Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and Commander 2020 are inextricably linked for me. In addition to them coming out at the same time and having thematic overlap, and Commander 2020 containing cards from the base set, in design we even called it Ikoria Commander. Additionally telling was when someone recently asked me what commander from Ikoria I was going to build first, my answer was Kathril, Aspect Warder. I get that they’re two distinct sets, but in my mind they’re one and the same.
As with every new set release, I update my suite of decks, now at 53 and counting. There are plenty of great cards that might not find homes. It’s increasingly difficult to make room in the decks that I have for new cards, because the cards that are in them are already pretty good. It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye to cards that have served well but are getting put aside for fresher faces. If I don’t mention why a particular card is coming out, it’s because the card is just a casualty of necessity. As we move forward, the number of cards from the new sets which go into the suite continues to dwindle, because space is just ever more precious. I suppose I could create some new space by building more decks, which I absolutely intend to. In fact, one of the reasons I’m playing what might seem like a relatively small number of the multicolored legendary creatures is that I’m saving them for upcoming decks.
Mutate is the new mechanic which intrigues me most, but it comes with downsides. The notable one is that you’re committing two or more cards to one stack, so you can easily end up with card disadvantage via targeted removal. I’m more likely to put mutate cards into a deck that has recursion in it than any other. Actually, I’m more likely to run with a mutate commander, which will enable you to use the ability multiple times. That’s for later; for now, let’s look at what I’m currently doing with the decks.
White
Into: Rith’s Tokens
For: Legion’s Initiative
The Rith deck is a Soldier token deck, so it makes sense to generate a bunch of Soldiers based on someone else’s team. With cards like Gaea’s Cradle and Comet Storm in the deck, this could turn an impending loss into victory.
Into: Queen Marchesa, Long May She Reign
For: Ilharg, the Raze Boar
Queen Marchesa seeks to become the monarch and keep it that way. Shutting off shenanigans from other zones is one of those ways.
Into: Proliferating Chulane
For: Herald’s Horn
Flawless Maneuver had to go into a deck in which keeping the commander alive is critical. While there are quite of a few of them in the suite, Chulane gets awkward to cast subsequent times. While the deck doesn’t do too much normal Chulane stuff but seeks to do lots of proliferating, being able to tap out to do what it does makes the deck more resilient.
For: Loxodon Hierarch
The deck is about creatures with +1/+1 counters on them, and most of them are ground-pounders. Getting them back onto the battlefield and ready to take to the air will make some life totals small in short order.
Into: Queen Marchesa, Long May She Reign
For: Isolate
Another way of keeping the monarchy is making sure there’s nothing around to attack you. I look forward to the blowout plays that Mythos of Snapdax will lead to. They won’t quite be as devastating as Ruinous Ultimatum, but that’s hardly a sin.
Unlike its You Did This to Yourself progenitor, the Ruhan Do Over deck just battles. Because it doesn’t have the same kind of retributive strike capability, the lifelink granted by Vitality Hunter means being able to swing in without having to worry too much about the crack back.
Blue
Into: The Threat of Yasova
For: Life’s Legacy
Also added is Pako, Arcane Retriever, as you’ll see below. The pairing is thematically neat and goes with Yasova’s propensity for borrowing creatures — and sometimes even giving them back.
Into: Ikra and Kydele
For: Evacuation
There certainly are any number of decks that I have which would benefit from what is sure to be one of the set’s chase rares. Promising to put only one copy into the deck suite meant having to make a tough choice. What tipped it over is the fact that there are two commanders in the deck, and either will fulfill the condition. The primary reason I went here is that I haven’t played the deck in a while, so it was on my mind. It can also deal reasonably well with creatures, so having something to take care of noncreature spells is important.
Into: Dreaming of Intet
For: Azor’s Gateway
For my copy stuff deck, copying something powerful and then killing off something else is well worth the four mana. I occasionally play the Intet deck as Riku of Two Reflections, so being able to copy Mythos of Illuna seems like serious value.
Into: Thassa, God of Merfolk
For: Mulldrifter
I wanted to put Voracious Greatshark in the most thematic spot possible, so it came to Thassa, God of the Sea. The deck is mostly Merfolk but has a number of other sea creatures for the flavor win.
Black
For: Retribution of the Ancients
Karador decks like to make their own creatures die. Bastion of Remembrance likes to make other players die when they do. They seemed like a good team.
Into: Merieke’s Esper Dragons
I’m still a little soft on one-for-ones in Commander, but free ones will pique my interest. Merieke generally doesn’t like to exile creatures, opting instead to borrow them, but for a card of Deadly Rollick’s power, she’s willing to make an exception.
Into: Demons of Kaalia
For: Phyrexian Rebirth
I was careful to not put Dredge the Mire in a deck that likes to use its own graveyard a great deal. I figure that getting it copied might be suboptimal. I will note that even if it does get copied, it’s not a complete blowout. There are no targets for the spell; the choice comes during resolution, so even if the really nice creature you wanted isn’t available, you’ll still end up with something. What’ll be funny is if someone casts Entomb in response for something awful like Leveler or Eater of Days. Or Phage the Untouchable. My Kaalia of the Vast deck is mostly Demon tribal, so I also took the opportunity to put Liliana’s Contract into the deck (taking out Mastery of the Unseen).
Into: Obzedat, Ghost Killer
For: Marble Titan
Designed by fellow Commander Rules Committee member Scott Larabee, Extinction Event will clear the path for some Obzedat, Ghost Council battles. Normally, the deck likes to play sweepers on other players’ turns, but the power of Extinction Event means bending the rules just a little.
Into: Kresh Into the Red Zone
For: Regal Behemoth (to Angry, Angry Dinos)
Players justifiably like to blow up Kresh the Bloodbraided. I don’t blame them and certainly never get salty when they do. I’d certainly be willing to pay three life instead of an extra four, six, eight, or more mana to get him back onto the battlefield so that he can continue to wreak some havoc. You’ll see momentarily why Regal Behemoth went from here to Gishath.
For: Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
The partner with pairings from Ikoria are a thematic delight. I also believe the partner with mechanic is much safer than regular partner. Nikara would go into this deck even without the pairing, because it’s all about the counters. Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel provides great synergy by giving the exiled creature’s power to something else and then bringing that creature back should Yannik go away.
Into: Borrowing Stuff at Cutlass Point
For: Staff of Nin
The anxiety of tribal decks is getting your team wiped out. Species Specialist will at least help you rebuild if that should happen.
Red
Into: You Did This to Yourself
Nothing says You Did This to Yourself like retargeting a spell. Remember that Deflecting Swat can effectively counter a counterspell. While a spell can never target itself (CR 115.5), you can retarget the counterspell to Deflecting Swat, which is still an object on the stack. The Knowledge Exploitation removal is temporary. We’ll be playing via webcam instead of in person for a while, and searching someone else’s deck is awkward at best.
Into: Rith’s Tokens
For: Legion Loyalist
I’ll be honest, the first card I search all my decks of the appropriate color for was Doubling Season. I look forward to the day I windmill Lukka onto the battlefield with everyone’s favorite counter-doubler and an army full of creatures at the ready.
For: Kirtar’s Wrath
As mentioned, the Ruhan Do Over deck is primarily aggressive, so using Mythos of Vadrok to either eliminate potential blockers or just render them inert fits directly into the deck’s plan. It’s possible that the card can also be used to otherwise disrupt a Superfriends plan by shutting down up to five planeswalkers for a turn.
Into: Angry, Angry Dinos
I can’t really imagine cycling it four times in a game will happen all that often, but it’s a Dinosaur Turtle. You have to play it, right? It’s an 8/8 hasty trampler for seven, so the rate is already decent, but you’ll see in a bit the real reason it’s going into the deck.
Green
Into: Zegana and a Dice Bag
For: Masked Admirers
Cazur is the only “partner with” creature which I’m using without its partner. It simply turbo-charges a deck in which the +1/+1 counters matter. The partner, Ukkima, Stalking Shadow, seems perfect for a Ninja deck.
Into: Ruric Thar and His Beastly Fight Club
For: Lace with Moonglove
You have to keep down the number of noncreatures you play with Ruric Thar, so each of them has to really have an impact. Curious Herd is exactly the kind of card you’re willing to take six damage for. You’re already on value if you get two out of it; in many Commander games, you’re going to get way more than that.
Into: Dreaming of Intet
I focused on Kogla’s first two abilities for figuring out what deck to put it into. It turns out there are a few pretty spicy Humans in the deck that I wouldn’t mind returning to my hand, like Dualcaster Mage, Snapcaster Mage, and any Clone that’s currently a Human.
Into: Ikra and Kydele
For: Villainous Wealth
Like with a few other removals, Villainous Wealth is a casualty of the webcam game, and will certainly get slotted back in down the road. Until then, Mythos of Brokkos will help a deck that likes to engage in a few graveyard shenanigans. It’s less about the Entombing than it is about simply Regrowing two valuable permanents.
Into: Angry, Angry Dinos
For: Chain Reaction
I’m a fan of Summoning Trap, so a non-instant version that gets additional cards is okay by me. In the Gishath deck, not getting at least two hits will be a rarity.
Into: Better Proliferate Than Never
For: Clone
I like Vivien’s static abilities just fine. Being able to cast creatures off the top of the library is like drawing cards without them actually making it into your hand. Then there’s the -2 ability, which gets me thoroughly excited. The fact that it’s a search and not revealing from the top makes it very strong. I knew the card had to go into a deck that proliferates so that we’d get multiple activations without the stopping point of the +1 ability, which is why Roalesk was the choice.
Multicolored
Into: The Mill-Meoplasm
For: Ravenous Slime
In order to make the most of mutate, it has to be in a deck built around the mechanic or somehow reusable. Brokkos does that. In The Mimeoplasm’s deck, it means a number of things. Often, cards with cool abilities are overlooked at Mimeo targets because of their relatively small size. With Brokkos, we can make something relatively small into a 6/6 that then gets even bigger due to the counters. The card opens new lines of play for a deck that’s been around a while.
Into: Halloween with Karador
For: Entreat the Dead
Certainly one of my favorite cards in the set, Eerie Ultimatum is a one-sided Living Death on steroids. It’s a huge, splashy card—the exact kind of effect that we’ve come to know and love from the format. It’s both a safety value when someone plays a sweeper and the big comeback when the valuable cards, like Birthing Pod and Greater Good, have been victims of targeted removal. It’s obviously also a pretty good offensive weapon that might have me looking for ways to give my team haste.
Into: The Mill-Meoplasm
For: Cloudstone Curio
Although the three-card choice will often be situationally dependent, I suspect that Traumatize will often be one of my choices for Emergent Ultimatum. There’s political value in the card as well. If a player is getting out of hand, you pick a different opponent to make the choice, and everyone is happy. Well, except for the out-of-hand person.
Into: Karador Version 3
For: Deathgorge Scavenger
A card that’s likely to make a splash in other formats as well, Fiend Artisan is a stem from the stalk of Birthing Pod and Prime Speaker Vannifar. Unlike those two, you can concentrate on getting exactly what you want instead of needing to assemble a chain. Also unlike those two, it will also be a considerable offensive weapon all on its own once it’s done its business.
Into: Animar’s Swarm
There aren’t too many nonpermanents in my Animar, Soul of Elements deck, so Genesis Ultimatum will frequently get five hits. The deck also enjoys its enters-the-battlefield triggers, so it’s going to create some stacks when it hits. The Ultimatums aren’t necessarily difficult to play. They just do a big thing, and sometimes that’s all you want out of a card.
Into: The Mill-Meoplasm
For: Omnispell Adept
There are plenty of folks building decks with Gyruda as a companion. I’ve chosen to make it one of the 99 because it fits right into The Mimeoplasm’s theme. There’s no sense in looking to see if I could make it the deck’s companion since the commander has an odd cost.
Into: Angry, Angry Dinos
For: As Companion
So here’s the thing: Gishath was already nearly 100% Dinosaurs anyway. It didn’t take much to make it work. I took out Fierce Empath; Forerunner of the Empire; Nylea, God of the Hunt; and Xenagos, God of Revels and replaced them with Fertilid, Yidaro, Regal Behemoth, and Garruk’s Horde, which, while not Dinosaurs, still fit Kaheera’s condition. It could even keep in Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith, since it’s a Cat.
Into: Purple Hippos and Maro Sorcerers
For: Stormsurge Kraken
Another one that fits into a deck’s theme and I don’t need to rework the deck just to have it as a companion. Keruga will draw cards and hand out beatings on a regular basis.
Into: Dreaming of Intet
For: Thaumatic Compass
Intet is my deck with the most instants, and it will enjoy copying cards like Beast Within, Warp World, and Comet Storm. Making Kalamax bigger is just gravy.
Into: The Threat of Yasova
For: World at War
Although the pairing with Haldan is saucy, Pako works alone as well. Exiling things from your opponents’ libraries means they don’t have access to them, and Pako keeps getting larger.
Into: Yidris Rotisserie Draft Deck
The deck likes to have the biggest creatures, and it also doesn’t mind putting the counters on stuff. Not terribly splashy, but solid value.
Into: Angry, Angry Dinos
For: Boros Reckoner
It was a little painful to take Nylea, God of the Hunt out in order to make the companion work, but most of the Dinosaurs natively have trample anyway, so we won’t be missing out on much here.
Into: Queen Marchesa, Long May She Reign
For: Mark of Asylum
Again, Ultimatums aren’t tricky. They do big, powerful things. Queen Marchesa, long may she reign, would have it no other way.
Into: Halloween with Karador
Tayam helps Karador do Karador things without the commander needing to be on the battlefield. Vigilance is nice, but the major part here is the repeatable Sun Titan effect and ability to take the kind of counters you don’t like off permanents. Puppeteer Clique and Woodfall Primus are major players in the deck; recharging both of them while also doing something else valuable is full of win.
Into: Halloween with Karador
For: God-Eternal Bontu
There are 43 creatures in the deck. It’s not worth it to change the rest of the cards in order to make Umori the companion. I’ll just enjoy the frequent discounts.
Into: The Threat of Yasova
For: Hijack
The deciding factor on Xyris was putting it into a deck that has Goblin Bombardment in it. What Xyris does isn’t thematically consistent with the rest of the deck, but the opportunity to open up a different kind of win condition was appealing. If someone gets greedy with card draw, it will get painful for them.
For: Abzan Charm
Another “partner with” creature that doesn’t need the other half in order to be good. I’m a fan of Yannik’s ability to champion another creature, providing a level of protection from sweepers. The card coming out has made me think about revisiting cards like Changeling Hero and Changeling Titan.
Into: Lavinia Blinks
For: Azor, the Lawbringer
Yorion in a blink deck? Seems pretty sweet to me. It can either reset your battlefield after an attack, posturing you for some defense, or get all of your other stuff out of the way for a sweeper of your own. Yorion is my kind of card, even if it invalidates itself as a companion (in Commander).
Artifact
Into: You Did This to Yourself
For: Coalition Relic (to Merieke for Obelisk of Esper)
From producing mana like Nykthos, Shrine of Nyx or Gaea’s Cradle to getting back artifacts with Academy Ruins to keeping you alive with Maze of Ith, there are so many good lands running around the format that Manascape Refractor is always going to find something cool to do. In the worst case, it just makes mana.
Into: Zegana and a Dice Bag
For: Urban Evolution
For this particular deck, and likely many others that The Ozolith will see play in, it’s all about +1/+1 counters. I can certainly see this card leading to some commander damage kills by putting a pile of counters onto Prime Speaker Zegana after someone has swept the battlefield, doing a little of the same kind of work that Bioshift does (albeit not as an instant).
Land
There isn’t much to say about the Triomes other than appreciation to the design team for letting us have them.
Into: Halloween with Karador
For: Plains
Into: Dreaming of Intet
For: Forest
Into: You Did This to Yourself
For: Island
Into: Queen Marchesa, Long May She Reign
For: Plains
Into: Muldrotha, Speaking Primely
For: Forest
47 cards going into decks is a huge number, even if we’re using two different sets to do it. That doesn’t even count all the cards from the Ikoria family that will go into newly constructed decks. Huge and splashy, they’re the kinds of cards that the format loves. As soon as they hit the street, expect to see them at a table (on a webcam) near you.
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