Nadu for the Win-du in Commander

Posted on June 18, 2024

Hello awesome folks! I hope that your day is going super mega well! Today I am writing up my second Commander deck from an MH3 legendary dork that I like. You can check out last week's Mono-White Auras around Pearl-Ear here (Mono-White Auras with Pearl-Ear, Imperial Advisor in Commander | Article by Abe Sargent (coolstuffinc.com))

Ready for today where we'll slide into white's allies of Green and Blue in Simic form? Who do I like to build around here?

This three-drop 3/4 on curve flyer is my Commander! It gives your creatures the ability to turn targets into ramping the top card of your library untapped or drawing it, but just twice each turn. So basically, Explore but you need to know the top of your library to really break it open.

Here we go!

Lands, Ramp, Mana Stuff

Let's start with mana dorks, rather than ramp. Since Nadu costs three, I am running every one-drop mana dork to drop her turn two. These are also good for synergies later. The one-drop above will tap for colorless, has a size of 1/2, and then taps for one mana of any color for your Commander and other legendary stuff, which cannot be countered. The just printed in the same set common costs two for a 1/2 body too, and then you have deathtouch, nasty on a mana dork to play keep away and ramp you and taps for colorless and one of each mana like BOP.

Since we'll have loads of dorks for tapping that mana, I tossed in Circle of Dreams Druid that taps for each dork you control! It's a Gaea's Cradle on legs. And then speaking of Cradles for cheaper, I tossed in Growing Rites of Itlimoc. Otawara, Soaring City ETBs untapped and then channels for no more than four to bounce something not of a land nature. This can be tempo on your foes, kill a token, or save your permanent from removal.

Now let's turn to win con lands! Field of the Dead will win in Highlander formats and turn land drops into 2/2 Zombies if you control at least seven lands with different names. Sandstorm Verge was just printed and taps for colorless and arrives untapped, and then taps with three to make your dork unblockable at sorcery speed. You can use that to trigger Nadu, and then win. See also Access Tunnel and Rogue's Passage.

Now let's turn to more lands! The Cave will ETB untapped, taps for colorless, and taps, sacs with three mana to ramp a land tapped from your deck, note any land, not just basics. The other colorless tapper that ETBs untapped taps with Simic mana this this to make your spells castable with flash! Get it, run it, love it! When you have that mana free, people aren't swinging your way at all!

Now let's finish lands with this pair! Talon Gates of Madara is a gate and you can ramp it untapped with four mana from your hand, It taps for colorless and then with one for any mana and when it ETBs out we can phase something out to save it. Soaring Seacliff ETBs tapped and then you can jump a dork into the air for a turn and trigger Nadu. You'll also note other ways to trigger here and there in my land base too!

Self-Target Stuff

Now let's turn to self-targeting stuff! The legendary (Halfling) mono-Blue three-drop 2/4 is first! When other Blue dorks are tapped you'll draw that card! But you'll discard too, this is looting. Then your other artifact dorks (this is one too) are +1/+1 in size. Then you can spend Phyrexian Blue mana to, at sorcery speed, make a dork Blue and an artifact too. That can be two mana or four life for two triggers. The two-drop uncommon costs two, has flash, has flying and pro Blue to surprise and stay alive from an attacker, and then you can bounce a Forest to untap a dork, and just once per turn. Since I am running Mana Dorks, I tossed in a bunch of tap to untap stuff, like Kiora's Follower or Seeker of Skybreak.

Now let's turn to crazy targets. Elvish Herder costs one, and has a 1/1 body. You can swap a Green mana this time to give your dork trample. That's not bad with your Green beef and then your non-trampling tokens. One Green mana will trigger Nadu this time. Sway of Illusion costs two and is a cantrip so you won't be down a card.

Now let's turn to Green targeted interaction, I tossed in five instants here. Legolas's Quick Reflexes costs one, has split second and cannot be interfered with, and then you untap your targeted dork, it gains hexproof, reach, and then when you tap it it'll kill an opposing dork with damage equal to its power. Tyvar's Stand gives hexproof and indestructible and then has X mana to sink and it grows by that amount. You can grab a win out of nowhere on your Commander or elsewhere with that too, by the by.

Cool Landfall Stuff

Now let's turn to fun landfall things for that land ramps from our leader. The two-drop is a smaller 1/1 with bestow to self-target for just two mana, and you can turn land falls into copying this for two mana and making a token copy of the dork you are enchanting. The three-drop 3/2 turns lands into Food for life or Treasures for ramping! I am also running the first Clue maker this was inspired by!

Now let's turn to six-drop fun landfall stuff! The mythic Rampaging Baloths costs six for a base 6/6 with trample and makes 4/4 Beasts no trample this time, although Elvish Herder could help with that! I have more token makers like Sporemound too. Roil Elemental turns landfalls into stealing opposing stuff, which you can then target to trigger Nadu or just remove blockers to win. Love this awesome pair loads!

Synergies and Winning Conditions

Now let's turn to backup win cons and then synergies, we'll start with the former. The one-drop has a 1/2 body and then toxic one. When your dorks are targeted by a spell by anyone, one foe gets a poison counter! No one is going to do that here. Then the landfall Green drop rare 1/1 is next! It turns landfalls to 1/1 dorks unless you have six lands, then you'll make copies of this to win fast.

Now let's turn to one of each in mono-Green legendaries are next! Greensleeves, Maro-Sorcerer costs five for an X/X equal to your land count with protection from Wizards, planeswalkers, and then turns landfalls into 3/3 Badgers! Six costs three, in the same set as Nadu, is a Giant Spider in size and ability, when it swings you mill three and toss a land into your hand and then we can give the nonland permanents retrace to recast them from your graveyard. It's awesomely awesome!

The two-drop Simic colored legendary (Halfling) will let your mana tapping dorks tap for another mana! Great! And they're a mana sink for seven mana to dig five and drop a free non-human to the battlefield! You can use your Cradles here and untapping to use this two or three times. The eight drop win-con has haste, a 5/5 body, and when it ETBs, you'll give your team trample and size boosts equal to your dork count, quite a bit here!

Creeping Renaissance costs five, recurs all creatures from your graveyard to your hand (or you might want lands here too) and it has flashback for two more mana. Vizier of the Menagerie costs four, you can look at the top card to know when to trigger Nadu and then you can cast it it's a dork and then your mana counts for any color for dorks.

Answers

Now let's turn to answers! Since I am in Blue, I am running a few key counters to answer most! The instant costs three and you can cast it for free if you control your Commander. Then the critter costs one more and counters anything, but with flash and leaves behind a dork for targeting.

Now let's turn to targeted removal. Beast Within will destroy anything and leave them a consolation prize of a 3/3 dork. Reclamation Sage costs three, has a 2/1 body, and then destroys an artifact or an enchantment on arrival. I also tossed in Acidic Slime here. Cyclonic Rift will overload and bounce everything else that ain't a land, so it's mass removal-ish, and you'll have the mana to drop it. Oko, Thief of Crowns costs three for a four loyalty planeswalker to +2 and make Food, sure, but he's here to +1 and turn an opposing artifact/dork like their Commander into a 3/3 Elk with no abilities, so they cannot recast it or use it. You can trigger Nadu with this too, although I doubt you'd wanna much.

Card Draw

Now let's finish with card draw and stuff! Let's start with things that will let you know when to activagte Nadu. The Green enchantment costs two, you draw two more and drop two and can pay four life to keep it. The artifact costs just one, you can spend one mana to reorder your top three or tap for nothing to draw and toss this in your library. The Blue enchantment is a harder to cast five, reveals your top card to everyone, so they can play around it, but you can play it no matter what! Love this triad loads here!

Let's turn to landfall in my stuff. I am going wide with critters and tokens, enter Beast Whisperer. He'll turn casts of my critters into cards! Nasty! Tatyova, Benthic Druid costs five for a smaller body at 3/3 for that cost, but has a landfall trigger to draw and gain a life as well. Strong pair!

Let's finish with this go wide pair! The dork costs seven for a 5/5 dork that ETBs and draws equal to your Green dork count, which my tokens should all count as. Sure, the occasional Blue dork won't but they are few here this is really all about those Green bodies. The sorcery costs five and draws equal to your dork count, all this time even Blue ones. Then you can gain a massive amount of life with the four-power part of this too. Nasty pair here!

Now let's turn to my decklist!