Some of Magic’s best Commanders are ones that can stage comebacks from impossible positions. Thanks to the format being so snowbally, it’s common for one player to pull ahead on board in the early to mid-game, squandering the chances of other decks. That’s why infinite combos are so powerful, allowing you to come back from even one life.
Even infinite combo pieces can be removed, however, which can make rebuilding a chore. For that reason, having a lose condition in the Command Zone can be extremely appealing. Etrata, the Silencer is a potent example of this, able to close out the game from even the worst positions.
MTG Etrata, the Silencer
While Etrata, the Silencer is hardly the most popular Commander in the world, she is rather scary to see in the Command Zone. Doubling as creature removal and a straight win condition, Etrata can control the board while putting your opponent on death row. Being naturally unblockable is an absolutely ridiculous perk, making Etrata somewhat self-contained. This is met with a shuffle-based downside when Etrata’s lose trigger occurs, but there are a ton of ways to get around it.
Thanks to all this, your opponents will likely want to, rightfully, remove Etrata on sight. For this reason, having as many Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, or Whispersilk Cloak effects in your deck as possible is key. Not only will Greaves and Boots protect Etrata from removal, but you can swing with your Commander immediately. While not quite as good, flicker effects like Essence Flux and Teferi’s Time Twist protect Etrata from removal and can avoid her shuffle clause.
Even if you can attack with Etrata immediately, you still need to exile three creatures with Hit counters on them for an opponent to lose, which takes time. To speed things up, you can copy Etrata with creatures that ignore the Legend Rule, like Sakashima, the Imposter, and Irma, Part-Time Mutant. If that weren’t enough, Etrata isn’t the only creature that uses Hit Counters. Mari, the Killing Quill and Ravenloft Adventurer also put Hit counters on exiled creatures, which counts towards Etrata’s lose the game clause.
Losing The Game by Copying Triggers
While copying Etrata can end games very quickly, copying Etrata’s trigger can set up instant death combos out of nowhere. Line up two trigger doublers, like Roaming Throne and Strionic Resonator, and you’ll instantly kill an opponent who has three exileable creatures. With all kinds of different copy cards, like The Perigrine Dynamo, Peter Parker’s Camera, and Lithoform Engine to choose from, setting this up is surprisingly easy. Gogo, Master of Mimickery, can even copy Etrata twice on its own, creating a two-card death combo.
Once you have an opponent dead to rights, you can actually just end the whole game on the spot. Because Etrata is an Assassin, if you have Ramses, Assassin Lord in play, Etrata’s trigger will kill the whole table. Your opponent may be dying from a triggered ability, but they were attacked by an Assassin this turn.
An Extremely Focused Gameplan
Between the lethal kill lines, and everything Etrata offers herself, this Commander can be built to be extremely strong. Surprisingly, despite offering such a strong base, there aren’t a lot of Etrata decks out there. Only 1773 decks are available for the Commander according to EDHREC, suggesting that she’s rather underplayed.
On the bright side, as usual, this also means that Etrata, and many of her core synergy cards, are rather cheap. You can grab Ramses and Ravenloft Adventurer for under $2, while Etrata herself is just $0.80 for her cheapest variant. Even foils copies of Etrata are rather budget additions, with prerelease promos being the only expensive variant for this card. With all this in mind, Etrata can be a surprisingly strong Commander for players who can set up kills out of nowhere.
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