Fynn, The Fangbearer Commander Deck Guide

There are many ways to defeat an opponent in Magic: The Gathering. The most common method is to simply run them dry of hit points, followed by milling their entire libraries, but perhaps the most insidious path to victory involves one of the oldest counters in the game’s decades-long history: poison.

Related

Magic: The Gathering – Shroofus Sproutsire Commander Deck Guide

Learn how to play the Shroofus Sproutsire Commander Deck In Magic: The Gathering!

Poison counters are especially effective in Magic’s Commander format as it only takes 10 poison counters to eliminate a player, which is generally much easier than dealing 40 damage or milling 100 cards. Combining poison counters with deathtouch is an excellent strategy, making Fynn the Fangbearer an excellent commander for your next Magic night.

The Commander: Fynn, the Fangbearer

Fynn, the Fangbearer is a simple, cheap, and effective commander. He’s a two-mana 1/3 Human Warrior creature with deathtouch that enhances every one of your creatures with deathtouch (including himself) with the added ability to bestow two poison counters to players unlucky enough to be dealt combat damage.

This is extremely strong for a number of reasons. Firstly, deathtouch is just an excellent keyword for a creature to have in a multiplayer Commander game. Deathtouch is inherently defensive as it raises the stakes for any creature who attacks you. Players tend to avoid risking their 12/12 monstrosity if a 1/1 critter with deathtouch is all it takes to kill it.

So a deck full of deathtouch creatures is going to be something that most players will be hesitant to attack. But on top of that, making all your deathtouch creatures deal poison damage gives them all a massive power boost.

To summarize, a deck full of deathtouch creatures is going to have enhanced defensive capabilities than most other decks, and dealing poison damage means you’ve got a leg-up in the damage race. Combine that with an easy-to-cast commander, plenty of options to get damage through, and a few sources of proliferate, and you’ve got a consistently dangerous deck.

Related

Magic: The Gathering – Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim Commander Deck Guide

Sacrifice your creatures and gain tons of life with Magic: The Gathering’s Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim.

Building Your Fynn, the Fangbearer Commander Deck

The obvious necessity for any Fynn, the Fangbearer deck is creatures with deathtouch. There’s no shortage of that in mono-green, with deathtouch creatures ranging from dirt cheap to expensive in both mana and monetary value.

Proliferate is also an excellent keyword to consider. Proliferate allows you to directly increase every opponent’s poison counters without even needing to engage in combat. It’s like direct damage but without the actual ‘damage’ part.

Beyond that, you’re going to benefit from everything a mono-green mage can benefit from—easy ramp, some combat tricks, and card draw that’ll often be tied to either damage caused by creatures or by casting creatures.

Deathtouch And Other Poison-Producing Creatures

There are so many 1/1 creatures with deathtouch in green that Moss Viper and Sedge Scorpion aren’t the baseline for one-mana deathtouch critters anymore. Instead, look at Narnam Renegade, Gnarlwood Dryad, Wasteland Viper, and Venerated Rotpriest. Each of these are 1/1s for one mana but offers far more than just the deathtouch keyword.

Getting to two mana gives either a second keyword with Deadly Recluse or Ambush Viper, or it offers ramp as in Poison Dart Frog and Nightshade Dryad, or flexible removal as with Cankerbloom and Kappa Tech-Wrecker.

Three mana is when things start to get wild. Skullwinder, Bloodroot Apothecary, Okahame Adversary, and Ichorspit Basilisk all offer way more than just deathtouch, as do four-mana drops like Saryth, the Viper’s Fang and Questing Beast.

By the time you get to five mana and above, your poison counters go into overdrive thanks to Contaminant Grafter, Phyrexian Swarmlord, Hornet Queen, and Tyrranax Rex. With Fynn on the table, these creatures can help end games quickly.

Proliferate

Eventually, opponents will block your creatures even if it means losing their own. Once an opponent has defenses to prevent your deathtouch critters from getting through, it’s time to swap to proliferate.

Evolution Sage is an extremely good creature that triggers proliferate with every land drop, and Cankerbloom offers either proliferate or artifact and enchantment hate, depending on what you need.

Most of your proliferation will be in sorcery form, however. Thirsting Roots, Smell Fear, Unnatural Restoration, and Carnivorous Canopy provide one beneficial effect or a proliferate trigger.

There are also artifacts such as Contagion Clasp and Contagion Engine for repeated proliferate triggers, as well as Karn’s Bastion for another source of repeated proliferates.

Ramp, Card Draw, And Good Green Stuff

Staple green cards can round out this deck. Acidic Slime provides both deathtouch and removal. Heroic Intervention and Overprotect provide combat tricks as well as protection for Fynn. Nature’s Lore and Cultivate give ramp, and Harmonize, Guardian Project, and Snake Umbra provide card draw.

Green gets some decent removal spells with Beast Within, Infection Bite, and Kenrith’s Transformation, while Archdruid’s Charm provides removal or ramp. And don’t forget either Triumph of the Hordes, Noxious Assault, or Planewide Celebration, any one of which can be a kill card.

Related

Magic: The Gathering – Tinybones, Bauble Burglar Commander Deck Guide

Don’t let those tiny bones fool you: this skeleton is Magic’s biggest menace.

Fynn, the Fangbearer Commander Deck List

With all that in mind, here’s a suggested deck list for Fynn, the Fangbearer.

Budget Substitutions

The core of any Fynn, the Fangbearer deck is relatively cheap from a monetary standpoint, but there are a few cards in the suggested deck list that might hit you with sticker shock. Here are a few less-pricey substitutions.

Related

Magic: The Gathering – Prowess, Explained

Gain power with prowess to defeat your foes in Magic: The Gathering.

Tips For Playing Fynn, the Fangbearer In Commander

• Try and sneak in a few poison counters in the early game before players can set up their defenses. A few poison counters can go a long way with proliferation or a spell like Noxious Assault.
• Don’t be too aggressive. Deathtouch works best on defense, and you’ll eventually be able to sneak creatures through with Whispersilk Cloak or Rogue’s Passage.
• Keep your proliferate spells for when you just need a few more poison counters to secure victory. That way, the only thing that your opponents can do to save themselves is to cast a counterspell.

Next

Magic: The Gathering – Flashback, Explained

Flashback can help you get more value out of every card you put in your Magic: The Gathering deck.