Hello awesome Commander fans! I hope your day is going super mega well! My favorite legendary dork from Doctor Who is River Song!

She's in Izzet colors, rocks a 2/2 body for three mana, and then has two abilities. The first lets you draw from the bottom of your deck - the first time we've seen that effect in print. That's why she's here. Then if your foe surveils, scries or searches their library you pump River by +1/+1 with a counter and then shoot that player for your power in damage. Love her loads!

Let's to a fun drawing from the bottom of your library brew in Izzet for you!

Lands, Rocks, Ramp

Since River costs three mana there is no rock, I can run to speed her up save Sol Ring so my rocks will look differently. They'll be about that other ability not the best two-drop for a third-turn four-drop Commander. So, check out this pair! Then your extra ability is to shut off your discards, not bad here. The multikicker zero drop can be cast on second turn and tap for one colorless, when you have four mana into a two tapper, and scales up from there. It's also synergetic since I have some proliferate here and there to increase my +1/+1 counters on River.

Now let's turn to synergetic mana rocks. Vessel of Endless Rest can tap for mana of any color. When it ETBs, you reload a card from a graveyard to the bottom of it's library. And then you can draw it! Also don't sleep on using it on a key opposing card to shut down reanimation or flashback. Sonic Screwdriver one also taps for any color of mana. Then you can use three abilities. You can tap it with increasing mana for increasing effects. One mana? Untap another artifact like a Mana Rock for more mana or the Chalice above for big mana if you built it up. Two mana? Scry one! That's pretty synergetic here. Three mana? Something cannot be blocked, so that's a win con here.

Stonespeaker Crystal taps for two on arrival to the battlefield. You can sacrifice this at instant speed to exile all opposing graveyards and draw a card too. That's a brilliant answer and card flow here! We also have sacrificial mana rocks in Commander's Sphere and Mind Stone to sac for cards and then reload to the bottom of your library with various effects you'll see below. Isolated Watchtower can tap with two to scry one and reveal the top card of your library. Was it a basic land? Ramp it tapped, but only if a foe has more than two lands than you. Given how Izzet has no real ramp, that should be pretty likely, but this is here for the scry on tapping to draw on the bottom of your library.

Now let's turn to more scry lands in my color combo! The Castle usally ETBs tapped, so you'll take a turn off. You can tap it with four mana to scry 2, so it's pricery, but a nice mana sink and can place the goods on your bottom to draw. The Temple always ETBs tapped and you scry one when it ETBs so you net a mana free scry from your land drop. I am running every ETB tapped scry land, and then to bounce and get another Izzet Boilerworks.

War Room will tap with three mana to swap two life for a card, so it's card flow in land form. Witch's Clinic will tap with two mana and give your Commander lifelink. Do this when her damage is on the stack to gain life that turn.

Now let's finish with synergy lands! The uncommon arrives untapped and taps for colorless. You can tap it with two to destroy an opposing nonbasic land, so it's land removal. Then everyone searches for a basic and drops it into play untapped. It will trigger River three times in a four-player game as they search their library. And its ramp for everyone and they have to do it, there's no "may" here. The rare taps for Blue mana and then put a time counter on the land. When it gets to 12, pull them off with two mana and tap and then exile the land. You Timetwister just yourself, but you have to control a Time Lord to make this happen. River Song is a Time Lord, so you just need to control her!

Everyone Else Tutors

Now let's turn to other "Everyone Searches" effects like the previous Field of Ruin. We'll start with this four-drop mono-Red pair. The rare has a huge 8/8 body with an evasive trample, so he wins the game. When he ETBs, your opponents can tutor up a creature from their deck and drop it for free. Then you can trigger River Song three times in a four-player game. The uncommon just has a 4/4 size and no evasion. This time your foe's search for a land in their deck like Field of Ruin and drop it untapped. Note that this pair are "may" effects so they don't have to, but I think most will. Also note that since these cost four, so they can be dropped the turn after River for three triggers very fast.

When Noble Benefactor dies, everyone, you included, tutors for any card. Sure, that triggers River Song, but everyone will want to do that. Just like in set Veteran Explorer, this will suck up removal. That's nice, but not From the Ashes, which is mean. This is a Ruination for all non-basics. But this time they can fetch up basics. This is a may effect, but if it resolves who wouldn't want to get the lands?

Synergies and Winning Conditions

Now let's turn to synergies and win-cons! The sorcery is awesome here with three to start and then you'll draw X. But it's here to be cast at three mana, you draw three so that's good mana to cost, and then your foe must make two Treasures and then scry 2. Trigger River. Remember how much scry we have? Why not draw those cards with Eligeth! This six-mana 5/6 has partner to tag team with another and then when you would scry, draw that many instead! The card flow is nasty with this mono-Blue rare pair!

Reito Sentinel has defender so it cannot swing, but an on curve 3/3 body. When it ETBs, you can force a foe to mill, sure, but we want it for ourselves. Then you can spend three mana at instant speed to tuck a card from any graveyard to the bottom of their library. It's here to draw the best card from your graveyard like Academy Ruins or Volrath's Stronghold in other brews for just three mana.

Transplant Theorist is an undercurved 2/4 body. When it, or another artifact, ETBs, you draw a card and then discard a card, so you loot one. This has great synergy with my sacrificing mana rocks and the reloading stuff. Then you can spend two mana to reload a card from your graveyard only to your deck to draw, one fewer than the Reito one but just yours. The mana-free Loot is here to discard a card to restock and draw again.

Now let's turn to this Human pair! The two-drop mythic has a 1/1 body and then ascend. If you have the city's blessing, you can tap it with four mana to Time Walk and get another turn after this one! And you place it on the bottom of your library. Now draw and cast it again, and we don't have any haste enablers to abuse it like Anger in red or the equipment of Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves, so we have to wait a turn after casting, so once you use it, you have to wait two turns before doing so again. So, it's not a combo to win the game, but it is a strong synergy here. The six-drop rare in Izzet colors is legendary. She is a weirdly shaped 2/7 for six mana. Good for blocking I suppose! Then she has a cast trigger for you for anything. But that trigger is just once per turn. Then you can place that casted thing on the bottom of your library to draw again next turn! Then you dig from the top until you find any nonland and cast it for free! Then the rest go to the bottom of your library to draw, but that's just lands and not likely to be many.

Spark Double enters and copies your stuff only, but any creature or planeswalker and then it's not legendary so you can copy your Commander. If you copy a dork, it arrives with a +1/+1 counter so if you copy River it'll be bigger, won't die, and net you two triggers. If it copies a planeswalker, you get an additional loyalty, and I have three Jaces here we'll look at later. It's strong. Cellar Door is here for that three mana tap. You place the bottom card in your library into your graveyard. Was it a creature? Make a 2/2 Zombie. It's here for a few reasons. First, if you know what is on the bottom of your library and you don't wanna draw it, tap this. Secondly this is great synergy with your reload effects like Lantern. Place a creature from your graveyard on the bottom of your library for three, tap this and make a 2/2 dork. Do it again and untap this with Sonic Screwdriver.

Card Flow

Now let's start by looking at two of the Jaces I alluded to above! The five-drop enters with an on curve five loyalty. It's here for that +1 to scry 1 and then draw, so you can place what you want to draw on the bottom of your library. It also has scry synergy with Eligeth and another thing we'll look at later. Then you can -2 him twice with his starting loyalty and then Unsummon a creature to make them cast it again. The four-drop arrives with an underwhelming three loyalty but broke Standard when legal and is okay in Commander normally, but very flexible here. His +2 will look at the top card of a person's library, and then you put it on bottom. Then you can draw with River, or use it to fateseal a foe to see what they draw. Or you can 0 him to Brainstorm which is great card draw. Then you can -1 him this time to Unsummon a dork, so both have that tempo in common.

Now let's turn to two non-rares. Why is the one cost uncommon Aura here? Because when you deal damage to an opponent you draw a card. See what word is missing here? "Combat"! You can enchant River and then each time she triggers you draw that card!!! Let's turn to the classic common from that same era! This costs two, you look four down, you draw one and the other three are put on the bottom of your library in any order! So now with River Song that disadvantage since you cannot see them again is advantage and you draw them in the order you want! I am running every version of this instant that's been printed like Advice from the Fae.

Now let's turn to rares! The instant costs eight, but six is colorless of it is delve-able so you can cast it for fewer, but you don't want to do that much. Look at the top seven, draw two, and then reorder the other five for the bottom of your library to keep drawing. Nasty! The enchantment costs just two and can be dropped as soon as turn 2. When you scry? Place a verse counter here! Then later as a sorcery speed, you can spend a massive six mana to exile this and draw that many verse counters in cards! It's nasty card flow for your mana scry things just like Eligeth! It's my favorite second turn drop in this brew.

I am running two modal spell/lands like Silundi Vision! You dig six, put any instant or sorcery into your hand and the other five on the bottom in a random order, so you cannot rely on it. The last Jace costs five mana for a smaller four loyalty. It's here for that +1 to draw you a free card and then, ideally, mill you one card to then reload if it's good to the bottom of your library and draw. Then you can 0 him to force one to mill ten! You can use this as late game player kill when their library has dropped or ideally to fuel up yours with options. Also note that his -7 ultimate should be more likely with no - abilities like the other two. Then you can mill anyone and everyone of 20 cards each. Nice pair to end this section with!

Answers

Let's finish this deck with answers! We'll start with answers to answers, normally this is Heroic Intervention or Teferi's Protection, but that's not our color identity. Instead, we'll do this pair! The one cost instant will give River Song a +1/+1 to grow permanently and then phase out for a turn as response to removal targeted like Swords to Plowshares, mass like Blasphemous Act, or combat damage. You can also use this to save key pieces like Eligeth. The three cost instant redirects all targets from one spell or ability too, don't forget that last part. If your foe targets your stuff, you can send it to your opposing instead. This will be castable for free if you control River.

Now let's turn to counters! They'll answer anything, and I have a few here. Spell Crumple hits anything and what you countered heads to the bottom of their library to shut them off from recursion or flashback. They could tutor it back, but that would trigger River so they may not want to do that. Dissolve latter one will counter anything and then you'll scry one to place your stuff on your bottom of library to draw if you like it or trigger your scry stuff.

Now let's finish with Red removal options! The two-drop sorcery that's rare will shoot an opposing dork for four damage to kill them. It's here to be overloaded for six and then shoot all opposing dorks for four damage each. I am also running Magma Jet to shoot and scry. The two-drop sorcery that's common will destroy any land and you'll draw a card, so it's a cantrip. Then they will fetch out a basic untapped, which is "may" effect but which will also trigger River Song on your foe if they do.

Ready for my decklist?

River Song | Commander | Abe Sargent

• Commander (1)
• 1 River Song

• Creatures (18)
• 1 Archmage Emeritus
• 1 Augur of Bolas
• 1 Boldwyr Heavyweights
• 1 Canal Dredger
• 1 Eager Construct
• 1 Eligeth, Crossroads Augur
• 1 Guttersnipe
• 1 Flux Channeler
• 1 Hired Giant
• 1 Junktroller
• 1 Keeper of the Cadence
• 1 Myr Custodian
• 1 Noble Benefactor
• 1 Reito Sentinel
• 1 Storm-Kiln Artist
• 1 Spark Double
• 1 Timestream Navigator
• 1 Transplant Theorist

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1 Jace, Memory Adept
• 1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets

• Instants (21)
• 1 Anticipate
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Deflecting Swap
• 1 Dig Through Time
• 1 Dissolve
• 1 Experimental Augury
• 1 Fierce Guardianship
• 1 Impulse
• 1 Jwari Disruption
• 1 Magma Jet
• 1 Memory Drain
• 1 Negate
• 1 Peer Through Depths
• 1 Pongify
• 1 Prismari Command
• 1 Silundi Vision // Silundi Isle
• 1 Slip out the Back
• 1 Spell Crumple
• 1 Supreme Will
• 1 Thieves' Fortune

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Advice from the Fae
• 1 Cleansing Wildfire
• 1 From the Ashes
• 1 Ingenious Mastery
• 1 Mizzium Mortars

• Enchantments (2)
• 1 Curiosity
• 1 Lost Isle Calling

• Artifacts (12)
• 1 Cellar Door
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Decanter of Endless Water
• 1 Everflowing Chalice
• 1 Reito Lantern
• 1 River Song's Diary
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sonic Screwdriver
• 1 Stonespeaker Crystal
• 1 Thran Dynamo
• 1 Vessel of Endless Rest
• 1 Worn Powerstone

• Lands (38)
• 7 Island
• 6 Mountain
• 1 Castle Vantress
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Crystal Grotto
• 1 Demolition Field
• 1 Desolate Lighthouse
• 1 Field of Ruin
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Isolated Watchtower
• 1 Izzet Boilerworks
• 1 Karn's Bastion
• 1 Molten Tributary
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Prismari Campus
• 1 Restless Spire
• 1 Rivendell
• 1 Silverbluff Bridge
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Temple of Epiphany
• 1 The Grey Havens
• 1 Training Center
• 1 Trenzalore Clocktower
• 1 War Room
• 1 Witch's Clinic
• 1 Zhalfirin Void

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And there we go! I hope that you enjoyed my take on River Song!