Building Redshift, Rocketeer Chief in Commander

Posted on February 11, 2025

Hello happy Commander and permanent loving folks! Today I've got your new Commander from the just finished and spoiled from Aetherdrift Redshift, Rocketeer Chief!

This costs two Gruul mana for a 2/3 with vigilance and a tap ability so you can swing and use the ability later. That taps and adds mana for activated abilities only equal to his power, so base two-mana. Then you can exhaust him once for 12 mana to drop all permanents from your hand to the battlefield, from lands to battles. Basically, a Eureka for just you! You can use that as soon as they arrive since it doesn't tap, and one thing red and Green are great at is mana making.

You can use that tap ability to exhaust him, and then you can either build him as a power pumping Voltron with things like Rancor, +1/+1 counters and Bonesplitter to make mana for more equips then his thing or just general ramp and then drop your strong permanents like Craterhoof Behemoth and then just win fast or a combo brew to drop all parts and win that turn too. Voltron, Combos or Ramp Good Stuff?

Let's try the Voltron version with a few Good Stuff backup.

Mana, Ramp, Lands, Rocks

And now let's start with that boring stuff! Let's check in with the Green good stuff of mana ramping for this trio. The three-drop will tap with a Green to make mana equal to your biggest dorks power on a 2/3 body. Then you'll draw a card for each dork that arrives under your control with the largest power on the board, and that's everyone. I also tossed in Drumhunter for card draw and tapping. Then the two-drop 1/4 will tap for a Green mana and then tap for four if you control a larger sized 4 power dork and he's got eternalize for four. I tossed in Rampant Growth and three-drop spells to grab lands too.

Vastwood Surge ramps out two basics tapped above with kicker is first, since that four-mana kicker will add two counters to all of your stuff! Love it here much. Then the common Skyshroud Claim will ramp out two Forests this time and untapped ready to be used. I also tossed in Hunting Wilds and nonbasic Forests for them to ramp out.

The three-drop instant Archdruid's Charm will ramp out a land, not basic, tapped. Then you can tutor a dork to your hand, toss a +1/+1 counter on your dork and pseudo-fight and then exile an artifact or enchantment, love it here! Drannith Ruins will tap with two to toss a pair of counters on a non-Human that entered and then the Green tapper Oran-Rief, the Vastwood will tap for no mana to toss them on all Green stuff that entered, but this time your foe's too.

Now let's turn to mana sinks. Lair of the Hydra often ETBs tapped taps with X and a Green to make it a dork with that size, I'm sure you can see why that's here. Ditto the colorless tapper with Kessig Wolf Run. Colorless Crawling Barrens can spend four mana to pump it permanently with two +1/+1 counters and then you can make it a dork too, great EOT win-con.

Now let's turn to artifact lovers. The Standard legal mythic will tap with three to discard a card and then dig X and draw a card equal to your artifact count. Then I tossed in the uncommon one that taps with two and sacs to Reconstruct that artifact back to your hand! The legendary rare from the same world as the set Redshift is from will gain you life in your upkeep with enough artifacts and then tap and sac with four-mana to Tutor an aritifact to your hand if your control 3 or more.

The Commander targeting Witch's Clinic is first with tapping for colorless and then targeting your leader with two to give it lifelink, love that double life swing when it connects! Tyrite Sanctum taps with two to this time to make something legendary a God and then a +1/+1 counter, you can keep on doing it. Then you can tap and sac this with four to toss an indestructible counter on a God to save it!

Fun Voltron Stuff

Voltron time! The five-drop from Aethershift costs five for a trampling 8/8 to drop for free with him or to be cycled for three and then toss two +1/+1 counters on your dork and then it gets trample and indestructible at instant speed to be a nice combat trick that's hard to counter and stop. Note cycling is an activated cost too. The rare four-drop equipment from the previous set will arrive free in your opening hand and then equips for three to give double strike AND trample and then also a size boost of +1/+1 too! Nasty adding trample to double strike on one card.

The flashing rare three-drop Mithril Coat will equip on arrival your legendary dork to save it with indestructible too. The flashing uncommon Silver Shroud Costume is a two-cost with three to equip and then free equips on arrival and that turn it's got shroud to protect it and permanently cannot be blocked. I am not running Whispersilk Cloak because of that shroud, but I am running the uncommon Trailblazer's Boots to give them nonbasic landwalk. Also see Rogue's Passage in land form.

This cheap drop duo equips for massive mana and then gives a massive change to the equipped thing. The one-drop will equip for eight and then give +10/+10 and lose flying. We don't have flying Equipment here. The two-drop will give it a 10/10 base size and then costs a base 10 mana to equip, but then that's reduced by the size of what you equip. Love them loads here since you can tap him for that equip mana to grow and make him a powerhouse one shot. Good stuff!

Let's finish with these two game-winning Commander Damage smasher. The two-drop Equipment equips legendary stuff for three and then others for seven, and then you can tap Redshift for that mana, and then the seven-cost Aura gives the enchanted dork +20/+20 and can be dropped on Redshift or another after using his Eureka or just before it and then either tap for a massive amount of mana or just one-shot kill folks!

Synergies and Win-Cons

Now let's turn to the synergies and back up win-cons. The five-drop indestructible God with a 6/5 body and devotion to red and Green of seven to be present. Then you can in your combat double a dork you control's size bases on its power and then give it haste too. Nasty! The two-drop mythic legendary dork Green Bear size is next with a landfall to toss a +1/+1 counter on your stuff and then you can spend five-mana repeatably to double the number of counters on each dork you control.... Here with that mana for activated ability only based on its power? Nasty!

The three-drop legendary mythic Tyvar, the Pummeler can tap a dork to give it indestructible for the turn to save it. Note no mana needed, just tap. It's here to spend five mana to grow your dorks into size boosts of your highest power and here? That's a game win in just one or two activations. Bhaal's Invoker has a 4/2 size and then mana sinks eight to shoot each foe for 4 damage! The 2/2 Flameweave Invoker requires eight to shoot one player or their planeswalker for 5 this time, some great non-combat ways to win!

Let's move to this legendary red duo! The two-drop 1/1 lady is first with a activated ability drop in cost based on her power so she's a great backup Commander and then if you Voltron her great results will follow too. You can spend six-mana to increase your dorks size by +1/+1 and give them haste and then also trample too, which is a minimum of two with her power pumped and then she loves mana sinks with Redshift. The legendary Equipment costs three to drop and equips for that too and it gives it trample and +1/+1 and then will turn combat damage into that many Treasures! Nasty mana ramp for your activated abilities or casts too! Nasty ramping and drop costs combo here!

The three-cost enchantment above with a five-mana ability is next! You can Relentless Assault this turn! Nice with the mana reduction of Agatha or tapping of Redshift and then that's loads of wins too! The planeswalker costs four for that loyalty and then it's Equipment. You can +1 it to equip and then it gets a +1/+1 counter and then this cannot be attacked and as you deal combat damage toss that many counters here! Then -5 it to draw two and then -10 to Dark Ritual for 10 mana...nasty here with equipping Redshift and attacking for that damage and loyalty here and making that mana.

Now let's turn to the secret combo here...Staff of Domination and Sword of Feast and Famine! The three-drop taps with two to gain a life, three to untap a dork, four to tap a dork and five to draw a card. You untap it for one mana if Redshift is tapping for at least five mana, that's four for untapping him and untapping this too and then an extra mana for activated abilities like this to draw your deck, his Eureka to drop your deck, and then you can gain 1 million life too.

Then shoot your foes with the Invoker you dropped and then untap for infinite combats with the Assault and make your army infinitely huge with the Elf. One of those works. Then the three-drop Equipment with 2 equips is next with an +2/+2 body and pro Black and Green to slip through and then when you deal that damage to a foe's face you make them discard, card advantage and then untap your lands for more activations and with the Assault above for infinite combat steps and win this turn. Love it much, I'm sure you will too!

Answers

Now let's turn to answers and removal! First in any Voltron brew we need to protect the leader or primary damage dealer firstly done with Equipment or Auras to give hexproof and indestructible like our Swiftfoot Boots here and Mithril Coat, and instants like Snakeskin Veil and Heroic Intervention and Tyvar's Stand. The one-cot Standard legal uncommon will give one dork you control a +1/+1 counter to grow its size as a combat trick and then hexproof too, love that with Redshift's growth. Legolas's Quick Reflexes cannot be countered, it untaps, gives it hexproof and reach and when it's tapped will pseudo--fight a dork your foe's control, love that here much, but it's a bit pricy on the secondary market sorry. The X spell will give it hexproof and indestructible for one to start with all on its own and then grows in size by X. Nice Commander Damage or mana sink!

This four-cost spell will exile an artifact or enchantment and then grow your dork in size equal to the cost of what was handled. Nasty with Redshift while doing your thing! The dork costs three and is a Naturalize on arrival for a 2/1 and I also tossed in Acidic Slime too. The Gruul six-drop legendary dork 7/7 has an ETB to give it haste and trample this turn only or it can fight as removal. Or you can cycle it to Naturalize and then shuffle it. You can drop it post draw with your Eureka too. Love it much here!

Let's finish with two pseudo-fight spells that toss a +1/+1 counter on your thing first. Signature Slam will shoot the opposing dork at instant speed for all of your modified stuff...nasty here with your Auras, +1/+1 counters and then Equipment too. The two-cost sorcery Domri's Ambush is a +1/1 on your critter and then pseudo fights the creature or planeswalker you can finish off too, don't sleep on that last one.

Card Draw

Card draw time! For Voltron decks I prefer power matters stuff that doesn't be a one time like Momentous Fall. The five-mana instant draws equal to your highest power non-Human which Redshift is a Goblin and fine. Or you can +3/+3 them all as a combat trick to win outta nowhere. The three-mana instant turns combat damage to that much card draw! The five-mana sorcery does the same, but it's +3/+3 and trample help get through.

Disciple of Freyalise costs six for a 3/3 modal spell land that sacs a dork on arrival and then you draw and gain life equal to its power. The two-cost sorcery Malevolent Rumble will dig four and draw you a permanent and then make a Spawn to make that mana. The others head to that sweet graveyard - great for recursion. Soul of the Harvest costs six with a trample 6/6 body. Creatures that arrive to your battlefield that ain't tokens draw, so card draw for free Redshift drops too.

This sorcery group will take us home! The first makes 5 squirrel paws of stuff, for one you can toss a +1/+1 on something and it gets trample and vigilance this turn, or destroy all enchantments we only have three, or artifacts, or draw to your greatest power. Ideally here you make Redshift bigger with two +1/+1 counters and then draw two more. The second one will draw and then give us a free 5 or fewer cost spells from your hand! Love it much here! The red one is a five-mana red Wheel of Fortune for everyone. It's here to use after dropping all stuff after Redshift to refill that hand.

Here' s my decklist!