Before I begin, some disclaimers:

1. As a born-n-bred Bostonian, I do so solemnly swear to avoid any and all opportunities to give Ragost, Deft Gastronaut a Boston accent. Or a Maine one, for that matter.

Yes, in my head canon, he sounds like a cross between Bill Burr and Moe Syzslak, but I won't foist such a notion onto you, dear reader. Even though you just can't convince me this fellow isn't all gruff exterior concealing a loveable goofball. I mean, he can whip up a Creme brulee outta Clue tokens. If that's not a heart of gold, then I dunno what is.

2. I will also avoid all references to Dr. Zoidberg (Paige already covered that joke), despite acknowledging this is totally what Wizards is nodding to via the character.

Futurama's good doctor is (in)famous for dubious medical practice, so this Boros crustacean taking similar concerns into the culinary world makes sense. He makes a meal out of whatever scrap metal's lying around. You can easily envision a leery crew, grabbing their trays with trepidation in the lunch line, as Ragost scoops up the day's cobbled-together concoction. I hope the pointy parts were removed beforehand.

Are tetanus shots available in space?

"Come and get it before it gets rusty!"

So then what to do with our charismatic lobster chef? What happens when the entree becomes the chef? Strange worlds, indeed, but befitting of Edge of Eternities' astral motif. On his home planet, I'm sure Ragost's skill in the kitchen is unmatched. But confined to the limited resources of a starship, the decapod's had to improvise. I can't imagine Commander players ever envisioned eating their own Sol Ring or Coldsteel 'Haht (Dammit, already broke rule # 1), but here we are. It's certainly a unique take on a Boros Commander, as while previous entries like Osgir, the Reconstructor and Astor, Bearer of Blades leaned into an Artifact theme, Ragost is the first to care about Food. He doesn't care if the artifact is a humble Prismatic Lens or the legendary The One Ring. Both are on the menu.

If we look to Edge of Eternities' official lore, we get a bit more insight into Ragost's bizarre palette. He's quite infamous across the galaxy, having cooked for multiple starship with decidedly mixed results. Ragost is more known for his boastful storytelling than his skill in the kitchen. Shame, as he'd be right at home on Kalheim. Fortunately for our shell-clad companion, Ragost's current job sees him preparing meals for a robotic crew who yearns to experience what it's like to eat. Seeing as most of his meals contain a metallic element, there couldn't be a more perfect pairing.

Culinary delights

As a Commander, Ragost, Deft Gastronaut's ideal use is as a rapid-fire machine gun of direct damage. A single activation hits all opponents, making sure no one goes hungry. The built-in untap ability allows us to dish out destructive-delacasies each End Step, provided we've enough ingredients to sacrifice and life was gained along the way. We want cards that can produce multiple artifacts (Academy Manufactor), consistently gain life (Basilisk Collar), or do both at the same time (Nuka-Cola Vending Machine). Ragost sees any and all machinery as edible, so we're not concerned about the types artifact token we're making. Only their quantity. We can't sacrifice the same artifact for both life and damage, so at least two are necessary to ensure Ragost both hurts our opponents and untaps in the same turn.

That is, unless we can give our decapod Lifelink.

Chef's tools

Lifelink enables Ragost to not only heal us while dealing damage, but frequently untap. Provided we keep up a steady stream of artifacts and the mana to sacrifice each, our lifelinking-lobster will quickly demolish enemy life totals. Especially if we can pour some hot sauce (City on Fire) onto our dishes. All the while, Lifelink ensures that our life total continues to climb, offsetting any counter-offense from the unruly patrons of the establishment. It's not our fault they don't appreciate fine cuisine.

So ready your appetite, cause' we're diving into the world of culinary warfare.

Ragost EDH | Commander | Matthew Lotti

• Commander (1)
• 1 Ragost, Deft Gastronaut

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Academy Manufactor
• 1 Ancient Copper Dragon
• 1 Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon
• 1 Apothecary White
• 1 Astrid Peth
• 1 Bennie Bracks, Zoologist
• 1 Cloud, Midgar Mercenary
• 1 Digsite Engineer
• 1 Esper Sentinel
• 1 Exalted Sunborn
• 1 Famished Paladin
• 1 Fiendish Duo
• 1 Goblin Engineer
• 1 Illustrious Wanderglyph
• 1 Mishra's Self-Replicator
• 1 Mondrak, Glory Dominus
• 1 Osgir, the Reconstructor
• 1 Oswald Fiddlebender
• 1 Rose, Cutthroat Raider
• 1 Stoneforge Mystic
• 1 Stridehangar Automaton
• 1 The Gaffer
• 1 Wojek Investigator

• Spells (8)
• 1 Kabira Takedown
• 1 Razorgrass Ambush
• 1 Farewell
• 1 Shatterskull Smashing
• 1 Steelshaper's Gift
• 1 Sundering Eruption
• 1 The Battle of Bywater
• 1 Wake the Past

• Enchantments (6)
• 1 Caretaker's Talent
• 1 City on Fire
• 1 Fiery Emancipation
• 1 Search the Premises
• 1 Smothering Tithe
• 1 Weapons Manufacturing

• Artifacts (27)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Archaeomancer's Map
• 1 Basilisk Collar
• 1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
• 1 Boros Signeta
• 1 Caduceus, Staff of Hermes
• 1 Coldsteel Heart
• 1 Collector's Vault
• 1 Dissection Tools
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Ichor Wellspring
• 1 Idol of Oblivion
• 1 Lembas
• 1 Mycosynth Wellspring
• 1 Nuka-Cola Vending Machine
• 1 Prismatic Lens
• 1 Resurrection Orb
• 1 Retrofitter Foundry
• 1 Servo Schematic
• 1 Shadowspear
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Conviction
• 1 The Reaver Cleaver
• 1 Thousand Moons Smithy
• 1 Treasure Map
• 1 Urabrask's Forge
• 1 Viridian Longbow

• Lands (34)
• 5 Mountain
• 7 Plains
• 1 Ancient Den
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Battlefield Forge
• 1 Clifftop Retreat
• 1 Darksteel Citadel
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1 Fomori Vault
• 1 Great Furnace
• 1 Junktown
• 1 Mirrex
• 1 Mistveil Plains
• 1 Needleverge Pathway
• 1 Rugged Prairie
• 1 Rustvale Bridge
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Scene of the Crime
• 1 Spectator Seating
• 1 Sunbaked Canyon
• 1 Sunbillow Verge
• 1 Sundown Pass
• 1 Treasure Vault
• 1 Witch's Clinic

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Artifact Quantity Matters

One of the best ways to ensure we never run out of ingredients is to employ cards that make multiple artifact tokens, especially if they're able to do so consistently over time. Illustrious Wanderglyph, Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, Digsite Engineer, Urabrask's Forge, Thousand Moons Smithy // Barracks of the Thousand, and Stridehanger Automation generate edible armies that beat down for damage before Ragost serves em' up. Ancient Copper Dragon and The Reaver Cleaver generate tremendous quantities of treasure with each successful attack, providing the option for either ramp or food. Wojek Investigator, Search the Premises, Rose, Cutthroat Raider, and Junktown do the same for card advantage, letting you choose either to crack open Clues or chew em' up.

Consistency is key, so artifacts that copy-themselves (Bloodforged Battle-Axe, Mishra's Self-Replicator), or produce steady a stream of tokens (Smothering Tithe, Weapons Manufacturing), go a long way. Others like Servo Schematic, Mycosynth Wellspring, Ichor Wellspring essentially replace themselves with other resources upon. Especially once Osgir, the Reconstructor starts work as sous-chef to double such dishes out of the graveyard.

Finally, remember that while we're looking to sacrifice tokens, nothing's stopping us from cooking up our own artifact creatures, mana rocks, or even lands (Rustvale Bridge, Scene of the Crime etc.) to keep the damage coming.

Token Synergies

Though our deck can cook any artifact, most of our sacrifice-fodder comes in the form of various tokens (Clue, Treasure, Junk, Munitions, Gnome, etc). Thus, we run plenty of synergy to reward all the token production. The clearest examples are Caretaker's Talent, Idol of Oblivion, and Bennie Bracks, Zoologist, each becoming a card draw engine so long as tokens keep coming. Because Ragost makes all our artifacts food, The Gaffer also draws a ton of cards as we gain life.

Though we primarily intend to sacrifice our tokens via Ragost, there's nothing wrong with making other uses of them, too. Especially if we're plenty to spare via doubling outlets (Exalted Sunborn, Mondrak, Glory Dominus). For even more card advantage, Oswald Fiddlebender recycles a token into an Esper Sentinel. Goblin Engineer tutors an inexpensive artifact into our graveyard, from where it can be returned to play off any artifact token. This all plays directly into our deck's sub-theme...

Equip for Lifelink

We look like a token-deck on the surface, but that's only half the story. Ragost, Deft Gastronaut wants ample resources to cook up, sure, but he's at his best when life gain is baked into each dish. To reliably access this, we employ an Equipment sub-theme. Specifically, equipment that provide their wielder Lifelink. Shadowspear, Caduceus, Staff of Hermes, Basilisk Collar, Resurrection Orb, and Dissection Tools are all on hand to ensure Ragost untaps after firing food at each opponent. These also come with added bonuses ranging from of protecting our general (Resurrection Orb), Caduceus, Staff of Hermes), removing defensive abilities from opposing permanents (Shadowspear), or even coming with their own creature (Dissection Tools).

To ensure we find these equipments, we'll run tutors like Stoneforge Mystic, Cloud, Midgar Mercenary, and Steelshaper's Gift. Also note that Shadowspear's mana cost is only 1, allowing Oswald Fiddlebender to find it so you as you've a spare artifact token lying around. The same works for Goblin Engineer, who'll exchange that same token for the equipment tutored to your graveyard. If tokens themselves are in short supply, instead consider tutoring for something that makes more of them: The Reaver Cleaver or Bloodforged Battle-Axe.

Turning up the Heat

With the proper cookware, Ragost, Deft Gastronaut slices and dices enemy life totals turn after turn. But at only 3 damage a pop, it'll take a while to bring everyone down. To speed the process up, let's bring in some damage-multipliers. Cards like City on Fire and Fiery Emancipation can make Ragost lethal in only one full turn-cycle. Fiendish Duo isn't as explosive, but comes with the added benefit of doubling the pain opponents afflict onto each other. Smashing into combat for 10 also doesn't hurt. As I discussed in my Guide to Burn in Commander article, damage multipliers have the lovely tendency to stack, meaning if you can drop two or more of the above into play simultaneously, Ragost's typical 3-damage output skyrockets to 18 or more!

Winning the Game

We discussed how Equipment-centric Lifelink is key to winning the game. However, you scan our decklist, you might notice how we missed an Equipment in the sections above. One seems that innocuous, but conceals a hidden backup win condition.

At a glance, the lone Viridian Longbow appears an odd choice for this deck. Sure, when paired with Basilisk Collar, the longbow provides repeatable removal, but it hardly compliments our commander. That's because it's not included to go with our commander, but rather our surprise win condition: Famished Paladin.

First, the paladin needs an instance of Lifelink, which we already run plenty of, even among lands (Witch's Clinic). Next, we find Viridian Longbow via our slew of equipment tutors. As mentioned before with Shadowspear, the bow only costs 1 mana, meaning Oswald Fiddlebender or Goblin Engineer can sacrifice tokens to get it into play. Once a Lifelinked Famished Paladin wields the longbow, your opponents better have Instant-speed interaction, or the game is over. The paladin now taps to deal 1 damage to any target - say, an opponent - and because it has Lifelink, immediately untaps right after. Tap to fire more damage, and the paladin untaps once again. Rinse and repeat until the battlefield is nothing but pile of arrows where your opponents used to be sitting. Fitting that someone famished would seek out a chef!

Ragost, Deft Gastronaut offers Boros another fun, non-combat centric Commander, which is always welcome, despite my penchant for the Red Zone. He's a great combination of flavor and function, capturing the unpredictable environment, and thus occasionally-dubious results, that ship cooks have to deal with. I'm sure on his home planet (He's a Lobster, not a Homarid, thus likely not from Dominaria), Ragost's iron-heavy meals are more appreciated by his armored kin than they are our fragile digestive tracks. But we can take advantage of the lack of gastrointestinal fortitude giving opponents a severe case of indigestion.

Thanks for reading, and may your next lobster be on a roll!

-Matt Lotti-

@Intrepid_Tautog