As the summer winds down and we prepare to head into September, I found myself in a bit of a pickle when trying to pick my next commander to write about. I had vowed to go out of my way to pick up Commander Masters booster packs at my LGS and to write about the next portrait style legendary creature I opened up. I wrote about Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker after opening a beautiful Green portrait card a few weeks ago, and then opened another copy a week later.

Undaunted, I kept buying packs, but those CMM packs are expensive and I soon found myself questioning the wisdom of that course of action. Most of the Commander Masters set is reprints and not only do I not need reprints, but I don't need to be dropping nearly $20 a pack on reprints. I did want to do my part to support my local game store, but after a few too many misses I decided to give up. I'm not made of money, and I had come across a card I wanted to write about.

It's been a mother of a summer in many parts of the United States, with record temperatures, flash flooding, and once-in-a-century weather events, so it seemed fitting to write about an old legendary Snake Shaman first printed in Betrayers of Kamigawa.

Sakiko, Mother of Summer is a 3/3 Snake Shaman who costs six mana and has a pretty cool party trick. Whenever a creature I control deals combat damage to a player, I'll add that much Green mana to my mana pool. That mana will be available in my second main phase, as it won't empty from my mana pool when phases end.

What I love about Sakiko is that it encourages me to play with combat tricks. I'm in Green so I can combine that with some fun little creatures. I love the idea of swinging with a deathtouch 1/1 and letting my opponent decide whether to lose a creature by blocking or let it through and see if I pump it up after blocks. Green has lots of pump spells, lots of deathtouch creatures, overrun effects, and places to put my mana.

If it works, this will be the type of deck that will be fun to play and should see me doing very little in my first main phase, going to combat a lot, and really using my second main phase to spend mana that I got from combat damage to my opponents.

Combat Tricks

The first thing to know about my pump spells is that with the exception of Overrun, they are all instants. I want to keep my tablemates guessing about whether or not I'm going to be able to make a small creature hit above its weight. The second thing to know is that they are intended to gain me more than I spent to cast the pump spell. If for some reason they don't, they'll need to do something extra like draw me a card.

The pump spells that draw me a card may replace themselves, and they may be more expensive, but my hope is that card draw will prove to be worth spending a little extra mana. Sudden Strength costs four mana, only pumps a creature +3/+3, and draws me a card. Might of the Old Ways costs two mana, gives +2/+2, and if I control three or more creatures with different powers, I'll draw a card.

If I'm not getting a benefit, I'll want some way to pay less for my pump spell. Invigorate is a three-mana instant that can be cast for the cost of allowing an opponent to gain 3 life. I just need to control a forest, which should be easy enough in a mono-Green deck. Zero mana for +4/+4 is pretty good.

Become Immense may not be free, but it has delve so I can exile cards from my graveyard to reduce its casting cost. A best-case scenario of one mana to get +6/+6 is great. Vines of Vastwood costs one mana and will give my creature hexproof until end of turn. If I pay an extra Green mana to kick it, the creature will get +4/+4 until end of turn. Two mana for protection, pump and four mana is pretty sweet. If I've got a decent board of creatures, Might of the Masses can really pay off. For one Green mana, it will give target creature +1/+1 until end of turn for each creature I control.

The point of all this pump is to have Sakiko, Mother of Summer on the field and to turn combat damage into mana and to play big spells in my second main phase. It's a good enough plan, but I will need creatures that can get through blockers.

Getting Damage Through

I love deathtouch blockers. Deathtouch creatures are often cheap and can go a really long way in not taking early game combat damage. Nobody will want to swing at me, and I may need a few turns before Sakiko hits the field.

When she does, if I've got a pump spell in hand - or even if I don't - I can turn those blockers into attackers. I'll just pick someone without very many creatures and without any that have first strike and swing away. They won't want to lose one of their guys, and they probably won't be worried about a 1 or 2 power attacker hitting them.

Moss Viper, Thornweald Archer, Deadly Recluse, Kessig Recluse and Acidic Slime will all serve nicely as deathtouch blockers/attackers. Some of them have reach, which makes them great at fending off flying attackers, and Acidic Slime will let me destroy target artifact, enchantment or land when it enters the battlefield.

Ohran Frostfang and Bow of Nylea will give all of my attacking creatures deathtouch. The latter has a few extra abilities, but they are both in this list to give me a way to dissuade my opponents from blocking.

Hornet Nest is a super fun card you don't see that often. It has defender and when it is dealt damage I'll create that many 1/1 Green Insect creature tokens with flying and deathtouch. Just remember that if Hornet Nest is blocking a larger creature with trample, it will take damage equal to its toughness and extra damage will be applied to you. If you block a creature without trample, all of the blocked attacker's damage will be applied to it.

Flying creatures are usually reliable ways to get damage through to your opponents. Uktabi Drake and Unyaro Bees are old school Green flyers. The former has an echo cost I'll need to pay. The latter is an 0/1 with Green "firebreathing" and an ability to sacrifice itself for four mana to deal 2 damage to target creature or player.

Rhox is a 5/5 Beast who can deal combat damage to defending player as though it weren't blocked. It can also be regenerated for three mana, one of which must be Green. He may not fly, but he's a reliable way to make sure I can do a little extra combat damage.

I've also decided to run a trio of dragons in Old Gnawbone, Jugan, the Rising Star and Kura, the Boundless Sky. Dragons are a great way to get damage through and while they're expensive mana-wise, this deck should be able to generate enough mana to play them after combat.

Mana Outlets

This deck has creatures in the six to eight mana range that will eat up my mana, but to really close out a game I'll want some better mana outlets than just playing more creatures.

All three of these X spells can ramp me and the last two can put more permanents onto my battlefield. Animist's Awakening simply lets me tutor up X basic lands where X is the amount of additional mana put into the spell. Even if I play it for a low number, it can help push me ahead and make it easier to cast my bigger creatures.

Kamahl's Druidic Vow and Genesis Wave can each do a little more than just get lands. The former can also put legendary permanents of mana value X or less onto the battlefield, but I have to control a legendary permanent in order to cast it. The latter simply puts any number of permanents with mana value X or less onto the battlefield. If I'm in a situation where I'm putting 10 or more into my "X" for these spells, I'm already in a great position, but it might just set me up to go for the win.

My last X spell is Steelbane Hydra, though I could see a lot more Hydras fitting into this list quite nicely. Steelbane Hydra lets me remove a +1/+1 counter from it to destroy target artifact or enchantment. That ability costs 3 mana, but just having this guy on the field can act as a rattlesnake, scaring my tablemates away from playing any key pieces that I'll be able to remove.

Other big mana spells fit into Sakiko really well. Ezuri's Predation is a decent answer to decks that play tons of small creatures. Zendikar Resurgent is both a mana doubler and card draw. Regal Force is also in the list. It's a seven-mana Elemental that will draw me a card for each Green creature I control. Archetype of Endurance is an eight-mana Boar that gives my creatures hexproof and removes hexproof from my opponents' creatures.

I've grown away from playing decks with a really high mana curve, but Sakiko should be able to handle having big creatures in the mix. Whether you play the same ones I chose or you have other tribes or other Green beaters you favor, this should be a deck that can handle those high mana costs.

Mother of a Summer

My biggest concern about this deck is how well it will respond to boardwipes and heavy control. Sakiko costs six mana, which is a bit much for today's EDH. If you can't keep Sakiko on the field you'll still have a chance, but the goal is to do combat damage, make extra mana, play more spells and get ahead faster than anyone else at the table. You've got deathtouch blockers, pump spells, ramp, removal, draw, and all the trappings of a somewhat generic Green EDH deck. That's not a bad thing. Green is fun and this deck should be able to hand in mid-powered games, but I don't expect it to push up into high powered or cEDH play.

Sakiki Summer | Commander | Stephen Johnson

• Commander (1)
• 1 Sakiko, Mother of Summer

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Acidic Slime
• 1 Archetype of Endurance
• 1 Beast Whisperer
• 1 Birds of Paradise
• 1 Deadly Recluse
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Hornet Nest
• 1 Hornet Queen
• 1 Jugan, the Rising Star
• 1 Kessig Recluse
• 1 Kura, the Boundless Sky
• 1 Lifeblood Hydra
• 1 Llanowar Elves
• 1 Moss Viper
• 1 Ohran Frostfang
• 1 Old Gnawbone
• 1 Questing Beast
• 1 Regal Force
• 1 Rhox
• 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Steelbane Hydra
• 1 Tajuru Blightblade
• 1 Temur Sabertooth
• 1 Thornweald Archer
• 1 Timeless Witness
• 1 Uktabi Drake
• 1 Unyaro Bees

• Instants (17)
• 1 Aggressive Urge
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Become Immense
• 1 Benefactor's Draught
• 1 Berserk
• 1 Chord of Calling
• 1 Harrow
• 1 Invigorate
• 1 Krosan Grip
• 1 Might of the Masses
• 1 Might of the Old Ways
• 1 Return to Nature
• 1 Sudden Strength
• 1 Verdant Rebirth
• 1 Vines of Vastwood
• 1 Warriors' Lesson
• 1 Wildsize

• Sorceries (10)
• 1 Animist's Awakening
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Ezuri's Predation
• 1 Genesis Wave
• 1 Kamahl's Druidic Vow
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Nature's Lore
• 1 Overrun
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Shamanic Revelation

• Enchantments (4)
• 1 Greater Good
• 1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
• 1 Guardian Project
• 1 Zendikar Resurgent

• Artifacts (3)
• 1 Bow of Nylea
• 1 Emerald Medallion
• 1 Sol Ring

• Lands (37)
• 26 Forest
• 1 Blighted Woodland
• 1 Bonders' Enclave
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Castle Garenbrig
• 1 Field of Ruin
• 1 Khalni Garden
• 1 Mosswort Bridge
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rogue's Passage

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If you wanted to tune this list up, there are Green staples I didn't end up running. Heroic Intervention, Sylvan Library, Triumph of the Hordes, some tutors, and a handful of infinite mana combos could all help push this list up in power. Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves would need to be slotted in if you'll be playing this deck in a meta that has a lot of removal. You might look to slot in better finishers like Avenger of Zendikar and Craterhoof Behemoth.

To tune this list down, you could cut away expensive cards and still have a fun, playable deck. A lot of the core of this deck is quite inexpensive and I'd be surprised if you couldn't build a fun $50 or even $30 deck around this old Snake Shaman.

Early Results

While I will be the first to suggest that this list isn't quite ready for high-powered tables, I'm happy to tell you that I was able to put together a version of this deck in paper and I got in a game with it this past Saturday. The basic concept is the same. It plays lots of creatures my opponents won't want to block and lots of pump spells to try to make the most out of my second main phase.

The game was actually an EDH League game, so I was playing against some pretty decent decks. It was a three player pod and I was up against an Esika, God of the Tree / The Prismatic Bridge deck and an Alena and Halana, Partners deck. Both of my tablemates got out to much faster starts and I was stuck trying to survive long enough to do much of anything.

I had an early Birds of Paradise and got my commander out on time. My opening hand had Genesis Wave so I was hoping to last long enough to hit someone with a creature, cast a few pump spells and then dump a ton of mana into that old Sorcery. The Halana and Alena player was more threatening but I was able to threaten a fog and get him to swing at my tablemate. I did have a fog in hand, though it was the pricey You Look Upon the Tarrasque so I was holding up five mana for turn after turn, hoping not to have to use it.

After a turn or two of that, the Esika player overloaded a Cyclonic Rift to buy a little time so he could build his board. It worked like a charm, but the Gruul player had gained a bunch of life before the Rift was cast. The Esika player had Prismatic Bridge out and was able to pretty much dump his hand. We were faced with a bunch of dragons and other big creatures and again I was hoping to not have to use my Fog.

I really wanted to swing with my Birds of Paradise, which now had a +1/+1 counter on it thanks to Oran-Rief, the Vastwood. I had a few pump spells, but the time didn't feel right. A Genesis Wave for four or five just wasn't worth it.

I drew into another five mana fog: Jaheira's Respite. It would put lands onto the battlefield, which wouldn't help me win, but at least I knew I could fog for more than a single turn.

I wasn't the threat, which was fine by me, and I was able to survive long enough to see the Halena and Alana player knock out the Esika player. I generally tell people that if someone is threatening a fog, you swing at them until they use it. Of course, I don't ever tell them that during the game.

I had been considering using pump spells to help one of my tablemates kill the other one, but I hadn't figured out which to help, and I didn't want to waste them. Once there were two of us left, my life total was low enough that I could be killed in one combat and my tablemate was in the twenties. The Halena and Alana player had left up two blockers and he knew my game plan because we'd been chatting earlier in the day and I had told him about the deck.

I was able to swing three creatures, leaving Sakiko, Mother of Summer back. He blocked two, leaving a 1/1 deathtouch creature unblocked. I was able to string together Aspect of Hydra, Might of the Old Ways and Warriors' Lesson to pump it and bring him down to 11 life. In my second main phase I was able to pour 14 mana into Genesis Wave to get out more creatures and lands, but I ended up putting a bunch of instants into the graveyard. I think I played a Rampant Growth and passed the turn.

My tablemate had no better plan than to swing out, and no reason not to hold back. I think he left a blocker or two back but I was dead if I didn't have a fog. Fortunately, I was able to use Respite to fog and buy myself another turn.

On my next turn my largest creature was a 2-power Ohran Frostfang, dropped into play by Genesis Wave. I was able to drop a Rogue's Passage, make it unblockable, cast Invigorate to give it +4/+4 and then You Look Upon the Tarrasque to give it +5/+5. He didn't have any removal or any answers and I was able to steal the win.

I don't love winning when I didn't do much for most of the game, but some decks play like that. This might have been an anomaly, but this deck is designed to be just a little sneaky. Use deathtouch blockers and the threat of a fog to survive. Try to catch someone at a low enough life total to sneak a small creature past blockers and pump it up to do some damage and make some mana. Pour that mana into a card like Genesis Wave and hope for the best.

It's not easy to win games in EDH League so I'll take it, but I'm not sure I deserved the win as much as either of my tablemates. My deck didn't do a lot, but my ability to play the table, some good timing and a lot of luck got me there. If I hadn't been able to kill my tablemate on that last turn, he had me dead on his next turn with combat damage.

I thought this would end up being a fun deck with a few tricks up its sleeve and I was right. It's fit for lower powered games but probably won't be able to deal with large amounts of life gain or combo wincons very well. I am definitely looking forward to playing it again.

Final Thoughts

My deck collection is big, but I will unsleeve an older deck when I'm putting together a new deck. I ended up taking apart my LoTR Treefolk deck to sleeve up this deck. I played Treefolk a few times, it managed to win a game, and it was fun... but I love building and playing new decks.

You might think it would be easier to load up a deck with combos and ways to easily turn a board into an alpha strike than to be messing around with deathtouch creatures and pump spells. Sakiko, Mother of Summer will turn any of my combat damage into mana, but I think it will be more fun to mess around with combat tricks than to look at overwhelming my opponents with a giant army.

I could see an elfball deck with Selvala, Heart of the Wilds or Ezuri, Renegade Leader hiding under Sakiko and being fun and powerful, and would be a different take on your usual mono-Green Elves deck.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!