I keep seeing the hash tag #mtgmail on Twitters. This past Saturday was an explosion of MTG mail at the Tessitore house, so I thought I would share my #mtgmail with all of you. Not only did I receive the last pieces of my Tasigur, the Golden Fang Commander deck (which I will be piloting at PAX East next month), but another inconspicuous package containing Vorthos goodies arrived at my door:

Want to find out what was in the tube? Join me on today’s Vorthosian adventure.

Commanding Value

I’ve been itching to build a new flavorful Commander deck for quite a while now. When the Theros Gods were being spoiled, each one inspired me to build a unique Vorthos-based deck that would flavorfully fit their dogmas. Two of the decks I even wrote articles for here on Gathering Magic (Phenax and the Twins of War). With the release of Fate Reforged, I found a khan that would ignite my deck-building spark. Enter Tasigur, in all his ruthless, decadent, and hedonistic glory:

Tasigur, the Golden Fang

Tasigur is a powerful card, and it offers quite a few different options for building a Commander deck, but you all know that if I am building a deck, that deck is going to be driven by flavor. The following list is a Vorthos approach to everyone’s favorite khan of the Sultai:

Tasigur, the Delicious Value ? Commander | Ant Tessitore

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Archfiend of Depravity
• 1 Avatar of Woe
• 1 Birds of Paradise
• 1 Cartographer
• 1 Dreamborn Muse
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Fleshbag Marauder
• 1 Graveborn Muse
• 1 Gravedigger
• 1 Harvester of Souls
• 1 Kheru Lich Lord
• 1 Lotus Cobra
• 1 Mortivore
• 1 Mystic Snake
• 1 Necropolis Fiend
• 1 Ophidian
• 1 Rakshasa Vizier
• 1 Silverglade Pathfinder
• 1 Soul of the Harvest
• 1 Storm Crow
• 1 Sultai Soothsayer
• 1 Torrent Elemental
• 1 Vulturous Zombie

• Spells (40)
• 1 Early Harvest
• 1 Empty the Pits
• 1 Harrow
• 1 Putrefy
• 1 Reins of Power
• 1 Sultai Charm
• 1 Ashes to Ashes
• 1 Bribery
• 1 Decree of Pain
• 1 Gild
• 1 Increasing Ambition
• 1 Infernal Harvest
• 1 Life from the Loam
• 1 Living Death
• 1 Rise from the Grave
• 1 Rise of the Dark Realms
• 1 Rite of the Serpent
• 1 Syphon Flesh
• 1 Treasure Cruise
• 1 Villainous Wealth
• 1 Abundance
• 1 Animate Dead
• 1 Cadaverous Bloom
• 1 Grave Betrayal
• 1 Grave Pact
• 1 Greed
• 1 Grim Feast
• 1 Necromancy
• 1 Necropotence
• 1 No Mercy
• 1 Sultai Ascendancy
• 1 Treachery
• 1 Venarian Gold
• 1 Briber's Purse
• 1 Gilded Lotus
• 1 Lotus Bloom
• 1 Lotus Blossom
• 1 Scythe of the Wretched
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sword of Feast and Famine

• Lands (36)
• 11 Swamp
• 8 Forest
• 8 Island
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Dismal Backwater
• 1 Drowned Catacomb
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Jungle Hollow
• 1 Opal Palace
• 1 Opulent Palace
• 1 Reflecting Pool
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse

Buy This Deck

The Vorthos Breakdown

So what is it that makes this deck so flavorful? In order to help illustrate the Vorthosian extravagance Tasigur is packing, I enlisted the aid of @CMDTower on Twitters. If you do not already follow him, definitely do so! @CMDTower provides a stream of excellent infographics based on everyone’s favorite format, including the ones he created for me that are shown below.

First up, I picked off all the low-hanging Vorthosian fruit by including flavorfully relevant Sultai cards.

Where would Tasigur be without all his Zombie servants serving as carriers of his throne, his footstool, and his fruit bowl? Our next bunch of flavorful picks is centered on the powerful necromancy employed by the Sultai.

Tasigur is the “Golden Fang,” and we know from the “Planeswalker’s Guide to Fate Reforged” that he is the heir to a Sultai fortune. To showcase that, I included cards that help to show off his glorious golden wealth.

Tasigur is also khan of the Sultai, a clan that prides itself on its ruthlessness in dealing with enemies. The following cards are some of the more ruthless cards found in the B/G/U color combination for multiplayer Commander play:

The Sultai also live in the jungles of Tarkir, so I needed some cards that played up that fact (and the creatures that you might expect to see living there).

Last, Tasigur loves his food (as seen in his card art and in his Uncharted Realms spotlight), so I included some cards that would create a minor harvest/abundance-of-food theme:

What I love most about this Vorthos list is that it doesn’t suck. One problem I often run into when building a flavorful deck is that, while the cards are solid and the idea is cool, when I actually play the deck against other players, my power level just cannot compete with their less restricted and more synergistic builds. Well, let me tell you that I was happy to discover that the Tasigur list above is far from a pushover, and it can easily generate a villainous amount of value, paying its way toward your ultimate victory.

But Ant, What Was in That Tube!?

Though I forgot, didn’t you? Let me ask you something: Do you know who rk post is? If you are somehow not in the know, Randy Post is a prolific Magic artist with well over one hundred artworks attributed to him. Randy’s unique style is instantly recognizable, and it has graced some of the most popular cards in Magic’s history.

Beyond that, Mr. Post is a card alterist and play mat designer, and he has a line of tokens that he created to sell at Magic events (to which he goes to a ton). If you ever have the chance to meet Randy at a local Grand Prix, I greatly encourage you to walk up, say hello, and possibly buy a sweet alter, play mat, token, or print. If you are unable to meet him in person, fear not! Randy offers his services through his website found here.

One additional offering provided by Randy is the option to join the RK Posse, which you can sign up for in person at an event or have added for free onto any online purchase from his site. What do you gain from being a member? You get to say that you are part of the RK Posse—I mean, seriously, what more could you want? That is just freakin’ sweet, amiright? I recently decided enough was enough, and it was time for me to become a member. Seeing as Randy wouldn’t be in town anytime soon, I decided to place an online order and request my membership that way.

Looks chock-full of Vorthos goodness, right? Let’s roll it out and see what we have:

I’ve been in need of a new play mat for a while now, and when I saw this one on Randy’s website titled “The Kiss,” l I just had to have it. Randy is one of my all-time favorite artists, and his line work on this piece is insane. I mean, just look at that dress . . . and the hair . . . and the smoke/mist face thingy. SO. GOOD.

But I couldn’t stop there, not when there were some sweet tokens to be had (and for only $0.50 each).

First, we have the sophisticated Germ token, perfectly suited to pilot your favorite Phyrexian Equipment in any game of Commander.

Then, I saw this Soldier token complete with an image of my absolute favorite type of character from the Star Wars universe, a Mandalorian in full armor.

Next, I got myself a good ol’ Toothless Frank token, and do I really need a reason? Just look at him! Plus, his token has no power or toughness or type, so I can use Frank to represent just about anything in game, which is a huge plus.

Finally, we come to the main reason we are all here, the RK Posse membership card. Individually numbered and signed by the artist, when you join Randy’s elite group, you gain proof of your membership to really boost your Vorthos cred.

These are just a few of the offerings found on Randy’s website, and if you are a fan of his work, I encourage you to check it out.

Come to the Flavorful Side

That’s all I have—tune in next week, and we will vote on the finalists in my Flavor Text Writing Contest. Until then, consider becoming a more vocal part of the Vorthos community! Being a Vorthos is pretty much the best thing on the planet. If you have not already, become more involved! You can do that by generating some cool Vorthos content, joining #Vorthos conversations on Twitter, purchasing some prints of your favorite Magic art, cosplaying as your favorite Planeswalker, or even by becoming a member of a posse. We may be a bunch of goobers having funsies, but we are loads more entertaining than those Melvins. So join us! You won’t regret it.