Commanding Tokens with Jinnie Fay

Posted on April 27, 2022

Commanding Jinnie Fay!

Hello Happy People! I hope that your day is going incredibly well! Today I am building a Commander deck around a key leader from the latest set, Streets of New Capenna.

This is my 3rd deck built around a New Capenna legend. Here are my first 2:

My first deck was a Jund build featuring the powerful Ziatora, the Incinerator, the leader of the Riviteers Family. I tossed in Ball Lightnings that swing out of nowhere and die anyway, so they can be sacrificed for 6 damage with Ziatora's ability. I also packed the list with Threaten effects like Zealous Conscripts that can steal creatures for a turn for Ziatora to snack on. I also included temporary token copy effects like Feldon of the Third Path that provide more bodies to be sacrificed, as well as damage increasers like Fiery Emancipation. You can check out the deck here!

Next, I built a Esper colored deck around Queza, Augur of Agonies. I included Group Hug cards like Howling Mine and Temple Bell to get loads of card drawing fun times as well as winning triggers like Psychosis Crawler and Underworld Dreams. I even snuck in the winning Approach of the Second Sun that will be able to be cast twice, and the trio of game winners like Thassa's Oracle and Laboratory Maniac. Check it out here!

What Naya colored leader sparked my mind?

Jinnie Fay did! As soon as I saw her, I wanted to build around her! This rare 3-drop 3/3 in Green and then two hybrid costs. When you would create tokens of any sort, instead you can make that many 2/2 hasted Cats or 3/1 vigilance Dogs. Note that this is missing the word "creature" in front of the word "tokens." Therefore, if you make other non-creature tokens you can turn them into creatures. And that's my deck! I'll run cards that make Treasures, Bloods, Clues, and Foods and go wide! Ready!

Token Makers

Let's start with these two recently printed Green things. The first is a 3-drop 3/2 with landfall that will make a Food or a Treasure token, and if you control Jinnie, that's a landfall to a Cat/Dog. The Stash was recently printed 6-drop artifact that can see you tap a land to make a Treasure which will create a nifty Cat/Dog. Hold onto your mana and then tap it at the end of an opposing turn, untap and swing away with your newly minted army. Good stuff!

Ah yes, Ol' Sawbones himself! This 7/7 flyer in Green will turn combat damage to your foes into Treasures into Cats and Dogs. Remember that any creature can deal that damage, so tokens and nontokens alike! Good smasher of decks!

Now let's turn to some planeswalkers.

Check out these Chandras. The Acolyte of Flame is a fun 3-drop 4-loyalty dork who can 0 to add loyalties to your red planeswalkers and 0 to make two 1/1 tokens with haste that die. Control the Fay? Great! Now these are 2/2s or 3/1s that stick around. The Flamecaller is a 6 mana 4 loyalty option that can +1 to make two 3/1s with haste that die that can, again, now turn into ones that stick around. You can also 0 to discard your hand and draw a new one with another card. Good tag team!

The Voice of Zendikar version of Nissa was heavily played in Standard when she was legal and she is a 3-drop three loyalty planeswalker. She's here for that +1 to create a 0/1 Plant token which can easily turn into a better dork. You can drop Jinnie Fay on the 3rd turn and her on the 4th and +1 away. Then you can, once you've gone wide, -2 her to toss a +1/+1 counter on every dork you control to build up not out. The Champion of the Sun is a 6-drop 4-loyalty powerhouse that was also played when Standard legal. She can +1 to create three 1/1 Soldiers which turn into 2/2s or 3/1s. Then you can -3 her to destroy all creatures with a power of 4 or more. That won't hurt Jinnie Fay or your mass token creations.

Ramp

Sure, we have normal ramp like Solemn Simulacrum and Cultivate but let's turn to synergetic ramp. The Spasm will Rampant Growth a land from your deck to the battlefield tapped and make a 0/1 token that can be sacrificed for a colorless mana, but if you control Jetmir's Second then you get a better Cat or Dog. The Strider is a 6/4 for six mana that makes two Food tokens on arrival and this would be 10/8 if you chose two 2/2s to arrive with for one card and if you need a basic land early you can basic landcycle it for mana.

The Endeavor is a powerful ramper and token maker. You can spend six mana to then toss a d4 twice and one result is your 3/3 Beast tokens and the other is your land rampage. Sure, it's a bit chaotic and uncertain, but it'll make a nice fun time, and that's what this game and format are all about. The Keeper is a 4-drop 3/4 with two end of opponent's turn triggers. Do they have more lands? Ramp a Plains. Do they have more dorks? Make a 1/1 Solider which can be a 2/2 or 3/1 quite easily this is easily cast the turn after Jinnie Fay and it'll dial you back to lands and dorks quite quickly. It's here for ramp and keeps up with creatures early and then plays well after a mass removal spell swept your stuff.

Synergies

Most Naya token synergies are obvious like Doubling Season and Anointed Procession. But this? It's not so obvious, right? As can see, this 3-drop 1/3 can turn an arriving Food, Clue or Treasure into all three! This is a replacement effect just like your Commander's, so you can do this first and then hers and then you'll net 3 Cats and/or Dogs. Good synergy here!

Removal

Many removal spells are obvious like Beast Within and Chaos Warp. Check out this pair of instants and sorceries. Fell is a two cost that shoots a flyer for 5 damage likely killing it and makes you a Food token at instant speed which can be turned into a Cat or Dog from your leader. Root Out is a 3 mana Naturalize version that's a sorcery and makes a Clue for you to either keep and crack for a card or to make into a dork for entering the red zone. Good pair!

I tossed in The Wandering Emperor for creature kill that also makes a token dork. This four-mana 3-loyalty flashable dork can be used instantly on the turn dropped, so you can +1 to give a dork you control first strike and a +1/+1 counter as a key combat trick after blocking, -1 to make a 2/2 Samurai with vigilance to block out of nowhere, or -2 to exile a creature that just tapped to attack you and gain a pair of life. Good stuff!

Draw

Most of my card draw is obvious as well as my ramp and removal but check out this card! Three mana for an enchantment that will draw you a card each time you drop a dork with a 3 or greater power! Play this before Jinnie Fay to draw a card from her. Control this and Jinnie Fay and turn your tokens into 3/1s and you'll create a ton of card drawing potential. Love it's power a lot here!

Now let's turn to some lands!

Check out this pair of Green tapping common lands! The first is a Forest by the by. It will arrive untapped if you control 3 other Forests (we have 8 basics and a few non-basics) possible. If you do, you get a free Food for Jinnie Fay to upgrade. The second land will add a 0/1 Plant to the battlefield for free, which is nice creature for your desires.

Check out these two lands. The Den is a Red producing land that you can spend four mana to tap and make a 3/2 Goblin. Did you swing? Awesome! Now you get a 1/1 for free to upgrade to a 2/2 or a 3/1. The Keep won't tap for Red, but it will be tapped for Red and a generic mana to make a 0/1 Kobold token for you to power up with your leader!

Two more lands and we'll leave this category behind. The Crucible was just printed in the last set and arrives untapped and ready to tap for Red mana. If you are set for mana, you can channel it from your hand (at instant speed) and create two 1/1s which can be upgraded. Then the Vault can be sacrificed for a bunch of Treasures at the end of a turn with your extra mana to make a bunch of dorks. Both have mad synergy here!

New Cards from New Capenna

Forget Jetmir's Second! How about the Cat Demon himself? He's a four-mana 5/4 on curve in your Naya colors and in this person's case he can give your dorks +1/+0 and vigilance if you have three dorks, another +1/+0 and trample with six, and another +1/+0 and double strike with 9 dorks, so he really punches well here in this going wide brew! The rousing is a nice 5-drop rare enchantment that can hideaway down 5. Then when you attack with dorks you can make 1/1 tokens that are that number of attackers, and then upgrade them. Control 10 or more dorks? Cast the hideaway card!

Check out these two Mono-Red commons. The first is a four-cost instant that discards one card, draws you two and makes two Treasures for dorks. That could be 4/4 across two bodies, and card flow for one card. The Roastmaster is a 3-drop 3/2, which is on curve, and as dorks arrive to the battlefield you shoot your foes for a damage each, and since we could be making a ton of dorks, that would be an equal ton of damage!

Six cards left!

Check out these two Mono-Green two costs. The common is an instant that will let you fight as a removal spell and leaves behind a Treasure token for the upgrade. The rare is a 1/1 with alliance that will work three times each turn. The first will pump this by +1/+1 permanently. The next will make a tapped Treasure which will normally be your primary option as it will trigger another when it arrives as a Cat or Dog token. You can net 2 life as well!

Here are two Mono-White cards! The Fountain is a 3-drop artifact that tap itself and a mana and untap a tapped dork to make another 1/1 Citizen to upgrade. Then you can tap two mana and untap two tapped dorks to draw a card so it's card flow. Then you can spend a pretty crazy five White mana and untap fifteen dorks you control to win the game right there. With all of the crazy creature doubling in this deck you could easily get that many, just swing, untap, and win! The Gatherer is a 3-drop 2/1 that will turn arriving dorks into scry 1's unless they are the 2nd creature that turn in which case you'll draw a card - another card flow for this brew.

This Boros enchantment just costs three mana and arrives with two 1/1 Citizen tokens which is two 2/2s or 3/1s if you drop this after you dropped Jinnie Fay. Then you can tap three dorks to make a Treasure token...er...2/2 or 3/1 without any mana investment. Nice! Especially with doublers. I love its synergy here! Did you make a token this turn? Did you control Bennie? Awesome...draw a card! You can do this each turn, so instant token makers are valuable here.

Ready for the decklist proper? I got you!