The Commander's New Clothes - All Cosplay Pod - Decked Out EDH Gameplay

VeggieWagon • May 15, 2023

Deckbuilding

At its essence, Commander is about choosing a character you vibe with and embodying them in the game. You decided to build that deck, and that character represents you and your playstyle in a subtle way.

We're not really good with subtlety over at Decked Out, so in the latest episode we all cosplayed our commanders for the full experience.  Four of the Multiverse's finest - special guests Zbexx and PeachyPop with MTGNerdGirl and VeggieWagon - battle it out to determine once and for all: who wore it best?

Nissa, Vastwood Seer

In her very first cosplay appearance ever, NerdGirl shows just how easy it is being green as Nissa, Vastwood Seer

. She speaks for the trees, and they smash her opponents as she ramps and animates lands. The many Nissa planeswalkers, like Nissa, Who Shakes the World
 and Nissa, Worldwaker
, all contribute to the Forest
 army, while Conduit of Worlds
 and Titania, Nature's Force
 make the deck resilient to removal and board wipes. Will NerdGirl's opponents make like a tree, or will this linear strategy leave something to be desired?

Nissa, Vastwood Seer

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Kaalia of the Vast

Zbexx "can be your angle or yuor demon" (or your Dragon) as she cosplays and pilots Kaalia of the Vast

. This is her personal build that was recently updated to include Rodolf Duskbringer
 and Bloodthirster
. Kaalia gonna Kaalia; the plan is to safely resolve and swing with the Mardu Cleric and drop in some high-value creatures for free. Zbexx is not here to make friends with inclusions like Master of Cruelties
, an instant-kill with Kaalia, and even Armageddon
 to wipe all lands off the board (unless she has Avacyn, Angel of Hope
, of course). Can Zbexx avoid the hate and land these unstoppable threats?

Kaalia of the Vast

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Commander (1)

Planeswalkers (1)

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Massacre Girl

Face painted and boba tea in hand, Peachy is here to wipe the board with Massacre Girl

and wipe the floor with the competition. The more creatures on the board, the more effective her strategy is, so she's using cards like Tribute to Horobi
 and Akroan Horse
 to feed her opponents more 1/1s. Then, in one fell swoop, she can destroy all of them for massive profit from Falkenrath Noble
 or Blood Artist
. She can even have her own creatures survive if they have abilities like Venomcrawler
. Will Peachy pull off the massacre of her dreams, or will her opponents play around the looming assassination?

Massacre Girl

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Commander (1)

Planeswalkers (1)

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Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

VeggieWagon is just trying to steal a few more cards before he gets banned in this format, too. Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

in the command zone means he's a guaranteed turn-1 play, and the deck plans to snowball as fast as possible from there. He's using both Treasure synergy, like Rain of Riches
, and Pirate synergy, like Breeches, Brazen Plunderer
, to get the most out of Ragavan's qualities. This approach does rely on hitting impactful cards off the tops of his opponents' libraries, though Hellkite Tyrant
 or Nettlecyst
 might be able to end the game on their own. Can Veggie keep up the early momentum, or will he have a monkey wrench thrown into his setup?

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

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How It Went Down

Ape Escape - The Early Game

As it turns out, a turn-1 Ragavan is pretty good. Even after hitting nothing but lands with Ragavan's ability, Veggie rockets ahead and drops a Rain of Riches

to start Cascading spells. Peachy starts to slowly build her setup with Blood Artist
 and Bastion of Remembrance
, while NerdGirl ramps and drops her commander. Zbexx manages to swing with Kaalia for a free Goldspan Dragon
, but Veggie burns her back to the command zone after that.

Swamped with Treasure - The Mid Game

A wild sequence seems to set Veggie up for big success. He casts Coercive Recruiter

to steal Zbexx's Goldspan Dragon
, but NerdGirl targets it with Beast Within
. Veggie Deflecting Swat
s it back at Nissa, but afterward he can only get some damage in before it returns to Zbexx. Peachy, previously stuck on four mana, finds a Swamp
 to finally slam Massacre Girl
 and clear out everything on the board. Unfortunately, as she reveals next turn, she has to do it before rolling out the Black Market
 in her hand. Veggie goes for a sneaky Hellkite Tyrant
 and incurs the wrath of the table, dying to beats from Aurelia, the Warleader
 and an Elemental token.

One With the Earth - The Late Game

With Veggie out of the game, the table is able to take time to build. Peachy tries to keep the opposing creatures in check with another cast of Massacre Girl

, and Zbexx struggles to drop her big threats without Kaalia. Meanwhile, NerdGirl's slow and steady ramp hits growing season with Nissa, Who Shakes the World
 and Nissa, Ascended Animist
 in the same turn. The pair of Nissas allow her to pick off vital enchantments and push through more damage, and a Lair of the Hydra
 is suddenly swinging for over 20 as well. The pressure proves to be too much for Zbexx and Peachy, and they fall to NerdGirl's growing legion of lands.

By the Numbers

Lands revealed for Ragavan's ability: 3

Players hurting for lands: 2

Commanders turned into lands: 1

Damage from animated lands: 59

Watch the all-cosplay episode so Veggie can take off the monkey hood. It's really warm.

VeggieWagon

VeggieWagon

VeggieWagon is the co-host of Decked Out, an EDH gameplay show focused on having fun with Commander (weird, I know). He spends the rest of his time writing silly songs and sketches about Magic: The Gathering, which allows him to eat on occasion.