Fynn, The Fangbearer Commander Deck Guide

There are many ways to defeat an opponent Magic: The Gathering. The most common method is to simply run them dry on hit points, followed by milling their entire library, 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 because 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 magical night.

The Commander: Fynn, the Standard Bearer

Fynn, Fangbearer is a simple, cheap and effective commander. He is a two mana 1/3 Human Warrior creature with deathtouch det improves all your creatures with deathtouch (including himself) with expanded ability to gift two poison counters to players unlucky enough to take battle damage.

This is extremely strong for several 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 of any creature that 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 will be something most players will be hesitant to attack. But beyond that, Making all your deathtouch creatures deal poison damage gives them all a huge power boost.

Remember: it's only 10 poison counters to kill an opponent instead of 40 damageso two poison counters equals doing eight damage the hard way.

To summarize, a deck full of deathtouch creatures will have improved defensive ability than most other tires, and dealing poison damage means you have an edge in the damage race. Combine that with an easy-to-cast commander, plenty of options to get damage through, and a few sources of spread, and you have a consistently dangerous deck.

Build your Fynn, Fangbearer Commander Deck

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

Spread is also an excellent keyword to consider. Proliferate allows you to instantly increase each opponent's poison counter without even having to engage in combat. It's like direct damage but without the actual “damage” part.

On top of that, you'll benefit from everything a mono-green stomach can benefit from—simple ramp, some combat tricks and card draw which is often tied to either damage dealt by creatures or by caster creatures.

Deathtouch and other poison-producing creatures

There are so many 1/1 deathtouch creatures in green that Moss Viper and Sedge Scorpion are no longer the baseline for one-mana deathtouch critters. Instead, look at Narnam Renegade, Gnarlwood Dryad, Wasteland Viper, and Venerated Rotpriest. Each of these are 1/1 for one mana but offer much more than just the deathtouch keyword.

Getting to two mana gives either a second keyword with Deadly Recluse or Ambush Viperor it offers the ramp as i Poison Dart Frog and Nightshade Dryador 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 much more than just deathtouch, as do four-mana drops like Saryth, Viper's Fang, and Questing Beast.

When 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. When an opponent has defense to prevent your deathtouch animals from getting through, it's time to change to spread.

Scattering increases the number of poison counters for each opponent with one without actually having to do damage.

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

However, most of your spread will be in the form of sorcery. Thirsty roots, smell fear, unnatural restoration and carnivorous canopy provide a beneficial effect or a proliferative 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 proliferations.

Ramp, card draw and good green stuff

Cool green cards can round out this deck. Acidic Slime provides both deathtouch and removal. Heroic Intervention and Overprotect provide battle tricks as well as protection for finds. Nature's Lore and Cultivate provide 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 Transformationwhile Archdruid's Charm provides removal or ramp. And don't forget either Triumph of the Hordes, Noxious Assault or Planewide Celebration, which can be a death card.

Fynn, Fangbearer Commander Deck List

With all this in mind, here is a suggested deck list for Fynn, the standard bearer.

Budget allowances

The core of all Fynn, the Fangbearer deck is relatively cheap from a monetary standpoint, but there are some cards in the suggested deck list that can hit you with stickers. Here are some cheaper substitutes.

Tips for playing Fynn, the Fangbearer In Commander

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