Selesnya Voltron in Commander with Sergeant John Benton

Posted on November 7, 2023

Hello awesome MTG fans and Commander players! There is a Commander eligible Selesnya colored dork that was just printed in Doctor Who that I really want to build around! It's sort of a new archetype but lays into an old infrastructure.

Let's turn to this Commander that calls out to me:

Here he is! This three-drop 2/4 body has two keyword abilities we'll want to lean into: haste to swing now, and trample to oversmash chump blockers. Then he has a combat damage trigger. Both you and your damaged foe will draw that many cards in damage. Nasty card flow for you since you are drawing equal to damage dealt, not just once per damage, and then they are drawing tons too, so they might not be upset, especially early game. And you aren't in the colors of Black for killing them with Underworld Dreams effects, they won't mind - especially in the early to mid game. You don't need to add haste equipment like Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots to this brew with that innate haste. Ditto trample givers. But, note that he wants as big of a power possible - Voltron, he also wants card draw synergy - so he's in a fun place!!!

Now let's turn to my deep dive of what I am looking for here. Ready?

Mana, Ramp, Rocks, Lands

There are four ways you can ramp in a Selensya deck with a three-drop Commander. You can run one-drop mana dorks to drop turn one and then drop him turn two. Or you can just plan on turn three and then cast stuff turn two like Rampant Growth or rocks like Arcane Signet, or then run things on turn three post Commander like Cultivate. Or, in White, you can drop creatures with ETB lands to the battlefield like Kor Cartographer or Knight of the White Orchid. Here I am running mana stuff that has synergy. Let's start with rocks!

Decanter of Endless Water costs three and tap for one of any color of mana. I am also running Thought Courier and Reliquary Tower. Sonic Screwdriver has three other abilities from the same set as our Commander. You can tap it with one to untap an artifact, unlikely here, or two to scry one, not bad, or three to make a dork unblockable - that's why it's here. See also Rogue's Passage.

Now let's turn to Green stuff. The common costs three for a 1/1 that ETBs and brings a Forest with it to the battlefield from your library and note that this is untapped and then any Forest, not just basic. The rare costs four mana for a 2/4 equipment Dog. When it or the equipped dork attacks you make mana of the Green variety equal to its power and it equips for three. That will let you cast a bunch of stuff post combat from your fat mana making here. This creature pair is awesome here!

The legendary land ETBs untapped, taps for colorless, and can be tapped with two to reload an enchantment from your graveyard to the top of your library. With some Auras here that makes sense. The non-legendary land takes a turn off to use since it ETBs tapped. Then it taps for colorless too and then you have exalted on a land to pump your Commander by +1/+1 when he attacks by himself. Strong synergy with this pair of lands!

Now let's turn to Selesnya lands. Gavony Township arrives untapped, and then you can tap it with four mana to put a +1/+1 counter on all of your stuff only. Since I am running things like Kor Cartographer and Wood Elves that will get anything I got all of the cheaper dual lands that aren't on the Reserve List and added ramp like Three Visits that will net anything that's a Forest.

Let's finish with a pair of lands that is here to answer things and be combat tricks. Both arrive untapped, tap for colorless and have no color identity. Plaza of Heroes will tap for any color of mana for your Commander or other legendaries and then once you control them, you can tap for their colors. It's here for that three-mana exile tap to give a legendary dork hexproof and indestructible this turn, so it's an answer to removal aimed at your Commander. Tyrite Sanctum will tap with two mana to put a +1/+1 counter on your leader and make him a God. Combat trick. Then on a latter turn you can sacrifice this with four mana to put an indestructible counter on him since he's a God now. Love this pair in here loads!

Key Voltron Stuff

Now let's turn to some fun Voltron stuff! Let's start with this evasive duo of Auras. The three-drop is a cantrip so it doesn't cost you a card and then your enchanted dork has protection from creatures, so it can never be blocked, and cannot take damage in the blocking. The two-drop gives it evasion too that can only be blocked by flyers and reachers - so basically flying, and hexproof to keep it safe so no one else can target it. Evasion and hexproof in one two-drop is great here!

All That Glitters gives a boost to the dork equal to your artifact and enchantments out, so that's a lot. I am also running Nettlecyst with this ability on an equipment instead and it's with living weapon. Basilisk Collar costs one and can be dropped on the first turn. Then for two mana you can equip and it give lifelink to gain a ton of life and then deathtouch - that's why it's here. With trample, deathtouch is nasty since you only need to deal one damage to a blocker and then spillover to your foe to draw more cards. Nasty!

Ace's Baseball Bat costs two, equips a legendary for one. You get a massive +3 power boost and then it gets first strike when you are swinging, and with power pumps and trample that's nasty on the swing. Celestial Mantle costs a massive six and then gives a +3/+3 size and combat damage trigger too. You double your life total. Since we already built around a combat damage trigger in my leader, that makes sense here too!

Synergies and Winning Conditions

Now let's turn to synergies and win-cons. This Aura costs three, and then the enchanted dork gets a power and toughness boost equal to your hand count - quite nasty here. Then you can kill fast with that. Then there are two Equipment that do this too and both are here - Empyrial Plate and Hand of Vecna. The Equipment cost two, equips for two, and then gives evasion in the form of nonbasic landwalk -pretty likely. I am also running the evasive Prowler's Helm but not Whispersilk Cloak since I'll need to keep targeting it.

Leela, Sevateem Warrior costs four and has a 3/3 sized body and then when your foe draws a card other than their draw step one, she gets a +1/+1 counter to really push the table around as she grows really fast when your Commander is smashing face and she's a backup win con if he is answered or you need to knock out multiple people. Lion Sash is our other Equipment dork and costs two. You can spend a mana to exile a card from a graveyard and pump this in size if it was a permanent. This will answer opposing graveyards and grow your dork and too, and you can do at instant speed or EOT as a mana sink or in combat at a combat trick.

Now let's turn to this pair. The first creature ever printed to have power and toughness equal to your hand size was in Green called "Maro" way back in the early days, so I am running a few of those dorks here as backup win cons. The best is likely Multani, who costs six, and has a size equal to the hands of all players. With both drawing all over the block, this can grow fast. It has shroud to save it from targeted removal, but you cannot target it yourself, so it can be chump blocked all day long and has no base evasion, but it can easily be a PK in size (player killer, kill in one hit) in a multiplayer game.

The sorcery costs a rough seven mana but it is worth it! When it resolves you return all artifacts and enchantments to your battlefield from your graveyard. This mass recursion is great after a mass removal spell that swept them like Akroma's Vengeance or just after a while and can likely win the game with that recursion making your dork a winner pre-combat and then swing.

The Sword of Broken and Brokener is nasty here! (Sword of War and Peace) It drops on turn three, equips for two, and then gives a +2/+2 boost and then protection from two key targeted removal in Red and White like burn, Chaos Warp or Swords to Plowshares. Then a combat damage trigger to win. You will gain life equal to your hand count and your damaged foe will take damage equal to their hand count. That could be loads. Storm Seeker costs four, and shoots a foe for damage equal to their hand count so it's a damaged base win-con out of nowhere that people have forgotten about. Nasty game winning pair!

Now let's turn to a different style of win-con that effects John. Berserk will, at instant speed, double your size to kill out of nowhere, but it will die so then you'll have to recast him with Commander Tax but that's only three mana base, and we are in the color of ramp. It's worth it if you end someone in one hit. Then the Flail costs two, equips for two, and it doubles all damage your creature would deal in combat - nasty, but also double damage dealt to it, so you want to avoid death by blocking. I am also running double strike giving Holy Avenger.

Let's finish synergies and win cons with this two-for. Belt of Giant Strength will give John or another equipped dork a base power and toughness of 10/10 to smash fast. But its equip is 10, but that's reduced by our targeted dork's power so that could be really small after a few turns. Gluntch, the Bestower costs three and has an 0/5 size. It has an EOT trigger. You can give a player two +1/+1 counters on their dork, another draws a card and a third makes two Treasures for ramping. Note this is a strong option to ramp you or add two counters to your Commander and give a card to a foe and ramp another. It makes all of the friends. Nicely done!

Answers and Card Flow

Now let's turn to answers and card flow. I am running six answers to answers since we need to win with our stuff like Teferi's Protection. The best is this two-cost instant that gives everything even non-creatures you control hexproof to stop targeting and indestructible to stop destruction. That shuts down everything other than non-targeted exiling and shuffle and bounce and -X/-X stuff. Then I have the often free to cast Flawless Maneuver to give John indestructible for the turn and your other dorks too. Then I have two ways to protect that also grow John. The common above costs two, gives him a +1/+1 counter out of nowhere to keep or serve as a combat damage trick and then hexproof, trample, reach and indestructible. The other one is Vines of Vastwood that give shroud and then can be kicked to grow in size.

Now let's turn to targeted removal. There are three targeted instant spells that will remove most or all things and give a token like Beast Within, Generous Gift or this. It also costs three, cannot target a land, and leaves them a 1/1 dork. It's strong here. Then the dork also costs three, ETBs and destroys an enchantment or artifact on arrival so she's a Naturalize on a stick, has vigilance, and taps to draw and have a foe do so as well!

Now let's look at more removal and card flow. Every deck should have an emergency mass removal, and we're using Winds of Rath! This is the second Wrath effect ever printed, but it saves those with Auras on them. That'll save John! Cut a Deal will have each foe draw a card. Then you draw that many. This scales up in multiplayer loads. It's my favorite everyone draws card effect in White since you'll outdraw each foe.

Let's finish with this card draw enchantment and then non-card draw or removal card. The Commander Classic costs two, and you draw two more in your draw step and then put them on top of your library so that you can know what they have unless you pay four life each. It's an enchantment to help with Nettlecyst and All that Glitters and then you can recur it with the land and the sorcery.

I finished my deck at 61 cards with a modal spell in there to give me 40 lands, but I realized that I needed a way to keep myself from decking, enter the obvious 61st card in Elixir. This can drop fast with one mana, can be tapped with two to gain five life and shuffle this and my graveyard back to my library. It'll be drawable again. It's great after a mass beating in the second main phase to drop from my hand just like key things here like Rancor or Bonesplitter.

Ready for my decklist?