Other People's Decks: Andrew Magrini's Edric, Political Enchantress

Sometimes you run across someone else’s deck that’s just too compelling to pass up. Such was the case when Andrew Magrini, whom I’ve had Commander chats with for the last three or so years, pinged me on social media to show me the deck I’m about to show you. I’m a sucker for cards you really don’t see that often, and despite my addiction to foils, I’m a special sucker for decks which have unavailable-in-foil cards like you’ll see here.

In his own words, here’s a little bit about Andrew:

I first began playing Magic in the fourth grade, when Visions was the new set on the block. After taking a break for a few years, I returned to the game after college around Scars of Mirrodin block. It was at this point I got my first taste of Commander with some judge friends at my local game shop.

Nowadays, I play quite frequently in New York City and travel frequently to hang with friends around events. I consider myself a casual through and through, opting to play formats like Cube and Vintage Artist Constructed over more competitive formats.

Commander is my love when it comes to Magic. Once upon a time, I was a frequent guest on Commandercast, hunting for obscure tech to outfit my decks in crazy, janky ways. Of my ten or so decks, the majority of them are five to six years old, many led by standouts from the original Commander product.

When it comes to the game, I enjoy looking for alternative ways to play popular/divisive/competitive commanders. Subverting expectations and game manipulation are my favorite aspects of multiplayer Magic, especially in Commander. To that end, communication is important in every game, especially when setting expectations on the kinds of games I like to play.

The last line there is extremely important. Regardless of the play style you enjoy, finding groups of like-minded folks is the key to creating enjoyable games and making the kind of memories we hope you’re making. But we’re here to talk about the deck, so let’s get to the list.

Edric, Spymaster of Trest

Andrew Magrini

Test deck on 11-30--0001

Commander

Creatures (15)

Lands (33)

Spells (51)

Here’s what Andrew had to say about this deck:

What initially drew me to Commander was the ability to interact with multiple players over a single game. Edric fascinated me, as it was fundamentally developed to turn attention away from you and towards other players in exchange for a perceived advantage. This build is a years-long exploration into this notion, incentivizing the other players to focus their resources elsewhere while capitalizing on incremental card advantage over the course of the game.

At face value, the deck is underpowered compared to other decks I’ve seen at tables. There are no real bombs. The creatures are small and susceptible to removal. Focusing on Auras results in quite a few two- and three-for-ones. The deck folds to early pressure, as well as players who ignore the political aspects of Commander. The staying power and ultimately all the fun derives being able to control the table using the resources at your disposal.

The early-game is dedicated towards assessing the most powerful decks and forging alliances. Players are quick to identify that you’re a target, but it’s difficult for them to focus after you’ve spent your early turns playing kingmaker with the more powerful deck.

Games typically end in a 1v1 between me and the other player I’ve dedicated the game towards. By this point, my hope is that I’ve been able to draw enough answers to turn their resources against them for the final points of damage. More often than not, I get steamrolled by sheer power, but it’s not about that. The fun stems from being able to psychologically manipulate the table to balance the scales in my favor.

Andrew’s vision for the deck and attitude are only possible in Commander. Sure, it’s fine to just seek out winning by conventional means, but he redefines winning as creating an enjoyable game. He has the additional challenge of trying to win games in which he knows he’s underpowered. As I’ve said multiple times in the past, the secret to Commander is in not breaking it. What he’s done here is create a situation in which he can’t just put his head down and cast cards. He has to constantly assess the battlefield state and figure out a path forward.

Casting Overwhelming Stampede when you have a bunch of creatures is easy. Sure, it’s also satisfying. Getting out of an awkward situation using Rootwater Matriarch and Willbreaker is a horse of a different color. And yes, by the way, it works. Rootwater Matriarch doesn’t have a targeting condition that the creature be enchanted; it just gives you control if the creature is enchanted on resolution (obviously meaning you can sidestep it by destroying the enchantments). Getting this kind of mileage out of a deck is what excites me, since it’s way outside the norm.

My first overarching comment about the deck is the relatively low land count. The mana curve is pretty tight, but I’d still worry about drawing enough land to do what I want to do. Being in only two colors helps mitigate that to some extent, as does the fact that there aren’t too many cards with multiple colored mana symbols in their costs. It might be that Edric and the other card draw gets you there, but without playing the deck, I’d be anxious that there’d be times the mana would suffer. I hope Andrew has had a different experience.

The deck clearly wheels around Verduran Enchantress and Argothian Enchantess, cards from which the Enchantress archetype draws its name. Drawing cards every time you cast an enchantment becomes fuel for the deck and mitigates some of the inherent vulnerabilities of Auras. Nonetheless, it seems like it can perform ably enough without the Enchantresses, although I suspect it would then have to rely on the control-stealing cards like Confiscate and Take Possession.

One of my favorite cards in the deck is Rayne, Academy Chancellor. It’s basically Leovold, Emissary of Trest without the broken ability. It’s kind of vulnerable, since it’s a 1/1, but it doesn’t seem like the card people are going to get rid of with their targeted removal—until they’ve played against it a few times. They’ll want to get rid of it, but there’s always a chance that there will be bigger fish to fry.

One of the criticisms consistently leveled against Auras since the beginnings of Magic is that they go away if the creature dies. One of the reasons Equipment has become popular (in addition to lots of them just being good) is that’s not the case. That’s why things like Skull of Orm and Dowsing Shaman are in the deck. Both of them can be a little pricey to use, but they’re the kind of recovery mechanism the deck wants. There’s the big hitter of Crystal Chimes in case your whole battlefield gets wiped—but you had better hope you have the Reliquary Tower by then. Now I’m dreaming of an Aura which itself has indestructible, but if it’s not enchanting anything, it turns into a global enchantment which could then be attached to something else, maybe as an activation or enters-the-battlefield trigger.

One such Aura in the deck we’ve seen transformed into an (even better) Equipment is One with Nature (and the equipment to which I’m referring is Sword of the Animist). The low mana cost of One with Nature makes it a worthwhile risk, especially on one of the low-power creatures in the deck. It obviously needs to connect in order to get the land, unlike Sword of the Animist, which triggers on attacking—meaning Verduran Enchantress could realize its dream of getting into the Red Zone. The difference in these two cards is an object lesson in the difference between Commander and other formats. It would seem as though Sword of the Animist, on a strictly objective basis, is simply a better card. In the context of both the deck that it’s in and staying on theme, however, One with Nature is the right call. Other formats don’t provide you that kind of freedom.

This deck also realizes one of the things I’ve wanted to work for quite some time: making great use out of Eidolon of Blossoms. The card is okay on its own, a Masked Admirers variant which is likely to draw more cards for less mana. I currently play Eidolon of Blossoms in Adun’s Toolbox, which has only nine enchantments, and it does reasonable work. In a deck like this, it definitely carries some weight.

I mentioned that one of the things I love about the deck is that it makes use of cards you might not be familiar with. Song of the Dryads is one of those cards. It can neutralize the most powerful permanent while keeping on theme in the deck. It’s one to put in the back of your mind the next time you’re brewing—and it makes me wonder where the Lignify might be.

I’m fond of the suite of cards directing attention away from you. Certainly, the commander is one of them, but there’s also Vow of Flight and Vow of Wildness, which will keep scary creatures off your back. Even cooler is Crown of Doom, which beefs up creatures attacking its controller. You’ll probably want to wait to cast it until you have enough mana to also give it away. It can also come back to you, but that’s part of the political game which you’ll have to play. I’d try to fit Crown of Doom into a deck with red so that I could combo it with War’s Toll, but that’s just me.

I’m pleased to see that Andrew has heeded my advice and played a few Fog effects. Tangle remains one of my favorite cards in Magic. In general, you want to use it to protect yourself, but you never know—there might be situations in which you’ll want to use it, not necessarily to save someone, but to make sure those attacking creatures stay tapped down. That situation is consistent with the goals of the deck, since it would draw fire away from you and toward a more vulnerable someone else.

Another card Andrew uses which I don’t see played nearly as often as it seems it should be is False Demise. There are lots of strong creatures in the format and there are lots of battlefield wipes. False Demise seems perfect in such an environment. The inherent vulnerability of Auras leads me to believe that Fool’s Demise is even better, despite the two additional mana in the cost. Seems like it’d be even better in this deck, since it triggers the Enchantresses.

Aura Finesse, Aura Graft, and Enchantment Alteration are the types of cards which can provide for epic game situations. Imagine moving Ancestral Mask or Epic Proportions onto Edric for a commander damage kill. Even better, imagine moving one of them onto someone else’s commander for an out-of-nowhere kill.

In the correct environment, this deck looks like a blast to play. It doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all path to victory. Instead, it relies on the player’s political skill and ability to assess the game situation, often forcing them to make something out of nothing—in other words, exactly the kind of deck which makes Commander interesting.

This Week’s Idiotic Combo

We feature a card which you might consider in its non-idiotic uses, Knacksaw Clique. In general, I’m intrigued by the untap mechanic, since it to some extent breaks the way the game “normally” works. Getting to play cards belonging to your opponents is always a boon, since it’s like drawing extra cards. If you want to make sure you don’t have friends, combine Knacksaw Clique with Paradise Mantle and Training Grounds (a card which often leads to idiocy).

Tap the Clique for a blue mana via the ability granted by Paradise Mantle, and then use its native ability to exile the top card of an opponent’s library. Repeat until you can’t anymore. Enjoy getting orc-piled in the following game.

This Week’s Deck Without Comment is Zombies of Tresserhorn.

Lord of Tresserhorn

Sheldon Menery

0th Place at Test deck on 12-30-2012

Commander

Creatures (43)

Planeswalkers (1)

1 Liliana Vess

Lands (37)

Spells (18)

Check out our comprehensive Deck List Database for lists of all my decks:

SIGNATURE DECKS

Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers; Kresh Into the Red Zone; Halloween with Karador; Dreaming of Intet; You Did This to Yourself;

THE CHROMATIC PROJECT

Mono-Color

Heliod, God of Enchantments; Thassa, God of Merfolk; Erebos and the Halls Of The Dead; Forge of Purphoros; Nylea of the Woodland Realm; Karn Evil No. 9

Guilds

Lavinia Blinks; Obzedat, Ghost Killer; Aurelia Goes to War; Trostani and Her Angels; Lazav, Shapeshifting Mastermind; Zegana and a Dice Bag; Rakdos Reimagined; Glissa, Glissa; Ruric Thar and His Beastly Fight Club; Gisa and Geralf Together Forever;

Shards and Wedges

Adun’s Toolbox; Animar’s Swarm; Karrthus, Who Rains Fire From The Sky; Demons of Kaalia; Merieke’s Esper Dragons; Nath of the Value Leaf; Rith’s Tokens; The Mill-Meoplasm; The Altar of Thraximundar; The Threat of Yasova; You Take the Crown, I’ll Take Leovold; Zombies of Tresserhorn

Four Color

Yidris: Money for Nothing, Cards for Free; Saskia Unyielding; Breya Reshaped.

Five-Color

Children of a Greater God

Partners

Tana and Kydele

THE DO-OVER PROJECT

Animar Do-Over; Glissa Do-Over; Karador Do-Over; Karador Version 3; Karrthus Do-Over; Steam-Powered Merieke Do-Over; Mimeoplasm Do-Over; Phelddagrif Do-Over; Rith Do-Over; Ruhan Do-Over

If you’d like to follow the adventures of my Monday Night RPG group (in a campaign that’s been alive since 1987) which is just beginning the saga The Lost Cities of Nevinor, ask for an invitation to the Facebook group “Sheldon Menery’s Monday Night Gamers.”