Core Set 2020 just finished being spoiled and hasn’t even been released yet, but I couldn’t wait to brew around one of the new legendary creatures. I wouldn’t say that it’s the color combination, because Jeskai is definitely not as effective as Grixis or Esper, but we’ll take what we can get when we have such a cool commander to build around. I’ve made several other brews that featured token strategies, but this one feels like the ultimate token commander that doesn’t really want to turn creatures sideways. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but check him out and we’ll talk about it:

Kykar is a new Bird Wizard that is trying to compete with other famous Bird Wizards like Derevi. We won’t know if he’ll be as competitive until the community gets their hands on it, but I’m still excited to sling some spells and smash face with some tokens. Kykar is a 3/3 for 4 CMC that has flying, but has the triggered effect of creating 1/1 flying spirits every time you cast a non-creature spell. Bonus, you can sacrifice spirits for 1R, which means if you’re making a ton of tokens you’ll be able to make some extra mana to cast more spells to make more tokens. But I think we can take it further than that with a bunch of ways to make tokens, and hell, we might as well use Divine Visitation and turn those 1/1’s into 4/4 angels while we’re at it! This isn’t the first time I’ve brewed a token focused deck, nor is it the first time I’ve put together a spell slinger deck, but this combines the best of both worlds and I think suits my playstyle pretty well. First up, let’s look at our token strategy:

Token Strategy:

Not only does our commander create tokens by casting non-creature spells, but there are plenty of other creatures in the deck that also trigger token generation from casting instants or sorceries. These aren’t new cards, and I’ve talked about most of them in the past. Basically, with or without your commander you should be getting tokens off of each of your spells cast, and then we have some additional support. Mentor of the Meek can draw us cards for an extra mana per spell (the tokens will trigger his ability), while Impact Tremors will do a damage to each opponent for each token generated. Anointed Procession will double up our tokens and if we have Divine Visitation out then our 1/1’s are suddenly 4/4’s and we’re swinging for lethal pretty quickly. Lastly, Metallurgic Summonings isn’t going to make us too many big tokens due to the deck being pretty low to the ground, but it can still supplement us with some 3/3’s and 4/4’s and that’s not nothing.

Spell Slinging Strategy:

A selection of cards here that support the spell slinging portion of the deck (though the two ideas feed each other well). Guttersnipe can do some nice damage to all opponents if left alone for long enough, while Niblis of Frost can tap down blockers and threats alike after casting spells. Taigam protects our instants and sorceries from counter magic, and can also give our spells rebound if we time them properly. Narset lets us filter through the top of our library for a needed spell, while Ral does damage for casting spells and can let us copy them periodically. Past in Flames is nice recursion for spells and can set up an explosive turn, while Electrodominance does some damage and gets a spell cast for free. Lastly, Jeskai Ascendancy fits both strategies as when we cast spells, we get a small anthem along with getting to loot. Start stacking some of these effects, and your one mana cantrips can a whole bunch more.

Other Synergy:

Our support package provides some utility that can be abused with some of our other strategies. The brand new Tribute Mage from Modern Horizons is great for searching up some of our mana rocks, but was put into the deck to specifically tutor our Isochron Scepter. Trinket mage is there to tutor Skullclamp (to use on our tokens to draw more cards) but can alternatively grab a Sol Ring. You can then use Mystical Tutor to grab Dramatic Reversal (or something else if the circumstances call for it) and use Enlightened tutor to grab a Basalt Monolith for the infinite mana combo. Smothering Tithe and Rhystic Study will help us get more cards and more mana which is always a good thing in these kinds of decks. Last on the tutor front, we have Plea For Guidance which can grab Anointed Procession and Divine Visitation at the same time, or whatever else is needed at the time. Lastly, we have three wheel spells that were included specifically because of the new Narset I linked above. Her static ability says that opponents can’t draw more than one card per turn, so if she’s on the board and we cast one of these spells, our opponents will dump their hand and get one card, while we’ll get the full hand. Card advantage for the win!

Otherwise the deck has a pretty standard land base and most of the spells are removal, counterspells and cantrip or draw spells. You can see the full decklist here.