Commander Archtype- Voltron

The commander format and its unique rules have brought about some unique archetypes that can only be represented in this format. One of these archetypes is so unique to the format that it can't really be done in any other format. This is the "voltron" archetype. Voltron decks are decks that center on dealing 21 damage from your commander via creature pumping effects. Today we won't be building any 1 deck, but will go over the many options for Voltron decks.

There are 4 basic ways to give your commander the extra power needed to get in for 21 damage:

Enchantments, usually auras. Enchantments pump up a commander considerably and often have synergy with the general chosen for the deck. Their strength is that they are often faster and have less cost than equipment. They have an inherent weakness that if your commander dies your auras don't often come back. Enchantments that are not auras can be used to similar extent, but are usually not as abundant as auras that pump. Example commanders: Uril, the Miststalker, Bruna, Light of Alabaster, or Zur the Enchanter.

Equipment: Artifacts that pump are quite common and pose a strong option for "Voltron" decks. Their benefit over auras is they stick around when your commander dies to be reequipped next time he comes around. Artifacts are often colorless and can be easier to cast in a multicolor deck. On the other hand they are available to any color and cause many equipment based voltron decks to be very similar. Example commanders: Godo, Bandit Warlord, Kemba, Kha Regent, or Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer.

+1/+1 counters: Sometimes it's better to ignore permanents and just give strait +1/+1 counters to your general. This can take effect many ways and often includes a few more creatures than other voltron types, so that there are more targets for the counters. Proliferate is a great mechanic to utilize in these decks. Often times the commanders themselves pump themselves up. The only real downside is that every time your commander dies you have to start pumping him all over. Example commanders: Jenara, Asura of War, Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, and Ashling the Pilgrim.

Spells: Sometimes you want your voltron to get to 21 via a sudden pump spell like giant growth, or by gaining double strike from a Double Cleave. Other times the general has a pump effect like fire breathing to get in the extra damage. The advantage here is that a stolen general isn't likely to one shot you and it's often hard for your opponents to know when their time is about to run out. The disadvantage is that there is no lasting effect to the board when you pump your commander. Example commanders: Akroma, Angel of Fury, Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief, and Rafiq of the Many

Sometimes it is best to stick to one of these options, other times you want to vary your deck. Focusing solidly on equipment makes artifact removal very strong against you where and enchantment would blank it. Mixing these options will give you more versatility, while focusing on one or two will give you more synergy and deck consistency.

The next thing we need to look at is the colors we want for this deck. Sometimes we will base our color choices on specific cards we want to use, other times it is better to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each color when deciding our colors. Rarely will we want to use just one color as having access to a second color can overcome weaknesses of the first.

White: White has excellent synergy with both auras and equipment. Its key abilities are strong for a voltron theme: Vigilance gives us the ability to block with our commander, flying gives us one of the main evasion abilities in the game, and protection gives us the ability to keep our commander alive. White is also great at interacting with the opponent and has the ability to remove almost any permanent type.

Blue: Blue is another strong contender for a voltron deck with good evasion capabilities and strong permission suite. The ability to get through and hit your opponent in a blue voltron deck is powerful with abilities like flying, island walk, or simply unblockable effects. Blue is also a really strong defensive deck being able to bounce or counter anything that threatens you. Blue being the best card drawing color also boosts its strength as a color option for any deck.

Black: Black is one of my lowest options for a voltron commander. It's still possible to build a solid black voltron using abilities like Hatred or Lashwrithe. It is also great at removing opposing creatures from the game. But, in my opinion, black's greatest strength is in graveyard resurrection which this deck type cannot properly utilize. Unless you are looking at a specific commander or want a specific card, I would not suggest running black.

Red: Red is an alright color for a voltron deck having a little bit of synergy with equipment and some good pump spells. Haste is one of red's strongest attributes which comes in handy if your commander is killed repeatedly. Red is great at removing opposing artifacts, so it is stronger in an artifact heavy meta. It has access to double strike which can help to end games quickly and is alright at creature removal.

Green: Green is another strong option for voltron decks. It is the best color at pumping up creatures, or just large creatures in general. It has strong removal abilities for anything other than creatures. It has evasion as well in a few forms, such as trample, to get damage to hit your opponent. Green is also one of the strongest colors for keeping your commander alive having regenerate and trollshoud hexproof.

If I were to order the colors in most to least powerful voltron options it would be white, green, blue, red, black. I would almost always suggest running a 2 or 3 color deck over a mono color one as it is important to have access to a wider range of options and strengths. I would not really suggest running with a 5 color deck as one of the main strengths of this deck is their speed. A 5 color commander is less likely to see play early enough in the game to make an impact that is appropriate for a voltron deck.

Now to choose a general: There are many things we want to look at when choosing a general. Colors, evasion, size, survivability, and theme.

Colors: We've already gone over which colors are stronger than other colors, but it still stands to reason if you are building a voltron deck because you have a specific card you want to play, pick a commander in that color.

Evasion: Being able to get though unblocked is very important for our voltron commander. A 21/21 commander does nothing for us if it gets chump blocked by a saporling token every attack. Good evasion abilities: Flying, trample, land walk, protection, unblockable, and horsemanship.

Size: Or more size vs. cost ratio is fairly important for our commander. We want a commander that is large for its cost, but will still impact the board when he is played at +2 or +4 mana. Commander who are smaller than their cost are likely to be underperforming as the game progresses. We want our commander to be able to hit 7 power fairly easy with our pump. At 7 we only need to hit 3 times to kill an opponent. If our deck is loaded with +2/+2 pump stuff, then a 3/3 is as good as a 4/4 would be. If instead we have +3/+3 pump effects loading our deck a 4/4 is way more powerful than a 3/3.

Survivability: The ability to stay alive is important to our commander. Compare Sigarda and Isamaru. While a 5/5 for 5 looks like it's an average costing for its size compared to a 2/2 for 1 mana. Be very weary of the fact that your commander will die, sometimes many times during the course of a game. Paying Isamaru for the 5th time of the game makes it seem like a poor play, while Sigarda will likely die less and only need to be played 4 times. I'd rather pay 11 mana for a 5/5 with abilities, than 9 mana for a vanilla 2/2. Survivability includes hex proof, shroud, regeneration, protection, indestructibility, and there are a few special abilities that would fit here.

Theme: Sometimes the theme of the deck out ways the other factors. For example, Uril, the Miststalker. While his size is good and his hex proof is a perfect ability, what sets him above the other is his thematic synergy with auras. If a commander fits perfectly into the theme you have got going on, then they get some bonus points when commander selection rolls around.

Now the fun part: I'm going to rate some of my favorite voltron commanders. Now some are commanders I've played against and some are ones that I have played. I will rate them on a 1-10 scale on how I've seen them perform.

Sygg, River Guide- My first voltron commander, and it's still mostly built (I've stolen his swords for standard). 7/10 Sygg is a perfect early game voltron. He has protection abilities built in, which is sure to give you card advantage when people start trying to remove him. He also has evasion in the form of island walk, which is an easy evasion to abuse since blue can turn lands into islands. Where he falls short is his inability to use Auras since his protection effects often make them fall off. Also when he gives himself protection from blue or white it sets up any other colors to freely remove him.  White and blue are 2 of my preferred colors, both having a great amount of mass removal that is great for those times when your commander has been removed.

Brion Stoutarm- I’ve tried multiple boros voltron and he has been the best at it. I would still only give him a 5/10. He is an ok option, but only use him because you want those colors. He only needs a small amount of pump to get to the 7 power stats needed to finish in 3 hits. Lifelink was nice as it let me ignore counter attacks. Relying on auras and equipment for evasion and survivability are his main weaknesses.

Uril, the Miststalker- While he is a very duh general and most decks that play him are the same, there is a reason, he is a strong option. 9/10 He is one general that gets an extra boost from auras. This really allows the deck builder to run substandard auras to great effect. Any aura will pump him to the magic 7 power, and 11 power is never out of reach. Auras that grant more survivability or evasion are more important in this deck than other aura based decks.

Jenara, Asura of War- This makes for a perfect aggressive commander. 6/10. Her ability to pump herself up is outstanding. Flying makes for great evasion. Her main weakness is that she has no survival and must rely on other cards for that. This is alright as she needs less help getting large enough to dent someone's head in. Also her colors are perfect for a voltron deck.

Rafiq of the Many- 4/10 I'm not a huge fan of using rafiq as a commander. Sure he makes himself larger and double strike is nice, but it's really not all that. Double strike means that he only needs to hit 6 power to kill in 2 hits, which means the deck can focus on +2/+2 abilities. Swords are great at pumping him (since double strike gets their effects twice). His largest problems are he lacks any evasion and he has no survivability. I'd rather use him is in a deck that is thematic based on exalted, rather than a dedicated voltron deck.

Sigarda, Host of Herons- White/Green, evasion, multiple forms of survivability, and a 5/5 body for 5. Sign me up. 9/10. While still fairly untested as a commander in my play group, I think she is a solid choice for any kind of voltron deck. Watch out for wrath effects is all I can really say for this commander. Unfortunately for this commander, I'm speaking mostly in theory craft though. So I could be wrong.

Krond the Dawn-Clad- This guy just came out and I can't honestly rate him as it would be unfair without seeing how his ability works. He is also green white, my favorite voltron colors, but he casting cost is somewhat extreme and he is already quite large, which defeats the purpose of voltron. I think I would rather put him in a Urril deck and use him as a removal piece rather than as the commander. While he has evasion, his lack of survival for his cost makes me not want to use him as a commander.

Ghost Council of Orzhova- a 4/4 for 4 is solid. He can avoid removal if there are some creatures around. I would give him a 4/10 which is after a bonus point for being the best available in his colors. Overall I would avoid it completely unless you really want to play those colors.

Glissa, the Traitor- 5/10 Glissa made a very interesting voltron in a deck someone else played against me. Focused on spell pump and equipment. The equipment was nearly impossible to deal with as she kept bringing it back. Once she was given trample she was sick at getting through and her low cost let her come back multiple times. The hatred kill to finish off the game was pretty brutal too.

Well that concludes today's article. Leave me some feedback if there is anything you would like to add about voltron decks or if you have any suggestions on other archetypes to cover.

How will you pump up your commander?