The community shares its inner Vorthos this week. Interested in seeing what creative decks your fellow Planeswalkers are wielding throughout the multiverse? Join me as I meet up with two fellow Planeswalkers and examine the flavorful decks they wield against their unfortunate foes.

Impressions

Recently, I have started to ask all of you to share your Vorthosian decks with me, and I honestly could not be more impressed by you all. I received an overwhelmingly positive response with a number of incredibly flavorful decks. The talent of the Magic community never ceases to amaze me. I was so impressed with some of the submissions that I decided to not only feature the decks in an article, but to find out more about the Planeswalkers piloting such flavorful decks . . . 

The Wolves of Winterfell

Image courtesy of http://www.hbo.com/assets/images/

Our first deck comes from Thomas Schmid of Riggisberg, Switzerland. Thomas is an avid fan of the HBO show Game of Thrones, and who can blame him? What is not to love about a show filled with knights and kings and assassinations and dragons? Did I mention there were dragons? Thomas submitted a Commander deck directly inspired by the show. What really stood out to me about Thomas’s deck was that each and every single card is inspired by a particular character, place, or event from the series. I was so impressed by Thomas’s deck that I needed to get to know the player behind such an interesting creation.

Q: What is the name of your deck?

Wolves of Winterfell—because of the large number of wolves and werewolves in it and the strong presence and representation of house Stark from the Game of Thrones TV series.

Q: What is the theme of your deck?

It is a totally dedicated theme deck at heart, wherein each and every card (except for the basic lands) represents a person, an event (codex), or a place from the Game of Thrones TV series. Due to the card selections that comes, to no surprise, mostly from the Innistrad block with Werewolves and Wolves on one side and a Human theme on the other side, it has naturally become a tribal deck as well, wherein most cards either profit from being in one of those tribes or give a benefit to said creature types. A small subset of cards deals with +1/+1 counters that foremost help the relevance of the commander. Sure, because of the very strict dedication to the theme, it more or less succumbs to a barrage of flying Dragons, but so will Winterfell in the series when Dani finally gets her firebreathing lot across the narrow sea.

Q: What was the inspiration behind your deck?

It's an homage to the Game of Thrones TV series, especially the first season and its protagonists of the "good side." King Robert Baratheon (commander: Marath, Will of the Wild) and the Stark family unite against the threats of the Lannisters and the Targaryens.

Q: What has your playgroup’s reaction to your deck been?

My playgroup meets more or less twice a month, and due to rotating through my thirty-somewhat decks, I have played it only once so far. The reactions where very positive. Most of the guys in my group are into Game of Thrones as well and commented on the deck being the absolute theme deck.

Q: What is your favorite creature type of all time?

It’s Cat, as in Cat Warrior (Sanctuary Cat and consorts don't count in my book). Mirri, Cat Warrior is my pet card since I opened her in my first Exodus booster, and my love for the anthropomorphic cats has not faded since. Jareth, Leonine Titan, Kemba, Kha Regent, Jedit Ojanen of Efrava, and Ajani Goldmane are just badass, and I am looking forward to getting my hands on Ajani, Mentor of Heroes in Journey into Nyx.

Q: You find yourself on Theros. To what god will you pledge your allegiance? What boon do you hope to have bestowed upon you by that god?

I would definitely pledge myself to Nylea, God of the Hunt. Karametra, God of Harvests seems cool as well, but she is a bit too much "home & hearth" for me. If the Goddess of the Hunt pleases, I would ask her to bestow the Thrun treatment upon me. Being immune to all the bad magic and being able to regenerate anything anytime seems to be the perfect boon one could wish for.

Q: Now blessed by your new god, how do you use your newfound power?

I'm not really the Soldier of Fortune type of guy, but with my military skills and my new powers, I would make one hell of a persistent second in command, so if Anthousa, Setessan Hero needs some help, I will gladly follow her call to war against any evil threatening Setessa and/or Theros itself.

Thomas’s Deck

Marath, Will of the Wild

Thomas really went the extra mile with his submission. The additional feature that really impressed me was that, along with his hundred-card decklist, Thomas submitted a second list. This second list provided a character, place, or moment from the Game of Thrones series that directly inspired a card he chose for his deck. Below, you will find not only Thomas’s deck, but a second list that depicts why Thomas chose each and every card in his deck.

Wolves of Winterfell ? Commander | Thomas Schmid

• Commander (0)

• Creatures (38)
• 1 Afflicted Deserter
• 1 Briarpack Alpha
• 1 Champion of the Parish
• 1 Daybreak Ranger
• 1 Elder Cathar
• 1 Elder of Laurels
• 1 Elite Inquisitor
• 1 Eternal Witness
• 1 Fiend Hunter
• 1 Fleecemane Lion
• 1 Gatstaf Shepherd
• 1 Hamlet Captain
• 1 Hanweir Watchkeep
• 1 Hinterland Hermit
• 1 Immerwolf
• 1 Instigator Gang
• 1 Juniper Order Ranger
• 1 Kessig Cagebreakers
• 1 Kruin Outlaw
• 1 Lambholt Elder
• 1 Mayor of Avabruck
• 1 Mentor of the Meek
• 1 Rage Thrower
• 1 Reckless Waif
• 1 Scorned Villager
• 1 Silverchase Fox
• 1 Thraben Sentry
• 1 Tormented Pariah
• 1 Tree of Redemption
• 1 Ulvenwald Mystics
• 1 Village Bell-Ringer
• 1 Village Ironsmith
• 1 Villagers of Estwald
• 1 Wall of Ice
• 1 Wolfir Avenger
• 1 Young Wolf
• 1 Burnished Hart
• 1 Darien, King of Kjeldor

• Spells (24)
• 1 Ancient Grudge
• 1 Banners Raised
• 1 Clinging Mists
• 1 Hunger of the Howlpack
• 1 Into the Core
• 1 Moonmist
• 1 Rally the Peasants
• 1 Howl of the Night Pack
• 1 Sunscour
• 1 Travel Preparations
• 1 Winter Blast
• 1 Winter's Grasp
• 1 Aura Shards
• 1 Builder's Blessing
• 1 Burden of Guilt
• 1 Feed the Pack
• 1 Full Moon's Rise
• 1 Vigilante Justice
• 1 Crown of Empires
• 1 Scepter of Empires
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Throne of Empires
• 1 Tormod's Crypt
• 1 Bow of Nylea

• Lands (37)
• 12 Forest
• 6 Mountain
• 7 Plains
• 1 Boros Guildgate
• 1 Gavony Township
• 1 Gruul Guildgate
• 1 Jungle Shrine
• 1 Naya Panorama
• 1 New Benalia
• 1 Opal Palace
• 1 Rootbound Crag
• 1 Rupture Spire
• 1 Selesnya Guildgate
• 1 Temple of the False God
• 1 Vivid Grove

Buy This Deck

Love Is a Cold Eye

Lovisa Coldeyes

Our second deck today comes from Kyle Dunn of West Chester, PA. Kyle’s deck is a whirlwind of chaos, rampaging across the Multiverse and taking on all challengers. With an overall goal of capturing the raw emotion contained within heavy-metal music, Kyle set out to craft a list one hundred cards of head-banging rage and emotional fury . . . 

Q: What is the name of your deck?

I prefer the more flavorful name Love Is a Cold Eye, taken from the commander of the deck Lovisa Coldeyes. However, the deck often takes the name Heavy Metal Fury. Simply Heavy Metal Fury is easier to say and more revealing of its clash of thunder, steel, and noise.

Q: What is the theme of your deck?

The theme is simple enough: It is heavy metal, stereotypical head-bashing honor, pride, and sweat. This means it includes an idea of battle of the bands and is focused on the combat phases. I intend to play a grand concert that sways the hearts of the audience. Of course, a good concert is never put together without roadies, and seeing as I intend to take this concert on the road and grand-slam my opponents to the ground, I use the rubble from where my opponent originates to form my mountains! We have some devoted fans, too, and we are unjudgmental about sticking with a particular crowd, inviting all Warriors, Berserkers, and Barbarians to join in, even if our opponents have those types, too. So let’s spread the message of world peace through fist bumps, share in the jangled symphony of heated blood, and sing in a choir, screaming: “Encore!”

Q: What was the inspiration behind your deck?

A couple things added to the inspiration of this deck. First was my playgroup’s Commander decks. I didn’t have one, and I wanted to play with something more unique. Second, one of my friends has a land-becomes-creatures-then-overrun deck with Azusa, Lost but Seeking, which was very vexing. I intended to use his overrun concept for a counterintuitive overrun deck. This is about the time I rediscovered the old mechanic of rampage and rathi Berserker. I needed a way to force blocks, however, for it to be effective. Eventually, I became more interested in the character type of Berserker. I fell across Dwarven Berserker—and then Keldon Warlord accidentally—and I wanted to make a creature-heavy, crazy-haircut-or-headpiece, death-metal deck meant to swing with wild abandon. A subtle theme of making my creatures seem unimpressive unless the opponent were to block began to form, and Invasion Plans and Varchild's War-Riders made me love it. I needed a commander, which Lovisa Coldeyes fulfills. Then, I filled the deck with interesting ways to open decisions around attacking and blocking. I’m honestly still on the lookout for additional avenues of Warriors, Berserkers, and Barbarians and decided that, realistically, the deck may function better with a completely Warrior base, but I’m not interested in a Warrior-only deck. That would remove some of these cards that formed the inspiration of the deck in the first place. Last, I really wanted to add Chaos Lord into this deck, as he is very nostalgic, and I am fond of the artwork, but he is none of the three types, and in ways, Lovisa fits in a complementary position.

Q: What has your playgroup’s reaction to your deck been?

My playgroup’s reaction to a lot of my decks has been generally summarized by general questions of, “Why would you buff my creature?” or, “That card seems pretty terrible,” or, “Too many words are on your cards; just explain it to me.” I’m glad to say this Commander deck resolves the last comment, but it is still plagued with the earlier two in ways. Other than that, they have found it surprisingly more self-strategic than my other decks. One piece of my deck, Jangling Automaton, untaps my opponents’ creatures when I attack, which, by itself, seems very silly. However, coupled with rampage, my greatest defense is my offense. I’m surprised by how effective some of the cards that don’t receive benefits from Lovisa Coldeyes have been. I’m going to attribute that to Lovisa Coldeyes receiving specific aggro attention when she is on the field. Nonetheless, I and my opponents have enjoyed playing and playing against my Commander deck.

Q: What is your favorite creature type of all time?

Illusions—I’ve always had a heart for Illusions. They have simple specific effects, abstract artwork, and don’t even exist; they are part of your insanity. Illusions aren’t every creature type as Changelings are, and yet, they are many creatures. Sure, Elves grant mana, Dragons make great flyers, Elementals are true to the land, Vampires gain counters, Shamans summon creatures, and Beasts all have their own sweet synergies, but Illusions of your mind . . . unfathomable. It is unfortunate red players can’t experience Illusion creature types. I suspect that red is immune due to rage, lust, desire, and what some will mistake for narrow-mindedness—our ambitions. I’ve been spinning an idea to use only Mountains and red cards in an early game and then transition using Naked Singularity and Eon Hub into an unexpected late game of blue with red, but I’m not that familiar with blue cards. My past attempts at dual-colored schemes beyond red have been less than satisfactory results and gameplay even though I like red and black or red and green. I’m not as fortunate with mixing colors with red, so I don’t. I’ll revisit different colors from time to time, but I have had much more success using red mechanics to perform similar functionality of the different colors that often ends up creating a more eye opening and splendid type of play that dazzles others.

Q: You find yourself on Theros. To what god will you pledge your allegiance? What boon do you hope to have bestowed upon you by that god?

Of the existing gods I’m familiar with, I’d pledge my allegiance to Xenagos, God of Revels. Xenagos seems to have hearty enjoyment in a noisy lively manner, as his name presents. He almost seems to hold half a justice scale and parts of a caduceus while looking upon the world with scrutiny. I believe he envisions a world that rekindles a spirit of humanity—a balance of nature and control. I can’t quite place it, but the great deity has something irritating him about the world. Perhaps it’s a regret or a purpose he cannot fulfill. Either way, I would request that Xenagos, regardless of how he views the world, would allow me to represent the volatile and chaotic things in the world! I’d want to know of his desires for the world, but nonetheless, I’d tell him of my ambition to act on the fringes of his authority to forward if not his goals, then remind the world of its wonder. I’d want to remind the people of the wild and unexpected—a world where luck and choice are meaningful. I have no desire for a world doomed by more grandeur or godly rules or a world where there are “better” spells than others. A battle is never decided until the end; there is no surrender. Even if I must use immoral or foolish methods, leading to my own undoing, I’d want him to bestow upon me a curse of chaos! And with that curse, I will be proud and capable to reignite humanity. I’d want the curse to manifest inside me as a blessing with the best uncanny one-liner meaningful puns and the ability to suppress hiccups so I may laugh and share laughter with others eternally; the chaos of laughter!

Q: Now blessed by your new god, how do you use your newfound power?

On my battlefield, I attend parties and make acquaintances. I live to make every creature, god, Planeswalker, and person forget about life while playing charming practical jokes on others and laughing loudly. I live for entertainment and bring joy into others’ lives. When I am around, the people are at equal ends of the joke (while I may be the butt of the joke) and respect each other’s attentiveness. People love me, and I often accept maidens’ hands in dance and encourage having a good time without unnecessary complications. I mean everything I say—and nothing in particular. I’m full of contradictions. I party, I play, I tease, and I flirt. People know of me as cavalier and chivalrous. I’m neutral ground, where people come together and forget their differences for the time we all share. It is a communal and individual experience. I’m privy to political affairs but don’t get involved. I withhold my opinion, but I give advice. I don’t tell others what they should do or how they should play, but I tell them made-up parables. I role-play, cosplay, and laugh until I fall asleep. I’m in love with the mystery of the world and am curious but restrained. I am very self-confident. It is a swell life. I consider the world. I am love!

Kyle’s Deck

Balduvian Warlord

Kyle was not lying when he said he wanted to capture pure range and emotion with a heavy-metal subtheme. I think it is safe to say that if you bring this deck to your next casual night, they won't know what hit them.

Love Is a Cold Eye ? Commander | Kyle Dunn

• Commander (1)
• 1 Lovisa Coldeyes

• Creatures (31)
• 1 rathi Berserker
• 1 Archetype of Aggression
• 1 Balduvian Warlord
• 1 Bloodmark Mentor
• 1 Boldwyr Heavyweights
• 1 Flaring Flame-kin
• 1 Goblin Berserker
• 1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
• 1 Hissing Iguanar
• 1 Keldon Champion
• 1 Keldon Warlord
• 1 Kuldotha Ringleader
• 1 Minotaur Skullcleaver
• 1 Ogre Battledriver
• 1 Rabble-Rouser
• 1 Renegade Warlord
• 1 Scalding Salamander
• 1 Scorchwalker
• 1 Scourge of Geier Reach
• 1 Skinbrand Goblin
• 1 Slumbering Dragon
• 1 Splatter Thug
• 1 Varchild's War-Riders
• 1 Viashino Weaponsmith
• 1 Wrecking Ogre
• 1 Jangling Automaton
• 1 Oxidda Golem
• 1 Sparring Golem
• 1 Watchdog
• 1 Fumiko the Lowblood
• 1 Jeska, Warrior Adept

• Spells (36)
• 1 Banners Raised
• 1 Disharmony
• 1 Dynacharge
• 1 Falter
• 1 Rally the Forces
• 1 Stone Idol Trap
• 1 Trumpet Blast
• 1 Fit of Rage
• 1 Mark for Death
• 1 Mogg Infestation
• 1 Tempt with Vengeance
• 1 Torrent of Lava
• 1 Aether Flash
• 1 Battle Strain
• 1 Blockbuster
• 1 Eternal Warrior
• 1 Grand Melee
• 1 Heat of Battle
• 1 Infectious Rage
• 1 Invasion Plans
• 1 Mana Echoes
• 1 Maniacal Rage
• 1 No Quarter
• 1 Repercussion
• 1 Smoke
• 1 Tahngarth's rage
• 1 The Brute
• 1 Undying Rage
• 1 War Cadence
• 1 Dolmen Gate
• 1 Infiltration Lens
• 1 Loxodon Warhammer
• 1 Nemesis Mask
• 1 Pit Trap
• 1 Thunderstaff
• 1 Urza's Armor

• Lands (32)
• 30 Mountain
• 1 Dormant Volcano
• 1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

Buy This Deck

Until Next Time . . . 

I want to sincerely thank Thomas and Kyle for taking the time to answer my questions, and I want to thank the community for all of the amazing decklists you sent in. Your passion for all things Vorthos has inspired me to continue to think up flavorful decks to share with you all. And remember: If you made a deck that Vorthos would be proud to call his own, I want to hear about it! Send me your list at ANThroplasm909 at gmail dot com, and I may feature it in my next article—hell, I may even interview you!