I didn't expect to be looking back at Final Fantasy this Monday, with Spider-Man just hitting the shelves a week ago, but sometimes you stumble upon a commander that just begs to be covered. When I looked up today's subject on EDHRec I was genuinely surprised to see it at rank #1523, with only 709 decks (0.010%). I love brewing around and putting a spotlight on underappreciated commanders, and this Human Wizard really got my creative juices flowing.

Tellah, Great Sage is a 3/3 for five mana in Izzet colors. This card cares about casting noncreature spells, and especially about casting noncreatures spells with mana values of 1, 4, and 8. That may seem oddly specific, but when you read Tellah's text box you'll understand why those numbers matter so much.

Whenever I cast a noncreature spell of any mana value, I'll create a 1/1 colorless Hero creature token. While zero drops will do the trick quite nicely, I decided to focus on a combination of mana rocks and 1 mana instant and sorcery spells for the lower part of my deck's mana curve.

If I spent four or more mana on my noncreature spell, I'll draw two cards. Card draw is hugely important in Magic, and any commander with "draw a card" in its text box catches my eye. Having "draw two cards" was probably what really got me to latch onto this card.

If I spent eight or more mana on my noncreature spell, I have to sacrifice Tellah and it deals that much damage to each opponent. That's a wincon, or at least it could be under the right circumstances. Comet Storm for 50? Good night, Irene.

To be as efficient as possible I brewed around mana rocks and a mix of 1 and 4 mana noncreature spells with very few creatures in the list. My 8 drop spells are actually a "flex" slot, with mostly X spells that allow me to play them as 4 or 8 mana spells depending on what I need and whether or not I'm ready to lose and recast my commander.

The exciting thing about Tellah is that I was able to identify some fantastic cards to go with his unique and rather wordy text box. Not only that, but I was able to see them do amazing things in the deck's very first game. I'm getting ahead of myself, but I absolutely want to make it clear that I'm really excited about this deck!

A Mere Mana

Last week's column had a section by this name about 1 mana creatures, but this week I'm excited about having a full dozen noncreature spells that will help me out in the early game, and which will churn our Hero tokens in the mid and late game.

Consider how many one mana blue spells there are that help you draw a card from the top two or three cards of your library. Opt has you scry one and draw a card, and Consider has you surveil one and draw a card. Sleight of Hand has you look at the top two and put one in your hand and the other on the bottom of your library. Brainstorm, Portent, and Preordain all give you access to a card from the top three of your library in various ways.

While I didn't run Lightning Bolt, I did include Swan Song, Pongify, Rapid Hybridization, and Select for Inspection as one mana removal options. Swan Song will counter an enchantment, instant, or sorcery spell and give that spell's controller a 2/2 bird token. Pongify and Rapid Hybridization will destroy target creature, leaving behind a 3/3 green Ape token or a 3/3 green Frog Lizard token. Select for Inspection returns target tapped creature to its owner's hand and will let me scry 1. I could have run Chain of Vapor but I'm too nervous that it would immediately be used to remove Tellah.

Energy Tap deserves special mention as this deck is going to want to be able to make a lot of mana when it's ready to try to win the game. This sorcery lets me tap target creature I control and add colorless mana equal to that creature's mana value. A 5 mana commander is never ideal, but for one mana I can make 5 colorless if Tellah is in play. There will definitely be times where I need an extra 4 mana to feed into an X spell.

Sol Ring is in this list, and if it were tuned up for high powered play I might have a lot more fast mana and Dramatic Reversal / Isochron Scepter as a potential wincon. With a damage outlet like Impact Tremors in play that combo should kill the table.

Four To Draw Two

Any deck that in the mid to late game can play two four mana spells to draw four cards is going to have an easy time pulling into what it needs. Some games will go better than others, but decks that consistently draw cards tend to not miss land drops, have answers when needed, and are more likely to pull into a way to threaten a win late in the game.

This deck runs thirteen 1-drop noncreature spells, and it runs fourteen four-mana noncreature spells, not including X spells. While that's nearly the same number, this deck's four-drops are much more interesting than its one-mana spells.

I no longer play game changers in most of my decks, so I'm not running Cyclonic Rift. I am running ways to defend myself, and both the four mana Aetherize and five mana Aetherspouts work well to get rid of an alpha strike no matter how large it is. The prospect of drawing two cards for casting either of these perfectly serviceable blue instants makes them that much better.

Most of my mana rocks are in the 2 and 3 mana range, but Thran Dynamo and Hedron Archive will both draw me 2 cards if Tellah is in play. My favorite four drops might be the ones that already draw cards and also give me treasure tokens.

Pirate's Pillage and Unexpected Windfall will have me discard a card to draw two cards and create two Treasure tokens. Pirate's Prize will have me draw two and create one treasure without having to discard a card. All three of those turn into "draw four and make 1 or 2 treasures for four mana" with my commander on the battlefield.

I'm also running Ether and Sorceress's Schemes as spells that cost four mana, but effectively cost three because they give you a mana on resolution. The former is an artifact that can tap and exile itself to add a blue, and my next instant or sorcery spell cast will get copied. The latter is a sorcery that will return target instant or sorcery spell from my graveyard to hand and then add a red mana to my mana pool. It has flashback for five mana, giving me some additional value if I decide to cast it out of my graveyard.

Flashback is great in spellslinger decks, and there's an argument I should be running Past in Flames in this list. I might slot it in as I play and improve the deck. Memories Returning is a weird take on Fact or Fiction, which also could slot nicely into this list. It will have me reveal the top five cards of my library and I'll end up putting three into my hand, with two going onto the bottom of my library. Its flashback cost of nine mana might seem like a lot, but if Tellah is in play I'll also make a Hero token, draw 2 cards, and dome my tablemates for nine damage.

The only thing better than popping my commander to push damage out to my opponents is doing it twice. Irenicus's Vile Duplication is a sorcery spell that can make a token of target creature spell I control, except the token has flying and isn't legendary. In the late game turning that nine damage into eighteen damage can go a long way towards closing out the game. I'm also running Spark Double, and should probably pick up another copy of Sakashima, the Imposter, Sakashima of a Thousand Faces, and maybe even Helm of the Hosts if I really wanted to lean into this strategy. Storm of Saruman is in today's list but I'll have to set myself up to cast Tellah, Great Sage, as the second spell in a turn if I want to make a token copy of it.

If this deck has a centerpiece, I think it's probably Mana Echoes. Mana Geyser is also in the mix, and can generate a lot of mana, but Mana Echoes fits in perfectly with Tellah, Great Sage. This four mana enchantment triggers whenever a creature enters play. If that creature shares a creature type with any creatures I control, I'll add a colorless mana for each matching creature. This triggers on anyone's creature entering play, but in practice I'm most likely to benefit on my turn when my Hero tokens get created. If I've got eight Hero tokens and I'm able to play just three spells, I'll make 8 + 9 + 10 = 27 mana. If I'm sitting on an X spell and have a little extra mana lying around I may well be able to put a 30 mana spell on the stack. That will have me sacrifice Tellah and push 30 damage out to my opponents.

The greatest value Mana Echoes will provide is probably in its ability to help power me through a turn with four and five mana spells to dig into my library and find one of those precious wincons. Each four mana spell will make a Hero token, give me more colorless mana, draw me two cards, and also do whatever the spell was supposed to do in the first place. If that spell involved drawing cards, even better!

X Marks the Spot

I'm not just running X spells as ways to pop Tellah and push damage out, but they will do the trick quite nicely. Memories Returning can flash back for nine mana. Rite of Replication can be cast with its kicker cost so that I pay nine mana for it.

Pull from Tomorrow and Universal Surveillance are both X mana draw spells in blue. Paying 8 or more mana to make a Hero token, draw 2 cards, push out a bunch of damage, and then draw a bunch of cards, will always feel good. I decided not to run any "target player draws cards" spells, as I've been burned by Deflecting Swat a few times, so there are definitely more X cost draw spells you could run in this list.

If I'm facing down a board with a bunch of problems that need to be dealt with, Distorting Wake might be just what the doctor ordered. This sorcery spell will return X target nonland permanents to their owners' hands. It isn't an instant, so I can't respond to threats until my turn comes around, but Distorting Wake offers a decent outlet for large amounts of mana. It could be tantamount to a sorcery speed overloaded Rift if I'm able to push enough mana into it.

Comet Storm is a damage spell that can be kicked multiple times to have multiple targets. At a cost of XRR, for eight mana I could push four extra damage out all of my opponents in a three player pod, in addition to the eight damage Tellah will push out. If I'm able to feed a Mana Geyser or mana from a Mana Echoes into it, I might be able to push out a lot more damage.

I'm running two tutors that can both get me artifacts that might help me win the game on the battlefield. I'm hoping I'll be able to make a lot of 1/1 Hero creature tokens. Whir of Invention is an instant that can search for an artifact with mana value X or less and put it on the battlefield. Reshape is a sorcery that has me sacrifice an artifact and search for an artifact with mana cost X or less and put it into play. The former requires 3 blue mana and the latter requires 2 blue mana, and Reshape can't be used as a combat trick since it's a sorcery.

I've got two 5 mana targets for these spells. Banner of Kinship will enter and have me choose a creature type (Hero). It enters with a fellowship counter for each creature I control of the chosen type. Creatures I control of the chosen type will get +1/+1 for each fellowship counter on Banner of Kinship. With 9 Hero Tokens, I'll get another Hero from my cast trigger and then I'll turn my 10 Hero tokens into 11/11 Heroes. Additional Hero tokens will get that same +10/+10. Playing it with fewer or with more tokens will result in fewer or more fellowship counters, but this is something like an upgraded and one-sided Coat of Arms.

Coat of Arms is also in the list, and will give creatures +1/+1 for each other creature in play that shares a creature type with it. That can be great, but if you're up against the wrong deck you might just be handing someone else the game as every creature gets pumped up with Coat of Arms, not just your own.

Odds and Ends

I've already dug pretty deep on this deck's strategy, and we've already covered Mana Echoes, which I think might be the single best card in the deck. That doesn't mean there aren't other cards worth looking at.

I didn't build a creatureless deck, but I think I could have and it might have even been playable. I just didn't love the feeling of not having early game blockers, and a 5-drop commander will definitely give me games where it doesn't come out on turn 4 or 5. I already mentioned Spark Double but there are a few more cards worth looking at.

Creatures that push out damage when I cast noncreature spells are just as valuable as ones that push out damage when a creature enters play. I built today's list with cards I had lying around, and would have included Impact Tremors if I had a spare copy. I was able to find Firebrand Archer, Molten Gatekeeper, and Weftstalker Ardent. Archer triggers off of casting noncreature spells. Gatekeeper triggers off of creatures entering play under my control. Wefstalker Ardent cares about both creatures and artifacts I control entering play. All of them push out damage to all of my opponents. It would be easy to lean more into this theme by at least adding Impact Tremors and Purphoros, God of the Forge.

Having long turns with lots of spells is much easier when you're making mana along the way. Storm-Kiln Artist will have me make a Treasure token whenever I cast an instant or sorcery spell. Birgi, God of Storytelling is also in the list and will give me a red mana whenever I cast a spell. Birgi even cares about creature spells, though I don't have a lot of those in today's list. That means that my Jalira, Master Polymorphist has a better than expected chance to tap to sacrifice a creature and polymorph it into the best creature in my deck.

The best creature in my deck is probably Vivi Ornitier. I opened a Vivi and I didn't want to build a cEDH list or be one of those exhausting people who says their Vivi deck really isn't cEDH. I'd rather be that exhausting person who has yet another Izzet deck where Vivi occasionally pops up and has to be removed or it will risk taking over the game.

Vivi Ornitier pushes out damage when I cast noncreature spells, gets +1/+1 counters, and can produce significant amounts of mana to help me power through those big splashy turns. That mana production is limited to once per turn but that hasn't stopped Vivi from being a menace in a number of formats and a decent threat in cEDH play.

I decided to run just one damage doubler because I wanted to avoid the ones that could blow up in my face. Gratuitous Violence will double damage done by creatures I control. Tellah can push out 8 damage with an 8 mana spell, but pushing out 16 is getting close to half of a player's starting life total. If I'm getting into higher mana X spells this enchantment could easily help me kill a table. It is true that Tellah does gets sacrificed, but the game uses "last known information" and will still double the damage Tellah is pushing out.

The second piece of "secret tech" I'm running in this list is probably Fool's Demise. Not only does this five mana enchantment make a Hero token and draw me two cards if Tellah is in play, it will also help me dodge having to recast my commander. When the creature enchanted by this blue aura dies, I'll return that card to the battlefield under my control. I could use it on someone else's creature, but getting repeatable Tellah damage without having to deal with commander tax is a big deal. What's more, Fool's Demise will be put back in my hand when it's put into a graveyard from the battlefield so I'll be able to play it again, draw two more cards, and keep the party going.

Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

There's a scenario where I may end up wondering where all of my Hero tokens have gone. This deck is running Ashnod's Altar so that I can take a small battalion of Heroes and turn them into mana. With the right X spell, I can turn 10 creatures into 20 mana, and 20 more mana could easily be enough to kill a table. I just have to get that mana cost higher than the highest life total amongst my opponents.

This list has a few weaknesses. I'm not running any combos, so it's not really prepared to deal with insane life totals, but many decks have that problem. Adding in a few ways to give Tellah infect would solve that problem, but I'm aiming this list for mid to lower powered play. Grafted Exoskeleton and Corrupted Conscience would go a long way towards helping to kill tables quickly, and both will draw me cards as they are four and five mana spells.

Tellah, Great Sage | Commander | Stephen Johnson

• Commander (1)
• 1 Tellah, Great Sage

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Birgi, God of Storytelling
• 1 Firebrand Archer
• 1 Jalira, Master Polymorphist
• 1 Molten Gatekeeper
• 1 Spark Double
• 1 Storm-Kiln Artist
• 1 Vivi Ornitier
• 1 Weftstalker Ardent

• Spells (32)
• 1 Candlekeep Inspiration
• 1 Cosmotronic Wave
• 1 Distorting Wake
• 1 Energy Tap
• 1 Involuntary Employment
• 1 Irenicus's Vile Duplication
• 1 Mana Geyser
• 1 Memories Returning
• 1 Pirate's Pillage
• 1 Pirate's Prize
• 1 Ponder
• 1 Portent
• 1 Preordain
• 1 Reshape
• 1 Rite of Replication
• 1 Sleight of Hand
• 1 Sorceress's Schemes
• 1 Universal Surveillance1 Aetherize
• 1 Aetherspouts
• 1 Arcane Denial
• 1 Brainstorm
• 1 Comet Storm
• 1 Consider
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Opt
• 1 Pongify
• 1 Pull from Tomorrow
• 1 Rapid Hybridization
• 1 Select for Inspection
• 1 Swan Song
• 1 Unexpected Windfall
• 1 Whir of Invention

• Enchantments (4)
• 1 Fool's Demise
• 1 Gratuitous Violence
• 1 Mana Echoes
• 1 Storm of Saruman

• Artifacts (17)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Ashnod's Altar
• 1 Banner of Kinship
• 1 Coat of Arms
• 1 Decanter of Endless Water
• 1 Ether
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Hedron Archive
• 1 Idol of Oblivion
• 1 Izzet Signet
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Talisman of Creativity
• 1 Thought Vessel
• 1 Thran Dynamo
• 1 Worn Powerstone

• Lands (37)
• 13 Island
• 13 Mountain
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Frostboil Snarl
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Spirebluff Canal
• 1 Steam Vents
• 1 Sulfur Falls
• 1 Three Tree City
• 1 Witch's Clinic

Buy This Deck Export text

Tuning this list up for higher powered play could also include playing Dramatic Scepter combo, as that would let me make an arbitrarily large army of Hero tokens. It would mean adding more ETB damage outlets and some tutors, but that's not a big adjustment. Adding more fast mana and possibly dropping out some lands would help but I don't think Tellah is going to play at the cEDH level. It's got a high ceiling but it is still a 5 mana commander and cEDH is probably just a little too fast and there are better choices (Vivi) to use as your commander.

Making this a bit lower in power is easy enough. Vivi Ornitier would have to get dropped out, and you might consider dropping out some of the better storm enablers like Storm-Kiln Artist. I'm not yet sure if this deck can be built for lower powered play without just "building it badly". By that I mean playing lots of creatures and not leaning into what Tellah wants you to do. I think a Tellah deck that was trying to play a polymorph game would be worth considering. That would allow you to control your power level by deciding which creatures you'd be trying to polymorph your Hero tokens into.

Final Thoughts

I was able to get this list into two games with wildly different results. In one game it was a three pod and the deck got everything it needed and did everything it wanted to do. Mana Echoes put in real work and Vivi Ornitier was in my starting hand and never got removed. In the other game I struggled to do more than play out lands and never even got a chance to play a spell with Tellah on the battlefield. It was probably an issue with the power levels of the decks in the game, but it also just could have been bad luck and variance.

Having seen the best and worst of the deck in its first two games, I am excited to keep playing it. I was reminded of how rough it is for a five mana commander if you fail to pull into mana rocks and happen to be up against a high powered deck or two. Those unbalanced games where you just get your butt kicked are definitely not a lot of fun.

One of the takeaways I've got from this build is that Tellah is a commander that really lets you find your own path. It isn't a commander that gives you a very narrow path by which it should be built, and that's kind of nice. I could load up on sacrifice outlets and lean on Act of Treason spells and effects. I could run big creatures and use polymorph spells to cheat in Consecrated Sphinx, Blightsteel Colossus, or even a Praetor or two. I could even focus on extra turn spells, provided I wasn't aiming for a lower bracket play experience.

There will be better and worse ways to build Tellah, but if you're able to play the deck at the appropriate table for its power level, I think this is a fantastic, fun, and underappreciated commander from Final Fantasy that has been lost in the shadow of Vivi Ornitier.

That's all I've got for today. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!