloodstained Mire and stick to Ramen noodles for a few weeks. If you’re a rational human being (or my wife), keep moving; there’s nothing to see here!

I let you keep a few off-color fetches, even though I’m pretty sure Bolas wouldn’t approve of a card that says it can find a Plains. I pulled one out, along with a pair of manlands (that I suspect don’t really get much actual man-use) and a storage land that I’ve never personally had much in the way of good results running.

IN – Mountain, Terramorphic Expanse, Evolving Wilds, Grixis Panorama

I didn’t feel comfortable relying on a single Mountain, especially considering some of the mana fixing options that I’m planning on adding to the deck. I also hate to miss out on the flexibility that Expanse and Wilds provide to a color-hungry deck, so those went in as well. Grixis Panorama rounds out the trio.     

CREATURES

There are a lot of all-stars in here. What I want to do is augment cards like Keiga, the Tide Star and Gilded Drake that forward Nicol Bolas’ evil machinations with other like-minded creatures. I do see some space for improvement; you’re running some minor discard, a few token producers, and some overpriced removal, and I think synergy is going to trump these cards in the late game.

OUT – Crosis, the Purger

I’m typically not crazy about the “new wave” of legendary Dragons; I get that big flyers are hard to deal with, but I don’t like having to connect with an opponent to get value. Crosis is one of the weaker examples of this cycle in my opinion due to the prevalence of multi-color decks. Besides…your commander doesn’t discriminate when he connects with an opponent. He just takes everything.

IN – Deadeye Navigator

This guy is my absolute favorite new creature offering. Your original list already provides a boatload of value in cards like Duplicant, Mulldrifter, and Trinket Mage; when I’m done, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a creature that Deadeye doesn’t improve in the entire deck.

OUT – Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief, Evil Twin, Grave Titan

I think I’ve mentioned my irrational distaste for Goblins before. Drana is not too far down the list from there. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve tried to play her many times. She never seems to be as good as I want her to be, so by “tried to play,” I usually mean “sat in my hand to try to convince my opponents that I was sandbagging Hinder.” 

Evil Twin is out too. Cool design, great casting cost, totally flat in actual use. Bolas likes evil things, but your mana base prefers Clone and I’ve got something better in store for this slot.

Finally, we get to Grave Titan. To be fair, Grave Titan is solid. Better than solid. In this deck, though, it’s pumping out 2/2 Zombies without a good way to make use of them. There’s no good way to make them bigger or to sacrifice them for fun and profit, such as Grave Pact or Butcher of Malakir. Sure, I suppose that this combos well with Graveborn Muse, but that’s really about it and that’s not good enough.

Actually, while we’re right there—

OUT – Graveborn Muse

This is a one-sided Howling Mine effect most of the time in this deck. Stapled to an unexciting body that won’t be swinging for the win anytime soon. Yawn.

IN – Bloodgift Demon, Silent-Blade Oni, Sakashima’s Student, Mindleech Mass

A Phyrexian Arena stapled to a big flying Demon… Now that’s an improvement.

We’re also starting to get into the swing of the theme of forcing others to do your bidding. Mindleech and Oni will be doing some heavy recruiting from the hands of your opponents, allowing you to gain some serious value while denying your opponents of their own goodies at the same time. And Sakashima’s Student is a surprise Clone effect for a ridiculously small fee. Not as evil as Evil Twin to be sure, but it’s far more sneaky.

We want sneaky. Sneaky is good.

OUT – Shadowmage Infiltrator

Not this kind of sneaky, though. I’m just never impressed with Shadowmage Infiltrator. It seems like a lot of hoops to jump through for comparatively small card draw. (See Crosis above.)

IN – Disciple of Bolas

Absolute best friends with Deadeye Navigator. Also, card draw that comes to you instead of forcing you to crawl through the trenches for meager returns. Add in some life gain, and this new M13 offering is an amazing option for black. Even following a Solemn Simulacrum with Disciple feels like winning the lottery.

Plus, you know, it says ‘Bolas’ on the card…

OUT – Izzet Chronarch

Simply because…

IN – Archaeomancer

…is cheaper.

OUT – Wurmcoil Engine

Another token engine with no home. Correction: another fantastic token engine with no home.

I know…you must all think I’m completely nuts pulling these cards. Bear with me; I promise the added synergy will trump the isolated raw power.

IN – Puppeteer Clique

Puppeteer is an incredible role-player and a value-add card, and the theme is so spot-on here that it’s not even funny. Where Wurmcoil gives you a few extra tokens when it takes off, Puppeteer Clique gives you the best guy your opponents have in their graveyards. Twice.

OTHER PERMANENTS

I do plan on shifting some of these cards over to the ‘creatures’ column as we go forward. More importantly, though, I’m going to work on finding cards that either don’t give us much value or are superfluous in the face of other existing options. I’ll pull these and slot some cards that continue with our theme of doing work with our neighbor’s stuff.

(Side note: I feel like Sean and I should get a show on HGTV called “Flip This Deck!” He can play the role of the voice of reason who suggests functional improvements, and I can be the idiot in the tool-belt that tries to put a waterfall in the hall closet.)

OUT — Volition Reins

I’m certainly not knocking Reins for functionality, although I’m not crazy about a triple-blue mana requirement.

IN — Zealous Conscripts

Conscripts are a little more exciting. A little cheaper, far easier on the color requirements, and again—Deadeye Navigator.

OUT — Crucible of Worlds, Coalition Relic

Crucible doesn’t seem to have much of a place in this deck. I suppose that it plays nicely with fetchlands, and you can always be the guy who recurs Strip Mine over and over. (Tip: don’t be that guy.) But there are no cycle lands, no Dust Bowl, and not much in the way of cards that ask you to discard or sacrifice real estate.

Coalition Relic is my current Commander staple pet peeve. There are times when this card can be amazing; usually, those times are relegated to when you have a six-drop in your hand on turn 3 and want to get a jump on things the following turn.

More frequently, I see people play this card and just pass the turn. One of two things happens from there:

-They tap it and put a counter on it. Someone immediately plays Akroma’s Vengeance.

-They tap it and put a counter on it. When their turn rolls back around, they remove a counter and do something with the mana, leaving Relic untapped. They pass the turn. They tap it and put a counter on it. Rinse and repeat, until someone plays Akroma’s Vengeance.

Congratulations! It’s like Darksteel Ingot. But worse. And you can only use it on your first main phase.

IN — Gilded Lotus, Gem of Becoming

A pair of M13 artifacts come in to bolster your mana acceleration. Gilded Lotus needs no introduction and helps the color requirements of this deck in a big way. (And if it gets blown up immediately, you’re at least getting three mana out of the deal instead of one.) 

I remember sitting at a table with one of my Tetsuo builds, stuck on a few mana of the wrong color and watching the guy playing white go nuts with his Land Tax. Gem is a great step in that direction for Grixis. Remember, it’s keyed to find the actual land types, not just basics. Enjoy Tutoring up Steam Vents, Blood Crypt, and Watery Grave all at once!

OUT — Executioner’s Capsule

Your Trinket Mage suite is going to take a small hit here, but the deck as a whole is gaining back vastly improved functionality in the process.

IN — Chaos Warp

Destroying a single non-black creature is good and all, but I like looking at the bigger picture. Warp handles everything that might be a problem for you and gives you an out to spot removal as well. Granted, it’s a random one in this deck, but something is better than nothing.

OUT — Mindslaver

I couldn’t let the Academy Ruins / Mindslaver lock remain and still feel good about myself at the end of the day. I know ‘Slaver seems like the ultimate Nicol Bolas card, but in this case, I deferred to the extra flexibility Ruins gets with cards like Nihil Spellbomb, Expedition Map, and Oblivion Stone.

IN — Insurrection

Here’s the card I was primarily referring to at the beginning of the article. Is it a staple? Yes. Is it overplayed? Probably. Does it fit the theme of this deck? Certainly. Does it offer the deck a strong finisher that will help with the end game that it’s currently lacking? Absolutely.

OUT — Nevinyrral’s Disk

I’ve already taken steps to help this deck out in the department of handling problems. At the end of the day, it and Oblivion Stone are fighting for the same space, and while O-Stone is expensive to play and activate in the same turn, it’s still a possible play. My personal experience with Disk is that it causes other players to trip over each other in a frenzied attempt to kill it off before it goes active, and it rarely makes it back to your untap step in one piece.

IN — Shriekmaw

A bit pedestrian, but it is flexible and plays very nicely with some of the other creatures and effects in the deck.

OUT — Jace Beleren, Karn Liberated, Sorin Markov

I’ll readily admit that I’m just not crazy about planeswalkers in general. They tend to be expensive and overhyped, and most are simply glorified punching bags for your opponents. In this case, Jace is marginal card draw that usually helps others out as much as it helps you, Karn is usually an overpriced Vindicate (albeit one that exiles) who usually makes everyone else at the table hate you if you can go ultimate with it, and Sorin couples marginal removal and life gain with the worst parts of Mindslaver and Magister Sphinx. What a package.

IN — Tidings, Ingot Chewer, Corpse Dance

Realistically, Tidings draws you more cards than Jace would have anyway. Ingot Chewer is another value creature that will play a solid removal role in the grand order of things.

And Corpse Dance! This is the other main reason that I’ve been trying to fit key effects into creature slots rather than other card types, and another big reason that I wanted to find more room for sacrifice effects. (If the creature isn’t on the battlefield at the end of your turn, it’s not getting exiled.) Properly managed, Corpse Dance will keep your creatures returning endlessly to do your bidding, and you’ll gain an unbelievable amount of value out of it.

Remember—it almost always costs five, not three!

SORCERIES

OUT — All Is Dust, Barter in Blood

All Is Dust is a great example of an overhyped card that tends to sneak by based on reputation. It does deal with all permanents, but the only time I see this card being beneficial to a deck with so many color-aligned permanents is when you’re hopelessly behind.

Barter in Blood is the card that gives Grave Titan value. I suppose it does the same for Wurmcoil Engine as well, but in this deck, Wurmcoil is much better as a single 6/6 lifelink deathtoucher rather than separate 3/3 Wurm-lings.

Without these two on the battlefield, though, you run the risk of eating into a relatively stingy creature count. That’s no good.

IN — Mass Mutiny, Spelltwine

In their place will go a few new offerings. Mass Mutiny is essentially Insurrection lite, but it hits at a really key point on the mana curve; late enough that there will be good value from all opponents, early enough that the Primeval Titan across the table hasn’t totally broken the game in half already.

Spelltwine is the card that I’m most excited about from M13. I love card value, and this has the ability to be a flexible utility provision or an insane bomb. Pair your Demonic Tutor with a Wrath of God. Rite of Replication and Decree of Pain. Cruel Ultimatum and Tooth and Nail. The possibilities are endless.

(I’m personally playing this in my Intet, the Dreamer deck, and I’m trying to live the dream of playing this targeting a Warp World and a Gather Specimens…)

OUT — Beacon of Unrest, Black Sun’s Zenith

With Corpse Dance in, I’m realigning this Reanimation slot with some added utility that will let you pilfer things other than just creatures and artifacts. For me, Zenith has proven to be a liability in that it always creates unacceptable collateral damage when I play it.

IN — Knowledge Exploitation, Promise of Power

Knowledge Exploitation is another flexible, on-theme answer to many of your issues. Where Black Sun’s Zenith handles the creatures on the board, Exploitation can also do that…or it can draw cards, remove enchantments, summon creatures, steal permanents, or whatever else you can find while digging around in other people’s business. I can’t say enough good things about this card.

Promise of Power helps to give the deck a solid shot of card draw, a big body, or both. I mean, come on—is there another card out there that sounds more Nicol Bolas-y than Promise of Power?

INSTANTS

OUT — Capsize, Terminate

My acceptance of the buyback mechanic only goes so far. Capsize is a great answer to many questions, but it only takes a few cycles for it to be an answer that is causing the rest of the table to glaze over and not play things. Terminate is a strong answer, but it’s a narrow pinpoint one and I see more protection from black and red on creatures that any other colors.

IN — Grab the Reins, Crosis’s Charm

Instead, I’ll bring to the table the flexibility of Charm and the raw value of Grab the Reins. These two cards combine to rob opponents of creatures, provide another sacrifice outlet, deal some direct damage, bounce a permanent, destroy an artifact, or offer creature removal.

Value…evil, evil value.   

OUT — Mystical Teachings

Speaking of teaching:

I once spent a year working as a para-educator for the local school district in my hometown. Not to slight the profession of para-educators everywhere, but my qualifications at the time were “has a degree in Film Theory” and “just got fired from a phone support position with an internet service provider.”

I’m not totally sure, but the person who first coined the phrase, “I weep for our future!” probably heard I was being entrusted with a job in education.

Anyway, one of my first tasks was to tutor a student in math. I’m terrible at math. It took all of about ten seconds before the student was teaching me long division.

“What am I supposed to be getting out of this?” he asked in a mildly frustrated tone.

I thought for a few seconds.

“That you should carry a smartphone with a calculator app.”

You’ll be shocked to learn that I don’t teach anymore.

IN — Diabolic Revelation

Rounding out the upgrades is another fresh M13 Tutor. It’s nice that Mystical Teachings can find Cryptic Command or Venser, Shaper Savant, but Revelation can come down early to find a specific solution you need to have or can hit late and find all of the solutions you need to have. I was initially skeptical about this card, but I’m starting to come around on it.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Here’s the finished list:

Nicol Bolas

Cassidy McAuliffe

Test deck on 07-22-2012

Commander

Creatures (26)

• 1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Nicol Bolas
• 1 Clone
• 1 Nezumi Graverobber
• 1 Keiga, the Tide Star
• 1 Gilded Drake
• 1 Duplicant
• 1 Trinket Mage
• 1 Mindleech Mass
• 1 Body Double
• 1 Venser, Shaper Savant
• 1 Ingot Chewer
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Shriekmaw
• 1 Puppeteer Clique
• 1 Consecrated Sphinx
• 1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1 Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1 Bloodgift Demon
• 1 Zealous Conscripts
• 1 Deadeye Navigator
• 1 Silent-Blade Oni
• 1 Sakashima's Student
• 1 Archaeomancer
• 1 Disciple of Bolas

Planeswalkers (2)

• 1 Liliana Vess
• 1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

Lands (38)

• 1 Strip Mine
• 1 Reflecting Pool
• 1 Volrath's Stronghold
• 4 Swamp
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Island
• 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Phyrexian Tower
• 1 High Market
• 1 Miren, the Moaning Well
• 1 Watery Grave
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Blood Crypt
• 1 Academy Ruins
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Graven Cairns
• 1 Tolaria West
• 1 Sunken Ruins
• 1 Cascade Bluffs
• 1 Crumbling Necropolis
• 1 Grixis Panorama
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 1 Drowned Catacomb
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Tectonic Edge
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Sulfur Falls
• 1 Desolate Lighthouse

Spells (34)

• 1 Sensei's Divining Top
• 1 Hinder
• 1 Treachery
• 1 Mystical Tutor
• 1 Corpse Dance
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Demonic Tutor
• 1 Tidings
• 1 Diabolic Tutor
• 1 Darksteel Ingot
• 1 Decree of Pain
• 1 Promise of Power
• 1 Oblivion Stone
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Gilded Lotus
• 1 Phyrexian Arena
• 1 Bribery
• 1 Grab the Reins
• 1 Insurrection
• 1 Crosis's Charm
• 1 Damnation
• 1 Cryptic Command
• 1 Knowledge Exploitation
• 1 Cruel Ultimatum
• 1 Slave of Bolas
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Elixir of Immortality
• 1 Leyline of Anticipation
• 1 Nihil Spellbomb
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Mass Mutiny
• 1 Diabolic Revelation
• 1 Gem of Becoming
• 1 Spelltwine

Hopefully, this transformation from a vanilla Grixis Control list into something a bit more thematic and synergistic will be just what you’re looking for, Michael. There’s a big improvement to the quality of your answers and increased bottom end to offer you better staying power in the late game. Most of all, it just flows better with itself; the synergy between the creatures is greatly improved, and you’ll find that you get to really affect the board and handle your opponents without relying on on-for-one transactions. You certainly shouldn’t be running out of steam as easily either.

Most of all, I think you’ll just really enjoy playing this deck.

Here’s the specific breakdown:

That’s a reasonable grand total of $70.16 for a huge upgrade overall. As always, you’ll receive a $20 coupon to StarCityGames.com for your participation in this week’s “Dear Azami.” That should go a long way toward working through this list, as two-thirds of the inclusions are less than a dollar each.

It’s time for me to draw this to a close. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the M13 release events that happened this past weekend around the globe.

See you in a few weeks!

–Cassidy

Want to submit a deck for consideration to Dear Azami? We’re always accepting deck submissions to consider for use in a future article, like Morgan’s Teysa, Orzhov Scion deck or Craig’s Ragnar and Kaalia of the Vast decks. Only one deck submission will be chosen per article, but being selected for the next edition of Dear Azami includes not just deck advice but also a $20 coupon to the StarCityGames.com Store!

Email us a deck submission using this link here!

Like what you’ve seen? Feel free to explore more of “Dear Azami” here, in the Article Archives! Feel free to follow Sean on Facebook… sometimes there are extra surprises and bonus content to be found over on his Facebook Fan Page, as well as previews of the next week’s column at the end of the week! Follow Cassidy on his Facebook page here, or check out his Commander blog — GeneralDamageControl.com!