“Which way’s the fun?”
Art:Tawnos, the Toymaker
by Livia Prima
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Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Tawnos is a very cool commander who doesn’t get nearly enough play, with only around 1600 decks on EDHREC; this surprised me a little bit because Tawnos is a ton of fun and, honestly, quite strong. I have been having a blast with this one and have spent quite a long time looking for a dedicated beast commander before I realized that Tawnos was out there. If you like beasts and Simic stompy, then this is probably the deck for you! Without further adieu, let’s get it!
The Deck:
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Tawnos, the Toymaker Beasts!
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Why Tawnos, The Toymaker?
Tawnos is a card we try to ramp into as soon as possible; they certainly are not needed for the deck to function, but having extra creatures to attack/block or just use their abilities is extremely strong. While Tawnos is a little expensive, we can ramp that out usually one-two turns early. I have been loving Tawnos, and while they draw many removals, we can usually re-cast them with ease. Tawnos is not necessary for our deck to function, but it certainly helps streamline the process.
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:
To start off, we have some early game ramps like Elvish Mystic
, Llanowar Elves
, and Fyndhorn Elves
, which are all pretty typical for Simic decks that like to ramp. We also have Birds of Paradise
which is extra good if we draw later since we can get two of them if we have Tawnos out. We cast an absolute ton of beasts, and one bird so Radagast, Wizard of Wilds
is an awesome support card that helps protect us from single-target removal and can make even more beasts and birds. Now we have a ton of beasts, so let’s go over some of the coolest. Plaxmanta
isn’t a very good attacker or blocker, but they make up for it by protecting our creatures from a ton of spells. If we do fall victim to a board wipe, one of the best cards to have out there is Ravenous Baloth
since we can turn all of our beasts into life. This is also great if a creature will die in combat or we are playing a damage-heavy strategy. If we resolve Siege Behemoth
, the game is pretty much over since we essentially have unblockable as long as Siege Behemoth is attacking. We also have a couple of creatures that can take out artifacts or enchantments, which are both strong against really any strategy/commander; our two are Trygon Predator
and Indrik Stomphowler
. Last but certainly not least, we have to talk about the best beast in the deck Craterhoof Behemoth
, which is the best finisher in the deck and, while expensive, is an effective game-ender every time it hits the field.
Planeswalkers:
Garruk, Primal Hunter
is not only a huge flavor win, but they are a great planeswalker for the deck; not only do we get beast production every turn, but we can also draw a ton of cards as needed. We rarely use Garruk’s ult, typically focusing on his first two abilities, but if needed, it can be decently strong.
Instants:
We do have a couple of counterspells in Counterspell
and Arcane Denial
. These are mostly held until we can counter creature hate or board wipes. We also have some removal that is a little more offensive focused, like Beast Within
and Rapid Hybridization
, which are both strong removal for not that much of a downside. Double Major
is very cool, and I typically use it to get a second Tawnos, but nearly anything can be good. We can even ramp at instant speed in Growth Spiral
and Eureka Moment
, which are both just amazing spells for the deck that help further the overall gameplan. Return of the Wildspeaker
is a little expensive but can be a huge draw spell or a huge buff for almost all of our creatures and is perfect in conjunction with some of our other finishers.
Sorceries:
To start off, we have a trio of very strong ramp spells in Cultivate
, Kodama's Reach
, and Skyshroud Claim
, which are great ways to get lands established and all of our colors. Even our removal is a ramp around here because we are packing Broken Bond
, which is strong at any stage of the game but is perfect against an early game Sol Ring
or any sort of mana rock. Overwhelming Stampede
is a huge finisher in the deck and can easily take out all of our opponents in one combat. Irenicus's Vile Duplication
is a great spell that I almost always use to get a second Tawnos and create more tokens; there are a ton of great targets in the deck, even if we are just looking for another strong attacker,/blocker.
Artifacts:
Oops, all mana rocks here, while not entirely we do have Vanquisher's Banner
which is pretty much an auto-include in any creature-type focused deck since we get a buff and some strong supplemental card draw. Beyond that, we have some strong mana rocks like Sol Ring, Arcane Signet
and Simic Signet
which are great ways to get ahead on mana.
Enchantments:
We have two decent pieces of card draw for the deck in Garruk's Uprising
and Elemental Bond
. When combined with Tawnos, we can draw two cards that can help refill our hand and get a little bit of an engine going. Speaking of Tawnos, since we create so many tokens Life Finds a Way
is an auto-include in this deck and can help us populate some of our best creatures in the deck. Primeval Bounty
is another very cool card that allows us to create some additional beasts, buff up some of our creatures and gain a little life. Primeval Bounty is certainly a little expensive, but since it creates more beasts, they can take advantage of our payoffs. Speaking of payoffs for all of our creatures, we have Beastmaster Ascension
, in this deck it is very easy to turn on and once we do we become very hard to stop.
Land Base:
We are a two-color deck, so we have a pretty simple land-base comprised of some strong dual like Breeding Pool
and Waterlogged Grove
as well as a ton of others duals that simple produce U/G it is not hard for us to get our colors established. Since we are a beast-focused deck, we also have Path of Ancestry
and Unclaimed Territory
, which are both strong ways to produce colored mana if needed. We have some strong nonbasics like Castle Garenbrig
, which can produce a ton of mana, and we almost always have the requirement to make big mana. I have been having a ton of success with this landbase. I am running a little above average at thirty-six, but since we are stompy and have a ton of expensive creatures, it doesn’t hurt to go one above the average.
Strengths of the Deck:
- Tawnos is a huge part of our deck and is especially good when casting key creatures since we can ETB them twice or just have an additional attacker/blocker.
- We are quite stompy, and this allows us to be mid-range but still able to hit decently hard.
- We have quite a bit of ramp, allowing us to cast even the most expensive cards early.
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- We are pretty weak to creature hate, mostly board wipes, since it can be a little slow for us to rebuild our boardstate. Because of Tawnos’s ability, we are quite weak to artifact hate as well.
- Our commander is a huge part of our deck and thus draws a ton of removal for opponents, and since they already cost five, they can get quite expensive rather quickly.
- Because of how the deck is built, there is a ton of ramp we almost always have a hand with at least one piece of ramp but in the event we don’t, we should aggressively mulligan to find ramp pieces.
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
There are no infinite combos or loops within the deck. We are a straight-up combat deck looking to commit as many beasts and their tokens onto the board as possible. Once we have a decent board established, we have a couple of huge finishers like Craterhoof Behemoth and Overwhelming Stampede, which can easily one-shot every opponent at the table. A lot of our beasts are aggressively stat-ed, so it makes chip damage and slowly bringing down our opponents quite easy as well.
Conclusion:
Tawnos is a very cool commander for a creature type that has a surprising amount of love; I don’t think many players realize how much support there is for beasts in the format and how much fun they are to play. Almost all of the beasts are strong, aggressively stat-ed, and just a blast to play with. If you like creature decks that are a little quirky and weird, then this may be the one for you! Thanks for reading to the end and for all of your support!