I really wasn't ecstatic about the commander options from the last two sets, but Ikoria/C20 are delivering the goods!:
- I'm sure I'll enjoy Gavi, Nest Warden the handful of times I jam the pre-con, but then she'll go to the 99 somewhere else or bide her time in a binder or box.
- Rielle, the Everwise is another that will be fantastic in the 99 in a couple of decks, but I think she's going to be too close to competitive status as a general, so I'll probably hold off.
- Zirda, the Dawnwaker makes me happy on several levels, but seems more enticing as a companion than a commander unless you're in the market for a cycling deck. I have one already, and Gavi will make 2, so I'm not that eager just yet. Someday. . .
That leaves me with two commanders (so far) that have me really excited: Brallin/Shabraz and Vadrok, Apex of Thunder. The former really lend themselves to a specific strategy that is pretty easy to map out, so I'll brew that when I get to it. Vadrok, on the other hand, seems like it can be approached from a ton of different angles. That said, I wanted to share my initial thoughts and see what others looking to build Vadrok had in mind so we can all make our initial builds better.
Analyzing Vadrok:
for a 3/3 with flying and first strike - a Mantis Rider isn't very exciting in commander. Decent, but not what anyone really wants from a general.
Mutate - 4 mana isn't bad for a mutate cost, especially for the effect we're going to get from it. It is definitely worth noting that it is particularly hungry for red mana, so our manabase and card selections should reflect this with fixing or a bias toward red.
It is also worth noting that mutate does not get around commander tax, so if we want multiple Vadrok mutations we are incentivized to mutate more critters onto a stack that has Vadrok on it, or return Vadrok to our hand.
Note that all creatures on a mutate stack go to the same zone when something happens to them. For example, if they are flickered, the whole stack gets exiled, then each creature returns to the battlefield as its own creature *not* the mutated stack creature. If the stack is hit with Swords to Plowshares, all of the creatures are exiled, but you can send Vadrok to the command zone. If the stack is hit with Leadership Vacuum, then all of the cards go to the command zone and all except Vadrok are stuck there. So on and so forth. We can use this to our advantage with etb creatures and/or Unsummon effects.
Some of you may want to pursue a flash heavy route with Vedalken Orerry, Leyline of Anticipation, Tidal Barracuda, etc. so you can mutate at instant speed. This does open up some options in combat and end steps, but I won't be pursuing it since Vadrok can't buy any of the enablers back.
Whenever this creature mutates, you may cast target noncreature card with converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard without paying its mana cost. - I'm in. It's like a quasi Sun Titan + a quasi Torrential Gearhulk. Unlike Titan, Vadrok's trigger can't get lands or creatures, and unlike Gearhulk it is not limited to only instants. Most notably, however, is that Vadrok triggers don't exile the card they are casting from the yard like Gearhulk, and other flashback effects. In my opinion this means that any Vadrok list worth its salt is going to try to create situations where this mutate trigger hits the stack as frequently as possible and abuses a graveyard full of spells that would be great to cast over and over. . . and over.
So to start the conversation I'm going to posit 4 things (apart from the usual ramp/removal/etc.) a Vadrok build needs in some capacity, and then suggest cards that would be worth *consideration*, though some will inevitably not make the cut:
1.) Worthy targets to mutate Vadrok with.
2.) Ways to mutate Vadrok repeatedly.
3.) Ways to fill the yard with plenty of targets for Vadrok's mutate trigger.
4.) Quality targets for Vadrok's mutate trigger to cast from the graveyard.
The inherent weakness of Mutate is that, like with targeting a creature with an aura, the base creature can be targeted by instant speed removal by our opponents in response and result in a 2 for 1 or worse. Blowouts aren't fun, so we'd like to avoid them. The safest way to do this, IMO, is via hexproof and, to a lesser extent, indestructible or ETB/value base creatures. Anything on top of that is gravy, and of course we want all the gravy we can get. (Some of that gravy will overlap with #2-4 above, which is ideal!)
There are a lot of Jeskai critters that fit this description that are just draft chaff and underwhelming, like Benthic Giant, but there are certainly some goodies. Since the list of playable hexproof creatures is relatively short, I'm also looking at ways to give hexproof to creatures who don't have it:
Hexproof
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- Dive Down - I like this effect because not only is it a cheap way to grant hexproof to a juicy mutate target, it does so at instant speed. This means we can keep it in hand until it's absolutely necessary and removal pointed at our creature is on the stack, so we get to have our hexproof creature and put an opponent down a card too! It is a terrible target for Vadrok in the yard though.
- Glaring Spotlight - The static effect could be meaningful in some situations, and the fact that Vadrok can get it back from the yard eventually if absolutely necessary makes the sacrifice a bit less painful. Most importantly, I think granting unblockable is going to be a big deal with some of the creatures I'm interested in having combat damage to player triggers.
- Mizzium Skin - A little less junk in the trunk than Dive Down, which isn't a huge deal, and the overload is unlikely to be useful in a deck focused on mutating one big thing rather than going wide. Other than that, it's functionally the same.
- Glint, Lazotep Plating, Starlit Mantle - The slightly more expensive versions are still alright. The amass token from plating could be relevant, but it's not amazing, and again the global hexproof is unlikely to be amazing for a "go tall" board state.
- Mask of Avacyn, Mirror Shield, Hexproof Boots - All pretty comparable with the boots being the best. Unlike the instant/flash hexproof enablers, these might be worth getting back with Vadrok.
- Cloudform, Curator's Ward - Cloudform can turn a land into a hexproof creature and doesn't run the risk that conventional auras do. Ward is a bigger risk, but with ways to bounce the mutated creature stack to hand, this will generate card advantage throughout the game. Note that you will need Vadrok, another legendary, or artifact creature on top of the mutate stack to get the card draw from Ward since it triggers based on the creature being historic.
- Geist of Saint Traft - Geist is already good enough for commander, but turning it into a 3/3 flying first striker makes it even better and lets it get more attacks in safely. Since we don't get access to humans for mutate, we miss out on some cheap options, so Geist is as low on the curve as it gets for hexproof base creatures for us.
- Aquatic Incursion - Unfortunately, it's out of recursion range with Vadrok, but two hexproof bodies and a way to give them unblockable might be worth it, although once they get nabbed by a board wipe or some such we won't be able to get more, and we aren't exactly merfolk tribal.
- Ascended Lawmage, Aven Fleetwing, Mistfire Weaver - Tough to say if these are worth it. I'd say they are on or near the line of jank and "useful for pretty much exactly this deck simply because it's hexproof and has a cmc of 4". Depends on how many creatures you end up running I suppose.
- Dragonlord Ojutai - Now we're talking! We can keep the 5/4 base while we mutate pre-combat and get our Vadrok value, then go attacking and generate some card advantage while we hold up a Dive Down or Unsummon.
- Lone Revenant - Similar to Ojutai, but I think we'll usually mutate Vadrok on top for the evasion, and the hexproof stays while we attack.
- Stormsurge Kraken - A 7/7 flying, first strike, hexproof may not get blocked a lot, but when it does "become blocked" we get some cards, and if it's going to die in combat we still get to draw two before combat damage and then pull it back with an unsummon.
- Prognostic Sphinx, Dream Trawler - Unlike in standard where these were control finishers, in a game of commander almost no one is willing to burn a card targeting it so you won't attack them for 3 when they know you can just respond with a discard/hexproof on the stack, multiple times if necessary. It can still hurt to do so, but in the balance of things I believe they will scry and draw more than they end up discarding. Not to mention that the attack phase isn't where we really want the hexproof, but rather when we are mutating, so we don't mind if they tap while we mutate.
- Angler Turtle, Kiora Bests the Sea God, Tromokratis - These may be a bridge too far, but commander is about haymakers, and since I plan on building Vadrok into a controlling deck with some Propaganda effects, this could really alter the board in our favor.
- Sphinx of the Final Word - Only worth it if your build focuses heavily on spellslinging IMO, but if you're going to hit a powerful instant/sorcery with Vadrok triggers multiple times a game, this might be worth putting in as a curve topper.
Indestructible
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- Ajani's Presence, Fight as One, Sheltering Light - Good for helping our mutant survive a wrath or destruction/damage based instant speed removal without self owning our mutation with a protection spell like gods willing. Anything less than hexproof makes me nervous though, not gonna lie.
- Boros Charm, Ephemeral Shields, Valorous Stance - The modality of charm and stance are useful, and shields has the potential to be "free".
- Darksteel Myr -Yup. It's cheap. Turn 1-2 Faithless Looting or Careful Study into turn 2-3 myr into turn 3-4 Vadrok seems sweet.
- Darksteel Plate - I don't think I'm into it, but I'm willing to be convinced I'm wrong.
- Gideon Blackblade - Vadrok can buy him back after you ult or he's removed, and you can mutate onto Gids or whatever other creature he makes indestructible for the turn.
- Kefnet the Mindful - Mana sinks and drawing cards are both very powerful things in commander. The cannot block clause hurts far worse than the cannot attack. Kefnet does let you set up blocking ambushes on opponents not paying attention to your hand size though.
- Creepy Doll - A nice little rattlesnake, especially once it's mutated and has first strike.
- Stuffy Doll - Similar to it's creepy sibling, but you can get political with this one!
ETB and/or value creatures
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I'm keeping this list on the cheap side, since the whole idea is we're looking to bounce and recast these creatures many times a game.
- Faerie Impostor - Adds to our unsummon count and creature count at the same time. Cheap.
- Faerie Seer - Cheap flood/screw protection and a body for mutate.
- Hedron Crab, Merrow Witsniper, Minister of Inquiries - Cheap way to set up for Vadrok value.
- Bloodrage Brawler, Goblin Engineer, Merfolk Traders, Minotaur Explorer, Neurok Familiar, Owl Familiar, Vodalian Merchant, Wall of Lost Thoughts, Screeching Skaab, Sultai Skullkeeper - Ditto, but for 2 cmc instead of 1.
- Dream Stalker, Jeskai Barricade, Kor Skyfisher, Whitemane Lion, Deputy of Acquittals, Aviary Mechanic, Quickling - more expensive Faerie Impostors with some that can also target our noncreature permanents in some cases. The important thing is that they pull double duty as an unsummon and a creature. Flash guys are best.
- Enlightened Ascetic - Removal on a cheap dork we can bounce, recast, and mutate onto again and again.
- Jeering Homunculus - Keeps the threats pointed at your opponents.
- Oreskos Explorer - Gets your shocks et al.
- Wall of Omens - "draw a card"
- Cloudkin Seer, Court Hussar, Pilgrim's Eye, Skyscanner, Skittering Surveyor, Tome Raider - Ditto, but more mana and less defender.
- Deputy of Detention, Fairgrounds Warden - Soft lock a threat out of the game for as long as you can keep unsummoning, casting, and mutating the policemen.
- Duergar Hedge-Mage - Board control on legs.
- Eldrazi Skyspawner - Ramp.
- Flickerwhisp - Can target a mutated unsummon on legs, like Whitemane Lion, return the lion and Vadrok to the battlefield on end step, at which point the lion returns Vadrok to hand.
- Man-o'-War - Unsummon creature that can also hit opponents creatures in a pinch.
- Pramikon, Sky Rampart - Control the game.
- Sage's Row Denizen - The jump from 2 to 3 mana gives a repeatable way to fill the yard for Vadrok instead of the ETB mill X options.
- Stonecloaker - Unsummon plus grave hate plus a body to mutate.
- Vedalken Plotter - Because you can use that Gaea's Cradle far better than they can. . .
The most obvious and straightforward way is to just play more mutate creatures. That's fine to some extent, but I wouldn't go too deep on that strategy since they come with all the risks of getting blown out as previously mentioned. However, there's some really good ones that we should definitely consider.
My preferred method, which I'm sure you've notice a jillion times by this point, is to mutate, bounce, recast the base creature, then mutate again. It's even better when you can get two unsummon creatures because then your play pattern becomes: play ETB value creature, mutate, play unsummon creature A, mutate, play unsummon creature B, mutate. This keeps the creatures flowing, Vadrok bouncing, and everything relatively safe from a huge card disadvantage blowout. The creature versions were covered above, so I'll list spell versions here.
Mutate creatures
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- Pollywog Symbiote - Not a mutate creature per se, but it reduces our Vadrok costs AND lets us loot before we resolve Vadrok's trigger each time.
- Lore Drakkis - Very cost effective and it buys us back an unsummon
- Sea-dasher Octopus - to mutate and buy back something like Dive Down at instant speed, blank a removal spell, and draw a card is a huge tempo swing.
- Cloudpiercer - ordering the stack so that you rummage before you resolve Vadrok's trigger can make this an explosive play out of nowhere.
- Dreamtail Heron - "draw a card"
- Pouncing Shoreshark - tempo based board control is sweet because your opponents know you've got it back in your hand and the threat of activation does work for you.
- Souvenir Snatcher - This is the format of Sol Ring, Gilded Lotus, The Great Henge, Sword of Feast and Famine, Aetherflux Reservoir, etc. Again, once they know you have it in hand, threat of activation does some work for you!
The Bounce Suite
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- Alley Evasion, Clutch of Currents, Retraction Helix, Saving Grasp, Silent Departure, String of Disappearances, Unsummon, Vapor Snag, Word of Undoing, Call to Heel, Dramatic Rescue, Drown in Shapelessness, Familiar's Ruse, Force Away, Fumble, Hubris, Jilt, Just the Wind, Peel from Reality, Run Away Together, Snap, Snapback, Unexplained Disappearance, Unsubstantiate, Voyage's End, Winds of Rebuke, Withdraw - All the various unsummons. Obviously the 1 mana instant speed variety is the best, and if it can target both your creatures and opponents' creatures even better. The 2 mana ones can add redundancy, or do double duty a la Peel from Reality.
- Waterfront Bouncer - Tempo out the biggest threats, get value from threat of activation, bounce your own stuff, fill the yard for Vadrok.
- Crystal Shard, Portal of Sanctuary, Erratic Portal - Repeatable and cheap!
- Equilibrium - Turns all our creatures into bouncers.
- Baral's Expertise - Get rid of some problematic permanents while you also bounce your mutant and play something for free, like your base creature for the next mutation.
There are really two approaches here imo. The first is to use smaller filtering spells and creatures, like Faithless Looting, Frantic Search, Smuggler's Copter, Wall of Lost Thoughts, etc. to set up for that early Vadrok trigger. The other is to dump a ton of cards in the yard in one fell swoop, then target whatever you need when you need it with Vadrok's mutate trigger.
I think the best of each is probably correct.
I covered a lot of the self-mill/loot creatures earlier, so I'll focus more on the spells and big graveyard fillers here.
Loot/Rummage
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- Careful Study, Thought Scour, Faithless Looting - Good on their own, but importantly they set up an early Vadrok which is great.
- Burning Inquiry, Desperate Ravings, Goblin Lore, Tormenting Voice, Thrill of Possibility, Cathartic Reunion - They fill the yard, but it gets a little nutty/risky. Lore and Inquiry set you up for some combos with Underworld Breach if you're interested in combo centered builds.
- Izzet Charm, Chart a Course - a little more controlled of an effect at 2 cmc.
- Compulsive Research, Frantic Search, Strategic Planning, Thirst for Knowledge, Thirst for Meaning, Tragic Lesson - add some *small* card advantage or cost reduction once you get to 3 cmc
- Mirrodin Beseiged, Monastery Seige - Repeatable card filtering, graveyard fillers, and you can buy them back with Vadrok.
Fill the yard FAST
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- Collective Defiance, Dangerous Wager, Fateful Showdown, Incendiary Command, Khorvath's Fury, Reforge the Soul, Shattered Perception, Nahiri's wrath, Channeled Force, Windfall, Tolarian Winds, Vanish into Memory, Leave // Chance - Mass discard scares a lot of players. Yes, sometimes you'll get your graveyard hosed. It sucks. Sometimes you get your huge spell countered, sometimes you get your sweet creature exiled. It happens. That's Magic. Embrace it, and wheel away your hand! Run Rielle, the Everwise if it makes you feel better.
- Mirror-mad Phantasm, Fleet Swallower, Ox of Agonas, Cavalier of Flame, Bedlam Reveller - If you're looking to remain creature heavy, here's some options.
- Traumatize, Brain Freeze - The most efficient ways to self mill. If you run Underworld Breach you can mill to your hearts content with Brain Freeze and have all the Vadrok targets available. Although, more likely at that point you'll just have a win on board with breach. @darrenhabib has written extensively about it here, as have I in my Kykar thread which you can find linked in my signature if you're interested.
Now we come to the reason you play Vadrok, Apex of Thunder in the first place! I'll admit, this is the part of the deck I'm still working through in my mind the most. I'm sure I'm overlooking some really powerful possibilities, and I'm eager to hear what others have in mind!
Since we're capped at 3 cmc, we mostly have to look for accrued value and control of the game rather than instant victory, unless you're going a combo route, in which case I'm sure it's there. As a matter of fact, I know it's there and I'll share an example with you now
:Combo demo
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With at least two creatures in play, cast Arcbond targeting one of them. Mutate Vadrok, Apex of Thunder onto one of your creatures, playing Arcbond from your graveyard for free and targeting a different creature than the first arcbond did. Now cast something that gives the team indestructible, like Boros Charm. Finally, cast Deafening Clarion selecting both modes. Your two arcbonded, indestructible, lifelinkers creatures will now bounce damage back and forth to themselves and each player indefinitely. (props to @tstorm823 who clued me into the possibilities of 2x arcbond + indestructible + lifelink just the other day).
Now, the great thing about that is that all of the cards involved can be had from Vadrok's mutate trigger. Multiple times per turn if you've got the bounce and mana available. So, you can arrange for that same basic combo from multiple angles. Maybe mutate → arcbond from gy → unsummon → mutate → arcbond from gy → Boros Charm → Jeskai Charm → Izzet Charm for the same outcome.
Obviously this is a convoluted, expensive, roundabout way of winning. 1.) that's fun 2.) the point, IMO, with Vadrok is to play a more controlling role all game until you've developed to a point that setting up nonsense like this is very doable.
Now, the great thing about that is that all of the cards involved can be had from Vadrok's mutate trigger. Multiple times per turn if you've got the bounce and mana available. So, you can arrange for that same basic combo from multiple angles. Maybe mutate → arcbond from gy → unsummon → mutate → arcbond from gy → Boros Charm → Jeskai Charm → Izzet Charm for the same outcome.
Obviously this is a convoluted, expensive, roundabout way of winning. 1.) that's fun 2.) the point, IMO, with Vadrok is to play a more controlling role all game until you've developed to a point that setting up nonsense like this is very doable.
Board Control
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- Anger of the gods
- Sweltering Suns
- Deafening Clarion
- Flamebreak
- Slagstorm
- Slaughter the Strong
- Citywide Bust
- Aura of Silence
- Seal of Cleansing
- Chaos Warp
- Generous Gift
- Cleansing Meditation
- Imprisoned in the Moon
- Blind Obedience
- Authority of the Consuls
- Wear // Tear
- Dismantling Wave
- Role Reversal
- Oblivion Stone
Pillow Fort/Staying Alive
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Even more annoying now since the table has to exile them or they keep coming back!
Sculpt your hand and graveyard
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Zacama
isn't it great?
