(Baird, Steward of ArgiveBaird, Steward of Argive | Art by Christine Coi)

Epic Preparations

Hello EDHREC fans! I’m Bernardo Melibeu, and this is Epic Experiment, a series where we throw all common sense aside and experiment with some unusual strategies, changing how we normally build our deck. Is it going to work? Who knows?! We’re making science here. When you’re an Izzet mage, blowing things up is half the fun.

In this article we'll be taking thing slowly with Baird, Steward of ArgiveBaird, Steward of Argive

Creatures can't attack you or a planeswalker you control unless their controller pays {1} for each of those creatures.

Observation 1:

He's a lock piece in the command zone. This can be quite useful in the right shell, since he'll always be available to us.

Observation 2:

Paying one mana for each attacking creature is not that much of a burden on our enemies. To be effective, we need to stack multiple instances of this type of effect.

Observation 3:

He can be used both aggressively and defensively. When used as an aggro tool, he allows us to attack with less fear of repercussion. When used as a defensive tool, he relieves some of the pressure our enemies might bring.

Observation 4:

Four mana is a lot for a mono-white commander.

Observation 5:

It's a shame that he doesn't have access to Rhystic StudyRhystic Study. I know that it's a great card and many non-blue decks would also love to play it, but Baird, Steward of ArgiveBaird, Steward of Argive would really appreciate not only the Study's draw ability but also its taxation effect.

The Old Formula

Here we can see that people, by stacking multiple tax effects, try to establish a board state that makes it difficult for their opponents to attack back, or even play cards. This type of support is needed because, as I mentioned before, paying one generic mana to attack isn't that much of an imposition on our enemies.

The Epic Ingredients

Baird is a lock piece in the command zone - that is, he prevents them from doing something they probably want to do. He wants to slow the game down and from there take over the game by slowly accruing incremental value. Planeswalkers thrive in this style of gameplay, and the best part is that Baird can help us protect them with his ability. This at first seems like kind of an obvious direction for a Baird deck, but astonishingly, it isn't. The lack of Superfriends decks with Baird at the helm might be a symptom of the his low popularity.

This list will be divided, mainly, in two parts: lock pieces and planeswalkers. The first will stop our enemies from doing what they like, which paves the way for us to do what we like, and for our wincons to slowly grind our opponents out of the game.

For lock pieces we are looking for ways to enhance our commander's tax ability. These effects may vary from making all spells cost more to play, like Sphere of ResistanceSphere of Resistance, Thorn of AmethystThorn of Amethyst, and God-Pharaoh's StatueGod-Pharaoh's Statue, or even adding extra copies of Baird's effect with Norn's AnnexNorn's Annex, Archangel of TithesArchangel of Tithes, and PeacekeeperPeacekeeper. In a similar fashion, we're also running a creature-hosing kit with cards like Cursed TotemCursed Totem, MeekstoneMeekstone, and Torpor OrbTorpor Orb, making it difficult for our opponents to pull ahead in the game.

The last batch of stax is more proactive, opting for a more direct approach to slowing our opponents down. SmokestackSmokestack makes them sacrifice a number of permanents each turn; this can be a dangerous card to play, but our deck can easily negate its downside with the sheer number of tokens we can generate with our planeswalkers. Rule of LawRule of Law, and Ethersworn CanonistEthersworn Canonist, at first, each seem a bit like a nonbo with Baird, Steward of ArgiveBaird, Steward of Argive, but consider that each of these cards make recovering from a board wipe extremely difficult.

For our planeswalker suite, we're rocking 14. They don't seem like all that much in a vacuum, but once we have a firm grasp on the game they quickly show their value. Elspeth, Sun's ChampionElspeth, Sun's Champion is a win condition and a board staller. Karn, Scion of UrzaKarn, Scion of Urza is a way to generate card advantage, and he has the added benefit of providing a body to block when necessary. Karn, the Great CreatorKarn, the Great Creator works as both a Null RodNull Rod effect and a small clock. Teyo, the ShieldmageTeyo, the Shieldmage is a nice addition that can help block on the ground by providing a couple of Walls and giving us hexproof. Ugin, the IneffableUgin, the Ineffable is one of the best planeswalkers available to us; he draws us cards, provides chump blockers, and he has a little bit of mana acceleration built in, making him a true all-around card.

Aside from the main structure of the deck, there're a few support cards that are worth mentioning: Contagion EngineContagion Engine, and Karn's BastionKarn's Bastion are the Proliferate on-demand cards, which is very helpful when trying to sustain our planeswalkers. Karmic JusticeKarmic Justice makes it very dangerous for our opponents to destroy any of our lockdown pieces. Arena RectorArena Rector is a nice way to cheat into play one of our bigger planeswalkers (like Karn LiberatedKarn Liberated or Ugin, the Spirit DragonUgin, the Spirit Dragon).

The Mixture

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Baird Superfriend Prison

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Commander (1)

• 1 *Baird, Steward of Argive*Baird, Steward of Argive

Planeswalker (14)

• 1 *Gideon of the Trials*Gideon of the Trials
• 1 *Teyo, the Shieldmage*Teyo, the Shieldmage
• 1 *Ajani, Strength of the Pride*Ajani, Strength of the Pride
• 1 *Elspeth, Knight-Errant*Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 1 *Gideon, Champion of Justice*Gideon, Champion of Justice
• 1 *Karn, Scion of Urza*Karn, Scion of Urza
• 1 *Karn, the Great Creator*Karn, the Great Creator
• 1 *The Wanderer*The Wanderer
• 1 *Elspeth Tirel*Elspeth Tirel
• 1 *Gideon Jura*Gideon Jura
• 1 *Elspeth, Sun's Champion*Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1 *Ugin, the Ineffable*Ugin, the Ineffable
• 1 *Karn Liberated*Karn Liberated
• 1 *Ugin, the Spirit Dragon*Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Artifact (25)

• 1 *Everflowing Chalice*Everflowing Chalice
• 1 *Meekstone*Meekstone
• 1 *Relic of Progenitus*Relic of Progenitus
• 1 *Sol Ring*Sol Ring
• 1 *Coldsteel Heart*Coldsteel Heart
• 1 *Cursed Totem*Cursed Totem
• 1 *Fellwar Stone*Fellwar Stone
• 1 *Heart of Kiran*Heart of Kiran
• 1 *Marble Diamond*Marble Diamond
• 1 *Mind Stone*Mind Stone
• 1 *Pearl Medallion*Pearl Medallion
• 1 *Prismatic Lens*Prismatic Lens
• 1 *Sphere of Resistance*Sphere of Resistance
• 1 *Thorn of Amethyst*Thorn of Amethyst
• 1 *Torpor Orb*Torpor Orb
• 1 *Treasure Map*Treasure Map
• 1 *Winter Orb*Winter Orb
• 1 *Extraplanar Lens*Extraplanar Lens
• 1 *Hedron Archive*Hedron Archive
• 1 *Smokestack*Smokestack
• 1 *The Chain Veil*The Chain Veil
• 1 *Norn's Annex*Norn's Annex
• 1 *Caged Sun*Caged Sun
• 1 *Contagion Engine*Contagion Engine
• 1 *God-Pharaoh's Statue*God-Pharaoh's Statue

Enchantment (9)

• 1 *Land Tax*Land Tax
• 1 *Dawn of Hope*Dawn of Hope
• 1 *Luminarch Ascension*Luminarch Ascension
• 1 *Rest in Peace*Rest in Peace
• 1 *Grasp of Fate*Grasp of Fate
• 1 *Karmic Justice*Karmic Justice
• 1 *Oath of Gideon*Oath of Gideon
• 1 *Rule of Law*Rule of Law
• 1 *Smothering Tithe*Smothering Tithe

Creature (4)

• 1 *Ethersworn Canonist*Ethersworn Canonist
• 1 *Peacekeeper*Peacekeeper
• 1 *Archangel of Tithes*Archangel of Tithes
• 1 *Arena Rector*Arena Rector

Instant (6)

• 1 *Enlightened Tutor*Enlightened Tutor
• 1 *Path to Exile*Path to Exile
• 1 *Swords to Plowshares*Swords to Plowshares
• 1 *Disenchant*Disenchant
• 1 *White Sun's Zenith*White Sun's Zenith
• 1 *Ignite the Beacon*Ignite the Beacon

Sorcery (5)

• 1 *Fragmentize*Fragmentize
• 1 *Call the Gatewatch*Call the Gatewatch
• 1 *Day of Judgment*Day of Judgment
• 1 *Wrath of god*Wrath of god
• 1 *Austere Command*Austere Command

Land (36)

• 1 *Ancient Tomb*Ancient Tomb
• 1 *Buried Ruin*Buried Ruin
• 1 *Inventors' Fair*Inventors' Fair
• 1 *Karn's Bastion*Karn's Bastion
• 1 *Ghost Quarter*Ghost Quarter
• 1 *Tectonic Edge*Tectonic Edge
• 1 *Secluded Steppe*Secluded Steppe
• 29 Snow-Covered PlainsSnow-Covered Plains

*Baird, Steward of Argive

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The biggest issue with the list, and with mono-white in general, is the lack of card draw; this makes our games somewhat dependent on starting hands and/or lucking out with our draws. Aside from that, the deck runs pretty smoothly, with lots of answers.

White Sun's Zenith

Luminarch Ascension

Dawn of Hope

Aside from the aforementioned wincons, we can still win the game by beating down our opponents with tokens. White Sun's ZenithWhite Sun's Zenith is a great flexible finisher that can be cashed out early in the game if needed. Luminarch AscensionLuminarch Ascension is a good constant source of tokens. It's reasonably easy to get online, but still we shouldn't be slamming it down until we can protect ourselves.

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Methodology

For our opening hand, we want some sort of acceleration and a lock piece; the planeswalkers can come later on. The most important part here is curving out well and making sure our own lockdown and taxation effects don't affect our own board.

In the early game, we need to accelerate our mana by playing our mana rocks. The difference between playing SmokestackSmokestack or even any random planeswalker on turn three instead of turn four is huge, because that could give our opponents the time they need to pull ahead of us. In many cases, there's no coming back from that especially against ramp-heavy decks.

By the mid-game, we should hope to have assembled some sort of combination of lockdown effects. Having multiple of those is really important because, when alone, they are usually only a small nuisance, but together, they absolutely prevent our enemies from playing effectively. This is usually the time when we need to start thinking about playing planeswalkers, and our decision to play or not should be based on board state and whether or not we can protect them. Sometimes, if we have multiple in hand, we can try to test the waters, but I would take caution since we can't recover them.

Gideon, Champion of Justice

Ignite the Beacon

The Chain Veil

By the late game it becomes a bit easier to take over the board with an active planeswalker or two. By this point most of the creature-heavy decks have already lost gas because of our numerous board wipes. However, our taxing effects can become obsolete quite quickly (that Rule of LawRule of Law isn't all that threatening once people are in top-deck mode), and the "political tool" that we lose by playing this kind of deck can be too much for us to recover from. Be very precise with your timing, both when you choose to deploy the tax and stax effects and when you choose to deploy your win conditions. That's how you'll emerge victorious.

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Epic Results

This list was light on the token subtheme; going forward, I could see how investing more oon the token strategy could be enjoyable. Alternatively, we could go the other way around and opt for more of a "hatebears" approach with effects like Thalia, Guardian of ThrabenThalia, Guardian of Thraben and Leonin ArbiterLeonin Arbiter. Adding mass land destruction spells like ArmageddonArmageddon can also be quite effective at locking people out of the game; just be sure to check with your playgroup if they're okay with it, since it's not everyone's cup of tea.

If you feel that you're getting aggro'd by the table, investing into more board wipes and Ghostly PrisonGhostly Prison effects might help taking the edge off you.

Helm of the Host

One fun little "combo" that I see very often is equipping Helm of the HostHelm of the Host to our commander. This might be a bit clunky, but it's fun and should be considered when investing heavily into tokens.

That’s it for this Epic Experiment! What do you think about this list? Did it manage to defend our planeswalkers? Do you have any questions about the deck? Which cards did you like? Which didn’t you? Was the Epic Experiment a success? Please let me know in the comments below!

Bernardo Melibeu

Bernardo has been playing(on and off) since portal and somehow manage to survive mirrodin block while being a total casual(beast tribal ftw?). He loves all the shades of blue and being the one saying "nope", while holding a full grip of cards in hand.