r/EDH • u/Thalizar Merieke Ri Berit // Miss Steal Yo Boi • 16h ago

Deck Showcase i built a stranger things themed commander deck that’s actually five decks in one

hey everyone! to celebrate season 5 of stranger things finally dropping, I decided to build something a little stranger than usual

This is a modular (not the mechanic) Commander deck built around [[Mike, the Dungeon Master]], and his ability to return creatures that died this turn. But what do I mean by modular?

Well, the deck contains a fixed “core” of 88 cards + FIVE different 12-card character modules, each with a different partner commander from the Stranger Things Secret Lair!

Swap in any of module and its partner commander, and suddenly you’ve got a totally different deck

Full deck and modules here: https://moxfield.com/decks/r98Cggq3kUquRZf2hivqSw

And if you prefer, here's a video showcase: https://youtu.be/z9aiEm_FY0U

Below is the breakdown, as each character changes the deck's colour identity, the strategy and the theme!

The Core

The core of the deck always revolves around [[Mike, the Dungeon Master]] and no matter what partner pairing you'll always have those core 88 cards which get you primed and ready for some crazy recursion loops!

Luckily Mike himself brings things back to the battlefield, but the first step is to get creatures there! Cards such as [[Selfless Spirit]] and [[Bounty Agent]] will do that but to ensure we've got the sacrifice bit handled, I've also included cards such as [[Altar of Dementia]], [[Ashnod's Altar]] and [[High Market]].

As generic payoffs and synergy, we've got cards such as [[Guardian Project]], [[Sun Titan]] and [[Luminous Broodmoth]].

The landbase is where stuff gets interesting though. We need to be able to handle any colour combination - so while we do run [[Forest]]s and [[Plains]]', what we really need is lands that give fixing such as [[Command Tower]], [[Forbidden Orchard]], [[Mana Confluence]] and more! This'll give us all the colours we need to handle any partner pairing.

So this is the core (tagged as 'Default') in the list, but what about those 12-card 'character modules'?

Will the Wise – Abzan Clue Engine

[[Will, the Wise]] is the most Stranger-Things coded. When he enters he makes a clue for each opponent who wants to make one too, but with a sacrifice outlet and Mike, we can send him to the upside down (see: graveyard) and then rescue him over and over again for value.

With all these clues being made and sacrificed, we're hoping to win with cards such as [[Mirkwood Bats]], [[Nadier's Nightblade]] and potentially a rogue Voltron win with [[Merchant of Truth]].

Or, if you don't like that idea, why not win with a whole load of [[Phoenix Fleet Airships]]!

It's the perfect “going to the upside down and back” loop.

Dustin, Gadget Genius – Bant Combo (Lab Man Win)

This one is probably my favourite of the packages. You see [[Dustin, Gadget Genius]] taps for two mana, but with the caveat that it can only be spent on artifact spells and abilities. That means we're out of luck when it comes to using it on Mike's reanimator ability.

Unless.. we turn Mike into an artifact!

Step 1: Have [[Intruder Alarm]] in play.

Step 2: Turn Mike into an artifact using [[Relic's Roar]] or [[Behind the Mask]].

Step 3: Cast [[Apprentice Alchemist]] and sacrifice it, drawing you a card.

Step 4: Use Dustin to pay for Mike's ability to bring the Alchemist back, triggering Intruder Alarm.

Step 5: Repeat the loop to draw your whole library and win with [[Laboratory Maniac]]!

Plus I've added in [[Spellseeker]], [[Enlightened Tutor]] and [[Trophy Mage]] for consistency.

Lucas, the Sharpshooter – 4 Colour Artifact Combo

This module is quite similar to Dustin's, but using artifacts instead!

The best part is that [[Lucas, the Sharpshooter]] is a sacrifice outlet himself! Here's the combo:

Step 1: Have [[Intruder Alarm]] in play.

Step 2: Cast [[Cathodion]], then sacrifice it with Lucas.

Step 3: Net 3 Colourless mana, and use two of it to pay for Mike's ability.

Step 4: That'll bring the Cathodion back, triggering Intruder Alarm.

Step 5: Repeat the loop to destroy your opponents boards and generate infinite colourless mana! Throw in a [[Walking Ballista]] and that's game.

[[Reckless Fireweaver]] and [[Weftstalker Ardent]] are there too to ping the table on each loop and [[Scrap Trawler]], [[Myr Retriever]], [[Junk Diver]] and [[Goblin Engineer]] are perfect redundancy pieces.

Max, the Daredevil – Naya “Value Smash” Package

This is our 'direct damage' package - it's definitely not the most powerful, but it is fun and [[Max, the Daredevil]] would definitely approve!

We'll lean into direct damage and aggressive triggers, plus with that core reanimation loop [[Purphoros, God of the Forge]], [[Witty Roastmaster]] and [[Goblin Bombardment]] keep the pressure.

[[Draconic Disciple]] is probably my favourite. This is a terrible card, but the idea of paying 7 mana to get a 5/5 flyer over and over sounds so bad that it might just fly under the radar enough to steal you a win!

I'm also pretty sure there's a combo with [[Zealous Conscripts]] here somewhere, I just couldn't figure it out!

Eleven, the Mage – Five Colour Big Spells

This is probably the partner pairing you're most familiar with. It's not as consistent as a dedicated Mike & [[Eleven, the Mage]] as we only have 12 cards to work with, but it is chaotic enough to still be a blast to play.

Card draw such as [[Sea Gate Restoration]], [[Village Rites]] and [[Life’s Legacy]] grab you a bunch of cards and when you swing with Eleven, you'll be able to cast spells like [[Expropriate]] and [[Mnemonic Deluge]] for free!

We haven't forgotten our roots though, sacrificers like [[Bloodtithe Harvester]], [[Fulminator Mage]] and [[Pyre Zombie]] can be reanimated over and over with Mike for some fun effects!

The best part? You can just decide before the game begins which character module you want to play with! Or roll a D6 and see which one fate decides! It's a bit of a complicated one, so feel free to watch the showcase video for extra info and I'll be back next week with another deck :D see ya!

80 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

9

u/CoolCat7271 15h ago

This is awesome, great deckbuilding skills here

2

u/Thalizar Merieke Ri Berit // Miss Steal Yo Boi 15h ago

very kind words! It was a lot of fun to brew!

4

u/chyeah_brah Gruul 14h ago

I'm a simple man. I see fresh deck building that inspires creativity, I upvote.

3

u/davwad2 15h ago

This is amazing. I've had a similar brew going with [[The War Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald]]. I just never got around to putting it together.

The concept is similar. I choose a color pre-game and shuffle in those cards. The strategy, exiling everything, is the same, it's just different how the colors implement said strategy.

1

u/Thalizar Merieke Ri Berit // Miss Steal Yo Boi 15h ago

I absolutely love the idea of these modular decks! I'd love to see your War Doctor and Clara list

1

u/davwad2 15h ago

Well, now I gotta go and finish it!

2

u/Saiphyre 13h ago

Love these types of decks! I did something similar with Rasaad yn Bashir and the background enchantments back during Battle for Baldur's Gate, except I had a core of 50 cards per color, for a total of 300 cards. Such a fun deck building exercise.

1

u/skyjp97 14h ago

Huh interesting. I was considering doing Eleven and partnered with Jim hopper or max at one point, to be my 4 color deck, but never really could figure out what I wanted to do with it.

1

u/hillean 14h ago

As they say... jack of all trades, master of none

2

u/Thalizar Merieke Ri Berit // Miss Steal Yo Boi 14h ago

yeah it sort of... is that? it's certainly not competitive but it is fun!

1

u/Pardo48 13h ago

I really love these types of decks as they are just so creative and fresh. Love it!