MagicFest Atlanta is fast approaching, and for the first time ever The Vorthos Cast crew will be meeting up! We've never had all of us in the same place before, and to mark this occasion we'll be having a Weatherlight Era flavor duel! I'll be rocking a slightly modified (and depowered) version of my Greven deck I talked about last time. I'll also have, as a back-up, an updated version of my Sisay deck (like the one I posted here).

I've got the potential to play either the Weatherlight or the Phyrexian side of things, but what about my co-hosts? Well, let me introduce them first. Unfortunately, our cohost Ashley was swamped with school and not able to participate, although she'll be able to borrow a deck.

Loreley Weisel was initiated into the sliver hivemind in 2003. She's been writing about Magic lore since 2013 on MTG Salvation and her Tumblr blog, Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VIII. When not creating content about the game, Loreley is busy playing Commander, catching up on twenty-five years of Magic story, and writing names and flavor text for future sets. Loreley also scripts the planeswalker dialogue you hear in Arena.

Volrath, the Shapestealer by Heonhwa Choe

For MagicFest Atlanta, Loreley built Volrath, the Shapestealer. Loreley was strict on the flavor of her deck, with almost every card involved being from the Weatherlight saga, and the sets where Volrath is from (Tempest and Masques blocks) specifically. She discovered a weird interaction between Volrath and the Licids of the deck, which is (kind-of?) a feature. It's explained briefly in a recent Cranial insertion, but the gist is that if you make Volrath a copy of a Licid, and attach it to a creature, Volrath stays attached even after he transforms back.

I expect Loreley's deck to have a lot of bizarre rules interactions, and I'm excited to see how it plays out.

Volrath, the Shapestealer | Commander | Loreley Weisel

• Creatures (26)
• 1 Commander Greven il-Vec
• 1 Corrupting Licid
• 1 Dominating Licid
• 1 Dream Prowler
• 1 Giant Crab
• 1 Gliding Licid
• 1 Gravedigger
• 1 Leeching Licid
• 1 Manakin
• 1 Merfolk Looter
• 1 Nurturing Licid
• 1 Pit Spawn
• 1 Plaguebearer
• 1 Rhox
• 1 Spike Breeder
• 1 Spike Colony
• 1 Spike Rogue
• 1 Stronghold Assassin
• 1 Stronghold Biologist
• 1 Stronghold Machinist
• 1 Tempting Licid
• 1 Thalakos Deceiver
• 1 Unstable Shapeshifter
• 1 Verdant Force
• 1 Vhati il-Dal
• 1 Volrath's Shapeshifter

• Instants (9)
• 1 Capsize
• 1 Dark Banishing
• 1 Dominate
• 1 Evacuation
• 1 Harrow
• 1 Mana Leak
• 1 Necrologia
• 1 Reckless Spite
• 1 Reins of Power

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Cannibalize
• 1 Death's Duet
• 1 Evincar's Justice
• 1 Extinction
• 1 Living Death
• 1 Mulch
• 1 Overrun
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Reanimate

• Enchantments (12)
• 1 Burgeoning
• 1 Dauthi Embrace
• 1 Death Pits of Rath
• 1 Equilibrium
• 1 Fevered Convulsions
• 1 Grave Pact
• 1 Intruder Alarm
• 1 Legacy's Allure
• 1 Overgrowth
• 1 Propaganda
• 1 Seal of Doom
• 1 Volrath's Curse

• Artifacts (7)
• 1 Bullwhip
• 1 Erratic Portal
• 1 Helm of Possession
• 1 Hornet Cannon
• 1 Portcullis
• 1 Predator, Flagship
• 1 Volrath's Laboratory

• Lands (36)
• 10 Island
• 13 Swamp
• 7 Forest
• 1 Pine Barrens
• 1 Reflecting Pool
• 1 Rootwater Depths
• 1 Skyshroud Forest
• 1 Rath's Edge
• 1 Volrath's Stronghold

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Cary Thomas is a variety creator of Magic content. Channeling their love of humor, entertainment, and lore, Cary will try to work on any idea that catches in their mind on a given day. With projects ranging from digitally archiving issues of The Duelist magazine to creating the first searchable catalog for over twenty-six years of Magic's stories, it's no wonder why Cary ranks as Magic's 825th Most Invested Story Fan.

Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero by Zack Stella

Cary's deck is less strict than Loreley's, but makes good use of the reanimation provided by Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero. There's a good mix of creatures and artifacts here, as well as board wipes and other ways to take advantage of all the death and destruction. They also did a great job in getting various pieces of the Legacy Weapon into the deck... whether or not they'll be particularly useful.

Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero | Commnader | Cary Thomas

• Commander (1)
• 1 Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Banisher Priest
• 1 Beast of Burden
• 1 Benalish Commander
• 1 Benalish Marshal
• 1 Blinding Angel
• 1 Brass Secretary
• 1 Captain of the Watch
• 1 Flamewright
• 1 Goblin Engineer
• 1 Goblin Welder
• 1 Knight of Old Benalia
• 1 Soltari Guerrillas
• 1 Soltari Visionary
• 1 Squee, the Immortal
• 1 Starke of Rath
• 1 Stormfront Riders
• 1 Stuffy Doll
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Viashino Heretic
• 1 Volcano Hellion
• 1 Voltaic Servant

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Karn, Scion of Urza

• Instants (3)
• 1 Debt of Loyalty
• 1 Fight to the Death
• 1 Order // Chaos

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Gift of Estates
• 1 Heroic Reinforcements
• 1 March of Souls
• 1 Planar Cleansing
• 1 Rout

• Enchantments (9)
• 1 Field of Souls
• 1 Goblin Trenches
• 1 Guilty Conscience
• 1 History of Benalia
• 1 Soul Snare
• 1 Squee's Embrace
• 1 Story Circle
• 1 Triumph of Gerrard
• 1 Uphill Battle

• Artifacts (25)
• 1 Ancestral Blade
• 1 Bloodthirsty Blade
• 1 Chimeric Sphere
• 1 Heart of Ramos
• 1 Heirloom Blade
• 1 Icon of Ancestry
• 1 Icy Manipulator
• 1 Juju Bubble
• 1 Mightstone
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Mind's Eye
• 1 Power Matrix
• 1 Skyshaper
• 1 Squee's Toy
• 1 Thran Dynamo
• 1 Thran Forge
• 1 Thran Tome
• 1 Thran Turbine
• 1 Tooth of Ramos
• 1 Touchstone
• 1 Trading Post
• 1 Urza's Tome
• 1 Weakstone
• 1 Weatherlight
• 1 Worn Powerstone

• Lands (35)
• 12 Mountain
• 12 Plains
• 1 Battlefield Forge
• 1 Buried Ruin
• 1 Cryptic Caves
• 1 Forbidding Watchtower
• 1 Ghitu Encampment
• 1 Memorial to Glory
• 1 Mistveil Plains
• 1 Scabland
• 1 Secluded Steppe
• 1 Stalking Stones
• 1 Urza's Factory

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Brian Dawes has been eye-deep in Magic story since buying his first Odyssey packs in 2001. When not rallying the elves in every format, he can be found jamming games of Commander, consuming hours of Magic podcasts and videos, or trying to make the Magic Story and community more welcoming to anyone interested.

Tahngarth, First Mate by Anna Steinbauer

Brian's deck skews less flavorfully, but only in terms of the cards being outside of the Weatherlight saga. Each card is a reflection of Tahngarth's state of mind after his horrific transformation at the hands of Phyrexia. He's aggressive and full of rage, and he's constantly throwing himself into battle. Tahngarth, First Mate makes good use of some of the strategies I mentioned in my own Tahngarth build.

Tahngarth, First Mate | Commander | Brian Dawes

• Commander (1)
• 1 Tahngarth, First Mate

• Creatures (15)
• 1 Ahn-Crop Crasher
• 1 Anaba Spirit Crafter
• 1 Anger
• 1 Brawn
• 1 Felhide Spiritbinder
• 1 Glint-Horn Buccaneer
• 1 Goblin Diplomats
• 1 Goblin Spymaster
• 1 Oracle of Bones
• 1 Rageblood Shaman
• 1 Smelt-Ward Minotaur
• 1 Tahngarth, Talruum Hero
• 1 Talruum Champion
• 1 Talruum Piper
• 1 Warmonger Hellkite

• Instants (8)
• 1 Ancient Animus
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Brawl
• 1 Fling
• 1 Pit Fight
• 1 Slice in Twain
• 1 Smash
• 1 Titanic Brawl

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Epic Confrontation
• 1 Hull Breach
• 1 Monstrify
• 1 Overrun
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Savage Punch
• 1 Savage Smash
• 1 Seething Anger
• 1 Soul's Majesty

• Enchantments (16)
• 1 Aggravated Assault
• 1 Ferocity
• 1 Fires of Yavimaya
• 1 Flaming Sword
• 1 Frenzied Rage
• 1 Grand Melee
• 1 Gratuitous Violence
• 1 Imposing Visage
• 1 In the Web of War
• 1 Maniacal Rage
• 1 Onslaught
• 1 Rancor
• 1 Season of Growth
• 1 Tahngarth's Rage
• 1 Undying Rage
• 1 War's Toll

• Artifacts (15)
• 1 Assault Suit
• 1 Bloodthirsty Blade
• 1 Coalition Relic
• 1 Explorer's Scope
• 1 Grappling Hook
• 1 Hero's Blade
• 1 Mage Slayer
• 1 Phyrexian Splicer
• 1 Predator, Flagship
• 1 Skyship Weatherlight
• 1 Sword of Light and Shadow
• 1 Sword of Truth and Justice
• 1 Torture Chamber
• 1 Volrath's Laboratory
• 1 Weatherlight

• Lands (36)
• 12 Forest
• 17 Mountain
• 1 Forge of Heroes
• 1 Ghitu Encampment
• 1 Homeward Path
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Treetop Village
• 1 Wooded Foothills

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TIME TO D-D-D-D-DUEL!

So, which deck do you think will come out victorious? Personally, my Greven deck and Brian's Tahngarth deck are the strongest of the lot, but we're going to be very much at the mercy of Cary's board wipes. Greven is probably the strongest Commander here, but because I didn't include much lifelink, I'm going to be a clock much faster than the others. I'm going to either win or die first, I doubt there will be a middle ground.

Wildcards like our fifth co-host, Ashley, joining us and playing Sisay, Weatherlight Captain could also change the game dramatically. From a politics perspective, it'll be interesting to see how Cary manages being the obvious threat to anyone who wants a board state. Loreley's deck, despite appearing the weakest at first glance, might actually be the most resilient deck of the bunch. I'm curious to see how her strategies play out, especially since she's like to be the last person everyone guns for.

Feel free to vote for your favorite here:

I'll be posting the results when we get back!