While its edge has been dulled somewhat by the introduction of actual New York to Magic, New Capenna still stands as a fascinating plane. This is due, in large part, to the set’s three-color factions, and the unique mechanics they foster.
Denry Klin, Editor in Chief, for example, represents the counter-loving Brokers, offering a new take on a well-worn MTG strategy. Whether you want to dominate the board or unleash spicy combo plays, this Cat is a top-tier Commander pick.
Denry Klin, Editor In Chief MTG
Perhaps the most obvious application for Denry Klin is to use it as a way to massively buff your smaller creatures. Since he passes on the same quantity of counters as he has, using cards like Luminarch Aspirant to repeatedly place +1/+1 counters on Denry will make your future plays much bigger. You can lean harder into this with Proliferate cards like Thrummingbird, to really stack Denry up.
Once Denry has a nice clutch of counters, you’ll want to play out a bunch of cheap, synergistic creatures like Esper Sentinel and Ornithopter to take advantage. This will create a threatening board in itself, but you can take things further with trigger doublers such as Panharmonicon. With a horde of beefy beaters at your disposal, cards that leverage high power, like Cosmic Cube and Spell Rupture, can really shine.
Of course, Denry works with far more than just +1/+1 counters, as he’s also able to pass on Magic’s more obscure counters, too. Give him an Indestructible counter with Eagle of Deliverance or Tyrite Sanctum, for example, and all your future creatures will be Indestructible too.
Even with protection, one of the big risks with Denry is losing all of your built-up counters to a wrath like Toxic Deluge. For this reason, you’ll want to include plenty of cards that ‘absorb’ lost counters, like The Ozolith and Resourceful Defense. With counter boosters like Lae’zel, Vlaakith’s Champion in the mix, shifting counters around like this can actually be a profitable exercise in itself.
The News Never Sleeps
Thanks to Denry Klin’s unique ability, he also enables a range of infinite combos as well. Alongside Sage of Hours and a blink piece, for instance, he allows you to take infinite turns.
To pull this combo off, you’ll need to place at least five +1/+1 counters on Denry through various means. Next, cast Sage of Hours, and it’ll enter with five +1/+1 counters of its own, which you can then remove to set up an extra turn. To complete the loop, you’ll need to blink Sage of Hours with something like Conjurer’s Closet to reset its counters.
This combo can win you the game by itself if you have a creature that can get in unopposed each turn, or something like Altar of the Brood in play. Alternatively, since it doesn’t deny your draws like many infinite turn combos, it can just draw you into any other kind of win instead.
Alternatively, Denry can make you infinite mana when paired with Phyrexian Altar and a Persist creature like Kithkin Spellduster. Assuming Denry has a +1/+1 counter, you can simply sacrifice the Persist creature and have it return with both types of counters, thus cancelling both out. Rinse and repeat to produce enough mana for a Walking Ballista win. This also works with Undying creatures like Nardole, Resourceful Cyborg, if Denry has a -1/-1 counter instead.
While you can pull this combo off with any Persist or Undying creature, River Kelpie is the best pick since that also lets you draw your entire deck. You can also sub in Altar of Dementia for Phyrexian Altar, to trade infinite mana for an infinite mill win instead.
Stop The Press
What makes Denry Klin, Editor in Chief really interesting is how he bridges multiple popular MTG archetypes. He naturally works really well as a Voltron Commander, but also serves as a platform for going wide, too. This makes him a great option for fans of either style of play or those who want to enjoy a hybrid of the two.
Despite this flexibility and his solid combo potential, Denry Klin isn’t nearly as popular in Commander as you’d think. According to EDHREC, just 686 players run Denry in the command zone, which feels criminally low. It fares better in the 99, with around 11,700 players using Denry there, but hardly any players are getting the full Denry experience.
While this is unfortunate, it does mean that Denry is very affordable right now. Despite being a powerful single-printing rare, you can pick up near-mint copies of Denry on TCGplayer for just $1.60. The fancier extended art treatment isn’t much more expensive, either, at only $2.57. At these prices, Denry makes for an easy pickup, especially if you want to build a unique Azorius brew on a budget.
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