Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is the face commander for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Magic: The Gathering's Limit Break preconstructed Commander deck. While that deck is solid out of the box, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is better utilized as its own dedicated Commander deck without the constraints of the pr⛄econ.

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Cloud is all about Equipment, with every Cloud card in the Final Fantasy set revolving around Equipment in some capacity. A Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER Commander deck focuses heavily on Equipment, putting them on creatures to gain powerful, potentially game-ending effects. If you like Equipment decks or Final F꧑antasy 7, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is one of the best commanders you can be playing.

Decklist

MTG Red XIII, Proud Warrior card with the art in the background.

Commander: Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER

Adelbert Steiner

Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist

Barret, Avalanche Leader

Beatrix, Loyal General

Bruenor Battlehammer

Bureau Headmaster

Cid, Freeflier Pilot

Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

Cloud, Planet's Champion

Codsworth, Handy Helper

Danitha Capashen, Paragon

Freya Crescent

Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms

Halvar, God of Battle // Sword of the Realms

Kellan, the Fae-Blooded

Lion Sash

Lizard Blades

Professor Hojo

Puresteel Paladin

Red XIII, Proud Warrior

Sram, Senior Edificer

Stoneforge Mystic

Tifa, Martial Artist

Yuffie, Materia Hunter

Farseek

Nature's Lore

Open the Armory

Rampant Growth

Steelshaper's Gift

Three Visits

Chaos Warp

Dispatch

Inventory Management

Path to Exile

Swords to Plowshares

Arcane Signet

Basilisk Collar

Behemoth Sledge

Blackblade Reforged

Bloodforged Battle-Axe

Champion's Helm

Colossus Hammer

Commander's Sphere

Conformer Shuriken

Conqueror's Flail

Embercleave

Excalibur, Sword of Eden

Fellwar Stone

Hexplate Wallbreaker

Inspirint Statuary

Loxodon Warhammer

Pip-Boy 3000

Power Fist

Sol Ring

Sword of the Animist

Talisman of Conviction

Talisman of Unity

The Reaver Cleaver

Trailblazer's Boots

Ultima Weapon

Wrecking Ball Arm

Blacksmith's Talent

Fighter Class

Forge Anew

Sigarda's Aid

Axgard Armory

Battlefield Forge

Brushland

Buried Ruin

Canopy Vista

Cinder Glade

Clifftop Retreat

Command Tower

Exotic Orchard

x4 Forest

Ishgard, the Holy See

Jungle Shrine

Karplusan Forest

x4 Mountain

Overgrown Farmland

x5 Plains

Rockfall Vale

Rogue's Passage

Rootbound Crag

Rugged Prairie

Slayers' Stronghold

Spire of Industry

Sundown Pass

Sunpetal Grove

The decklist contains 24 creatures, six sorceries, five instants, 26 artifacts, four enchantments, and 34 lands. 🧔There is only slightly more creatures than Equipment, as E♏quipment is necessary for the deck to run optimally.

Key Cards

Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER

MTG Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER card with the art in the background.

Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER acts as both a target to put all your Equipment on, as well as draw power and ramp. You want Cloud to hit the threshold of seven or more power, as that way you get 🔴to have all of Cloud♕'s effect trigger when it attacks.

Cloud draws you a card for each creature that is equippꦇed, so you want to spread your Equipment around to all your creatures. You want to make sure Cloud's power is getting boosted to at least seven 🎶so you can create Treasure tokens.

Some Equipment have high equip cost, something that Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER can get around with its enter the battlefield ability. Since Cloud has haste, with the right combo, you can trigger all of Cloud's effects the turn it enters. It's a good idea to make Cloud unblockable so you can attack with it safely.

Codsworth, Handy Helper

MTG Codsworth, Handy Helper card with the art in the background.

Codsworth, Handy Helper is one of the best support cards for any Equipment strategy. It acts as a mana dork capable of tapping for two mana instead of the normal one, and can cheat around equip costs by tapping itself.

Codsworth 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:is either ramp or utility, depending on what you needꦿ it for given the game state. It also gives your commander ward two, giving it an extra layer of protection to make it safer to put Equipment onto it since the chance of removal is much lower.

Inspiring Statuary

MTG Inspiring Statuary card with the art in the background.

There is a balance between Equipment and non-Equipment spells, and Inspiring Statuary turns all your Equipment into mana rocks. Improvise 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:lets you tap your artifacts to pay for generic mana costs, making it so you only need to use colored mana from permanents to cast spells.

There is no downside for an Equipment being tapped. As such, using them for improvise with Inspiring Statuary essentially makes them generate "free" mana. Improv✱ise is a great way to use your Equipment to cas🧜t creatures so you can hold up lands for interaction on your opponents' turns.

Gilgamesh, Master-At-Arms

MTG Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms card with the art in the background.

Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms is one of the best ways to get a ton of Equipment onto the battlefield at once​​​​​. It happens on both Gilgamesh entering or attacking, so you guarantee the effect goes off if Gilgamesh hits the battlefield 💃at least once.

There are a few Equipment creatures with reconfigure, which Gilgamesh can get out from the deck. This can provide some extra battlefiel𝓀d presence if you don't use them as Equipment.

Gilgamesh is the only Samurai in the deck, so Gilgamesh is the only target for the free equip. However, there are plenty of other wa🍷ys to cheat Equipment onto your creatures, so just getting them on the battlefield is more than enough to make Gilgam👍esh a star in the deck.

How To Play The Deck

General Gameplan

MTG Barret, Avalanche Leader card with the art in the background.

A Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER deck is all about putting Equipment on all your creatures, with many of them wanting to have at least seven power. Many Equipment provide stat boosts, such as Behemoth Sledge, Blackblade Reforged, and Hexplate Wallbreaker, makin▨g hitting the seven threshold easier

Some Equipment puts +1/+1 counters on the equipped creature, such as Power Fist a🍨nd Pip-Boy 300, which makes it easier for creatures to permanently have seven power, with or without༺ Equipment.

You want to make sure all your creatures are equipped, not just one. Unlike many Equipment decks, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:not a Voltron strategy. Instead, you gain more benefits the more different creatures are equipped. Red XIII, Proud Warrior gives your equipped creatures vigilance and trample, and ♈Barret, Avalanche Leader creates tokens that automatically equip themselves.

There is a ton of Equipment in the deck, so you want to make sure your best pieces of Equipment go on your best creatures. Generally, you should prioritize putting the best Equipment on Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER, as꧟ it makes it easier to rack up com🦹mander damage on your opponents.

Win Conditions And Flaws

MTG Ultima Weapon card with the art in the background.

The primary win condition of the deck is winning through combat. This can be done traditionally, with your creatures boosted up by Equipment capable of dealing large amounts of damage in one swing. Alternatively, you can win through commander damage.

Equipment decks make it easy to turn your commander into a creature with 21 power, allowing them to take someone out of the game with just one damage connection. Some permanents like Tifa, Martial Artist and Hexplate Wallbreaker give extra combat steps, making achieving victory even easier.

The biggest downside of the deck is its heavy reliance on Equipment. Equipment is very mana-intensive, because you need the mana to cast them and more mana to actually put them on a creature. Certain permanents,ꦺ such as Sigarda's Aid, Forge Anew, and Blacksmith's Talent help to put Equipment on your creatures for free, but that requires them to stay on the battlefield.

If you don't have any ways to cheat around equip costs, your turns are going to be very slow, allowing your opponents to interact with your battlefield and remove threats before you can even take advantage of them. However, once you have creatures equipped, you can start running away with the game with giant outbursts of damage​​​​​.

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