Can Mairsil Activate Abilities Again if Mairsil Leaves the Battlefield

Deckbuilding is probably the thing I beloved to do most in all of Magic and building for Commander is the best of the best.  But sometimes you melt up a deck that y'all think is going to be awesome… and information technology turns out to exist disappointing.

Example in betoken: the deck I originally built for Mairsil, the Pretender when information technology first came out in Commander 2017.  I wrote about information technology here, merely when I was pulling the cards together to build the listing in paper, I went exterior the lines and added a bunch of other cards that I knew would be awesome in the deck.  Once I got the new list finalized, I eagerly pulled it out at my local game shop and… proceeded to shut everyone else downwards in one case I got a couple of key cards caged with Mairsil.  It took me a while to win but anybody else just stopped being able to cast anything relevant.  I could either counter it, or destroy information technology, and meanwhile Mairsil was nearly impossible to stop.  It really wasn't very fun for anyone, not even me.

The next game I played Mairsil I was properly treated as the Archenemy and everyone ganged upwards on me to cease my shenanigans.  I didn't have much fun in that game.

The last game I played with Mairsil I had an awkward depict where I didn't actually depict whatsoever of the really good cards to cage with Mairsil, and the deck just seemed clunky and awkward.  Meanwhile, anybody was gunning for me.

So, I took the deck apart.

Here was the sort of cards that are really, really powerful in Mairsil simply didn't seem to lead to very interesting gameplay in practice:

The thing is, Mairsil is just such a weird and interesting carte to build a deck around, I knew I wanted to come back to it, with the goal of cooking upward a decklist that would non be and so oppressive and miserable to play against.  As nosotros look the preview seasons for Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and Commander 2020, the twenty-four hour period has come for a Commander Redo for Mairsil, the Pretender!

Let'south refresh ourselves with the game notes on Mairsil, and in that location are quite a few of them:

The exiled cards remain exiled with cage counters when Mairsil leaves the battlefield. If Mairsil returns to the battlefield, it will see all of those exiled cards with cage counters on them.

If another player gains control of Mairsil, it will have the abilities of only cards that thespian owns in exile with cage counters on them.

Activated abilities contain a colon. They're by and large written "[Price]: [Upshot]." Some keyword abilities (such as equip) are activated abilities and will accept colons in their reminder text. Mairsil won't gain triggered abilities (which showtime with "when," "whenever," or "at").

If an activated ability of a bill of fare in exile with a muzzle counter on it references the card it's printed on by name, care for Mairsil'due south case of that ability equally though it referenced Mairsil by proper name instead. For instance, if Mairsil exiles Magus of the Mind, the price to activate the ability includes sacrificing Mairsil, non sacrificing Magus of the Listen.

If one of Mairsil's abilities is countered, about likely because its target became illegal earlier it resolved, it tin can't be activated once again in the aforementioned turn.

If multiple cards exiled with muzzle counters on them have the same ability, Mairsil will accept multiple instances of that ability. Each may be activated once each plough.

If you have a brute enter the battlefield every bit a re-create of Mairsil, its get-go ability triggers. You won't be able to activate any abilities before the "legend rule" applies, only the triggered power will still let you exile another bill of fare with a cage counter regardless of which Mairsil you keep.

If Mairsil gains an activated ability that's normally linked to a non-activated power of the card information technology came from, the ability Mairsil has isn't linked to any ability. For example, if Mairsil exiles Prototype Portal, the activated power creates no tokens at all; it doesn't create Image Portal tokens.

If Mairsil gains an activated ability that's usually linked to another activated ability of the carte it came from, those two abilities Mairsil gains are linked for as long equally Mairsil remains on the battlefield. For example, if Mairsil exiles Izzet Chemister, cards exiled with the first ability Mairsil gained from Izzet Chemister can be cast if you activate the second ability information technology gained that way. Izzet Chemister itself can't be cast this fashion, and if Mairsil leaves the battlefield before activating that 2nd ability, the cards exiled with that first ability are lost forever.

If Mairsil has a crew ability, creatures can crew Mairsil. It'll become an artifact creature, but its power and toughness remain unchanged.

If Mairsil has an equip ability, activating it won't cause anything to happen. Mairsil doesn't go attached to a creature. They may remain friends.

So, what sort of cards should we be looking for when building a deck effectually Mairsil?  Start of all, nosotros'll want lots of creatures and artifacts with cool abilities to cage, specially those that take multiple abilities.  We'll also want means to have Mairsil go out and enter the battlefield more ofttimes than only dying and being recast from the command zone so nosotros tin can accumulate a dainty spread of caged cards.  And nosotros'll likewise want ways to copy Mairsil or Mairsil's abilities then that nosotros'll have multiple creatures that can take advantage of the caged cards.

Okay, permit's get cooking!

1. Thassa, Deep-Habitation

Theros Beyond Death offers our deck an indestructible way to exile Mairsil and bring information technology back to the battleground, which will give you lot the opportunity to cage another card.  I dubiousness that we'll ever accept plenty bluish devotion to turn Thassa into an actual creature, but Thassa's activated ability can come in handy here and in that location.

I'thou including quite a few other ways to "blink" Mairsil for extra cage cards:

Tome of Legends takes reward of all the blinking, since each time Mairsil enters the battlefield y'all get a new page counter on the Tome.  This should provide a inexpensive, steady supply of card draw.

ii. Identity Thief

Why should Mairsil have all the fun with the caged cards?  Identity Thief does great work hither since information technology's another manner to glimmer Mairsil, and while Mairsil is in exile, the Identity Thief version of Mairsil can employ any abilities on caged cards it could use while tapped and attacking.

I've got some other ways to take advantage of Mairsil's caged cards:

Sakashima the Impostor and Spark Double get to stay out on the battlefield doing Mairsil stuff aslope Mairsil.  And if we tin can equip Mairsil with Helm of the Host we tin can make a nonlegendary copy of Mairsil that likewise gets to cage a creature or artifact.

If we've caged Pack Rat with Mairsil, whenever anyone tries to kill Mairsil with targeted removal and nosotros have plenty mana open up, we tin can discard a card to make a re-create of Mairsil and let the targeted Mairsil die to the legend rule. You even become a cage trigger and possibly have merely discarded something sweet you can cage.

three. Tree of Perdition

Speaking of cage triggers, how nearly caging Tree of Perdition?  If someone is getting too silly with lifegain y'all can switch Mairsil's toughness of four with their life total, which is conveniently too Mairsil's power.  And with all the blink effects we have, you can reset Mairsil's toughness back to four and practise it again to someone else.

There are quite a few creatures with cool abilities we'd like to cage:

I'm going to take 1 of each of the Morphling variants that we can have in Grixis, but instead of Morphling I'g going to run Aetherling since information technology's another way to exile Mairsil and bring information technology back to the battlefield.  Endling'south undying ability is besides nice, bringing back a Mairsil that dies with a +1/+ane counter.

Quicksilver Elemental's a hoot since it's a way you can copy abilities from opponent'due south creatures as well!

4. Pendant of Prosperity

Pendant of Prosperity is a card I've been wanting to be good for a while now, but in this deck it's a powerhouse.  Cage it and Mairsil taps for two mana. You get to draw a card, play a land, and and then draw a card and play a land.  Now that is some serious value!

The Cauldron of Eternity was made to be caged with Mairsil—you lot get all that squeamish downtime benefit, with none of the huge mana cost to cast or its replacement upshot for creatures we control dying.

Aetherflux Reservoir is some other interesting artifact to cage, specially if nosotros've got a way of giving Mairsil lifelink and we're above fifty life!

five. Basalt Monolith

Caging Basalt Monolith is awesome since yous can tap Mairsil for iii mana and without the drawback of not untapping during your untap stride.  And you can besides make use of the untap ability to utilize other tap abilities once again.

Here are a few other artifacts we can cage then that Mairsil can tap for colored mana:

6. Preparation Grounds

Since we're all about activated abilities, Training Grounds is a slam dunk to reduce the cost by up to two colorless mana.  I'm including some other ways to boost Mairsil:

Shadowspear or Basilisk tin requite Mairsil the lifelink ability we need to go basics with the Aetherflux Reservoir ability!

vii. Acrimony

Many of the abilities on cards I'm caging with Mairsil require tapping to activate, so being able to utilise them right abroad volition be very handy.  Acrimony in the graveyard with a Mountain on the battlefield is a prissy clean way of assuring Mairsil – and all of my creatures – take haste.

Hither are a few other options:

8. Spellskite

We're going to desire to have some ways to collaborate with our opponent's plans, especially removal spells that target Mairsil—Spellskite to the rescue!  Here are another cards that will come in handy for a variety of situations:

9. Cabalistic Signet

Many of our abilities cost mana, and so I expect that our deck volition demand a bunch of mana to do everything nosotros demand it to do.  I'm including as many of the usual suspects as I can observe slots for, but the best of the bunch is certainly Arcane Signet.  Two-mana artifacts that tap for mana help us cast Mairsil on Turn three, which is exactly where we desire to be.

x. Damnation

Last only not least, I'm adding cards that will destroy things that demand destroying, and the best of the agglomeration is Damnation.  Even if Mairsil gets destroyed aslope everyone else'southward creatures, that just means you get to cast Mairsil again and get another cage trigger.

Okay, so here's how the deck ended up:

What do you lot recollect?  Are there any cards I've overlooked?  If you come across any cards that should find a home here, let me know!

Practice me a solid and follow me on Twitter!  I run polls and get conversations started most Commander all the time, then become in on the fun!

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Source: https://articles.starcitygames.com/uncategorized/commander-redo-mairsil-the-pretender-done-right/

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