Raising the Nine Hells With Avacyn, Angel of Horror

Bow Low to Marchesa of the Black Rose and Her Trimmed Thefts

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.annasteinbauer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anna Steinbauer</a></em></p>
<p>To my surprise, <em>Magic: The Gathering</em> is going back the the universe of <em>Lord of the Rings </em>with the upcoming set <a href="https://edhrec.com/sets/hob" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Hobbit</em></a>, and we've already got quite a few exciting cards to look at.</p>
<p>The first one that caught my eye was the commander that's the least built so far, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. He's an unblockable guy who loots, which is already an archetype I'm fond of, and he can also swap our opponents' permanents with our own. That's a pretty unique combination, and I have a bunch of decks he'd be useful in.</p>
<p>Maybe he can even lead his own deck as well! Let's find out.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bilbo, Luckwearer"></div></div>
<h2>The Jankiest Way to Use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>Burglar's Plot is already a pretty great Adventure. We can use it to swap any two permanents that share a card type, so it's an easy way to steal something good. But it does have a downside, the fact that it can only swap cards that share a card type. So what if we tried to work around that downside by giving cards different card types?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Liquimetal Torque"></div></div>
<p>We could use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Liquimetal Torque" href="#" target="_blank">Liquimetal Torque</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to swap a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Forest" href="#" target="_blank">Forest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blightsteel Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Blightsteel Colossus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or we could animate artifacts with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rise and Shine" href="#" target="_blank">Rise and Shine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and swap a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrap" href="#" target="_blank">Scrap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vilis, Broker of Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Vilis, Broker of Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Is this totally unnecessary and a waste of deck space? Yes, a hundred percent. It doesn't even make Burglar's Plot that much better. But if for some reason we really had beef with that restriction, we could make a deck designed to nullify it.</p>
<h2>The Most Evil Way to Use <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the most evil way to use Bilbo is probably gonna be what the majority of players do with him. Using Burglar's Plot, we can donate the worst permanents ever straight to an opponent's field. We're gonna be trading the best cards our opponents have for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thought Eater" href="#" target="_blank">Thought Eater</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Phyrexian Soulgorger" href="#" target="_blank">Phyrexian Soulgorger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Taniwha" href="#" target="_blank">Taniwha</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>It's gonna be a total nightmare, and I fully expect opponents to groan whenever they see a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck pull up. That being said, it's a lot less evil than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jon Irenicus, Shattered One" href="#" target="_blank">Jon Irenicus, Shattered One</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, so I can't imagine this Bilbo sees too much play as a commander.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Phyrexian Soulgorger"></div></div>
<p>We could also get political with Bilbo, but that's what the intended purpose of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zedruu the Greathearted" href="#" target="_blank">Zedruu the Greathearted</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> was, and I can assure you not too many people went that direction with it. In fact, I'm sure even Wizards knew what Zedruu was gonna be used for. After all, people had been using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Donate" href="#" target="_blank">Donate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to give away <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Illusions of Grandeur" href="#" target="_blank">Illusions of Grandeur</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> since 1999.</p>
<p>The point is, if you see a Bilbo, Luckwearer deck, even if the owner claims it's a political deck, be very wary.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zedruu the Greathearted"></div></div>
<h2>The Best Combo With <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>The best combo kind of depends on what we consider to be a "combo," because there are quite a few ways to quickly kill a player using any <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Donate" href="#" target="_blank">Donate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effect. For example, gifting a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Demonic Pact" href="#" target="_blank">Demonic Pact</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> would do the trick. But that's pretty slow. Our opponents have all the time in the world to find a piece of removal, or even a way to sacrifice it.</p>
<p>If we want to end a player's life instantly, try <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Nefarious Lich" href="#" target="_blank">Nefarious Lich</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Despotic Scepter" href="#" target="_blank">Despotic Scepter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Despotic Scepter" href="#" target="_blank">Despotic Scepter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is useless almost anywhere else, but here it can be used to destroy the Lich, killing the player who controls it.</p>
<div id="904-2770-4126" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
<script id="904-2770-4126" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/embed.js?v=1&uses=%5B%22Despotic%20Scepter%22%2C%22Nefarious%20Lich%22%2C%22Donate%22%5D&requires=%5B%5D&produces=%5B%22Target%20opponent%20loses%20the%20game%22%5D&id=904-2770-4126&color=UB&extraRequirementCount=0"></script></div>
<p>While that combo is great, I know some people consider a combo to be a group of cards that go infinite. Luckily, I've got a great one of those as well.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Vilis, Broker of Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Vilis, Broker of Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is usually a pretty strong card, one that we wouldn't want to donate. His only real downside is that his draw clause isn't a may ability, in typical Demon fashion.</p>
<p>I think y'all can see where this is going. If we pair it with a card that deals damage whenever an opponent draws, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Dreams" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Dreams</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, then Vilis will kill whoever controls it as soon as they lose life or draw a card. Huge bonus points if we manage to swap an opponent's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Underworld Dreams" href="#" target="_blank">Underworld Dreams</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for our Vilis!</p>
<div id="2720-2770-4691" style="width: 100%; position: relative; overflow: visible; display: flex; justify-content: center;"><img decoding="async" id="csbLoad" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/images/gear.svg" alt="csb logo" width="300" /><br />
<script id="2720-2770-4691" src="https://commanderspellbook.com/embed.js?v=1&uses=%5B%22Vilis%2C%20Broker%20of%20Blood%22%2C%22Donate%22%2C%22Underworld%20Dreams%22%5D&requires=%5B%5D&produces=%5B%22Infinite%20card%20draw%20for%20target%20opponent%22%2C%22Infinite%20draw%20triggers%20for%20target%20opponent%22%2C%22Near-infinite%20damage%20to%20one%20opponent%22%5D&id=2720-2770-4691&color=UB&extraRequirementCount=0"></script></div>
<h2>The Most Competitive Deck for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>For the first time in the article I'm gonna talk about the creature side of Bilbo, because if we're being honest, five mana to swap permanents isn't all that great. Especially because we have to cast and then bounce Bilbo to do it again!</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Control Magic" href="#" target="_blank">Control Magic</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has been around for ages, and it certainly has had its moments, but overall it's just not worth running in a focused deck, perhaps because of its unfocused nature. In order for Burglar's Plot and other theft cards to be good, our opponents have to already be doing something better. We'll always be on the back foot!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Control Magic"></div></div>
<p>So I think that Bilbo's best aspect is his creature side, an unblockable 1/1 who loots when he hits. There are a quite a few other similar creatures, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Looter il-Kor" href="#" target="_blank">Looter il-Kor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Suspicious Stowaway" href="#" target="_blank">Suspicious Stowaway</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Shoreline Looter" href="#" target="_blank">Shoreline Looter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, who all find a home in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Raffine, Scheming Seer" href="#" target="_blank">Raffine, Scheming Seer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Bilbo fits right in with them. He does the exact same thing, but he also has the option to be a powerful theft spell if needed.</p>
<p>That's a lot of extra utility for a card that was already perfect, and I think Bilbo is amazing in any deck that runs his comrades, like the aforementioned Sphinx.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Raffine, Scheming Seer"></div></div>
<h2>The Worst Deck for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h2>
<p>This segment is always a challenge - at least when I don't pick a card that has a clear downside. Bilbo doesn't actually do anything to hurt us, unless we chose to steal a bad card. But what if our opponents got to choose? What if we let them cast the spell?</p>
<p>I've been a fan of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Knowledge Pool" href="#" target="_blank">Knowledge Pool</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> for a long time, and I've built several decks that have revolved around getting that card into play and letting chaos ensue. My inspiration came from a particularly <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/rolebuilding-divergent-experiments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">evil variant of the deck</a> by fellow EDHREC author Grant Riehm. This <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Knowledge Pool" href="#" target="_blank">Knowledge Pool</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> deck is more control than chaos, and clones Knowledge Pools to create a lock where we get to choose who gets to play which spells.</p>
<p>It's a complicated interaction that I don't fully understand, but there's no better way to mess it up than by letting our opponents gain control of our <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Knowledge Pool" href="#" target="_blank">Knowledge Pool</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s, and returning useless things that we intentionally gave them. This is easily the worst place to run <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bilbo, Luckwearer" href="#" target="_blank">Bilbo, Luckwearer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Knowledge Pool"></div></div>
<p>Well, that's one of what I imagine will be many Bilbos from this new set. I'm quite fond of this individual. He's playful, thematic, and genuinely interesting. I really look forward to seeing how his swap ability will affect games when I draw him.</p>
<p>If there's any interesting interactions that you're itching to mention, please do so in the comments, and let me know if I missed anything obvious. I always look forward to hearing what y'all have to say, cause honestly, all of y'all are so smart and knowledgeable about <em>Magic</em>. See ya next time!</p>


Five Ways to Use Bilbo, Luckwearer in Commander

Trading Up With Kitsune, Dragon's Daughter in Commander

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zidane, Tantalus Thief|fin|405" href="#" target="_blank">Zidane, Tantalus Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/katanacanata/profile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Canata Katana</a></em></p>
<p><em>Final Fantasy</em> is already released, but I've still got a lot of awesome cards to look at, so we're checking out one more today. Today's deck is gonna be built around <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zidane, Tantalus Thief" href="#" target="_blank">Zidane, Tantalus Thief</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, a commander that incentivizes us to steal creatures, but just for a little bit.</p>
<p>I absolutely love theft decks, especially in Pauper, because they tend to match the power level of your opponents' decks. Of course, right? Because you're playing with their creatures. This means that I can play this deck against non-Pauper decks, because even though those decks are built with stronger cards than mine, I can just snatch them, and boom, my deck is just as powerful.</p>
<p>So this is gonna be a lot of fun.</p>
<h2>What Does Zidane, Tantalus Thief Do?</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zidane, Tantalus Thief"></div></div>
<p>While Zidane is shiny and new, what he's doing isn't particularly fresh. We've had cards that snatch creatures from opponents' boards for years. But Zidane really gives us something to build around, and offers a payoff in the form of Treasure tokens when we give our creatures back.</p>
<p>Though having a big scary creature for a turn is a pretty decent payoff on it's own.</p>
<p>In addition to this, Zidane nearly doubles the amount of theft cards we can run in our deck, just by having that effect on an ETB. How? Because of the color white, which lets us run blink spells. Essentially, we can turn <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cloudshift" href="#" target="_blank">Cloudshift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> into a one-mana copy of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Act of Treason" href="#" target="_blank">Act of Treason</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>And for whatever reason, Zidane also grants lifelink to our stolen creatures, making it even better.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Cloudshift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Act of Treason"></div></div>
<h2>Key Cards for Zidane</h2>
<h3>Blink Spells</h3>
<p>So of course, we're gonna run all the blink spells we can. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scrollshift" href="#" target="_blank">Scrollshift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, awesome. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Flicker of Fate" href="#" target="_blank">Flicker of Fate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, even better. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ephemerate" href="#" target="_blank">Ephemerate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, hell yeah!</p>
<p>There are more than enough great options in Pauper, from <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Justiciar&#039;s Portal" href="#" target="_blank">Justiciar&#039;s Portal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Acrobatic Maneuver" href="#" target="_blank">Acrobatic Maneuver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Slip On the Ring" href="#" target="_blank">Slip On the Ring</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. We should be able to blink Zidane constantly, and reap the rewards of his theft ability.</p>
<p>And the Treasure we get afterwards just fuels further robbery. Unfortunately, some of these spells, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Otherworldly Journey" href="#" target="_blank">Otherworldly Journey</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, only return Zidane at the end of the turn, skipping combat. But this doesn't make them totally useless, and you'll see why in a bit.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Scrollshift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ephemerate"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Slip On the Ring"></div></div>
<h3>Theft Spells</h3>
<p>First though, let's complete our arsenal of theft spells. Obviously, our supply of blink spells isn't infinite, so we have to dip into actual theft spells, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hijack" href="#" target="_blank">Hijack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. But that's no big worry, because some of these spells are quite decent.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goatnap" href="#" target="_blank">Goatnap</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for instance, gives +3/+0 if what we're stealing is a Goat. Haha, ok, obviously not that one, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Traitorous Blood" href="#" target="_blank">Traitorous Blood</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can give trample to something huge. That'll be particularly funny when you hear your opponent muttering that they "could win this game if they only had trample."</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hijack"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goatnap"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Traitorous Blood"></div></div>
<p>Then there are just some generic ones, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wrangle" href="#" target="_blank">Wrangle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Price of Loyalty" href="#" target="_blank">Price of Loyalty</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloody Betrayal" href="#" target="_blank">Bloody Betrayal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, etc. Nothing special, but it's not the spells that need to be big and threatening; it's our opponents' cards. And we can usually count on that.</p>
<p>Yes, I did consider running some cards that give our opponents big creatures, but I doubt that'll be necessary</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wrangle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Price of Loyalty"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloody Betrayal"></div></div>
<h3>Evasion</h3>
<p>Anyways, now that we've got some big creatures on our side of the board, sometimes with lifelink, what are we gonna do with them? Well, we're gonna attack with them, obviously. So let's get some evasion in here.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Goblin War Drums" href="#" target="_blank">Goblin War Drums</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a personal favorite of mine. Trust me, the difference between one chump blocker and two is huge. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Orcish Oriflamme" href="#" target="_blank">Orcish Oriflamme</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also a decent anthem that'll give us a boost if all we're doing is trading hits with an opponent.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Goblin War Drums"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Orcish Oriflamme"></div></div>
<h3>Sacrifices</h3>
<p>But attacking isn't all we can do. I mean, you can't reduce a creature's worth to just their power and toughness. That'd be so dehumanizing. Don't forget their value as sacrifice fodder!</p>
<p>Yes, if we sacrifice the creature, we don't get Zidane's Treasure token, but it's absolutely worth it to steal a creature for three mana, swing for a ton of damage, and then rob our opponents of a huge creature while gaining some bonus for ourselves.</p>
<p>There's plenty of ways to do this. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ashnod&#039;s Altar" href="#" target="_blank">Ashnod&#039;s Altar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, of course, although two mana isn't really that helpful post-combat. We'd rather use something that's useful any time, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Angelic Purge" href="#" target="_blank">Angelic Purge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tavern Scoundrel" href="#" target="_blank">Tavern Scoundrel</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark-Dweller Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Dark-Dweller Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are pretty handy as well, sitting around until we need them.</p>
<p>And of course, we can't forget <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fling" href="#" target="_blank">Fling</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, the iconic game ender.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Angelic Purge"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark-Dweller Oracle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fling"></div></div>
<p>I ultimately decided to go fairly light on the sacrifice outlets, because constantly stealing your opponents creatures and then sacrificing them over and over again is a pretty nasty game plan. And hey, it means Zidane triggers more. But if you really wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult at all to make an extremely powerful, if toxic deck.</p>
<p>The rest of the deck is just some support for the main game plan. A bunch of ramp, and a ton of removal for the things we can't steal. Our whole plan is essentially just to snatch the biggest things on the board and win with that, so there doesn't need to be a whole lot else here. As long as we make sure that we've always got the mana and cards to carry out that game plan, we should be golden.</p>
<p>And just for extra safety, we'll throw in a few protection spells, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gods Willing" href="#" target="_blank">Gods Willing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Apostle&#039;s Blessing" href="#" target="_blank">Apostle&#039;s Blessing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to protect Zidane, because he is a five-mana commander and we really don't want to be recasting him too often.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gods Willing"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Apostle&#039;s Blessing"></div></div>
<p>Yeah, the blink spells could double as protection, but we'd rather use them on our turn, and not in response to a removal attempt.</p>
<h2>Zidane, Tantalus Thief Pauper Commander Deck List</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Pauper Commander - Zidane, Tantalus Thief" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Zidane, Tantalus Thief
[/Commander]
[Instants]
*1 Abrade
*1 Acrobatic Maneuver
*1 Apostle&#039;s Blessing
*1 Big Score
*1 Cloudshift
*1 Crib Swap
*1 Demand Answers
*1 Ephemerate
*1 Flicker of Fate
*1 Fling
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Gods Willing
*1 Justiciar&#039;s Portal
*1 Otherworldly Journey
*1 Scrollshift
*1 Slip On the Ring
*1 Thraben Charm
*1 Thrill of Possibility
*1 Unexpected Windfall
*1 Your Temple Is Under Attack
[/Instants]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Ashnod&#039;s Altar
*1 Boros Signet
*1 Commander&#039;s Sphere
*1 Decanter of Endless Water
*1 Fellwar Stone
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Whispersilk Cloak
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Bitter Reunion
*1 Fanatical Devotion
*1 Goblin War Drums
*1 Journey to Nowhere
*1 Makeshift Munitions
*1 Oblivion Ring
*1 Orcish Oriflamme
*1 Shiny Impetus
*1 The Shattered States Era // Nameless Conqueror
[/Enchantments]
[Sorceries]
*1 Act of Treason
*1 Angelic Purge
*1 Bloody Betrayal
*1 Coronation of Chaos
*1 Faithless Looting
*1 Glimpse the Impossible
*1 Goatnap
*1 Hijack
*1 Involuntary Employment
*1 Mark of Mutiny
*1 Pack&#039;s Betrayal
*1 Price of Loyalty
*1 Settle Beyond Reality
*1 Shackles of Treachery
*1 Traitorous Blood
*1 Witch&#039;s Mark
*1 Wrangle
[/Sorceries]
[Creatures]
*1 Blood Aspirant
*1 Dark-Dweller Oracle
*1 Icewind Stalwart
*1 Pegasus Guardian // Rescue the Foal
*1 Tavern Scoundrel
*1 Vanguard Seraph
[/Creatures]
[Lands]
*1 Boros Garrison
*1 Command Tower
*1 Forgotten Cave
*17 Mountain
*17 Plains
*1 Secluded Steppe
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<p>Welp, that's the whole deck. To be honest, I'm surprised it never occurred to me to make a theft deck before. I don't really have a Pauper pod, so I often have to hurl my commons at a bunch of rares and mythics. But this way, I can just steal those shiny cards for myself. Awesome!</p>
<p>Just due to the nature of the strategy, this deck is pretty strong, and I'm quite happy with how it came out.</p>


theft commander

Raising the Nine Hells With Avacyn, Angel of Horror

Bow Low to Marchesa of the Black Rose and Her Trimmed Thefts

Five Ways to Use Bilbo, Luckwearer in Commander

Trading Up With Kitsune, Dragon's Daughter in Commander

Pauper Commander - Zidane, Tantalus Thief