To this day, Creature Typal remains one of the most popular archetypes in Commander, but they tend to be on the more casual side of things. Occasionally, however, a Typal deck can break out on the competitive scene. Faeries, for instance, just 5-0d a Duel Commander League, showcasing the strength of an efficient, evasive legend.
Faerie Typal Tempo Strategy
As is typical for typal decks, this Faerie archetype piloted by osmanozguney utilizes typal payoffs to its advantage. This starts with the Commander, Obyra, Dreaming Duelist, which rewards you for going wide with Faeries.
When combined with steady sources of token generation, like Bitterblossom or Bitterbloom Bearer, Obyra’s life-drain quickly adds up. Add Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor and Scion of Oona as Faerie Lords, and the damage can pile on quickly. Alternatively, Rankle, Master of Pranks and Mistbind Clique can turn your extra tokens into massive tempo swings.
Once you’re ahead of your opponent on the board, Flash threats like Wonderous Wasp and Orcish Bowmasters let you react to your opponent’s threats while applying pressure. This also lets you keep up countermagic, but when you need to tap out, Snuff Out, Flare of Denial, and Subtlety still have your back. While the latter two cards can put you behind on resources, plenty of cards like Voracious Tome-Skimmer and Flitterwing Nuisance can refuel your hand.
Matchup Variance
Thanks to its solid blend of efficient creatures, counterspells, and discard effects like Thoughtseize, Faeries is well-suited to defeat slower strategies. Control decks like Tasigur, the Golden Fang have a hard time keeping all of your Flash creatures in check. At the same time, archetypes centered around resolving massive bombs like Dream Halls or Lier, Disciple of the Drowned are vulnerable to your counter magic.
With access to so many fliers, the Faeries archetype is also set up to dominate Monarch fights. As such, Commanders like Aragorn, King of Gondor, and Nakia, Wakandan Operative, are vulnerable to being blown out by their own mechanics.
Unfortunately, this deck runs into problems against hyperaggressive decks like Zurgo Bellstriker that get on board quickly. Not only are Faeries known for their minuscule stats, making them terrible blockers, but your counterspells get significantly worse when you’re behind. Life-paying engines, including Bitterblossom, also become major liabilities against burn spells.
With this in mind, the success of Faeries is highly dependent on the matchups you face. Given how diverse the Duel Commander metagame is, Obyra shells may be prone to running hot or cold in events. Still, if you can correctly predict the metagame for your next tournament, Faeries could be the perfect deck to exploit the room.
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