CUT Winter Special

Goldspan Dragon | Illustrated by Andrew Mar

Wasn't 2022 a wild year? There were so many different sets, Secret Lairs, and other products and cards released that filled our deck boxes and binders. So many new commanders, and with them new deck ideas! Last year we had many new and old faces on CUT, and all came up with fun and new decks and showed their creative spirit. A little later this year, we'll look back on a whole 'nother year of CUT, but first I thought we'd slow down a little and look at some gift decks built by my playgroup made for each other this past holiday.

First of all, though, we need to find out who won CUT #18!

Congratulations, Juli! Looks like Farid, Enterprising Salvager got the job done and salvaged up a victory for you! A big thank you to Minotaur, your Muzzio, Visionary Architect and Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa decks were both great reads, and I am so glad both of you could join us for the last CUT of 2022! Be sure to check out both of these lovely folks: here is Juli's socials, and Minotaur's reddit, and articles written here on Commander's Herald!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the CUTs in 2022, it was a lot of fun and I'm super excited for this year! There are a lot of fun challenges and articles lined up, and I can't wait to get to them. Getting to the article at hand, as stated in this article, every year my playgroup decides on a set of challenges and we secretly get a person that we build for using those challenges.

The challenges for this year were:

• Must use at least one card from 5 selected sets
• Must use 5/10 cards on the provided wishlist
• Must be around $120

There was also another more creative aspect applied to the deckbuilding this year. We each gave a statement to go along with the deck that was being built for us. It was meant to encapsulate a theme, or a direction that we would like the deck to go in. I'll talk more about the phrase when I introduce the decks.

First up we had the deck that Sinclair built for me. The phrase I gave him was "Go big, or go home".

My wishlist was: Augur of Autumn, Estrid's Invocation, Aura Shards, Ancient Bronze Dragon, Wedding Ring, Gilded Lotus, Questing Beast, Damnation, Timestream Navigator, and Twilight Prophet.

The sets I requested were Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Magic Origins, War of the Spark, Strixhaven, and Commander Legends.

Travis Deck

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Commander (1) 1 Rafiq of the Many Lands (37) 1 Adarkar Wastes 1 Azorius Chancery 1 Blossoming Sands 1 Botanical Plaza 1 Brokers Hideout 1 Brushland 1 Cathedral of War 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 4 Forest 1 Irrigated Farmland 2 Island 1 Manor Gate 4 Plains 1 Quandrix Campus 1 Rejuvenating Springs 1 Scattered Groves 1 Seaside Citadel 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 1 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Skybridge Towers 1 Temple of Enlightenment 1 Temple of Mystery 1 Temple of Plenty 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Thornwood Falls 1 Thriving Heath 1 Thriving Isle 1 Tranquil Cove 1 Yavimaya Coast Instants (6) 1 Bant Charm 1 Beast Within 1 Brokers Charm 1 Endless Detour 1 Generous Gift 1 Swords to Plowshares Enchantments (9) 1 All That Glitters 1 Angelic Destiny 1 Angelic Exaltation 1 Aura Shards 1 Brokers Ascendancy 1 Estrid's Invocation 1 Finest Hour 1 Noble Heritage 1 Sigil of the Nayan Gods Creatures (31) 1 Akrasan Squire 1 Augur of Autumn 1 Aven Squire 1 Bastion Protector 1 Battlegrace Angel 1 Blighted Agent 1 Coiling Oracle 1 Dauntless Escort 1 Elder of Laurels 1 Eternal Witness 1 Ethercaste Knight 1 Faeburrow Elder 1 Giltspire Avenger 1 Guardian Augmenter 1 Knight of Glory 1 Knight of New Alara 1 Knotvine Paladin 1 Qasali Pridemage 1 Questing Beast 1 Reclamation Sage 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder 1 Silent Arbiter 1 Skyscanner 1 Soul of Emancipation 1 Sovereigns of Lost Alara 1 Stoic Angel 1 Sublime Archangel 1 Terastodon 1 Timestream Navigator 1 Topiary Stomper 1 Wall of Omens Sorceries (6) 1 Appeal // Authority 1 Cultivate 1 Dusk // Dawn 1 Farseek 1 Kodama's Reach 1 Single Combat Artifacts (9) 1 Altar of the Goyf 1 Arcane Signet 1 Azorius Signet 1 Commander's Sphere 1 Gilded Lotus 1 Selesnya Signet 1 Sigil of Valor 1 Simic Signet 1 Sol Ring Planeswalkers (1) 1 Huatli, Radiant Champion

Next up was the deck I made for Sinclair; for the following decks I will just put it in a list of all of the wishlist cards and set requirements. The phrase that he gave me was "Auto-Pilot".

His wishlist included: Phyrexian Walker, Carrion, Karn, Living Legacy, Gemstone Mine, Shu General, Battle Angels of Tyr, Ancient Brass Dragon, Wasteland, Old Gnawbone, and Thundermaw Hellkite.

Sets required: Ravnica, Dominaria, Kaladesh, Scars of Mirrodin, and Throne of Eldraine.

Sinclair Deck

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Commander (1) 1 Greasefang, Okiba Boss Artifacts (22) 1 Arcane Signet 1 Argentum Armor 1 Blackblade Reforged 1 Cultivator's Caravan 1 Dermotaxi 1 Enchanted Carriage 1 Liquimetal Torque 1 Mechtitan Core 1 Mighty Servant of Leuk-o 1 Nautiloid Ship 1 Necron Monolith 1 Nettlecyst 1 Orzhov Signet 1 Parhelion II 1 Peacewalker Colossus 1 Semblance Anvil 1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship 1 Smuggler's Buggy 1 Smuggler's Copter 1 Thundersteel Colossus 1 Untethered Express 1 Weatherlight Lands (36) 1 Ancient Den 1 Buried Ruin 1 Command Tower 1 Geier Reach Sanitarium 1 Gemstone Mine 1 Goldmire Bridge 1 Path of Ancestry 12 Plains 1 Shineshadow Snarl 1 Snowfield Sinkhole 1 Sunlit Marsh 11 Swamp 1 Tainted Field 1 Temple of Silence 1 Vault of Whispers Enchantments (15) 1 All That Glitters 1 Braids's Frightful Return 1 Chainer's Torment 1 History of Benalia 1 Love Song of Night and Day 1 Michiko's Reign of Truth 1 Okiba Reckoner Raid 1 Phyrexian Scriptures 1 Tempered Steel 1 The Birth of Meletis 1 The Cruelty of Gix 1 The Eldest Reborn 1 The Restoration of Eiganjo 1 Tribute to Horobi 1 Triumph of Gerrard Instants (4) 1 Carrion 1 Deadly Dispute 1 Fracture 1 Swords to Plowshares Creatures (16) 1 Aeronaut Admiral 1 Ao, the Dawn Sky 1 Armix, Filigree Thrasher 1 Battle Angels of Tyr 1 Digsite Engineer 1 Foundry Inspector 1 Jhoira's Familiar 1 Noxious Gearhulk 1 Oathsworn Giant 1 Phyrexian Walker 1 Restoration Gearsmith 1 Shu General 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Sram, Senior Edificer 1 Steel Hellkite 1 Sun Titan Sorceries (5) 1 Austere Command 1 Brilliant Restoration 1 Invoke Justice 1 Open the Vaults 1 Refurbish Planeswalkers (1) 1 Karn, Living Legacy

Next on the list we have the deck that Ben built for Kenneth. The phrase that was given for the deck was "1 is the loneliest number".

Kenneth's wishlist was: Grim Lavamancer, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Damnation, Counterspell, Logic Knot, Prismari Command, Cryptic Command, Pyroclasm,Thing in the Ice, and Echo of Eons.

Sets were: Lorwyn, Future Sight, Theros, Saviors of Kamigawa, and Throne of Eldraine.

Kenneth Deck

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Commander (1) 1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind Lands (34) 1 Desert of the Fervent 1 Desert of the Mindful 1 Desolate Lighthouse 15 Island 15 Mountain 1 Tectonic Edge Sorceries (16) 1 Burn Down the House 1 Cathartic Reunion 1 Consuming Tide 1 Deep Analysis 1 Devastation Tide 1 Devil's Play 1 Expressive Iteration 1 Faithless Looting 1 Mystic Speculation 1 Ponder 1 Preordain 1 Pyroclasm 1 Reforge the Soul 1 Strike It Rich 1 Vandalblast 1 Wheel of Fate Enchantments (6) 1 Curiosity 1 Freed from the Real 1 Improbable Alliance 1 Ominous Seas 1 Witness Protection 1 Wizard Class Instants (20) 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse 1 Blink of an Eye 1 Brainstorm 1 Consider 1 Counterflux 1 Counterspell 1 Daze 1 Delayed Blast Fireball 1 Impulse 1 Ionize 1 Lazotep Plating 1 March of Swirling Mist 1 Opt 1 Perilous Research 1 Prismari Command 1 Rapid Hybridization 1 Remand 1 Spikefield Hazard 1 Swan Song 1 Vapor Snag Artifacts (6) 1 Coldsteel Heart 1 Elixir of Immortality 1 Expedition Map 1 Fellwar Stone 1 Izzet Signet 1 Mind Stone Planeswalkers (1) 1 Jace Beleren Creatures (16) 1 Archaeomancer 1 Baral, Chief of Compliance 1 Burning Prophet 1 Chasm Skulker 1 Docent of Perfection 1 Dragon's Rage Channeler 1 Electrostatic Field 1 Faerie Vandal 1 Goblin Electromancer 1 Grim Lavamancer 1 Haughty Djinn 1 Jace's Archivist 1 Magus of the Wheel 1 Nadir Kraken 1 Thing in the Ice 1 Young Pyromancer

Lastly we have the deck that Kenneth built for Ben! Ben's phrase was "A noncreature, creature deck".

His wishlist included: Chromatic Lantern, Helm of the Host, Helm of Awakening, Black Market Connections, Wrenn and Seven, Liliana, Dreadhorde General, Gaea's Will, Bootleggers' Stash, Deathrite Shaman, and Golgari Grave-Troll.

The sets he included were: Apocalypse, Streets of New Capenna, Modern Horizons 2, Zendikar, and Return to Ravnica.

Ben Deck

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Commander (1) 1 Lord Windgrace Planeswalkers (23) 1 Angrath, Captain of Chaos 1 Chandra Nalaar 1 Chandra, Novice Pyromancer 1 Daretti, Scrap Savant 1 Garruk Relentless 1 Jaya, Venerated Firemage 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General 1 Liliana, Waker of the Dead 1 Nissa, Vital Force 1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar 1 Nissa, Who Shakes the World 1 Nissa, Worldwaker 1 Ob Nixilis, the Adversary 1 Samut, the Tested 1 Sarkhan the Masterless 1 Sarkhan, Fireblood 1 Sorin Markov 1 Tibalt, Rakish Instigator 1 Tyvar Kell 1 Vivien Reid 1 Vivien on the Hunt 1 Vraska, Golgari Queen 1 Wrenn and Seven Lands (35) 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 3 Forest 1 Foul Orchard 1 Fungal Reaches 1 Ghitu Encampment 1 Hissing Quagmire 1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant 1 Jungle Hollow 1 Lair of the Hydra 1 Lavaclaw Reaches 1 Llanowar Wastes 1 Luxury Suite 1 Mishra's Factory 1 Mishra's Foundry 2 Mountain 1 Necroblossom Snarl 1 Nesting Grounds 1 Raging Ravine 1 Reflecting Pool 1 Rugged Highlands 1 Slagwoods Bridge 1 Spawning Pool 2 Swamp 1 Temple of Malice 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Transguild Promenade 1 Vivid Grove 1 Vivid Marsh 1 Witherbloom Campus Sorceries (19) 1 Abundant Harvest 1 Ambition's Cost 1 Ancient Craving 1 Blasphemous Act 1 Blood Money 1 Cultivate 1 Cut of the Profits 1 Death Mutation 1 Diabolic Tutor 1 Explore 1 Jeska's Will 1 Mizzium Mortars 1 Night's Whisper 1 Painful Truths 1 Read the Bones 1 Regrowth 1 Sign in Blood 1 The Elderspell 1 Vandalblast Artifacts (11) 1 Arcane Signet 1 Chromatic Lantern 1 Commander's Sphere 1 Everflowing Chalice 1 Golgari Signet 1 Gruul Signet 1 Helm of Awakening 1 Helm of the Host 1 Pyromancer's Gauntlet 1 Rakdos Signet 1 Sol Ring Enchantments (4) 1 Cemetery Tampering 1 Oath of Chandra 1 Oath of Liliana 1 Oath of Nissa Instants (7) 1 Baloth Cage Trap 1 Beast Within 1 Consume Strength 1 Defile 1 Golgari Charm 1 Jaheira's Respite 1 Windgrace's Judgment

Now that you have seen all four decks, what do you think? Do you think we made the most of the challenges presented before us? Or do you have any suggestions for the decks themselves? Like last year, we will play all of these decks against one another and see who comes out on top! I'll put a poll down below so you can vote on who you think will win. Thanks for joining me in showing off these decks crafted with love, time, and personality, and stay tuned for next time when we jump back into our regularly programmed CUT activities!

As always, remember, if you don't love it, CUT it!