Zedruu (EDH / Commander)

"If you know exactly what you're going to do, what's the good in doing it?"
—Pablo Picasso

INTRODUCTION

I have been playing Commander on a fairly regular basis since 2015, and among the things I learned during that time is that control decks can be a problem in a casual format like this. Naturally, the strategy of a control deck is a) to minimize disruption of my own shenanìgans and b) maximize disruption of my opponents' shenanìgans; but in EDH, locking everybody else in your playgroup down ("Nobody is playing Magic but me!") takes the fun out of the game. People want to play with their cards, see them in action and enjoy it if their game pIan works out. On the other hand, there are players who enjoy control strategies and want to play that deck archetype. How to solve this dilemma?

Enter Zedruu the Greathearted.

I proudly present my refined "political chaos" brew; now (finally) with an optimized mana base. The list mainly consists of janky, fun cards which create a lot of social interaction at the table. And of course, Zedruu brings a decent group hug package with her to speed the game up and make it fun for everyone!

STRATEGY

You may ask yourself now, "but what is this deck's win condition?". The answer is: Drawing cards. My ideal opening hand consists of three to four different lands, some mana acceleration and something to give away with Zedruu. For example, Sphere of the Suns, Share the Spoils or Armistice are perfect early game gifts. Bucknard's Everfull Purse, Loxodon Peacekeeper and Gilded Drake hand themselves over to an opponent and thus are also appropriate to get early card advantage. Drawing two or more extra cards per turn allows me to keep the board state in check with my control spells while generating additional value with Hoofprints of the Stag, Chasm Skulker, Psychosis Crawler, Shabraz, the Skyshark, The Locust God and Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. This process is tremendously sped up by spells like Whirlpool Warrior, Teferi's Puzzle Box, Alhammarret's Archive and Arjun, the Shifting Flame, which will also help me dig for much needed answers or for my win conditions - either casting Approach of the Second Sun on two consecutive turns, or draining all my opponents out by comboing off with Psychosis Crawler. To do that, I need in addition either Alhammarret's Archive and Whirlpool Warrior, or Swans of Bryn Argoll and Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. The deck can also easily win by old-fashioned beatdown. It contains some heavy, evasive hitters and a few strong token generators; and just in case those won't cut it, I have means to get nice things from my opponents which may.

TACTICS

Control strategies are perceived as less oppressive by players if they are left with something. Proteus Staff provides a powerful removal effect, but will give the victim a new toy in return; and it can be used politically, e.g. by "upgrading" someone's goblin token with it. Winds of Abandon, Curse of the Swine, Chaos Warp, Indomitable Creativity and Settle the Wreckage also provide compensation for your losses. Removal spells of this kind are strong enough for the Commander format, but also don't draw out games to the point when they're not fun anymore. Commit // Memory is an interrupt/removal spell, hand disruption and graveyard hate; but since everyone gets to draw a new hand of seven fresh cards, most players won't complain. Haphazard Bombardment is a potent removal spell, but it will hit three out of four chosen permanents at random, so no one will get the impression that I'm picking on them. If I intend to evoke that impression I use Crown of Doom, Akroan Horse or Fractured Identity. They're political instruments, meant to punish the player who's ahead and to help the players who are behind. Oath of Lieges, Humble Defector, Pendant of Prosperity, Role Reversal, Hunted Dragon and Dawnbreak Reclaimer also fall into this category. My list is completed by utility spells like Leave // Chance, Deflecting Palm and Jeskai Ascendancy, and some pet cards that are only in there for hilarity, like Polymorphist's Jest, Possibility Storm and Dovescape.

CONCLUSION

I love Zedruu to no end, and of all my brews to date, this one is the most fun, for me and everyone else in my playgroup. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it, so please leave a comment if you care. Thanks!