Pokedecks: Siona, the Escavalier

A Different Kind of Voltron? Sounds like a Setup!

The past few articles, we've looked at different kinds of kindred decks. Some were supported, but taken in a new direction; some were unsupported, but with a flavorful spin; and some were kindred simply by virtue of head canon. However, kindred aren't the only kind of decks that are hyper-focused. Voltron decks are similarly single-minded and easy for newer players to build.

Where kindred decks tend to go wide, Voltron decks tend to build tall. This focus on a single creature makes the deck weak to removal, yet what if there was a commander with a way around that?

Siona, Captain of the Pyleas

Selesnya has a few different options for enchantment-based commanders, and multiple Aura-based ones. Modern players who love their Bogles have plenty of options for porting over their favorite deck, so what makes Siona special? Simply put, she goes wide and tall simultaneously.

The longer answer is that she makes a Human Soldier token whenever an Aura I control becomes attached to a creature I control. Since the deck has so many Auras, many of which are cheap, mana-wise, it's not difficult to make a token the same turn as Siona (who digs for an Aura on ETB). Why are bodies so important? Edict effects are the bane of Voltron decks' existence, and this ensures Siona will have subjects to sacrifice for her benefit.

Unlike most Voltron decks, this build uses protective Auras, defensive Auras, and card draw engines to snowball advantage. This kind of tank-y build is actually fairly common in Pokemon, as tanks in that game refer to Pokemon with decent defenses and offenses, or those that can heal themselves for staying power. One of my favorites, which also supports the leadership theme of Siona, is Escavalier. While Escavalier is tough as nails, it does have some glaring weaknesses, which is also true of the Voltron archetype.

Siona's Abilities

Siona is pretty clearly an Aura Voltron commander. The direction of the deck is pretty clear, and the average converted mana cost of spells in the deck is low enough that ramping is unnecessary, despite being in green. One of the things Siona does really well, though, is provide card advantage. When it enters the battlefield, Siona lets you find an Aura in the top seven cards, which is almost impossible to whiff with in this deck. Since Siona is so cheap to cast, if she falls, we can easily re-cast her and re-use the effect to get right back to being aggressive.

Season of Growth

Sage's Reverie

Kor Spiritdancer

Escavalier's Moves

Smart Strike is a Steel-type move that is guaranteed to hit. Voltron decks are low-to-the-ground offensive decks, and they also want to be able to hit accurately. Being able to consistently get in damage is vital to staying relevant later in the game while other players start doing increasingly powerful things. Preferably, they would also add power, but that's not always possible.

Armored Ascension

Canopy Cover

Seeker

So...we've got card draw; we've got evasion; we've even got power. But how do we keep from getting attacked? Presenting a board of Human Soldiers can be helpful, but we also need a way to deal with other decks providing big attackers.

The Perfect Fusion

This deck has solid ways to consistently get damage in and protect its threats, but it doesn't mean anything if we can't keep opponents from smacking us repeatedly. It was noted earlier that cards like Sage's Reverie

Prison Term

Bonds of Faith

Faith's Fetters

Siona, use Smart Strike!

Here is the most recent iteration of the deck, which is still one of my favorites.

What cards do you use that make opponents have to look them up?

And how do you determine who to attack with an aggro deck?