Deck Tech - Tazri, Stalwart Survivor and Zirda, the Dawnwaker

In today's article, we have our last Companion duo, focusing on Tazri, Stalwart Survivor and Zirda, the Dawnwaker.

In today's Deck Tech, we'll show that Tazri, Stalwart Survivor can be very useful in this unusual combination in a combo deck entirely focused on activated abilities.

Zirda, the Dawnwaker can be the Companion on the condition that all permanents in the deck have an activated ability. As lands already have that on their own, lands with abilities besides creating mana aren't necessary.

This is one of the easiest conditions to deal with, considering the use of instants and spells is completely allowed. But, even then, we focus both on the Companion's condition and the Key Mechanic, as they harmonize really well with Tazri, Stalwart Survivor. When they were revealed, I, myself, told other players that it would be hard to find a list that made Tazri shine, and here I am facing the challenge of building a list with her.

The deck is focused entirely on its combo, so the focus is being able to play these pieces as soon as possible to protect them and then finish the game. Ideally, you'll avoid dealing combat damage, even more so to not get unwanted attention from any possible Aggro players on the board.

Tazri, Stalwart Survivor is on this list to find pieces fast with its ability, and Zirda, the Dawnwaker is here to serve as a discount engine for most creatures we've chosen to add to this deck.

Non-Creature Accelerators

The artefacts we've chosen as accelerators are Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone and particularly Chromatic Lantern, to fix your mana curve. Basalt Monolith comes in also as a combo piece, and matches both Zirda, the Dawnwaker and other pieces we'll show later on.

As the entire deck has several mana dorks, we use just a few ramp spells, them being Farseek, Nature's Lore and Three Visits.

Mana Dorks

Even though Tazri, Stalwart Survivor's ability states your other creatures can create mana, it only applies to activate their abilities, so mana dorks are important in this list to create value. We use a reasonable number of Elves, which are Bloom Tender, Fyndhorn Elves, Elves of Deep Shadow, Llanowar Loamspeaker and particularly Priest of Titania and Elvish Archdruid, as they are possible combo pieces.

Even though they don't create mana directly, we can highlight: Svella, Ice Shaper, Jenson Carthalion, Druid Exile and Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy. Kinnan, by the way, is a win condition, considering that, when you have access to infinite mana, it is possible to activate its ability an infinite number of times too, besides the ability to increase the mana created by artefacts and mana dorks.

Other cards that stand out and are also possible combo pieces are Bloom Tender and Faeburrow Elder. And we can't forget the iconic Ornithopter of Paradise.

Defensive Resources

As the deck is entirely based on creatures, protecting them is extremely important, even more so when most of them are combo pieces. So, to protect them well, we use Mother of Runes, Boromir, Warden of the Tower, Saryth, the Viper's Fang, Selfless Spirit, Shalai, Voice of Plenty, Clever Concealment, Flawless Maneuver, Heroic Intervention and Teferi's Protection.

Even though it seems like a lot, any global removal in a decisive moment in the game might put you completely behind other players in terms of advantage.

To remove possible issues, we use Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Arcane Denial, Dovin's Veto and Cyclonic Rift.

Activating Abilities and Other Resources

To optimize the use of activated abilities just like Zirda, the Dawnwaker, we use, to activate abilities as soon as possible: Dynaheir, Invoker Adept, Thousand-Year Elixir, Fires of Yavimaya, Bitter Reunion, Samut, Voice of Dissent and Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler. I'll highlight Dynaheir, which makes it possible for us to activate an ability more than once.

As other helpful resources, we have Biomancer's Familiar, Chainer, Nightmare Adept, Kiora's Follower, Vizier of Tumbling Sands and Order of Whiteclay, to provide the necessary support in each of their respective roles.

Win Conditions

We have several win conditions, but most of them work with the principle of having infinite mana. For that, we have as an option Basalt Monolith with Zirda, the Dawnwaker or Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy. To filter this mana, we use Prismite or Treasure Vault.

Besides this access, we can also access infinite mana from Freed from the Real alongside Bloom Tender, Faeburrow Elder or Ilysian Caryatid, meeting its requirement. With Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy, it is also possible to get infinite mana, if you enchant a mana dork that can create mana of any color.

It is also possible to create infinite mana with mana dorks that create more than 4 mana, such as Priest of Titania or Elvish Archdruid alongside Umbral Mantle, or Staff of Domination. I'll highlight Staff, as you can draw your whole deck by using it.

Other options to draw your entire deck are Triskaidekaphile, Spectral Sailor, Kenrith, the Returned King (which can also finish games with creatures with infinite power and resistance with Trample), Faerie Mastermind or Faerie Formation. With that, it is possible to end matches in several different ways, be it through Kenrith's combat damage, or with a deck over with Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, or even with the classic combo of Heliod, Sun-Crowned with Walking Ballista.

We use Isochron Scepter with Dramatic Reversal, which with Sol Ring and another mana rock, such as Arcane Signet, will also give you access to infinite mana.

This list is also focused entirely on its combo, with a few other win conditions, considering the deck doesn't force you to bring only permanents with activated abilities.

We've finally reached the end of Companion decks. It was unfortunate that I wasn't able to bring one covering Yorion, Sky Nomad, but I might be able to bring an article focusing on him as the only commander. This Tazri deck really surprised me, considering at a first glance I thought this creature was quite weak. But in Commander, creatures that are weak like these often only need the right deck to become strong.

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