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There are many ways to defeat an opponent inMagic: 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.
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 isa simple, cheap, and effective commander. He’s a two-mana 1/3 Human Warrior creature with deathtouch thatenhances every one of your creatures with deathtouch(including himself) with theadded ability to bestow two poison counters to playersunlucky 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.
Remember:it’s just 10 poison counters to kill an opponent rather than 40 damage, so two poison counters are the equivalent of doing eight damage the hard way.
To summarize, a deck full of deathtouch creatures is going to haveenhanced defensive capabilitiesthan most other decks, anddealing poison damagemeans 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.
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 drawthat’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 eithera second keyword with Deadly Recluse or Ambush Viper, or it offers ramp as inPoison Dart Frog and Nightshade Dryad, or flexible removal as withCankerbloom and Kappa Tech-Wrecker.
Three mana is when things start to get wild.Skullwinder, Bloodroot Apothecary, Okahame Adversary, and Ichorspit Basiliskall 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 toContaminant 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 defensesto prevent your deathtouch critters from getting through,it’s time to swap to proliferate.
Proliferate increases the number of poison countersfor each opponent by onewithout actually needing to deal damage.
Evolution Sage is an extremely goodcreature 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 Canopyprovide one beneficial effect or a proliferate trigger.
There are alsoartifacts such as Contagion Clasp and Contagion Enginefor repeated proliferate triggers, as well as Karn’s Bastion for another source of repeated proliferates.
Ramp, Card Draw, And Good Green Stuff
Staple green cardscan 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 somedecent 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.
Fynn, the Fangbearer Commander Deck List
With all that in mind,here’s a suggested deck listfor Fynn, the Fangbearer.
Triumph of the Hordes
Forest (25)
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.
