MTG Salvation

Foundations is home to some nifty legendary creatures – some hailing from previous Magic: The Gathering sets, while others make their MTG debut in this new set. Out of all 94 legendaries in the set, however, there's 10 I want to try and build more than any other.

These ten offer multiple ways to win, clear strategies to uphold (with one exception), and what seem like fun gameplay experiences for both me and my pod. While this list isn't the ten best commanders from Foundations, these are the ones I want to build a deck around the most. 

10. Braulios of Pheres Band

• Braulios of Pheres Band (Legendary Creature — Centaur Scout)
• Costs three generic and two green mana to cast
• * power/* toughness
• Braulios of Pheres Band’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of lands you control.
• Whenever Braulios of Pheres Band attacks, draw a card, then you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.

Braulios is a ramp/landfall player's dream come true. Not only can he put more lands onto the battlefield for you, but he grows stronger with each land drop – and since lands are essential to playing Magic in the first place, it's guaranteed you'll have some lying around. 

The classic ramp spells should be here – Kodama's Reach, Nature's Lore, etc. – while a healthy assortment of landfall triggers would be neat as well. Mossborn Hydra will enjoy healthy statlines in this deck, while Springheart Nantuko, Lotus Cobra, and Courser Of Kruphix all shine with Braulios at the helm. 

9. Koma, World Eater

• Koma, World Eater (Legendary Creature — Serpent)
• Costs three generic, two blue, and two green mana to cast
• 8 power/12 toughness
• This spell can’t be countered.
• Trample, ward 4
• Whenever Koma deals combat damage to a player, create four 3/3 blue Serpent creature tokens named Koma’s Coil.

The challenge here is going to be getting to turn seven and casting Koma at all, because as soon as my opponents see the World Eater in my command zone, they're going to be coming for me. They're right to do it too; Koma, World Eater warps games around it as soon as it hits the battlefield, thanks to its inability to be countered and its oppressive ward cost of four mana.

As such, I'm going to pack this deck with ramp spells of all kinds in order to get the lands needed to cast Koma as soon as possible, along with some token doublers like Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, and Adrix and Nev, Twincasters to keep those coils coming. Throw in a Whelming Wave or Serpent of Yawning Depths, and we have a surefire win on our record.

8. Niv-Mizzet, Visionary

• Niv-Mizzet, Visionary (Legendary Creature — Dragon Wizard)
• Costs four generic, one blue, and one red mana to cast
• 5 power/5 toughness
• Flying
• You have no maximum hand size.
• Whenever a source you control deals noncombat damage to an opponent, you draw that many cards.

I don't have much to offer in the way of a planned strategy here, I simply want to build this so I can pull off the combo where Niv-Mizzet  goes infinite with himself.If this Niv-Mizzet is on the battlefield with Niv-Mizzet, Parun, and you draw a card, the game is over: Parun pings any target for one damage whenever you draw, then Visionary will draw a card since Parun dealt non-combat damage, and the cycle continues until every other player in the pod is defeated.

Sure, you'll need card draw spells like Cathartic Reunion or Thrill of Possibility, and a Fierce Guardianship or Pact Of Negation is pretty important for protection, but once those double dragons are on the field, it's game over.

7. Naban, Dean Of Iteration

• Naban, Dean of Iteration (Legendary Creature — Human Wizard)
• Costs one generic and one blue mana to cast
• 2 power/1 toughness
• If a Wizard you control entering causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.
• Originally printed in Dominaria

This one's not too complicated: Load the deck with Wizards and creatures with "when a creature enters" triggers, and watch the engine roar. You can get this started early too, thanks to Naban's low initial cost, though the board state won't be as built up as you might prefer. 

Including some spell-discounting creatures like Baral, Chief Of Compliance and Archmage Of Runes can assist with counter magic – this is Blue, after all – while Dour Port-Mage, Archmage Of Echoes, and Master Of Waves can take advantage of the double triggers to overwhelm the opposition.

6. Plagon, Lord of the Beach

• Plagon, Lord of the Beach (Legendary Creature — Starfish Wizard)
• Costs two generic and one blue mana to cast
• 0 power/3 toughness
• When Plagon, Lord of the Beach enters, draw a card for each creature you control with toughness greater than its power.
• Pay one hybrid mana that's either white or blue: Target creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power this turn.

Call Plagon "Sir Mix-A-Lot" because they like big butts! A commander centered around creatures with higher toughness than power isn't something that normally comes around, and there are plenty of ways to exploit that power for our means, especially in Azorius colors. 

A few low-cost creatures like Affa Protector,Aegis Turtle, and Sword Guardian become more potent attackers with Plagon's help, while Hermetic Nautilus loses its biggest downside thanks to this Starfish Wizard. Get some big toughness creatures out on the field and start smashing face!

5. Brigone, Soldier of Meletis

• Brigone, Soldier of Meletis (Legendary Creature - Human Soldier)
• Costs one generic and one white mana to cast
• 2 power/2 toughness
• Vigilance
• Heroic – Whenever you cast a spell that targets Brigone, Soldier of Meletis, put a +1/+1 counter on Brigone.
• Tap and remove a +1/+1 counter from Brigone: Draw a card.

I've done a white Soldier deck before, helmed by Myrel, Shield of Argive, but I'd give it a go again with Brigone here. Having her hit the battlefield on turn two, then using some one-mana spells like Archon's Glory or Cheeky House-Mouse's Adventure Squeak By will turn Brigone into a problem in a hurry. 

If you can find ways to untap permanents in this deck, Brigone becomes a card draw machine. By targeting her with an untap spell, you simultaneously give her another +1/+1 counter because you targeted her, which if my math is right means you'd be drawing cards for free. Send a Burst of Energy or Acrobatic Leap/Escape From Orthanc her way, and Brigone will be filling your hand in no time. 

4. Slinza, the Spiked Stampede

• Slinza, the Spiked Stampede (Legendary Creature - Beast)
• Costs four generic and one green mana to cast
• 5 power/5 toughness
• Beast spells you cast cost two generic mana less to cast.
• Each other Beast creature you control enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
• Whenever Slinza or another creature with power 4 or greater enters, you may pay one generic mana and one hybrid mana that's either red or green. When you do, Slinza fights target creature you don’t control.

Beast kindred! Slinza is a fantastic commander for a deck who's all about the beasts. What's more, that half-a-red pip in the last ability means you'll get access to all of Red's biggest Beasts too, offering even more options for beastie beatdown. 

Newer beasts like Kona, Rescue Beastie or Cultivator Colossus are even better value when cast for two less mana, though even classic beasts like Blastoderm, Questing Beast, or Protean Hulk will certainly benefit from everything Slinza can offer. 

3. Rev, Tithe Extractor

• Rev, Tithe Extractor (Legendary Creature - Human Rogue)
• Costs three generic and one black mana to cast
• 3 power/3 toughness
• Whenever you attack, target creature gains deathtouch until end of turn.
• Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token, then look at the top card of that player’s library and exile it face down. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled.

What if Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer was stronger, granted deathtouch to a creature, and didn't need to be the one attacking to get the Treasure and the exiled card? You get Rev, who turns every attack phase into a forced Smothering Tithe. 

Pairing her with evasive creatures will see an explosion in value from the turn she's cast, and then having a stock of exiled cards you can cast at any time offers card advantage that's hard for an opponent to counter. Or, if you're looking for a ramp strategy in black, Grim Hireling fits with Rev quite nicely.

2. Gornog, the Red Reaper

• Gornog, The Red Reaper (Legendary Creature - Minotaur Warrior)
• Costs two generic and one red mana to cast
• 2 power/3 toughness
• Haste
• Cowards can’t block Warriors.
• Whenever one or more Warriors you control attack a player, target creature that player controls becomes a Coward.
• Attacking Warriors you control get +X/+0, where X is the number of Cowards your opponents control.

As I mentioned in the Top 10 Commanders From Foundations list, Gornog is wild. Turning enemy creatures into Cowards and instantly benefitting from the change is going to turn him into a super powerful commander from the moment he's cast.

Red has a TON of viable Warriors to include alongside Gornog too, with cards like Archetype of Aggression, Goblin Chainwhirler (or any other Goblin Warriors), Death-Greeter's Champion, and Jaxis, the Troublemaker among them. Heck, bring a Combat Celebrant or fellow minotaur Moraug, Fury Of Akoum along for the ride and create multiple combats per turn, each one creating new Cowards. 

1. Elenda, Saint Of Dusk

• Elenda, Saint Of Dusk (Legendary Creature - Vampire Knight)
• Costs two generic, one white, and one black mana to cast
• 4 power/4 toughness
• Lifelink, hexproof from instants
• As long as your life total is greater than your starting life total, Elenda gets +1/+1 and has menace. Elenda gets an additional +5/+5 as long as your life total is at least 10 greater than your starting life total.

Elenda was number one as soon as I started putting this list together, for one simple reason: I already built the deck, so I had to put it at the top. 

The sheer amount of lifegain shenanigans I plan to get into with this deck has me very excited to use it for the first time. Old classics like the Sanguine Bond/Exquisite Blood combo are here, but some new hits like Enduring Tenacity, Bloodthirsty Conqueror, and Caduceus, Staff Of Hermes – that last one can offer on-the-spot damage prevention and indestructibility to a creature if I can play it on turn three, by the way – will provide a jolt as well. 

Also, I love some alternate win conditions, so I hope to notch at least one victory via Test Of Endurance in the first ten games with this deck. Wish me luck.