WandaVision: The Gathering
So, WandaVision is a show that, I think I can say for sure, caught all kinds of Marvel fans by surprise. This ode to the X-Men comics and psychological thrillers was a blast to watch, and opens up so many possibilities for the MCU’s future. What can be cooler than wizard battles, psychological warfare, and superheroes? Throwing all that crap into an overly complicated card game! Duh!
This deck tech will be based off the show WandaVision. It's relatively easy to convert superheroes into commander decks, so I will be adding a bit of a twist to this one. Not only are we focusing on Wanda and Vision, I am also going to be building the deck based off of the show itself. The deck will build a big-ole protective dome, steal peoples creatures, and allow you to make stupid sitcom references with your opponents’ creatures before they scoop and decide not to play Magic with you again.
Time to grind some gears! And yes, this post does contain spoilers. Don't say I didn't warn you!
The Commander
Most Magic players will note that the perfect color pairing for a dark wizard/witch is Grixis (blue-red-black.) However, in order to create the environment we want, splashing white is necessary– therefore, I am going to break a rule I set in earlier posts. Previously, I mentioned that the commander is essential to the theme, giving you the exact tools to build with. Well, let's throw that in the trash for this one, and use the partner commanders *Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist and *Tymna The Weaver.
What do they have to do with WandaVision? Absolutely nothing, to be frank with you. But what these cards allow us to do is splash white, have access to Grixis colors, and aid the general strategy. A criticism I hear often about theme decks is that they are so on-theme they fail to run. The idea with these commanders will actually be not to use them unless you need their abilities to help you in battle.
Before I leave this section, I should give a shoutout to *Kess, Dissident Mage. If it wasn't for me theming the deck around the show, she would have been the perfect fit for a Scarlet Witch deck. Hell, try it out on your own and see what you come up with!
Wanda and Vision
So, since our partner commanders don't represent Wanda and Vision, where are they?
This is the second reason why the partner commanders have nothing to do with the deck, mainly because their best counterparts are very specific characters in the Magic lore, and one of the reasons the pricing of this deck is through the damn roof. Liliana Vess is a staple character of the Magic lore, and a feared planeswalker with many adventures under her belt. Tell me if this sounds familiar: she has spooky witch powers, a dead brother that won't leave her alone, was manipulated by evil forces on numerous occasions, and is arguably the strongest member of the Gatewatch (insert Avengers here). She fits the role in edge, origin, and play-style as well. As we ignore the whole zombie thing...
Now onto Vision. Even though he is less of a perfect fit, Karn makes for a fantastic Vision. Just as Vision attempted to reach outside of the dome, *Karn, The Great Creator can grab you cards from outside the game (even though last time I checked that doesn't apply to commander. Sad). He is an automaton built to save lives, a good robot friend, who just like Liliana, is too powerful for his own damn good. Just as Vision is a deus ex machina for the Marvel franchise, Karn will have that same role for your board state. We even included other characters: Monica is represented by *Chandra, Acolyte of Flame, with another example being Agatha having representation from Xantcha, Sleeper Agent.
Building the Dome
With this Frankenstein of a build, the barrier surrounding the town of Westview is what we are going to use to defend ourselves from the table. *Suppression Field, *Blood Moon, *Sphere of Safety, and *Phyrexian Arena are great ways to set the mood. These pieces are normally best suited in control builds, so that's the strategy we will be using. This deck thrives by using the opponent's threats against them; therefore, it can leave us in a dangerous situation. In order to take them, you must allow your opponents to cast powerful creatures. Even when you do get the opportunity to steal a big creature, you still have to give it back at the end of the turn usually. That is why the control pieces of the deck are crucial. As long as you're able to protect yourself before and after splashy plays, you can stay alive at a table that will most likely aim for you after the first few creature steals.
Take Control
Here's where the fun begins. In the show, Wanda was able to mind control an entire town due to her grief. I don't want to copy the grieving part, but I sure as hell want to copy the mind control part. This is the most aggressive aspect of the deck, and hits in two parts. First, the brainwash, then the control. The brainwashing is activated with cards like *Blatant Thievery, *Act of Treason, and *Aethersnatch, which are just a few examples of the kinds of rage-inducing cards we have in our arsenal. This deck is guaranteed to create cooler plays against better opponents, but that does mean the user of this deck will have to be careful. With this kind of strategy, it can backfire– that’s why there is a second way to take control. *Mindslaver and *Nexus of Fate are not only perfect for the theme, but another way to steal the game away from our opponents. With the right plays, you don’t have to worry about giving them their permanents back if they can't survive your second turn. With only three extra turn cards in the deck, don't count on this carrying you to victory. However, when used wisely, these cards will in fact help you close out the game.
This deck tech was fun yet challenging. I completely think a deck purely focused on Wanda or Vision would run way better; however, it wouldn't even come close to the flavor of this deck. After all, that's what the blog is all about, right? Let me know what you think on any platform, and I encourage those who were inspired by this build to try out a different version!
NEXT TIME IN FLAVORTOWN:
So remember when I mentioned how this whole blog is based on flavor? Well let’s put that to the test, the competitive test!
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