Posted in: Card Games, Games, Magic: The Gathering, Tabletop, Wizards of the Coast | Tagged: commander, deck tech, EDH, magic, Modern Horizons 2, MTG, MTGMH2, TCG, WotC

Magic: The Gathering: Piru, The Volatile Commander Deck Tech

Hello again, fans, collectors, and players of Magic: The Gathering, the premier trading card game by Wizards of the Coast! Today, we return with a new deck tech for the Commander format, this time focusing on the red, white, and black Elder Dragon from Modern Horizons 2, Piru, the Volatile! There was recently a poll that we had conducted asking which commander would make for a good abridged tech between Go-Shintai of Life's Origin, the new Shrine commander from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Piru, and other options. Eeking out by one vote, Piru claimed that poll. Nevertheless, we should absolutely discuss Life's Origin at another time. But for now, let's look at the list!

You can find our decklist on Moxfield by clicking here. Meanwhile, as this is an abridged tech, as per the norm, let's go over some of the key cards that make Piru a powerhouse in her own right. But before we do that, let's go over what Piru is all about.

Piru, the Volatile is a 7/7 for eight mana that has a trigger to pay mana at the upkeep, lest you sacrifice her otherwise. However, when you do, or if she dies otherwise, she deals 7 damage to each creature. This is sure to destroy a lot of creatures in the process, but it's worth noting that Piru also has lifelink, meaning you'll be gaining 7 life per creature damaged. With such an explosive demise, Piru is bound to be a smash hit!

Lifeline

Lifeline, an artifact from back in the days of Urza's Saga (the expansion set, not the card) that is on the Reserve List, is a cornerstone of keeping Piru around to ensure she does as much as possible. Lifeline, at 5 mana, will keep creatures coming back, provided they leave play while another creature is on the battlefield. This typically means that if Piru is aiming to kill some creatures, sacrificing her at the pivotal time will allow her to come back the very next turn and repeat this all over again.

Stuffy Doll and Friends

Stuffy Doll, an artifact creature card that is well known for its interactions of dealing damage to an opponent equal to the damage it's suffered, has a few cards that are similar to it, and all of them are in this deck! Other Stuffy Doll-adjacent cards include Brash Taunter, Spitemare, Boros Reckoner, and a couple of pieces of Equipment that grant the same ability, such as Blazing Sunsteel and Fiendlash (these can form a combo with Brash Taunter as desired, if that is of any consequence).

Equipment and Auras Galore

In addition to the various pieces of Equipment that give Stuffy Doll and his amazing friends combo abilities or give other creatures the ability to be Stuffy Dolls, there are many other pieces of Equipment in the deck, as well as a great many Auras that augment the lovable Construct creature. Guilty Conscience is a one-shot with the Doll against one opponent, while it is a table-killer with Brash Taunter. Pariah ensures you won't take any damage ever again (presuming, of course, that it sticks alongside its enchanted creature). Shielded by Faith gives a creature indestructible (so we wouldn't suggest putting it onto Piru, but any non-indestructible Doll friends like Spitemare will do fine), and Neko-Te, when equipped to our commander, will tap down permanently anything that Piru fails to kill outright. Still more, because we don't have many creatures in the deck, we have a few reanimation Auras in the form of Animate Dead and Dance of the Dead. Finally, to ensure we get these out at the exact perfect time, we've included Sigarda's Aid to give our modifying cards flash.

Finalizing the Game

With all of these creatures getting killed left and right, it isn't entirely likely that a player will win through combat alone. With this in mind, we have included a few wincons that don't revolve around combat damage. These are Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, and Aetherflux Reservoir (to name a couple), two cards that, if resolved correctly, will obliterate basically any opponent who comes our way. If Vito is cast before a Piru sacrifice and subsequent death trigger, when you gain that life Vito will deal that amount to one opponent (he won't be damaged as he is legendary, keep in mind). Aetherflux Reservoir works similarly, except you'll have to pay 50 life to deal 50 damage to an opponent. While this seems like a hefty sum, kindly keep note that you are gaining all the life from Piru's simultaneous damage of creatures.

All in all, we will be looking to test this Magic: The Gathering decklist out quite soon. The deck looks strong in potential and soon, we will see how it actually runs. Have you played with or against a Piru, the Volatile deck in Commander before? If so, how did it handle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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