Commander Deck Tech - Tinybones, Bauble Burglar

Among all the new commanders in Foundations, Tinybones, Bauble Burglar definitely stands out. This card not only features a character known for its great cards, but also offers a new perspective if you like turning enemy cards into resources.

In today's article, we'll explore the main strategies with this new Tinybones, including synergy with discard cards, manipulating the exile pile, and board control.

As a commander, Tinybones, Bauble Burglar offers you a Monoblack Discard strategy. Because it costs and is a 1/3, Tinybones is cheap and can go into play early or later on if it is removed. This means you'll be able to extract the most out of it in this strategy, and you'll also be able to build the entire deck around it without further issues. You won't have to wonder, "What if I can't access my Tinybones? Is this card still good?", or anything like that.

Tinybones' main ability forces your opponents to exile from their graveyards any cards they discard and puts a stash counter on them. During your turn, you can play these exiled cards with any type of mana, which gives you a certain flexibility. This way, you won't have to add thousands of Treasures into this build, like with other similar commanders (namely, Rev, Tithe Extractor). This mechanic, naturally, is also a lot better when you play other cards that force your opponents to discard their cards.

Even better, Tinybones, Bauble Burglar also has an activated ability that forces each enemy player to discard a card. It costs . This is not usually the best way to force your opponents to discard cards, but can give you a constant flow of exiled cards with stash counters when you have no better options. When you combine this ability with cards that punish your opponents for discarding cards, like Megrim and Liliana's Caress, you can set up a very competent Group Slug strategy.

Tinybones, Bauble Burglar also covers a strange niche in the sense that it is a worse Tergrid, God of Fright. It is strong enough to be playable, but not as strong and fast as Kaldheim's God of Fright, who can turn your whole table against you in a second.

Today, as we build this deck, we'll focus on the idea that our opponents will constantly have to get rid of their cards. This, in turn, will let you make the most out of Tinybones, Bauble Burglar's effect and its stash counters, as you can play any cards your opponents exile.

Cards like Thoughtseize, Duress, Agonizing Remorse, and Delirium Skeins are critical, as they force your opponents to discard their cards and thus give you more cards to play with Tinybones. This is specially true for Duress and Thoughtseize, which let you pick the card they'll have to discard. These cards will not only destroy your opponents' hands, but also make sure you'll have many useful cards to play from the exile later on with Tinybones.

When you include cards that make discard effects even stronger, like the aforementioned Megrim and Liliana's Caress, you can get even more out of these abilities. This means you'll be able to punish your opponents from discarding their cards, all while getting stronger. By following this same logic (benefitting from discard effects), you can complement this deck with cards like Waste Not and Geth's Grimoire, which give you even more value from this incredibly common mechanic in this deck. They'll either give you more mana, creatures, or another resource.

However, this deck is not perfect. It is only efficient if you can force your opponents to discard their cards consistently and protect Tinybones, which can be difficult in faster matches. Nonetheless, if you're patient, this deck can be a true nightmare for your opponents. It can turn into a true control machine that destroys their resources and, at the same time, gives you a strong board.

Furthermore, you might need some time to make this deck work, depending on how your opponents discard their cards. After all, Tinybones, Bauble Burglar is just as good as the cards it can get for you.

The deck we'll use today is the following:

I took the lists of a few Moxfield players as a base (particularly able_archer), added some interesting synergies, and increased its power level. As usual, at the end of this article, we'll show you a few other budget builds.

This group of cards is the most critical part of the deck. They will empty our opponents' hands, reduce their options, and give you more control over the game, just like Tinybones, Bauble Burglar. Furthermore, both your commander and many other cards in this list rely on your opponents discarding cards to create value, such as Waste Not and Geth's Grimoire.

This deck includes several ways to force your opponents to discard their cards. The most simple is a spot discard, like Thoughtseize, Duress, and Agonizing Remorse. They are critical early on if you want to remove key enemy threats in your opponents' hands before they can play them.

These options basically disable combos, delay ramp, or deal with problematic answers. There are a few things that are more fun than removing a Sol Ring from an opponent's hand before their turn 1. The fact these cards don't cost a lot of mana also makes them essential tools at any point in the match. Particularly the ones that let you select which card your opponent will have to discard, which is great with your commander.

Mass Discard is better in multiplayer matches, as they hit all opponents at the same time, and, sometimes, even get you multiple cards out of each one.

Delirium Skeins will empty several hands very quickly, whereas cards like Liliana's Triumph combine removal and discard synergies to get maximum value in the right conditions. These effects can get even better because they're extremely efficient at giving you multiple payoffs simultaneously. Mindslicer goes even further and forces each opponent to discard their own hand.

Finally, we also have Constant/Recurrent/Repeatable Discard, like Necrogen Mists, Painful Quandary, and Oppression, which constantly put pressure on your opponents and force them to discard cards at certain moments in the match (or whenever they try to develop their own game plan). Enchantments like these are essential to keep your discard game plan alive long-term. They make sure you'll always have synergy with cards like Waste Not and Liliana's Caress.

Discard is, definitely, the backbone that holds this little skeleton in place. Now, let's discuss the bones that make this calcified commander even more efficient.

By "payoffs", we're referring to cards that give you a certain triggered reward when something else happens, namely, for this deck, when your opponents discard something. They boost this deck's main strategy, and multiply effects. For instance, a simple Tinybones, Bauble Burglar trigger with Waste Not, Liliana's Caress, and Bloodchief Ascension in play may give you mana, draw you cards, deal damage, and drain life, which is extremely valuable and efficient.

Cards like Liliana's Caress, Megrim, and Raiders' Wake punish opponents directly, as they deal damage to them whenever they discard cards. Alongside Bloodchief Ascension, which drains life for you throughout the game, these cards will be your main Group Slug game plan if you want to deal damage constantly, considering your commander and your simplest creatures are far from being combat-focused. Meanwhile, Sangromancer stabilizes your life, which makes you more resistant in longer matches while you benefit from your discard effects.

Tergrid, God of Fright definitely deserves a shoutout, as it turns discarded cards into new threats. This creature is, by far, one of the most hated creatures in the entire format, and very understandably so, considering it turns discarded/sacrificed cards into ammunition for its player for no extra cost. It is one of the best cards to play with Tinybones, Bauble Burglar. Be careful with it, though, as it is a big target on the board.

Ending the Game

Gray Merchant of Asphodel, or Gary, drains a lot of life based on your board presence. In a deck full of black permanents, like enchantments and creatures, Gary might easily remove several players from the game all at once.

Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal is more niche as a finisher, but it is still extremely efficient. This big bat not only controls your opponents' resources by making them discard their cards, but also grows your board presence. It will give you many tokens and draw you many cards. With this card, you'll always have tools to answer any play.

In the late game, when your opponents don't have any cards in hand anymore thanks to your discard game plan, Painful Quandary will turn each spell they try to cast into damage, and win you the game by applying pressure directly and continuously. With other drain tools, like Liliana's Caress or Megrim, it can easily end the game.

And, of course, Tergrid, God of Fright is also a great removal for all the reasons we already mentioned above.

Considering this deck includes many expensive cards as well as cards like Painful Quandary, which have become cheaper as of late, a more accessible version to all players is definitely viable. You can swap the cards bit by bit or simply play this budget version, as it is just as powerful.

This is our budget list, based on a list by MarianaJogas. I added a few cards I really enjoy, but kept it cheap and accessible.

This little skeleton is definitely one of the most fun commanders from Foundations. It also features one of my favorite Commander mechanics: making your friends angry. It definitely puts your table through the wringer, so you should tread carefully with it. You'll most likely become a target as soon as you pull this cute skeleton out of your deck box.

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!