Cool for Cats: Kemba Continued

Referring back to an old post, my friend provided me with a draft deck list for his Kemba deck. Let's take a look at the deck and see what's up with it.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. This guy is a good friend, smart, and a good Magic player. He's just new to building decks for Commander.
2. He doesn't have a huge collection of cards, so dropping huge dollars just to get a deck started is not going to happen.
3. These are just some observations and suggestions based on my experience with the format, which is by no means extensive.

After a few conversations about what the deck is trying to do, I think he's going for a voltron, token, cat theme. He doesn't want anything other that "cat" creatures, no matter how good Stonehewer Giant is, either. :)



The way I see this, the deck is going to tap out every turn. Plus, you'll want to play a land every turn and accelerate since you will be casting lots of equipment and equipping. If you have to recast Kemba after the first time she dies, and equip her with at least one thing, you are looking at 5cc for Kemba (3+2), plus equip costs, which are likely to be at least 3 for a total of 8 mana. That's probably going to happen around turn 6.

Other than Caged Sun and Gilded Lotus, you don't have much in the way of acceleration. Sol Ring can be an expensive card to buy, but it's obviously good. Better than a lot of other cards since you will use it in every deck you make. Thran Dynamo fits on that curve. As does Wayfarer's Bauble. Oh, and Mana Crypt. You know, if you sell a kidney or something.





The stuff you are running to help you make your land drops will help you in games where you are behind, but don't do much when you are hitting your drops every turn. Gift of Estates, Tithe, and Land Tax are great cards. But, you have to play around them. It'll be interesting to see you consider holding back land drops to activate Land Tax, for example. The "thinning" effect isn't as noticeable in this format since the decks are so large. Also, you aren't actually doing anything with the lands you get. Typical Tax decks either use the lands to do damage with something like Firestorm or they use the lands to draw more cards with something like Scroll Rack. Not saying to take them out, just something to consider.

Okay, onto the cards!

Artifact (22)

• 1x Caged Sun
• 1x Champion's Helm
• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Crystal Ball
• 1x Darksteel Forge
• 1x Darksteel Pendant
• 1x Eldrazi Monument
• 1x Fireshrieker
• 1x General's Kabuto
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Journeyer's Kite
• 1x Konda's Banner
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mask of Avacyn
• 1x No-Dachi
• 1x Quietus Spike
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of Vengeance
• 1x Umezawa's Jitte
• 1x Vedalken Orrery
• 1x Whispersilk Cloak

With a low casting cost, Kemba can come out early. But, since the deck relies on Kemba to start generating tokens, it's more important than ever to include equipment that will protect Kemba. This deck includes a good list of equipment that will help to ensure that Kemba always has a weapon in hand (paw?) for when she's out on the prowl.

A couple of Artifact card suggestions are:

Along with the Eldrazi Monument and other creature pumpers, Akroma's Memorial will make all of the tokens fierce. And, I would run Armillary Sphere over the Journeyer's Kite. It does it's thing faster, with less mana commitment. Plus, it's a lot less expensive.

For the equipment, take a look at Batterskull, Basilisk Collar, and Loxodon Warhammer. These pieces of equipment give out lifelink. Extra life could come in handy with a few of the cards we will see later on. Plus, equipment makes a good replacement in this deck for a few of the spells we'll see later. Oh, and don't forget about Darksteel Plate. That card almost always elicits groans from around the table.

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Cleansing Meditation
• 1x Day of Judgment
• 1x Gift of Estates
• 1x Hour of Reckoning
• 1x Idyllic Tutor
• 1x Roar of Reclamation
• 1x Rout
• 1x Steelshaper's Gift
• 1x Survival Cache
• 1x Three Dreams
• 1x Wrath of God

I like most of these spells. Lots of creature sweepers, which can clear a clogged board. Hour of Reckoning could certainly live up to its name. The problem is that most of the sweepers will also kill Kemba. But, she does have a lower casting cost, so you can ideally recover more quickly than your opponents. Take a look at some spot removal cards to get a good mix, though. Condemn is good. As is Swords to Plowshares. Instant speed spot removal can really ruins someone's day (or combat math).

Tutors add consistency to any deck.

Survival Cache doesn't do enough. Spot removal is probably better. Best case scenario, you gain 4 life and draw 2 cards over 2 turns. Not too exciting.

Oh, and Three Dreams looks cool... but only if you have enough Aura cards to support it. Check out Arrest, Cage of Hands, and Prison Term. Those all deal with a creature. I like Angelic Destiny. I think the artwork is great and it's reusable on your tokens. Could be fun. We are here to have fun, right?

Instant (6)

• 1x Beacon of Immortality
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Honor the Fallen
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Tithe
• 1x White Sun's Zenith

Beacon of Immortality can be a huge shot in the arm, but playing with cards like this can really bother certain players.

Enlightened Tutor is good, of course.

Rest in Peace really messes with certain decks. Again, the artwork is cool. Plus, it's an enchantment. Most of the decks that really care about the graveyard are going to have trouble dealing with it. It's a stronger version of Honor the Fallen, but doesn't include lifegain. I'd trade away the lifegain to put the hurt on turn after turn.

Land (40)

• 1x Emeria, The Sky Ruin
• 1x Kor Haven
• 38x Plains

As for lands, Emeria and Kor Haven are both good. Take a look at Windbrisk Heights. You will meet the requirement pretty easily and get a little acceleration from it.



You'll want at least a few ways to deal with troublesome lands your opponents are running, like Maze of Ith. Ghost Quarter, Strip Mine, Tectonic Edge, and Wasteland are all good, just not in that order. :)

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Angelic Voices
• 1x Aura of Silence
• 1x Concerted Effort
• 1x Intangible Virtue
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Marshal's Anthem
• 1x Pursuit of Knowledge
• 1x Story Circle
• 1x True Conviction

For pumping your tokens, Angelic Voices is weak. Check out Cathar's Crusade. Don't forget about regular ol' Crusade, either. Divine Sacrament isn't bad. Glorious Anthem. Honor of the Pure. Shared Triumph. You can probably push this theme pretty hard since you are - in theory - generating tokens at an alarming rate.

The other creature pumpers look good. Concerted Effort, Marshal's Anthem, and True Conviction along with a few of the artifacts you are running will make your cats deadly.

Creature (9)

• 1x Adaptive Automaton
• 1x Ajani's Pridemate
• 1x Felidar Sovereign
• 1x Jareth, Leonine Titan
• 1x Leonin Abunas
• 1x Leonin Relic-Warder
• 1x Raksha Golden Cub
• 1x Spirit of the Hearth
• 1x Taj-Nar Swordsmith

Okay, creatures. You don't have a whole lot of creatures. You are relying heavily on casting and protecting Kemba to generate tokens. The trouble is, anything that gives her shroud is going to make it so that you can't equip her with anything else either. Just something to consider when looking at equipment.

Out of your 9 creatures,

• Adaptive Automaton is a creature pumper. He stays.
• Ajani's Pridemate is weak. If he got +1/+1 counters for EACH life you gained, that would be something. But, nope.
• Felidar Sovereign is fine. I like alternate win conditions.
• For 6 mana, Jarath isn't doing much. He is sexy. And a cat. And his protection ability could be awesome under certain circumstances, so he stays.
• Leonin Abunas is strong. He stays.
• The Relic-warder is a little random. Plus, creatures die all the time. I'm not sure that you are going to get much value from him.
• Raksha kicks ass when equipped. He makes all your cats crazy.
• Spirit of the Hearth is fine. He flies. Plus, his ability could come in handy.
• The Swordsmith is fine. Tutoring a small piece of equipment is helpful.

Leonin Shikari is worth considering. It makes all of your guys dangerous and tricky in combat and you can use the ability right away.



Seht's Tiger isn't bad. It's a tricky card and a cat. Plus, it shows up out of nowhere for extra flavor.



Otherwise, there are a handful of small, cheap, flying cats that would give you some evasion and active that enchantment that gives flying to all creatures if one of your creatures has flying (Concerted Effort). Take a look at these. One even has doublestrike.

Planeswalker (1)

1x Ajani, Caller of the Pride

The pride caller is good. So, is Ajani's other aspect. He just had his hair done. His -1 ability is good!








I'm looking forward to testing the deck, no matter what the card choices end up being. I see a deck that when it starts to work, can really put the pressure on in short order with an overwhelming number of tokens. I also see a deck that suffers from weak turns if Kemba is "dealt with." It'll be interesting to see if riding that line to keep the theme is worth it.