Deckbuilding Contest - January 2025 (Locked)

{"ops":[{"insert":"In the best \"spirit\" of the prompt, I took this opportunity to finish a commander I flagged when it was released as being super interesting and never ended up building, King of the Oathbreakers. Deck list: "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/4967433/dead_men_of_dunharrow"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/4967433/dead_men_of_dunharrow"},{"insert":"\n\nKing of the Oathbreakers can make a really powerful hoard of spirits to overrun opponents, but in order to do it, you need to maximize his downside of phasing out whenever targeted, and phasing out any of your spirit army if they are targeted (by spells). This means if you attack in, or are going to block, it might be pretty easy for your opponent to phase your folx out. Luckily for us, the spirit army grows when the spirits phase back in! This is a spirit-typal deck that aims to make a ton of tokens. We're utilizing a ton of cards that can cause our spirits to phase out when we want them to, and also could be used to deal with an attacking opponent if need be. The best win condition is Moonshaker Cavalry, for when your army is so large it can't be dealt with. Our board is going to become unmanageable as our Grey Host swells!\n\nAs I like to build on-theme, I tried to keep as many LOTR cards that were useful in the deck as well.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10750934/250_rubinia_tapper_pro"},"insert":"$250 Rubinia, Tapper Pro Aristocrats"},{"insert":" is my entry for January's Archidekt Deck Building Contest which is helmed by the oft-overlooked and inexpensive "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rubinia Soulsinger"}},{"insert":" (who has not received a reprint since "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/cma/191/rubinia-soulsinger"},"insert":"2017"},{"insert":").\n\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rubinia Soulsinger"}},{"insert":" is an undervalued theft commander because of the requirement for her to tap and remained tapped in order to keep control of the commander which makes her inefficient as a "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"traditional"},{"insert":" blue-style-theft commander.\n\nTraditionally Rubinia comes with a pesky choice that results in one of two downsides. You can either:\nA) Choose to not untap Rubinia in order to maintain control over a singular creature (meaning you can't keep stealing other creatures) OR\nB) Choose to untap Rubinia to steal something new (thus losing control over the previously stolen creature).\nThis is a difficult choice that keeps Rubinia away from the tops of the popularity charts and the reason why all of her modern printings are less than 50 cents.\n\nThis deck turns both downsides of Rubinia into potential upsides by adding clones and sacrifice outlets, which inverts both of Rubinia's potential weaknesses into strengths. You can:\nA: Clone the stolen creature before returning it (meaning you lose no value by returning it to its owner) AND\nB: Sacrifice the stolen creature for value (thus profiting on the exchange and providing your opponents with no returning value).\n\nIn simpler terms, we are boosting her productivity playing her more like a Rakdos (BR) theft-to-sacrifice aristocrats deck while thinking of her as something similar to a repeatable "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hijack"}},{"insert":" which we can feed into our sac outlets to get value from her victims. Meanwhile anything we want to permanently \"steal\", we can clone and then choose to sacrifice by using the aforementioned strategy (or simply don't untap her until something better comes around). The important thing is that our sac outlets allow us to choose to never let our opponents get their creatures back.\n\nStill, aristocrats is not nearly as well pioneered in Bant as it is in other color wedges, so I leveraged Scryfall heavily to find a handful of interesting cards that work with Rubinia aristocrats. Some cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Phyrexian Altar"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Altar of Dementia"}},{"insert":" are sac-outlet mainstays in any color wedge, but cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Martyr's Cause"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Food Chain"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Evolutionary Leap"}},{"insert":" put in some work great here too by providing some excellent upsides for removing our stolen creatures.\n\nIn terms of death triggers (and other LTBs) I had to get a bit more creative, as most of the best frequently used LTBs are on black cards (think "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zulaport Cutthroat"}},{"insert":"). Still, I think I came up with a solid rotation of options. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fecundity"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spinner of Souls"}},{"insert":" give us card advantage while "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Gutter Grime"}},{"insert":" and the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"criminally"},{"insert":" overlooked "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Genku, Future Shaper"}},{"insert":" give us extra bodies when we sacrifice. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Proper Burial"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Martyr's Bond"}},{"insert":" (one of my pet cards) put in some good work by protecting us a bit (in the case of Martyr's Bond through removal). Possibly the best card in this deck is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Brenard, Ginger Sculptor"}},{"insert":" because he absolutely covers any potential negative to Rubinia's combos. Brenard allows you to create a copy of any of the nontoken creatures you steal and sacrifice while simultaneously exiling the original. This is unbelievably good because it allows you to retain a body and any value that is usually lost when you sacrifice. Furthermore, he allows you to use any ETBs your opponents have as well when the token copy enters. If that isn't enough, due to the fact that he exiles the original, your opponent probably loses out on the ability to recur it later!\n\nWith the correct setup Rubinia's ability can even be leveraged as a one-sided board wipe by stealing and subsequently sacrificing every creature you wish, so long as you can untap Rubinia each time.\nThis is accomplished with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ioreth of the Healing House"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Marvin, Murderous Mimic"}},{"insert":" in tandem with Rubinia's own ability, sacrificing to any sacrifice outlet such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ashnod's Altar"}},{"insert":" as you go. This combo is especially good in the context of this deck because each individual piece synergizes with Rubinia even if the full combo is not on the board, but that being said "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Defense of the Heart"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fabricate"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Eladamri's Call"}},{"insert":" give us a few budget friendly ways to try to find this combo. You can also pull this off by using "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Phyrexian Altar"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Freed from the Real"}},{"insert":" (or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Pemmin's Aura"}},{"insert":") by capturing a creature, sacrificing it to the altar for one blue mana and then untapping Rubinia using the activated ability of Freed from the Real.\n\nAdditionally, this deck utilizes a myriad of means to untap Rubinia even more frequently thus providing more good opportunities to repeat her gimmick. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Drumbellower"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Seedborn Muse"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Quest for Renewal"}},{"insert":" let Rubinia untap on everyone's turn, making her an even bigger threat in fuller pods. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lulu, Loyal Hollyphant"}},{"insert":" is like a match made in heaven for Rubinia aristocrats because it untaps Rubinia on our end step provided a permanent we controlled has left the battlefield, which is basically an automatic once Rubinia gets going. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Patriar's Seal"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Kiora's Follower"}},{"insert":" give us a couple more value options to untap Rubinia in a one-off fashion as well.\n\nIt's high time to circle back to the other stars of the show — the clones. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spark Double"}},{"insert":" gets its usual role of star of the show, given that it can alternatively be used as a second Rubinia by neatly avoiding the legends rule. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Malleable Impostor"}},{"insert":" can only target our opponent's creatures directly, but that's okay because whatever we clone gets to be a faerie meaning it can be protected by "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Scion of Oona"}},{"insert":" like Rubinia. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mirror Image"}},{"insert":" helps us by being a slightly cheaper option that can only clone stuff we already control. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mirrorhall Mimic // Ghastly Mimicry"}},{"insert":" is a typical clone but gives us a second chance at building an army by casting it from the graveyard. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Copycrook"}},{"insert":" can ideally filter our hand, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Stunt Double"}},{"insert":" has flash, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Undercover Operative"}},{"insert":" protects itself, and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Clever Impersonator"}},{"insert":" can clone any permanent we need it to. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Faerie Artisans"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Oko, the Ringleader"}},{"insert":" give us a couple of ways to produce copies that can supplement the clones. Faerie Artisans gives us a copy of any nontoken creature that has entered the battlefield under our opponents control, but we have to exile it when it makes a new copy, which really isn't a downside given that we can just sac the old copy to one of our outlets for value. Oko can become a copy of anything we control for a turn which means we can steal something gnarly, exploit it in combat as Oko, and then continue whatever other tricks we have planned. Oko also has a couple other ways to provide value such as filtering, token gen, and duping your creatures (not to mention putting Oko in a faerie trickery deck was a flavor win).\n\nA few other tricks that feel worth highlighting are "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hokori, Dust Drinker"}},{"insert":", the haste subtheme, and the single survivor sacrifice board wipes. Hokori can buy some time if Rubinia's setup falls behind by creating an environment with fewer creatures entering, hopefully giving Rubinia a chance to catch-up. There are a few options to give Rubinia (and others) haste which allows her gimmicks to work more quickly and more likely that you can extort your captives for combat before saccing them. The sac-oriented board wipes ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Promise of Loyalty"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Single Combat"}},{"insert":") create a favorable environment for Rubinia where she and your opponents most valuable creatures survive. Ideally she can then steal one or more of them (saccing if needed), putting you ahead in the rebuild.\n\nThe preferred way for this deck to win is to hijack your opponent's decks while building value with your sac engines and swing out with a good-stuff clone army. A great way to get the army through is with the versatile "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Glaring Spotlight"}},{"insert":", which can put in some work by giving all of your creatures hexproof and unblockable for a gnarly swing out (but also ensures that none of your opponents creatures can utilize hexproof as protection).\n\nThere are a few more cards that are in here, but mostly they are ramp, removal, or simply similar to stuff I already highlighted.\n\nI budgeted this deck around $250 (TCGPlayer) in order keep the price "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"somewhat"},{"insert":" accessible while still giving me ample wiggle-room to showcase its gimmicks in a meaningful way (and incidentally to mirror the maximum possible prize). That being said, I believe this deck could be easily altered to work at either a lower or higher budget and I have put potential cards into labelled \"maybeboards\" to guide that process.\n\nThank you for viewing my submission for this month's contest. I hope you enjoyed it.\n- Volcanic Winter \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Presenting: "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/4831613/rasputin"},"insert":"Rasputin Soul Sisters. "},{"insert":"\n\nThis deck looks to maximize individual life gain triggers from cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Soul's Attendant"}},{"insert":" using Rasputin's ability to give each player in the game a creature. One "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rasputin, the Oneiromancer"}},{"insert":" will trigger your soul sisters four times... normally. Add something like a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Panharmonicon"}},{"insert":" to the mix and all of a sudden you've created 14 life gain triggers with only one soul sister in play. With an "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Archangel of Thune"}},{"insert":" in play your whole board just got 14 +1/+1 counters, and even some of the weaker payoffs like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Voice of the Blessed"}},{"insert":" are going to be quite the threat with stats that large.\n\nWe can also take advantage of the fact that we've flooded our opponents' boards with a bunch of pesky goblins. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Honorable Scout"}},{"insert":" is a fun card that works splendidly in this deck, netting you two life for every goblin you've given your opponent's for only one mana. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Call the Coppercoats"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Riot Control"}},{"insert":" work similarly, taking advantage of your foes unnaturally large board state. My favorite way to spin the downside on Rasputin is a well played "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Suture Priest"}},{"insert":", which allows for some hilarious combos with the plethora of flicker effects and trigger doublers available in the deck (shoutout dagger burn).\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/7621557/heliod_buyback\n\nMy submission is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Heliod, the Radiant Dawn // Heliod, the Warped Eclipse"}},{"insert":". I know Heliod is a fairly popular commander, with most people building it around giant colorless creatures or X spells. I went in a different direction: buyback. The idea is to reduce the spell costs as much as possible, either with Heliod or other cost reducers. casting as many spells as possible each turn and building up your board with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Talrand, Sky Summoner"}},{"insert":" type effects. With a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Displacer Kitten"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hullbreaker Horror"}},{"insert":", or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tidespout Tyrant"}},{"insert":" and mana rock that provides mana of any color in play, you can even go infinite. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/10729617/discard_burn"},"insert":"No Hands"},{"insert":"\n\nIn my years of playing magic it has evolved drastically, but one thing has remained constant in commander. Players always want to draw cards and have a full hand.\n\nSo with this month's deck building contest I thought "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Amber Gristle O'Maul"}},{"insert":" would be the perfect commander. What could possibly be worse than having virtually no hand at all, and dumping it each turn?\n\nBut with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Passionate Archaeologist"}},{"insert":" as the background we can lean into discarding our hand each turn and use it to win!\n\nWhile Amber does not let you exile the cards you discard, by filling the deck with madness cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Reckless Wurm"}},{"insert":" that want to be discarded it becomes easy to take advantage of the drawback and use it as damage to point against you enemies (or friends)!\n\nThen to make sure we can take home the win there are some cards to up the damage from the commander background combo like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Solphim, Mayhem Dominus"}},{"insert":".\n\nMix in some myriad creatures and evasion to ensure the commander triggers and you'll be dangerous while having no hand at least once a turn!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Here is my submission: A New Liesa on Life\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10788269/a_new_liesa_on_life"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10788269/a_new_liesa_on_life"},{"insert":"\n\nCasting Liesa, Shroud of Dusk hurts you (after the first time). When Liesa's on the field, casting other spells also hurts you. The goal of the deck is simple: rather than try to avoid or counteract the life loss, just make your opponent lose life "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"more. "},{"insert":"The deck does this by constantly bouncing and exiling your opponent's permanents, forcing them to cast those permanents again, draining their life in the process. The deck also constantly makes your opponent sacrifice their permanents, forcing them to cast still more spells to replace them. Meanwhile, you're beating them with angels and it will cost your opponent life and precious time to kill them. If they kill Liesa, she always comes back, the price is always worth it. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Tivadar of Thorn is known for one thing only. "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/6404773/gawblins"},"insert":"Killing GAAWBLINNNS!! "},{"insert":" This deck is designed to counter all their evil GOBLIN TACTICS! From life gain to taxing attacks and wiping out huge swaths of grubby little GOBLIN TOKENS, even delving into the dungeons where they make their sinister GOBLIN NESTS! Will it work on non-GOBLIN decks? Maybe! Probably! Definitely yes! But not as well. It's designed to kill GOBLINS and that's what it does best!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10802184/jan_2025_contest\n\n\nFor this challenge, I chose Xantcha, Sleeper Agent as my commander because her inherent drawbacks—entering under an opponent's control, being forced to attack, and letting opponents pay to draw cards—are impossible to ignore. Instead of mitigating these limitations, this deck fully embraces them, turning her quirks into an engine for victory. This deck doesn’t shy away from Xantcha’s restrictions, nor does it provide easy answers to them. Instead, it builds a strategy that thrives on the chaos and interactions she creates.\n\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10797550\n\nI've been wanting to make an aristocrats deck that stands out from the typical play pattern of nickel and diming opponents to death and this challenge is the perfect excuse for me to break out a Yukora build. \n\nSure, sacrificing your whole board could be seen as a downside, but really this means we only have to sac 1 creature to get our whole board into the graveyard and triggering our on death effects.\n\nThis frees up slots that usually are auto-includes like Yahenni and the altars for more Village Rite effects. It also allows us to work in 2 redundancies for our commander with some under appreciated Black cards: God-Eternal Bontu and Pitiless carnage. \n\nIn addition, we can use other effects that take advantage of clearing our whole board at once . Thrilling Encore and Rise of the Dread Marn really shine in this type of Aristocrats build and we even get to focus on Season of Loss's 2 + 3 paw ability to great effect. \n\nThe deck isn't without downsides though. It's less resilient than standard builds, and you need to focus on amassing your bomb big enough and with 1-2 big recursion spells or a big token generator to end the whole table at once. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10715180/graaz_unstoppable_juggernaut_janurary_2025_deckbuilding_contest\n\nGraaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut is the commander, their drawback is that all your creatures turn into 5/3s and have to attack each combat. Another drawback is the deck has to be completely colorless. The deck focuses on having as many Modular and small creatures to make them getting turned into 5/3s as efficient as possible. Go wide and turn everything sideways!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/7597787/the_beat_down\n\nThe Second Doctor gives quite the advantage to my opponents! Luckily Leela helps me punish them for taking the card draw, while I focus on getting effects to abuse \"second draw per turn\" engines. \n\nThere's also this version which more directly punish's peoples handsizes and overdrawing!\nhttps://www.archidekt.com/decks/10655715/suffocating_knowledge\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10718795/chisei"},"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10718795/chisei"},{"insert":"\n\nThe approach for making this list is to remove counters from cards that don’t want their counters. There are twenty-one cards that care about their counters being removed. Imagine no longer\ntaking damage from the One Ring’s burden counters, or get a\nKarnstruct every turn with Urza’s Saga!\n\nThe commander and a few other cards remove counters. Chisei triggers on the upkeep, so there are a few cards that give extra\nupkeeps, and many cards that give extra turns (hence more upkeeps).\n\nClones and copy effects allow the deck to turbo counters off the cards, especially when combined with extra upkeeps. Marit Lage will come out faster than you can say “Remove ten ice counters.”\n\nThe average mana value is a bit high due to copious amount of\n extra turn cards, so the deck list also has a myriad of ramp cards. It’s almost like playing a green deck!\n\n How does the deck win? Putting big and/or evasive creatures into play with a very interactive deck that also takes extra turns. The value accrued by the commander, and the other cards that contribute to removing counters help fuel the win cons.\n\nSo that’s it! I hope this description gleans insight to the deck list and that you enjoyed reading about this spectacular deck! Ciao.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/decks/10752651/flubs_lands "},"insert":"https://archidekt.com/decks/10752651/flubs_lands "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Another month, another Formless Genisis List"},{"insert":"\nThis time with Flubs :) \nDiscard is the name of the game. This list tries to get hell-bent as fast as possible and play what comes it's way. With multiple land drops per turn and getting additional card advantage through casting cheap spells from exile, we want to find our payoffs for quasi-milling us. \nThe payoffs here are: looping Formless Genisis or Centraur Vinecrasher or to recycle all our lands with World Shaper or Aftermath Analyst, which can get pretty nutty with Dark Depths and Vesuva or Thespian's Stage. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://archidekt.com/decks/10795233/deckbuilding_challenge_january_2025\n\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Starke of Rath"},{"insert":" is a 2/2 legendary human rogue for 3. It's ability consists of tapping himself to destroy a creature or an artifact to then be given to it's victim. As it, it's a politiquing tool paired with removal in the command zone. \n\nWhat can be used to synergise with it ?\nVery low to the ground deck with very impactful spells that prevent having your opponent blow starke to himself."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Stealing effects that can be either used to gain starke back or just steal other peoples creature."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sacrifice effects in case starke could go into the wrong hands, used in cunjunction with the steal effects to gain even more value."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Very impactful creatures and spells that will run with the game if unanswered or will just end the game on the spot. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Indestuctible effects to prevent your opponents from killing starke to himself or protect your own mana rocks. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"strike":true},"insert":"Also chaos because of red"},{"insert":"\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"https://www.archidekt.com/decks/10797659/the_c_in_rakdos_stands_for_caring\n\nMalfegor comes with a steep cost for playing him: your entire hand. And while he does reward his price, losing your grip can often lose you the game.\n\nBut, that need not be the case. With this deck, being handless is just the beginning. By utilizing Malfegor's sacrifice, we can clear out our foes' boards and swing in with efficient-yet-robust beaters that provide extra utility beyond combat damage. Coupled with several effects that attack our opponents' own hands, this can lead to a grindy beatdown game that only we came prepared for.\n\nAdditionally, there are many effects that require us to discard our entire hand for other payoffs, usually drawing a new grip. If our hand is already empty, these extra \"costs\" are suddenly free! We can then utilize our rotating grips of cards to keep the pressure on our opponents or fuel the numerous discard payoffs in the deck. \n\nThe deck itself is surprisingly budget, mostly at a cost to the mana base. The good news is that quantity>quality in this case, with the sheer card velocity and Treasure production allowing us to fix our colors in most games. Our basics also provide the added bonus of being able to run Ruination to devastating, one-sided effect.\n"}]}