Snapdax Budget Infect (EDH / Commander) [Revision 4]

I've been kicking around the idea of a [[Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt]] deck that revolved around using the shadow creature cards to make a weird low to the ground voltron deck where every creature was your commander but the idea of trying to get three other players to 21 that way seemed daunting. To make things a bit easier, I decided to focus on infect which not only synergized with Snapdax's mutate effect but also the double strike greatly improved the relatively impotent selection of Mardu colored infect creatures available. The idea of doing something a little different since most mutate infect decks are going to be [[Brokkos, Apex of Forever]] appealed to me so I started throwing things together and came up with a fairly budget build (under $65 at the time of building according to Deckstats).

The main goal of the deck is to go tall on the small infect creatures by mutating it with Snapdax and one shot players with infect damage. When Snapdax initially mutates onto an infect creature, we'll be able to do 4 infect damage to whatever creature is on the battlefield, immediately maiming or outright removing potential blockers or problematic creatures. The goal after that is to get Snapdax up to 5 power and some form of evasion to one-shot players.

Because Snapdax's mutate cost is affected by commander tax, casting him from the command zone will get prohibitive with the way we're trying to play the game so I put in [[Netherborn Altar]] into the deck but also a suite of cards to return our creatures from the graveyard to our hand. When bringing a mutate creature back from the graveyard through a typical reanimation spell, the creature just comes back to the field and cannot mutate onto another creature. [[Chainer, Nightmare Adept]] however does allow the card to be cast from the graveyard which does allow for mutate shenanigans. To return Snapdax back to the hand I included [[Phyrexian Reclamation]], [[Memorial to Folly]], [[Grim Discovery]] (which can also get back Memorial or one of our panoramas/Ash Barrens), [[Disturbed Burial]], [[Cadaver Imp]], and [[Garna, the Bloodflame]]. We also have [[Dusk//Dawn]] and [[Corpse Cur]] to refill our hand later in the game with non-Snapdax cards to keep us going.

Because the budget of the deck is on a diet, the biggest cut was in the lands. I hate tap lands, especially in a deck where we want to come out swinging as quickly as possible so selected the appropriately colored panoramas ([[Naya Panorama]], [[Jund Panorama]], and [[Esper Panorama]]), [[Ash Barrens]], and [[Tainted Field]]/[[Tainted Peak]] for our land based color fixing. [[Boros Signet]], [[Orzhov Signet]], [[Rakdos Signet]], [[Talisman of Hierarchy]], and [[Talisman of Conviction]] are further color fixing and represent the bulk of the deck's ramp. [[Commander's Sphere]], [[Mindstone]], [[Hedron Archive]] give us some more ramp with the potential to use them as card draw later in the game.

To help keep the board under control, we have [[Single Combat]], [[Tragic Arrogance]], [[Mythos of Snapdax]], and [[Dusk//Dawn]]. This will generally let us keep our general on the field while wiping out most of what our opponents are doing.

The deck also really wants vigilance since a double striking infect creature blocks profitably against all but the largest creatures and it means we are less likely to go shields down when we inevitably become the archenemy. [[Brave the Sands]], [[Angelic Field Marshal]] are there specifically for that.

In order to add some consistency, I added a small aura tutoring package with [[Heliod's Pilgrim]] and [[Open the Armory]] to tutor up [[Footfall Crater]] to enable haste and [[Undying Rage]] to get closer to one shotting someone. Undying Rage is a bit of a nonbo with vigilance but it comes back from the graveyard to our hand which means it should be a fairly reliable combat boost. [[Mask of Memory]] helps smooth out draws and [[Whispersilk Cloak]] makes Snapdax unblockable once already on the field (you cannot mutate through Shroud since it is a targeted effect).

Evasion is also furthered with [[Rogue's Passage]] and [[Key to the City]].

I'd love to hear what you think and take any suggestions you might have.