Art by Chris Rallis
Saved commander deck
Kelsien, the Plague
Equip Kelsien and backup pingers with Deathtouch and untap effects to machine-gun opponent creatures for experience counters, while using white ETB-hate creatures and protection equipment to shut down enemy triggers and protect your board until Kelsien can deal lethal commander damage.
Prompt: I want to use Kelsien, the Plague as a commander, and make a deck that abuses his trigger, I want the white part of the deck be focused in protection against triggers like Explore, when a creature enters, etc. But I want the other part to EXPLOIT the shot, like, doubling the damage, deathtouch, etc. I want also a protection like indestructible, hexproof, and if possible, make my creatures fly. The idea is, I keep exploiting my fire, turn by turn, until my commander is strong enough to one shot everyone. But make the deck not be heavily dependant on the commander, in a way that if he dies too much it becomes useless. Focuse on budget cards, but strong cards
Commander
1 cards
Kelsien, the Plague
{R}{W}{B}Legendary Creature — Human Assassin
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
9 cards
Card Draw
9 cards
Morbid Opportunist
{2}{B}Creature — Human Rogue
draws cards every turn when pinged creatures die
Harvester of Souls
{4}{B}{B}Creature — Demon
draws cards whenever non-token creatures die
Mentor of the Meek
{2}{W}Creature — Human Soldier
turns cheap creatures into card draw
Removal
9 cards
Crackling Doom
{R}{W}{B}Instant
forces opponents to sacrifice their biggest threats
Rakdos Charm
{B}{R}Instant
flexible removal, graveyard hate, or creature wide burn
Threats/Wincons
26 cards
Basilisk Collar
{1}Artifact — Equipment
gives Kelsien deathtouch and lifelink to instantly kill targets
Gorgon's Head
{1}Artifact — Equipment
cheap deathtouch equipment for pinger abuse
Gorgon Flail
{2}Artifact — Equipment
grants deathtouch and power boost to Kelsien
Mirror Shield
{2}Artifact — Equipment
grants hexproof and blocks deathtouch creatures
Mask of Avacyn
{2}Artifact — Equipment
budget equipment that grants hexproof and toughness
Wings of Hubris
{2}Artifact — Equipment
gives flying evasion to swing for massive commander damage
Ring of Xathrid
{2}Artifact — Equipment
grants regeneration protection and grows Kelsien
Magewright's Stone
{2}Artifact
untaps Kelsien to kill multiple creatures per turn cycle
Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats
{4}{B}{R}Legendary Creature — Vampire Rogue
gives all your creatures deathtouch and acts as a massive threat
Mari, the Killing Quill
{1}{B}{B}Legendary Creature — Vampire Assassin
generates treasures and card draw when assassinations happen
Hooded Blightfang
{2}{B}Creature — Snake
drains opponents whenever deathtouch creatures attack
Mahadi, Emporium Master
{1}{B}{R}Legendary Creature — Devil
makes treasures every time pinged creatures die
Mayhem Devil
{1}{B}{R}Creature — Devil
turns dying creatures and sacrifices into extra damage pings
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
{1}{R}{R}{R}Legendary Creature — Dwarf Noble
adds +2 damage to red pingers and red sources
Dictate of the Twin Gods
{3}{R}{R}Enchantment
doubles damage so small pings turn lethal quickly
Mechanized Warfare
{1}{R}{R}Enchantment
amplifies damage dealt by your red and artifact sources
Royal Assassin
{1}{B}{B}Creature — Human Assassin
destroys any tapped creature without needing deathtouch
Prodigal Pyromancer
{2}{R}Creature — Human Wizard
backup pinger that benefits from deathtouch equipment
Vulshok Sorcerer
{1}{R}{R}Creature — Human Shaman Sorcerer
haste backup pinger to start killing immediately
Sun Titan
{4}{W}{W}Creature — Giant
recurs cheap deathtouch equipment and ETB-hate creatures
Odric, Lunarch Marshal
{3}{W}Legendary Creature — Human Soldier
shares flying, deathtouch, and indestructible across your team
Archetype of Finality
{4}{B}{B}Enchantment Creature — Gorgon
grants your entire team deathtouch while denying it to opponents
Archetype of Courage
{1}{W}{W}Enchantment Creature — Human Soldier
gives your entire team first strike, dominating combat alongside deathtouch
Utility
9 cards
Strict Proctor
{1}{W}Creature — Spirit Cleric
white trigger-hate tax against ETB triggers like Explore
Tocatli Honor Guard
{1}{W}Creature — Human Soldier
stops all creature ETB triggers from firing
Hushbringer
{1}{W}Creature — Faerie
shuts down creature ETB and death triggers while flying
Doorkeeper Thrull
{1}{W}Creature — Thrull
flash flying creature that blocks ETB triggers
Open the Armory
{1}{W}Sorcery
tutors critical deathtouch equipment or aura protection
Fighter Class
{R}{W}Enchantment — Class
fetches equipment and reduces equip costs
Kaya's Ghostform
{B}Enchantment — Aura
ultra-cheap aura that saves Kelsien from exile or death
