Over the past few years, we have been consistently bombarded with Universes Beyond cards. For better or for worse, this has drastically altered the EDH environment. With the constant influx of legendary creatures to the format, there have never been more Commanders to choose from.
Beyond increasing diversity in the format, the sheer volume of powerful legends available has also bolstered Historic-themed archetypes. Havi, the All-Father is a perfect example of a Commander that is only going to get stronger over time. With plenty of potent synergies and infinite combos to pull off with this God at the helm, Havi is worthy of more recognition.
MTG Havi, The All-Father
Havi, the All-Father may be a bit mana-intensive, but luckily, his abilities help the six-drop legend pull his weight. First of all, it isn’t difficult to set up a window where you can land your Commander, so that it immediately has Indestructible.
From there, Havi’s triggered ability threatens to wreak havoc on the game. The key is to incorporate the right support elements to take advantage of what this God brings to the table. Obviously, having a high density of legendary creatures in your deck at different points on the curve is a start, but you also really want ways to trigger Havi consistently.
The easiest way to get your engine rolling is to utilize sacrifice outlets that generate value. Cards like Birthing Pod and Birthing Ritual help you upgrade your legends turn after turn, all while Havi’s trigger keeps resurrecting the legends you sacrificed on turns prior.
Alternatively, effects such as The Jolly Balloon Man and Jaxis, the Troublemaker that copy your legends can repeatedly trigger Havi on the cheap. Even though your token copy will immediately die via the “Legend Rule,” you’ll still get to reanimate any legend with a lesser mana value.
Once you start copying legends with elite enters or death triggers like Etali, Primal Conqueror or Torsten, Founder of Benalia, you’ll begin to pull ahead pretty quickly. All the while, Annie Joins Up and other trigger doublers let you get extra value out of these threats as well as your Commander.
Adding in cards like Sneak Attack and Kona, Rescue Beastie that cheat these big bombs into play also help you speed up the value-generating process. Throw in some “legendary matters” tools like Urza’s Ruinous Blast and Bard Class, and you should have no problem closing games.
Various Combo Kills
For those interested in digging a little deeper, Havi also enables a multitude of infinite combos. One of the most effective combo kills available involves landing Havi alongside Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero and Goblin Bombardment. With all three cards in play, you’ll want to start by sacrificing Gerrard to Goblin Bombardment’s ability. This will cause both Gerrard and Havi’s abilities to trigger.
With these triggers on the stack, sacrifice Havi to Goblin Bombardment and use its new trigger to reanimate Gerrard. Now that Gerrard is in play, you’re free to resolve Gerrard’s trigger from earlier, returning Havi to play without Gerrard getting exiled. By repeating this process, Goblin Bombardment will deal infinite damage to each opponent.
Notably, you can also replace Goblin Bombardment with different sacrifice outlets to win in other ways. With Altar of Dementia in the enchantment’s place, you can Mill out your opponents. Meanwhile, Ashnod’s Altar and Thermopod enable infinite mana generation.
There are other infinite mana combos that can be pulled off for cheaper, too. Jamming Thermopod and Saffi Eriksdotter or The Jolly Balloon Man and Ashnod’s Altar with Havi already in play will do the trick just fine. Then, any infinite mana kill condition, like Walking Ballista or any Blood Artist effect, should win you the game.
Underplayed and Inexpensive
With so much build-around potential available for Havi, the All-Father, it’s a bit surprising that the card remains heavily underplayed. Despite the God’s immense upside, Havi appears in the command zone of less than 1,800 decks according to EDHREC.
It admittedly does appear more frequently in the 99 of other Legendary-themed decks like Jodah, the Unifier shells, but the uniqueness of Havi’s final ability still makes it an underrated Commander option. Havi’s price tag only makes him more appealing, as he barely cracks the $0.30 mark.
Given the massive number of legendary creatures being printed in today’s day and age, Havi is bound to continue getting more tools for his arsenal. So, if you’re looking for a fun Commander that incentivizes you to make use of new designs, consider giving Havi a shot.
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