928 views13 months ago
Commander
Size: 100Est cost: $998.05Salt sum: 53.23
Crimson_Afterburner
928 views13 months ago
Commander
Size: 100Est cost: $998.05Salt sum: 53.23
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Commander
Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
Flying
Whenever one or more Pirates you control deal damage to your opponents, you create a Treasure token for each opponent dealt damage. (It's an artifact with ", Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.")
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)
Whenever one or more Pirates you control deal damage to your opponents, you create a Treasure token for each opponent dealt damage. (It's an artifact with ", Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.")
Partner (You can have two commanders if both have partner.)
Legendary Creature - Pirate Siren
Commander
(CTRL to add secondary)
Card draw
Combat Research
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card."
As long as enchanted creature is legendary, it gets +1/+1 and has ward . (Whenever enchanted creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays .)
Enchanted creature has "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card."
As long as enchanted creature is legendary, it gets +1/+1 and has ward . (Whenever enchanted creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays .)
Enchantment - Aura
Card draw
(CTRL to add secondary)
Fransisco Infinite
Agatha's Soul Cauldron
You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate abilities of creatures you control.
Creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them have all activated abilities of all creature cards exiled with Agatha's Soul Cauldron.
: Exile target card from a graveyard. When a creature card is exiled this way, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
Creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them have all activated abilities of all creature cards exiled with Agatha's Soul Cauldron.
: Exile target card from a graveyard. When a creature card is exiled this way, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
Legendary Artifact
Fransisco Infinite
(CTRL to add secondary)
High cost pirates
Kitesail Larcenist
Flying, ward
When this creature enters, for each player, choose up to one other target artifact or creature that player controls. For as long as this creature remains on the battlefield, the chosen permanents become Treasure artifacts with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color" and lose all other abilities.
When this creature enters, for each player, choose up to one other target artifact or creature that player controls. For as long as this creature remains on the battlefield, the chosen permanents become Treasure artifacts with ", Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color" and lose all other abilities.
Creature - Human Pirate
Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
Flash
Flying
Whenever Malcolm deals combat damage to a player, put a chorus counter on it. Draw a card, then discard a card. If there are four or more chorus counters on Malcolm, you may cast the discarded card without paying its mana cost.
Flying
Whenever Malcolm deals combat damage to a player, put a chorus counter on it. Draw a card, then discard a card. If there are four or more chorus counters on Malcolm, you may cast the discarded card without paying its mana cost.
Legendary Creature - Pirate Siren
High cost pirates
(CTRL to add secondary)
Interaction
March of Swirling Mist
As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may exile any number of blue cards from your hand. This spell costs less to cast for each card exiled this way.
Up to X target creatures phase out. (While they're phased out, they're treated as though they don't exist. Each one phases in before its controller untaps during their next untap step.)
Up to X target creatures phase out. (While they're phased out, they're treated as though they don't exist. Each one phases in before its controller untaps during their next untap step.)
Instant
Interaction
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Land
Land
(CTRL to add secondary)
Low cost pirates
Deadeye Tracker
, : Exile two target cards from an opponent's graveyard. This creature explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
Creature - Human Pirate
Low cost pirates
(CTRL to add secondary)
Ramp
Ramp
(CTRL to add secondary)
Timesieve
Worldwalker Helm
If you would create one or more artifact tokens, instead create those tokens plus an additional Map token. (It's an artifact with ", , Sacrifice this token: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
, : Create a token that's a copy of target artifact token you control.
, : Create a token that's a copy of target artifact token you control.
Artifact
Timesieve
(CTRL to add secondary)
Tutor
Tutor
(CTRL to add secondary)
Maybeboard
Dimir Machinations
Look at the top three cards of target player's library. Exile any number of those cards, then put the rest back in any order.
Transmute (, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same mana value as this card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. Transmute only as a sorcery.)
Transmute (, Discard this card: Search your library for a card with the same mana value as this card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. Transmute only as a sorcery.)
Sorcery
Narset, Parter of Veils
Each opponent can't draw more than one card each turn.
−2: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a noncreature, nonland card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
−2: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a noncreature, nonland card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Legendary Planeswalker - Narset
Maybeboard
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Deck Info
Deck stats
CategoriesQtyOdds
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Deck extras (0)
Description
{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"INTRODUCTION + DECK BACKSTORY"},{"insert":"\n\nBack in the day, I used to be a naive player who hated getting interacted with, would sit around in games hoping my big grindy value engine would rev into action before my opponent's, and vehemently fought against my friend who claimed playing cEDH would be an amazing enjoyable experience. In short; I was a hater. A hater with a strong bias against cEDH and a negative image of it being a sweaty format where wins are jammed out on turn 1-2 and there isn't a \"true game\" being played. That every game was dominated in Tymna's, Thrasios', Najeela's ect. and a pile of the same boring homogenous combos and playstyles. In long; I was an idiot "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"and "},{"insert":"a hater. As I improved my mindset and came to appreciate a variety of playstyles and patterns, including those seen as more 'taboo' I grew to consider cEDH and found all of my preconceptions being changed. \n\nMy eye was drawn to fringe cEDH commanders- those who were less appreciated or maybe a little less powerful than those in the spotlight. My first idea was that of the Edric, Spymaster of Trest 'Flying Men' deck, which utilises cheap and evasive creatures to sift through cards with the combination of Edric's draw potential, and winning through chaining together multiple extra turn spells and beating opponents to death or drawing out your deck and slamming a Lab-man/Thassa's oracle- whichever comes first. \n\nMy choice to settle on Francisco Malcolm stemmed from a few factors. The most obvious was Salubrious Snail's Corsairs of Chronology deck. The idea of an combo deck had already flittered in my mind, and the concept of having a strong value generating core and a consistent turn 1-3 gameplan was incredibly appealing to me. Looking at the commander pairing, I found they had use in cEDH as well, although in online conversations had been overshadowed a bit by Malcolm in Izzet or Grixis colour pairings which offered generally more combo potential through lines such as Glint-Horn Buccaneer who is a neat 2 card infinite with Malcolm in the command zone. Compared to my main wincon in Malcisco, being a Walking Ballista combo that requires three cards to set up, it appears unarguable that the combination is strictly worse than Malcolm being paired with a non-feathery friend. That fact precisely however was why I fell in love with the pair. It may have less ways to eek out a win, it may be outright weaker than other Malcolm pairings, but it has an earnest underdog energy that I adore. I'll go more into specifics on the pairing, but put simply, this was my first reasoning.\n\nThe second, a bit less noble of course, was just managing to get my hands on a lot of the more expensive core cards for cheap, or already having them on hand. I recommend proxying if you're looking to make a cEDH deck, but in the current iteration, I physically own every card on this list. I used to love pulling J22 packs and had a Walking Ballista in my binder for months beforehand, I pulled a Japanese Demonic Tutor from my LGS during a phase where they had a lot of Japanese Strixhaven packs for sale, and pulled an Agatha's Soul-Cauldron from a prize pack after participating in a precon league. In all honesty, even this didn't push me quite over the edge, but pulling a jackpot foil Force of Will in a $1 lucky dip sure did lmao. The price tag may look scary, I know, but to be honest, it's inflated quite a lot by the DT and Force of Will, which I don't think you'll necessarily need in order to make this deck yourself (please refer to the 'Building on a Budget?' section of this guide). Even the humble Academy Ruins I have slotted in was fortunately given to me for free at some point, so honestly, I feel very fortunate to have been given so many cards and must give a special thanks to my local LGS'. Now onto the more formal details!\n\nThis is a Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator/Francisco, Fowl Marauder deck that was created to compete with other cEDH decks and be upgraded over time to become a full-on cEDH decklist. Currently, it is used against a Najeela, The Blade Blossom and Codie, Vociferous Codex deck, with a Godo, Bandit Warlord deck being considered as a fourth deck for the pod. Occasionally, a high power Niv-Mizzet deck is also used as a fourth deck. This list aims to be updated semi-frequently and include an in-depth primer that explains card choices and how to pilot the deck. Feel free to ask any questions about the deck. \n\n*Important power level note: In terms of power level, you "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"might"},{"insert":" be able to play this deck in its current iteration at bracket 4 tables, but as it is intended for cEDH I'd err on the side of keeping it to those more cEDH tables. \n\nWith all that preamble out of the way, onto the actual deck discussion.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"SHOULD I PLAY MALCISCO?"},{"insert":"\n\nWell in my opinion, yes. Okay, but in all honesty, here's some dotpoints that will give you a little taste test of what you can expect from the deck. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"You will enjoy this deck if:"},{"insert":"\nYou enjoy having a consistent gameplan that's signposted with a clear turn 1-3 structure "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You enjoy having a large interaction suite and a high amount of tutors to help sculpt a combo for that perfect win"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You like decks that can generate value in their command zone without assistance from cards in the 99 to set up a core"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You are a fan of feeling like a mastermind, waiting for the perfect moment to time your win attempt with interaction to spare. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You like control-oriented decks"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You're a bird enjoyer :>"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"You may not like this deck if:"},{"insert":"\nYou have a more aggressive playstyle. While we do swing a lot of pirates, we only do so for value, and combat damage is a wincon if something has gone very, "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"very"},{"insert":" wrong. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You aren't as good with threat assessment. This current iteration of the deck only has two real viable wincons right now (Time Sieve Snail style or Walking Ballista combo). If you want to win, you'll need to be good at analysing direct threats to your gameplan and what you can allow to slide, and use your interaction accordingly. While this is a given for most cEDH decks in general, I'd say it's very much more emphasised here due to this deck's still limited wincons and weaker state. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You want a more varied play pattern with many directions to take your game plan. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You want a deck with a lot of room to customise deck slots with useful cards. Malcisco likes to have their one drop pirates to ensure a smooth turn 1-3, so therefore you're basically guaranteed to have 10 slots already predetermined for you in this deck. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You don't enjoy having a 'vulnerable period' early in the game. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"What Can I learn from this deck?"},{"insert":"\nI consider this an additional section for those who are still interested, but not entirely convinced on why they should give Malcisco a shot. Simply put, I believe Malcisco is a very beginner friendly deck that one can pick up and play very consistently. \n\nFor those who aren't the most confident deck builders, the deck fills itself with 12 cards (being its 10 one drop pirates and the commander) from the get-go. The combos are very easy to access, being tutorable from the many artifact tutors available in blue, and the deck's ramp can be ignored quite a lot due to its turn one to three game structure of a one drop pirate to Francisco to Malcolm. Honestly, after I had gotten the framework of cheap pirates, the wincons of the deck and their support pieces (Academy man and Worldwalker Helm for Time Sieve, Walking Ballista, Triskelion and Agatha's for the Francisco combo- both of which will be explained soon, don't worry!) and some of the more obvious tutors, I could customise the deck quite comfortably from there with my personal favored interaction suite. \n\nBecause this current iteration of the deck is reliant on using one of two combos to win the game, this means a lot of the deck places emphasis on using interaction to protect your win attempts and leaning into a control playstyle. This may sound scary to a lot of you. Control? You mean slinging so many blue counterspells I'll be Path to Exile'd from my friend group? A little, but in cEDH, this is just another Friday Night Magic. Since everyone is pulling out all the stops to achieve victory, so will you end up doing the same, and learning about threats along the way. Cards that may seem immediately threatening may just be window dressing, and bait for an upcoming win attempt, and by using an interaction-heavy deck like this, your ability to discern between threats, including the important distinction between a "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"table-wide threat "},{"insert":"and a "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"personal threat"},{"insert":". \n\nAlong this threat assessment skill building, you'll also develop skills regarding strategic mulliganing for opening hands. In cEDH, mulliganing is used to try and get a good opening hand to start the game on. Different decks require or look for different things, and if you're coming from an environment where you didn't use mulligans or played loosely with starting hands, you may not be as good at jumping into the pilot's seat of a cEDH deck and identifying what is required of its starting hand. Malcisco in comparison is rather simple for one to get the hang of. 3 Lands (2 if you're feeling daring), a one drop pirate and preferably some interaction and a tutor, but the main core of lands and pirate is the main part. As you improve you can begin to understand what sorts of hands you may need to take in response to other decks based on their goals (You'll want interaction if you're going against more turbo decks for sure) but the easy bar to clear for a general hand can be a good learning point for newer players. \n\nFinally, you'll learn more about careful resource management and allocation as you play this deck more. While Malcolm offers ideally 3 treasures a turn in a four-player pod, the lack of ramp such as the moxes or other conventional fast mana, in this current iteration means you have to balance using your treasures as additional interaction mana and a resource to fuel your gameplan by paying for tutors like Reshape or Whir of Invention, or being used as part of the Time Sieve combo. Since my current cEDH group is only three members strong currently, even I've had to face this, being given one less treasure each turn cycle which changes my playstyle to a bit more of a slower, cautious one to compensate. On the side of card draw, this deck skimps very lightly on it, requiring you to use Francisco very thoughtfully. While he can basically guarantee you hit a land drop each turn with explore triggers, you have to also be considerate of what you allow to hit the bin and what you keep on top. Sometimes you may have to throw away a tutor for some more interaction, or vice versa, and have to be very discerning with your choices. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"FRANCISCO AS A MALCOLM PARTNER? WHAT DOES HE OFFER?"},{"insert":"\n\nCompared to Vial Smasher, who offers black tutors alongside red's Malcolm two-card combo in Glint-Horn Buccaneer and Kediss Malcolm who has multiple easy combo lines and also access to the easier Glint-Horn combo than Francisco, Malcisco seems very underwhelming and underpowered in comparison. On the side of using Francisco as the main companion, his best options also have the same issue of having just superior options available. Put very simply, Francisco can be viewed as a very 'bait' commander pick. The combo he offers is objectively slower than others Malcolm can access in red, and the idea of having a double pirate focus is cute, but ultimately leads to the aforementioned issue of having to allocate a large portion of the deck to having the pirates to facilitate the pair's abilities, and ultimately a lot of moving parts that need to work.\n\nBut I am a stupid bugger who simply fell for this delectable bait. While we do miss out on a lot of undeniable red value, we still have more than enough resources to make our strategy work. Since our main wincons are both artifact based, we get double value from our artifact tutors. Less considered cards like Tolaria West can be slotted in for a dual land/tutor purpose, and dimir offers a strong interactive core that means even if we are weaker in terms of wincons, we still have strong foundations to stand on. While Malcisco does have a higher reliance on pirates than other partner pairings, their value as a dual treasure/filter engine can't be scoffed at either. It's precisely the fact that Francisco can do al lot of digging starting from as early as turn two which makes this deck in my eyes still have some compelling legs to stand on. Even though there are 9 other one drop pirates that'll be floating around in your deck, you will usually never end up seeing another join your hand since you can filter them into the yard with Francisco as you do your explore triggers. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"DECK BASICS- THE EARLY GAME, OR ALTERNATIVELY: \"PLEASE STOP MENTIONING ONE DROP PIRATES\" -YOU, PROBABLY."},{"insert":"\n\nIf you've skipped to this point, consider yourself lucky that you've avoided seeing me ramble on and on about concepts such as 'consistent turn 1-3' and 'one drop pirates.' If you've read up to this point, firstly thank you, and secondly I hope you haven't turned that into a drinking game because your liver is probably crying out in agony about now. \n\nSo what does this all mean in terms of early pirates and telegraphed turns? Let's break it down. \n\nBoth Malcolm and Francisco are 2 and 3 drop creatures that have benefits when other pirates do combat damage to your opponents. To maximise their benefits, we want to be able to gain two treasures on turn three, where we will be playing Malcolm. Francisco starts play as a 0/1, so if we want to achieve this, we will have to play a pirate on turn one, then Francisco on turn two. \n\nWhile it isn't explained on the card, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Francisco, Fowl Marauder"}},{"insert":" allows us to "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"explore "},{"insert":"whenever we deal combat damage to an opponent. What does this do? It means we reveal the top card of of library. If it's a land, we instantly put it into our hand, no ifs, ands or buts. If it's a nonland however, we can either choose to leave it on top, or instantly dump it into our graveyard (basically surveilling that card). No matter what you decided for the nonland card, you also will get a +1/+1 counter on Francisco. \n\nSo in short, we gamble for two treasures on turn three. If we hit a nonland card, we can get that counter and swing in with two pirates on still developing boards for the maximum treasure. If we hit a land card, it's a bit more unfortunate, but you still get a free card, and at least one treasure from your turn one pirate regardless. \n\nThis deck runs all 10 of the creatures that fall under the category of a turn one pirate, and while some are more preferably seen than others, they all serve a similar purpose; be a consistent attacker on turns two and three while the board is still developing to get your commander triggers. Here's a quick tier list of the pirates for your viewing convenience:\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"S tier- "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spyglass Siren"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Siren Stormtamer"}},{"insert":"\nThese two are the cream of the crop in terms of our pirates, offering both evasiveness and great additional benefits for little effort. Spyglass Siren offers a free map token that can be used in a pinch for an additional explore or as one of the five artifacts needed as a sacrifice for a Time Sieve win attempt (great for if you still haven't gotten something like Academy Manufactor to secure a loop). Siren Stormtamer on the other hand can be used as an additional interaction point that can help protect you or your game pieces for {U}. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"A tier- "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Changeling Outcast"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spectral Sailor"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cloud Pirates"}},{"insert":" \nThese are evasive pirates that continue to comfortably swing into the late game with little-to-no fear of being blocked and killed. Outcast is a shout out for being straight up unblockable and Sailor can be used to draw a card for {3}{U} and has flash, so that's something going for him, I suppose. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"B tier- "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mothdust Changeling"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Universal Automaton"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Deadeye Tracker"}},{"insert":" \nAt this point, we've run out of unconditional evasive creatures and are looking more on what secondary value can be offered. Mothdust can be turned into a flier if we tap another creature, meaning if we manage to get our hands on another pirate later on and for whatever reason have nothing better to do, we can give Mothdust evasiveness. Universal Automaton is noteworthy for not having a colour restriction "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"and "},{"insert":"being an artifact creature, meaning we can use him for both Time Sieve fodder and can do a turn one sol ring/Automaton play. Deadeye tracker can be pretty nifty in some cases, able to exile two cards from a graveyard for {1}{B}. We do have to tap him for this, but the ability can and has come in handy. \n \n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"C tier- "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Greedy Freebooter"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Grasping Scoundrel"}},{"insert":" \nThe bottom of our proverbial pirate barrel, Freebooter I will admit has "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"some "},{"insert":"purpose. You can Diabolic intent him and nab a treasure, and you're guaranteed one even if an opponent blocks on a later turn. Grasping Scoundrel however will get no praise from me. +1 attack for two damage is useless for turn one utility. He's still a pirate however, and as such, we will put him in the deck, even if he's on thin ice. \n\nDid this actually mean anything? Not really. It's more what else can I say about turn one pirate, turn two Francisco, turn three Malcolm? Hopefully the tier list at least gave you some entertainment. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"More TBA, check in for updates!"},{"insert":"\n\n\n\n\n"}]}