Simic Clues and Artifact Sacrifices with Kellan in Commander

Posted on February 6, 2024

Ready for my article in the new Murders set? I got cha! Today I am building around newly released Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy for today's fun times to commence! He's new since he plays into the artifact sacrifice genre but in Green. I really love his funness! (All made up words are mine!) Let's look!

Here's the four-drop 3/4 adventure with flying and vigilance! Your adventure spell costs two and makes a Clue and then you can drop another land like a bad Explore. Then when Kellan attacks, you can destroy a foe's artifact to get it off the board or yours to draw cards. I am going to build this thang around destroying your artifact tokens in the Simic color like Food, Clue and Treasure to destroy for cards or your foe's stuff.

Mana, Ramp, and Lands

Since Kellan costs four, I wanted to lean into that with two-drop ramps like the cantrips above to drop lands and draw, or the two-mana ramp land grabs. Then I am running two-drop mana rocks that you can sacrifice to Kellan after your mana is set like the above or Arcane Signet. This one will also sacrifice for a mana to draw a card and it's awesome here.

Now let's turn to pricier things in my ramp section. Urban Evolution draws you three and drops a land too. It's massive card flow here. Five Hundred Year Diary costs four, has a Blue color identity, and then ETBs tapped and then taps for Blue equal to your Clue count and since it's a Clue that counts itself and that'll always be one. You can sac it for a card too.

Now let's turn to ley lands! Scene of the Crime ETBs tapped, taps for colorless, counts as an artifact, can be sacrificed for a card, and then taps with an untapped dork to make a mana of any color. Academy Ruins taps for colorless, and can be tapped with two to reload a dead artifact to the top of your library. Nasty recursion of your sacrifice stuff! Then I am also running Buried Ruin to sacrifice and recur an artifact to your hand instead of your library.

Now let's turn from artifact recursion to artifact matters here with the legendary rare that will gain you a life in your upkeep if you control three artifacts don't forget that, and then you can tap and sac it to Tutor for an artifact, but only with the same restrictions. The uncommon taps for colorless, and then taps with a mana to sacrifice an artifact to gain that life. This is here to sacrifice for recursion or in response to exile removal to recur or to get value from a chump blocker or targeted removal.

Now let's finish with this artifact making pair! The Sphere taps for colorless but any color on the turn it arrives and then taps with three to make a 1/1 artifact dork with toxic 1 as a win con but cannot block. The non-Sphere arrives untapped, taps for colorless, with a mana to make any color or with four to make a Powerstone token for sacrifice or mana. Then I have other things like The Shire or Treasure Vault.

Artifact Token Makers and ETB/Leave Play Stuff

Now let's turn from things like Solemn Simulacrum already here to ramp and draw a card when destroyed to more. The two-drop artifact above has an ETB and dies trigger to make a 1/1 artifact Servo, so that's three artifacts to sacrifice for cards. I am also running Schematic here too to do the same. I also have here the two Wellsprings that ETB draw or ramp, and then the three-drop uncommon dork above has a 2/3 size and when it ETBs you gain life and dies draw a card. I also am running Filigree Familiar in this space.

Let's stick with ETB/Dies triggers with the next pair! Spine of Ish Sah destroys any permanent and thus is removal, and then when it dies it heads back to your hand. Prized Statue ETBs and dies to make you a Treasure and thus is ramp or and a card to sacrifice/destroy right now.

The artifact costs six, then your lands can tap to make a Tresure token, so you can tap them EOT if they weren't used to bank that mana as any color and then make a bunch of tokens en masse. Wow! The sorcery costs one, makes an 0/3 Crab to block and then a Clue to crack too. I love that turn 1 before your Adventure spell turn 2 to make another Clue with a blocker to shore up defenses.

Synergies and Winning Conditions

Since we'll be destroying artifacts when we swing, I wanted to give our foes artifacts to destroy anything. Enter Liquimetal Coating and Mycosynth Lattice! Coating costs two, taps to give a permanent the artifact type. I am also running mana rock Liquimetal Torque to do the same. The six-drop rare makes all things artifacts from yours to your foes! And then they are colorless and your mana can be used for anything.

Now let's turn to win-cons. Nettlecyst costs three, equips for two, has living weapon, and then will grow a dork by your artifact/enchantment count. That's very strong with the Lattice above or the Stash. Summoning Station costs seven to tap and make a 2/2 non-artifact dork. Then when anyone loses an artifact, untap, and make another! With Treasures, Clues, Food, and the destruction of Kellan that could easily be 4 or 5 tokens a turn to quickly overwhelm your foe's forces. I also tossed in sorcery win-con Rise and Shine to make your entire artifact team into 4/4s to grab a win out of nowhere.

Let's check out synergies next!!! Both 1/3 cheap bodies to block are awesome here, the three-drop artifact turns your Clue, Food, or Treasure into one of each! Nasty good! The two-drop Blue uncommon has flying, and then if you would make a Clue, make two, but just once per turn.

Now let's keep this section up and running! Tireless Tracker has a solid body and it landfalls into a Clue, and when you sac them it gets a +1/+1 counter to grow permanently. I am also running the Food/Treasure maker Tireless one too! Kappa Cannoneer costs six, for a 4/4 ward 4 body with improvise to drop early! Then when an artifact ETBs, it cannot be blocked and gains a +1/+1 counter so that's a powerful win con too!

Let's finish this section with two legendary dorks! The mono-Blue costs three, has a 1/2 body, when she ETBs you mill four! Then you tap her with no mana to cast an artifact from your graveyard, so she's recursion like Academy Ruins. You coud mill and then recur with her or things like Academy Ruins. The four-drop Simic colored one has size equal to your hand count and then when he ETBs or swings you make a Clue. Then once you can spend two mana and tap to kill an opposing dork by shooting it with damage twice his power. Love this pair loads!

Answers

Now let's turn to answers! The first I always add to Green going wide decks like this is this Classic Commander two-drop spell to give all of your stuff hexproof and indestructible at instant speed! It's not just your creatures, but everything! Then you can save stuff from chump blocking, targeted or mass removal too. Anything that targets or destroys. Then we need destruction, enter the uncommon three cost instant that destroys anything, even lands! I am also running cheap Green dork removal of Reclamation Sage and Acidic Slime too since they can take out artifacts, enchantments, lands and chump block or keep away with the Slime's deathtouch.

Now let's turn to counters that make artifacts, starting with Clue-maker Confirm Suspicions! Then Access Denied gives you X 1/1 flying Thopter artifacts that can swing and block and be sacrificed/destroyed all day long! X is equal to the mana value. So it's a bit of a win con. I am also running mass Treasure making counter Spell Swindle. I also have the Clue making Hornswaggle here too.

Now let's finish with targeted creature removal. Pongify and Rapid Hybridization cost one, destroys one dork and leaves them a 3/3. Repeatable removal comes from Oko, Thief of Crowns, which costs three, has four loyalty, can +2 to make a Food to add to your artifact and destruction density and then +1 to turn a dork or artifact into a 3/3 ability-less Elk, so that's brilliant at answering Commanders since they cannot be recast with Commander Tax, and then you can swing with your Clue/Food/Treasure token at people or block attacks.

Card Draw

Now let's finish with more card draw! Since our Clue infrastructure and Commander and War Room push this all over the block, we have some to supplement this. The just-printed common instant above will draw you one and then make a Clue for future card flow. Love it loads! The artifact creature costs seven, has affinity for artifacts, and is a Mulldrifter size and card flow. It's also an artifact for sac/destroying. I'm running Mulldrifter too to block flying attacks.

Now let's turn to Clue makers. Wavesifter costs five (normally), has a 3/2 flying body, and then makes you two Clues. Ongoing Investigation costs two, when your stuff deals damage you make a free Clue, but just once per combat based on how it's worded, barring first or double strike. Then you can exile a dork from your graveyard to make a Clue and gain life too.

Let's finish this section with this permanent pair! The uncommon costs three, and then you'll draw a card for each time your foe has an artifact they control die. This is very strong against Treasure makers since they'll either crack this when on the stack to waste or use them now or let you draw tons! It's also brilliant here by destroying their artifact with Kellan. It's also quite the powerhouse with other tokens that sac like Food or Blood!

The rare costs six for an on curve 5/6 dragon with flying. Then it often has hexproof since you'll have enough artifacts to qualify. Then you can tap two artifacts to draw. That's massive since you don't spend mana or tapping this, just tap any two EOT and draw that that card and then untap and keep up.

And there we go! Want to see my brew?