“Unmatched power!”
Art:Gleaming Geardrake
by Filipe Pagliuso
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Gleaming Geardrake is a very aggressive Izzet commander who loves it when artifacts die, and we are happy to oblige and come with a deck packed with a ton of artifact token production and a ton of artifacts that just love to be sacrificed. We are an Izzet deck but certainly fall more into the aggressive category than the control archetype, and while we do have a few counterspells, they are typically used to protect our commander or our board. This is another one my playgroup has added to our weekly rotation of play because they love it so much. I hope you enjoy this one as much as well all did; without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
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Gleaming Geardrake Artifacts!
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Why Gleaming Geardrake?
Gleaming Geardrake is a cheap and aggressive commander who is the main damage dealer / main win condition for the deck. Gleaming Geardrake is great already as a two-mana artifact producer but just keeps getting better and better as the game goes on. Gleaming Geardrake, being our main source of damage in the deck, does draw a lot of hate, so we typically save our counterspells to protect them, and after only a few turns, we can easily have a commander damage kill. Gleaming Geardrake is not only a sweet commander, but they also have beautiful art, which pushes them up in my rankings just a little bit higher!
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:
I love some of the strong artifact payoffs in the deck, like Reckless Fireweaver
, which, over the course of a game, can do an absolute ton of damage to our opponents. Ingenious Artillerist
is another strong source of damage for something we create or cast pretty much every turn. Embraal Gear-Smasher
is a great sac outlet for cards like Ichor Wellspring
and turns it into some additional damage. Tavern Scoundrel
can produce a ton of treasures for the deck, which not only help us get ahead on mana but can go absolutely crazy when combined with Marut
, which changes Gleaming Geardrake into an absolute powerhouse. Hoarding Ogre
works very well with Marut as well and can be an absolute powerhouse of mana and combat damage for the deck. Burdened Aerialist
not only produces a treasure, but the flying can be strong in a pinch if we need to attack or block.
Instants:
To start off, we have a decent amount of counterspells that we mostly use to protect our commander and keep the gameplan going. Demand Answers
is a great card since we are able to sac an artifact and get another counter on Gleaming Geardrake. The same is true for Deduce
, another supplemental card draw source with a little extra artifact token on top. We can easily bargain Ice Out
and cast it for its reduced cost, which helps an absolute ton in the midgame and buffs up our commander. There is not much to say about the rest of our instant package, which mostly consists of additional counterspells and more card draws.
Sorceries:
We have some very strong early game like Ponder
and Preordain
which can help us set up the next few turns. Seize the Spoils
does cost us a card, but for only three mana, we get a treasure token and supplemental card draw. The best draw source in the deck is Thoughtcast
because we can easily cast it for only one mana. Kuldotha Rebirth
is a great one mana card that not only triggers Gleaming Geardrake but gives us some additional blockers.
Artifacts:
Two of my favorite cards in the deck are Ichor Wellspring and Mycosynth Wellspring
, which give us strong benefits for something our deck loves to do, sacrificing artifacts. Now, let’s go back to the ground floor. We have some mana rocks that we typically don’t sacrifice even if we can like Izzet Signet
and Arcane Signet
. These are great ways to get some extra mana in the early game and hold up protection for our commander. Mnemonic Sphere
is a huge piece of card draw for the deck, and in a pinch, we can channel it for only one mana and get a card as well. Neurok Stealthsuit
Speaking of protection, this is a great way to protect our commander or any key creature since we can move it at instant speed. Prying Blade
not only gives us a buff, but some additional treasure as well which is perfect for the deck. The same is true for Beamtown Beatstick
. We have a ton of great artifacts that don’t do a ton more than draw a card or get sacrificed and draw a card, but it is a great way to further the gameplan overall.
Enchantments:
We have two strong ways to make Gleaming Geardrake unblockable in Aqueous Form
and Security Bypass
, which are both very strong ways to guarantee damage and make a commander damage kill against an opponent nearly inevitable. Witness Protection
is one of my favorite enchantments in the entire format, and it can absolutely invalidate a key creature or commander for an opponent. Sticky Fingers
is not only quite strong because we get to give a creature menace for one mana, but the treasure tokens it creates not only give us a mana advantage but make our commander bigger and better.
Land Base:
We have a ton of pretty sweet nonbasic lands like Mystic Sanctuary
, which is a great way to recur a key instant or sorcery. Most often, I use it for recurring counterspells. Captivating Cave
and Forge of Heroes
are both great ways to get some additional buffs on Gleaming Geardrake and can help further the commander damage gameplan. We also have some strong supplemental card draw in the landbase like The Surgical Bay
and The Autonomous Furnace
as well as Desert of the Fervent
and Desert of the Mindful
. I like this landbase an absolute ton and find it to be very strong and efficient.
Strengths of the Deck:
- We have a ton of artifact token production, and sacrificing treasures or clues, as well as our normal artifacts, buffs up our commander and lets us hit hard.
- We actually have a ton of supplemental card draw that allows us to keep our hand decently full even on the later turns.
- We are quite aggressive since our commander can come out on turn two and begin swinging for more and more every turn.
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- We are quite weak to artifact hate. While we do have ways to protect our artifacts/creatures, we certainly are not a control deck. The only positive is that we can sacrifice stuff in response to removal, but we are quite weak to mass artifact hate.
- Our commander is subject to removal since they are a large part of our deck.
- We are an Izzet deck, so we do have some interaction, but we are quite light on it as it’s not the main focus of the deck; we would still struggle more against a true control strategy.
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops within the deck. The primary gameplan and, thus, win condition of the deck is to attack with Gleaming Geardrake and hit hard; because of all the artifact production and artifacts that love to be sacrificed, Geardrake can get quite big, quite quickly, and a commander damage kill is not hard to do at all. We also have some strong artifact payoffs/sac outlets that can be great attackers or do great damage, like Atog
or Reckless Fireweaver.
Conclusion:
Gleaming Geardrake is a cool and fun commander who is absolutely perfect for an Izzet artifact shell; while we certainly are not a control deck like a lot of Izzet decks, we still have multiple ways to protect our commander and creatures while stopping our opponent’s stuff as well. If you love Izzets and Artifacts, I think you will have a blast with this one, and I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!