Chiss-Goria Treasures in Commander

Posted on March 28, 2023

Hello awesome people and happiest of days to you and your family! I was out on vacation for Spring Break last week in Equator's Quito, so I just wrote this deck and article for you a few weeks ago! I came across this idea for a Commander deck while writing up my Top Ten Cards from Phyrexia: All Will be One Commander.

What mono-Red legendary leader inspired me?

Let's talk about Chiss-Goria! With a massive nine mana this 5/4 with flying and haste is massively expensive. But it has affinity for artifacts so he'll be cheaper, and with enough artifacts he should only cost very little (the Command Tax can also be affected by affinity). I like him leading a Mono-Red Treasure brew. Then when he attacks, exile five, and cast an artifact with affinity this turn, so it's card flow too. With the same Treasure based infrastructure, colorless artifacts could be free or with a big ol' cost reduction. Also note that's "cast" not "play" so if you exile an artifact land, you cannot drop it as your free thing this turn. Remember he has haste and a cheap cost, so you could easily cast him, swing, and then get the free cast that turn.

Even without a key Treasure Maker, imagine this:

Turn 1 - Artifact Land

Turn 2 - Non-Artifact Land, Mana Rock

Turn 3 - Non-Artifact Land, Mana Rock or three-drop Equipment

Turn 4 - Non-Artifact Land - you control 4 artifacts. You can cast him this turn with two mana rocks. If not cast anything not an artifact related.

Turn 5 - Drop Non-Artifact Land, cast Chiss-Goria, swing, activate, you have 4 artifacts for a free 4 drop or less or a mana left for a 5-drop.

See the power of Chiss-Goria without an ideal hand?

Ready for my build?

Key Artifact Ramp and Lands

Given how important mana rocks are here as double accelerants, I have more. Let's look at some. The Diamond is a classic mono-Red two drop common that arrives tapped but taps for Red. Good stuff! And the Powerstone taps for two, only costs three, but also arrives tapped. Both make great mana on curve, but both take a turn off to get your mana fixed. It's worth it here.

Dragon's Hoard and Cursed Mirror are a pair of three-mana rocks with upside. The Hoard can tap for any color of mana. When a Dragon ETBs under your control, you can toss a gold counter on this, and then tap and remove it without any mana to draw a card, so it's card flow in mana rock form. Since your Commander is a Dragon, that's reliable. Nasty and on curve. Then the Mirror ETBs as a copy of any creature on the battlefield for the turn but with haste. Not just yours, so it can swing, tap, and then later tap for that Red mana. Nice pair!

Now let's turn to some bigger things. The Lotus costs four, also ETBs tapped and then can tap equal to your devotion to Red, at least three when you control Chiss-Goria. It could be more. I also tossed in Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Then the Sun is a six-drop that will pump your Red stuff by +1/+1. And it will double your Red mana making lands, nice ramp and can be very cheap with a Chiss-Goria attack into exile. Note that all Red mana making lands increase, not just Mountains. Good pair here!

Karn's Bastion is a classic, with four to proliferate. It's here to add counters to things like Dragon's Hoard, Everflowing Chalice and a few other minor things here and there including a land we'll see later. Hall of Tagsin also taps for colorless, enters untapped, and then can be tapped for any color of mana with a one mana tap. For four you can tap it and make a tapped Powerstone which adds to your artifact and ramp count.

Check out this pair of win-cons in land form. The Red tapping one enters tapped. Then when a Mountain ETBs under your control, you shoot any target for 3 if you have at least 5 Mountains in your deck. It's very strong here to kill things or players. Then the Saga ETBs and it taps for colorless, then on Chapter Two you can spend two to make an X/X sized artifact, where X is your artifact count. Then you can do it again when Chapter Three is on the Stack. So, you get two game winners. Then you can search up a 0 or 1 cost artifact like a land or Sol Ring, and drop it for free, and destroy the land. Very strong here!

Now let's turn to lands just printed! The Mycosynth Gardens taps for colorless or like the Hall of Tagsin[/card] can filter. Then you can tap it with X to copy a non-token artifact you control. Here? That's nasty! Note that you won't get any ETB abilities like copying our Solemn Simulacrum. Also note that this does not end at the end of the turn. The other Sphere taps for colorless, can tap on the turn you drop it, and then taps with 3 to make a 1/1 colorless artifact that cannot block with toxic 1. Note the artifact type, and the free win-con attached. This poisoning is also valuable for proliferating. Good Sphere pair!

Let's finish this section with a pair of tutors: Expedition Map and Inventors' Fair. The Map arrives turn one, can be fetched with Urza's Saga, taps with two to sacrifice, and then grabs any land, not just basics. You can use it for win cons like Valakut and Mirrex, or Treasures with Treasure Trove, and more. The Fair will give you a life each upkeep if you control three or more artifacts, don't sleep on that. And it taps for colorless and arrives untapped. Much like the Map, you can sacrifice this with a tap, this time at four mana if you control 3 or more artifacts. Then Fabricate your library. Nice artifact tutor here! And if you need a land like Valakut, just grab the Map.

Key Treasure Makers

Now let's turn to some key Treasure makers! The Elder Dragon is a 6-drop 6/5 with flying. That's surprisingly on curve and with evasion. Then when it punches an opponent's face, make 1d20 Treasures! That's just nasty here! The equipment is a three-drop equip for three. The equipped critter gets +1/+1 and trample, don't sleep on that! Then when it deals combat damage to the attacked player or planeswalker, you make that many Treasures! Whoa! And you are giving it trample, so that's likely, and an extra Treasure from the power boost. And if you equipped the Elder Dragon you will be making 7 and 1d20 Treasures tokens potentially. Big stuff! I am also running the obvious Dockside Extortionist. Also note the Dragon's Hoard synergy with the Elder Dragon...

...and this synergy as well. Goldspan is a five-drop with flying and haste and a 4/4 body that dominated Standard when legal. When it swings, or is the target a spell, make a Treasure token. Then your Treasures crack for two, not one. That lets you ramp without forcing all of your Treasures to get sacrificed. This is great with flying and haste just like your Commander. The Face-Breaker is a 2/3 with menace for 3 mana. That's fine mana wise. When your stuff deals combat damage to a foe, make a Treasure, but just one each time. Then you can sacrifice a Treasure to exile and play the top card of your library, so that's card flow attached to Treasure making. Nice pair of Treasure-making here!

Let's finish the Treasure making section with this pair from the same set. Ganax, Astral Hunter is a 3/4 uncommon for five mana with flying, a bit behind the curve. But when it or another Dragon enters the battlefield, you'll net a Treasure. You've seen how many just randomly that it. I also tossed in Rapacious Dragon, that makes two Treasures on arrival to the battlefield and counts as a Dragon.

Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer is a five mana too, just a 2/5. Then all opposing things with power fewer than his has goad, so they'll be attacking each other but not you. Then when goaded things die in combat, you get a free Treasure. Powerful stuff over time. We have some equipment here for powerhouses that pumps their power that also will make sense on him too. You could equip them, swing, punch, and then move them to Baeloth and then get the goading swings and Treasures.

Key Artifacts and Synergies

Now let's turn to some same expensive colorless artifact dorks and non-dorks that we can get for free, or with big reductions in pay. The Angel is a bit pricey, but you cannot lose the game nor can your opponents win with it in play. Nasty way to stay alive. I also am running Platinum Emperion. The Forge costs a massive 9, but all of your artifacts are indestructible. Note the word "other" is missing so it protects itself. You'll always want it as fast as possible since a lot of your fear here in an artifact deck like this one are mass destruction effects like Vandalblast and Akroma's Vengeance that will end you.

Mycosynth Golem costs 11 and is just a 4/5, but has affinity built in. Then your artifact dorks get affinity for artifacts as well. Here? That's very strong in getting casts from your hand just as much as from your library. Kaldra Compleat costs 7 and arrives with an equipped 5/5 with indestructible, trample, first strike and haste and exile combat damage, which pairs well with first strike. The equipment also has indestructible. When answered with bounce or exiling removal, you can equip a key dork like the Ancient Copper Dragon or your leader for a faster kill. Or the goad guy.

Now let's turn to synergies and win-cons. Let's start with this artifact pair. With your Commander needing to attack to get the trigger we're built around, we want to make sure that isn't a one-trick pony that dies in combat. Enter this artifact pair. The Cloak costs three, equips for two, and gives unblockable and shroud to protect it. Nasty! Then you can also drop it on Ancient Copper Dragon for making all of that 1d20 Treasure or trigging the equipment. Then the Boots cost two, equip for two too, and then give the virtually unblockable non-basic land walk. We are also running Rogue's Passage as backups.

Now let's turn to literal win-cons. Hellkite Tyrant is a Dragon for your Hoard or Treasure making, check. It costs six and has an on curve 6/5 body with two evasions in flying and trample - hard to stop. When it deals combat damage to a player, steal their artifacts. Nasty! Then if you have 20 or more artifacts in your upkeep, win the game! That's pretty likely with the right set up, even without stealing anything.

Blightsteel Colossus is an artifact dork that costs a pricey 12, but brings an 11/11 with trample, indestructible and infect to the battlefield. You can drop it with affinity with both Chiss-Goria's swing and Mycosynth Golem. Then when it deals 10 combat damage, that player dies to poison stuff, and they can block for a bit, but it will eventually get through and win. I also tossed in Darksteel Colossus and Metalwork Colossus to bring the heat. Note that both will also like the previous trio of unblockable effects to speed things up.

Now let's turn to some "Exile cast matters" effects, starting with Passionate Archaeologist and Wild-Magic Sorcerer. Your Commander will get a cast trigger for your spells cast from exile. When that happens? Deal that spells mana value in damage to an opponent. A literal win con for the deck. With the Sorcerer, the first spell you cast from exile each turn has cascade. A free cascade from a fat free card from your library? Nasty! Great pair of "cast from exile" triggers!

Check out this pair of Treasure enablers! The former is a 3/2 rare that will make another Treasure whenever you make one. Nice, and three power for three is fine. The latter is a 1/3 artifact, for that synergy here. Then you can make a Clue and Food when you make a Treasure! That's triple the artifact count for your Treasure makers! Since it's an artifact, you can cast it if exiled with Chiss-Goria's attack. And you'll likely want do since you'll make Clues for cards and Foods for life and more artifacts for things that care like the Urza's Saga Constructs or other things here.

Let's finish this section with the pair of Elixir of Immortality and Reckless Fireweaver. The artifact is a one drop, two to tap and use and gain 5 life and shuffle it into your deck with your graveyard. Why is it here? To keep the game going since you are likely to be exiling much of your Chiss-Goria triggers will speed your deck out. Therefore, you have this break. You can tutor for this with Urza's Saga, by the by. The Fireweaver is a cheap two mana and when an artifact ETBs under your control, your foes will take a damage. Here that's very strong at killing your foes very quickly indeed. Yuppers!

Answers

Now let's turn to answers. The Visions is a sorcery that costs four, your foes sacrifice and you net one Treasure for each one sacrificed. Treasure synergy on mass removal? Nice! Then it can flashback for just 2 since Chiss-Goria costs 9. The Golem costs 7, in an artifact and a dork for that aforementioned synergy, and then on arrival to the battlefield, will destroy any nonland permanent, so it's a limited Vindicate on a stick. I also tossed in the creature exiling Duplicant to add to your removal options.

Let's finish up our answer section with a pair of Brothers' War cards. When Portal to Phyrexia ETBs, each foe sacrifices three dorks. That'll wipe out many players in a multiplayer game and won't impact your board at all. Then in your upkeep you can place a dork from your graveyard to the battlefield for free. It doesn't have to be an artifact dork, any dork will work. It's the only recursion in this deck. But it's pretty saucy with my higher costed win cons out there.

Cityscape Leveler is also a great thing to Portal back since it's an 8 drop 8/8 with trample, although you might not want to. It has a cast trigger and an attack trigger. You destroy (up to) one target nonland, and they get a Powerstone token tapped. You don't have to do so. It's an on-curve beater, and it features unearth for it's mana cost of 8 or another cast and attack once more each before being exiled. You should be able to swing with an 8/8 reliably without worrying about dying in combat and losing your recursive Vindicate. But you do have the unblockable stuff if not. If it's countered, you'll still destroy something since it's a cast trigger.

Card Flow

Let's finish this thing off with card flow cards. We'll start with the four printed "Discard a card, draw two, make Treasure tokens" effects. I have all four here, like Big Score. The Staff is very strong. It costs six, could be free with Chiss-Goria's attack, and then drops down. You draw a card in your upkeep. Nice card flow for free. Then you can tap it for no cost at all to shoot any target, so its removal attached to card flow. Good stuff! It used to get played heavily in Commander, but less now, but I still love it here!

Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge is a three-cost modal land instant. You can stack the bottom of your library with cards from your hand you don't want, and then draw that many plus one! That's very efficient card flow, or you can just drop it as a land if you need it. Elixir will refuel your tucked cards so you can draw later.

Mystic Forge is a powerhouse here. Four to drop, and you can look at the top card of your library at any time! That's very strong with your Commander since you'll know 20% of your exile trigger. Then you can cast it and/or colorless spells if they are artifacts. Nasty card flow over time. Always cast from your library not your hand where possible. Note the word "cast" precludes dropping artifact lands.

Let's finish with this pair. The Eye is the best card-drawing artifact ever pretend for multiplayer. For five mana to drop, you can spend one when your foe's draw, and then share their draw. Nasty, and this works on their regular card draw as well as things like Opt and Phyrexian Arena, but not Fact or Fiction "card draw" that doesn't draw. Welcome! The Tinkering is a five-cost sorcery. It exiles three and you can play them until your next turn, so you have two turns to play them. Then you make a trio of Treasures too! Nice card flow attached to Treasure making.

And that finishes my deep dive! Ready for my decklist?