benthic_druid 9 days{"ops":[{"insert":"Hello brewers,"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWelcome to the Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest! For those unfamiliar, this is a monthly contest with a different theme each month. Your goal is to build a Commander-legal deck that fulfills the prompt in a creative or unique fashion. At the end of each month, three finalists will be selected for you to vote on.\n\nWhat’s The Contest All About?"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nWorking within the parameters of the prompt provided below, construct a decklist with your own creative spin. Three chosen finalists will be awarded store credit to "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://cardsphere.com/"},"insert":"cardsphere.com."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"For November's deck building contest - build a Commander-legal kindred/typal deck in colors that you wouldn't expect for that creature type. For example, a Gruul Merfolk deck, or Temur Vampires. Decks will be judged on their creativity, originality, and how unexpected their color identity is for the chosen creature type."},{"insert":"\n\nFor more details about the prompt, check out the "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://edhrec.com/articles/archidekt-deckbuilding-contest-november-2025/"},"insert":"full announcement article"},{"insert":" over on EDHREC!\n\nHow To Participate\n Brew an EDH/Commander legal deck on Archidekt that satisfies the prompt."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" Any unreleased cards spoiled during the contest’s duration are allowed."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" Silver-bordered and acorn cards, while cool, are not allowed."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" Digital-only cards (such as those designed for the Alchemy format on Arena) are not allowed."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" Strictly one deck submitted per user."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nTo submit a deck, select the orange button labeled \"Submit a deck to this contest\" and follow the form prompt. Submissions are accepted until "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"9:00 pm EST"},{"insert":" (UTC -4, currently) on "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Wednesday, November 12, 2025"},{"insert":".\n\nOnly one submission per user! If you change your mind and want to submit a different deck before submissions close, you may do so by first deleting your submission. To edit your description, you can do so from the deck page itself. From the eligible submissions, we'll select three finalists with lists that we believe best embody the spirit of the prompt. Deck descriptions are not required but certainly may provide valuable context!\n\nOn "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Wednesday, November 19, 2025"},{"insert":", we’ll announce three finalists via the Archidekt Discord and a brief article on EDHREC highlighting each deck.\n\nEach finalist will be awarded credit on "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://cardsphere.com/"},"insert":"cardsphere.com"},{"insert":". The value of the credit is in US dollars and depends on the finalist's placement in deck upvotes at the end of the week-long polling period:\n 1st Place Prize - $250"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" 2nd Place Prize - $150"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" 3rd Place Prize - $100"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nFinalists will be contacted via email regarding their winnings within roughly 24 hours following the conclusion of voting on "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Wednesday, November 26, 2025"},{"insert":".\n\nPlease note, you must have a Cardsphere account in order to receive your winnings. It's quick and free-- register "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.cardsphere.com/signup?referrer=archidekt_contest"},"insert":"here"},{"insert":" if you don't have an account already!\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://archidekt.com/contestRules"},"insert":"Official contest rules."},{"insert":"\n\nIf you have any questions, feel free to ask here, or join our public "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://discord.gg/rYDFFVCmGr"},"insert":"Discord server"},{"insert":". We look forward to seeing what you all come up with!\n"}]}
Edited 11/13/2025, 2:01:52 AM
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Zinsects — Deckbuilding Contest November 2025
Created by: NuGori
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"When you think of the insect subtype in Magic, you obviously think of Boros, right? No? Well, that's what our deck is based around today, with "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/mh2/243/zabaz-the-glimmerwasp"},"insert":"Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp"},{"insert":" as our commander. It functions primarily as an artifact combo deck with our small but mighty commander functioning as the center of our wincon, alongside an "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/dst/101/arcbound-reclaimer"},"insert":"Arcbound Reclaimer"},{"insert":" & "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/964/mystic-forge"},"insert":"Mystic Forge"},{"insert":"/"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/tsb/7/enduring-renewal"},"insert":"Enduring Renewal"},{"insert":"/"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/moc/212/together-forever"},"insert":"Together Forever"},{"insert":" and an "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/368/ashnods-altar"},"insert":"Ashnod's Altar"},{"insert":"/"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/5dn/134/krark-clan-ironworks"},"insert":"Krark-Clan Ironworks"},{"insert":"/"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/311/phyrexian-altar"},"insert":"Phyrexian Altar"},{"insert":" to infinitely recast our little entomoid artifact. There are several payoffs this can net us, usually including infinite colorless mana and +1/+1 counters on our creatures, but with an "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/fdn/717/impact-tremors"},"insert":"Impact Tremors"},{"insert":" or "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/blc/21/agate-instigator"},"insert":"Agate Instigator"},{"insert":" it kills our oppenents right there. We can also do this combo at instant speed with a "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/717/skittering-cicada"},"insert":"Skittering Cicada"},{"insert":" onboard, to swing in then infinitely pump after blockers have already been declared.\n"}]}
Mono Green Dragons
Created by: Trupie
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"For this challenge, I really wanted to embrace what made the color green special: Flying. \n\nWith my patented 3 step program of Acolyte-3 Mana Ramp Spell and Skanos, you too can unlock the power of Mono G flyers. \n\nPlay your dragons, swing with your dragons, and then using Skanos' wildly inflated power and toughness for all sorts of fun tricks like card draw, direct damage, and just generating value larger than Skanos' arbitrarily inflated behind. \n\nAnd just remember kids:\nYou can play your fancy decks\nPlay enough to fill a wagon\nBut the only brew for the brave and true\nIs Skanos' Green Dragons. \n"}]}
No deck tags
Boggarts are part of a Balanced Breakfast
Created by: Rupp808
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"The creepy crawlies that Mudmug and his fellow boggarts usually ate had all but disappeared from the swamp they lived in. The long days of fall and winter approached, their hunger and worry growing everlong. They turned to an ancient ritual to call upon the great beast Ygra to help them with their problem. The ritual was a success, for Ygra blessed them with an overflowing bounty of food. They gorged themselves endlessly on the scrumptious food. Mudmug soon noticed that the boggarts' numbers soon started to slowly dwindle and new guests began showing up to feast alongside those that remained. Mudmug needed to get to the bottom of this mystery. He happened to be at the right place at the right time, discovering the seemingly endless supply of food they were eating so happened to be the boggarts themselves.\n\nBoggart/Goblin tribal in Golgari colors.\n"}]}
No deck tags
4 and 20 Blackbirds
Created by: Makia
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"This is a mono black Bird Tribal Deck. It is made as an homage to the nursery rhyme \"Sing a Song of Sixpence\". There are 24 birds in the 99 for the 4 and 20 black birds that were baked into a pie. I also added a King to be served the pie. Much of the flavor of the deck comes from being callbacks to the nursery rhyme with the rest of the deck filling out the tribal portion with staples such as patriarch's bidding, stoneforge masterwork, and patchwork banner, etc.. I figured what better way to showcase Tribal Black Birds than with a morbid poem.\n"}]}
No deck tags
White Nose Syndrome
Created by: Biglilsis
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Anyone who knows me knows 2 things about me: 1) Allies are my favorite creature type and 2) I am always trying to find new non-Tazri ways to build Allies. So naturally for this off-color typal contest, I did not pick Allies, lol\n\nThis deck is headed up by Emiel because the deck itself is a Unicorn. The one and only Selesnya Bats list. As was solidified after Bloomburrow, bats are an Orzhov color creature. Now, there are only a few bats that are not black (the Little Brown Bat, for instance) but what interested me was the ability to create bat tokens in non-black colors. So the game plan is to create some bats, then populate and/or use token doublers to grow the colony. Flying gives them some decent evasion, but we can pump them up with anthems and hopefully swing for lethal. Good ole combat damage wincon. Of course, we will likely have a veritable cloud of bats, so if we can't manage to get through our opponents' defenses we can always go with Halo Fountain for the alt wincon.\n"}]}
No deck tags
Fast Dragons
Created by: tjlong37
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Just like any dragon deck, fast as many dragons as possible... except faster\n\nAn blue/white twist on a beloved archetype, proving Azorius can make anything unfun... for your opponents! Use rule of law effects to slow opponents to a crawl, while slinging lizards at instant speed. Use cost reducers and flash payoffs to pollute the sky with dragon nonsense, draw as many cards as possible, and maybe even win\n"}]}
Vela the Void-Clad
Created by: CannotWynn
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Use Vela to make an army of Eldrazi nigh-impossible to block, with incidental Scions and Spawns able to amplify the value of your anthems while also serving as a way to squeeze in some extra damage through Vela's second trigger!\n"}]}
twisted tribal - Fear of Cats (Ailurophobia)
Created by: joeroyjones
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"This is a cat tribal deck designed to mill out my opponents!\nThe game plan is simple, get out some cats, and using my commanders ability start turning them sideways to mill out my opponents until I can pull all of their creatures back from the graveyard to beat my opponents down!\n"}]}
No deck tags
Beast Buddies
Created by: IllyriaSirene
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"When looking at this month's contest, I think the most important question to ask is, \"why build mono-white beasts instead of a usual kindred colour scheme like green or red?\"\n\nThe answer I found was as follows: I'm a thematic builder, and the commander I selected, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Toby, Beastie Befriender"}},{"insert":" , is begging to create the biggest hoard of "},{"attributes":{"strike":true},"insert":"best"},{"insert":" beast friends possible. Gribble can't attack alone, so what better way to do so than with a bunch more beasts! There are also a bunch of great beasts in white that are underutilized since few beast decks contain white at all. A typical green/GX beast build intends to pop out a bunch of beasts and hit really hard, pretty straightforward and basic. I'm interested in playing a deck that still packs a punch, but is a little more nuanced and involved to play.\n\nCreating a bunch of beast tokens by blinking Toby seems like a great starting plan, but a bunch of our beasts also have great ETBS to maximize value, like"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Salt Road Packbeast"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Highcliff Felidar"}},{"insert":" . Some of our beasts even help us blink, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Felidar Guardian"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lumbering Battlement"}},{"insert":" ! We have a lot of ways like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Door of Destinies"}},{"insert":" to pump our beast horde into huge monsters, and once we do, we'll take the game.\n\nToby decks seem to focus on putting out as many tokens as possible as quickly; our version here is a little slower, but the beast army will inherently be stronger than if they were all 1/1 tokens. I like playing thematically, and I'd guess this deck is around a mid budget bracket 2- there are a few combos with our blink pieces but no tutors to get them. \n\nHonorable mention, the maybeboard is "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Kaheera, the Orphanguard"}},{"insert":" , who isn't legal in the deck currently, but would be a possible companion option if they change the rules on hybrid mana (I'd swap the 2 non-changeling \"beasts\" for some of the beasts that didn't make it, in that case!). I hope you enjoy the list!\n"}]}
No deck tags
The Black Cats
Created by: Pomlet
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Welcome to the Black Cats, a punchy +1/+1 counter Cat Typal deck in Mono Black (What?). You'd think there'd be more black 'black' cats in MTG but here you deal with what you get. Cats with a side of mysticism.\n\nThe main win con is combat through pumping your Cats with +1/+1 counters. \n\nAccrue value through cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Skyclave Shadowcat"}},{"insert":" when things don't go your way and keep counters on your creatures with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dark Dabbling"}},{"insert":".\n\nCats are known companions of mages and witches, so make your Arcane spells companions with others, especially "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Horobi's Whisper"}},{"insert":". Keep your 'yard healthy and you're looking at turning each Arcane spell into a free Doomblade. You may also trigger "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thran Vigil"}},{"insert":" on your turn for more counters.\n\nTapped out for more paws on the floor? Use "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Contagion"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sickening Shoal"}},{"insert":" to clear obtuse blockers when you're signalling no interaction.\n\nThese are just the few interesting aspects of the colour that needs more cats, feel free to build off of this list or take it a totally different direction, maybe "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Black Cat, Cunning Thief"}},{"insert":" thieving perhaps?\n"}]}
No deck tags
Monks and the Soul of the Land (Mono-Green Monks)
Created by: KenshiOda
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"I went looking for a creature type that I loved that had a decent number of that creature in an off color. Then I stumbled upon the gem of this commander... I love the idea of trying to fill your hand to 7 lands. Almost all landfall decks are focused on dropping as many lands as possible, reasonably and effectively accruing incremental value. This deck is all about surviving until you get to 7 lands in hand with your commander in play. Then flipping him to create enormous amounts of mana. I struggled finding wincons within the Monks tribe in green, but I loved the idea of having just giant forestwalk or pump spell payoffs with X in the mana cost. I'm kind of tempted to build this in paper...\n"}]}
No deck tags
The Walls are Closing In... (Mono-Black Wall Kindred)
Created by: AlterLuin
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"\""},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"The house always wins..."},{"insert":"\"\n\nMono-Black Wall Kindred. It took a while to figure out what I wanted to run for this weird niche in black of sacrificing your stuff for life equal to their toughness (and walls being the perfect idea for that strategy, especially with support like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Catapult Fodder // Catapult Captain"}},{"insert":") until I thought \"Well, a lot of walls make buildings. Mazes. Houses.\" and then I realized the perfect commander: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Valgavoth, Terror Eater"}},{"insert":", who literally "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"is"},{"insert":" a house, and whose influence lurks from within the very walls of the plane of Duskmourne.\nStarting as a defensive fortress with tough-to-pass walls such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wall of Shadows"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wall of Junk"}},{"insert":", and ending with my opponents in the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Jaws of Defeat"}},{"insert":", be it from the namesake card, or from the lifegain/drain packages included, which are amplified between the massive amounts I'll gain and my commander using my life as a resource to play the cards he steals. All this not including a few surprise ways to knock someone out of the game, this deck is meant to bring the walls crashing down on my opponents.\n"}]}
No deck tags
The Jolraelorax speaks for your trees
Created by: Tempura
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"\nThis is a budget bracket 2-3 mono green treefolk land destruction deck under $200 and helmed by The Jolraelorax\n\nYou want to play big trees and put "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lure"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Horrid Vigor"}},{"insert":" effects on them then square up with your opponents lands. \n\nThe Jolraelorax politely asks for consent to fight your lawn with her ability and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Shriekwood Devourer"}},{"insert":" & "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Great Oak Guardian"}},{"insert":" and cheats with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Unstoppable Ash"}},{"insert":" & "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bow of Nylea"}},{"insert":" \n\nThe Jolraelorax is also artifactless("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bow of Nylea"}},{"insert":" doesnt count because Nylea is a frend to trees) because artifacts are too thneed-adjacent for The Jolraelorax to approve of\n\nThe yavimaya is just so i can say the deck name is true\n"}]}
No deck tags
The Whiteless Knights
Created by: ScuteSwarm
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Hello everyone! This is my take on an off-color kindred deck. Here, Garland commands his army of black and blue Knights, rallying them to cut down the white and green legions that usually dominate the battlefield. No more Danithas or Puresteel Paladins here — these Knights bring a darker edge, with several cards that are comically bad choices for a typical deck but in the this context they work perfectly.\n\nThis deck plays around the Monarch mechanic. Sometimes, Garland steals your opponents’ win conditions; other times, simply holding the crown turns him into a steady card draw engine. And if he’s removed? No problem — we just recast him and keep the momentum going.\n\nYou’ll find some kindred buffs draw and interaction spells as well as Knight synergies, alongside a tasteful selection of Swords — because even dark Knights need their blades. The deck sits comfortably in the midrange space, capable of winning in several different ways: from going wide with Knights, to borrowing an opponent’s win condition, to closing the game with timely drain effects.\n\nLooking ahead, I might power it up with more Voltron synergies or lean harder into the Monarch theme. But in its current form, it feels like a well-built precon-style deck — one that lets you sample a variety of strategies and find your own rhythm as you play. I had a ton of fun building it and can’t wait for the next prompt!\n\n"}]}
Surveil and Mill Dimir Vampires
Created by: One_of_strixhavens_worst_students
2 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"This deck is a Dimir Vampire deck focused on surveiling your own cards, while milling opponent's cards. Its goal is to surveil to put good cards into your graveyard, then return them to the battlefield while making the commander stronger.\n"}]}
No deck tags