For this series, I set a budget of $75. That limits the card pool significantly, but aside from a few absurd cards, there are very few that are unreachable—they’ll just limit how much money is left to spend to complete the deck.

In that spirit, today’s deck will be the first that has an expensive, choice rare in its list. When I do this, I will attempt to make it a card you can use in future decks—and a card you’ll be glad you have as you explore the format on your own. This is exactly that kind of card. It’s a combo enabler, it’s a solid pump spell for any creature, and it’s something you’ll be glad to top-deck. It also plays nicely with today’s commander, who lets us warp the game in some unusual ways.

Godo, Bandit Warlord is awesome, and he has two relevant abilities. For a $5 card, he will give us some needed card advantage and consistency in a color that normally suffers in those arenas—and he’s also a reasonable threat. Paying 6 mana is a bit tough, especially if we need to recast him, but we can get around that.

We also need to draw cards. As red tends to be all-in, it can be difficult to keep up with the constant stream of draw other players seem to have. Our commander will help a bit fetching Equipment, but having more cards is better than fewer. Ichor Wellspring regularly draws us two cards for 2 mana and plays well with Shattering Pulse, and with Trading Post, it can be sacrificed and returned to hand by making a Goat or Kobold—we’ve paid or , and we’ve drawn three, ready to draw more. Diviner's Wand and Infiltration Lens are both searchable ways to accumulate cards, and Illuminated Folio is just good in mono-colored decks. Seer's Sundial lets us turn some of that extra mana into cards, which can help when you top-deck a land later in the game. A single casting of Knollspine Dragon gives us a fresh grip, which is often enough to close out the game—or at least keep us alive a while longer. Expedition Map isn’t exactly draw, but it can keep us closer to parity by fetching up Valakut or Encroaching Wastes.

Because red’s removal is primarily focused in damage, we’re limited in our removal because—let’s face it—Lightning Bolt, as awesome as it is, is terrible in Commander. But that doesn’t mean we’re sunk completely. Fissure and Aftershock will both kill a creature dead, as will Spine of Ish Sah (again working well with Shattering Pulse and Trading Post), while Flametongue Kavu is a classic that kills a lot of things. Spawn of Thraxes can also kill something when it enters play. Blasphemous Act, Chain Reaction, and Starstorm all serve as Wrath effects in a pinch. Plus, we can destroy artifacts with Manic Vandal and Shattering Pulse (always wait for buyback). Goblin Ruinblaster will help with the nasty utility lands others always want to play. Steel Hellkite can wreck someone’s world in addition to burninating his or her face. Wild Ricochet is as close as we’re going to get to a Counterspell in red, but when you use it on someone’s Path to Exile and exile two of that person’s things, it’s a great feeling. Wild Swing is unconditional removal in red. No, you aren’t able to choose what gets destroyed, but pick three good targets, and it’ll be worth the mana. Word of Seizing and Zealous Conscripts don’t exactly kill something, but with Trading Post out, either one can, and you can often set up a good play by running a stolen creature into a different player so he or she will block or by nabbing a Planeswalker and using a minus ability to kill it. Tormod's Crypt takes care of your reanimator player’s graveyard for no mana, and it can be brought back with Trading Post for another go if necessary.

And that brings us to the pocket combos in the deck. We have a couple ways to just win the game, but as with all combos, make sure you read your table and know what you’re doing before you go for it. Grafted Exoskeleton is stupid-mean here. Equip it, and Godo kills in a single turn of two attack steps. I recommend never grabbing this first; only do it when the game is close to an end and you’re ready to end it. Second, we have our excellent Sword of Feast and Famine. Attach it to any creature that can push through with either Aggravated Assault or Hellkite Charger on the battlefield. You swing, hit, untap all your lands, and pay either or to take an additional combat step. Swing again, untap again, pay again, and repeat until everyone else is dead. Finally, we have the hilarious Hellkite Tyrant. With this many artifacts in our deck, swinging at the right person could actually bring us to 20, which would be really funny.

Godo, Bandit Warlord ? Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (20)
• 1 Anger
• 1 Beetleback Chief
• 1 Fanatic of Mogis
• 1 Flametongue Kavu
• 1 Goblin Ruinblaster
• 1 Heirs of Stromkirk
• 1 Hellkite Charger
• 1 Hellkite Tyrant
• 1 Knollspine Dragon
• 1 Lightning Mauler
• 1 Manic Vandal
• 1 Mogg War Marshal
• 1 Ogre Battledriver
• 1 Siege-Gang Commander
• 1 Spawn of Thraxes
• 1 Zealous Conscripts
• 1 Brass Squire
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Steel Hellkite
• 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob

• Spells (40)
• 1 Fissure
• 1 Magnetic Theft
• 1 Reverberate
• 1 Shattering Pulse
• 1 Starstorm
• 1 Wild Ricochet
• 1 Word of Seizing
• 1 Aftershock
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Chain Reaction
• 1 Incendiary Command
• 1 Insurrection
• 1 Wild Swing
• 1 Aggravated Assault
• 1 Fervor
• 1 Argentum Armor
• 1 Druidic Satchel
• 1 Everflowing Chalice
• 1 Expedition Map
• 1 Fire Diamond
• 1 Foriysian Totem
• 1 Grafted Exoskeleton
• 1 Guardian Idol
• 1 Ichor Wellspring
• 1 Illuminated Folio
• 1 Infiltration Lens
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Pristine Talisman
• 1 Ring of Valkas
• 1 Seer's Sundial
• 1 Spine of Ish Sah
• 1 Star Compass
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1 Tormod's Crypt
• 1 Trading Post
• 1 Trailblazer's Boots
• 1 Whispersilk Cloak
• 1 Diviner's Wand
• 1 Tenza, Godo's Maul

• Lands (39)
• 33 Mountain
• 1 Dormant Volcano
• 1 Encroaching Wastes
• 1 Forgotten Cave
• 1 Smoldering Crater
• 1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
• 1 Kher Keep

Buy This Deck

If I were spending more money, I’d want a Mind's Eye first. Then, I’d look at even more busted Equipment—Sword of War and Peace and Sword of Fire and Ice would both be very good, as would Batterskull. Quietus Spike is an interesting and inexpensive addition as well; with a double-hit from Godo, a player goes from 40 to 7 life.

Is Grafted Exoskeleton too much here? Is it too obnoxious of a way to beat someone? Also, what other Equipment do you think could be good in the list? Sound off in the comments!

Part Voltron, part combo, all red zone, this deck is a great way to showcase how red can be amazing in Commander and can attack from multiple angles. Your opponents will never know what’s coming each time you pick this deck up—one-hit kills? Infinite attack steps? Valakut for the win? Have fun choosing!

Total cost: $73.19