A few years ago I wrote up a column about a mono-White Lord of the Rings deck centered around Bill the Pony. It was a silly little deck centered around trying to get Bill's toughness as high as possible before sacrificing a food to have target creature deal damage based upon its toughness rather than its power.

It was a fun deck and I even got to see Bill murder someone in an online game, but I never built the list in paper. Fast forward a year and a few months and I'm again sitting down to write a column about a commander who has the same basic party trick, but with another color in its color identity and the ability to draw cards. Draw cards? Yes please! This time we're not building around a mono-White Pony, but around an Azorius Starfish Wizard from Foundations Jumpstart.

Plagon might look like he belongs in an un-set, but it's from this year's Foundations Jumpstart release. This Starfish Wizard is a real card and when built right, I think he's going to have a real good chance at winning some games for you. Plagon costs two mana, one of which must be Blue, has an 0/3 body, and has an activated ability that costs one hybrid Azorius mana, meaning it can be paid with one White or one Blue. That hybrid mana symbol puts us in two colors, greatly expanding our options for building today's list.

When Plagon enters the battlefield, I'll draw a card for each creature I control with a toughness greater than its power. That might lead me to want to build around going wide and playing an anthem that boosts toughness more than power, but I decided it would be more fun to search for creatures that met that criteria. Creatures in White and/or Blue with a bigger toughness than power let me choose some really interesting cards that I might not have otherwise included in this deck.

The Lord of the Beach's activated ability costs one hybrid Azorius mana and will let me have target creature assign combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power this turn. That not only means I can present a combat threat with a zero-power creature like Plagon, I can also play Walls, which often have zero power, and damage or even kill the creature my Wall is blocking.

Baby Got Back

Plagon likes big butts. Building around Plagon means I want to have as many creatures as possible with a toughness bigger than its power so when I play out my commander I'll draw a bunch of cards. It's unlikely that I'll be drawing a fresh seven, but even three or four at the start of the game will help me keep hitting my land drops and might even draw me into some answers or some cards that will let me present a real threat.

When I went looking for creatures with greater power than toughness I was delighted to find out that you can search in Scryfall for "power

I was pleased to see that there were some familiar and powerful cards that could get thrown into this deck that Sir Mix-A-Lot would approve of.

Walls are a pretty obvious include for Plagon, so I threw a few into the list. Mnemonic Wall will let me pull an instant or sorcery spell back from the graveyard. Wall of Tears will bounce creatures it blocks to hand at end of combat. The most interesting might be Wall of Kelp, which costs two Blue mana and for another two Blue mana can tap to put a 0/1 Blue Plant Wall creature token named Kelp onto the battlefield. These Walls all have Defender, meaning they cannot attack, but that's OK. They are mostly there to keep me alive and draw me cards when Plagon hits the battlefield.

Card draw is important in any deck, and I was very happy to see a lot of great card draw sources in my search. Ledger Shredder, Consecrated Sphinx, Alms Collector, and Kwain, Itinerant Meddler all have a higher toughness than power. Pollywog Prodigy is the newest of the lot, letting me draw a card whenever an opponent casts a noncreature spell with mana value less than this Frog Wizard's power. Fortunately, Pollywog Prodigy has evolve, so I should be able to get that 1 power up a few points so I can start drawing the occasional card when my tablemates cast cheap noncreature spells.

I was less successful finding a ton of creatures with removal tacked onto them, but my preferred removal is at instant speed anyways. Hullbreaker Horror is a 7 power, 8 toughness Kraken Horror that got left out of last week's Krakens list, but found its way into today's list. Hullbreaker can't be countered and gives me some nice options whenever I cast a spell. I can either return target spell I don't control to its owner's hand or I can return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand. Bouncing Plagon and replaying him to draw more cards is something I'll be happy to do, but that trigger can also remove problem permanents, provided they aren't lands.

Combat Threats

I don't usually build Azorius decks to be able to present a serious combat threat. I'm generally playing a more defensive game in those colors, but this deck has a few ways that it can put the hurt on a tablemate.

The equipment I included in today's list were largely inspired by the fact that Stoneforge Mystic has a higher toughness than power. At two mana, that Kor Artificer should be able to get out before I play Plagon, Lord of the Beach, and there are a few trinkets I can tutor to hand.

The Reality Chip is a 0/4 Equipment Jellyfish with some neat abilities. If this Legendary Artifact Creature is in play I can look at the top card of my library at any time. If it's attached to a creature, I can play lands and cast spells from the top of my library.

Ensouled Scimitar and Slagwurm Armor are a couple of ways I can pump up one of my creature's toughness. The former gives +1/+5 and the latter gives +0/+6. With both of those attached to Plagon, I'll be hitting for 1 point of commander damage but for one mana I can assign damage based on Plagon's toughness, so he'll be hitting for a whopping 14!

If I've got another three mana available and Stoneskin in hand, I might be able to kill someone. This enchantment aura has flash and gives +0/+10. That's enough extra damage that I might even consider putting it on another of my creatures, though commander damage is definitely a way this deck should be able to threaten to kill someone.

Backup Plans

Combat damage will probably never be this deck's primary way to try to win games, but it's always an option in Magic, and combat is one of the first things players learn about when they learn the game. My backup plans for how to win are very Azorius, in that they revolve around flickering creatures, drawing cards, and winning with a card like Laboratory Maniac or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. I'm not running Thassa's Oracle, but in a higher-powered list you might as well throw that one in as another option.

This isn't the first time I've trotted out this classic little combo, but it's really a perfect fit for this commander. Using Deadeye Navigator to infinitely flicker Peregrine Drake or Palinchron and then to flicker Plagon will let you draw as much of your deck as you like. The initial part will let you make a ton of mana, but then you can cast Plagon and flicker him to draw cards. With nothing else but your core combo and your commander, Plagon will see either Peregrine Drake or Palinchron as a creature with a higher toughness than power and you're off to the races. Even without either of them, Plagon would draw one cards as he's a zero-power, three-toughness Starfish.

In the same vein, there are a number of combo lines with Felidar Guardian. This Cat Beast not only has a big butt, he'll also let you flicker another creature when it enters the battlefield. With just Plagon in play, that gives you a little more card draw. With a creature like Lumbering Battlement you can exile any number of creatures you control until it enters the battlefield. This allows you to exile Plagon so he can reenter and draw you more cards.

This combo line is a little more complicated so it's worth explaining. You would cast Lumbering Battlement with Felidar Guardian already in play to exile Felidar Guardian. Then you'd use a card like Ghostly Flicker or Ephemerate to flicker Lumbering Battlement. Battlement leaving play would result in Guardian returning to the battlefield. Battlement was flickered by Guardian, so you'll have both of them ETB, triggering their abilities. Put the Guardian trigger on the stack first so it resolves last. Then holding priority, put the Battlement trigger on the stack and resolve it to exile Felidar Guardian until Battlement leaves play. Then resolve the Guardian trigger to blink Battlement. At this point you can keep the cycle going as many times as you like.

The payoff for the combo is possible because Battlement can exile any number of creatures you control, so you'd include Plagon and you'd draw cards with each step in the loop.

If combo isn't your cup of tea, I'm sure there are other things you could do with Plagon, Lord of the Beach. When a commander in White and Blue draws cards upon entering play, this feels like an obvious line of play. That might position this list for higher power play than you're comfortable with, but this is how I'd build the list to start.

Bouillabaisse

Today's brew is a mix of a bunch of different game plans, and really represents how I often approach deckbuilding. I've got removal and counterspells, but this isn't a hardcore control deck. I've got a few combo lines but I'm not tutoring for them and it isn't my only plan. I've got a way to try to win through commander damage, but the deck isn't trying to do just that with no other plan to try to win games. I've got a couple of clones but I haven't gone crazy and built a deck that's trying to flood the board with copies of the best creature in play. It's a little bit of everything and should give me some variety in how my games play out.

My (star)fish stew is a first draft, so there's every reason to think it would probably change as it sees play and I see what is working and is fun for me and what isn't as fun. The enjoyment of the table also matters so if I find that certain lines of play aren't going over well in the playgroup, I would consider changing them up for something else. This isn't an oppressive list by any stretch of the imagination, but any deck that can win via Laboratory Maniac or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries needs to be played with some caution. Some low-to-mid powered playgroups hate any wincon that doesn't involve combat.

Plagon EDH | Commander | Stephen Johnson

• Commander (1)
• 1 Plagon, Lord of the Beach

• Creatures (32)
• 1 Alms Collector
• 1 Archaeomancer
• 1 Brago, King Eternal
• 1 Clever Impersonator
• 1 Consecrated Sphinx
• 1 Crashing Drawbridge
• 1 Deadeye Navigator
• 1 Deep Gnome Terramancer
• 1 Esper Sentinel
• 1 Felidar Guardian
• 1 Giver of Runes
• 1 Glorious Protector
• 1 Hullbreaker Horror
• 1 Kwain, Itinerant Meddler
• 1 Laboratory Maniac
• 1 Ledger Shredder
• 1 Lumbering Battlement
• 1 Mnemonic Wall
• 1 Palinchron
• 1 Peregrine Drake
• 1 Pollywog Prodigy
• 1 Preston, the Vanisher
• 1 Restoration Angel
• 1 Sigiled Starfish
• 1 Spark Double
• 1 Spellskite
• 1 Sphinx of Uthuun
• 1 Spiny Starfish
• 1 Stoneforge Mystic
• 1 The Reality Chip
• 1 Wall of Kelp
• 1 Wall of Tears

• Planeswalker (1)
• 1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

• Instants (14)
• 1 Arcane Denial
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Cyclonic Rift
• 1 Ephemerate
• 1 Essence Flux
• 1 Generous Gift
• 1 Ghostly Flicker
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Pongify
• 1 Rapid Hybridization
• 1 Strix Serenade
• 1 Swan Song
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Teferi's Protection

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Fell the Mighty

• Enchantments (4)
• 1 Aqueous Form
• 1 Rhystic Study
• 1 Smothering Tithe
• 1 Stoneskin

• Artifacts (10)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Azorius Signet
• 1 Decanter of Endless Water
• 1 Ensouled Scimitar
• 1 Robe of Stars
• 1 Slagwurm Armor
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Progress
• 1 Thought Vessel
• 1 Trailblazer's Boots

• Lands (37)
• 13 Island
• 13 Plains
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Deserted Beach
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Halimar Depths
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Port Town
• 1 Prairie Stream
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Sea of Clouds

Buy This Deck Export text

To push this list up in power you'd probably want to lean into the combo lines, as they are a powerful and effective way to close out a game. Thassa's Oracle should be added and you might want to build in some recursion lines using Reveillark, Karmic Guide, Fiend Hunter, and a sacrifice outlet. I've never built White recursion combo but I'm confident you could pull off some of the same types of shenanigans using graveyard recursion.

If infinite combos are too much for your playgroup, you could absolutely drop out the combo lines and lean into other fun tricks in White and Blue. A Rite of Replication kicked targeting Plagon would make five token copies of Plagon. They'd die because of the legend rule, but they'd all see each other entering and you would draw at least thirty-six cards. A build more devoted to playing clones would also be an interesting and less explosive deck that isn't trying to create infinite loops. Add in a way to remove the legend rules and things could get really interesting!

Final Thoughts

While I try to get my decks into games before finishing off a column, I'm writing this on Thanksgiving and I don't see that happening this week. If you're in a place where you celebrate I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

I recently painted an alter of a character from an old Ralph Bakshi movie and it struck me that Plagon would be the perfect card to use for either Starro the Conqueror from The Suicide Squad or Patrick the Starfish from Spongebob Squarepants. I'll never really understand why I find some of the Universes Beyond sets off-putting, but I'll happily paint all manner of obscure characters onto Magic Cards without thinking twice about it.

I guess I'm as inconsistent as anyone else, but one thing I've learned is that it's important to find ways to have fun in your hobbies. I may not want to build a deck around Marvel's Wolverine, but it was really fun to paint Marvin the Martian on my Marvin, Murderous Mimic. However you find enjoyment in Commander, try to never lose focus on how you have fun. Magic is ever-changing, and I don't expect that to stop in the coming years with Wizards of the Coast finally running Commander. There will always be fun to be had, whatever they do with their power levels and tiered banlists.

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