Ever see a legendary creature and just fall in love instantly? It could be a legend you open out of your first pack, a Commander precon face card you see on a store shelf that catches your eye, or maybe simply a preview that knocks you out and bowls you over. For me, it was the latter of the three, thanks to the new Streets of New Capenna legend Jaxis, the Troublemaker.

Jaxis was previewed very early on during a Weekly MTG stream on Twitch that laid out the details of a lot of the products for Streets of New Capenna. I know a lot of people were quick to shower the character with adoration from the moment they saw her. Many praised her as a queer icon, but me? I just loved her style and that tough girl attitude - something I like to think I have going on a lot of the time myself. But what I also loved was her ability.

Jaxis excels at doing two things: discarding creatures and making temporary copies of creatures. Duplicating card effects are always going to be my jam, so naturally I had to give her a try! There're tons of great synergies with card effects and no shortage of ways to utilize discard abilities as well. Before I talk into that too much, though, we should check out a list so let's have a look!

Jaxis Double Trouble | Commander | Paige Smith

• Commander (1)
• 1 Jaxis, the Troublemaker

• Creatures (34)
• 1 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
• 1 Anger
• 1 Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
• 1 Coercive Recruiter
• 1 Combustible Golem
• 1 Containment Construct
• 1 Conspiracy Theorist
• 1 Delina, Wild Mage
• 1 Emrakul's Hatcher
• 1 Etali, Primal Storm
• 1 Fanatic of Mogis
• 1 Feldon of the Third Path
• 1 Flamerush Rider
• 1 Glint-Horn Buccaneer
• 1 Hanweir Garrison
• 1 Inferno Titan
• 1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
• 1 Meteor Golem
• 1 Myr Battlesphere
• 1 Priest of Urabrask
• 1 Professional Face-Breaker
• 1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
• 1 Siege-Gang Commander
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
• 1 Squee, the Immortal
• 1 Stromkirk Occultist
• 1 Surly Badgersaur
• 1 Terror of the Peaks
• 1 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
• 1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
• 1 Wurmcoil Engine
• 1 Zealous Conscripts

• Planeswalkers (5)
• 1 Chandra, Awakened Inferno
• 1 Chandra, Flamecaller
• 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1 Koth of the Hammer
• 1 Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast

• Instants (2)
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Red Elemental Blast

• Sorceries (3)
• 1 Alchemist's Greeting
• 1 Gamble
• 1 Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass

• Enchantments (4)
• 1 Determined Iteration
• 1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki
• 1 Goblin Bombardment
• 1 Sneak Attack

• Artifacts (14)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Bag of Holding
• 1 Cursed Mirror
• 1 Elixir of Immortality
• 1 Fire Diamond
• 1 Helm of the Host
• 1 Idol of Oblivion
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Rings of Brighthearth
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Thousand-Year Elixir
• 1 Thran Dynamo
• 1 Worn Powerstone

• Lands (37)
• 20 Mountain
• 1 Ancient Tomb
• 1 Arch of Orazca
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Den of the Bugbear
• 1 Desert of the Fervent
• 1 Flamekin Village
• 1 Forgotten Cave
• 1 Hanweir Battlements
• 1 Kher Keep
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Smoldering Crater
• 1 Strip Mine
• 1 War Room
• 1 Wooded Foothills

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Both the ETB creatures and discarding elements are great and I tried to focus on those things fairly equally. The first thing I thought about was ways to best utilize the discard aspect. Both of the Squee cards - Squee, Goblin Nabob and Squee, the Immortal - were obvious inclusions because of the ways they can be repeatedly used. Similarly, the two eldrazi titans of Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre made perfect sense as ways to refill your library once discarded. It just so happens they also make great creatures for the endgame as well.

There're several other ways to utilize these discarded cards, however. Containment Construct and Conspiracy Theorist both allow you to card them once they hit the graveyard. There's also cards like Glint-Horn Buccaneer and Surly Badgersaur which both have abilities that trigger as you throw cards away, helping further your gameplan in the process. A couple madness cards like Alchemist's Greeting and Stromkirk Occultist give you something to do with your discarded cards. And hey, if you happen to bin a creature or two then old Feldon of the Third Path can help bring them back for a brief encore!

With a deck like this, I've also added in two kinds of creatures as well: creatures with cool abilities and big giant creatures. On the smaller end, there's cards like Hanweir Garrison, Solemn Simulacrum, Fanatic of Mogis, and Atsushi, the Blazing Sky. All of these are great cards with sweet effects at a low rate. On the higher end, though, you get cards like Coercive Recruiter, Zealous Conscripts, Siege-Gang Commander, Wurmcoil Engine, and Inferno Titan. There's really no shortage of great options and I'm really just scratching the surface when it comes to the kinds of cards out there. There's lots of great creatures that are Red or Colorless with excellent enter the battlefield or die triggers, making the options to select from quite extensive and customizable to fit your own tastes. You could probably go through your collection's bulk and pull out ten decent cards without trying.

I like most of these because they're strong value engines. Most of them are quite affordable too! Of all the cards mentioned in the last paragraph, only Wurmcoil Engine really breaks the bank, but it's worth it for just how good it is with Jaxis. Attack for a massive point swing and get two tokens when it dies? Yes please! You can also get some creatures in more easily with the help of cards like Sneak Attack and Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast to try polymorphing something like a token into a much bigger monster. And even if you don't cheat them out, there's enough solid mana ramp that you should still be able to get them down no problem.

Whatever the case, Jaxis provides you with a good, clean, and straightforward deck that's a blast to play and fairly easy to build. And despite its straightforward core gameplay, there's a pretty strong amount of depth under the hood once you start playing it more and getting a better feel for it. It won't be long before you start picking up neat interactions you never thought of when first flipping through your list! That alone should make this brawling babe a knockout at your next Commander night, so give Jaxis a whirl and cause some trouble at your table!

Paige Smith

Twitter: @TheMaverickGal

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