With the release of Commander Legends, I’ve been encouraged to look for a new Commander deck to play.
Having played Animar, Soul of Elements and Riku of Two Reflections in the past, the etched foiling and the new Cascade support made it an easy choice to select Maelstrom Wanderer as my next Commander.
Cascade is a very fun mechanic, allowing you to exile cards from your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less, then you are able to cast the spell for free. Cascading into a spell with Cascade allows you to go again. Who doesn’t like free spells?
Commander Legends has completed land cycles like Rejuvenating Springs and Training Center, and has reprinted a difficult-to-acquire single in Three Visits. The set has introduced a plethora of new options for Commander. I’m using these 12 cards that are unique to Commander Legends:
Without further ado here is my Commander deck (let me know if you have a cool name that you’d call this deck!):
1 Decimate
1 Farseek
3 Forest
1 Genesis
1 Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Sol Ring
Let’s look into some of the choices in the deck and break down some synergies in the deck.
Ramp is important, so you can play Maelstrom Wanderer or the other expensive threats in the deck as soon as possible. Fortunately, green is one of the best colours at ramping. Three Visits, Ranger’s Path, and Skyshroud Claim fix your colours in addition to ramping, as they allow you to find Breeding Pool and Stomping Ground which have the subtype Forest.
The deck also plays a number of cheap artifacts that produce mana, in Talismans and Signets, along with staples, Sol Ring and Mana Crypt. This deck also plays Gilded Lotus and The Great Henge, which both synergise with Tezzeret the Seeker. Allowing you to untap your artifacts to produce more mana or search for more artifacts and put them into play!
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty, Kodama of the East Tree, and Vivien, Monster’s Advocate are in the deck to provide more Cascade and Cascade-like abilities.
Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty is one of the most chaotic cards and one I try to find early in the game. Apart from Cascading itself, it also gives Cascade to other spells that cost 6 or more. This means, Maelstrom Wanderer can Cascade three times and Apex Devastator can cascade five times!
Sometimes, you have to make your own luck with Cascade. With the help of some deck manipulation in Mystical Tutor, Worldly Tutor, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Cavalier of Gales, Academy Ruins, and Mystic Sanctuary, you can sometimes choose which spell you want to Cascade into!
Mystical Tutor finding Genesis Ultimatum is my go-to target, as it often results in putting 4-5 permanents into play. If you are casting an Apex Devastator then Expropriate is a powerful spell to put on top.
With Worldly Tutor, you have more options.
An opponent controls a permanent you’d love to own? Find an Agent of Treachery to steal it!
Constantly having your permanents being targeted? Find Dawnglade Regent to protect them!
Want to have a boatload of mana for fun? Find a Nyxbloom Ancient and cast anything you want!
Finding creatures is a powerful effect for this deck, as a Cascade creature is essentially a creature and one free mystery spell (or in the case of Apex Devastator, 4 additional spells). Fauna Shaman and Fierce Empath as additional ways to search for creatures and add them to your hand.
Genesis synergises with Fauna Shaman and brings back creatures from the graveyard to your hand.
This deck allows you to have some fun playing big creatures that have one free mystery spell attached, which can cause chaos or be set up with the help of tutor effects. Maelstrom Wanderer also gives all your creatures haste! Which means any creature you Cascade into can attack or use its ability immediately. If that sounds like your idea of fun, Maelstrom Wanderer is the Commander for you.
Commander Legends has added some unique and fun cards to Commander, with a lot of Cascade support for Maelstrom Wanderer. Kaldeim arrives in early February, putting me on the lookout for powerful Temur cards to add to this deck!
About the author
Kuang Wu has played Magic since the original Zendikar set. Qualifying for both Player’s Tours in 2020 and finishing 10th at Grand Prix Brisbane in 2017. He primarily plays Modern at Good Games Central and Town Hall.
You can follow him @kuangfupanda on Twitter.