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https://strategy.channelfireball.com/mtg/channelmagic-articles/the-best-5-color-aggro-deck-in-commander/

The Best 5-color Aggro Deck in Commander
BY ERIC LEVINE / APRIL 11, 2020
I didn’t have a chance to draft the Khans Expanded cube on Magic Online this time around – shoutouts to my good friend Elliot Raff for his awesome design – but I did get to watch some of it while getting some judging-related tasks done at home. While I was enjoying the cube vicariously, I realized I haven’t built a really aggressive Commander deck in a while, and a Warriors deck might be the opportunity I’ve been looking for. I didn’t play a ton of Battlebond, but when I think of aggressive Warrior tribal, I think of Najeela.

Najeela, the Blade Blossom
Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

Obviously it’s easy to “build a deck” around Najeela. You put all your cards in a pile, pull out all the ones that say “Warrior” on them, add some lands, and go for it. There’s nothing wrong with that, to be clear, but I want to see what happens if we take the time to carefully build a Najeela deck with some intentionality. Let’s make sure our mana is good, our curve is solid, and our ability to recover from removal and wraths is sufficient.

When I think about an opening hand I’m excited about for Najeela, I have a 1-drop Warrior and a 2-drop Warrior, both of which are castable, as well as a red source for Najeela so she can, ideally, come down on turn three. I also have a third Warrior to play after I get wrathed. To simplify things a bit, what I really want is an opening hand with three creatures in it. After some time with my friend the Hypergeometric Calculator, I determined that, with 36 creatures in our deck – more than most Edgar Markov decks play – we’re just a tiny bit better than 50/50 to have a hand with three or more creatures in it. If we go up to 43 creatures, we’re just under 66% for a three creature hand. In a 37-land deck, that leaves us room for just 17 non-creature spells if we go that route. If that’s how we want our games to go, we’ll have to work for it!

Let’s first ask if there are 43 creatures that are absolutely worth slotting into this deck by seeing if we can fill out a decent curve. I want to make sure I have a decent amount of one-drops, because again, I’d like to have one in my opener, but I understand that I might not always have the right mana to cast it. I’m okay with about a 50% chance of a one-drop creature in my opening hand forecast, so we’re going to play ten of them – that actually comes out to 53%.

Creatures
Mardu Woe-Reaper

Mardu Woe-Reaper gives us some built-in graveyard hate, which is great for a deck that will be so short on non-creatures.

Bloodsoaked Champion, Gutterbones

Bloodsoaked Champion and Gutterbones are both recursive threats, which aggressive decks need in longer games.

Goblin Glory Chaser, Zurgo Bellstriker

Goblin Glory Chaser, as long as it gets in once, is hard to block. Zurgo’s a 2/2 for R, which is nice, but the Dash can be more appealing if we need to trigger ETB effects like Mardu Woe-Reaper repeatedly.

Narnam Renegade, Pelt Collector, Twinblade Slasher

Narnam Renegade’s deathtouch means that people will be unable to block with their mid-size utility creatures early on without paying a price, with Twinblade Slasher’s wither putting it in a similar boat. Pelt Collector can actually get quite large over a few turns.

Sunblade Elf, Rhys the Redeemed

Sunblade Elf does a great job pumping the team in the mid-game so that we can threaten big damage without committing more creatures to the board. Finally, Rhys the Redeemed makes Elf-Warrior tokens, and Najeela doesn’t care if attacking Warriors are tokens or not. Plus, if you ever get to activate his second ability, you get even more synergy with Najeela.

I want to be more certain that I’ll be casting a 2-drop on turn two. With 15 2-drops in the deck, I’ll have one by turn two about 79% of the time, which is acceptable. But are there 15 good 2-drops for us?

Herald of Dromoka

Giving our Warriors vigilance leaves us less open to counterattacks, which is one of the ways you lose as aggro in Commander.

Blood-Chin Rage, Mindblade Render

Blood-Chin Rager gives our attacking warriors fake menace, which is just as good as real menace. (Okay, it actually does give real menace if you check the Oracle text, but I prefer the “we have menace at home” narrative.) Mindblade Render works the Phyrexian Arena angle, which is important – this deck will run out of cards in hand.

Brighthearth Banneret, Earthshaker Khenra

Brighthearth Banneret discounts our Warriors, which means more turns where we get to cast two things. Earthshaker Khenra is another eternalize creature, albeit a better one than Proven Combatant most likely. Between haste and the stun effect, this will enable more safe attacks, which guarantees more Warrior tokens from Najeela.

Bramblewood Paragon, Decorated Champion, Duskwatch Recruiter

We’ve got a real bounty in green at the 2-drop slot. Bramblewood Paragon is one of my favorite cards from Morningtide, and it really shines here, creating a legacy of +1/+1 counters that last even after the Paragon is para-gone. Decorated Champion builds up its own stash of counters and gets really huge. Duskwatch Recruiter helps find more creatures or transforms into a slightly larger creature that, while it discounts our creatures, is regrettably no longer a Warrior. I guess all that training goes away when the moon comes out, which is probably good flavor.

Metallic Mimic

It’s the sequel to Bramblewood Paragon, but this time it’s rated E for Everyone. Sure, in this deck we just say “Warrior” again and just get a slightly worse version of the Paragon, but at least it’s easy to cast.

Chief of the Edge, Chief of the Scale

A pair of mid-level Lords the likes of which have been seen many, many times. Still, worthy inclusions.

Dreadhorde Butcher

This one might be my riskiest 2-drop. On the surface, we have Slith Firewalker but harder to cast. The death trigger is what really gets me to play this one, though – being able to kill a utility creature or mid-sized Commander on the way out is great, and in multiplayer it’s usually easier to find someone who’s attackable.

Honored-Crop Captain

An object lesson in stacking triggers. Put this on the bottom of the stack with Najeela triggers above it. You’ll be glad you did.

Rushblade Commander

Haste is great. This is not complicated.

Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy

I’m a little worried about pushing so much green mana into the early creature base, because I expect this deck to come out mostly Mardu, but if I curve 1-drop into Shanna into Najeela and turn my two eligible creatures sideways, Shanna’s attacking as a 5/5 on my third turn, with total power on the attack being at least eight. That’s aggression I can get behind in a 40-life format.

I don’t need this deck to have quite as many 3-drops because I expect to cast Najeela on turn three. That said, I’d like to have a decent number in case I miss on red mana early (which, given my creature base so far, would be bad but not a complete disaster). It’s also important to have these midrange creatures that are bigger and can help create a situation where I can cast a 3-drop along with another creature on turns 4, 5, or 6. Let’s see if we can make room for ten of them.

Arashin Foremost, Mirror Entity

Adding some double strike to the mix is a good idea, and Arashin Foremost is here to help out with that. Mirror Entity is technically a Warrior, and that’s the best kind of Warrior. Wait, that’s not right. Well, regardless, growing the team and being a useful mana sink is nice.

Blood-Chin Fanatic, Mardu Strike Leader

Blood-Chin Fanatic can be a little hard to cast, but it also provides some reach as well as something to do when a board wipe is on the stack. Mardu Strike Leader adds even more tokens to the mix and has that Dash upside we discussed with Zurgo.

Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, Archetype of Aggression, Combat Celebrant

Alesha brings back our many small creatures for more combats, which is – as ever – important in the midgame in order to avoid overcommitment. Archetype of Aggression is great when all these Warriors start to get big from all these synergies. Combat Celebrant is fragile but can provide a key extra combat that might seal the game in my favor.

Champion of Lambholt, Den Protector

Champion of Lambholt gets big fast and prevents pretty much anything from blocking. Den Protector really is a 3-drop because it wants to be played face down to get that +1/+1 counter as well as the Regrowth.

Adaptive Automaton

Another lord from the robot Warrior factory. It’s not great, but it’s better than the RoboCop reboot from 2014. Did you know they’re rebooting RoboCop again? I’m no expert, but maybe don’t.

Okay. We have room for eight creatures with a converted mana cost of four or more. It’s time to be very selective.

Jazal Goldmane

If Ajani’s brother survives a turn cycle and I get a chance to activate his ability, one or more opponents are about to get hit for lethal. It’s just basic math.

God-Eternal Oketra

Oketra’s tokens? Yep, they’re Warriors. Oketra’s also nearly impossible to get rid of, which is a great quality for a top-end threat.

Brutal Hordechief

A Hellrider effect that drains opponents is amazing for a deck that wants to turn everything sideways all the time. Once in a while, the Master Warcraftesque activation is useful, but this one’s mostly about stealing life.

Thrasher Brute

Speaking of stealing life, Thrasher Brute actually gets to interact with Najeela’s tokens the turn they enter the battlefield, which Brutal Hordechief does not.

Ogre Battledriver

Everything’s better with haste (and +2/+0.)

Lovisa Coldeyes

Everything’s better with haste (and +2/+2.)

Grand Warlord Radha

Want to dump your hand after combat? The good version of Radha is here to give out mana that lasts past combat. In an ideal curve-out scenario, Radha could provide double digit mana on turn 4.

Garna, the Bloodflame

Another board wipe recovery card, Garna enables a proper comeback by also providing haste to the rest of the team.

I think I’ve answered the question at this point – a creature count of 43 is not only possible, it might even be good. That means it’s time to fill out those 19 slots for noncreatures, stack up 37 lands, and call it a deck.

Here’s my list of Most Valuable Spells:
Purphoros, God of the Forge

Purphoros is not really a creature in this deck. He’s a high-end Impact Tremors with a team-pumping upside, and with all the tokens Najeela creates, that’s enormously powerful.

Raiders’ Spoils

This was the card in the Khans Expanded cube that really got me thinking about a high creature count Warriors deck. Curving Najeela into Raiders’ Spoils virtually guarantees a free Night’s Whisper, and while that’s not really the floor on this card, it’s a pretty reasonable use case.

Skullclamp

Sometimes, a 1/1 is not as good as two cards. Okay, that’s true a lot of the time. Given that this deck can generate a ridiculous number of tokens, Skullclamp is what lets me go limitless like Bradley Cooper.

Druids’ Repository, Cryptolith Rite, Song of Freyalise

Unlike Cryptolith Rite and Song of Freyalise, Druid’s Repository doesn’t make me choose between attacking and mana. I get both. That’s huge. That said, these cards are all strong and help us cast important creatures on time, so they all make the cut.

Boros Charm, Heroic Intervention, Teferi’s Protection, Thrilling Encore

With a deck this creature-heavy, protecting the team is important. These four cards do an amazing job, with Thrilling Encore being perhaps the most hilarious post-Wrath card on the planet. Did you kill all creatures? Cool, I’ll take all of them.

Beast Within, Generous Gift

There isn’t a ton of room for interaction, so making it wide-angle is important. It doesn’t get much more wide-angle (with reasonable cost restrictions) than these two.

Farseek, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone

Like it or not, this deck needs a little help in the mana department. Turn three should be all about Najeela, so I’ve selected three 2-CMC ways to improve my mana. I don’t think this deck is going to pack a ton of basic land, so I’m not putting in cards like Harvest Season that might otherwise be good in a different version of this deck.

Vanquisher’s Banner

Adding some card draw to the mix is important, and even though this card costs a whopping five mana, the payoff is huge.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh

Turning this deck’s many tapped creatures into face damage is a very powerful thing to do for this low cost.

Cathars’ Crusade, Beastmaster Ascension

These two enchantments guarantee huge attacks. I picked them over the other options because they both provide their bonuses to Najeela tokens the turn they’re generated, but Shared Animosity could be a contender here too.

Lands
Let’s move on to the land department. Ideally, we have a good spread across most colors – a little extra red, and only a touch of blue for Najeela’s activated ability – and even more ideally, our lands enter untapped.

Command Tower, Exotic Orchard, Unclaimed Territory, City of Brass, Mana Confluence, Cavern of Souls, Ancient Ziggurat

Let me say right now that the mana base I’ve chosen for this deck is not budget friendly. A cheaper version of this deck pulls the creature level back down to the mid-30s, plays more mana rocks, and focuses more on the mid-game and less on early aggression. That said, I built this deck, so I have to deal with the consequences. Here, we have seven lands that come into play ready to throw down. I’m comfortable with Unclaimed Territory, Ancient Ziggurat, and Cavern of Souls being less helpful (or in the Ziggurat’s case, totally unhelpful) when it comes to casting non-creatures just because I have so few.

Spire Garden, Bountiful Promenade, Luxury Suite

The early game is the important time for entering untapped, and these three will certainly do that. This is not explicitly a 1v1 deck, but if you play it heads-up, swap these out for some basics.

Path of Ancestry

This may enter tapped, but getting all five colors and doing a lot of scrying makes it hard to pass this one up.

Prismatic Vista

It gets me the basic I need right now and lets me use it right now. Can’t pass that up.

Blackcleave Cliffs, Copperline Gorge, Razorverge Thicket, Concealed Courtyard, Blooming Marsh, Inspiring Vantage

We’re now up to 16 dual+ lands that enter untapped in the early game – 17 if you count Prismatic Vista, which I don’t.

Blood Crypt, Stomping Ground, Temple Garden, Godless Shrine, Overgrown Tomb, Sacred Foundry

Six shocklands bring me up to 24 lands total so far. I am quickly running out of room for basics.

Bloodstained Mire, Wooded Foothills, Windswept Heath, Marsh Flats, Verdant Catacombs, Arid Mesa

Six fetchlands to go with my six shocks – that’s 30 lands down, seven to go. I think it’s time for basics.

2 Forest, 2 Mountain, 2 Swamp, 1 Plains



Phew, that’s it. I’m done. I’ve created the perfect aggro deck. Okay, that can’t possibly be true, but this deck seems totally sweet. I will be plugging this one into Magic Online to throw down with when I start streaming Commander in April. Oh, you didn’t hear? Well, follow me at twitch.tv/RagingLevineMTG – I’ll be streaming on Saturdays when I’m not at events as well as some Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Follow me at @RagingLevine on Twitter for more info!

For those of you who haven’t been taking notes, here’s the full decklist. See you next time!

Commander Najeela, the Blade Blossom Deck List - Eric Levine

Creature (44)
1Adaptive Automaton
1Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
1Arashin Foremost
1Archetype of Aggression
1Blood-Chin Fanatic
1Blood-Chin Rager
1Bloodsoaked Champion
1Bramblewood Paragon
1Brighthearth Banneret
1Brutal Hordechief
1Champion of Lambholt
1Chief of the Edge
1Chief of the Scale
1Combat Celebrant
1Decorated Champion
1Den Protector
1Dreadhorde Butcher
1Duskwatch Recruiter
1Earthshaker Khenra
1Garna, the Bloodflame
1Goblin Glory Chaser
1God-Eternal Oketra
1Grand Warlord Radha
1Gutterbones
1Herald of Dromoka
1Jazal Goldmane
1Lovisa Coldeyes
1Mardu Strike Leader
1Mardu Woe-Reaper
1Metallic Mimic
1Mindblade Render
1Mirror Entity
1Narnam Renegade
1Ogre Battledriver
1Pelt Collector
1Purphoros, God of the Forge
1Rhys the Redeemed
1Rushblade Commander
1Shanna, Sisay's Legacy
1Sunblade Elf
1Thrasher Brute
1Twinblade Slasher
1Zurgo Bellstriker
1Honored Crop-Captain
Sorcery (1)
1Farseek
Instant (6)
1Beast Within
1Boros Charm
1Generous Gift
1Heroic Intervention
1Teferi's Protection
1Thrilling Encore
Artifact (5)
1Arcane Signet
1Fellwar Stone
1Skullclamp
1Throne of the God-Pharaoh
1Vanquisher's Banner
Enchantment (6)
1Beastmaster Ascension
1Cathars' Crusade
1Cryptolith Rite
1Druids' Repository
1Raiders' Spoils
1Song of Freyalise
Land (37)
1Ancient Ziggurat
1Arid Mesa
1Blackcleave Cliffs
1Blood Crypt
1Bloodstained Mire
1Blooming Marsh
1Bountiful Promenade
1Cavern of Souls
1City of Brass
1Command Tower
1Concealed Courtyard
1Copperline Gorge
1Exotic Orchard
2Forest
1Godless Shrine
1Inspiring Vantage
1Luxury Suite
1Mana Confluence
1Marsh Flats
2Mountain
1Overgrown Tomb
1Path of Ancestry
1Plains
1Prismatic Vista
1Razorverge Thicket
1Sacred Foundry
1Spire Garden
1Stomping Ground
2Swamp
1Temple Garden
1Unclaimed Territory
1Verdant Catacombs
1Windswept Heath
1Wooded Foothills

1Najeela, the Blade-Blossom