Something Old, Something Brewed: On A Commander Deckbuilding Challenge

I love to deckbuild. I love deckbuilding so much that it’s my job. Literally. I typically brew a deck once a week online, and am constantly in a state of stitching together and ripping apart piles of cards on my hellscape of a desk. What I mean to say is that I deckbuild a lot. However, I’ve noticed a large trend with the majority of my brews: they’re all new commanders. Whether it’s a freshly previewed card or a legend that slipped my scope from two years ago, I am always brewing something new. There’s nothing wrong with new cards, but far too often do I notice that we tend to look past older cards or flat-out write them off as outdated and just plain bad. I want to show you that this assumption is wrong.

Enter Vaevictis Asmadi.

No, not Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire. Just plain old eight-mana Vaevictis. One of the original Elder Dragons, Vaevictis and his four friends were the inspiration and catalyst for Magic’s most popular format: Commander. His first appearance was in Legends in 1994. He has an upkeep trigger that requires three mana or else he is sacrificed. He has six specific colored pips in his mana value, and all three of his pump abilities are indistinguishable. By modern Commander standards, he is expensive, slow, and just “bad.” So why him?

Why?

The inspiration for Vaevictis started out with two separate concepts. The first concept involved a desire within me to brew around the format’s namesake (Elder Dragon Highlander). There is something reverential about paying homage in such a way. It felt like a love letter to the format that I was desperate to write. I also had a Secret Lair printing of the card lying in a binder that I felt was gorgeous. It seemed like the perfect way to celebrate my favorite format.

The second concept was a bit more personal. As someone who builds consistently, I wanted to challenge myself. Often I’ve had people critique (rightfully so) my brews made on stream as being expensive and not budget-friendly. And it’s true. They are right. I felt as though I had become numb to price points in this area of my life, which baffled me. $60 for a single foil felt like not a bad price to me, but $60 for a pair of sneakers I wear every single day felt too expensive. It didn’t make sense.

So I wanted to prove something to myself and to others. You can make a quality deck without shelling out an insane amount of money. So with Vaevictis, I challenged myself to only use cards that I already own. No new purchases. The cards either had to already be in my collection, in another one of my decks, received through a free pack given to all players at my local FNM, or through a trade. I couldn’t spend a single coin.

With my parameters set, it was time to sit down and brew.

The Deck

My biggest concern when building this deck was mana. Vaevictis is a lofty eight mana to cast. Not only that, but he is incredibly specific with his pips. His pump ability also required colored mana, which meant that I had to make the foundation of this deck incredibly mana-focused. Thankfully, this wasn’t an issue for me. I plundered old precons and piles of cards on my desk for ramp spells. Cultivate, Rampant Growth, Kodama’s Reach, Nature’s Lore, you name it. I was going to make sure I wouldn’t be hurting for lands. I was also incredibly thankful for purchasing the Dan Frazier Signet and Talisman Secret Lairs. Further, I jammed in every on-color mana rock. Without mana, this deck falls apart, and I was determined to not mess up out of the gate.

I knew this deck wanted to swing; however, I am tentative in combat. I don’t like to swing unless victory is certain, so this deck was far outside my comfort zone. However, I desperately wanted to make this work. My 3AM, sleep-deprived mind plundered my Secret Lair binder for Urabrask the Hidden and Seize the Day. If Vaevictis wanted to swing, I wouldn’t stop him. After digging through my bulk, I discovered other combat-focused pieces. Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder and Karlach, Fury of Avernus were like diamonds to me. I immediately jammed them into sleeves as if they were as precious as dual lands.

I didn’t really expect this deck to have a subtheme past ‘junk I already own;’ however, I want to make a huge shout-out to past Chase for buying so many precons and investing in so many Baldur’s Gate drafts. Those past actions, in my opinion, really helped elevate this deck. Pieces like Thrakkus the Butcher; Rivaz of the Claw; Earthquake Dragon; Dragon Cultist; Bladewing, Deathless Tyrant; and Atarka, World Render helped provide a strong defense and attack that transformed this deck. The Dragon subtheme wasn’t planned, but it sure as hell made a difference. The Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind suddenly made Vaevictis an immediate threat, as opposed to a play-and-pass type of creature. Suddenly, my 7/7 commander was threatening.

Support pieces were also pilfered from precons and bulk. Bedevil, Painful Truths, Rhythm of the Wild, Beast Within, Chaos Warp, Night’s Whisper, Thrill of Possibility, Gaea’s Gift! The list goes on. Pieces I felt were bad or draft chaff were suddenly useful. I even threw in my Secret Lair Diabolic Tutor, a tutor often called inferior in the format of Demonic Tutor, just because I liked the art I had. I felt less constrained, even though I had just implemented the strictest constraints on myself. The deckbuilding process was less challenging, less cutthroat with cuts because I was able to let my collection decide the direction. With limited options, the deck began to feel limitless.

Vaevictis Asmadi

Chase Carroll

Test deck on 04-07-2023

Commander

Creatures (22)

Planeswalkers (2)

Lands (37)

Cost

At first glance, my Vaevictis deck is rather expensive. While writing this, the deck sits at a lofty $493.97.

“But Chase, you just said you set out to make a more cost-effective deck. $493 isn’t cost-effective. Also, you’re looking amazing today.”

Thank you, I know. And you’re right. I did, however, my list is only that expensive because I listed on Moxfield the exact printings of the cards I own, most of which come from Secret Lairs. When I revert the deck to its cheapest printings (by clicking the cheapest printings button on Moxfield), the deck comes out to $155.32. While $155 is not by any definition of the word ‘cheap,’ it is still in the lower budget range for the average commander deck. Ideally, I would want my budget decks to fall into $100 and under. If you were to remove three cards from this list, however, the cost of the deck would be at exactly that.

I have taken this deck to play at FNM multiple times. It has also made multiple appearances on my gameplay streams as well. When my opponents lay eyes on my commander, they either chuckle at my choice of legendary creature or assume it is the later version (Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire). Every time I have played this deck, however, the chuckles turn into gasps of shock and joyous laughter after being surprised at just how well this deck flows. This deck is unforgiving in just how much it beats face. In a recent game, I swung for eleven commander damage in just one turn. It brutalizes the battlefield and life totals in mere moments, thanks to the number of ramp spells and haste enablers in this deck. After a few games with Vaevictis, it is understandable as to why the Elder Dragon inspired Magic’s most-played format.

In With the Old

Old and mana-intensive Commanders aren’t bad, nor should they be identified as such. The state of Commander today values fast-paced games with low-mana-value spells. Hell, mana rocks like Midnight Clock and Chromatic Lantern with mana value three are now considered slow. Far too often do we write off spells that exceed four mana, let alone eight. If a card predates 2008, we typically pay it no mind unless it comes with a hefty price tag.

My goal is to help inspire those to look to the origins of the format in order to celebrate it. Whether you choose an Elder Dragon or go even weirder with something like Daughter of Autumn, it can be fun and exciting to challenge yourself and work on your deckbuilding muscles with something old. You don’t need $1000 to make a good commander deck. You don’t need new cards to make a good commander deck. Sometimes all you need is what you already have. Happy brewing, deckbuilders!