Commander Deck Tech: Lucy MacLean, Positively Armed

I know very little about Fallout. Fallout 3 was the first game I got for my Xbox 360 after months of extensive research, so I'm not completely unfamiliar with the show, but I definitely know other games a lot more. The game itself is quite cool. I played over 70 hours of it, war never changes, yada yada.

Still, the commanders we got in the last Secret Lair, which was inspired by the Fallout TV show, surprised me positively. Today, we'll explore one of them, Lucy MacLean, the protagonist of the show, in a Monowhite list!

Lucy MacLean, Positively Armed's main ability states that, whenever a token enters, you may force a target player that isn't controlling that token to create a copy of it. After that, you'll draw a card if an opponent created a token this way. This ability triggers once per turn, either yours or the opponents'.

This ability triggers when any token enters, not just those under your control. Another detail is that you may only use it on players that aren't controlling that token. If a token entered under your control, you can't pick yourself and create a copy. This means when you decide to use it on one of your tokens, you'll be giving another player a copy. This completely changes how this deck will work, as it won't work like a traditional token deck. The main question will be who gets the copy and what you'll gain in exchange.

Finally, Lucy doesn't draw cards automatically. She draws when you pick an opponent to create a copy of a token, so you can use her for board politics.

The list we'll see today centers around a lifegain/token engine and draws a lot more cards than white lists usually do. Lucy will be drawing the majority of cards if you build this list properly and use her well. If you do that, Lucy MacLean, Positively Armed can draw cards for you in all turns, including your opponents'.

Here's our list, which was built by a player called Aikavols:

Ramp

Monowhite lists usually can't ramp organically like green lists do. So, this foundation includes mana rocks and effects that make this deck work fast.

Pearl Medallion is particularly welcome in a list full of enchantments and white spells you want to play one after the other. Thought Vessel and Decanter of Endless Water create mana and let you keep as many cards as you want in your hand. This will be particularly useful because this deck draws more than it seems.

Smothering Tithe needs no introduction, but in this list it does something even more relevant than giving you more mana. It also puts more tokens on the board.

This land base includes Command Beacon and War Room. Command Beacon is a safety measure in case Lucy is taxed early on, and War Room is an honest card draw source when the game stalls. With these cards, you won't waste turns once your main engine gets going.

The Fantastic Token Factory

Lucy's ability asks for one thing only: tokens need to enter play every turn. The golden standard for that is any card that creates tokens at instant speed. Castle Ardenvale is a land that does that and is difficult to interact with. Secure the Wastes and Grand Crescendo let you convert open mana into board presence. In Crescendo's case, you'll also be able to protect your board against wipes and bad combats, which is a luxury token lists value a lot.

Call the Coppercoats grows with your board. In this list, it will give small tokens to the opponent, just 1/1 Human tokens. You'll draw cards, progress your game plan, and can even bargain with your opponents in that classic Commander way. "I gave you a token, didn't I?" It doesn't matter if the token is small. Horn of Gondor creates tokens constantly and rewards you for stretching the match, which is easy for this commander and this build.

These cards create tokens when you do regular things, like playing lands, gaining life, and drawing cards. They'll allow you to cycle constantly. You'll draw more because of Lucy, which will feed cards like Hoofprints of the Stag, which will give you more tokens, and this will trigger your commander again. It won't be an infinite combo exactly, but these are well-oiled engines that make this list work quite nicely.

Lifegain

This list rewards you in a very simple way: even when you give tokens to other people, you'll still get a reward. Cards like Soul Warden and Soul's Attendant trigger when any creature, including the tokens you give to your opponents, enters play. Suture Priest also makes a lot of sense because it lets you put a bit of pressure on your opponents. Eventually, this pressure will increase quite a lot.

Ajani's Welcome will also be a lot of help. With this card, you'll get some life points back while you manipulate your board and your tokens.

Snowballing

This kit will multiply the number of permanents on your board. Anointed Procession, Mondrak, Glory Dominus, and Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation will proliferate your resources even if you end up losing one copy per turn to an opponent.

As for life, Rhox Faithmender, Boon Reflection, and Alhammarret's Archive make the little bit of life you gain here and there quite relevant. When each creature that enters gives you 2 or 4 life, you'll have enough fuel to turn life into cards and still stay ahead of your opponents.

Archangel of Thune can both be at the forefront of this deck and stabilize the game. Once you start gaining life multiple times per turn, this card will turn that lifegain into global +1/+1 counters, and then 1/1 tokens will no longer just be something you trade with your opponents. They'll actually put a lot of pressure on them. The secret is that you don't need to "go all in" early on: just set up your engine, and, while the opponents are occupied solving other problems, just grow your board passively.

Card Draw

Lucy is the engine that will draw a lot of cards for you, but this list doesn't rely on her alone to do that. Bennie Bracks, Zoologist draws at the end step if you created a token that turn, and that interacts directly with the idea of creating tokens in the opponents' turns.

Tocasia's Welcome and Rumor Gatherer turn small creatures into card draw, and Skullclamp is, as usual, what makes this token list draw a lot more cards than it should.

Well of Lost Dreams is the type of card that makes lifegain decks draw for real. If a Soul Warden is active on the board and tokens are entering, you'll start drawing a lot of cards effortlessly with Well. Alhammarret's Archive will boost that. Psychosis Crawler is an interesting beater because it turns that advantage into pressure. It's not discreet, but it makes sense in this list.

Protection and Interaction

This deck gets a lot of value from its permanents. So, protecting the board from wipes is absolutely necessary. Teferi's Protection and Flawless Maneuver are classic, while Unbreakable Formation and Grand Crescendo work both defensively and offensively.

Akroma's Will is quite opportunistic. You don't need to save it for the perfect turn. Sometimes it will just be the cleanest way to punish an opponent that let down their guard.

Austere Command is quite flexible. If someone is abusing the board, you can use it to reset the game in your favor specifically, which is vital in a deck that plays tokens and enchantments. Generous Gift fixes what Monowhite lists usually struggle to fix, and Rebuff the Wicked is a cheap protection that buys you entire turns when you're about to stabilize.

Win Conditions

This deck ends the game like token decks usually do. Moonshaker Cavalry sets up lethal attacks, while Cathars' Crusade and Archangel of Thune build up an advantage for you throughout the entire game. They reward you for doing things that already make sense for this list.

Halo Fountain rewards you for putting lots of bodies in play. Ancient Gold Dragon changes how many tokens you have if it manages to hit just once.

Lucy MacLean, Positively Armed forces you to think twice before you copy a lot of tokens for an opponent. So, keep in mind her ability states "you may," and, as such, you don't need to give an opponent a copy of your best token or several small tokens. In practice, you should use Lucy to copy small tokens only when necessary to draw cards in enemy turns.

Finally, let's see an alternative list with this commander. The Lucy list below centers around Infect:

Lucy MacLean, Positively Armed is a lot of fun because she is a card draw engine for Monowhite lists that doesn't rely on other engines. She'll force you to analyze the board well and pick the best targets for your abilities. It's a pity Secret Lair cards aren't too accessible, but she's definitely worth a try if you can get her!

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!