“The final disappointment of heroism is to find that a just war was, in the end, just a war. “
Art:Sovereign Okinec Ahau
by Victor Adame Minguez
Pricing courtesy of Moxfield.com
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Sovereign Okinec Ahau is fresh on the EDH scene and a perfect way to close out Lost Caverns of Ixalan Week! Sovereign Okinec Ahau is a fun commander who is strong in budget builds or more expensive build. In testing, I found that Sovereign Okinec Ahau was the perfect commander in any build-style and one of the best +1/+1 counters commander out there. I am very excited to share this list with you all, and whether you go with this budget build or something a little more expensive, I can guarantee you will have some fun with this one. Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
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Why Sovereign Okinec Ahau?
Sovereign Okinec Ahau is a strong commander in pretty much every way; only costing four mana and being a 3/4 gives us great value for our mana, and when you add in ward two and its strong +1/+1 counters-based ability, you have a crazy card for really not all that much mana. Buffing up nearly all of our creatures when Sovereign Okinec Ahau attacks is a solid and invaluable trigger that can easily overwhelm our opponents and help us round out games.
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:
We have a ton of +1/+1 counter payoffs, so I will highlight some of my favorites! My favorite creature in the deck is Champion of Lambholt
, which gets big and makes our creatures nearly unblockable. Clamavus
is a little bit expensive, but when it hits the field, it can push us over the edge in terms of damage. One of my favorite creatures in the deck is Intrepid Adversary
, which can get really out of hand in the late-game but can also be powerful in the mid-game. If you thought the buff from Sovereign Okinec Ahau wasn’t enough, we also have Jazal Goldmane
, which is a little expensive but can give us a huge buff. Surrak and Goreclaw
not only make us nearly impossible to block/defend against, but we also get a buff on all of our creatures. Managorger Hydra
gets out of hand after being out for only a couple of turns and gets a huge buff from Sovereign Okinec Ahau. Duskshell Crawler
and Abzan Falconer
are huge effects for our creatures and give us keyword abilities to nearly all of our creatures.
Planeswalkers:
We only have one planeswalker, but they are pretty strong! Ajani, the Greathearted
, is an excellent planeswalker with many valuable abilities, like a passive that gives all of our creatures vigilance, which makes us a threat offensively and defensively. We don’t get much value. From the +1 one, but we will do it as needed to get enough loyalty for Ajani’s critical ability. The best ability for us is Ajani’s minus 2, which is a buff on every one of our creatures. This improves our deck and interacts positively with our +1/+1 counter payoffs.
Instants:
We have strong removal at instant speed like Generous Gift
, Path to Exile
, and Swords to Plowshares
, which are all great ways to deal with pesky commanders or creatures. Riot Control
and Dawn Charm
are both great Fog
effects for the deck, which is excellent in a ton of situations. One of the best “combat tricks” in our deck Is Invigorating Surge
, which I have used a few times to one-shot opponents once they declared no-blocks. Silkguard
is a strong buff and gives our creatures hexproof, which is excellent against single-target removal.
Sorceries:
Cultivate
, Kodama's Reach
and Rampant Growth
are great ways to get ahead on mana and accelerate our gameplan. We are susceptible to creature hate, and if we fall behind, we can use Austere Command
to take out pretty much anything on the board. Shamanic Revelation
is one of the best cards draw spells in our deck, and we can also get some life back. Basri's Solidarity
is mainly used as a mass way to trigger Sovereign Okinec Ahau for only two mana. Since all our creatures are naturally pretty big, cards like Overwhelming Stampede
can help us end games in a single turn.
Artifacts:
Our artifact package is mainly comprised of mana rocks like Sol Ring
, Arcane Signet
, and Selesnya Signet
, which are cheap and strong ways to get ahead and significantly help with speeding out Sovereign Okinec Ahau. We also have Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
, which is a great way to put extra counters on or target a creature and get some targeted counters.
Enchantments:
Unnatural Growth
is one of my favorite cards in the deck; not only does it trigger Sovereign Okinec Ahau on our combat step, but it makes us a threat in every combat step. Hardened Scales
and Primal Vigor
make all of our buffs that much better. Felidar Retreat
is a consistent buff for all creatures. Together Forever
is a great way for us to fight through removal and get a key creature back; whether it is an ETB or any creature, we can “save” them for only one mana. Master Chef
is an underrated card in EDH, and for only three mana, we can buff everything!
Land Base:
We have a bunch of basic Selesyna duals like Blossoming Sands
, Fortified Village
, and Radiant Grove
, which are all great ways to get our colors established and have access to them throughout the game. Mosswort Bridge
is an excellent card for our deck since it is not long until we can get the card we hid away. While we don’t often have a creature swarm and have a bunch Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
is a strong card, even if we can only buff one or two creatures a turn. Restless Prairie
is a sweet new land that is perfect for the deck; we animate it as often as we can, mainly for its buff ability. Captivating Cave
is a great way to get a buff on a creature, which is a perfect way to buff up a single creature and works well with Sovereign Okinec Ahau. While our landbase is pretty simple due to the budget, I have found it effective and efficient.
Strengths of the Deck:
- Our commander is one of the strongest buffs we have
- Very easy for us to win in combat
- Decent amount of removal
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Weak to control decks
- Weak to creature hate
- Weak to combo strategies, not a ton of ways to stop things on the stack
5 Helpful Upgrades:
These are in no particular order but cards that I think would improve the deck significantly but were not included due to price!
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops in the deck. We close out games through good old-fashioned combat. We have a ton of buffs from our creatures as well as our commander. With these buffs, we are pretty strong offensively and defensively, and if we have to go board state for board state with an opponent, we can easily win that fight.
Conclusion:
Sovereign Okinec Ahau is a fun commander who is extremely powerful in any build type. Even though this deck is held to a budget of one hundred dollars, it doesn’t feel any less powerful. This deck is also fun and great for players of any skill level. We can establish a huge board and swing for the fences with relative ease, combine that with a commander who can easily make our commander out of control, and we have a fun winning recipe. Thanks for reading to the end and for all your support!