Final Fantasy MTG has officially released, and for Commander enthusiasts, the set has brought a ton of cool legends to the table. Whether you’re a fan of crafting around Sagas or Equipment, there’s something for everyone.
Some of the legendary creatures in particular are even strong enough to make a splash in the competitive scene. In fact, yesterday, a deck centered around Cloud, Midgar Mercenary finished in the top four of a Magic Online Duel Commander Trial. Being able to play a highly efficient Equipment tutor in the Command Zone is very appealing, and this shell is built to maximize all that Cloud has to offer.
Cloud as a Toolbox Element
Cloud has a lot in common with Stoneforge Mystic. Both cards are two-drops that enable you to search for any Equipment of your choice. While Cloud doesn’t have the ability to put expensive heavy hitters like Kaldra Compleat into play on the cheap, he makes up for this by doubling up on triggered abilities while Cloud is equipped.
With this in mind, there are a few Equipment options in particular that synergize perfectly with Cloud. First, we have the Sword cycle. Both Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of War and Peace make an appearance in this deck. If you ever get to connect in combat with Cloud with a Sword attached, you’ll get multiple triggers from the Sword and pull very far ahead.
Similarly, Umezawa’s Jitte becomes even more of a beating versus opposing creature decks with Cloud in the mix. Even Anduril, Flame of the West becomes a turbocharged threat alongside Cloud, and all you need to do is attach Anduril and attack to get your reward of four flying tokens.
Cloud gives you a lot of flexibility depending on the matchup. Obviously, grabbing Sword of War and Peace versus a Boros deck like those built around Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury is excellent.
In attrition battles where you’re worried your creatures will get answered on sight, Pre-War Formalwear may be your best bet. Versus red aggro, Batterskull is a nice stabilizer. Cloud gives you all the agency, which makes it a very powerful Commander option.
Reducing and Bypassing Equip Costs
As good as Cloud is, though, Equipment strategies in general have a couple flaws. The first major issue is that Equipment themselves typically require a lot of mana investment. Not only do you have to pay mana for the Equipment spells, but you also need to pay additional mana to attach them to a creature.
If that creature gets removed, the artifact sticks around, but now you need to spend even more mana attaching it to something else. This whole process can feel very inefficient if your opponent is able to interact reliably.
In order to help mitigate this downside, you’ll find a multitude of creatures in this deck that allow you to suit up your threats for free. Puresteel Paladin and Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist are among the top options in this deck.
Both of these creatures let you suit up Cloud with all of your Equipment for free, enabling a massive attack. If Cloud dies, there’s no need to fear. You can always move all in on a different Creature the next turn.
Meanwhile, Helitrooper and Frodo, Determined Hero synergize nicely with your Swords and other low-cost Equipment. These cards serve as solid alternate win conditions if Cloud gets answered too many times and becomes too expensive to recast.
Other cheap cards like Sigarda’s Aid also let you bypass equip costs but only give you one opportunity to do so. Despite doing nothing to impact the board on its own, Sigarda’s Aid leads to some of your most explosive draws. Plus, being able to buff your attackers at Instant speed makes combat a nightmare for the opponent.
Protect the King
The second problem associated with Equipment that you need to address is vulnerability to removal spells. If you go through the effort of beefing up Cloud only to get Cloud removed by Solitude, this major tempo loss can be devastating as your opponent continues to develop their gameplan. Your Equipment spells do nothing on their own, so it’s in your best interest to protect the creatures you want to suit up.
Luckily, this deck does a great job addressing this issue. In the one-mana slot alone, Mother of Runes, Giver of Runes, Benevolent Bodyguard, Zack Fair, and Skrelv, Defector Mite all work to protect Cloud when he comes down. If your opponent wants to mess with Cloud, Frodo, or any other Creature you decide to equip, they first have to answer these pesky one-drops.
Further up the curve, cards like Voice of Victory, Tithe Taker, and Ranger-Captain of Eos make it tough for your opponent to interact with Cloud when you go to attach Equipment to him during your turn. Elite Spellbinder does a good job ensuring that the coast is clear.
What’s nice is that many of these creatures are decent on their own, even ignoring the Equipment theme. Some games, curving Voice of Victory into Elite Spellbinder will put the opponent on the backfoot right away.
From there, Cloud is able to break open a grindy game at any point by simply grabbing Skullclamp. Protecting Hatebears such as Drannith Magistrate is a great way to cement your advantage, too.
The versatility that Cloud brings to the table makes this Duel Commander deck scary to face. We finally have an great legendary payoff for a mono-white Equipment shell in Duel Commander, so make sure to keep this strategy on your radar if you’re planning to play Duel Commander in the near future.
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