Hello Everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel, and this is Commander Kryptonite, where we look at the scariest commanders in the format, how they work, their strengths, weaknesses, and ultimately how to beat them. This week, we're diving into a commander from the world of Fallout: The Wise Mothman. Before we get into how the deck functions, we first need to take a look at the commander itself, because The Wise Mothman can put in a lot of work.

The Commander

The Wise Mothman is a strategy all on its own. Every time this commander enters or leaves the battlefield, each player gets a rad counter. Rad counters do the following:

"At the beginning of your precombat main phase, if you have any rad counters, mill that many cards. For each nonland card milled this way, you lose 1 life and a rad counter."

So, without any additional aid, The Wise Mothman is able to convert these milled cards into +1/+1 counters. Since the commander has flying and can deal commander damage over the top of blockers, this deck is absolutely a threat to eliminate players through commander damage.

The Deck

The deck itself can be built in a few different ways, but it typically revolves around milling cards, adding rad counters, and +1/+1 counter synergies. Because the Mothman supports every aspect of its game plan, the deck will want to do everything it can to keep the commander safe and active. Milling is a major aspect of this deck, as it quickly buffs Mothman into a lethal commander attacker. Here is an example of a list you might see at your local game store.

The Wise Mothman | Commander

• Commander (1)
• 1 The Wise Mothman

• Creatures (26)
• 1 Agent Frank Horrigan
• 1 Alpha Deathclaw
• 1 Bloatfly Swarm
• 1 Cathedral Acolyte
• 1 Corpsejack Menace
• 1 Evolution Sage
• 1 Evolution Witness
• 1 Feral Ghoul
• 1 Glowing One
• 1 Hancock, Ghoulish Mayor
• 1 Infesting Radroach
• 1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
• 1 Marcus, Mutant Mayor
• 1 Mirelurk Queen
• 1 Muldrotha, the Gravetide
• 1 Nightkin Ambusher
• 1 Rampaging Yao Guai
• 1 Raul, Trouble Shooter
• 1 Ruin Crab
• 1 Screeching Scorchbeast
• 1 Strong, the Brutish Thespian
• 1 Syr Konrad, the Grim
• 1 Tato Farmer
• 1 The Master, Transcendent
• 1 Thrummingbird
• 1 Vexing Radgull

• Instants (6)
• 1 Assassin's Trophy
• 1 Atomize
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Heroic Intervention
• 1 Inspiring Call
• 1 Putrefy

• Sorceries (11)
• 1 Breach the Multiverse
• 1 Casualties of War
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Farseek
• 1 Find // Finality
• 1 Mutational Advantage
• 1 Nature's Lore
• 1 Nuclear Fallout
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Reanimate
• 1 Struggle for Project Purity

• Enchantments (11)
• 1 Altar of the Brood
• 1 Bloodchief Ascension
• 1 Branching Evolution
• 1 Fraying Sanity
• 1 Guardian Project
• 1 Hardened Scales
• 1 Inexorable Tide
• 1 Mesmeric Orb
• 1 Nesting Grounds
• 1 Overflowing Basin
• 1 Power Fist

• Artifacts (7)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Darkwater Catacombs
• 1 Nuka-Nuke Launcher
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Curiosity
• 1 Talisman of Dominance
• 1 Talisman of Resilience

• Lands (34)
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Drowned Catacomb
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Fetid Pools
• 4 Forest
• 1 Hinterland Harbor
• 2 Island
• 1 Mariposa Military Base
• 1 Mortuary Mire
• 1 Opulent Palace
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Sunken Hollow
• 4 Swamp
• 1 Tainted Isle
• 1 Tainted Wood
• 1 Temple of Deceit
• 1 Temple of Malady
• 1 Temple of Mystery
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse
• 1 Vault 12: The Necropolis
• 1 Viridescent Bog
• 1 Watery Grave
• 1 Woodland Cemetery
• 1 Zagoth Triome

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Cards to look out for

1) The Water Crystal - This card makes all blue spells cheaper while also adding a bonus four cards to each mill effect, allowing for far more counters to be placed on The Wise Mothman.

2) Jenova, Ancient Calamity - Jenova is a new arrival from the Final Fantasy set. It allows the Mothman player to draw cards whenever a mutant dies during their turn. While Jenova can turn other creatures into mutants, The Wise Mothman is already a mutant by default. There will be games where it makes sense to destroy or sacrifice your own commander to draw ten or more cards.

3) Mindcrank - Speaking of mill effects, next up is Mindcrank. This card mills an opponent for every point of life they lose, generating massive value for the Mothman player and substantially buffing the commander. To make matters worse, it also forms an infinite combo with Bloodchief Ascension that can end the game outright.

4) Innkeeper's Talent - This unassuming enchantment steadily generates value. At its first level, it hands out +1/+1 counters each turn. At level two--costing just one mana--it grants ward 1 to any creature with a counter, making removal more difficult. At level three, it doubles all counters added. In a deck like this, that escalation can be devastating if left unchecked.

5) Muldrotha, the Gravetide - Finally, we have Muldrotha. A powerhouse commander in its own right (and the subject of another Commander Kryptonite), Muldrotha tips the scales in The Wise Mothman's favor. Every player is milling cards, but Muldrotha turns the graveyard into an extension of the hand, allowing the casting of one permanent of each type per turn. This makes milling not just a threat, but a massive form of card advantage.

Strengths

The core strength of this deck lies in its commander. With access to Blue, Black, and Green, the deck gains powerful graveyard synergies to leverage the milled cards. Having a large, evasive creature as a commander makes it possible to close out games with commander damage, so the voltron plan is definitely viable. The ability to pressure life totals with both combat and non-combat damage simultaneously adds to the deck's reach.

Weaknesses

Much of this deck hinges on the commander. It combines mill, voltron, mutant tribal, and rad counter mechanics into one package. Without the commander in play, these themes can feel scattered or even work against each other. If The Wise Mothman is removed a few times, the deck will struggle to stay cohesive. Additionally, an effective stax piece can disrupt this deck's game plan more than it would impact the average deck.

Defeating The Wise Mothman

The best way to beat this deck is to play politically and conserve your removal. If the Mothman is targeting other players, it's not your immediate problem. Let others focus on stopping the Mothman player while you bide your time. If the Mothman starts attacking you, that's when you need to step in and respond.

If you frequently see this commander in your meta, consider cards that take advantage of graveyards, like reanimation spells or Flashback. These can help you turn the Mothman's mill strategy to your advantage. A simple incgets removed a few times, the entire strategy suffers.

Let the Mothman player soften up the table, then step in to win once they've done most of the work.

Commander Kryptonite

If you're still struggling against this creepy cryptid, consider adding these cards to your own 99:

1) Solemnity - Solemnity stops all counters from being placed on creatures, including those +1/+1 counters the Mothman needs. Without counters, the deck loses a major axis of strength.

2) Meekstone - Facing a giant commander is much less scary when it only gets one swing. Meekstone keeps The Wise Mothman tapped down if its power exceeds two. While vigilance could work around this, Sultai colors aren't particularly strong at granting that keyword.

3) Tishana's Tidebinder - This pick is more targeted. Tishana's Tidebinder directly counters the first triggered ability from The Wise Mothman and prevents it from triggering again until Tishana leaves the battlefield. Since it doesn't affect other players, they'll likely leave it alone--leaving only the Mothman player to deal with it.

And there you have it--your game plan for defeating The Wise Mothman! I hope this helps. If you'd like to see a particular commander featured on Commander Kryptonite, send me an email at thoughtvesselshow@gmail.com. Until next time, happy gaming!