cEDH Is For Fools
Flubs, the Fool lets you play cEDH without playing cEDH. It might even revolutionize the format.
Let me explain.
What Makes Flubs, The Fool So Special?
Flubs, the Fool is a card with a few unique properties. Like Rograkh Thrasios, Flubs converts certain infinite mana loops into drawing your deck. Unlike Rograkh Thrasios (or any other notable deck, for that matter), Flubs makes you Hellbent, and fast. In fact, Flubs works best when you have only one card in hand at any given time. In Magic, cards in hand are analogous to thoughts in head, so think of Flubs as a powerful sword you can wield only if you have a smooth, empty brain.
When [TOODEEP] began brewing this commander, we quickly realized what Flubs's designers wanted from us. Instead of being clever and accumulating resources passively, Flubs rewards all-in, unga bunga storm turns. In lieu of holding up interaction and counterspells, Flubs encourages you to go Hellbent as quickly as possible, and rather than drawing cards whenever an opponent breathes, Flubs wants very badly for you to have 0, 1, or any other odd number of cards in your hand.
We were struck by the beauty, hilarity, and elegance of Flubs's design. We decided to lean in. A collective fervor struck; over a dozen of us brewed Flubs from 8am to 12am numerous days in a row. This fever--this hallucination--has not left our addled bodies. We are fool-pilled.
Performance Art or cEDH Deck?
Flubs invites you to eschew disruptive cards, reject participating in the 3v1, and ignore the political game. No yap, no interact, just fool. For these reasons, Flubs is as much performance art as it is a cEDH deck.
Is Flubs a tournament-viable cEDH deck? Can you really get away with playing no disruptive cards in a high-pressure environment? I have no idea, but we at [TOODEEP] intend to find out. Our plan is to assemble twenty (proxied!) copies of our collaborative Flubs decklist, identify twenty weirdos willing to register this mess at an in-person tournament, then see what happens.
Perhaps our group experiment will fail spectacularly; perhaps the tournament will be spiked in the way that the punch at an art school party is spiked. Either way, in a tripartite era of Rog Si v. Nadu v. Blue Farm, we'll have done something actually interesting. It is the job of the fool to illuminate the hubris of nobility, after all.
The fool invites us to see new worlds. Can you imagine a reality in which Flubs-laden cEDH pods are peaceful and tension-free? Where no one needs to argue over a Pact of Negation, or take any game actions at all, because they each have an even number of cards in their hand? Flubs promises us enlivened futures. We can set down the burden of drawing cards. We can relax and narrow our desire to one simple wish: win on our main phase.
From the perspective of communal norms, Flubs is the worst tournament cEDH deck ever constructed. From the perspective of energy management and mental wellbeing, since Flubs requires no energy expenditure or stress whatsoever while opponents are taking game actions, and since every card in the deck is a draw spell, Flubs is the best tournament cEDH deck ever constructed.
Enough proselytizing. Here's how our version of the deck works.
Flubs, The Fool Turbo Fool Decklist
Flubs converts loops into drawing through your deck. Casting Dockside, Squee, Shrieking Drake, or Brain Freeze over and over again will trigger Flubs, allowing you to draw and mill as much as you'd like. Closers include milling out your opponents, casting an infinitely large Walking Ballista, or deploying some very large Finale of Devastations.
This is the Breachiest deck to ever have Breached; you often have 7+ cards in your graveyard by turn two. Shifting Woodlands, Timeless Witness, and Noxious Revival provide recursion for whatever you've been forced to discard with Flubs. There are other subtleties with the decklist, but how smart can you be if you include a bunch of Kobolds in your deck? How much do you really need to think when all you're doing is putting one card in your hand, playing it, then repeating this complex process? I'm saying don't worry about it.
The Flubs Gameplan
A typical gameplan is to a) cast Flubs and then b) dig into one of the many infinite mana combos and/or c) cast Eruth, Tormented Prophet. Flubs and Eruth together quickly churn through the deck by converting every dumb free spell into two more cards. Eruth also prevents you from decking to your own Flubs triggers as you find a way to actually win. When a fool and a prophet join forces, the truth will be had.
If you'd like to think hard (which we at [TOODEEP] strongly discourage): if it looks like your storm turn will fizzle, try to end up with an even number of cards in hand (and that includes zero). Why? Because your subsequent turn's draw step will bring you back to an odd number of cards, which is right where Flubs wants you.
This shows you why free draw spells that are slam dunks in other storm decks (e.g., Gitaxian Probe or Manamorphose) are actively harmful for Flubs, and why normally mediocre-in-cEDH cards, like Urza's Bauble, or bafflingly bad cards, like Gustha's Scepter, are bombs. An even number of cards in hand will usually brick your storm turn. The fool demands oddity.
The rest is pretty straightforward. Over 60% of the deck is essentially free. The topdeck and to-field tutors are incredibly strong when they also draw you cards. Song of Creation and Abundance usually guarantee you won't run out of steam.
The numerous Kobolds and other bad cards are always a joy to cast. Flubs is meant to highlight the promise that Anje and Winota revealed to cEDH players years ago and that Magda still carries forward: you can play a bunch of hyper-narrow cards that are only functional with your commander in play and still win games.
I won't say more about the mechanics of this very silly deck. Playing Flubs is an experience that must be lived to be truly appreciated, like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. If the deck is fun, and if it wins often enough, it might even change the composition of tournament cEDH. The scene is growing rapidly and globally; big personalities, dedicated coaches, and internet-fueled scandals emerge regularly.
In a world beset by stress, stakes, stimuli, it's never too early to take yourself less seriously.
Reject cEDH's norms.
Embrace the fool within.
Just flub it!
p.s. If you want to play a Flubs deck that is responsibly constructed, i.e. "good", try out White Flower from spiky [TOODEEP] member Manti.
