MTG Salvation

This is my fifth Commander deck. Not highly competitive (e.g. no infinite combos, no Sol Ring and some cool but not inherently powerful cards), but it should be able to win. It is meant for both 1-vs-1 and multiplayer.



I made this deck because I wanted to have an aggro deck that could win in multiplayer. And I am quite happy with how it performed.

Artifacts – Yeah, the deck has a few. 28, plus 5 cards that can search for equipments, to be precise. In other words: 1/3 of my deck are artifacts or cards that search for artifacts. And let's not forget that some cards make multiple artifact creature tokens. This is needed, since both the commander and a few other cards need metalcraft to truly shine.

Equipments – Lots of it. Having one or two equipmeents on the board makes every little critter that I topdeck a relevant threat.

Sunforger toolbox – I'm running a RW Commander deck. I have an equipment theme and several equipment tutors. Of course I am running Sunforger! With Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Dispatch, Disenchant, Master's Call, Oblation, Orim's Thunder and Chaos Warp, the hammer gives me instant access to any kind of removal and even instant artifact creature tokens as a surprise metalcraft enabler / blocker / attacker. And Mistveil Plains allows me to reuse all of those.

Mass pump and tokens – Since this is Commander we're talking here, an aggro deck must have some way to take down players that sit comfortably at 40 life. A good way to achieve this is to use lots of effects that pump all your creatures' power. The commander himself has this ability, as do Soltari Champion, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Nobilis of War and (sorta) True Conviction. And since I don't want to overload the board with creatures that can be wrathed away, I use cards that create tokens to profit from the mass pump.

Double striker – What do Auriok Edgewright, Mirran Crusader and Boros Swiftblade have in common? They all get absolutely awesome with an equipment, any of the aforementioned mass pump effects and with the metalcrafted commander.

Haste – Another important aspect of aggro in Commander is getting a successful attack – right now! Giving your creatures haste is a very good way to get at least one strike against an opponent before somebody wrathes the board. A haste giver that I never considered in other formats that is quite decent in Commander due to the starting life total of 40 is Hall of the Bandit Lord. I also have Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots.

Needs more attacks – A potential change for this deck would be the inclusion of cards that give me more attack steps. This way, I could kill two players out of nowhere. For this change, I would make the following swaps:
Chaos Warp → World at War
Disenchant → Waves of Aggression





List of changes (OUT >> IN):

I just started working on something like this deck this morning. Rise of the Hobgoblins seems perfect for Kadeen.

Quote from MRdown2urth

I just started working on something like this deck this morning. Rise of the Hobgoblins seems perfect for Kadeen.

Interesting suggestion. Even the first strike giving ability makes sense in a Jor Kadeen deck. Damnit! Now have to try to fit even more cards into an already crowded deck.

I'm assuming you'd include Sword of Feast and Famine if you had it. But if you did have it, and included Aggravated Assault... wooo baby, infinite attacks. And you already have a Soltari creature, which might as well read "unblockable" in most EDH metas. Soltari+SoFaF+Aggravated Assault= Game Over.

Do you play One Shot at Glory during your attack phase, I feel like that would put this deck OVER THE TOP

Or do you prefer something faster that is ok too

In a similar vein as Rise of the Hobgoblins, both White Sun's Zenith, and it's older cousin, Decree of Justice, seem like a natural fit. Both make EoT dudes which with Jor Kadeen are either 4/1 Soldiers, or 5/2 Cats.

Those individual double-strikers seem pretty flimsy on their own. You're essentially using them as "combo pieces", where the combo is any double-strike creature plus any good equipment. While the end result of hitting twice with Sword of X and Y is kinda cool, it doesn't justify running some otherwise mediocre spells.

A couple of other global pump spells you might consider are Akroma's Memorial, Glory of Warfare (better than Nobilis of War, I think), and Rage Reflection. I'll also second the use of Decree and WSZ for mass token production, especially since both are instant-speed.

Two other cards I would consider are Myr Matrix and its new-age cousin Myr Turbine. The latter can even dig up your Myr Battlesphere for you.

Quote from kraus911

I'm assuming you'd include Sword of Feast and Famine if you had it. But if you did have it, and included Aggravated Assault... wooo baby, infinite attacks. And you already have a Soltari creature, which might as well read "unblockable" in most EDH metas. Soltari+SoFaF+Aggravated Assault= Game Over.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't play infinite combos in my Commander decks and most of my friends do the same. I find it quite boring to create interesting game states with fun card interactions and memorable situations... and then some player plays cards A, B and C and kills everyone on the spot.

Quote from boel

Do you play One Shot at Glory during your attack phase, I feel like that would put this deck OVER THE TOP

Sorry, I don't know what card you're talking about. Or is this a proverb?

Quote from 3drinks

In a similar vein as Rise of the Hobgoblins, both White Sun's Zenith, and it's older cousin, Decree of Justice, seem like a natural fit. Both make EoT dudes which with Jor Kadeen are either 4/1 Soldiers, or 5/2 Cats.

Hey, I have a Decree of Justice still lying around. That may be an good inclusion, indeed.

Quote from OCPunisher

Those individual double-strikers seem pretty flimsy on their own. You're essentially using them as "combo pieces", where the combo is any double-strike creature plus any good equipment. While the end result of hitting twice with Sword of X and Y is kinda cool, it doesn't justify running some otherwise mediocre spells.

Mirran Crusader is always great (and therefore uncuttable), but Auriok Edgewright, Boros Swiftblade and Hearthfire Hobgoblin are indeed a bit on the weaker side. On the other hand, they are quite cheap and let me do something in the early turns, while still being relevant later - with both equipment and mass pump. And with my Commander, I always have a mass pump available (provided I have metalcraft). One of the two mana ones could be dropped though. Only question is: The reliable weaker one or the potentially more powerful metalcraft one?

Quote from OCPunisher

A couple of other global pump spells you might consider are Akroma's Memorial, Glory of Warfare (better than Nobilis of War, I think), and Rage Reflection. I'll also second the use of Decree and WSZ for mass token production, especially since both are instant-speed.

Two other cards I would consider are Myr Matrix and its new-age cousin Myr Turbine. The latter can even dig up your Myr Battlesphere for you.

Unfortunately, Akroma's Memorial doesn't pump power and is quite expensive. The latter is also true for Rage Reflection and Myr Turbine. The Turbine is an interesting suggestion though, since it enables metalcraft all by itself and creates tokens.

On paper, Jor Kadeen seems like he would give your team all the power boost that they would need, but more to the point, giving your whole team double-strike via Rage Reflection or True Conviction is probably just as good as giving them all +2/+2 with Elesh Norn. I did not remember how expensive the Memorial is...you could also go with Eldrazi Monument instead.

Myr Matrix/Turbine are continuous sources of metalcraft, and neither one is very expensive. If I were building Jor Kadeen, those would be the first two cards I would put in.

I like to keep my creature count high and neither Rage Reflection nor True Conviction are creatures. That said, double strike and lifelink is a pretty sexy package. Conviction might actually come in.

I agree that Myr Turbine is good in this deck, but I wouldn't want to include Myr Matrix. It is just way to expensive. 5 for a token is not what I want to pay every turn. At least the Turbine makes a token the turn it comes into play.

I played my first game with my newly-built Jor Kadeen list, and ironically enough the first two spells I cast outside of mana rocks and Jor Kadeen were Myr Matrix and Rage Reflection. Both of them held their weight extremely well. Double strike definitely makes combat a whole lot more effective, even on a couple of crappy 2/2 Myrs.

Couple of other cards I wish I would have played were Eldrazi Monument and Karn, Silver Golem. The Monument would have been another nice global pump, and Karn would have given my important artifacts protection from Terastodon (one of my least favorite cards in this format).

Oh c'mon, even 'casual' players all run Sol Ring now!

Updated the list with the Hearthfire Hobgoblin to True Conviction swap as well as adding Myr Turbine to the "I need to get this card" list.

Quote from Darklich528

Oh c'mon, even 'casual' players all run Sol Ring now!

Nothing about one of most cutthroat, potentially devastating and just plain wrong cards in the whole game says 'casual' to me. Fast mana is one of the most dangerous aspects of the game development wise and repeatable fast mana on the level of Sol Ring, Moxen and similar cards is simply the biggest mistake ever made. "You finished with your first turn? Well, I then start my fourth turn second turn with four mana." That's neither fun nor casual. That's just an insane and early ressource advantage due to sheer luck of the draw.

And since I sometimes use my Commander decks for quick duels between draft rounds, the card becomes even more of a fun killer with no third or fourth player counterbalancing the advantage that one player got from his first turn Sol Ring.

Therefore, banning Sol Ring in all my decks is just the reasonable conclusion.

Tithe is a nice card for your Sunforger package. Use it to go get Mistveil Plains.

Quote from kraus911

Tithe is a nice card for your Sunforger package. Use it to go get Mistveil Plains.

Or Sacred Foundry.

Quote from artaud

What about Shrine of Loyal Legions? Storing counters for the most opportune moment seems good strategy although it may be little slow if you'll draw it in a topdeck mode.

Hm, nice card. Wasn't even on my radar. Thanks.

You're all making good suggestions, but I can't add any new cards unless I cut something. Maybe I am too enamored with my deck by having played it too much, but everything seems to have its place and I don't know what to cut. So, I'd appreciate any suggestions for cards that could be cut for the new ones.

Inferno Titan looks like a bummer in the deck. I'm down on it in general (no haste?), and for 6 mana you want to drop one of those enchantments that can win you the game, a bigger wrath effect, or something that puts you pretty far ahead.

I love Tahngarth, and he's okay as creature removal...but no haste.

I agree with other sentiments that the little double strikers could be removed...but maybe take out the Paladin en-Vec and Taurean Mauler. The former might be a meta choice, but the latter is just a big beater that draws crazy amounts of attention. I think you NEED Urabrask to jump ahead and start attacking. I'd add him and In the Web of War.

Are you getting that much usage out of Precursor Golem? Or is it just great for triggering Metalcraft?

Manic Vandal? No Viashino Heretic?

EDIT: I'd also say Hellrider has merit if you use more tokens while Pyreheart Wolf makes your current double strikers much better (and built in recursion!).

Thanks for your suggestions.

I am currently considering cutting Inferno Titan. It just doesn't do enough for the deck.

Tahngarth, Talruum Hero is just a beast with Tenza, Godo's Maul and Champion's Helm. I play a bit more legendary creatures due to these two equipments.

Paladin en-Vec has protection from two removal colors, double protection is always valuable and first strike works well with equipment and with mass pump. He is not integral to the deck, but I was never unhappy with him.

I'm enjoying how fast Taurean Mauler grows in multiplayer. Like the Titan, it doesn't really advance any of the main goals of the deck though. Could be cut.

Triggering metalcraft with a single card is very good and makes Precursor Golem worthwhile. It can really surprise people and enables wins out of nowhere. There are no other Golems (except for Solemn Simulacrum, which doesn't mind dying or being bounced) in the deck, so its drawback is self-contained.

Hellrider could be a worthy inclusion. What about Hero of Oxid Ridge though? I thought about replacing the red Titan with the red Hero. I don't like that Pyreheart Wolf's ability only works if he attacks, too. This means that he often has to wait a turn to use it.

Hm, I'd love to get Urabrask the Hidden into this deck. Yet another haste enabler and legendary creature. And wow, has he become cheap.

I was also going to suggest cutting Paladin, I-Titan, and Tahngarth. I also don't like Moltensteel Dragon and Flametongue Kavu. They aren't bad cards...they just don't fit most of your themes (metalcraft, tokens, equips, etc).

Would the new Markov Blademaster be a decent replacement for Paladin en-Vec? She looks like a worthy double striker.

Moltensteel Dragon enables metalcraft and flies. It also has a flexible cost and fits in different points of the mana curve.

Flametongue Kavu may not fit any of the deck's themes, but it is removal and one of reds most efficient creatures. Also, I love this card.

Moltensteel makes me want to play with life shenanigans... risky but potentially profitable. Pump him to within an inch of your own life with Children of Korlis on the table, making the Children a huge 1 mana pump spell. Or pump him up, drop one of the new fateful hour cards from Dark Ascension, and then play Reverse the Sands probably effectively taking out two other players (assuming someone has a life amount worth trading of course).

Is Fumiko the Lowblood really neccessary in a deck like this? Why not swap it for Anger?

You know, since your deck can easily deal over 7 damage in one go or swing with 3+ creatures per attack, why not swap a couple of lands for hideaway ones?

There are a few upcoming changes - I just need to get some of those cards first.

Quote from kraus911

Moltensteel makes me want to play with life shenanigans... risky but potentially profitable. Pump him to within an inch of your own life with Children of Korlis on the table, making the Children a huge 1 mana pump spell. Or pump him up, drop one of the new fateful hour cards from Dark Ascension, and then play Reverse the Sands probably effectively taking out two other players (assuming someone has a life amount worth trading of course).

Moltensteel Dragon is simply in the deck because it is a flexible metalcraft enabler. It is also one of the few flyers. I don't want to dilute the deck with questionable cards just to support a random card.

Quote from BeingHumanBeing

Is Fumiko the Lowblood really neccessary in a deck like this? Why not swap it for Anger?

Forcing your opponents to attack is really good, since it leaves them with (almost) no blockers. She is also another legendary creature for the equipments that care for this.

Quote from BeingHumanBeing

You know, since your deck can easily deal over 7 damage in one go or swing with 3+ creatures per attack, why not swap a couple of lands for hideaway ones?

Hm, even more lands that come into play tapped?
On the other hand, lands that provide card advantage in RW?

I have a Jor Kadeen deck and have both Rage Reflection and True Conviction in it as double strike makes Jor Kadeen wreck face.

Creature wise I really like Moltensteel Dragon as it helps for the reasons you stated. Have you considered Moonveil Dragon or Hero of Bladehold? Also, levelers such as Student of Warfare and Transcendent Master are fun in my deck too.

I have considered Hero of Bladehold, but he already made the price jump, so now I am waiting for it to leave standard. Yeah, this will take a while, but I don't want to throw money at a card that I can get for half the price in half a year.

I also considered Hero of Oxid Ridge. He doesn't make tokens, but the haste is pretty relevant in multiplayer.

The other one I forgot to mention is Thopter Assembly. Instant metalcraft and 4/1 flyers on the field with Jor Kadeen is awesome.