“One cut, of many.”
Art:Takeno, Samurai General
by Matt Cavotta
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Takeno is a very fun commander from a pretty forgotten set; sadly, because of this, there are not a ton of people who play this mono-white legend. While they certainly aren’t the best commander in the world, they are a ton of fun and make for a great build-around deck. This deck is perfect for a player of pretty much any skill level but does very well with new players since the concepts are rewarding but quite simple to execute. This deck is by no means budget, but as far as EDH decks go, a lot of the cards are cheap, and many of the expensive cards can be trimmed. My playgroup and I have been having a ton of fun and enjoyed this one an absolute ton. Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
Click here to copy full decklist to your clipboard!
Takeno, Samurai General's Samurais!
Buy This Deck!
Buy this deck using our TCGPlayer Affiliate Link: Takeno, Samurai General’s Samurais Brewed EDH
Why Takeno, Samurai General?
Takeno is quite a big part of our deck and is a card we typically cast as soon as we are able to. Takeno makes almost every creature in our deck better and can give an absolutely huge buff to creatures like Konda, Lord of Eiganjo
. Takeno doesn’t typically become a removal magnet, and with all of the cost reducers in the deck, we can easily recast.
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:
Crovax, Ascendant Hero
is one of the few samurai in the deck, and they are quite strong, especially against aggressive and token strategies that have smaller creatures; this card is a little expensive at six mana but is a great card to get down. Luminous Broodmoth
is one of the best cards in the deck and helps us fight back very well against single-target removal, and when our samurai come back, having flying is a great way for them to poke in some damage. Indebted Samurai
is a great samurai that gets better and better as the game goes on and creatures die in combat; while this certainly is not ideal when our creatures die, being able to get a payoff for it is pretty nice. Konda, Lord of Eiganjo is a very strong and expensive samurai that interacts very well with our commander and is just a strong attacker/blocker for the deck. Masako the Humorless
is a great card with flash and is a great way for us to swing out and block hard every turn, and with all of our Bushido, it gets out of hand very quickly. Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
is another amazing non-samurai that stops aggressive decks. If they want to chip in for one or two, they can lose a lot of their permanent and since it is sacrifice, it can take out a lot of cards in the format and stuff with indestructible.
Instants:
Fateful Absence
, Stroke of Midnight
, and Swords to Plowshares
are all strong pieces of removal for the deck and are great to take out a variety of opponents threats. If we have opponents who are packing a lot of single target removal, we have Rebuff the Wicked
, which is a great and inexpensive way to protect our commander or really any high-value permanent on our board. We also have a couple of ways to deal with artifacts and enchantments in Return to Dust
and Heliod's Intervention
, which are both amazing cards that can hurt the average deck and decks that are focused on artifacts and enchantment decks.
Sorceries:
Austere Command
and Ravnica at War
are both two strong board wipes that can be a great way to recover if we start to fall behind. Secret Rendezvous
is another very sweet card that not only provides us with some supplemental card draw but can also help us get a friend within the game, which is quite strong. Imperial Oath
is a great way to produce our main creature type in the deck and getting more attackers/blockers can always be strong.
Artifacts:
Extraplanar Lens
is an amazing artifact that is essentially a mana-doubler for the deck, and being able to get this on the board early sets us up really well for building our board. Pearl Medallion
and Oketra's Monument
are both amazing enchantments that make nearly every single card in our deck cheaper, which can allow us to snowball and become powerhouses at the table very quickly. Konda's Banner
is not only an extremely flavorful card but a great buff for the deck that makes us very strong in combat.
Enchantments:
Brave the Sands
is an amazing cheap enchantment for the deck, and being able to block an additional creature can be a strong way to weaken our opponent’s board. While we don’t get additional Bushido triggers, we can easily kill smaller creatures in combat. Folk Hero
is a nice cheap source of card draw for the deck; while it sadly can only trigger once per turn, it is still more card draw than we normally have, which is nice. Honor of the Pure
and Flowering of the White Tree
are both amazing ways to protect our creatures and make them even stronger in combat. Cathars' Crusade
is the best snowball effect in the deck and gets out of hand after being out for only a couple of turns. True Conviction
is another bomb of a card that, if we resolve, can make us nearly impossible to stop in combat and, because of the lifelink quite hard to kill as well.
Land Base:
Cavern of Souls
is arguably one of the most important lands in our deck because it is one of the few ways we can fight back against counterspell-heavy decks. Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
is another pretty strong land because it is untapped in the early game, essentially acting as a basic, but in the late game, it can help us kill a creature in combat. Minas Tirith
is a pretty strong land for the deck and a pretty consistent source of card draw, which is something that whites generally struggle with. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
is, in my opinion, the best land in the deck because it generates a ton of mana when we have a decent board established. I think our landbase is quite strong and has a great mix of non-basics and basics. I found this landbase to be efficient.
Strengths of the Deck:
- We are quite strong in combat, especially when blocking, because nearly all of our cards have Bushido.
- If we do fall behind, we have quite a few board wipes to reset the game.
- We have quite a few sources of removal within the deck, allowing us to stop opponents threats and slow the game down more to our pace.
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- We don’t have a ton of supplemental card draw within the deck.
- Since we are in mono-white, we can be a little slow in the early game.
- We are generally quite weak to creature hate.
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops within the deck. We are a combat deck through and through that focuses on attacking, and because of our commander and how the samurai creature type, we are quite strong at blocking as well. We have a ton of cards to assist in combat like Coat of Arms
, Cathars' Crusade, and True Conviction while we are nothing more than a creature deck we can hit pretty hard. While it may take a little while for us to get established, when we are established and we swing, we can easily one-shot an opponent.
Conclusion:
Takeno is a very cool commander who doesn’t get nearly enough play in my opinion. While this deck certainly isn’t going to take over the world it is quite fun and is perfect for a newer player looking to get into the game. Who doesn’t love on-theme decks and samuari are quite a fun creature type to build around. I have had so much fun testing and playing with this one, I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!