While it gets a bad rap as a playstyle, there’s something undeniably satisfying about running Stax in MTG Commander. Shutting down your opponents’ plans has an enduring appeal, and can be fairly powerful, to boot. As Commanders for this controversial MTG strategy go, you can’t get much better than Drana and Linvala. Not only is it a potent Stax piece out of the command zone, but it enables full-on lockdown combos as well.
Drana And Linvala MTG
Right off the bat, Drana and Linvala is an excellent answer to a ton of common problems in MTG Commander. Its first ability shuts down all mana abilities, dealing with the ever-present mana dorks in the format. This also turns off every other opposing activated ability, invalidating combo enablers like Hermit Druid and ability-reliant Commanders like Ragost, Deft Gastronaut.
There are even ways to expand the reach of Drana and Linvala’s ability beyond creatures via animation effects. Both Karn, Silver Golem and Karn, the Great Creator can turn opposing artifacts into creatures, thus turning off their abilities. While activated abilities on enchantments are less common, you can do the same to them with Opalescence.
Not only does Drana and Linvala shut opposing abilities down, but it gains access to them, too. This is somewhat unreliable, since it depends on what your opponents are playing, but there’s tons of serious potential here. Combined with Thousand-Year Elixir and Rings of Brighthearth, it’s easy to get tons of value out of whatever you end up stealing.
These abilities are strong in themselves, but they also serve as an excellent bedrock for a dedicated Orzhov Stax Commander deck. There’s no shortage of options in this color combination, with creatures like Hushbringer, Aven Mindcensor, and Opposition Agent all available. Since you’re in black you have access to all the best tutors as well, which can grab the silver bullets you need when you need them.
This Land Isn’t Your Land
Turning off all opposing abilities is obnoxious enough, but Drana and Linvala can take things even further and stop all lands from tapping. With Kormus Bell and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth out, you can turn all lands into Swamps, and all Swamps into 1/1s. This then allows Drana and Linvala to shut off all their mana abilities, denying your opponents the resources they need to play the game.
One of the best things about this combo is that there’s plenty of redundancy available for it, even if Drana and Linvala gets removed. With the Urborg/Bell combo in play, you can deny your opponents mana with Linvala, Keeper of Silence as well. Alternatively, you can just sweep all their lands away with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, if you don’t mind losing a few friends.
If you’re running Drana and Linvala in the 99 of other lists, you can use both Living Plane and Nature’s Revolt to lock lands down as well. If you’d rather deny opponents draw, you can do this by granting each a token copy of Asmodeus the Archfiend with Fractured Identity. This will give them Asmodeus’s draw-denying downside, without access to the activated abilities that overcome it.
Stepping It Up
As you’d expect for an MTG legend with this kind of potential, Drana and Linvala isn’t a total unknown. In fact, it sees play in the 99 of around 75,000 decks according to EDHREC. That said, it hasn’t had nearly as much success as a Commander, with just over 1,500 players running the duo at the helm. This is a crying shame, considering how well it plays at the head of Stax lists in particular.
It’s not like Drana and Linvala’s price is a major obstacle to wider adoption, either. Regular near-mint copies can be had for just $3.62 right now, and Showcase copies for just $0.38 more, if you’d like. At these prices, the card is an easy pickup, and an excellent build-around for your next high-bracket Commander project.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage. Be sure to check out our deckbuilder for your next big brew!