Commander Deck Tech: The Lage and the Many, Trapped Under Ice

Here is another deck inspired by Kaldheim. My friend Rafiq of the Many and I are going to take you to the darkest depths of the Elder Dragon Highlander format. Through snow and ice, thick and thin, Rafiq and I won't rest until we've found our queen: the one, the only … Marit Lage.

depths + rafiq


This winter brought us a lot of snow and ice and, via Kaldheim, a lot of new cards with the snow supertype as well. With them, an EDH deck I've been trying and failing to build since Modern Horizons is finally viable. Today I want to introduce to you my Marit Lage secret Commander deck led by . First take a look at the list and then continue reading to learn about my thought processes and reasonings behind the cards!


The Lage and the Many
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 12
  • 9
  • 7
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  •  
  • 1
  • 1
  •  
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  •  
  • Commander:
  • 1

Summoning Marit Lage

The main thing this deck is trying to achieve is a one-shot knockout by attacking with a Marit Lage token that has double strike thanks to Rafiq. In order to achieve this, we first have to make sure we can consistently find ways to summon Marit Lage. To that end, the deck is home to a wealth of cards like , , and to find both halves of the - combo.


knight of the reliquary wargate

Beyond the Dark Depths combo, we also have . This is the card that inspired me to make this deck way back when Modern Horizons released. I sadly shelved the idea back then because I felt that snow support wasn't very good in EDH, but now that Kaldheim is out I believe we have just enough to make it work.

To make sure we have access to Marit Lage's Slumber, the deck includes a copy of and a copy of as ways to tutor it out. In fact, I'd like to shout out for being an all-star in this deck. It can grab Dark Depths, Slumber, and a plethora of other cards. Most importantly, however, it can grab if we already have Slumber in play.


marit lage's slumber hall of heliod's generosity

Hall of Heliod's Generosity allows us to put Marit Lage's Slumber back on top of our library after it triggers and makes Marit Lage. This allows us to recover if our 20/20 win condition gets exiled by or .

Minor Theme: Tapping

When not crushing with the awesome might of Marit Lage, this deck functions similarly to a control deck. We of course have counterspells and board wipes, but there's a smaller theme that I want to talk about briefly: tapping!


rimewind taskmage frost titan

Initially I was using and because they thematically fit into a snow deck. However, it occurred to me that the ability to tap other creatures is actually amazing in this deck and here's why: Before we make the Marit Lage token, all these tappers can be used defensively. We can tap down aggressive creatures, threatening commanders, or even big mana dorks such as or . After we've made Marit Lage, these tappers can be used offensively by tapping down creatures that may block our massive attacker.

To augment this minor theme, we're also running and as ways to slow down combat and make tapping down other creatures more effective. These cards also lean into our secondary minor theme …

Minor Theme: Exalted

Exalted is a mechanic that both encourages single-creature combat and is already tacked onto our commander Rafiq, so I decided to lean into it. Throughout the deck you'll find a few card that complement this theme such as , , and .


qasali pridemage finest hour

Throughout the game you'll find this small theme a way to get some extra damage in. It works very well with our tapping creatures as you can tap down scary blockers before sending in a creature buffed by exalted. Naturally, Marit Lage makes for an absolutely horrifying exalted target and is the main reason we run support for it in the deck.

The Mana Base

I've made a point to make the deck as snow-land heavy as possible in order to ensure ends in a rude awakening as soon as possible. Kaldheim's newest cycle of fetch able snow lands fit right in. They're so nice because they can be grabbed by , , and whichever fetch lands you're running.


arctic treeline glacial floodplain rimewood falls

You may be thrown off by how many enter-the-battlefield-tapped lands we run in this mana base. That's fair, I don't blame you. The Spike in me hates it. However, I do believe that snow is such an important part of this deck that it's worth it. Besides, EDH is probably the most forgiving format when it comes to slow mana. To make up for it a bit, we include a lot of cheap ramp like , , and as well as the variants mentioned above.

Conclusion

That about wraps up the deck breakdown! This idea has been in my head for a while, so I'm stoked that Kaldheim has finally allowed it to come to fruition. Feel free, of course, to modify the list as you see fit or adjust for whatever power level your group plays at.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily Cardmarket.