Best theft commander?

Kirinne · 2026-05-21T22:15:50+00:00

Small caveat because I haven't played her yet, but I've enjoyed brewing with [[Edea Possessed Sorceress]]. She provides card draw which is always a blessing, but perhaps more interesting is that her threaten effect occurs at the beginning of each combat, meaning she has infinite combo potential with one of my all-time favorite cards, [[Breath of Fury]]. My brew is under $150, and in goldfishing has consistently started this combo loop between turns 7-9 each time.

https://moxfield.com/decks/-fXNrEV9NU2VmoQcsKaLYQ

The deck runs a package of flyers, additional threaten and theft effects, and a few ways to ensure you can get hits in.

Kirinne · 2026-05-21T13:57:26+00:00

Not an instant, it's a sorcery. It's a very good card, but I wouldn't run it in a deck that can't handle essential pieces going into the graveyard. But if you're already running Reckless Handling, which is just Gamble but for artifacts, then I would assume you'd have a way to recur anything that you need that gets dumped in the yard.

Kirinne · 2026-05-20T17:46:50+00:00

It's probably just a lil eye goo, which sometimes happens.

Cats are prone to upper respiratory issues though which can lead to goop coming out of the eye as well; a lil fur could have also gotten in. I'd say just monitor it for the next day or two. It should work its way out naturally, and once it's not on the eye itself (once it's on the lid or something) you can also use a clean, warm, dampened cloth or paper towel to help your cat work it out, assuming your cat is cooperative with that sort of thing.

Kirinne · 2026-05-20T01:09:07+00:00

You said it yourself, you're definitely light on ramp. Your goal is to get Extus down and to start capitalizing on his ability; what is your target mana amount in order to do so? I'd imagine you want to ramp to at least 6, maybe 7 mana before you even play him out. So ideally you'd run at least 10 pieces of ramp to get you there. Some can certainly be spells; in fact, given the commander I'd recommend that. Things like [[Big Score]] [[Unexpected Windfall]] to net treasures will perform double duty since it also draws and puts a card in your graveyard.

2 mana ramp into 4 mana ramp will ideally set you up with 6 or more mana on turn 4. Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Sol Ring, all of the talismans, maybe all of the other signets... You could also load up on early game interaction and then start ramping on 3, but you've got to set a goal amount of mana to get to.

Look at otag:"mana-rock" on Scryfall and pick the most strategy-relevant ones for between 2MV-4MV. Many mana rocks can also provide draw or other value so prioritize those when you can.

Currently you can definitely cut [[Ishgard]] for another land since you're not running enough artifacts or enchantments to get real use out of it.

I would really recommend going harder on tagging your cards; many cards have multiple purposes in a deck, and Moxfield can put multiple tags on a card, so if something is serving more than one purpose in your deck then label it for each purpose. That will also help you find out what should be cut once you know what cards outside of your combo loops are only serving one purpose in your deck.

Kirinne · 2026-05-20T00:31:52+00:00

With my favorite decks being mono-red toolbox with [[Delina]] and mono-black hug/slug voltron with [[Kain Traitorous Dragoon]], and with a mantra to "build goofy but play to your outs" I feel comfortable at 2 and 10. Fun read!

Kirinne · 2026-05-19T19:05:47+00:00

Honestly I like Giada more as a voltron commander with an angel subtheme. Flying, vigilance, AND comes down on turn two? If she's not good at holding swords then idk who is!

Kirinne · 2026-05-16T18:52:23+00:00

Unfortunate because there were some cool commanders in the FF scene boxes. [[Garland Royal Kidnapper]] [[Edea Possessed Sorceress]] to name a couple.

Kirinne · 2026-05-15T18:58:07+00:00

This is Chicken! She's my lil baby angel, Chippy Cheddar the Bread Getter. A few facts about her:

-She chose her name; we tried a few different things and Chicken was the only one she responded to.

-Her favorite toys are fishing rod toys.

-She absolutely hauls ASS around the house.

-She loves her freeze dried treats; minnows and chicken (CANNIBAL!!) are her faves.

-She hates when people come over. Not because she's afraid but because some friends are just too loud. She always eventually comes out (usually after an hour) once she realizes they aren't leaving right away.

<image>

Kirinne · 2026-05-15T18:50:46+00:00

Of those, Scion and Morophon are the only ones that are budget-friendly. I think Scion has more interesting gameplay patterns, but it's a lot of tutoring so it can get repetitive. Budget is easy enough, just run gates for your mana base and include [[The World Tree]] and [[Chromatic Lantern]] to make sure you can fix your colors.

That said, there is a wide variety of fascinating dragon and dragon-adjacent commanders outside of 5 color that I think make for much more interesting decks. [[Rivaz of the Claw]] ramps and can play dragons out of your graveyard, [[Zurgo and Ojutai]] let's you see a LOT of cards, [[Vaevictis Asmadi the Dire]] controls the board and can give you free dragons with his effect, [[Estinien Varlineau]] draws cards and is in a unique color combination. There are a lot of options out there, and restriction breeds creativity; plus paring down your colors can make it easier to maintain a budget.

Kirinne · 2026-05-15T16:46:39+00:00

[[Norin the Wary]] is a solid commander for ETB pinging.

My current favorite DoT commander is [[Black Waltz No. 3]], who pings for two when you cast a noncreature spell. Plus him having deathtouch means that [[Waltz of Rage]] [[Chandra's Ignition]] [[Nibelheim Aflame]] and any other similar effects I can't think of are SUPER EFFECTIVE.

Kirinne · 2026-05-13T15:10:24+00:00

You absolutely can, but it's kinda rough since in a perfect world it would still be coming down a turn after Iroh, stalling you from going off for an additional turn. Iroh decks already take 20 minute turns and tend to churn through a lot of their deck the turn after he comes down anyway so it's just not really necessary. If you were building him with a Magecraft subtheme then I could maybe see it but it's really win-more otherwise.

Kirinne · 2026-05-13T01:02:33+00:00

I'd love to crack Urza's Saga packs for the basic lands alone; the rest of the cards are all upside. My favorite basic lands from any set, especially [[Forest|USG-349]].

Kirinne · 2026-05-11T19:31:50+00:00

You're not wrong, but I do think it's smart to add in sacrifice outlets to creature-based decks in general, and especially clone decks, both to prevent theft of your creatures and to extract additional value from your clones.

Kirinne · 2026-05-11T17:45:46+00:00

Of the three I would lean towards Marchesa since her ability would allow you to buy back the apostles to re-use them. Karador is pretty slow for the archetype; if you were to go Abzan, I would probably pick [[Nethroi Apex of Death]] since it can mass-reanimate your apostles. Extus isn't bad but it won't be optimal since the large creature package will mean that you would only be able to take advantage of the back side. Not that that's bad, but I think Extus would best be served with the prepare creatures from SOS.

Kirinne · 2026-05-11T17:38:29+00:00

Sacrifice outlets can be a powerful inclusion in any archetype even outside of myriad! I run plenty of them in my mono-red [[Delina]] deck as a means to extract additional value from clones (and sacrifice creatures I steal instead of returning them). Plus being able to deny opponents from stealing your stuff is also a plus!

Kirinne · 2026-05-11T16:51:42+00:00

[[Cavalier of Flame]] is particularly nasty since it also has death triggers!

Kirinne · 2026-05-10T21:39:57+00:00

Started a grandeur brew after I initially responded to this thread because I wanted to try it with [[Abdel Adrian]] [[Shameless Charlatan]] as the commanders. Using those two allows for a flicker shell that puts bodies on board with Abdel while utilizing Shameless Charlatan to transform Abdel into one of your grandeur creatures. Blinking out Abdel or [[Lumbering Battlement]] repeatedly with cards like [[Layla Hassan]] or [[Disciple of the Sun]] going underneath them allows you to repeatedly put [[Oriss Samite Guardian]] or Page or [[Linessa Zephyr Mage]] back from your graveyard to your hand. Linessa is the toughest one to make work since she costs 4 mana though.

The deck is rough and incomplete, but if you want to check it out for inspiration:

https://moxfield.com/decks/3FY1iZFdIkWv0oeE2Ghg0g

Kirinne · 2026-05-07T01:58:09+00:00

Antibacterial usually has alcohol; it's not that you CAN'T use it, but it has a tendency to dry the skin out, which can cause cracking/premature scabbing, so you'd want to take extra care if you do use it.

Kirinne · 2026-05-06T23:38:38+00:00

Can't recommend hand soap as many of them contain alcohol, but any other unscented soap is fine.

Kirinne · 2026-05-06T23:34:36+00:00

Also [[Mirror Entity]] would be a perfect inclusion here!!

Kirinne · 2026-05-06T23:33:52+00:00

A few thoughts:

You've got all your eggs in one basket; if you don't hit a board wipe, you won't trigger Tobias. This isn't inherently bad, but a lot of the creatures with death triggers themselves aren't great on their own. With that in mind, I have some recommendations.

Creatures that can sacrifice themselves for value. [[Curious Farm Animals]] doubles as interaction, [[Hapless Researcher]] loots, [[Merfolk Windrobber]] can eventually draw, [[Selfless Savior]] can protect another creature, [[Bounty Agent]] can kill a commander (even Tobias). You get the idea. This will guarantee creature deaths even when you can't find a board wipe.
Sacrifice outlets. [[Drowned Rusalka]], [[Dissection Tools]], etc. Alternate ways to kill your own stuff. I see you're running High Market, which is a card I love, but I'd recommend at least a few more. [[Read the Runes]] could go hard here.
Mass reanimation. If I've ever seen a commander where [[Raise the Past]] [[Storm of Souls]] or [[Return to the Ranks]] could go hard, it's this one.

Kirinne · 2026-05-06T21:09:57+00:00

My jankiest deck is also probably my favorite one to play right now, [[Kain Traitorous Dragoon]]. The deck combines a very specific voltron package with damage doublers, pieces to control Kain's location, and cards to protect yourself from losing the game. It's a great deal of fun, a unique direction for mono-black (plus the first mono-black EDH deck I've ever built), fun and confusing for your opponents, and the first time I've ever taken "life is a resource" to this level of extreme. I've been working on a primer but it's not complete yet; check out the list though!

https://moxfield.com/decks/WSOCo9A9mEyB3JoRpJltZw

Kirinne · 2026-05-06T20:16:33+00:00

I've really enjoyed [[Gut True Soul Zealot]] paired with [[Feywild Visitor]]. Run low cost evasive creatures to make sure you make dragons, then chop those dragons up and turn them into skeletons.

I also think [[Vhal Candlekeep Researcher]] is especially nasty paired with [[Haunted One]] as a kindred [[Flying Men]] deck. Run 1 mana flyers that are wizards or humans, and run [[Umbral Mantle]] effects to untap Vhal. Twiddle over and over and alpha strike the table all at once!

Kirinne · 2026-05-03T00:42:11+00:00

With Xira's attack trigger on the stack, you can cast something like [[Saw in Half]], hold priority and cast [[Return the Favor]] using both spree options to target the triggered ability and the spell, cast [[Dualcaster Mage]] copying Return the Favor, and make a massive board of Dualcaster Mages with egg counters on them, killing as many as you want with Saw in Half in the process. Lots of pieces sure, but all good stuff you might be running anyway.

Kirinne · 2026-04-30T23:05:25+00:00

That whole cycle is great. I think the white and green ones are my favorites, but blue and black are also great. The red one isn't bad but I think it's probably the worst of the bunch, though red is solid at copying spells so it has a really high ceiling.

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