{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER — An Aggressive Equipment Deck With Multiple Paths to Victory"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Deck Premise — What the Deck Does"},{"insert":"\nCloud, Ex-SOLDIER is a Naya Equipment-based combat deck designed to maintain offensive pressure while generating card advantage, Treasure tokens, and opportunities for explosive finishing turns.\nThe primary strategy revolves around equipping Cloud and supporting creatures to create powerful attackers. Cloud serves as the central engine, providing card draw whenever he attacks based on the number of equipped attacking creatures. Once Cloud reaches seven power, his attacks also generate two Treasure tokens, allowing the deck to accelerate into additional threats and interactions.\nUnlike traditional Voltron strategies, this deck does not depend entirely on commander damage. Equipment can be distributed among supporting creatures, allowing multiple attackers to threaten opponents while benefiting from Cloud’s card advantage.\nThe deck emphasizes combat evasion, selective removal, protection, and resource generation. Rather than attempting to control the entire game, it creates opportunities to attack safely while forcing opponents to respond to increasingly dangerous creatures.\nSunforger provides an additional layer of flexibility, allowing the deck to access specific instants for protection, removal, combat control, and situational interactions.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The overall objective is to establish powerful attackers, maintain offensive momentum, and use Equipment, combat manipulation, and explosive resource generation to defeat opponents through multiple overlapping strategies."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Deck Primer — How the Deck Wins"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"1. Primary Win Condition: Cloud and Commander Damage"},{"insert":"\nCloud is the primary offensive threat and the deck’s most reliable source of card advantage.\nThe early game focuses on establishing mana acceleration, deploying Equipment, and preparing the battlefield for Cloud’s arrival.\nEquipment such as Buster Sword, Colossus Hammer, Power Fist, Sword of Fire and Ice, and The Reaver Cleaver help turn Cloud into a dangerous attacker.\nCloud’s haste and ability to attach an existing Equipment when entering the battlefield allow him to immediately threaten opponents.\nReaching seven power is an important milestone because each attack begins generating two Treasure tokens in addition to drawing cards.\nThese resources allow the deck to develop additional threats, pay for Equipment costs, and maintain interaction.\nTrailblazer’s Boots, Rogue’s Passage, and other evasion options help Cloud bypass blockers and connect with opponents.\nThe objective is to establish a repeatable source of commander damage while generating enough resources to maintain offensive pressure.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"2. Combat Control: Naya Charm and Cloud’s Limit Break"},{"insert":"\nOne of the deck’s most important tactical interactions involves Naya Charm and Cloud’s Limit Break.\nNaya Charm is primarily included for its ability to tap all creatures target player controls.\nThis creates an opportunity to attack an opponent without worrying about their creatures blocking.\nRather than relying entirely on Equipment to provide evasion, Naya Charm can open an entire opponent’s battlefield for a decisive attack.\nIts flexibility also makes it valuable outside of combat.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Naya Charm + Cloud’s Limit Break"},{"insert":"\nAn alternative interaction involves using Naya Charm to tap an opponent’s creatures and following it with Cloud’s Limit Break.\nThis allows Cloud’s Limit Break to exploit the tapped creatures, potentially clearing the opponent’s battlefield at instant speed.\nThe interaction is particularly useful when an opponent has established a threatening creature presence or when removing their creatures creates an opportunity to finish the game on the following turn.\nBoth spells can be found using Sunforger, allowing the deck to access these interactions without necessarily drawing them naturally.\nThis combination provides two different offensive approaches:\nTap an opponent’s creatures and attack directly."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Tap an opponent’s creatures and use Cloud’s Limit Break to remove their board."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The second approach requires both spells to be available and enough mana to execute the interaction.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"3. Secondary Win Condition: Equipped Creatures and Multiple Combat Phases"},{"insert":"\nCloud isn’t the only creature capable of winning games.\nThe deck includes several supporting creatures that benefit from Equipment and combat-focused abilities.\nLightning, Army of One, Tifa Lockhart, Tifa, Martial Artist, and Cloud, Midgar Mercenary provide additional offensive options.\nTifa, Martial Artist is particularly important because additional combat opportunities can dramatically increase the amount of damage the deck produces.\nWhen multiple creatures are equipped, additional combats also create opportunities for more combat-related triggers.\nReyav, Master Smith provides double strike to equipped creatures, significantly increasing their damage potential.\nAkroma’s Will can provide a devastating finishing turn by granting combat abilities that make blocking difficult or impossible.\nThis approach forces opponents to deal with multiple offensive threats rather than concentrating entirely on Cloud.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"4. Alternative Win Condition: Aerith and Chandra’s Ignition"},{"insert":"\nAerith, Last Ancient provides another way for the deck to convert creature power into a significant offensive advantage.\nChandra’s Ignition allows a creature to deal damage equal to its power to every other creature and each opponent.\nWhen Aerith has lifelink, this interaction can generate substantial life gain while damaging opposing creatures and players.\nEquipment such as Colossus Hammer, Buster Sword, and other power-enhancing artifacts can increase the damage dealt.\nThis provides a way to pressure all opponents simultaneously without needing to connect through combat.\nIt also gives the deck a potential answer to creature-heavy strategies.\nUnlike the primary commander-damage plan, this interaction does not require Cloud to be on the battlefield.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"5. Sunforger: The Deck’s Tactical Toolbox"},{"insert":"\nSunforger serves as one of the deck’s most versatile pieces of Equipment.\nIts primary purpose is to provide access to specific instants that help protect creatures, control combat, and answer opposing threats.\nImportant targets include:\nNaya Charm — Taps an opponent’s creatures to create attacking opportunities or enables the Cloud’s Limit Break interaction."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Cloud’s Limit Break — Provides instant-speed removal, particularly effective against tapped creatures."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Flawless Maneuver — Protects important creatures against destruction."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Clever Concealment — Provides protection against removal and board wipes."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Dispatch — Removes problematic creatures when metalcraft is active."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The Last Agni Kai — Converts excess fight damage into red mana."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Reiterate — Copies spells and can be reused through buyback when cast normally."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sunforger is not intended to become the deck’s only strategy.\nInstead, it supports the aggressive Equipment plan by making specific answers accessible when needed.\nThe flexibility of Sunforger allows the deck to adapt to changing board states without dedicating its entire strategy to controlling opponents.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"6. Explosive Mana Generation: Brass’s Bounty and Reiterate"},{"insert":"\nBrass’s Bounty provides a substantial burst of Treasure production based on the number of lands controlled.\nThese Treasures can support expensive Equipment plays, additional threats, and powerful finishing turns.\nReiterate adds another dimension by allowing the deck to copy important spells.\nWhen sufficient mana is available, Reiterate’s buyback ability makes it possible to reuse the spell repeatedly.\nOne particularly powerful interaction involves copying Brass’s Bounty while the original spell remains on the stack.\nThis can create additional Treasure tokens before the original Brass’s Bounty resolves, allowing the deck to generate significantly more resources than the original spell would produce alone.\nThe Last Agni Kai can also generate red mana through excess fight damage, creating additional opportunities to fund expensive plays.\nThese interactions are designed to produce explosive, resource-intensive turns rather than serving as the deck’s primary win condition.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"7. Protection, Evasion, and Maintaining Pressure"},{"insert":"\nThe deck uses several forms of protection to preserve important creatures and maintain offensive pressure.\nSwiftfoot Boots provides reusable hexproof and haste, making it an important defensive Equipment.\nClever Concealment, Flawless Maneuver, Restoration Magic, and Ultimate Magic: Holy provide additional ways to protect the battlefield.\nTrailblazer’s Boots is particularly important because it provides a repeatable source of evasion against opponents controlling nonbasic lands.\nShadowspear provides trample and lifelink while also offering a way to remove hexproof and indestructible from opposing permanents when necessary.\nThe combination of protection and evasion helps ensure that large creatures can continue attacking instead of being repeatedly stopped by blockers or removal.\nThe deck’s objective is not to prevent every opposing interaction, but to maintain enough offensive momentum that opponents must continually respond to its threats.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Overall Game Plan"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Early Game — Establish Resources"},{"insert":"\nDevelop the mana base through land ramp, mana-producing creatures, and artifacts.\nDeploy important Equipment and use tutors such as Stoneforge Mystic, Steelshaper’s Gift, and Open the Armory to find the pieces needed for the current game.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mid Game — Establish Cloud and Pressure Opponents"},{"insert":"\nDeploy Cloud with Equipment already available when possible.\nIncrease his power to seven or greater to begin generating Treasure tokens while drawing cards through attacks.\nUse supporting creatures and additional Equipment to diversify offensive threats.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Late Game — Convert Resources Into Victory"},{"insert":"\nUse evasion, Naya Charm, Akroma’s Will, and additional combat opportunities to create decisive attacks.\nIf combat becomes difficult, transition into alternative interactions involving Aerith and Chandra’s Ignition, Cloud’s Limit Break, or explosive mana generation through Brass’s Bounty and Reiterate.\nSunforger provides access to the interaction necessary to protect important threats or remove obstacles standing between the deck and victory.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Final Thoughts"},{"insert":"\nCloud, Ex-SOLDIER is an aggressive Equipment deck built around flexibility rather than dependence on a single win condition.\nIts primary goal is to defeat opponents through combat, but its Equipment, protection, removal, and resource-generation packages provide several ways to adapt when that strategy is challenged.\nCloud generates the resources necessary to keep attacking, supporting creatures provide alternative offensive threats, and Sunforger offers tactical answers when opponents attempt to stop the deck.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The deck is designed to make every combat meaningful, every Equipment relevant, and every resource capable of contributing toward a winning turn."},{"insert":"\n\n"}]}