EDH is a format full of variation and personalization. Just think of all the choices you have to make when you’re creating a deck. What strategy do you want to play? What colors do you want to be in? And the most infamous of all: what commander should you use? For many this is the most important choice, as it sets the theme and strategy that the rest of the deck will follow. Today we are going to be looking at a strategy which turns the creature at the helm of your deck into a major force to be reckoned with; Voltron.
Voltron is a strategy named after the animated series of the same name, and it works in a similar way to its namesake. The deck revolves around using equipment and enchantments to make your commander into an unstoppable masterpiece (which you then use to win with commander damage).
So now that you know what a Voltron deck is, let’s get into how you should go about making one:
Here are some things you should look for when choosing a Voltron commander.
Survivability: How hard is it for your opponent to kill your commander? If the most important card in your deck is easy to remove, then it will need lots of protection granting equipment or enchantments. Some commanders with great survivability are Thrun, the Last Troll, Uril, the Miststalker, and Sigarda, Host of Herons.
Evasion: Now that your commander is nice and beefy, how will they get through your opponents defenses? Do they have flying, protection, or trample? If not you will have to get these effects somewhere else, or it will be almost impossible for you to win against most decks. Some commanders with great Evasion are Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts, and Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
Utility: Is your commander able to speed up your strategy, cover your weaknesses, or provide some kind of backup plan? If yes, your commander can be extremely efficient! Zur, the Enchanter is able to tutor for enchantments, that can either be buffs/protection for him, or answers to what your opponent to is playing. Kemba, Kha Regent produces 2/2 cat tokens, protecting you from sacrifice effects, and giving you another win condition. And finally, Bruna, Light of Alabaster let’s you play enchantments for free, and recycle ones that you would have otherwise lost.
Colors: As with all commander decks, your choice in commander can heavily dictate your strategy. Not only because of its abilities, but because of the options (or lack of options) it’s colors give you. Because of this, it is often better to play multicolor commanders, as they give you more options, and more answers to whatever your opponent is doing. Some great multicolor Voltron commanders include Narset, Enlightened Master, Zurgo Helmsmasher, and Zur the Enchanter.
Now that you have chosen you commander where do you go from here? Firstly, you must look at what your commander is lacking, and fill in the gaps. If you are playing a nearly indestructible creature, like Thrun, the Last Troll, you have the benefit of playing more enchantments, without having to worry about loosing them, but most of the time these creatures are relatively small and lack evasion. In Thrun’s case, some good cards for him are cards like Rancor, as they’re cheap and provide a way to get damage past your opponents defenses. You also want to run cards like Blanchwood Armor to turn Thrun from an annoying cockroach into an undying behemoth.
But what if you’re playing a commander like Krond the Dawn-Clad that lacks a way to protect itself? Don’t worry! There are many cards that can provide your commander with protection, as well as some other useful effects. Some great ones for Krond are Umbra Mystic, Bear Umbra, and the classic Voltron card, Swiftfoot Boots.
I hope this article will encourage you to take a look at Voltron decks, and see that they are not just the one trick pony that many make them out to be, but instead they are a marvel of synergy, every card working towards the goal of your commander.
But what do you think? How do you feel about Voltron decks? What commander do you think works best in this type of strategy? If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to say something in the comments section below.
Shakunjin
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