I went into this week thinking Simic (). "Something tricky," I thought. "Something wacky."

Tricky? Wacky? Simic, schmimic.

Core Set 2019 has brought us new versions of the original Elder Dragons (the ones after which Commander was originally named), and they're pretty awesome. But I've got to say, ol' Vaevictis here really takes the cake for awesome; something about this dragon just makes me want to cast him and swing in, then let the pieces fall where they may. Of course, we can always build our deck to take full advantage!

Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire -- Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commander (1)
• 1 Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Atarka, World Render
• 1 Avenger of Zendikar
• 1 Combustible Gearhulk
• 1 Dragon Broodmother
• 1 Dragonlair Spider
• 1 It That Betrays
• 1 Kothophed, Soul Hoarder
• 1 Lathliss, Dragon Queen
• 1 Overseer of the Damned
• 1 Rampaging Baloths
• 1 Ravenous Chupacabra
• 1 Sepulchral Primordial
• 1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1 Terastodon
• 1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
• 1 The Gitrog Monster
• 1 Urabrask the Hidden
• 1 Utvara Hellkite
• 1 Void Winnower
• 1 Wasitora, Nekoru Queen
• 1 Worldspine Wurm

• Enchantments (13)
• 1 Aid from the Cowl
• 1 Asceticism
• 1 Grave Betrayal
• 1 Haunted Crossroads
• 1 Journey to Eternity
• 1 Lurking Predators
• 1 Mirri's Guile
• 1 Pernicious Deed
• 1 Revel in Riches
• 1 Stolen Strategy
• 1 Sylvan Library
• 1 The Mending of Dominaria
• 1 Warstorm Surge

• Artifacts (25)
• 1 Chromatic Lantern
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Crystal Ball
• 1 Dragon's Hoard
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Golgari Cluestone
• 1 Golgari Keyrune
• 1 Golgari Signet
• 1 Gruul Cluestone
• 1 Gruul Keyrune
• 1 Gruul Signet
• 1 Hedron Archive
• 1 Helm of the Host
• 1 Ichor Wellspring
• 1 Mycosynth Wellspring
• 1 Obelisk of Jund
• 1 Rakdos Cluestone
• 1 Rakdos Keyrune
• 1 Rakdos Signet
• 1 Sisay's Ring
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Spine of Ish Sah
• 1 Strionic Resonator
• 1 Thran Dynamo
• 1 Worn Powerstone

• Lands (40)
• 2 Swamp
• 3 Forest
• 3 Mountain
• 1 Arcane Lighthouse
• 1 Blighted Fen
• 1 Bloodfell Caves
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Canyon Slough
• 1 Cinder Glade
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Detection Tower
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Hanweir Battlements
• 1 Homeward Path
• 1 Jungle Hollow
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run
• 1 Khalni Garden
• 1 Luxury Suite
• 1 Mountain Valley
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Rocky Tar Pit
• 1 Rootbound Crag
• 1 Rugged Highlands
• 1 Savage Lands
• 1 Sheltered Thicket
• 1 Smoldering Marsh
• 1 Spire Garden
• 1 Tectonic Edge
• 1 Temple of Abandon
• 1 Temple of Malady
• 1 Temple of Malice
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Woodland Cemetery

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Because Vaev looks for permanents, we leverage this by having a deck that's nothing but permanents. While we're at it, we're going to be playing some really powerful stuff for free, so we're not running a ton of answers, leaning heavily into must-answer threats instead. We want to start pressure early and continue pressing until we or everyone else is dead . . .  but we're not going to mess very much with other player's games. That said, your playgroup may require more solutions to problems, in which case, run your Reclamation Sages and your Massacre Wurms.

One problem we've got is Vaev's six-mana cost, and we really don't want to wait till turn seven to do anything. Ramp is the solution, but we must avoid the best ramp in which is sorcery-based. Sure, Farhaven Elf is a thing, but ideally we start ramping earlier than that, and we really want to hit two ramp spells in the first three turns (which means the first 10 cards) so we might cast Vaev as early as turn four, attacking on turn five. That means artifacts! The artifacts are good for color fixing and we can sacrifice them to Vaev's attack trigger later once we've got enough mana from our lands. So we've got 40 lands plus 20 -- seriously, 20 -- mana rocks, from Sol Ring on up to Sisay's Ring, all there with the hope we'll have that magic six mana on turn four. Most of the lands are self-explanatory, but two in particular are worth mention: Arcane Lighthouse and the new Detection Tower. These cards are clutch in this deck, because they allow us to target around hexproof with Vaev's trigger.

What we lack in draw or consistency we make up for in raw power. Dragon Broodmother seems good. Combustible Gearhulk is hilarious here, because it's pretty likely we'll flip at least one really big spell with it and hit for a bunch of damage. The Gitrog Monster will draw us some cards and let us use the extra lands we draw, while Titania, Protector of Argoth will buy one back for us. Overseer of the Damned is going to be spitting out Zombies for us, while Dragonlair Spider makes Insects; both kinds of tokens are excellent for sacrificing to Vaevictis's trigger. Void Winnower makes it so all opponents can't even (which is super frustrating), and Worldspine Wurm is HUGE. That said, Jund offers a wealth of choices. Harvester of Souls would be good. Hellkite Tyrant is always a good time. Have fun with these slots and play your favorite giant dudes.

Plus we've got a bunch of cool enchantments which do neat stuff! Aid from the Cowl is like Vaev 2.0, and Grave Betrayal means all the creatures we're forcing them to sacrifice join our side. Lurking Predators won't hit a ton, but when it does it'll be pretty effective. The Mending of Dominaria will get us back a bunch of the lands we've already binned, Warstorm Surge should throw around a good amount of damage, and Stolen Strategy seems like a good way to use up much of our extra mana. Journey to Eternity isn't terribly expensive and Atzal, Cave of Eternity is fabulous when we can get it. The real gem, however, is Haunted Crossroads. Let's say our Urabrask the Hidden was doing good work for us, but someone decided it needed to go, so they Murdered it. We use Haunted Crossroads to put it on top of our library, then attack with Vaev, and we've got our Urabrask back where we want him, on the battlefield.

Crystal Ball, Sylvan Library, and Mirri's Guile all work with Haunted Crossroads to let us organize the top of our library some to sweeten Vaev's ability. Sensei's Divining Top would probably be good here too, but that card is absurdly expensive. If you've got one, it'll almost certainly be better in another deck that really needs it. If you have multiples, you do you. If you're going to buy one to put in this deck, probably rethink that choice. Four ways to mess with the top are plenty, because this deck loses its whole thing if it's too organized. It's more fun with some amount of unknown. Strionic Resonator, on the other hand, giving us a second activation is absolutely worth the price of admission. Helm of the Host does the same thing as Strionic, except we hit for extra damage because of the token. Revel in Riches probably just wants to make Treasure to sacrifice to the Dire one, but if it's looking like the win might happen that way with a surfeit of Treasure, go for it.

We can get lost in making our Commander decks powerful and competitive. This deck is sheer fun. It wants to throw a party and everyone is invited, because sometimes an opponent is going to flip over a Luminate Primordial off that trigger. It's going to be splashy and wild, and people will really really want to know what's on top of every deck. That's great, and I highly recommend building the deck similarly to this in order to achieve that feeling. Pure battlecruiser Magic, with a side of whacky.

Then again, sometimes the game gets a little more . . .  titchy. Maybe there's a bone to pick, or people have decided to pack their best decks, or maybe the group today is just a bit more cutthroat. That's all fine, as long as everyone agrees, but a few small adds might be in order.

• Butcher of Malakir
• Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• Rune-Scarred Demon
• Dictate of Erebos
• Grave Pact
• Liliana Vess
• 4 Swamp

First, we're going to make it a bit more painful for everyone else when we sac our own tokens with a few Grave Pact effects. We're also adding a few ways to hunt for them; no Demonic Tutors here, but Rune-Scarred Demon can pull up that Dictate of Erebos. Liliana Vess (the OG Lili) will search up a card and put it right on top for us, perfect for a free drop off our Commander. We're also going to take out two Forests and two Mountains for four Swamps because we've got more Black now. Not for nothing, but this might be the place for that Massacre Wurm; it'll hit anything small they've got when it comes down, then keep punishing them every time we make them sacrifice another creature. This could also be a good place for a Sensei's Divining Top, or even something like Flameshadow Conjuring or Moldgraf Monstrosity.

Let's be honest: this optionboarded version isn't going to be a super-powerful deck that'll ruin every table it encounters. It just ups the consistency a bit so we make sure we hit the power when we need it, giving it a boost. Again, I highly recommend starting with the first version; it will be tons of fun at most tables and won't feel overly oppressive. Use the optionboard at your own peril.

Is there a new Elder Dragon you're excited to build around? Anything crazy we missed here? Does Massacre Wurm belong in the 99? Let us all know in the comments!

Thanks for reading.