The vast majority of MTG Commander games end the same way: with three players having their life totals reduced to zero. This makes total sense given that the game is built primarily around creature combat, but it does also introduce elements of repetition over time. Fortunately, there are alternate win condition cards out there that can spice things up in this regard.
Happily Ever After MTG
First printed in 2019’s Throne of Eldraine, Happily Ever After is one of the more involved alternate win conditions MTG has seen. To get your win here, you need all five colors among permanents you control, six card types in your graveyard, and over 40 life.
Of these conditions, having all colors in play is surprisingly the easiest. There are plenty of creatures that tick this box themselves, like Fallaji Wayfarer and Transguild Courier. If creatures are too fragile for your blood, then Leyline of the Guildpact gets you all five colors on a resilient, sometimes free, enchantment.
Getting six different card types into your graveyard is a lot trickier, but still doable. You first need to build your deck with as many multi-type cards as possible, so add in plenty of artifact and enchantment creatures, artifact lands, and Kindred spells. You’ll also want a reasonably-sized self-mill package, with cards like Icetill Explorer and Life from the Loam.
Having over 40 life isn’t too difficult in Commander, but you will want to include some lifegain pieces to help you out. Ancient Cornucopia can help here, since you’ll be playing plenty of multicolored spells anyway. Outside of that, classic Soul Warden effects will work well over time.
For the best chance of success, you’ll also want to include ways to cast Happily Ever After at instant speed, so your opponents don’t have time to respond. Playing it out at sorcery speed gives the table a full cycle to kill you or disrupt your position, after all, not to mention an extra card to help do so. Cards like Alchemist’s Refuge, High Fae Trickster, and Final-Word Phantom can all fill this role for you.
Headers And Footers
Even if you’re building your deck mainly around Happily Ever After, you’ll still need a Commander to head it up. Outside of just supporting white, you’ll ideally want to go for a five-color Commander here, to make that first condition as simple as possible.
Jared Carthalion is probably the best option, synergizing beautifully with what a Happily Ever After deck wants to do. Its +1 fully fulfills the first condition by itself, and its -6 is great in a deck where you want plenty of five-color creatures and self-mill. The -3 even has a role to play, too, by turning your colorful creatures into serious blockers. Beyond Jared, there are a couple of other solid options for the deck, like Marina Vendrell and Kenrith, the Returned King.
Despite its huge potential, few players have actually committed to taking the Happily Ever After challenge on. According to EDHREC, just over 4,500 decks run the card in total. While this sounds like bad news for the card, there are actually a couple of unexpected upsides here. Due to the limited attention on it, copies of Happily Ever After can be had for just $0.31 right now.
This low play rate also means your opponents won’t see a Happily Ever After deck coming, which gives you a serious brewer’s advantage. With its combination of unique play patterns and budget-friendly nature, especially if you run Jared Carthalion as your Commander, Happily Ever After is a fine pick for your next deckbuilding project.
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