Tell me, do you enjoying reading stories as they play out, or would you rather shape plotlines to your whim?

Wild Research by Gary Ruddell

Few formats so deftly blend flavor and function as Commander, where you literally recruit a historical figure to lead your army. But what's the connection between these legendary cards and their actual legends? It is possible to build decks in such a way that we can see these stories play out in the course of a game? Or, if we prefer to take a more active hand, meddle with the fate of our heroes and villains?

Today, we'll delve into the ancient lore of Magic: The Gathering and fuse it with our deck-building. The resulting Frankenstein's monster will be a pair of fully playable Commander decks, complete with themes and synergies, that also recount a story from Magic's fabled past. All card and deck-building choices will serve to tell the tale, allowing you to regale your playgroup (while you simultaneously crush them).

So, join me, brave brewer, on this quest to recreate the past. And win while doing so.

Glissa Sunseeker by Brom

A reluctant hero seeks to avenge her kin, unaware of the power lying dormant inside.

Her quest will transform an entire realm.

Memnarch by Carl Critchlow

Born of the Mirari, a mad dictator seeks to elevate himself to god.

And all he needs is a certain Elf.

Before we journey out into the wilderness, a few ground rules...

1. Function comes first:

Our mission is to design playable Commander decks that not only detail one of Magic's story arcs, but also seek to win the game. As such, some cards must be left on the cutting room floor. Hordes of Leveler make frequent appearances in the "Moons of Mirrodin" novel, but the card itself certainly can't go in any deck! While Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer is a pivotal character in the story, it's not like we can include the little guy in a deck led by Glissa Sunseeker.

Though we can certainly find creative stand-ins for these two. Read on, brave souls!

2. Flavor still dictates card selection:

A card's connection to Magic lore may disqualify it from this experiment. The notorious Cyclonic Rift is powerful, but also intrinsically linked to the Izzet Guild, with their logo literally stamped right onto it. Don't a expect a Puresteel Paladin to wield a Spear of Heliod. Cards can only reference planes/characters they're organically linked to. Depending on how much "narrative vs. competitive" matters to you personally, I leave it up to you to tinker with the builds as you see fit. Commander is all about creativity, after all.

3. That said, if a card could exist on another plane, it's totally up for grabs:

Today's tale may not involve Amonkhet, but I see no reason something like Scavenger Grounds is out of bounds. Such an environment could feasibly appear in many worlds, and the graveyard hate it provides is an important tool for a Commander deck to have in its pocket. We're allowing wiggle-room when picking cards that could feasibly slide into any narrative. Burnished Hart could be a robot-deer anywhere, not just on Theros.

Parts one and two of the classic Mirrodin Block, in a time long before the Phyrexian invasion (though there is a bit of weird oil lying around), "The Moons of Mirrodin", by Will McDermott, and "The Darksteel Eye", by Jess Lebow, set the stage for today's journey. It would take us numerous pages to recount these tales, so let's hit the high-notes:

"The Moons of Mirrodin" introduces us to Memnarch, a Mirari-born mechanical being created by Karn, now a full-fledged Planeswalker. His job is to keep an eye on Argentum, the metallic and mathematically-precise artificial plan Karn assembled from scratch. It doesn't take long for Memnarch to get bored and decide that Argentum could use some living organisms, so he begins 'poaching' people and animals from other worlds. The trip melds the metallic architecture of the plane with its new peoples, resulting in everyone on Argentum taking on that signature steely look. Generations pass, and with them, the people's memories of their former worlds. Along with a hefty dose of Memnarch's already-tenuous sanity. Argentum is now known as Mirrodin.

Eyes of the Watcher by Ron Spears

Flash-forward to present day, and we meet the Elven hunter Glissa. She resides in the Tangle along with her fellow Elves, who receive periodic visions of their former lives. Glissa's are quite startling: seeing her people completely devoid of metal. Made up of only flesh and blood. Unbeknownst to her, she's witnessing the Elf race before their abduction from Dominaria, prior to everyone getting all blinged-out. Her Troll neighbors, who totally don't know more than they initially let on, routinely wipe the minds of the Elves, but Glissa decides to skip out on the Rebuking Ceremony, eager to discover more.

Needless to say, it doesn't go over well. While the Trolls are able to protect Glissa, who helps herself to their Sword of Kaldra, a swarm of Levelers slaughter Glissa's entire family. What follows is a journey of revenge, as Glissa seeks both retribution for her family's death and answers to just what in the heck is going on. Why are all these living lawn-mowers after her?

Along the way, she'll form a band of adventurers: Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer, a Goblin outcast who's handy with electronics, Karn, Iron Golem, an ancient brute with fleeting memories of Argentum, and eventually, even the great Kaldra Avatar, itself. Assembling Kaldra stretches out into "The Darksteel Eye", and plays out much like a fetch-quests in an RPG, with pretty much all the peoples and places of the fantasy land explored along the way.

Kaldra art by Donato Giancola

After Glissa Sunseeker unlocks the achievement "Assembled Kaldra Avatar!", she attempts to face Memnarch a' la Luke Skywalker facing Vader in "Empire Strikes Back". Shocker, it does not go well. Apparently, Glissa forgot to read Memnarch's activated ability, because you know what happens? Exactly what you think.

Choose your Player

And it's this very confrontation that inspires today's dueling decks! One seeks to tear through artificial opposition while the other aims to wield total control over it. You'll find that both contain the Kaldra pieces, providing a flavorful sub-game race to assemble it first. This being Commander, you'll have two other (likely confused) opponents, so each deck has plenty of tools that'll support a 4-player experience.

Get ready for battle!

Glissa's Vengeance | Commander | Matt Lotti

• Commander (1)
• 1 Glissa Sunseeker

• Creatures (20)
• 1 Bane of Progress
• 1 Bellowing Tanglewurm
• 1 Brown Ouphe
• 1 Copperhoof Vorrac
• 1 Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Fangren Marauder
• 1 Hexdrinker
• 1 Liege of the Tangle
• 1 Living Hive
• 1 Molder Beast
• 1 Molder Slug
• 1 Myr Landshaper
• 1 Myr Welder
• 1 Platinum Emperion
• 1 Ravenous Slime
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 1 Seedborn Muse
• 1 Tanglewalker
• 1 Viridian Zealot

• Instants (6)
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Force of Vigor
• 1 Hunter's Insight
• 1 Natural Reclamation
• 1 Slice in Twain
• 1 Worldly Tutor

• Sorceries (18)
• 1 Beacon of Creation
• 1 Creeping Corrosion
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Deconstruct
• 1 Edge of Autumn
• 1 Explore
• 1 Genesis Wave
• 1 Green Sun's Zenith
• 1 Journey of Discovery
• 1 Nature's Lore
• 1 Primal Command
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Ranger's Path
• 1 Regrowth
• 1 Restore
• 1 Road of Return
• 1 Three Visits
• 1 Tooth and Nail

• Enchantments (2)
• 1 Viridian Revel
• 1 Vow of Wildness

• Artifacts (15)
• 1 Caged Sun
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Emerald Medallion
• 1 Endless Atlas
• 1 Farsight Mask
• 1 Helm of Kaldra
• 1 Liar's Pendulum
• 1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Liquimetal Coating
• 1 Mycosynth Lattice
• 1 Shield of Kaldra
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Sword of Kaldra
• 1 Wayfarer's Bauble

• Lands (38)
• 25 Forest
• 1 Ancient Tomb
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Homeward Path
• 1 Mosswort Bridge
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Scavenger Grounds
• 1 Slippery Karst
• 1 Tranquil Thicket
• 1 Tree of Tales
• 1 War Room
• 1 Wirewood Lodge

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Artifacts are perhaps the most common permanent in Commander. Glissa Sunseeker tears through them like a darksteel knife through butter. Back in ye' olde age of mana burn, her restriction was more difficult to work around, but it's far less so now. This deck's modus operandi is controlling the board of all things artificial while you ramp up into large, beastly threats to close things out. Along the way, you'll find ways to turn non-artifacts into artifacts, which is unlikely to win you friends, but can go a long way towards winning the game.

Stomp, Stomp, CRUNCH: Our creatures fall into three camps: those that play well with Glissa's theme of artifact destruction, others that play more general supporting roles like graveyard hate and utility, and finally, our big bruisers to smash skulls into paste.

In category one, you'll find Molder Slug, Viridian Zealot, Bane of Progress, Fangren Marauder, Myr Welder to steel abilities from artifact's you've already blown up, and Brown Ouphe, who's our color-shifted stand-in for Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer. Category two sees many familiar faces: Eternal Witness, Scavenging Ooze, Ravenous Slime, and Seedborn Muse. Finally, our set of game-winning stompers consist of the classic Craterhoof Behemoth, happy to take advantage of all the insects generated by Beacon of Creation and Living Hive. Fellow beastly troops include Liege of the Tangle, Hexdrinker, Molder Beast, Copperhoof Vorrac, Bellowing Tanglewurm and Tanglewalker to help get the team through, and the massive Platinum Emperion to stand in for Bosh, Iron Golem. Seek to use the former two categories of creatures to establish control over the beginning-to-middle portion of the game, then transition to the latter bunch to close things out.

Wilderness Wizardry: We also pack plenty of supporting spells to help us achieve the above goal. Creeping Corrosion, Slice in Twain, Force of Vigor, and Natural Reclamation continue to deliver anti-artifact tech, which Viridian Revel, one of your deck's strongest cards, will take full advantage of. Other sources of card advantage include Hunter's Insight, Liar's Pendulum, Endless Atlas, Farsight Mask, War Room, and Lifecrafter's Bestiary. Finally, for problematic permanents that aren't already artifacts, Liquimetal Coating and Mycosynth Lattice are happy to add a chrome finish (and corresponding bulleye).

A Walk in the Woods: Finally, this being a Mono-Green deck, we've a bounty of great ramp spells to fetch us all the Forests. Classics like Cultivate, Rampant Growth, Nature's Lore, and the thematic Journey of Discovery keep the mana growing at an ample rate, necessary toward getting more of our expensive cards online later in the game.

So far, I'd say Glissa is putting up quite the imposing force, especially against a metal-man like Memnarch. With so many sliver-bullets at her disposal, how could Memnarch possible overcome such destructive power?

Well, he could always steal it...

Memarch's Reign | Commander | Matt Lotti

• Commander (1)
• 1 Memnarch

• Creatures (20)
• 1 Arcbound Crusher
• 1 Arcbound Ravager
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Chromescale Drake
• 1 Darksteel Colossus
• 1 Darksteel Juggernaut
• 1 Geode Golem
• 1 Kuldotha Forgemaster
• 1 Mycosynth Golem
• 1 Myr Retriever
• 1 Palladium Myr
• 1 Riddlesmith
• 1 Scrapyard Recombiner
• 1 Shimmer Myr
• 1 Silent Arbiter
• 1 Silver Myr
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Treasure Mage
• 1 Vedalken Archmage
• 1 Vedalken Engineer

• Instants (7)
• 1 Aetherize
• 1 Argent Mutation
• 1 Blue Sun's Zenith
• 1 Domineering Will
• 1 Evacuation
• 1 Sudden Substitution
• 1 Thirst for Knowledge

• Sorceries (4)
• 1 Acquire
• 1 Fabricate
• 1 Shrewd Negotiation
• 1 Switcheroo

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Dissipation Field
• 1 Eyes of the Watcher
• 1 Propaganda

• Artifacts (27)
• 1 Blasting Station
• 1 Blinkmoth Urn
• 1 Commander's Sphere
• 1 Darksteel Forge
• 1 Darksteel Ingot
• 1 Darksteel Pendant
• 1 Endless Atlas
• 1 Grinding Station
• 1 Guardian Idol
• 1 Helm of Kaldra
• 1 Ingenuity Engine
• 1 Mindslaver
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Neurok Stealthsuit
• 1 Oblivion Stone
• 1 Proteus Staff
• 1 Salvaging Station
• 1 Sculpting Steel
• 1 Shield of Kaldra
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Staff of Domination
• 1 Summoning Station
• 1 Surveyor's Scope
• 1 Sword of Kaldra
• 1 Thought Vessel
• 1 Unwinding Clock
• 1 Vedalken Shackles

• Lands (38)
• 27 Island
• 1 Ancient Tomb
• 1 Arcane Lighthouse
• 1 Blast Zone
• 1 Buried Ruin
• 1 Darksteel Citadel
• 1 Detection Tower
• 1 Lonely Sandbar
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Remote Isle
• 1 Seat of the Synod

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Glissa's strategy is one of destruction, policing which artifacts stick around versus going boom. Memnarch's approach is less explosive, but far more nefarious. Our metal madman seeks to reign supreme over Mirrodin, and so absolute control is his name of the game. Memnarch's iron arsenal is not only vast, but also very proficient at swiping the tools and troops of others. Then destroying opponents with their own brainwashed companions.

If I only had a heart: Establishing control takes time, and so our creatures initially work to both protect us and get the artifact engine going. Silent Arbiter, Scrapyard Recombiner, Arcbound Crusher, Arcbound Ravager, Shimmer Myr, Myr Retriever, and Riddlesmith all start off fairly innocuous. But as the game drags on, their impact gets greater and greater. Geode Golem actually provides a nice 'cheat' to slip the expensive Memnarch himself into play early, forcing the table to deal with him before stuff starts getting stolen. A tricky bunch, but not without a few enforcers in the mix, either. The classic Darksteel Colossus and bound-to-be-gigantic Darksteel Juggernaut can certainly go toe-to-toe with Glissa's massive monsters. And while Kuldotha Forgemaster may be smaller, you can bet whatever it goes tutoring for won't be.

The Tool Shed: It's here we really start to see the controlling-machinery come together, as Memnarch features a variety of engine-like card interactions. Mindslaver, Sudden Substitution, Domineering Will, Switcheroo, Shrewd Negotiation, Vedalken Shackles, Acquire, and even Argent Mutation are all part of Memnarch's diabolical plan to steal everyone's greatest weapons. As a safety-measure, Memnarch also set up a number of systems in the background to keep everything running smoothly: Unwinding Clock, Blasting Station, Grinding Station, Summoning Station, Salvaging Station, Darksteel Pendant, Staff of Domination, and Ingenuity Engine.

Mechanized Mana: Lacking Green's ample bounty of ramp spells, this deck turns to a classic assortment of mana rocks to fill the void. Sol Ring, Thought Vessel, Mind Stone, and Commander Sphere are regulars in many decks. We also take advantage of mana-generating troops such as Palladium Myr, Sliver Myr, Vedalken Engineer, Burnished Hart, Solemn Simulacrum, and Guardian Idol. None of these creatures are imposing on their own, but each is happy to pick up a piece of Kaldra equipment, which your deck has plenty of ways to tutor up.

Glimmervoid by Lars Grant-West

Now that the battlegrounds are set, I leave the war up to you. Does our Elven hero claim her revenge, or does Mirrodin's maniacal overlord reign supreme? Whether these decks play out like in the novels, or the timelines are rewritten, will be entirely up to you.

I hope you've enjoyed our foray into the smoothie-like blend of flavor and function that is "Lore and Consequences". We'll continue to tackle other worlds and characters in future installments, and if you've any recommendations or requests, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading, and may you always draw that key removal spell when you need it most.

-Matt Lotti-

@Intrepid_Tautog