Cut - The Second Serving

Riku of Two Reflections

As the saying goes, measure once, CUT twice!

CUT is the series where we see EDH deckbuilding being put to the test through different challenges every week. If this is your first time here, welcome, also check this out to see what CUT is all about. Today, we're announcing the first winner of our CUT Finals, drum roll please....

Congratulations David!!

David started off the first round swinging with a strong showing by his Ravos, Soultender

A big thanks to Ben for his entries Araumi of the Dead Tide

I hope to see both of them in future articles!

Onto this week's entries, and boy, do we have some really spicy entries this time around. Just a reminder of the challenges that our deck builders were given back in the last article:

• Commander must be from Kaldheim
• Must include 10 or more enchantments
• Cards must be Pioneer-legal

Presenting first is Cody, take it away!

Maja EDH Pioneer Landfall Tokens

I don't know why, but when I saw the enchantment rule, Maja, Bretagard Protector

All About Those Land Drops

Being a landfall deck, the first thing we need to do is to make sure we have ways of getting multiple land drops a turn. Fetchlands are a great way of doing this. Unfortunately, all traditional fetchlands are banned in Pioneer so we have to use some less mainstream choices. Blighted Woodland

Tokens!

Of course, all those landfall triggers don't do much without something to trigger off of them. Felidar Retreat

Game Enders

Alongside Divine Visitation

Fun Interactions

Some fun things that really make this deck a joy to play include some wacky plays, like wiping our own board. Settle the Wreckage

Thanks Cody, hopefully this Landfall-ing strategy will land you in next week's article!

Next up is Mikhail! Let's see what Mikhail brought to the table!

Narfi EDH Pioneer Zombies

Narfi, Betrayer King

Maintaining his connection to the snow, Narfi first jumped to the plane of Amonkhet. He heard that it was a desert plane so it had to be warm, right? Not long after, he saw hordes of zombies led by Death's Majesty herself, Liliana Vess. The horde caught up to him pretty easily and brought him to the underworld. But because of his connection to snow, he was able to come back and his travels had just begun.

Next he was off to Theros, an enchanted land he heard had beautiful landscapes and gorgeous temples to its gods. Surely, Egon wouldn't dare send his kin to get Narfi, where he would have other gods to contend with. As it turned out, Egon and Tymaret were old pals, so it wasn't long before more hordes of the undead caught up with Narfi. He noticed on this plane that the gods were much more powerful, and devotion from their subjects brought them to the plane. The underworld of Theros was very crowded so he figured he'd get out of there quickly. Unfortunately, Liliana was already there and forced him to go to Innistrad.

A plane Narfi knew he did not want to go to was Innistrad. A plane known for Zombies, immediately he saw so many Zombies that he didn't know what to do with himself. Hordes came from all around, enchanted by the very plane they were in, but they were just content leaving him alone as they saw him as a friend. He was surprised how many of them looked so different, so unique, and he was intrigued. Maybe being a Zombie king could be more interesting than he thought? With this experience behind him, he decided to go back to Kaldheim with a new lust for life... or death.

A Tribe Called Zombie

Fun little story aside, Narfi is a lord that works well with tons of Zombies from all the sets in Pioneer. The main goal of this deck is to put out as many Zombies as possible, including lords, and swing in to knock out opponents. Death Baron

Just When I Thought I Was Out

This deck is resilient by having plenty of recursive effects even including a slight reanimator theme. Liliana, Death's Majesty

Finishing Strong

Building up a board state seems simple, but how would you seal the deal? First way: Ultimate a Liliana. Each one of her ultimates is game breaking and it's worth losing your board to protect her and get to that ultimate. Another endgame spell is any one of the sorceries with X in its cost like Dark Salvation

Great stuff Mikhail! Will this King and his zombie army be enough to dredge on to the second round? You decide!

Finally, I present to you Eli!

Esika EDH Pioneer Gates/Gods

For my first (and hopefully not last) CUT deck, I have decided to build an Esika, God of the Tree

Finding the Right Lands

Circuitous Route

Protection

Possibly the most important protection piece in the deck is Tale's End

Prevention

I have a few cards in the deck that hinder my opponents strategies and buy me more time to assemble my win. Rest in Peace

All Stars

This section is for the most important/powerful cards in the deck as well as strong synergies that I haven't mentioned previously. Purphoros, God of the Forge

Overall, this deck serves as a way to play two unique strategies in a fun manner. If you have any questions about this deck, feel free to comment on this article and your questions will probably be answered.

Thank you, Eli! Hopefully Esika can open up the Gates to Round 2 for you.

Now that our deck builders have laid their decks out for all to see, it is now in your hands to decide who moves on to the next round. As always the poll can be found below. This poll will close a week from when this article goes up, so make sure you vote! Let me know below what you would've done with the challenges, or which deck you loved above all others, in the comments below or on twitter @chipman007!

Remember if you don't love it, CUT it!

If you or someone you know is interested in being a part of a future CUT! Article feel free to send an email to the.only.travis.stanley@gmail.com