{"ops":[{"insert":{"card-link":"Hashaton, Scarab's Fist"}},{"insert":" served the Scarab in an age long past. Now he dreams of grandeur.\n\nOverview"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Magic: the Gathering was built for 60-card decks and playsets. Commander is singleton. Grandeur asks you to discard another card with the same name. That is an obviously ridiculous thing to try in EDH, which of course meant I had to try it.\n\nMy first build was a mono-black "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Korlash, Heir to Blackblade"}},{"insert":" deck using graveyard clones and creature recursion. It was a funny exercise, and every now and then it even looked clever, but it was too clunky, too narrow, and too busy making the joke work to play a good social game of Commander. I later moved into Esper to use the full Grandeur package, which made the deck more varied, but not necessarily smoother.\n\nThen came Aetherdrift, and there he was: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hashaton, Scarab's Fist"}},{"insert":". While most people saw an efficient Zombie commander or a discard-and-value reanimator piece, I saw the first commander that actually solved half of the Grandeur problem by itself. Hashaton only costs two mana, and whenever you discard a creature card, you can pay $2U$ to make a tapped 4/4 black Zombie copy of it. That means the deck can finally put a Grandeur creature on the battlefield without needing an actual second copy in the deck. Then, when "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Page, Loose Leaf"}},{"insert":" showed up later with Grandeur of its own, that was enough for me to dig this monstrosity out of the deck folder and try again.\n\nGame Plan"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This deck does not have a grand master plan, pun fully intended. The point is not to assemble some efficient engine and run over the table. The point is to make Grandeur function in Commander often enough that the deck stops being a joke and starts resembling a real midrange deck.\n\nHashaton solves the first half of the puzzle: discard a Grandeur creature, pay the tax, get a Zombie copy. The second half is getting the original card back to hand with cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tortured Existence"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Undertaker"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Decaying Soil"}},{"insert":" ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Oversold Cemetery"}},{"insert":" also works for this), and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ravos, Soultender"}},{"insert":" so that the Zombie copy on board can actually activate Grandeur. Once that loop is online, the deck starts to feel less like a meme and more like a very strange Esper value shell. It is still mana-hungry, still slower than the good decks, and still vulnerable to graveyard hate, but at least now the nonsense works on purpose.\n\nEarly Game"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The setup is relatively fast even if the deck itself is not. Our commander costs only two mana, so the ideal early turns are intentionally boring: land, pass; commander on turn two; discard outlet or looting engine on turn three. The real goal is not speed for its own sake, but getting to the point where you can discard a creature and still have blue mana available to pay Hashaton.\n\nHands that can present Hashaton plus an outlet like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Collector's Vault"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Geier Reach Sanitarium"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Psychic Frog"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Raffine, Scheming Seer"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Agna Qel'a"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spymaster's Vault"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rhet-Tomb Mystic"}},{"insert":" are doing exactly what this deck wants. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Agna Qel'a"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Geier Reach Sanitarium"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spymaster's Vault"}},{"insert":" are especially nice because they give you looting out of a land slot, and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rhet-Tomb Mystic"}},{"insert":" giving your creature cards cycling makes it much easier to turn dead weight in hand into actual material. Early on, do not worry too much about looking threatening. You are not the fast deck. You are the deck quietly laying out the pieces for a mechanic that should not work here in the first place.\n\nMid Game"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This is where the deck actually becomes functional. Once you make a Zombie copy of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Korlash, Heir to Blackblade"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Oriss, Samite Guardian"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Linessa, Zephyr Mage"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Page, Loose Leaf"}},{"insert":", the entire texture of the game changes. Korlash turns each successful loop into land development and later into a real clock. Oriss buys time and blanks one player’s turn when the table starts getting ahead. Linessa is the meanest of the bunch, since a single activation can strip a player of a creature, artifact, enchantment, and land. Page is less dramatic, but provides a bit of utility as we search for our removal, draw or tutor options, turning extra setup into spell access and keeping the deck moving.\n\nThe midgame is also where the rest of the shell starts pulling its weight. The discard engines stop being rummage and start being card selection. The recursion pieces stop looking cute and start reading like actual card advantage. Your token copies do not need to be gigantic to matter either. A repeated "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archfiend of Ifnir"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Angel of the Ruins"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archon of Cruelty"}},{"insert":" will do enough heavy lifting that the deck does not need to pretend it is comboing. It just needs to keep the game from ending before the engine gets to be embarrassing in public.\n\nLate Game"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"If the game goes long, this deck becomes far more dangerous than it looks at first glance. Not because it suddenly reveals some hidden deterministic line, but because repeated 4/4 Zombie copies backed by recursion eventually bury fair decks under raw cardboard. At that point, your best threats are the ones that either create immediate value when copied or turn every discard into a problem for the table.\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archon of Cruelty"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archfiend of Ifnir"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Angel of the Ruins"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Steel Hellkite"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vilis, Broker of Blood"}},{"insert":" all become much uglier when the deck can discard, copy, recur, and repeat. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wonder"}},{"insert":" is one of the cleanest closers in the list, because a shambling pile of 4/4 Zombies becomes much more convincing once it takes to the air. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Exalted Sunborn"}},{"insert":" is the other big late-game push, since doubling Hashaton’s token output turns a grindy engine into a real board state very quickly. The deck rarely kills out of nowhere, but it is very capable of turning a quiet, awkward board into a lethal one once everyone else has spent their good cards.\n\nMulligan Guide"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWhat a Keep Looks Like"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A good hand has:\nThree lands or mana sources;"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"One discard outlet or looting effect"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Either a creature worth discarding or a recursion piece that makes your first discard meaningful"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nTwo-land hands are acceptable if the colors are good and one of those cards is something like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wayfarer's Bauble"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcane Signet"}},{"insert":". In general, I would rather keep a hand that does something by turn three than a hand full of individually stronger cards that does nothing until turn five. Having "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bloodthorn Flail"}},{"insert":" in our opening hand makes it possible to create a Zombie token as early as turn 3. \n\nWhat to Ship"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Easy choices are:\nShip hands that are all payoff and no setup;"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ship hands with not enough resources to cast Hashaton as late as turn 3.;"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ship hands that are just recursion pieces with nothing worth looping.;"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ship hands that require multiple perfect topdecks before the deck starts functioning."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nMost importantly, do not keep a hand just because it contains a Grandeur creature. In this deck, the legends are not your plan by themselves. They are your reward for assembling the rest of the nonsense first.\n\nWin Conditions"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Primary Win Condition"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThe primary win condition is straightforward combat. This deck builds a board of 4/4 Zombie copies, squeezes value out of discard and recursion, and eventually turns the corner with superior material. Sometimes that is a pile of generic Zombies. Sometimes it is Korlash hitting like a truck. Sometimes it is Wonder making the team evasive. Sometimes it is a copied haymaker that the table can no longer afford to answer.\n\nSecondary Win Condition"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThe second way this deck wins is by grinding the table into submission. Oriss can buy entire turns. Linessa can tear apart a board. Archfiend punishes everyone for letting you keep discarding. Archon does what Archon always does: it makes the game feel deeply unfair while still technically being “just value.” Once you manage to exhaust your opponents of resources, a continuous loop with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Monument to Endurance"}},{"insert":" is able to slowly bring you the win.\n\nBackup Plan"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWhen the Grandeur engine does not fully come together, the deck can still play a perfectly acceptable weird Esper midrange game. It has real interaction, real card flow, and enough individually powerful creatures that simply copying one with Hashaton is often good enough. This is not Plan A, but it does mean the deck is not forced to fold just because the bit did not land on time. Continuously copying "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Exalted Sunborn"}},{"insert":" with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Monument to Endurance"}},{"insert":" will quickly net you virtual infinite mana (realistically it ranges from 512 to 2048, but even the lowest range is more than enough to draw anything you want and close the game).\n\nCard Choices"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Ramp"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This deck is much more mana-hungry than it first appears. Hashaton is cheap, but the deck’s meaningful turns ask you to cast spells, loot, recur creatures, and still hold up $2U$ for the copy trigger. That means the ramp package is here less to race and more to let the deck double-spell and keep the engine moving.\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcane Signet"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wayfarer's Bauble"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Soul Stone"}},{"insert":" all help with that in different ways. I am not trying to turbo this deck out. I am trying to make sure the fourth, fifth, and sixth lands actually matter. Other ramp cards take a hybrid role in the deck. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Currency Converter"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Skirge Familiar"}},{"insert":" are also discard outlets, while "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Monument to Endurance"}},{"insert":" works as an additional discard payoff that can ramp.\n\nDraw"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Looting is as good as raw drawing cards here, because this deck actively wants creatures moving between hand and graveyard. That makes cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Collector's Vault"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ledger Shredder"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Matzalantli, the Great Door // The Core"}},{"insert":", are much better than they would look in a more conventional shell. \n\nThen there are the cards that simply keep the wheels turning: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Idol of Oblivion"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bennie Bracks, Zoologist"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hostile Investigator"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Winternight Stories"}},{"insert":", and of course "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vilis, Broker of Blood"}},{"insert":" when things get especially silly.\n\nSeveral of other cards in the deck also help with looting while also performing different roles. The deck has 19 cards that draw you cards in one way or the other, and 35 cards that create card advantage as a primary or secondary effect.\n\nInteraction"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Because this deck wants the game to go long, it needs to interact early and often. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Damn"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vindicate"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Void Rend"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Big Game Hunter"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Angel of the Ruins"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lethal Scheme"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Forbid"}},{"insert":" are all here to make sure faster or cleaner decks do not simply run us over while we are trying to set up a mechanic from Future Sight.\n\nSome of the interaction is also hidden inside the engine. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Oriss, Samite Guardian"}},{"insert":" is interaction. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Linessa, Zephyr Mage"}},{"insert":". "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archfiend of Ifnir"}},{"insert":" is definitely interaction, even if the table usually realizes that one a bit too late.\n\nPayoffs"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The best payoffs are not always the biggest creatures. They are the creatures that become obnoxious when copied as 4/4 Zombies or that reward you for repeating the discard loop.\n\nThe obvious headliners are "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archon of Cruelty"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archfiend of Ifnir"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Angel of the Ruins"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vilis, Broker of Blood"}},{"insert":". The actual soul of the deck, however, is still the Grandeur package: Korlash, Oriss, Linessa, and Page. They are the reason the deck exists at all. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Exalted Sunborn"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wonder"}},{"insert":" are the cards that most often turn “cute value pile” into “oh, this might actually kill us.”\n\nFlex Slots"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A few slots are here because they are useful, a few because they are funny, and a few because they sit in the sweet spot where those two categories overlap. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Summon: Bahamut"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Summon: Yojimbo"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bloodthorn Flail"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Likeness Looter"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Chameleon, Master of Disguise"}},{"insert":" are the kinds of cards that can easily move around depending on how serious or how theatrical you want the deck to be.\n\nStrengths and Weaknesses"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Strengths"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThe deck is resilient in a strange way. Because so much of the engine works between hand, graveyard, and token copies, spot removal does not always line up cleanly against what you are doing. The commander is cheap, the core gimmick is genuinely hard to replicate anywhere else, and many of the setup pieces are perfectly reasonable cards even when the full loop is not online.\n\nThe deck is also very good at looking harmless for longer than it should.\n\nWeaknesses"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThis deck is mana-hungry, setup-heavy, and very susceptible to graveyard hate. It also asks for the wrong halves of the deck at the wrong times more often than a cleaner strategy would. Sometimes you draw recursion and no creatures. Sometimes you draw legends and no outlet. Sometimes you have everything except the spare mana to actually make the copy.\n\nAnd, to be blunt, this deck is still trying to make Grandeur work in Commander. There is a hard ceiling on how smooth that is ever going to feel.\n\nPower Level / Bracket"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nI would place this as a Bracket 2 deck in spirit and in construction.\n\nIt is interactive, midrange, combat-based, and much more interested in making the concept function than in squeezing every ounce of efficiency out of Esper colors. It can produce some very nasty boards, especially if Archon, Ifnir, or repeated Grandeur activations get rolling, but it is too mana-intensive and too honest to belong at truly high-power tables.\n\nIn other words: this deck is here to do something weird, not something optimal.\n\nUpgrades / Budget Options"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nIf I wanted to push the power up, the first place I would look would not be bigger top-end threats. It would be more redundancy in the engine: cheaper repeatable discard outlets, better recursion to hand, tighter tutors, and a smoother mana base. The more often the deck assembles discard outlet + Hashaton + recursion, the better everything else becomes.\n\nIf I wanted to bring the cost down, the good news is that the weird part of the deck is already the important part. The core shell does the heavy lifting. The easiest cuts are the premium lands and some of the splashier haymakers, because the deck’s identity survives those changes just fine.\n\nUpgrading to Bracket 3 while keeping the Grandeur package is possible. I do not see, however, a path to upgrade this to Bracket 4 while keeping the Grandeur gimmick.\n\nThis is, at heart, still a deck built around the sentence: “What if we made Grandeur work in Commander?”\nThe fact that the answer is now “sort of, and sometimes beautifully” is enough for me.\n"}]}