In Commander, the number of different strategies that you can build around is practically endless. Not only are there plenty of strong single-track options, but many Commanders also blend archetypes together.
As MTG gets more complex over time, many simpler, more streamlined Commanders seem to be getting left behind. This is a crying shame, as legends like Cadira, Caller of the Small can pack a real punch.
With the right support, this Commander can churn out Rabbits at a rate that you wouldn’t believe. Throw in a few buffs with this bunny army, and ending games can be a real breeze.
MTG Cadira, Caller of the Small
Released in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, Cadira, Caller of the Small has a simple yet effective ability. Essentially, whenever you hit an opponent with Cadira, you’ll double the number of tokens on your board, with a catch.
The extra tokens you create will only be piddly 1/1 Rabbits, which isn’t that exciting at first glance. As much as this is a fairly significant downside, it’s pretty easy to break Cadira wide open for massive value.
While Cadira’s ceiling is very high, you do need some token producers to get the ball rolling. Selesnya has absolutely no problems with this, and can even lean into Rabbit Typal.
With
Jacked Rabbit
Jacked Rabbit
Ravenous (This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it. If X is 5 or more, draw a card when it enters.)
Whenever this creature attacks, create a number of 1/1 white Rabbit creature tokens equal to this creature's power.
and
Warren Warleader
Warren Warleader
Offspring {2} (You may pay an additional {2} as you cast this spell. If you do, when this creature enters, create a 1/1 token copy of it.)
Whenever you attack, choose one —
• Create a 1/1 white Rabbit creature token that's tapped and attacking.
• Attacking creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
, you can easily flood the board with Rabbits without leaning on Cadira entirely. On top of this, since Cadira doesn’t even need creature tokens, cards like
Farmer Cotton
Farmer Cotton
When this creature enters, create X 1/1 white Halfling creature tokens and X Food tokens. (They're artifacts with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
and
Tireless Provisioner
Tireless Provisioner
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, create a Food token or a Treasure token. (Food is an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life." Treasure is an artifact with "{T}, Sacrifice this token: Add one mana of any color.")
are fair game.
Naturally, in a Cadira deck, you’ll also want to run all of the best token doublers. While these do quickly increase the deck’s price, stacking
Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
Vigilance
If one or more creature tokens would be created under your control, three times that many of those tokens are created instead.
When Ojer Taq dies, return it to the battlefield tapped and transformed under its owner's control.
on
Parallel Lives
Parallel Lives
If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead.
and
Doubling Season
Doubling Season
If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead.
If an effect would put one or more counters on a permanent you control, it puts twice that many of those counters on that permanent instead.
produces obscene value.
If this still isn’t wide enough for your liking, you can also leverage
Queen Allenal of Ruadach
Queen Allenal of Ruadach
Queen Allenal of Ruadach's power and toughness are each equal to the number of creatures you control.
If one or more creature tokens would be created under your control, those tokens plus a 1/1 white Soldier creature token are created instead.
and
Peregrin Took
Peregrin Took
If one or more tokens would be created under your control, those tokens plus an additional Food token are created instead. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
Sacrifice three Foods: Draw a card.
for even more tokens. Naturally, each of these synergizes fantastically with classic Go Wide staples like
Burrowguard Mentor
Burrowguard Mentor
Trample
Burrowguard Mentor's power and toughness are each equal to the number of creatures you control.
,
Champion of Lambholt
Champion of Lambholt
Creatures with power less than this creature's power can't block creatures you control.
Whenever another creature you control enters, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
, and
Regal Bunnicorn
Regal Bunnicorn
Regal Bunnicorn's power and toughness are each equal to the number of nonland permanents you control.
.
While getting to this point does require a fair bit of setup, Go Wide decks also have you covered there. With
Enduring Vitality
Enduring Vitality
Vigilance
Creatures you control have "{T}: Add one mana of any color."
When Enduring Vitality dies, if it was a creature, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control. It's an enchantment. (It's not a creature.)
letting your tokens tap for mana, and
Mentor of the Meek
Mentor of the Meek
Whenever another creature you control with power 2 or less enters, you may pay {1}. If you do, draw a card.
providing card draw, it’s hard to run out of gas.
Small But Mighty
With so much Go Wide support readily available in MTG, technically a Cadira, Caller of the Small deck doesn’t need Cadira. While that’s technically true, this deck is much better, faster, and stronger when you connect with her.
To facilitate this, it’s a good idea to run a few evasion-granting artifacts like
Trailblazer’s Boots
Trailblazer’s Boots
Equipped creature has nonbasic landwalk. (It can't be blocked as long as defending player controls a nonbasic land.)
Equip {2}
and
Whispersilk Cloak
Whispersilk Cloak
Equipped creature can't be blocked and has shroud. (It can't be the target of spells or abilities.)
Equip {2}
. While these cards can help you create a mountain of Rabbits, without access to red for
Impact Tremors
Impact Tremors
Whenever a creature you control enters, this enchantment deals 1 damage to each opponent.
, this won’t end the game.
Thankfully, since Cadira, Caller of the Small decks are packed with so many Rabbits, it’s easy to end games with a couple of typal classics. Running
Banner of Kinship
Banner of Kinship
As this artifact enters, choose a creature type. This artifact enters with a fellowship counter on it for each creature you control of the chosen type.
Creatures you control of the chosen type get +1/+1 for each fellowship counter on this artifact.
and
Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms
Each creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature on the battlefield that shares at least one creature type with it. (For example, if two Goblin Warriors and a Goblin Shaman are on the battlefield, each gets +2/+2.)
, for instance, can make your Rabbits absolutely massive game-ending threats.
Even outside of these staples, cards like
Champions from Beyond
Champions from Beyond
When this enchantment enters, create X 1/1 colorless Hero creature tokens.
Light Party — Whenever you attack with four or more creatures, scry 2, then draw a card.
Full Party — Whenever you attack with eight or more creatures, those creatures get +4/+4 until end of turn.
and
Kinbinding
Kinbinding
Creatures you control get +X/+X, where X is the number of creatures that entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, create a 1/1 green and white Kithkin creature token.
provide very solid buffs. Hell, if you really want to end the game in a hurry, just slam down
Craterhoof Behemoth
Craterhoof Behemoth
Haste
When this creature enters, creatures you control gain trample and get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of creatures you control.
and win on the spot.
Speaking of winning, since you’ve got so many tokens, you can technically also win with
Halo Fountain
Halo Fountain
{W}, {T}, Untap a tapped creature you control: Create a 1/1 green and white Citizen creature token.
{W}{W}, {T}, Untap two tapped creatures you control: Draw a card.
{W}{W}{W}{W}{W}, {T}, Untap fifteen tapped creatures you control: You win the game.
. Using
Enduring Vitality
Enduring Vitality
Vigilance
Creatures you control have "{T}: Add one mana of any color."
When Enduring Vitality dies, if it was a creature, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control. It's an enchantment. (It's not a creature.)
to tap things down at the last minute, this can actually be a surprisingly solid game-ender.
Of course, if you really want to kick things up a notch, there are also plenty of combos you could use in the 99. Classics like
Rosie Cotton of South Lane
Rosie Cotton of South Lane
When Rosie Cotton enters, create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
Whenever you create a token, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control other than Rosie Cotton.
and
Scurry Oak
Scurry Oak
Evolve (Whenever a creature you control enters, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.)
Whenever one or more +1/+1 counters are put on this creature, you may create a 1/1 green Squirrel creature token.
will get you infinite tokens, but they will push you to bracket four.
A Cute Yet Capable Commander
Even if you don’t go down the combo route, Cadira, Caller of the Small is still a more than capable Commander. Unless your opponents really focus on shutting you down, the rate at which you can spiral is nuts.
With this in mind, it’s wild that fewer than 4,000 MTG players are running Cadira as their Commander, according to EDHREC. The fact that it’s not one of the top choices for Go Wide decks in general is even more surprising, though this card isn’t entirely unknown.
In the 99, Cadira, Caller of the Small has long been a solid source of value, since even connecting once is a massive boon. Even here, Cadira is only played in around 38,000 decks, though, so she’s hardly a super staple.
On the plus side, as with many underplayed Commanders, the upside to this is that Cadira, Caller of the Small, is fairly inexpensive. On TCGplayer, you can pick up default-frame copies for under $0.20, while showcase-frame copies are around $0.10.
While this budget price point doesn’t extend to many of the staples in the 99, she still makes for a great build-around. Whether you’re playing as her or playing against her, this Commander is definitely one to look out for.
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