Over the years, the vast card pool associated with Eternal formats has continued to grow larger and larger. Not only do we get a multitude of premier sets per year, but we also get to utilize cards from Commander sets in formats like Legacy. Universes Beyond cards and Commander cards often end up playing major roles in Eternal formats even if they aren’t designed as such.
For instance,
Triumph of Saint Katherine
Triumph of Saint Katherine
Lifelink
Praesidium Protectiva — When this creature is put into your graveyard from the battlefield, exile it and the top six cards of your library in a face-down pile. If you do, shuffle that pile and put it back on top of your library.
Miracle {1}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)
is quite a strong card alongside
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
, showcasing the power of the Warhammer 40k set. Meanwhile,
Broadside Bombardiers
Broadside Bombardiers
Menace, haste
Boast — Sacrifice another creature or artifact: This creature deals damage equal to 2 plus the sacrificed permanent's mana value to any target. (Activate only if this creature attacked this turn and only once each turn.)
from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander decks has become a staple in Legacy Goblins decks.
Today, we are going to focus on an interesting Commander card from the Murders at Karlov Manor. Interestingly,
Duskana, the Rage Mother
Duskana, the Rage Mother
When Duskana enters, draw a card for each creature you control with base power and toughness 2/2.
Whenever a creature you control with base power and toughness 2/2 attacks, it gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
of all cards is making its presence felt in Legacy. It serves a potent role in many Dredge decklists and can help end the game the turn it comes into play!
To fully understand Duskana’s role in the deck, it’s important to focus on the deck’s main gameplan in conjunction with
Bridge from Below
Bridge from Below
Whenever a nontoken creature is put into your graveyard from the battlefield, if this card is in your graveyard, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
When a creature is put into an opponent's graveyard from the battlefield, if this card is in your graveyard, exile this card.
, the engine of the Legacy Dredge deck.
The Need for Speed
At first glance, this deck looks like it has a lot of moving parts. Clearly, the goal is to get
Golgari Grave-Troll
Golgari Grave-Troll
This creature enters with a +1/+1 counter on it for each creature card in your graveyard.
{1}, Remove a +1/+1 counter from this creature: Regenerate this creature.
Dredge 6 (If you would draw a card, you may mill six cards instead. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand.)
and
Stinkweed Imp
Stinkweed Imp
Flying
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a creature, destroy that creature.
Dredge 5 (If you would draw a card, you may mill five cards instead. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand.)
into the graveyard and start Dredging. What’s interesting, though, is that a lot of the typical supporting cast for Dredge decks in Modern and Vintage is nonexistent in this Legacy variant.
For instance,
Prized Amalgam
Prized Amalgam
Whenever a creature enters, if it entered from your graveyard or you cast it from your graveyard, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped at the beginning of the next end step.
is nowhere to be found. You won’t find
Creeping Chill
Creeping Chill
Creeping Chill deals 3 damage to each opponent and you gain 3 life.
When Creeping Chill is put into your graveyard from your library, you may exile it. If you do, Creeping Chill deals 3 damage to each opponent and you gain 3 life.
either. Instead, this deck is much more heavily centered around winning the game in one swing.
Both
Careful Study
Careful Study
Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
and
Faithless Looting
Faithless Looting
Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
Flashback {2}{R} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
enable you to get your Dredge cards into the graveyard in an efficient manner. Once your Dradge cards are in the graveyard, you can utilize them and start filling your graveyard in short order. The absolute fastest starts for this deck, though, typically involve
Lion’s Eye Diamond
Lion’s Eye Diamond
Discard your hand, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color. Activate only as an instant.
.
Lion’s Eye Diamond provides an easy way for you to pitch your Dredge cards while also providing you mana to either Flashback Faithless Looting, or better yet, activate
Cephalid Coliseum
Cephalid Coliseum
{T}: Add {U}. This land deals 1 damage to you.
Threshold — {U}, {T}, Sacrifice this land: Target player draws three cards, then discards three cards. Activate only if there are seven or more cards in your graveyard.
. Getting to Dredge three times by simply sacrificing a Land is big game, and thanks to Lion’s Eye Diamond, attaining Threshold is trivial. The question then becomes: without cards like Prized Amalgam, how does this deck actually go about closing the game?
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Maximizing Bridge From Below
As mentioned, the main engine for this deck is Bridge from Below. Bridge from Below can provide a sea of Zombies without ever needing to be cast. The key is finding ways to get Creatures into play and sacrifice them. Luckily,
Narcomoeba
Narcomoeba
Flying
When this card is put into your graveyard from your library, you may put it onto the battlefield.
enters the battlefield for free while you are Dredging over your deck.
Once you have churned through a good portion of your library, chances are you will have some copies of Narcomoeba in play and Bridge in your graveyard. You should also have copies of
Cabal Therapy
Cabal Therapy
Choose a nonland card name. Target player reveals their hand and discards all cards with that name.
Flashback—Sacrifice a creature. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
and
Dread Return
Dread Return
Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Flashback—Sacrifice three creatures. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
in your graveyard that you can use to start flooding the board with Zombies.
Start by using Cabal Therapy to clear the way of any potential interaction from the opponent, such as
Force of Will
Force of Will
You may pay 1 life and exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.
Counter target spell.
. By sacrificing Narcomoeba, you will end up netting Zombies for each copy of Bridge in your graveyard. Using Cabal Therapy’s Flashback ability will even trigger
Poxwalkers
Poxwalkers
Deathtouch
Curse of the Walking Pox — Whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.
to return to play, adding to your board presence. In some games, these Zombies will be enough to win on their own. However, once you find Duskana and Dread Return, you can usually end the game on the spot.
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Duskana and Dread Return
Despite only appearing as a one-of in Legacy Dredge decklists, Duskana serves an important purpose. Once you have Dread Return and Duskana in your graveyard and Zombies in play, Duskana can help you draw/Dredge the rest of your deck. Start by casting Dread Return and sacrificing three Creatures. Assuming you have some Zombies left over, when Duskana enters the battlefield, you can start Dredging a bunch. Just be careful not to end up drawing from an empty library.
The goal in returning Duskana to play is two-fold. First and foremost, by Dredging over the rest of your deck, you will be able to find the one-of copy of
Anger
Anger
Haste
As long as this card is in your graveyard and you control a Mountain, creatures you control have haste.
. In conjunction with your Zombie tokens from Bridge from Below, you can now attack for a bunch of damage and win the game. Second, Duskana’s ability to let your Zombie tokens attack as 5/5s can be quite important in some spots. This large power boost means that you won’t need quite as many Zombies in play to actually end the game.
All things considered, Duskana isn’t quite as impactful as some other Commander cards like Broadside Bombardiers. That being said, it’s incredibly interesting to see a multi-color Commander card designed to be paired with face-down Creatures see Legacy play in a completely different context. The fact that Bridge from Below happens to make 2/2 Creatures specifically makes Duskana a real threat. Thanks to Dread Return, there’s no need to worry about the expensive, multi-color casting cost, either. This card truly showcases the importance of not glossing over cards from supplemental sets or products, even for Constructed afficionados.
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