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Jan Jansen's Commander Calling

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Hello folks! Happiest of Days to You and Yours! Today I am knocking out the sixth deck in my list: check out the below Appendix for links to the others!

Jan Jansen, Chaos Crafter

As you can see, Jan Jansen is a cheap, 3-drop 3/3 with haste and three colors and then has two tap abilities that do not require any additional mana. The first sacrifices an artifact dork and makes two Treasures, and the second sacrifices a non-dork artifact to make a pair of 1/1s artifacts. Over time, he'll win the game with his token making. Note that both halves make more artifacts. Unfortunately, he is not in the colors of untapping dorks like Seeker of Skybreak or Kiora's Follower to use and abuse his tapping ability. Ah well. You can get artifact synergies with White, you can get sacrifices of artifacts like Goblin Welder in Red and then you can net death triggers in Black like Disciple of the Vault. For my ramp I'll lean heavily into artifact dorks to sacrifice into Treasures and mana rocks that sacrifice naturally, like Commander's Sphere, for cards or for 1/1s. We are not in the colors of counters or Heroic Intervention to stop mass removal, so we'll need to lean into weird places for answers to removal. There are already 252 decks for him on EDHREC.com as of my writing this paragraph, so I am not alone in my adoration. He also made one of my Top Ten Lists from the Set (Check it out here - Top Ten Cards #2 from Battle for Baldur?s Gate | Article by Abe Sargent (coolstuffinc.com))

Artifact Dorks of Note

Scrap Trawler
Treasure Keeper

We don't have too many artifact dorks of note that are not in later categories, but I did toss in a few dorks that want to be sacrificed to Jan for two Treasures and then two dorks and keep up the pressure. These also have death triggers like the obvious Junk Diver, Myr Retriever, and this duo. The 3-drop 3/2 with return an artifact of a lesser cost from your graveyard whenever you destroy one of your artifacts, and put it into your hand. The 4-drop is just reprinted in this set and when it dies you get a free casting of a spell from the top of your library with mana value three or less, so you get a nice free spell while using your mana to cast other things. Good stuff.

Aristocrats Kills

Marionette Master
Nadier's Nightblade

Most of our artifact related kills are obvious like Reckless Fireweaver and Disciple of the Vault. Here we have two more. The Master is a bit pricey at 6 mana for a 1/3, but it can be a 4/6 or you can make a trio of 1/1 Servo artifact dorks on arrival. Then when one of your artifacts dies, you can shoot a target foe for damage equal to the Master's power. The Nightblade is a 3-drop 1/3 that drains a life from your foes whenever a token leaves the battlefield from sacrificing it like Treasures for mana or to Jan, or to chump blocking to keep a planeswalker alive or from your foe's mass sweeping effects like Akroma's Vengeance. Love its power a lot here!

Synergies

Anointed Procession
Academy Manufactor
Xorn

Check out these three Synergies. When you make Treasures, each of these will make more. The Procession will double your Treasures, 1/1 dorks, and from other sources. The Manufacturer will give you a Clue and a Food for each Treasure you make. Xorn will give you an extra Treasure when you make some. Each of these are pretty spicey here, right?

Battlemage's Bracers
Illusionist's Bracers
Rings of Brighthearth

These three are another awesome slate of copies. I cannot run Blue and Green untap effects for Jan, so instead I'll toss in these three. The two Bracers are 3/2 to drop, and then 2/3 to equip, respectively, so they each cost 5 mana. The Red one gives haste and copies the activated ability if you spend a mana. The colorless one won't give haste, but doesn't require any mana to copy the ability either. The Rings will require two generic mana to copy any activated ability like your various sacrifices and a planeswalker and more fun things. Both are great here!

Oni-Cult Anvil

Check out this Standard legal powerhouse that dominates the format alongside the latest version of Ob Nixilis. In this case you net a 2-drop artifact that will make a 1/1 artifact token each time one of your artifact(s) dies. Just one per turn, but that's enough. You can also sacrifice an artifact to drain a life from each foe, so this has a bit of a win-con attached.

Win Cons and Combos

Get ready!

Sword of the Meek
Sword of the Paruns
Umbral Mantle

We have two more ways to untap Jan as well as a fun card to break. Each of these is a key piece of equipment. The Meek Sword is costs 2 to drop and equip, and then will come back from the graveyard attached to a 1/1 like the ones that Jan makes. Sacrifice this to Jan to make two Treasures. Untap Jan with the other two pieces of equipment or wait a turn. Then you can tap Jan to sacrifice and make two dorks, and get two triggers. Sacrifice it once to something like the already seen Anvil or another engine and then let it stay in play. The Paruns Sword will drop for 3, equip for 3, and then let you spend 3 mana to tap or untap the dork and then pump your tapped or untapped things. The key here is to spend that mana to untap Jan. The Mantle is a 3 drop, 0 equip and will let you spend 3 mana to untap Jan and grow him +2/+2 and that's nice as well.

Ashnod's Altar
Krark-Clan Ironworks

These two sacrifice into colorless mana are not normally in my brews since they are so heavily played elsewhere, but here they just break things. Mark Wischkaemper sent me a combo that uses the Altar, Sword of the Paruns, Anointed Procession and Jan to win. Tap Jan to make four 1/1s. and then sacrifice two to the Altar to untap Jan, and then make a colorless mana. Then tap Jan to sacrifice another 1/1 to make four Treasures. Left - 1 colorless mana, 1 1/1 and 4 Treasures and an untapped Jan. Now tap Jan to sacrifice a Treasure and make 4 1/1s again, and keep on making infinite mana, Treasures, 1/1s and win with that, or the Aristocrat triggers.

I also tossed in the Ironworks to act as a backup to the Altar and then the backup Mantle for untapping, and you can draw all of your library with the infinite mana and Clue making from the Manufacturer. You'll make 12 mana worth of artifacts from one sacrifice of a creature for two Treasures when you control the Manufacturer instead of the Procession and the KCI, again enough to win with an untapper. You can also sacrifice the Sword of the Meek to the KCI and then make a bunch of mana and win that way by sacrificing it twice per 1/1 arrival for 4 mana to either of these and three to untap, and in that case you don't have to sacrifice your Treasures or tokens.

Also note that you can turn Jan into a 403/403 with the Umbral Mantle and win with damage.

Retrofitter Foundry
Staff of Domination

I have tossed in a few ways to use that infinite mana enter this duo. The Foundry is a 1-drop artifact that can untap for three, and then tap for two and crap out a 1/1 Servo of the artifact persuasion, and then just untap and make infinite Servos. You can also sacrifice Servos to make 1/1 flying Thopters which will trigger your Aristocrat death triggers for winning right now before the combat step. You can also sacrifice those to make 4/4 Constructs. Good stuff. The Staff will untap for one, and then has four tap abilities of 2, 3,4, and 5 mana. With infinite mana you can gain any amount of life, untap Jan for 3 mana and then one to untap so it's four total, and then draw any number of cards. You can also tap down blockers to swing away. A backup untap for Jan, and another way to draw cards isn't bad at all, by the by, even without the infinite mana. See also Crawling Barrens as another win-con infinite mana.

Digsite Engineer
Cranial Plating

Our last two win-cons we are looking at are these. The rare 3-drop 3/3 was recently printed last year. Whenever you cast an artifact, you can spend two generic mana to make an X/X dork where X is your artifact count. Wow that can win all of the games! Big powerhouse over time, and keep your Treasures up and punching. The Plating is the best common piece of equipment ever printed. You can equip Jan and give him +X/+0 where once again X is your artifact count and then win with Commander damage, and if he isn't on the battlefield you can just win the old fashioned way with normal combat damage. It's nice to have a backup win-cons like these two with combat in case the infinite mana combos and Aristocrat synergies aren't working.

Card Flow

Skullport Merchant
Dockside Chef

Most of my card flow is obvious, and we are running things like Morbid Curiosity that sacrifices artifacts for cards drawn. Check out this pair of Citizens for more on that front. The former is a 3-drop 1/4 makes a Treasure on arrival to the battlefield. You can sacrifice Treasures or dorks for cards at the rate of two pre iteration, which is really strong with Jan's innate double Treasure making. The latter one is a cheaper 1-drop 1/2 but it's more vulnerable as it's an enchantment creature. You can also spend 2 mana to sacrifice any artifact for a card drawn. That's strong card flow in this brew!

Losheel, Clockwork Scholar

Check out this 3-drop 2/4 Mono-White Elephant. Losheel can prevent combat damage to your attacking artifact creatures, which is nice! Then you can draw a card once per turn if an artifact creature(s) entered the battlefield, which is why it is here. It's very strong here, and both abilities have synergies here, but the card flow is crazy good.

Recursion

Brilliant Restoration
Open the Vaults

Since we are in the color of artifact recursion, let's take a pair of cards out of my crazy day and invest them in mass recursion. Neither are on Jan Jensen's EDHREC.com page. The Restoration is a recently printed 7 mana spell that's a bit pricey on the White mana, but being the only one to bring back just your artifacts and enchantments is worth it. The Open is a cheaper 6 mana and easier on the White mana front, but it brings back everyone's stuff, kind of like a big fat Twilight's Call, but your deck should get more value out of it then your foe's. Good pair!

Answers

Meteor Golem
Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast

Most of my answers are just typical Generous Gift, Utter End style things since we are in Black and White. I did toss in a pair of Vindicate effects in the artifact section of my deck, including the Golem. This is a 3/3 for 7 mana that can Vindicate a non-land on arrival. It's flexible, loves to get sacrificed, and loves to be brought back from a Goblin Welder or similar effect. Daretti is a powerful 3-drop three loyalty planeswalker. He can +1 and make a 1/1 artifact with defender that you can sacrifice all day long or hold the fort. You can also -1 him and sacrifice an artifact to Murder or Shatter an opposing card that is getting in your way. That's brilliant removal over time! Love him lots here!

Organic Extinction

I like for my decks to include an emergency mass removal spell in case things get out of hand, like this sweeper of all creatures non-artifact. That should leave your tokens and Construct powerhouses alone as well as some dorks. You can drop the cost of this ten-mana sweeper by tapping artifacts like Treasures, 1/1 artifact tokens and loads more. Love it loads here!

Ramp and Lands

Liquimetal Torque

Let's look at this mana rock! It can tap for a colorless mana on a 2-drop rock. Then you can tap it to make a nonland into an artifact for the turn, which is good when combined with Jan since you can tap it to make a non-artifact dork into one to sacrifice for Treasures or to save it from combat damage by Losheel or to keep Jan or a key Aristocrat alive from the Extinction. Nice synergy here, right?

Phyrexia's Core
Power Depot

How are these two lands not on the EDHREC.com page! Shocked right? The Core taps and sacrifices an artifact for a life which gives you a backup sacrifice engine in your land base. The Depot can tap for any color of mana if used for artifacts and their activation abilities. It's also a key artifact land and it rocks modular 1 which is nice.

Path of Ancestry

Why is the Path here? Well, it's simple: Jan is an Artificer which a lot of my artifact loving things just happen to be as well, like the Goblin Engineer, Marionette Master, Losheel, and loads more. It's a nice accidental boon to the deck's mana, and the worst case it's an ETB tapped Command Tower in a three color deck which is still pretty swell.

Mishra's Factory
Blinkmoth Nexus
Urza's Factory

I tossed in the Factory and Nexus to turn into artifact dorks for 1 mana each which you can sacrifice to Jan for effects. You can also swing or block on an empty board. They are also not on the EDHREC.com page either. The Factory can tap for an admittedly high 7 mana to make a 2/2 artifact dork permanently for things. Nice trio!

New Cards from Battle for Baldur's Gate

Navigation Orb
Stonespeaker Crystal

Check out this pair! These two also made the same Top Ten List that Jan made. As you can see, the Orb is a 3-drop, two sac Cultivate on an artifact, which is amazing ramping here, and you will enjoy bringing it back with a Goblin Welder and then sacrificing a Treasure or 1/1 token for more ramping fun times. The Crystal is a 4-drop tapper of two colorless mana that can be sacrificed for 2 mana for a card, and to exile all opposing graveyards so that you are the only one abusing them. Love it loads!

Patriar's Seal
Nimblewright Schematic

The Seal is a Manalith that can tap for any color of mana and can spend a mana, tap, and then untap Jan or another legendary dork in here, so that adds to your untapping suite while not adding any more cards just taking up a ramp spot. I tossed in both the new Schematic and the old one it's based on. Both are 2-drops that make a 1/1 grounded artifact dork when they arrive or are killed, so you want to drop them and get two triggers of your Reckless Fireweaver or similar effects, and then sac the Schematic to Jan and then make three 1/1s overall and three more triggers of your things.

Ingenious Artillerist

Our last one is this 3-drop 3/1 common Artificer. When artifacts arrive to the party, you can shoot each opposing dork for that damage, so two Treasures or two 1/1s from Jan will deal 2 damage to each foe. Another great win-con for the deck.

Ready?

Jan Jansen Calling | Commander | Abe Sargent


Note that I am running every legal artifact land, so this deck's mana base is a bit flimsy to mass removal like Vandalblast and Farewell, so I am running a full 60 lands given my three color needs as I don't want to be out of the game mana-wise after a mass removal spell. Also, no modal land/spells in here for that reason, I need non artifact lands that don't arrive tapped.

There we go! How are you building up your own Jan build? Anything I missed or that inspires you? Just let me know!

Appendix

  1. My first deck was built around Alora, Merry Thief and Far Traveler. The goal was to self-bounce and recast your things to trigger ETB things (Mulldrifter), self-bounce things (Azorius Aethermage), leaves play things (Circuit Mender), cast things (Equilibrium) and tapping the dork for something valuable (Opposition), with a bounce of self-bounce (Erratic Portal) and a flicker backup theme (Far Traveler proper) in order to lean into the non-cast stuff. Love it loads and it was inspired by my Equilibrium self-bounce Bant Commander deck. Check it here.
  2. My second deck is a Gruul deck built around the planeswalker Minsc and Boo, Timeless Heroes, which you can find here. That deck enables and is built around fun hasters (Froghemoth), tramplers (Giant Ankheg), and changelings with Hamster (Chameleon Colossus). Fun stuff and many of these cards are not on the EDHREC.com page of him either.
  3. My third deck is a Pinger deck that uses Prodigal Sorcerer and Prodigal Pyromancer to tap and kill small stuff, and then combines with deathtouch equipment like Basilisk Collar, and pinging synergies like card draw (Curiosity) and creature stealing and bounce (Sigil of Sleep). It's run by the haste-giving to tapper Dynaheir, Invoker Adept, which you can find here.
  4. My next deck a Tribal Rakdos build around Raphael, Fiendish Savior, and his love of Tribal and loving creature that went to the graveyard from anywhere. I tossed in tribal synergies, Aristocrats in the Tribe like Mayhem Devil, self-recurring dorks (Bloodghast), cycling cards (Archfiend of Ifnir), discard card flow (Big Score) and recursion (Living Death). It's fun!
  5. Myrkul, Lord of Bones (Check it out here) was built as the leader of a Midrange and Constellation deck that ran a bunch of dorks with ETB abilities for value (like Liliana's Specter and Archon of Cruelty), sacrificed them for value (High Market and Dockside Chef), netted a return as an enchantment to trigger another ETB for it and constellation dorks (like Underworld Coinsmith and Eidolon of Blossoms) and then added in some ramp, answers, card flow, and called it a deck! I hope you enjoy this weird thing!


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