In Thunder Junction, outlaws rule the plane, and Olivia Voldaren rules the outlaws in the Most Wanted Commander deck. A native ofMagic: The Gathering’s gothic horror plane of Innistrad, the Vampire Assassin has come to Thunder Junction to form new alliances and gather new followers among the Rogues, Assassins, and Mercenaries.
Trading the ballroom for a bar room, Olivia, Opulent Outlaw leads an army of outlaws, using them to steal Treasure from innocent miners or, more likely, other outlaws. Commit murder, arson, armed robbery, and maybe even cause a stampede as you prove that crime does, in fact, pay.
Witch of the Moors
Vault of the Archangel
Most Wanted Commander Deck Themes
People often say that crime doesn’t pay, but the theme of the Most Wanted deck is to prove them wrong.This deck aims to assemble a gang ofoutlawsto make a bunch of Treasure, which it will use to get an even bigger, meaner gang of criminals.
Afull third of the deck is made up ofcreatures that qualify as outlaws, backed up by a selection of larceny-themed spells that fit both mechanically and thematically.
Most Wanted functions as a pretty basic combat deck, focusing on swinging with a variety of outlaw creatures that generate value through combat damage and attack triggers.
A variety of cards, includingOlivia, Opulent Outlaw,Misfortune Teller, andLife Insurancewill generate a fair pile of Treasure tokens, while others likeCaptain Lannery StormandVihaan, Goldwakergive you something to do with them aside from generate mana.
The deck also rewards you for playing dirty, giving you field advantage as you destroy your opponents' creatures.
Kamber, the Plunderer,gives you one life andgenerates Blood tokens whenever one of your opponents' creatures dies,giving you moreinstant draw optionsor letting you goad your opponents' creatures by sacrificing your Blood to his partner, Laurine, the Diversion.
Meanwhile,Ogre Slumlordprovides 1/1 Rat tokens for the same trigger, giving you plenty of blockers or attackers in a pinch.
Never to be far from her political games, Olivia also brings a bit of politicking to the table through effects likeBounty Board, which encourages your opponents to destroy each others' creatures for a payout, and several effects that goad or gain control of other creatures.
This is a pretty minor theme in the deck, and feels more like an afterthought than a true theme.
The deck includes two other alternative commanders:Vihaan, GoldwakerandQueen Marchesa. Vihaan, Goldwaker may actually be the most wanted card in the deck, and with a little extra treasure generation, it will make him an excellent stand-alone commander.
If you swap Olivia out for Vihaan,lean harder into Treasure and ease up on outlaws.
Queen Marchesaaddsthe monarch mechanicto the deck. As the monarch, you’lldraw an extra card during your end step, and when another player is the monarch and Queen Marchesa is in play, you’llcreate a 1/1 black Assassin token with haste and deathtouch.
This may seem like a win-win situation, but it does put a target on your head when you’re the monarch, and you’ll lose the benefits of another player being the monarch if Marchesa dies.Queen Marchesais underwhelming andshould be considered for replacement.
Most Wanted Commander Deck Analysis
Most Wanted does what it wants to do, butthe theme is spread a little thin. There are a lot of solid effects and enough redundancy that you won’t feel like your hands are tied if your commander is removed, but there’s also a lot of room for improvement.
Several effects rely on your creatures dealing combat damage, but there’s little evasion and not much in the way of combat tricks aside from borrowing potential blockers to attack with.
Additionally,there are a lot of cards that underperform for their mana value, which can be upgraded pretty easily. The vast majority of these underwhelming cards are creatures, but the outlaw category gives you a lot of room for customization.
Hex
Heliod’s Intervention
Mistmeadow SkulkandChangeling Outcastprovide a little evasion, but their main function is just to lower the average mana value for the deck.
Both can be easily replaced by something that adds more value to your board, increasing your chances of making a big play in the mid-game. You never want to include cards that you’ll be sad to draw on turn five.
There’s a minor political theme in this deck, whichHumble Defectorwants to capitalize on. Ideally you and another player would pass it back and forth, or you would use an effect like Mass Mutiny to take it back to reuse.
Realistically, you’re likely to pass it to another layer and never get it back, granting your opponents an advantage, which is always a bad idea.
Captivating CrewandMass Mutinyplay on borrowing your opponents' creatures, which decreases their available blockers and gives you most of the benefits those creatures bring with them. But if you aren’t going to win immediately, they’ll get them right back. So, these effects should always be played with a way to sacrifice them, which is absent in this deck outside of Deadly Dispute.
If you want to lean into borrowing creatures, consider adding Insurrection to take all of them at once, and a couple of ways to sacrifice all of them.
Black decks are usually okay with paying life and sacrificing creatures as alternate costs, butRankle, Master of PranksandDire Fleet Ravagerwill both hit you pretty hard. You can definitely find something that will synergize better with the deck without such big drawbacks.
Shiny Impetuswill rarely pay for itself: your opponent will either throw away the creature or find a way to destroy the enchantment. Plus, goad won’t protect you once you’re down to two players. The only way it’ll work for you consistently is by playing it on your own creatures, but you’re able to find better options.
Reason
Aven Interrupter
Aven Interrupter can be an effective white Counterspell. You can cast it with flash to remove a spell on the stack, forcing your opponent to wait a turn to play it.This can interrupt an important combo, or make an instant unusable, like an actual Counterspell.
Blood Money
Blood Money is a solid boardwipe that also provides you with a big stack of Treasure,giving you a head start on your next turn.
Claim Jumper
If your opponents start to pull ahead on lands, Claim Jumper can help you catch up,fetching up to two Plainsand putting them directly into play. Just be sure to play him before your land for the turn to ensure the maximum effect.
Hellspur Posse Boss
Hellspur Posse Boss gives all of your creatures haste (except for Academy Manufacturer, but you won’t attack with that), and creates two 1/1 Mercenary tokens when it comes into play,allowing you to pump your other creatures immediately.
Kellogg, Dangerous Mind
Kellogg does exactly what this deck wants to do: He’s a Mercenary that creates Treasure when he attacks and offers a way to spend it,stealing your opponents' creatures as long as he stays in play.
Mirkwood Bats
Throughout the game you should be creating and sacrificing a lot of Treasure tokens, and each time you do Mirkwood Bats willdrain away a little life from your opponents. This can add up quickly if your opponents aren’t paying attention.
Port Razer
So many of your effects rely on combat damage, so more combat can only be a good thing for you. Port Razergives you an extra combat step after dealing combat damageso that you may swing for more effects each time.
Reckless Fireweaver
You’ll be creating a lot of Treasure tokens, and just like Mirkwood Bats, Reckless Fireweaver will help youwhittle down your opponents whenever you create a Treasure. One damage isn’t much, but it can add up over time.
Ruinous Ultimatum
For one mana more than Hex, Ruinous Ultimatum willdestroy all of your opponents' nonland permanents, not just six creatures. The mana distribution might be tricky, but your treasures can fix that, easily.
Ruthless Knave
If you borrow an opponent’s creature, this allows you tosacrifice that creature for two Treasure instead of giving it back. Or you may use it to recycle creatures you know are about to die anyway. On top of all that, Ruthless Knave offers an extra outlet to send your treasure on, sacrificing three to draw a card.
Smuggler’s Share
This enchantment will barely attract your opponents' attention, but it keeps you from falling behind on both cards and mana,rewarding you every time an opponent draws two cards or plays two landsin a turn, which are both frequent occurrences.
Swashbuckler Extraordinaire
Like Port Razer, Swashbuckler Extraordinaire enables extra combat damage, this time bygiving select creatures double strike. This effect lasts until the end of turn, so you’re able to potentially get four combat damage triggers when combined with an extra combat step effect.
Taurean Mauler
Taurean Mauler has changeling, so it counts as every creature type, making it an outlaw. This synergizes with the deck, and it cangrow to enormous proportions as your opponents play their normal spells.
Treasure Vault
Treasure Vault offers colorless mana immediately, andcan be sacrificed later for a big pile of treasure. And with the reprint in the Fallout Universes Beyond, it’s remarkably affordable.
Vial Smasher, Gleeful Grenadier
Like Mirkwood Bats and Reckless Fireweaver, Vial Smasher willwhittle down your opponents' health one point at a time. The difference is that Vial Smasher does this whenever an outlaw comes into play under your control, not when you create a Treasure.
