Introduction

 

I'm sure as the Oath of the Gatewatch previews are released, many of you are getting really excited about how it's going to change the face of Standard and Modern. For one, I can see many Constructed gems in the form of the Manlands, Kozilek's Return, Goblin Dark-Dwellers and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, while some other cards such as Linvala, the Preserver and the Oaths still need a little time for evaluation.

 

However, many decisions cannot be made in a vaccum, and we'll need to wait for the entire set to be unveiled before we hit the books and start preparing ourselves for Grand Prix Oakland (Standard), Grand Prix Nagoya, Vancouver and Mexico City (Limited) and of course, Pro Tour Oath of Gatewatch in Atlanta (Modern). In the meantime, let's play some Commander?

 

 

 

Presenting... the Colorless EDH Deck!

With so many Generals throughout the history of the game, it's not a secret that colorless Generals have generally been shunned. Not only does it fail to provide much-needed support spells, there has never been a colorless Commander that could stack up against the competition, even if it is a casual format.

 

 

At one point, players were using Emrakul, the Aeons Torn as their General, and when it got banned, they moved it to the maindeck. That didn't work well either, since it was a superbly unfriendly card with the narrowest of answers. Time Stop would stop the extra turn and exile Emrakul, but then again, that's about it.

 

However, with Kozilek, the Great Distortion in the mix, let's try to build a Commander deck around him! The most important advantage for having the new Kozilek as a General is that, the moment you cast it, you get your hand reloaded back to full. This in-built characteristic is resilient in nature, and that means you'll be able to devote more resources towards ramping it out.

 

The second benefit is that, you'll be able to play with a bunch of utility lands, somewhat reinforcing the deck further since every single land drop provides some form of advantage.

 

With these two points in mind, let's get cracking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utilizing Unfair Artifact Mana

 

Commander is one of the few formats where Sol Ring is a staple. Not only is getting "fast mana" the norm, it is also encouraged and not shunned upon. Nobody will really be upset that you open with Sol Ring, since it's pretty much one of the best starts you can have. Since your General costs 10 mana, you'll of course need so much more than Sol Ring. As a general rule of thumb, any artifact that produces more mana than it costs to cast is an auto-inclusion:

 

 

Interestingly, we are able to use Lion's Eye Diamond efficiently, since the drawback of discarding our entire hand is totally mitigated by the fact that our General is safely in the Command zone. And of course, you'll have a fresh hand of seven when you're done, making Lion's Eye Diamond truly great in this deck.

 

Next, we'll throw in all the artifacts that add at least two mana in a single card. Despite these cards costing a little more and having a lower cost-to-mana ratio that the cards above, these are also great additions to a deck that wants to get to 10 mana as soon as possible. You might already have some ideas, but here's the list of cards that I'm contemplating:

 

 

As a matter of fact, most of these artifacts are Commander format staples, and it is not difficult for these cards to make it to many Commander decks. But what about some other lesser-used cards that will fit well?

 

 

In a deck with so many artifacts, Blinkmoth Urn, Mox Opal and Voltaic Key can be readily abused. In my experience playing with Emrakul, the Aeons Torn as a General (ok fine, fine, I was the jerk doing that I'll admit), I'm usually able to hit upwards of 10 mana whenever I untapped with it, because I had spent my first few turns dropping a bunch of artifacts on the board anyway. In addition, Voltaic Key is perfect with cards like Basalt Monolith, Grim Monolith and Metalworker, and I don't need to highlight to you that Metalcraft is easily achieved, making Mox Opal a fine card.

 

 

 

The Other Support Creatures & Threats

Kozilek, the Great Distortion is usually the first card you want to cast, since it gives you have a fresh hand of seven cards while providing some element of countermagic to disrupt the entire board. However, we want a little more business in our deck.

 

Naturally, the other big (and unbanned) Eldrazi are a natural fit, since they all are haymakers that can create a lot of problems for everyone else.

 

Void Winnower

 

Oblivion Sower isn't really a bomb, but it is a beatstick that doubles up as "mana acceleration" and I want to give it a try. Be sure to always target the non-Green players. Green players will likely be using cards like Three Visits or Skyshroud Ramp to thin down their decks, so be sure to target the opponent that has the likelihood of having more lands in their library. Solumn Simulacrum serves the same purpose of ramping us to 10, but you'll need to play a couple of Wastes if you want to run it. At one point, I also considered Burnished Hart, but with so many good colorless lands, I really don't want to be playing any Wastes at all. If you manage to survive to be swimming in your critical mass of mana, dropping any of the big Eldrazi should be fine. Void Winnower is one of the best, since it locks out so many cards.

 

Then again, this is your own Commander deck, so please feel free to play whichever creatures you like!

 

 

 

Crafting the Manabase

 

First things first, all the lands that reliably add two mana are automatically included. I say reliably, because cards like City of Traitors is very risky to play. The list that I've found are as follows:

 

 

Next, I'm going to throw in a bunch of land-denial cards because there are often times you don't need your lands anymore, but you can use your lands to disrupt your opponents. Sometimes, their Volrath's Stronghold or Academy Ruins could be annoying. And as I said, the beauty of the colorless Commander deck is that all your lands do something, and there is really no drawback if you have options.

 

 

These cards undoubtedly also play very well with Crucible of Worlds, so I've taken the liberty of making sure I add that in.

 

When the need arises, it's nice to have some Manlands as well. You rarely want to be chumpblocking, but it's always nice to have the option if required.

 

 

Finding 30 other lands to play is really part of the fun of constructing this deck as well. Through Magic's rich history, there are a plethora of options that will keep you spoilt for choice!

 

• If you want to draw some cards and keep everyone at the table happy, include Mikokoro, Centre of the Sea.
  
  
• Cavern of Souls ensures that your Eldrazi resolve.
  
  
• Miren, the Moaning Well gains you a lot of life while preventing your creatures from getting exiled or shuffled into your library.
  
  
• Sanctum of Ugin is pretty much a tutor for a big dude of your choice.
  
  
• Tower of the Magistrate randomly stops your opponent's equipment.
  
  
• Tomb of the Spirit Dragon is a recurring source of life, but Radiant Fountain isn't too bad either.
  
  
• Winding Canyons allows you to flash in your creatures.
  
  
• Homeword Path stops Control Magic effects.
  
  
• Mirrorpool is the newest addition from Oath of the Gatewatch, and seems like a lot of fun!
  
  
• Desert will discourage Tokens from attacking you, while Maze of Ith keeps everything back.
  
  
• Arena provides no mana, but provides some form of removal, in an otherwise removal-less deck.
  
  
• Hall of the Bandit Lord is painful, but allows your creatures to gain Haste!
  

 

 

 

 

Putting It All Together

 

 

Now that most of the elements are in place, it is simply a matter of picking the best cards that will go along with your strategy. For a big mana deck like this, I assume that Doubling Cube can be useful. All is Dust and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon are superbly excellent, since they wipe the board while keeping your colorless cards intact. Oblivion Stone, Perilous Vault and Nevinyrral’s Disk will, however, wipe your own board as well, but I think they are necessary evils just in case the board gets out of hand. With over 40 utility lands in your deck, Expedition Map seems like a great card.

 

 

Duplicant, Titan's Presence and Predator, Flagship provide a light touch of removal, while Sundering Titan is just plain annoying for everyone else. Oh yes, Blightsteel Colossus kills an opponent of your choice each turn too! Karn, Silver Golem not only blocks well, animates your artifacts for attacking, but also can be used to animate your opponent's artifacts when someone plays a Wrath of God effect.

 

Mimic Vat not only keeps a virtual copy of your fatties around, it can also be used to eat up your opponent's dying creatures, making it one of the best artifacts for Commander. Quicksilver Amulet can help you cheat out some fatties, as well as Belbe's Portal. I'm not sold on these two cards at the moment, but I want to give it a shot before I find other replacements. Maybe you can suggest some? =)

 

 

I know this deck looks a little junky, but I hope you have as much fun reading about it as I did building it. Now, I'm off to build a similar version of it in real life. I don't have many of the really expensive cards like Mishra's Workshop, but then again, it's Commander! Feel free to replace whatever you don't have, and improve upon it along the way!

 

See you next week, and fingers crossed for more Oath of the Gatewatch previews!

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