Jareth might be a bit of an oddball, sure, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be (sort-of-a) playable!
This is a Budget Elder Dragon Highlander deck (BEDH for short). It is meant for the Elder Dragon Highlander format, a.k.a. Commander. If you are not familiar with the format, I'll link it below for you.
https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Commander_(format)
I mostly use MTG Vault for my own private projects nowadays, but feel free to comment or request a deck of your choice. I've loved the Vault so far, and I like that they are still improving on it, as well as I am improving on my English language skills.
So, if you like what you see, consider checking out some of my other budget-y work from the link below.
https://www.mtgvault.com/northernwarlord/budget/
Okay, hear me out:
This deck is a bit of an abomination, but it has some sweet synergies within it! You just gotta dig a bit for them, you know?
First things first: What does Jareth require? Mana. A ton of mana! His cost is a bit high by itself, not to forget that he paints a quite large target on himself upon entering. (Big creatures tend to do so.) Thus this deck runs a lot of ways to generate mana, just in case you'll run into some trouble keeping Jareth around, despite his protection-ability!
Now, to the possible synergies. Let's ponder what Jareth could possibly need to achieve his full potential:
- Blocking. Jareth gets a huge bonus when he blocks one or more creatures.
- Vigilance. Considering the upper one, vigilance is a necessary keyword to allow you to both swing and defend using your badass commander. If you get this on Jareth, in theory you could win by just using his protection ability every turn to make him unblockable, then smacking face and having him defend the next turn(s). Nevertheless, you are going to need this keyword, which is why there are quite many cards that let you have it (6 total, plus a lot of ways to search for them)!
So, what now? You've got mana, you've got Jareth, you've got vigilance. Let us assume you won't win by just spamming protection and swinging for the fences(, which you still SHOULD consider as an option). Luckily there are several ways to take advantage of Jareth's abilities. These include:
- Forcing attackers. Bullwhip, the abomination that is Arcum's Whistle, and (in 1v1 scenarios) Martial Impetus can force opponents to attack you. What do you get out of it? Well, in addition to free creatures killed, you can consider the below:
- Lifelink. Now that Jareth will deal a HUGE amount of damage upon blocking, getting him lifelink (which is provided by a plehtora of cards in this deck) will let you pull off some quite insane plays. These include synergy with Sunbond, Light's Promise, Cradle of Vitality and Nykthos Paragon. If lifelink is not available, you can also try casting Soul's Grace for a singular (yet possibly very surprising) "lifelinkesque" effect.
- When all else fails... If you cannot keep Jareth around, the little synergy this deck has falls pretty much apart. Yet still, there are several different options at your disposal, including slapping multiple equipment cards and/or auras on a single creature, then attempting to demolish opponents using it. This deck also runs several cards made to keep your cards in play as well as getting rid of peskier ones around so at least you'll be able to give it all a chance!
Now that was a mouthful. ...or a fingerful? Hard to tell when typing.
Still, anything left to ask? Feel free to do so below! But before it, let us take a look at a summary of sorts:
Statistics: (out of 5)
- Deck Speed: <><> (How quick the deck is?)
- Creature Focus: <><><><><> (How much this deck relies on creatures?)
- Creature Size: <><><><><> (How big are the main creatures of this deck?)
- Card Synergy: <><> (Do the cards of the deck help out each other well?)
- Card Value: <><> (How much card advantage can you get out of your cards?)
- Level of Complexity: <><><><> (How hard this deck is to properly play?)
Pros:
+ Quite an unique setup!
+ Able to create insanely big creatures with a little setup.
+ Several ways of keeping your cards around.
Cons:
- Questionable synergy at best.
- Poor at generating card advantage. Try to make your cards count (and stick)!