Johnnies of the world, rejoice! Conflux has got a card custom made for you to run wild over. Check out this bad boy:
Now, all by himself he’s a decent card, something you’d be happy to windmill slam into your draft pile or find staring at you from your sealed pool. If your opponent can’t immediately do something about a rather beefy 4/4, he’s probably going to have to deal with two of them after your next upkeep, and then four of them, and then eight, and then sixteen, and so on, until the charging rhinos stomp your opponent’s life totals flat. Spike will win a few games with him and then toss him into his trade binder, never to cross his mind again.
Johnny, however, will be happy to trade that card from him, because there’s a little bit of subtext on the card that Spikes can’t hear. If you got a little Johnny in you, lean closer, cup your ear, and you’ll hear it…
…break… me…breeeeeaaaaak… meeeeeee…
The limiting factor on Mirror-Sigil Sergeant is that he only copies himself during your upkeep. So naturally you’ll want to dig out your copies of Paradox Haze to make even more upkeeps. Heck, load up with some Copy Enchantments too; by the time you cast the Sergeant and get around to your next turn, have your upkeeps ready to explode out rhinos like a volcano!
The rule for Mirror-Sigil Sergeant is, the more the merrier. Of course, there are tons of copy effects out there where you can double your fun; think about cards like Body Double or Vesuvan Shapeshifter to jump into the game. Followed Footsteps is a cool Aura that also works nicely alongside Paradox Haze. Maybe imprint a Clone onto a Soul Foundry.
Once you get a couple of token copies of Mirror-Sigil Sergeant working, you can make use of some other cards that have heretofore been not exactly exciting. Rhys the Redeemed and Parallel Evolution both double your tokens, and while going through that effort to double your Saproling or Squirrel tokens hardly seems worthwhile, doubling copies of Mirror-Sigil Sergeant has got to be seriously crazy-good times. Rhys is even hybrid White to work in the same color as the Sergeant.
Okay, so while we’re working overtime to take advantage of the Sergeant’s special ability, let’s not forget the dude is a soldier and we can certainly take advantage of that, especially when it comes to ways of getting Sergeant into play earlier than his mana cost would otherwise warrant. Ballyrush Banneret and Daru Warchief discount soldiers. Urza’s Incubator set to Soldiers can really cut costs. Let us also not forget Preeminent Captain… what better way to bring a 4/4 trampling Mirror-Sigil Sergeant into play than tapped and attacking on the fourth turn for zero mana!
Here’s a neat thought – start with Auriok Steelshaper, add some Deathrenders, and then you have a great way to cheat the Sergeant into play; plus, whenever your Steelshaper is equipped, your Sergeant gets a +1/+1 bonus.
Not that you’d want to cash out 4/4s to Fog, but don’t forget that Knight-Captain of Eos can sacrifice those Mirror-Sigil Sergeant tokens to prevent combat damage in a pinch.
One last thing – the fellow is six mana and so are his copies, so the Dragon parts can be utilized (though the Dragon Claws trample ability is redundant).
You know I had to build a soldier EDH deck with this guy:
1 Ragnar (General)
1 Rhys the Redeemed
1 Resistance Fighter
1 Akrasan Squire
1 Loyal Sentry
1 Land Tax
1 Skullclamp
1 Veteran’s Armaments
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Auriok Steelshaper
1 Ballyrush Banneret
1 Leonin Shikari
1 Scroll Rack
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Negate
1 Remove Soul
1 Mana Leak
1 Dragon Scales
1 Dragon Wings
1 Regrowth
1 Preeminent Captain
1 Dream Fighter
1 Wake Thrasher
1 Field Marshal
1 Lieutenant Kirtar
1 Metathran Elite
1 Paradox Haze
1 Rhystic Study
1 Coalition Relic
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Urza’s Incubator
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Aven Cloudchaser
1 Clone
1 Cenn’s Enlistment
1 Cryptic Command
1 Daru Stinger
1 Enlistment Officer
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Deathrender
1 Taj-Nar Swordsmith
1 Commander Eesha
1 Daru Warchief
1 Rhox Charger
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Steelshaper Apprentice
1 Gustcloak Savior
1 Knight-Captain of Eos
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Honden of the Seeing Winds
1 Body Double
1 Vesuvan Doppelganger
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Catapult Master
1 Mirror-Sigil Sergeant
1 Tatsumasa, the Dragon’s Fang
1 Opportunity
1 Time Stretch
1 Decree of Justice
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Maze of Ith
1 Diamond Valley
1 Savannah
1 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Gaea’s Cradle
1 Kor Haven
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Yavimaya Hollow
9 Plains
8 Island
3 Forest
We’ve got lots of soldier action, lots of nifty equipment stuff, card drawing and Survival to dig up your Mirror-Sigil Sergeant, and some Clones to start ramping up the madness. Just for kicks I added in the Regrowth/Time Stretch combo that so handily kicked me in the teeth in our last EDH… I mean, once you got your Mirror-Sigil Sergeant/Paradox Haze combo in place, why not go ahead and take a couple of extra turns in a row?
Those of you who know me know that I get excited about every new Magic set that comes down the pike, but Conflux is looking particularly fun for deckbuilders. Sure, we haven’t run across the next Bitterblossom or Cryptic Command, but in all honesty I’d be happy to have a drought of that type of ridiculously overpowered cards. What Conflux is showing us are lots of interesting role-players, just the ticket to take your pet deck to the next level, or to get your Johnny-mind working overtime, like a big ol’ lovable Rhino Soldier. Make sure you pencil in time for the prerelease next week, and if you’re attending the one in Richmond, VA, make sure to stop by the admin desk and say hello to yours truly!
Until next time…
Bennie