On our first run through Convertible Commander, we looked at how swapping out a few cards here and there can make a difference in the way the game, and our experience, turns out. This time, though, let’s look at a time-honored tradition of building a commander deck with multiple commanders and see if we can double the fun by changing out a few cards.

As a budget writer, I like how a Convertible Commander deck adds value to our cards by giving us two decks which will play in very different ways without even the need to carry two deck boxes, and all for the cost of a single inexpensive deck. With today’s deck, we can thump our opponents hard with a giant sea monster, or we can change 11 cards to use a scalpel to take the good stuff from our opponents’ stacks for our team. It gives a lot of value for a few bucks over $100.

While we’re at it, let’s have some fun with a commander most folks won’t expect.

As Mono-Blue commanders go, this guy doesn’t even come close to the top of most players’ lists. With powerhouses available like Arcanis the Omnipotent or Azami, Lady of Scrolls, it’s hard to imagine a high-cmc dork that’s just sort of big and smashy being particularly interesting. However, the kraken we’ll unleash is tough to remove and quite the challenge to block. It kills in three hits; with some power-boosting, two; with some extra power and double-strike, one. That’s sure to get our opponents’ attention. So we can do something most people won’t expect from a Mono-Blue player and get seriously aggressive, exploding our mana and hitting really hard out of nowhere. Before the optionboard, this deck plays on Blue strengths without using traditional directions.

We’ll also draw plenty of cards. Mulldrifter is just great, Mind Unbound gets nutty fast, and Rush of Knowledge with a commander like Tromokratis refills the hand quickly. Last Thoughts draws over and over. Bident of Thassa does great work, considering our opponents’ difficulty in blocking our general. Sphinx of Magosi is a great use of extra mana. That said, unlike the traditional Blue deck which draws all the cards, we don’t actually need to. We want to get our commander out, put a piece of equipment or two on it, and start killing opponents. It’s funny to watch how our commander changes combat for opponents because they are afraid to have even a single tapped creature.

While we’re at it, we’ve got a bunch of ways to punch our big dudes through. A few cards like Flood and Hands of Binding focus on our commander. Soaring Seacliff gives our commander flying, big trouble for the opponent with even a single creature lacking flying or reach. Other spells can help any of our big guys — Aqueous Form and Whispersilk Cloak make our creature unblockable, and Trailblazer's Boots does the same almost always. Loxodon Warhammer gives trample. Meanwhile, Neurok Steathsuit gives us the chance to protect our guys, and we can even move that thing around at instant speed. Fireshrieker and Grappling Hook both give double strike, which is terrifying with most of these guys, and either of those plus three counters from Ring of Evos Isle make Tromokratisa one-hit-kill.

Since we’re sneaking our guys through, Cipher spells are great. We’ve also got plenty of enters-the-battlefield effects, so that Mimic Vat and Deadeye Navigator pull their weight. Sphinx Ambassador can be comical — choose carefully!

Tromokratis ? Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commander (1)
• 1 Tromokratis

• Creatures (18)
• 1 Archetype of Imagination
• 1 Breaching Leviathan
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Deadeye Navigator
• 1 Elgaud Shieldmate
• 1 Fog Bank
• 1 Frost Lynx
• 1 Guardian of Tazeem
• 1 Hypnotic Siren
• 1 Master of Predicaments
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Neurok Invisimancer
• 1 Scourge of Fleets
• 1 Sphinx Ambassador
• 1 Sphinx of Magosi
• 1 Steel Hellkite
• 1 Vortex Elemental
• 1 Wonder

• Spells (41)
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Discombobulate
• 1 Echoing Truth
• 1 Icy Blast
• 1 Hands of Binding
• 1 Last Thoughts
• 1 Rush of Knowledge
• 1 Stolen Identity
• 1 Whelming Wave
• 1 Aqueous Form
• 1 Confiscate
• 1 Flood
• 1 Mind Control
• 1 Mind Unbound
• 1 Mystic Restraints
• 1 Propaganda
• 1 Stasis Cell
• 1 Volition Reins
• 1 Argentum Armor
• 1 Caged Sun
• 1 Crystal Ball
• 1 Dreamstone Hedron
• 1 Everflowing Chalice
• 1 Fireshrieker
• 1 Grappling Hook
• 1 Hedron Archive
• 1 Hot Soup
• 1 Loxodon Warhammer
• 1 Mimic Vat
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Neurok Stealthsuit
• 1 Pristine Talisman
• 1 Prowler's Helm
• 1 Ring of Evos Isle
• 1 Sapphire Medallion
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Sword of Vengeance
• 1 Thought Vessel
• 1 Trailblazer's Boots
• 1 Whispersilk Cloak
• 1 Bident of Thassa

• Lands (40)
• 25 Island
• 1 Arcane Lighthouse
• 1 Blighted Cataract
• 1 Cathedral of War
• 1 Encroaching Wastes
• 1 Halimar Depths
• 1 Homeward Path
• 1 Maze of Ith
• 1 Mirrorpool
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Skyline Cascade
• 1 Soaring Seacliff
• 1 Tectonic Edge
• 1 Temple of the False God

Buy This Deck

This looks like fun. It’s going to ramp up, answer a couple of problems, and smash pretty hard. I made a choice for Maze of Ith over Rhystic Study, but with a few more bucks, I’d probably put them both in. Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots (or any haste-granter) would be very strong, but seemed too linear and not as fun. A turn six double striking Tromokratis is really strong. One with haste and hexproof seems like a bit much.

But the optionboard really changes the flavor to focus differently. Rather than having a few different options for a couple of cards, instead we’ll swap in all 11 to have a different deck, including the commander, and instead of winning with our own creatures we plan to punish our opponents with their own resources! Here’s what we’re going to carry with our deck and be ready to drop in:

• 1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
• 1 Quicksilver Fountain
• 1 Mind's Dilation
• 1 Draining Whelk
• 1 Etherium Sculptor
• 1 Stormtide Leviathan
• 1 Vedalken Plotter
• 1 Aquitect's Will
• 1 Spreading Seas
• 1 Knowledge Exploitation
• 1 Strip Mine

What to take out for the optionboard? A good question. I’d start with Breaching Leviathan, Scourge of Fleets, Loxodon Warhammer, and Sword of Vengeance. Tromokratis comes out, too, and Homeward Path for Strip Mine. But that leaves five more, so I’ll leave that to you. What would you remove? What would you add to the original deck? Would you do more to transform the deck? And while we’re at it, what commanders would you like to see get the Convertible treatment?

Now get out there and beat down with your Mono-Blue deck! Or steal your friends’ stuff. Your choice.

Total cost of deck: $86.88

Total cost of optionboard: $18.08