









Overview:
This is a Yisan, the Wanderer Bard toolbox deck that uses its commander to tutor progressively more powerful creatures while employing stax elements and protection pieces to control the game's pace and protect its strategy.
Primer:
The deck operates primarily through its commander's verse counter ability, creating a reliable "Yisan chain" that can fetch specific creatures at each verse counter level. The deck includes powerful protection pieces like Veil of Summer and Allosaurus Shepherd to ensure its gameplan goes uninterrupted, while stax pieces like Null Rod and Collector Ouphe slow down opponents' artifact-based strategies.
The typical gameplay pattern involves deploying Yisan early (facilitated by Jeweled Lotus), protecting it with cards like Sylvan Safekeeper, and then methodically building up verse counters to tutor specific creatures that either advance the board state or disrupt opponents. The deck can pivot between a control strategy and a creature-based win condition depending on the game state.
Weaknesses:
The deck is heavily reliant on its commander and can struggle if Yisan becomes too expensive to cast or is consistently removed. Board wipes can be particularly devastating, though Sylvan Safekeeper provides some protection. The deck also appears to have limited answers to flying creatures based on the shown cards, though the full deck likely includes solutions in the Yisan chain.
Most Important Cards:
- Allosaurus Shepherd
- Survival of the Fittest
- Jeweled Lotus
- Sylvan Safekeeper
- Collector Ouphe
- Null Rod
- Veil of Summer
- Root Maze
- Finale of Devastation
- Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Attribute Ratings:
- Speed: 7/10
- Resilience: 6/10
- Consistency: 8/10
- Interaction: 7/10
Rating Justification:
This deck shows clear optimization with powerful protection pieces, stax elements, and efficient tutoring capabilities. While it's not as explosive as top-tier cEDH decks, it can establish strong board control by turn 3-4 and maintain it through disruption and protection. The presence of cards like Jeweled Lotus, Survival of the Fittest, and various stax pieces indicates this is a highly tuned list operating at the competitive level.
Final power level rating: 8.0 - 8.5
This rating reflects the deck's ability to consistently establish control and threaten wins by turn 3-4, while maintaining interaction and protection. It's positioned in the high-power to cEDH-viable range due to its efficient tutoring strategy, strong protection suite, and stax elements, though it lacks the explosive fast mana and turn 1-2 win potential of higher-rated decks.
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