{"ops":[{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"Emmara, Soul of the Accord"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"Introduction"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Emmara, Soul of the Accord holds a special place in my heart. "},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"My friend convinced me to give Magic a try after I'd grown tired of Yu-Gi-Oh (Pendulum summons did me in. If you know, you know). After a very brief dalliance with some kitchen table magic, my friend took me to the Guilds of Ravnica pre-release, and my first 'real' exposure to Magic. "},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Emmara was all over the promotional material, and I loved the aesthetics of her art design. As a huge fan of Lord of the Rings, her resemblance to the Vanyar style of elf drew me to the card. I didn't know what Emmara did, or if the card was even any good. I didn't care. "},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"I sat down. I chose a Selesnya prerelease kit. And, as they say, the rest was history."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"The Commander"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Emmara, Soul of the Accord wants to be tapped and untapped as often as possible. That's it. But how do we do that, and how do we take advantage of the tokens?"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Some previous iterations and ideas of the deck can be seen in the maybeboard. My Emmara deck had previously worked around vehicles, lifegain, enchantress and populate."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Vehicles and populate were the weakest decks. In 2018, vehicles didn't have the best support and neither did populate. They had some great ideas, but were slow and ineffective."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Enchantress was fun. It focused on turning Emmara into a voltron commander, and using the tokens simply as chump blockers. The deck was very strong, but it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted the deck to be about the tokens."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Lifegain was (and probably still is) the strongest version of the deck. The lifelink on the tokens is really helpful. Also, you are in perfect colours for a souls sisters package with loads of token payoffs. However, the deck wasn't about Emmara. It was about creating an engine to trigger two or three token generators every turn, like a Resplendent Angel or something similar."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"Hypothesis of the Deck"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"When creating this deck, the main questions I asked myself were:"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"How many times can we tap and untap Emmara on each player's turn?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"How do we tap and untap on each player's turn?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"How do we win with tokens?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"The Method"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"The idea is to play Emmara turn two and to start generating tokens as soon as possible. Our opponents will obviously notice if we charge out of the gate and flood the board with tokens. So, the deck is supposed to be subtle. The deck is supposed to (somewhat) slowly accrue tokens and anthems until our opponents are forced to use their board wipe. But, by then we should be able to protect our board state or simply rebuild quicker than anyone else. "},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"There are three stages to the deck. Before Emmara. Enabling Emmara. The Engine."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"If we can’t play Emmara on turn two then we hopefully have a way in our starting hand to fix our lands or draw for turn three or four. "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":{"card-link":"Nature's Lore"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":{"card-link":"Three Visits"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Sylvan Library"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" ,"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Once Upon a Time"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" , or even "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Path to Exile"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" in a pinch can ensure we can play Emmara as soon as possible. If none of these options are available, then hopefully we had a "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Rhys the Redeemed"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" or a "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Stonybrook Schoolmaster"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" in our opening hand to act as an Emmara replacement."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Next we want to begin our strategy. Building the engine slowly. Whether that’s with an"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Idol of Oblivion"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" or "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Welcoming Vampire"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" to keep the cards flowing. "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Springleaf Drum"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" or "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Relic of Legends"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" to get a little bit more mana and continue to make tokens with Emmara. Then maybe something that untaps Emmara like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Nature's Chosen"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":". Upping our token production to two or possibly three tokens a turn, and upping our mana production that little bit more. At this stage an early board wipe from our opponents would be annoying, but it should be pretty easy to rebuild our advantage. It would be a good idea at this point in the game to attack with your 1/1 lifelink tokens. It not only helps to mitigate any incidental burn that could have lowered your life total. But, it also keeps the amount of tokens on board fairly low as the tokens will probably be blocked by our opponents 1/2 or 2/2 creatures. We still need to stay under the radar at this point in the game. So, having nine tokens on board, in various stages of tapped and untapped, will draw attention to the value we are beginning to build."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Then we want to show our opponents our engine. When we have access to a lot of mana through a "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Cryptolith Rite"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" or "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Jaheira, Friend of the Forest"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":". Now we can play those cards that push us over the edge or create an engine. Token doublers like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Anointed Procession"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", or big anthems like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Divine Visitation"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", or untap cards like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Seedborn Muse"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", or other splashy cards like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Elspeth, Sun's Champion"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" can be played now. Just ensure to keep three mana in reserve to protect against for the inevitable board wipe. If an opponent has a board wipe in hand, they’ll definitely want to play it now, and we need to protect this position with "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Heroic Intervention"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" and its equivalents."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"The win with the deck comes in many ways. It could be your 1/1 tokens are now 4/4 angels, or the are 4/4 tokens with all your anthems online, or you flooded the board with a few hundred tokens. One of my favourite engines is looping "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Recruit the Worthy"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":" every turn. It’s tricky to set up. But, once it’s online, your opponents see the writing on the wall."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"But, what if it all goes wrong? The deck has three board wipes, like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Austere Command"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", and three graveyard wipes, like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Relic of Progenitus"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":". We aren’t using our graveyard, so that doesn’t affect us. But, don’t be scared to wrath your own board. One change that always itches the back of my mind is adding at least one more board wipe, if not two. We can rebuild so quickly, if we keep most of our engine intact, that board wipes do not impact us as much as our opponents. We also have back up ‘commanders’ and engines that don’t need Emmara, like "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Rhys the Redeemed"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Stonybrook Schoolmaster"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Rabble Rousing"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":{"card-link":"Queen Allenal of Ruadach"}},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":". Just in case Emmara becomes prohibitively expensive to recast from the Command Zone. "},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"Conclusion"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Emmara, Soul of the Accord is my first and favourite commander deck, and my favourite kind of deck. The kind of deck that assembles strange value engines, that don't hurt anyone, and grinds value. All of the components are on the board, so everyone can see what is happening, and each player has an opportunity to stop me. It keeps the power level of the deck in check and makes it fair on everyone. I have added some cards like the Thalia's and Blind Obedience in the past. But, they create a political situation that the deck cannot stand up against, so I took them out. "},{"insert":"\n"}]}