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Scheming with Raffine!

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Hello Awesome Folks! Happiest of Days to You and Yours!

Ready for my final deck based on someone who just debuted in Streets of New Capenna or its Commander set? I got ya! I have now done 10 such decks!

The first nine? You can find them all here!

Ready for my 10th and final deck? Here we go!

Raffine, Scheming Seer

I am building around the cheapest of the family leaders, the Sphinx Demon himself, Raffine! Raffine is the cheapest possible cost for a three colored dork and has flying, ward 1, and a 1/4 body. When you swing (with anyone, not just Raffine), one attacker connives equal to the number of attacking creatures. Therefore, Raffine wants to swing hard, and early, so we'll be adding in a bunch of cheap one and two drops with evasion, and then we'll kill with Commander Damage with Raffine conniving itself so this will also have a Voltron component to it as well as ways to attack with my team. Note that cheap dorks also work well with the mass card flow the conniving offers. You might also see the occasional tempo element here and there. Unlike last week's Tivit brew, this will look more like an Esper Aggro deck.

There are 1,453 decks over at EDHREC.com and it seems pretty well loved. However, their key way of building this brew is to use really cheap cards they can cast like Reanimate, and card draw synergies like Teferi's Ageless Insight and discard triggers like Archfiend of Ifnir. Therefore, my aggro, some minor tempo, and Voltron is a different take on Raffine than the normal deck that our good Sphinx Demon inspired. Many of these, other than the obvious Swords to Plowshares and Sol Ring aren't going to be on my list and theirs.

My planned play:

  • Turn 1 - untapped land, 1 drop 1/1
  • Turn 2 - untapped land, two drop, attack for 1.
  • Turn 3 - untapped land Raffine, attack with two, connive two for one dork,
  • Turn 4 - untapped land, attack with three, connive Raffine for three, and then play two creatures.

That seems pretty regular. I have 29 dorks, and 10 spells, and 14 pieces of equipment to frump around with. I am also running almost all enters-the-battlefield untapped dual lands like the pain lands such as Caves of Koilos and the two foes' lands and the Watery Grave shock lands. I am only running two lands that are colorless and arrive untapped and used for abilities other than the obvious Rogue's Passage and Access Tunnel. I'm not even pulling a Swamp for Bojuka Bog since we need that untapped mana.

My Ideal Play:

  • Turn 1 - untapped land, 1 drop 1/1
  • Turn 2 - untapped land, play two 1/1 one drops, attack for 1.
  • Turn 3 - untapped land Raffine, attack with three, connive three for one dork,
  • Turn 4 - untapped land, attack with four, connive Raffine for four, and then play two creatures or a key piece of equipment.

That's how I want to play this thang out. Ready?

Let's do a Deep Dive! First up, fast evasive dorks!

Spiketail Hatchling
Judge's Familiar

Most of my cheap evasive dorks are obvious like Triton Shorestalker and Changeling Outcast, but not the ones we are taking a look-see at. This pair flies and are 1/1s. The former is a two drop that can sacrifice to Force Spike a key spell, so folks will wait a turn to get another mana for key spells that will wreck you, like Wrath of God, which helps you out loads. The latter is a key flying 1-drop that can be easily cast turn 1 with its hybrid cost, and it can also sacrifice to Force Spike a key instant or sorcery, which is less flexible than the former, but still very useful indeed.

Siren Stormtamer
Mausoleum Wanderer

This is another pair of Blue, flying, 1/1s for one mana, nice evasion early. The first can be sacrificed for a Blue mana to counter anything that targets you or your things, like a fat Raffine. We do have another Spirit which we'll look at later to add a +1/+1 boost to it. It's here to sacrifice to counter any instant or sorcery with a Force Spike of 1 for a 1 power just like Judge's Familiar. If it's carrying power-boosting equipment or was targeted by a Raffine boost then it's Force Spike really leaps up in mana and can really play keep away, note that it does not need to target you or your things.

Hope of Ghirapur
Dimir Infiltrator

The Hope is a 1/1 flyer that can be played by any color on the first turn with an untapped land. After this artifact dork punches face you can sacrifice it to prevent that person from casting non-dorks this turn, so use it first, punch, and then sac to stop the mono-Blue counter guy from stopping your key stuff and then cast away after you connive a bunch with Raffine. The Infiltrator is a Dimir 2-drop 1/3 that cannot be blocked, and you can transmute it for two to get a key two-drop from your library. You are not casting it, so you can grab a key counter like Dovin's Veto or removal spell like you'll see later as well as one nice dork to win the game with, see below.

Invisible Stalker
Cerulean Drake

Check out our final creatures that are here for evasion and cheap. The Stalker is a two mana unblockable 1/1, a bit high since most are 1/1s for 1 mana. In this case you get hexproof, so it can play keep away and is a nice place to send equipment and connive counters when Raffine is answered or on the turn that our Sphinx Demon arrives to the battlefield and cannot attack. The Drake is a 1/1 flyer with pro-Red, so it can slip past two sets of defenders. You can sacrifice to counter something that targets you like Fact or Fiction or Jaya's Immolating Inferno. Nice backup counters and answers!

Now let's turn to a non-flying dork, Midnight Hunt's Malevolent Hermit. This is an on-curve 2/1 for two mana, and then you can spend a mana, sacrifice it, and then Mana Leak a non-dork, and given how often people are removing creature-based removal for spell removal, this is pretty likely to have a big slate of abilities to target. Once you do you can disturb it for three mana and then flip it into a 2/2 flyer that won't allow your non-dork stuff to be countered, which is great as all of my answers are spells, and we have a game-winner non dork and a bunch of mana rocks and equipment and a few enchantments that are now uncounterable. Nice pair, and you can disturb him from your graveyard if you discard it to your looting from Raffine.

Fireshrieker
Holy Avenger

Most of my Voltron things are obvious like Swiftfoot Boots and Sword of Fire and Ice. These two are ways to give a character double strike. They are meant to go on a fat Raffine and then get double your fat damage and kill much more quickly. The uncommon is a 3 drop 2 equip that could double your attack damage by turn 5 without a mana rock. The rare is a 3-drop mono-White rare you can give double strike again, ignore the combat damage into an Aura ability since we aren't running any Auras here.

Answers

Winds of Abandon

Most of my answers are as you would expect, a Generous Gift here and a Swords to Plowshares there. But this is different, it's a sorcery speed Path to Exile. But if your overload it, you can Path all opposing creatures, which is a lot of ramp for them, but it's worth it as you are running Land Tax and Weathered Wayfarer as ways to get lands and drawing a lot of lands to keep up and you exile their stuff which gets past indestructible (although not hexproof).

Not all answers are removal spells, some, like Teferi's Protection, save your team from removal, and Selfless Spirit and Selfless Savior are awesome at saving. The Spirit is on curve and it's a Spirit, cough cough. You can sacrifice it for no mana to give your creatures indestructible for the turn, which is nice interaction and lets you force your foes to play around it. It's great here! The Dog is a 1/1 that can sacrifice to give a key Raffine protection, but it lacks basic evasion, so it can swing early when people are open, and then hang back to do it's thing, but there are ways to give this evasion we'll see in "Synergies" below.

Win-Cons

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
Laboratory Maniac

Since we are blowing through our deck, these two win-cons came to mind, when you draw on an empty deck you win the game. Nice and simple. As you can see, Jace, is a four drop a bit hard to cast, but comes with 4 loyalty and is a planeswalker, the only one here. You can +1 to mill a player of two cards and draw a card, nice card flow. The Maniac is the creature-based version of Jace that was printed first, and is a nice sized 2/2 for three mana with no evasion at all.

Grafted Exoskeleton
Blighted Agent

I know that infect isn't welcome everywhere at the kitchen table, but it's easier to stop. You just lock out the infect stuff from happening. Here I have two cards for your infecting consideration. The equipment is a 4-drop, 2 equip that gives Raffine a nice +2/+2 boost and infect, with his conniving counters that should be a kill in one hit. If he's answered, that's a cheap reequip on someone else, and that's pretty cool here. The creature is a 1/1 unblockable for two mana with infect, and he won't play on the same track as your other beaters, but he will kill in 10 turns unless you count equipment and conniving with Raffine. Nice win con!

Synergies

Crackdown
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive

The Crackdown is an enchantment that prevents non-White stuff with a power of 3 or more from untapping. All our stuff has a power of 1 or 2 save for our leader after some conniving and equipmenting, and that's pretty nifty since it has white in its color identity. Tetsuko is a 2-drop 1/3 that gives all of your 1 powered stuff unblockable like your fliers (and itself). Good synergy here!

The Cauldron of Eternity

Check out this nasty 12-drop that's likely much less to actually play. Its cost is reduced by two generic mana each dork that is in your graveyard, and after discard and removal spells and trades and sacrifices that could be at least 5 quite early, and you'll get this and then as your dorks die, they head back to your deck, so they can be drawn again. Nice! This can also tap for three mana and two life at sorcery speed to Zombify a dork back to the battlefield from your graveyard, which works well on the future things you are discarding as well as what already hit the bin.

Card Draw

Bident of Thassa
Reconnaissance Mission

I am leaning on Raffine to do most of my heavy lifting for card flow since you'll draw tons of cards en masse. But then you discard, and that's not good actual proper card draw. Enter this do. These two 4 drops in Blue will turn combat damage from your foes into cards drawn, which with these heavy numbers should be a lot of cards drawn over time. The rare can also tap for two mana and force your foe to swing this turn, and that opens them up for a counterattack and draw a ton of cards, which is great when everyone is holding back and not attacking to keep you from getting your Raffine triggers. The uncommon adds the ability to cycle it for two mana in case you are about to die to something you need to find removal for or in an emergency but don't do that.

If you draw one of these after controlling the other, do not play it, hold on to it post-Akroma's Vengeance and then drop it to keep up the card flow. The Sword of Fire and Ice also draws cards for combat damage dealt to a foe.

Sword of the Animist
Sword of Hearth and Home

Let's start my ramp and lands section by looking at these two Swords. The legendary one gives an okay +1/+1 and when it swings you can ramp a basic land from your deck to the battlefield, which is pretty cool. Note that it does not need to connect to work.

The other Sword is a 3-drop equip two that gives a bigger +2/+2 boost, protection from green and white and when it connects with a dork you can do two things - flicker one of your dorks (only Solemn Simulacrum has an ETB ability to abuse here, but that's really strong with the other ability), and then you can ramp a basic land. This does require to punch an opposing face to trigger, but with your unblockable team and the protections it grants, that's pretty likely.

Vault of the Archangel
Witch's Clinic

Check out these two. Your foe's may not want to block a 1/1 deathtouch with flying with their Consecrated Sphinx or Rith, the Awakener. Keep the mana and land open, and then swing and then if they make bad blocks you can punish them by tapping the Vault land and four mana, which is a bit pricey, but it works on everything and just one bad trade will play keep away for the rest of the game as long as you have the mana untapped, and then you can use your mana post-combat to drop stuff. Don't sleep on the lifelink with a nasty sized Raffine to keep up the life trades since you'll be swinging a lot and not keeping your defenses. For that reason, I also tossed in the Clinic, which can tap to give Raffine lifelink for two mana for the turn. These are the two lands I alluded to earlier that don't tap for a color of mana.

Smothering Tithe is a staple in this format, costing four and then as your foe's draw, they can spend two mana to keep you from getting a Treasure, so that can be around 3-5 Treasure each round of turns. Here that's enhanced since you can crack them for a few evasive stuff you drew to keep from discarding. This card is quite strong here! Also note the taxing for this alongside things like Esper Sentinel, and your dorks like Spiketail Hatchling means you are likely to get more Treasures for cracking.

New Cards

Mask of the Schemer
Kamiz, Obscura Oculus

Let's turn to two dorks just printed. The Mask is a powerful win con. Three to drop and two to equip. Put it on Raffine. If you punch face with a 4 powered Raffine, you now connive 4, which will dig another 4 and possibly give it another 3 power and toughness and then you just keep on punching above their weight. It scales up quickly with an already conniving Raffine, and then you connive and win very quickly. When something attacks, Kamiz will make an attacker like Raffine unblockable, as well as something like Esper Sentinel or Judge's Familiar. And then a smaller powered dork can be made with double strike, so a 4 powered Raffine is now unblockable and your 2/1 Selfless Sprit is now dealing 4. Nice combo!

Ready for the decklist? Let's do it to it!

Scheming with Raffine | Commander | Abe Sargent


And there we go! So...what did you think? This deck has loads of interaction from its evasive dorks and 10 instants and sorceries to answer stuff en masse, individually, and keep your stuff alive. What did you think of my brew? Anything in here that inspired you or that you want to dig into? What does your Raffine deck look like? Just let me know and have an awesome day!


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