“A land of riddled bodies marks my return.”
Art:Geralf, Visionary Stitcher
by Bryan Sola
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Geralf is one of my favorite characters and previous favorite commanders in Stitcher Geralf
so I when I found Geralf, Visionary Stitcher, I was very excited to see even more mono-blue zombie-based goodness! I have piloted this deck for quite some time and have enjoyed nearly every game with it, and it is an interesting take on zombies, which is one of the most popular creatures types in the format and is perfect for players at any skill level and can be a great way to introduce more complicated mechanics as well as the stack to newer players. I have used this deck with novice and brand-new players a few times, and they were able to expand their game knowledge and understanding with it. This is definitely one of my “pet decks” and something I can never take apart; I am very excited to share this one. Without further adieu let’s get it!
The Deck:
Click here to copy full decklist to your clipboard!
Geralf, Visionary Stitcher Toughness!
Buy This Deck!
Buy this deck using our TCGPlayer Affiliate Link: Geralf, Visionary Stitcher Toughness Brewed EDH
Why Geralf, Visionary Stitcher?
Geralf is a key part of our deck and is the most important card in the deck. Geralf is our payoff and our engine for the deck. Geralf not only allows us to have a Levitation
for our zombies, this is awesome since our zombies are the primary sources of damage for the deck. Geralf is a card we want to commit to as early as possible. We have a lot of high-toughness creatures and walls that allow us to make zombie tokens pretty quickly and easily. Accelerating the gameplan this way is extremely strong. Geralf is arguably the most important card in the deck and should be cast as soon as possible.
Where does this deck fall on the power scale?
I would say this deck falls comfortably around a five or a six. It does run some very strong cards like Consecrated Sphinx
, as well as a fair amount of counterspells, but it doesn’t have any infinite combos or loops and heavily relies on its commander for the gameplan to function at all. This deck certainly has some optimizations but is not optimized, and outside of a big swing in combat, it is not going to end the game all that quickly. This deck thrives well against many strategies but is suited and perfect for a table with a lot of creature decks that also don’t have a ton of combos or loops. Our deck can get off to a fast start but is quite susceptible to much of the removal in the format as well as board wipes. This is a deck I enjoy a ton, and I often use it as a teaching deck since it introduced a lot of mechanics to newer players and still has the big board presence that many newer players like.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! I also highlighted some of my favorite cards in the deck!
Creatures:
Arguably the best creature in our deck is Consecrated Sphinx, which is a card draw engine for the deck and a card that definitely pushes the power level pretty high but is a key card for the deck. We have a lot of strong toughness-based creatures, and one of my favorites is Charix, the Raging Isle
. If we sac Charix to Geralf, we get a 17/17 as early as turn four or five. Crenellated Wall
is a great blocker and can buff up a blocker as needed, but the primary function is to buff up a creature before we sacrifice to Geralt to make our zombie token even bigger. Since the majority of our attackers are tokens Curiosity Crafter
is a great card draw engine for the deck and, in the late stages, can draw us four to five cards a turn. Necropolis
is another weird and old card we can use to make a huge Geralf token. We have a few ways to untap Geralt and re-activate him, like Fatestitcher
, Vizier of Tumbling Sands
, and Ioreth of the Healing House
. Whether we untap to give them pseudo-vigilance or untap Geralf for more triggers, these cards are awesome Floodgate
is another quirky and weird card that we can use to nearly board wipe our non-blue opponents.
Instants:
We are a mono-blue deck so, of course, we have some counterspells like Counterspell
, Arcane Denial
, and An Offer You Can't Refuse
which are all great ways to stop our opponents from going off or protect ourselves. To specifically protect our creatures and, most importantly, Geralf, we have Shell Shield
and Shore Up
, which are both cheap and strong ways to protect our creatures from removal. We also have some strong creature removal like Rapid Hybridization
and Pongify
, which are great ways to deal with big threats and leave them with puny tokens.
Sorceries:
We have a lot of control elements in our sorcery package, with my personal favorite being Asinine Antics
which is truthfully disgusting against any creature strategy and is a great way to shut down our opponents’ boards. The same is true for Spectral Deluge
, which we almost always foretell early and hold for a later turn, and it can be great having the board bounce available to us for only three mana. We also have some strong sorcery speed draw like Lórien Revealed
and Secrets of the Golden City
which are a little expensive but drawing cards is always good. Irenicus's Vile Duplication
is a fun and flavorful card that can be used to get a second of our best creature on the field, and sometimes we can use it to make a second Geralf!
Artifacts:
To start off, we have some pretty strong ramp with format staples Sol Ring
and Sky Diamond
, which can be great in the early game and who is going to say no to more mana. We also have Extraplanar Lens
, which in our deck is a mana “doubler,” and my personal favorite mana source is Throne of Eldraine
. Now, it is a little expensive, but we get mana and cards for only four mana; this is arguably one of the best rocks in our deck, even if it is the most expensive. Belbe's Armor
is a pretty rare card to see in commander but is so strong in this deck, allowing us to pump the toughness of a creature and get a huge zombie off of Geralf’s sacrifice trigger. I have also used it many times to help one of our creatures not die through combat. Thousand-Year Elixir
is pretty much a way to get an extra Geralt activation on our turn and can be a strong way to snowball some creatures. Colfenor's Urn
is a payoff that allows us to produce tokens and get the creature back, this is the main “engine” for the deck, and while clunky and a little slow, it can be pretty sweet to pull off.
Enchantments:
We have a decent amount of “removal” that can help us eliminate opponent’s commanders/threats like Imprisoned in the Moon
, Witness Protection
and Eaten by Piranhas
which are all cheap and effective ways to fully shut down opponents threats and turn them into something else. These especially shine on commanders or anything with a lot of abilities/utility. Favorable Winds
is just an additional buff for our attackers that only costs two mana and can help us put additional pressure on our opponents. Gravitational Shift
is another strong way to buff up our flyers, but we get the added benefits of “powering” down all non-flyers, which can be very strong against aggressive/token strategies. Even though Geralf Is a Levitation effect, I find it is still good to have, especially for the purposes of blocking or even using some of our non-zombie creatures to attack.
Land Base:
Since Geralf is a key part of our deck and usually draws a lot of removal, Command Beacon
is an awesome card that lets us skirt around the commander tax and get Geralf back into action. Minamo, School at Water's Edge
is another favorite in the deck since we can get an additional Geralf activation on that turn which can help swing the momentum toward us. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
is a powerhouse in any mono-colored deck, and it is very strong here as well and can be a great way to produce additional mana, often turning two into six or seven. We have a few other non-basics that allow us to look ahead and scry, like Rivendell
and Castle Vantress
, which can be quite strong ways to look ahead for the deck. Beyond that, we have some basics as well s some basic fetches like Prismatic Vista
and Evolving Wilds
.
Strengths of the Deck:
- The zombies we create can get out of hand quickly, making great attackers and blockers for the deck.
- We have ways to stop opponents from having a strong board, like Curse of the Swine
and Asinine Antics. - We can be very strong in combat, especially against most creature strategies.
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- We are entirely reliant on our commander. Now we do have counterspells and some ways to bounce and protect Geralf, but if a ton of removal is coming Geralf’s way, it slows and hurts the overall gameplan.
- We are decently weak to board wipes since we have to rebuild afterward, and it can be pretty slow.
- We are primarily weak against control strategies compared to really any other build.
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops within the deck. We win the game through combat and through the zombies that we create, which are naturally evasive because of Geralf’s ability. The zombies we create can be strong attackers and blockers and can put immense pressure on opponents and protect us quite well.
Conclusion:
Geralf, Visionary Stitcher, is a very fun commander who allows us to play a weird and interesting take on zombies and is just a blast. While not the most powerful deck in the world, it is a fun and interesting take that may have your opponents asking what’s going on and what your commander does. I think this deck is a sweet and different way to play zombies. I have played this deck with many other five and six-power level decks and found it to be strong but not overpowering. This is one of my favorite decks to give to new players as it can be a very strong teaching deck since it incorporates a lot of complicated mechanics and some of the board presence that new players enjoy. If you like a weird and kinda janky mono-blue toughness deck, this is definitely the one. Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!