{"ops":[{"insert":"Decklist from "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://youtu.be/_itzBzddReM?si=Nho2xT5UV_wSqK1-","bold":true},"insert":"Commander at Home"},{"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://youtu.be/_itzBzddReM?si=Nho2xT5UV_wSqK1-","bold":true},"insert":"EDHijinks"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\nMore details in "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://youtu.be/Ke8pWPyXZx4?si=F4LowPzM5u5th2Oq","bold":true},"insert":"this video"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Why This Commander?"},{"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Winter, Cynical Opportunist"}},{"insert":" is astonishingly underrated. He was largely written off as \"worse "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Meren of Clan Nel Toth"}},{"insert":"\" because he revives things with finality counters, so if they die, they're exiled for good, and you can't repeatedly get them back. \nTurns out, that doesn't matter! Winter does something no other Golgari commander can do: this is Reanimation, but for artifacts and enchantments, too! When you're reviving "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zendikar Resurgent"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Akroma's Memorial"}},{"insert":" as early as turn 4, you're feeling pretty good. And even if those things "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"do "},{"insert":"get removed later, the benefits they bring you in the short term will have helped carry you so far forward already that you'll still be way ahead of your enemies while they're still trying to establish their engines. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"How's it Play?"},{"insert":"\nWinter is best understood as a \"tempo/midrange\" commander. He gets out to an early lead, and many of the cards you revive will dismantle enemy boards, from "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vile Mutilator"}},{"insert":" to "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Noxious Gearhulk"}},{"insert":". At first, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cityscape Leveler"}},{"insert":" might look like a nonbo, since it has a 'cast' trigger that we'll never use, but its attack trigger is what we care about, and that pace of gameplay perfectly exemplifies the usual cadence of a Winter deck and how it seeks to play every turn. These types of cards will keep your opponents on the back foot and give you the chance to get in some strong early damage. If you can keep them from ever fully assembling their plan, you'll secure the game. \n\nThe best opening hands will contain some form of steady self-mill effect (such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ripples of Undeath"}},{"insert":") to maintain a consistent velocity of graveyard options over the course of the game, or one of the many "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Malevolent Rumble"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cache Grab"}},{"insert":" style cards in the list, which provide a burst of cards for Winter to choose from. These help you find your lands, get Winter in play ASAP, and immediately revive important targets. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wondrous Crucible"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The World Spell"}},{"insert":" are personal early favorites, since they'll amass more and more value. \n\nWinter can fill up the graveyard himself, so getting him out early is awesome, though ideally, I prefer to deploy him on a turn where I know for sure I'll be able to use the Delirium effect to revive a big target on the end step. Instants, sorceries, and lands in the graveyard are super easy to consume. Some examples of ideal Delirium triggers:\nExiling "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Midnight Tilling"}},{"insert":", a Forest, and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Myr Battlesphere"}},{"insert":" to get back the Battlesphere."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Exiling "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Millikin"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mulch"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Asceticism"}},{"insert":" to get back the Asceticism."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Exiling "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vault of Whispers"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Demolisher Spawn"}},{"insert":" to get back the Demolisher. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nMost of the important targets in the deck are 7+ mana, but some of the 3-5 mana spells will help grease the wheels and ease the deck's transitions into the later stages of the game. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bear Umbra"}},{"insert":" has proven immensely helpful to protect the commander and help with mana. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Matzalantli, the Great Door // The Core"}},{"insert":" helps discard our threats into the yard where they'll be easier to deploy. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Amzu, Swarm's Hunger"}},{"insert":" often creates 7/7s and 8/8s that will assist in the beatdown. Extra reanimation assistance from "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rise of the Witch-king"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Squirming Emergence"}},{"insert":" has also come in handy on many occasions. \n\nBy the time we're hoping to close the game out, cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Demolisher Spawn"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Summon: Bahamut"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Polluted Cistern // Dim Oubliette"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Syr Konrad, the Grim"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Akroma's Memorial"}},{"insert":" help lay the groundwork for our victory. Don't underestimate the power of commander damage, either; "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Treefolk Umbra"}},{"insert":" makes Winter hit for 7 each time! I'm also a tentative fan of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rampant Frogantua"}},{"insert":" to help us when we've taken down 1 or 2 enemies and need a super funny way to KO the 3rd. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"What to Watch Out For..."},{"insert":"\nWinter draws early attention, which can be a problem, but more importantly, it has a limited amount of runway; while other decks get exponentially better as the game goes long, Winter will hit diminishing returns. This is both because of a shrinking pool of cards to revive, but also just because of the nature of reanimation; cheating around mana costs is more meaningful in the earlier stages of gameplay. Destabilize your opponents by keeping them on the back foot, and get in every bit of damage you can. Prioritize KO'ing control and lifegain strats in particular. You need to prevent enemies from picking up steam, because you'll only have so much of it. yourself. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" Decking yourself is a real danger. I've played at least 5 games where I got down to an entirely empty library or like, 2 cards left. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Out of the Tombs"}},{"insert":" or a card like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Underrealm Lich"}},{"insert":" could save your life. I'm tinkering around with more of these effects and recommend you do so too. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The finality counters don't matter. I know it feels like they should, or like we ought to play some cards that will get rid of the finality counters, but in truth, they just don't matter that much. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Nesting Grounds"}},{"insert":" is great because it only takes up a land slot, but it's not a regular worry. If someone does kill our 7-drop, we don't need to devote cards and time to getting that same thing back, we can just get a different 7-drop instead and continue to clobber. Protection like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Kaya's Ghostform"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Heroic Intervention"}},{"insert":" helps us hold our position a lot more often. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Balancing the card types is "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"very "},{"insert":"difficult in this type of deck. I find the most difficulty keeping the Sorcery count high, personally. Some of the best cards you'll want to revive are only 1 type, which isn't a problem in isolation, but is a problem in gameplay when you only have 3 total types in your yard. Continue to experiment with the balance of types to find the right ratios."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true},"insert":"MVP Cards & Coolest Tricks"},{"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Polluted Cistern // Dim Oubliette"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Colossal Grave-Reaver"}},{"insert":" are the best cards in the deck by a mile. Cistern melts life totals so fast, since this deck mills chunks of cards sometimes 3 or 4 times a turn, and Grave-Reaver takes just as much advantage of that, too. It's especially funny when Grave-Reaver reanimates a creature like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Necron Deathmark"}},{"insert":" which "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"also "},{"insert":"mills some more, chaining into more and more creatures. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Syr Konrad, the Grim"}},{"insert":" is known to be bonkers, but he's got an unexpectedly cool trick in this deck. Winter says you exile "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"any number "},{"insert":"of cards from your graveyard, as long as you have at least 4 cards types among them. Winter can exile your "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"entire "},{"insert":"graveyard for Konrad to witness a bunch of creatures leaving your yard and dealing a final flurry of damage. It's a hilarious surprise to get in the final points of damage at the end of the game. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"You Look Upon the Tarrasque"}},{"insert":" is nuts with a deathtouch commander. Winter becomes a 7-power deathtoucher that all creatures must block. That's a 1-sided board wipe, and it lets the rest of your creatures through for potentially lethal while you're at it. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nI apparently can't get enough of Golgari card-type-matters strategies; my beloved "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Baba Lysaga, Night Witch"}},{"insert":" cares about the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"cheap "},{"insert":"multi-type cards, and now Winter helps me care about them "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"expensive "},{"insert":"ones. The deck's a blast, hope you enjoy! \n\n"}]}