Choosing to play an in-person game with friends is a real choice in this world. Even if you're playing online, to play casually, and with your friends (not just grinding for wins or packs) requires an active decision to not do a bunch of other things. In my case, I have to reach out to my friends, get a headcount, plan to drive to the store, expect to drive home, reserve the table, make sure I've packed the correct selection of 12 decks (the amount which fit in my bag safely - I never play more than two, but I often loan and I like to have a broad selection so I can adjust my play level depending on what my buds are up to that night as necessary. I also like having at least one or two beginner-friendly decks for potential new players).

Most importantly, I unplug from the digital world. I put down my shiny phone. I skip watching whatever show I'm binging or movie I want to catch up on. I'm not writing or researching or working. I'm committing to the social act of being with my friends and prioritizing playing the game with them over any number of other things which ask for 0 or sometimes demand - my attention.

I've noticed this a bunch in my life recently, both personally and in other people. A friend commented recently she's been not reading her tablet, preferring to go to the physical library to check out paper books. A friend who's an avid writer has started a practice of writing by hand in a notebook. To my end, I've been leaving handwritten notes for my wife and daughter every morning before I leave for work, which both helps me remember what I wrote to them and provides a personal touch. I've also been listening to the actual radio, ads and all, letting someone else choose what I'm listening to rather than selecting exactly what I want from Spotify.

The world screams at us, all the time, requiring us to pay attention to whatever the next thing is. It is, in some ways, an act of rebellion to resist this. What happens when you just... stop? Stop the noise, stop the flashing lights and bright screens, close your eyes, and just listen to your own head? When you pick your next read based on what's available in the library or choose to listen to whatever the station decides to play (it gets even wilder when you listen to a station that plays a style you don't normally listen to)? When you all put your phones in your pockets and just have a conversation while you sling some cardboard?

(There's an answer, by the way: you hear what you actually want in your heart, you might find a hidden gem of a book or a new favorite band or style, and you learn things about your friends.)

This is a long way around to get to why I like building overlooked Commanders. For every Tannuk, Memorial Ensign, there's a Tannuk, Steadfast Second. For every Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar, there's a Syr Vondam, the Lucent. And for every Haliya, Guided by Light, there's a Haliya, Ascendant Cadet. They're not flashy. They're not Rare. They're not demanding your attention. You have to seek them out, because dozens of content creators aren't jockeying to write about them first. You have to work a little harder to make a deck that plays at a table. And rather than being spoon-fed what the algorithm tells you to want, you have agency over your own life. Your personality shines through. Let's get after it.

Haliya, Ascendant Cadet | Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commander (1)
• 1 Haliya, Ascendant Cadet

• Creatures (34)
• 1 Abzan Falconer
• 1 Ainok Bond-Kin
• 1 Alharu, Solemn Ritualist
• 1 Armorcraft Judge
• 1 Battlefront Krushok
• 1 Bramblewood Paragon
• 1 Byrke, Long Ear of the Law
• 1 Conclave Mentor
• 1 Cosmogrand Zenith
• 1 Crowned Ceratok
• 1 Drix Fatemaker
• 1 Dusk Legion Duelist
• 1 Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam
• 1 Gnarlid Colony
• 1 Golden-Tail Trainer
• 1 Good-Fortune Unicorn
• 1 Hamza, Guardian of Arashin
• 1 Herald of Anafenza
• 1 Kodama of the West Tree
• 1 Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
• 1 Longshot Squad
• 1 Meltstrider Eulogist
• 1 Metastatic Evangel
• 1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 1 Ollenbock Escort
• 1 Ouroboroid
• 1 Pridemalkin
• 1 Rayblade Trooper
• 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1 Sigardian Paladin
• 1 Sovereign Okinec Ahau
• 1 Tributary Instructor
• 1 Trollbred Guardian
• 1 Tuskguard Captain

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Ajani, the Greathearted

• Instants (6)
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Biosynthic Burst
• 1 Inspiring Call
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Unbreakable Formation

• Sorceries (7)
• 1 Cultivate
• 1 Damning Verdict
• 1 Farseek
• 1 Honor
• 1 Kodama's Reach
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Requisition Raid

• Enchantment (6)
• 1 Banishing Light
• 1 Bioengineered Future
• 1 Branching Evolution
• 1 Cathars' Crusade
• 1 Loading Zone
• 1 Terrasymbiosis

• Artifacts (5)
• 1 Atmospheric Greenhouse
• 1 Larval Scoutlander
• 1 Lumbering Worldwagon
• 1 Sword of the Animist
• 1 The Earth Crystal

• Lands (40)
• 10 Forest
• 8 Plains
• 1 Access Tunnel
• 1 Blossoming Sands
• 1 Bonders' Enclave
• 1 Canopy Vista
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Fortified Village
• 1 Gavony Township
• 1 Hushwood Verge
• 1 Karn's Bastion
• 1 Llanowar Reborn
• 1 Nesting Grounds
• 1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 1 Overgrown Farmland
• 1 Radiant Grove
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Scattered Groves
• 1 Stirring Wildwood
• 1 Sunpetal Grove
• 1 Temple of Plenty
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse

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As I've said before, when building around a Commander which isn't as powerful as the most recent star, we focus on three things: mana, cards, and focus. We're not going to be everything to everyone, we're not going to skimp on our mana, and we're going to draw as many cards as we can.

Haliya is underpowered at 3/3 for five mana. But, she's going to buff up our Creatures, including herself, and more importantly, she facilitates our drawing more cards with that second ability. That's extremely powerful, especially in a color pairing which doesn't include Blue. So we're going to lean hard into this: make plenty of mana to get Haliya out, then start sticking +1/+1 counters on Creatures and send them in so we can draw more cards.

Forty Lands, as we all know now, means we have a more-than-60% chance of hitting our fifth Land drop on turn five, which is a good starting point. We have a combination of dual Lands, utilities like Rogue's Passage and Bonders' Enclave, and enough basics for our ramp spells. Since we're in Green, we can hunt out Lands straight from our deck. I'm super into Lumbering Worldwagon right now, so that's here, plus we've got Larval Scoutlander and Sword of the Animist. Rampant Growth and Cultivate, plus a few others like it, pull more Lands. I like Bioengineered Future here, since it creates a Lander Token for us and helps us out with counters later.

In addition to Haliya's draw ability, we've got a few others which mostly tie to +1/+1 counters as well. Armorcraft Judge is kind of a classic for a deck like this, but I like Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam here, which lets us use some of those counters and makes more Creatures. Dusk Legion Duelist can trigger pretty much every time we take a turn. Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar will often read "Draw a card for reach Creature you control". Meltstrider Eulogist is some nice Wrath protection and makes losing a Creature we've invested time and resources into less painful - Tributary Instructor does too. Terrasymbiosis is pretty much Phyrexian Arena for us without the life loss.

While we're at it, we should talk about card advantage. Just because we're not drawing doesn't mean we're not gaining cards - Rayblade Trooper is the kind of thing I'm talking about. If we replace a card with a Token, it's not the same as drawing, but it's something and we'll take it.

Our threats are a byproduct of our sticking +1/+1 counters on everything. Haliya gives us a single counter, but we're going to change that quickly, and we have a ton of ways to give our Creatures Trample, so rather than focusing on a big Creature, instead we're going to make our little Creatures big and keep pressure on the whole game. We draw so much we can take a Wrath or three and rebuild decently quickly (the mana helps here too), and because most of our spells are so cheap, we can play multiples per turn and build up a decent board rather quickly. In play-testing, I had a game where I swung for 19 (with Trample) with three Creatures on turn five, then well over 60 on turn six. turn seven was going to be 150+ damage, but the game was over.

We've got a few removal spells - the classics like Swords to Plowshares and Banishing Light, plus Damning Verdict. Requisition Raid is great here. Plus we can answer problems with Biosynthic Burst, Unbreakable Formation, and Inspiring Call, all of which also lean into our +1/+1 counter thing.

We have a number of spells which give us extra counters. Branching Evolution is sort of the classic here, but Loading Zone works great too, and can be Warped in for a particularly nasty turn. Sovereign Okinec Ahau works kind of funny but is totally worth it. And Cathars' Crusade, while not as absurd as in a token deck, will do solid work here, increasing our Counter count quickly. Ajani, the Greathearted may actually be a bit too slow for this deck, but Planeswalkers draw attention on themselves and away from you, so I think it's worth trying.

I pulled a couple of cards because I felt they weren't strong enough for their cost in dollars (not that this is a budget deck), but are worth mentioning. Sphere Grid would be strong here. Ozolith, the Shattered Spire would also likely be very good (frankly, so would The Ozolith), but these cards are currently experiencing a hype price bump, so I'd wait until they drop before adding them in.

I recommend unplugging in some way, whether it's building a deck no one else is really building, listening to some music someone else chooses, or just not staring at a screen for a while. There's a lot of fun to be mined, and when you do it this way, it feels different. Better.

Thanks for reading.