A Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student Commander Deck Tech | A Love Letter

Queer Phyrexia • June 14, 2024

Deckbuilding
Tamiyo Inquisitive Student Commander Deck Tech Cover Image

With Modern Horizons 3 now behind us, and the Assassin's Creed Universes Beyond set looming on the horizon, it would be truly criminal to overlook one of the most powerful commanders from MoHo3: Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

. At first glance, Tamiyo might seem like one of the weaker members of this flip-walker cycle, but a closer inspection reveals that she is possibly the strongest of the group.

Tamiyo, with her unique abilities and strategic versatility, offers a depth of gameplay that can surprise even the most seasoned players. Her potential lies not only in her initial impact on the board but also in the dynamic shifts she brings as she flips into her planeswalker form. This transformation can turn the tide of a game, making her an invaluable asset in any deck.

As we delve deeper into her strengths and synergies, it's essential to appreciate the intricate design and tactical opportunities she provides. Whether you're a casual player or a competitive strategist, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, deserves your attention and respect. Let's explore why this seemingly modest card might just be the hidden gem of Modern Horizons 3.

What does the Student bring to the Table?

At first glance, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

may appear modest, but her ability to flip after casting something as simple as Brainstorm
 provides a sneaky value that many players will underestimate. Her +2 loyalty uptick is invaluable, as it not only bolsters her defenses but also discourages opponents from targeting you with their combat phases. While her -3 downtick might seem costly, it offers a powerful retrieval effect that even adds a mana if the retrieved card is green, allowing you to recycle some of your most potent spells. Her ultimate ability, a -7 downtick, might seem steep, but it's easier to achieve than it appears and is far more powerful than one might assume. Drawing half the cards in your library and gaining an emblem that removes your hand size limit is nothing short of game-changing.

Given Tamiyo's impressive abilities, what does this deck aim to accomplish? While being in Simic colors might suggest a focus on big mana creatures or intricate combos, this deck takes a different approach. Although ramping is still part of the strategy, we lean heavily into the blue side of the color pie to draw a multitude of cards, interact with the board, and proliferate Tamiyo along with our other impactful planeswalkers. By doing so, we aim to hit our win conditions and claim victory through superior strategy and resource management.

Planeswalkers? Which ones are good in Simic?

Simic might not be your first choice for a superfriends deck, as more colors are often preferred to access a wider range of planeswalkers. You would unfortunately be right. Despite this limitation, the blue planeswalkers available to us are highly impactful. For instance, Jace Reawakened

can't be cast within the first three turns of the game, but he is one of the strongest Jace planeswalkers, providing us with card draw, card advantage, and the ability to cast double spells when he ultimates. Another notable Jace is Jace, the Mind Sculptor
, a staple in many decks for a long time. He offers a Brainstorm effect with his +0 ability and interaction with his -1 ability. His ultimate can be game-ending by completely removing an opponent's library from the game.

Additionally, we couldn't build this deck without including Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

, whose abilities perfectly complement our strategy. She offers the option to tap down our opponents' pesky attackers, draw cards, and recur cards from our graveyard.

So, you mentioned proliferate? 

Proliferation is a key synergy to our strategy. We need our powerful planeswalkers to stay healthy, and the threat of their ultimate abilities to loom large over our opponents. To achieve this, we incorporate cards that proliferate as we cast our spells, such as Flux Channeler

and Inexorable Tide
. These cards might seem weak on their own, but in combination with our powerful planeswalkers and potent spells, they become a menace to anyone in our way.

Flux Channeler

allows us to proliferate each time we cast a noncreature spell, incrementally increasing the loyalty of our planeswalkers and ensuring they remain a constant threat. Inexorable Tide
 amplifies this effect by proliferating with every spell we cast, making it an invaluable asset in our deck. With these cards, every spell we cast not only furthers our immediate goals but also strengthens our planeswalkers, bringing us closer to achieving our game-winning ultimates. This strategic use of proliferation ensures that our deck remains resilient and formidable, capable of overcoming even the toughest opposition.

How do we win?

The plan is simple, really: we draw cards, interact with the board to protect what's ours, and deploy one of our multiple game-winning pieces. Like a game of chess, we maintain control of the board, ensuring that our defenses are strong and our opponents' threats are neutralized. Our strategy revolves around patiently building our resources and positioning, waiting for the perfect moment to put our opponents in checkmate.

By drawing a multitude of cards, we keep our hand full of answers and threats, ensuring we always have the tools we need to maintain control. Interacting with the board is crucial; we use counterspells, removal, and other forms of disruption to protect our planeswalkers and our life total. Once the board is stabilized, we can deploy our key pieces, such as Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

, or other powerful planeswalkers, and leverage their abilities to secure our victory. This careful, methodical approach ensures that, when we make our move, it's decisive and overwhelming, leaving our opponents with no room to recover.

We LOVE drawing cards 

Keeping our hand flush with answers is pivotal to our victory. As mentioned before, Brainstorm

is an extremely potent card in our deck, drawing us three cards for the price of putting any two from our hand back on top of our library. Experimental Augury
 functions similarly, allowing us to look at three cards and put one into our hand while placing the rest on the bottom of our library, with the added benefit of proliferating our planeswalkers.

Wheels not only refill our hand but also disrupt our opponents' strategies, making Windfall

an obvious inclusion for the deck. This card ensures that we maintain a full hand while potentially throwing off our opponents' plans. Blue Sun's Zenith
 might initially seem underwhelming on its own, but a little trick I'll explain a little later will make the X in its cost seem very inviting, allowing us to draw a substantial number of cards when the timing is right.

By incorporating these powerful draw spells, we ensure that our hand remains full of the necessary answers and threats. This constant flow of resources allows us to maintain control of the game, outmaneuver our opponents, and set up our planeswalkers for their ultimate abilities. In this way, we can steadily build towards our win conditions, keeping our strategy robust and adaptable.

We LOVE controlling the board

Maintaining control over the board state becomes child's play, especially in Simic colors. With access to powerful counterspells, like Counterspell

, Mana Drain
, and Voidslime
, we can effortlessly stop any game-winning spells our opponents might attempt to cast. These classics ensure that we always have the tools to protect our board and prevent our opponents from executing their strategies.

In addition to counterspells, we also have effective removal options. Rapid Hybridization

and Beast Within
 allow us to deal with threatening creatures swiftly, transforming them into less dangerous alternatives. Propaganda
 further helps us control the battlefield by discouraging opponents from attacking us, forcing them to pay a tax for each creature they wish to send our way.

Together, these spells create a robust defensive framework. Counterspells provide a safety net against powerful spells, while removal spells and Propaganda ensure that our opponents' creatures are kept in check. By leveraging these tools, we can maintain a dominant position on the board, keeping our planeswalkers and life total safe as we build towards our win conditions. This layered defense is essential for executing our strategy and achieving victory.

We LOVE Winning the Game

Finally, we arrive at the delicious taste of victory. The question is, how did we get here? While this isn't a combo-centric deck, we do run one sneaky little combo: Freed from the Real

paired with Bloom Tender
 allows us to generate an endless amount of mana. This infinite mana can then be funneled into Blue Sun's Zenith (told you I would explain later), drawing us a massive number of cards. Combined with Laboratory Maniac
 or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
, this combo instantly secures our victory by making us win the game as soon as we draw from an empty library.

But this isn't our only path to victory. Triskaidekaphile

, though a bit niche, wins us the game if we have thirteen cards in hand at the beginning of our turn. In grindy, drawn-out games, we also have resilient creatures that thrive in such conditions. Psychosis Crawler
 drains our opponents' life totals each time we draw a card, gradually whittling them down. Chasm Skulker
 gains a +1/+1 counter every time we draw, and when it dies, it creates a number of Squid tokens equal to the number of counters on it. Toothy, Imaginary Friend
, similar to Chasm Skulker
, grows with each card we draw, but, instead of spawning minions upon death, draws us even more cards, further fueling our strategy.

These multiple paths to victory ensure that our deck remains versatile and adaptable, capable of shifting its approach based on the flow of the game. Whether through infinite combos, alternative win conditions, or incremental damage, we have the tools to secure our place as the victors in any scenario.

Conclusion

As we navigate the battlefield like skilled tacticians, drawing inspiration from the complexity of chess, we steadily build towards our win conditions. Whether through overwhelming card advantage, disruptive control, or unstoppable combos, our deck remains adaptable and formidable in the face of any challenge.

In the end, victory is not just about the cards we play but the strategic decisions we make. With each draw, each counter, and each well-timed play, we edge closer to claiming our rightful place as champions of the game. This deck is not just a collection of cards; it's a testament to the art of strategy, the thrill of victory, and the endless possibilities of Magic: The Gathering.

Love Letter

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Queer Phyrexia

Queer Phyrexia

Chloee Hoyle is the universe's biggest Yargle stan, loves long walks through the swamps of Urborg and is most definitely not infected with any "Glistening Oil" or whatever that is. When they aren't going tor a stroll on Urborg, Chloee likes to brew janky and outside of the box edh decks!