Is EDH too expensive for you? Wanna play a fun deck that doesn't cost a fortune? Then allow me to introduce you to....Poor Man's EDH. For under $75 (Or around in this case) you can own a cool, powerful, and fun EDH deck that isn't too limited. Man did I miss this series, and man have I wanted this deck to happen for some time. Zo-Zu has always been a card I've wanted as a commander in a deck, and now, I finally can run him! Do you like mono-Red with a twist that your play group will never forget? Zo-Zu is the man for you. Being a menace to the baord alone is one thing, but adding in a bunch of cards that just make everyone groan or panic is another! With Zo-Zu, the game takes a twist of fate your friends will never forget! Enjoy!
Long ago, in the mountains of Kamigawa, an Akki (a race of goblins native to the plane) named Zo-Zu lived peacefully away from the plane's troubles. He didn't worry about the Akki, the Orochi, the Nezumi, the Soratami, or even the Samurai. Zo-Zu was a simple Akki, and for a good while he had the peace he desired. Yet, one day, strangers started wandering a bit to close for comfort near his mountain home. So, Zo-Zu took action and introduced them to his brand of punishment. Now, in a time where legends are called up to do battle, you have traveled to the residence of the Akki with a bargain: Join you and take the fight to the invaders of Zo-Zu's home so he may never be bothered again. Lucky for you, he not only agreed, but is bringing a nice book of spells that will definitely turn the tables in your favor....
Zo-Zu personifies everything that makes Red fun and powerful. His deck is filled with damaging spells and viciously aggressive creatures built to bring the pain. Just take a gander at some of these creatures and spells: Molten Primordial is a 6/4 haste creature that comes in ready to hit hard while stealing a creature off of everyone's board for a turn, Reforge the Soul forces everyone to draw a new hand, and Magmaquake annihilates every non-flying creature and planeswalker for X damage! With cards like these, who needs counter spells and kill spells? Your most consistent theme in a mono-red deck, however, will always be damage. Dealing damage is the Red specialty, and you have a HUGE variety of cards to help this. Cards like Ash Zealot (who damages players that try to cast from the grave) and Scab-Clan Beserker (who damages opponents when renowned that try to cast noncreature spells) are not only great board presence but great ways to make your opponents think twice about setting off their triggers. Players aren't the only ways caught in your damaging barrage however! Cards like Starstorm, Mizzium Mortars, Crater Hellion, and Spitebellows target creatures, and you can gurantee they burn them to ashes with loads of damage. The best part is, you can amplify these effects! In your deck lies two of the most painful cards to exist in the wonderful world of Red: Dictate of the Twin Gods and Furnace of Rath! Both of these cards DOUBLE ALL DAMAGE and are enchantments, meaning as long as you can play it without being countered, all of your damage dealing spells are even more deadly! Of course, your opponent's damage is doubled as well, but what's a Red deck without a little risk?
You do have two neat tricks that most Red commanders don't run however....Artifact and Land play. You see, Red decks don't normally have many draw spells, and the ones you do, like Tormenting Voice and Cathartic Reunion require a bit of discard. So, why not use some artifacts to help with this? Cards like Mind Stone and Hedron Archive double as mana rocks and card draw, while Temple Bell is pure card draw! (Speaking of Temple Bell, what's a better way to keep people off your back than giving them card draw too?) Sculpting Steel can become any artifact on the board, which is a perfect on targets like Platinum Angel, and to top things off, you can win the game no questions asked by having twenty or more and Hellkite Tyrant! Lands are the real ticket to success with Zo-Zu however. You see, Zo-Zu damages a player whenever they play a land, which is not only a huge problem for players due to their life total, but this counts as Commander Damage! With this somewhat risky ability comes cards with synergy around disrupting your opponent's desire to even use lands for mana! Tunnel Ignus punishes players for playing more than one, Obsidian Fireheart burns opponents for even tapping it, and Burning Earth punishes even further for tapping nonbasic lands! Think that's bad enough? You have a devastating spell that will cripple other mono color decks and make two color decks potentially lose half their lands! Meet Wake of Destruction, a six mana red Sorcery you aren't going to very commonly run into! Wake of Destruction destroys target and AND ALL LANDS WITH THE SAME NAME. Meaning a mono blue deck just lost every Island on their board, or a Black and White deck lost every Swamp or Plains, whichever they had more of that you picked! Your opponents try to switch to using artifacts for mana? Think again! Cards like Ingot Chewer and Viashino Heretic destroy artifacts! Zo-Zu, the Punisher truly brings a vast variety of ways to punish your opponents, and after one game with him at your side, no one will ever want to wander the mountains of Kamigawa again!