benthic_druid 11 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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Rakdos AristoCats
Created by: Hauwulf
3 days
{"ops":[{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"It’s a good thing cats have nine lives, because we’re using every one of them. This deck strays away from cats’ typically white identity for a more sinister purpose: sacrificing them for value, whether it's draining our opponents or drawing cards. And don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds. We make all kinds of treats (food, rats) and shiny objects (treasures) to coax these felines back from the grave. "},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"While Mahadi was rudely stripped of his cat type a few years ago, he’s still a cat in my heart. He acts as the main value engine of the deck, providing a payoff and acceleration from our sacrifice effects. Joining him in the 99 are a few crazy cat ladies like Ayara, the lonely queen (her suitors keep mysteriously disappearing, maybe the cats will be better company?). We’ve also got quite a few ways to make rat tokens, which are intended as sacrifice fodder to revive our cats. Since this is a cat tribal deck, I didn’t want the rats to steal the show even if we have a board full of them. To this end, I focused on recursion effects that require creature sacrifices for the flavor of cats returning from the dead and hunting down the pesky rodents that have taken their space. There are also a couple drain effects like Ayara and Broadside Bombardiers that care about mana value and can’t use the rats as effectively."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"The main wincons for this deck are fairly straightforward aristocrat drain loops. However, we’ve also got Sunspine Lynx (which is why the deck has so many basics) and Cauldron Familiar that can act as wincons themselves. If you can manage to get these two on the field or graveyard with Chthonian Nightmare in hand, your opponents are about to have a bad day."},{"insert":"\n"}]}
No deck tags
X marks the spot to faerie Land
Created by: loriencolbert
3 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Kellan bridges the gap between Faeires and Counters. Filling up the graveyard or your hand with fliers that eventually get bigger and bigger due to exploring and other +1/+1 counter senanigans. Kellan himself is a big beater with some invasion and auras, artifacts, and pump spells that all fit the fairy theme. \n"}]}
No deck tags
Coup of Karrthus - November 2025 Contest
Created by: Zaiced
3 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"This is my submission for the **Archidekt November 2025 Deck Building Contest! I couldn’t go all out this month since I’ve been in the middle of moving, but I still wanted to try and make something unique. As time started to thin, I started adding commander staples or typical cards you’ll see in a deck. I hope that the core of this deck shows its uniqueness.\n\nWelcome to **Coup of Karrthus**. This deck is built around the creature type **Soldier** but not just any kind of soldier! Soldiers with the _**Horsemanship**_ ability! Traditionally, soldiers are mostly white with some red and blue. Black and green have seen some soldier printings, but not many! With that, my twist is doing a **Jund** colored deck. There aren’t many soldiers in this color pair. However, if you decide to only do soldiers with the horsemanship ability it narrows it down to 14! These soldiers play a crucial role in this build that you’ll learn about in just one second!\n\n** What makes this deck so special?**\n\nAt a glance, this might just look like a simple soldier kindred deck with a weird out of place commander. Wrong! There’s a hidden game plan waiting to strike. \n\nCards like **Conspiracy** and **Maskwood Nexus** all us to turn all of our creatures into **dragons**. With that set up, we should already be getting crazy values from our soldiers with horsemanship ability’s with our value engines. Cards like **Toski, Bearer of Secrets** and **Professional Face-Breaker** will allow us to draw a card for each creature that does combat damage or create a treasure token. This keeps us in the game and getting ready for our massive jank win. \n\n**What’s the actual plan here? We can see a lot of drawing and tons of treasures.**\n\nWe will find our _**Key Piece**_ which will either be **Insurrection** or **Mob Rule** depending on the scenario of the board. \n\nHopefully by this point, we will have a changing creature type spell, and tons of mana available. Casting Insurrection will steal the whole board and with **Conspiracy** or **Maskwood Nexus** they will be dragons. \n\n_**Alright they are dragons so what?**_ \n\nThat’s where our commander comes in **Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund**. Karrthus takes control of all dragons while giving them **haste**! We swing the whole table and hope for the best!\n\n**Some last thoughts**\nThis deck is very janky with a one trick pony wincon that can easily be countered or dealt with. We are also very vulnerable since i preferred our game plan over protection, but we have a few pieces for that. I think the most important ones are the goad spells to keep the eyes off me and keeping the creatures on the board. We also have a couple red counter spells for the freaky blue players we might come across. \n\nThank y’all!\n"}]}
No deck tags
Ur-Dragon (v3)
Created by: Supercats13
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"My take at a deck based around The Ur-Dragon. This is one I hope to play someday, but am unable to afford it at the moment, and I have a deck currently based around Ur, but its not as optimized as I would like it to be.\n"}]}
No deck tags
Enchanting rakdos
Created by: dgermain125@gmail.com
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Thought it would be fun to make a version of an enchantress deck in rakdos, not a ton of enchantress effects available but it was still a fun excercise. I don't know if this is a \"kindred in unexpected colors\" but it's what my mind went to for this months contest\n"}]}
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Orzhov Protection Racket
Created by: RCProto
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Why do it yourself when robots do it better? Pick your chosen debtor, and repossess their assets one by one to the graveyard! If they can't pay, simply take life instead.\n\nThis is an aggro deck! Play "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Armix, Filigree Thrasher"}},{"insert":" and use its removal ability to clear the path! With "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rebbec, Architect of Ascension"}},{"insert":" on the board, the protection racket begins and you only have to remove very specific targets! Beat your debtors down turn by turn.\n\nThe rest of the deck is cards that don't mind being pitched to the graveyard, and reanimation type abilities to get back things you do want. We've also substituted artifacts for other staples like removal and anthems, to feed the machine!\n"}]}
No deck tags
Mummies! - Naya Zombies, November 2025 Deckbuilding Contest Submission
Created by: Gramb
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"For this month's contest, I decided to build a Naya Zombies deck, since the Zombie creature type is most supported and most typically built in Dimir or Black; my aim was to go as off-color as possible.\n\nZombies have seen some support in White through sets like the original Amonkhet block and, more recently, Aetherdrift, some minor representation in Red in War of the Spark, and a splash of Green from the Fallout set. However, when I tried those cards out, the deck didn't sit right with me, so I wondered how else I could build Zombies in colors where Zombies are almost completely nonexistent.\n\nEventually, I landed on "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Eternalize"},{"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Embalm"},{"insert":", abilities which, when activated, mummify our creatures from their tomb and bring them back to the battlefield as token copies of the originals. Though the deck only has 5 actual Zombie creature cards in it, there are over 20 cards in the deck that either can be Embalmed, Eternalized, or create Zombie creature tokens in some way or another.\n\nThis is a Zombie tokens deck helmed by "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ghired, Conclave Exile"}},{"insert":", the perfect commander for our aggressive token multiplying strategy. We'll win the game by overwhelming our opponents with a quickly growing army of Zombie tokens.\n\nThe plan of the deck is to first fill our graveyard through self-mill, since Eternalize and Embalm abilities can only be activated when creatures are in the graveyard, using cards like: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lorehold Excavation"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Embalmer's Tools"}},{"insert":", and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Convergence of Dominion"}},{"insert":", the latter two of which have the added bonus of making our Eternalize and Embalm costs cheaper. The next step is to stick a token-multiplying effect to the battlefield, such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Parallel Lives"}},{"insert":" or, thematically, "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Anointed Procession"}},{"insert":". Then we want to start rousing our army from their tombs with their various Eternalize and Embalm abilities, along with cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Grimoire of the Dead"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"God-Pharaoh's Gift"}},{"insert":", creating copies with the token multipliers. And if our army isn't wide enough to overwhelm our opponents, we'll use "},{"insert":{"card-link":"God-Eternal Rhonas"}},{"insert":" or the classic "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Craterhoof Behemoth"}},{"insert":" to make it tall enough to close out the game.\n\nThere are a couple cards I came across while building this deck that I think are really fun and effective here:\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Audience with Trostani"}},{"insert":" is great in this deck since, because each Eternalized/Embalmed token is a copy of the original creature, the tokens all have unique names, so there's potential to draw a lot of cards for just 3 mana"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Garruk's Uprising"}},{"insert":" is obviously nice as a Trample anthem, but since Eternalize specifically makes the Zombie tokens as 4/4s, there's extra card draw potential"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"When you Eternalize/Embalm your creatures from the graveyard, they get exiled as part of the cost, so they can only be used once. However, with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Isochron Scepter"}},{"insert":" imprinting "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Pull from Eternity"}},{"insert":", not only can you bring your creatures back to the game from exile, they get put straight into your graveyard, ready to be mummified once more! (Added bonus is that Isochron Scepter isn't just totally dead without Pull from Eternity, every Instant in the deck is Mana Value 2 or less)"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nNot a huge part of the deck, but there is a minor Desert theme in the manabase, but it doesn't heavily affect the gameplay of the deck, just worth noting since a couple of the Deserts create more Zombie tokens too.\n"}]}
No deck tags
Green Ninjas! (not the turtle ones.)
Created by: Mille_Fleur
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Entry for the November '25 deckbuilding challenge!\n\nIn celebration of everyone's favorite new pizza-themed Secret Lair, I've built Sultai Ninjas! This deck aims to abuse "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ukkima, Stalking Shadow"}},{"insert":" by repeatedly bouncing her with Ninjutsu effects, burning our opponents and keeping our hand stacked.\n\nOur main game plan is simple: ramp turn 1, run out our commander, then start generating advantage off our ninjas. Come late game, Ukkima can start nuking players with cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Ozolith"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Raised by Giants"}},{"insert":" boosting her stats through the roof. The bursty gameplay should feel familiar to Ninja players, plus we get some added bonuses: our ramp package means our ninjas never have to worry about being mana-hungry, and our +1/+1 counter suite can buff up our stealthy boys as an aggro-style backup plan. In typical ninja fashion, our opponents should never feel safe.\n\n\n"}]}
No deck tags
Dimir Dino Bots
Created by: TriotheHoly
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"If there's not enough dinosaurs in Blue/Black, I'll make them myself! With a Lifecraft Engine as the focus, the goal is to make the deck's vehicles into dinosaurs (along with vehicles that can become dinosaurs themselves), and using some anthems to make them bigger. "},{"attributes":{"background":"#ffffff","color":"#16161d"},"insert":" Golbez will synergize with the vehicles to better set up future turns while also moving dinosaurs into the graveyard to then grab later with their effect to burn out opponents thanks to the dinosaurs' high power. "},{"insert":"\n"}]}
No deck tags
Dragon Bant (The WUG Dragons)
Created by: ChicoTunda
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Built for the November 2025 Archidekt deck building contest. \nTypal: Dragons in Bant (WUG) colors\nI decided to make this deck when I saw the prompt (before I looked at the full announcement post that suggested this very idea lol so it was an original idea.) \nI thought that even though Dragons in many media can be connected to all bioms and terrains, I believe if you asked someone to think of one their platonic form will include the colour red, breathing fire, and having a nest in or on a mountain. Hence their connection to red mana and mono-color red decks.\n\nI thought it would be fun to explore some often left out version of dragons, (I also felt that black manas connection to death also had a strong connection to dragons already so I felt that bant colors would be the most unusual.\n\nThis is my first deck contest submission! I had a lot of fun finding some cool cards!\n\nWith my commander taking advantage of permanents of the same type I had thought about including many enchantment creatures to double dip, however I wanted to stick with the strictly typal theme of dragons, so if it didn't have dragon included in the creature type, it was axed. (But I liked the synergies so much that I kept them in the maybe board for use as a potential deck of my own to build later.)\n\nI also tried to choose card printings that we're the most \"dragon\" or \"dragon adjacent\" to my eyes. Weather that meant having a dragon or imagery related to a dragon in the image or being from a set that is connected to dragons, for example the Lord of the Rings swords to plowshares.\n\nI also tried to limit my expensive lands since I noticed that I was using a few of those. I just did that for my own deckbuilding fun.\n"}]}
No deck tags
It's monks, Coral! No zombies, Coral. Just Monks!
Created by: lhurgoyf
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"This deck is weird along two axes: It's monks but Gruul, made accessible by a new legendary. Also, no one else will likely build this as kindred since Coral is a voltron commander. I think it works though because of cards like Banner of Kinship and Door of Destinies. Plan A is to win with a giant Coral. Plan B is to win with a giant Tifa. Plan C is just to go wide with monks. Regardless, it's aggro. Don't cast Coral until you can make him huge or at least until you can protect him by tapping prior to combat when necessary. \n"}]}
Citizens Wanted In Tesserhorn!
Created by: RBomb19
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Welcome to Wonderful Tesserhorn! Long removed from the Ice Age of the past, Tresserhorn stands as an inspiration to any Citizen looking for a new opportunity in life, especially those formerly occupied by "},{"attributes":{"strike":true},"insert":"sacrificed"},{"insert":" missing heroes who stumbled into town. But don't worry, our civil servants are on the case! Between our skilled detectives and diligent reporters, those "},{"attributes":{"strike":true},"insert":"sacrificed"},{"insert":" missing heroes are sure to turn up any day now. In the meantime, our Citizens are encouraged to Select a Job and begin a productive career as anything from a samurai to an astrologian and more. Treasures abound as our economy flourishes under the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"very "},{"insert":"watchful gaze of the Lord of Tresserhorn who is always willing to make the necessary sacrifices "},{"attributes":{"strike":true},"insert":"of our Citizens"},{"insert":" for our Citizens and the wondeful community of Tresserhorn!\n"}]}
No deck tags
The Dark Knight Rises
Created by: RevEnjoyer
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"The Dark Knight Rises is a Knight Tribal deck in Mono-Black. \nWith over 100 of the 140 or so Knight typal cards being in white, this deck leans in heavily on the fun side of the \"dark knight\".\nConsisting of knights, bats, and detectives the theme is somewhat obvious here folks. As additional add-ins you'll find a pair of 'mobiles' for our Dark Knights to ride around in style, a cave or two for the bats, a scarecrow, and even a clown.\n\nPlaytesting the deck shows it is not particularly powerful, but at an estimate cost around $270 it wasn't going to be a powerhouse from the onset. Fun to play with your friends or against other meme-decks, this Dark Knight themed deck is fairly straightforward and only has a few non-game-breaking combos and can finish by pumping or just by swinging in.\n\nHave fun out there folks and try to make the world a little more magical every day.\n"}]}
No deck tags
Esper Dinos (Build Challenge)
Created by: Marsbars
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Ramp into your dinos and then clone Cresting Mosasaurus or Wakening Sun's Avatar for some big dino board wipes!\n"}]}
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Get Out of My Swamp!
Created by: veryzxcvbnm
4 days
{"ops":[{"insert":"Hello! This \"kindred\" Selesnya deck is one I built a while ago, but it is Kindred Swamps! :) I know lands are not a creature type, but this unique Selesnya deck plays all the Swamp-matters cards, Urborg, and ways to fetch Urborg out reliably. Not only is it fun, but it quickly became a personal favorite in paper with many signed cards, and plenty of friends that already play Urborg haha! Oh and also, the trolls are for Karma-Worship tomfoolery, happy deckbuilding!\n"}]}
No deck tags