IntroductionIn today's article, we'll once again discuss what Marvel Super Heroes can bring to Commander. This time, we'll take a closer look at Scarlet Witch, Chaotic Avenger, an Izzet commander that turns combat damage into free spells. She reminds me of Narset, Enlightened Master, but with a bit more structure and less "automatic".With lots of Scry, ways to arrange the top cards in the deck, and a little unpredictability, let's see how Wanda Maximoff fares in Commander. And I only know her proper name because of X-Men Evolution, the 2000s animated show.Scarlet Witch, the CommanderScarlet Witch, Chaotic Avenger mostly stands out because of her ability, which triggers when she deals combat damage to a player. When that happens, this ability lets you look at the top 2 cards in your deck, exile them face-down, and then cast a Hero spell or a non-creature spell you exiled with her for free.The most important detail is that Scarlet Witch doesn't force you to only cast the cards she exiles right when she attacks. As she deals damage, she'll add more options to a small pile of resources, and then you can pick the best time to use a big spell among them, a removal, or even something that sets up another combat step.She is quite unique, considering she covers multiple bases at once. She wants to attack but doesn't exactly work like a traditional Voltron strategy. She wants big spells but doesn't force you to ramp until you can cast them. She wants to put the right cards on top of your deck, but you don't need to focus solely on this. The result is an Izzet strategy that combines tempo, Spellslinger elements, and Chaos. The most fun thing about playing the Scarlet Witch is making her ability as consistent and less random as possible.The DeckThe Izzet list we'll see today centers around dealing damage with Scarlet Witch as soon as possible, rearranging the top cards in the deck, and turning each attack into an opportunity to cast a new big spell for free. You'll do more than just put expensive cards in your deck and pray they appear (as this often leads to bad hands and inconsistent games). Instead, you'll use cantrips, tutors, evasion, protection, and spells that are still great even when you cast them from your hand.This list also takes advantage of a few Hero spells that do fit this strategy, but the core centers around noncreature spells. Like so, Scarlet Witch will be able to set up extra turns, extra combat steps, big engines, and card advantage spells that would usually cost too much mana to be played in a row.Here is our list:Rearranging The TopThis is one of the most important parts of this list. Scarlet Witch, Chaotic Avenger gets a lot better when you don't have to rely on blind topdecks. Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain, and Consider fix your hand, find lands, and set up the next attacks, but in this list they do something more: rearrange the cards you want to exile with your commander.Brainstorm is particularly great because it lets you put expensive cards from your hand on top of your deck before Scarlet Witch deals damage. Like so, you'll be able to target a card that would be too heavy to play at that moment and play it for free anyway. Ponder and Preordain are similar. They let you dig through your deck and make your attacks more reliable.Sensei's Divining Top and Scroll Rack are the most elegant options in this part of the deck. Top keeps feeding you information and allows you to rearrange the top of your deck before each combat, whereas Scroll Rack does something even better, as it lets you swap cards in your hand with the top cards in your deck. Considering this deck plays many expensive cards, both of these options will improve your commander quite a bit and make her even more valuable.Evasion and ProtectionScarlet Witch needs to deal combat damage, so making sure she survives and does that is more important than trying to set up elaborate, flashy attacks without protection. Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are the most straightforward ways to do that. They'll give the Witch Haste and protect her from spot removals. Furthermore, a Fireshrieker could be quite interesting because it gives her Double Strike, and, if she has that keyword, her ability will trigger multiple times.Commander's Plate is also pretty interesting in this list. Because you're playing two colors, it doesn't protect Scarlet Witch against everything, but it still makes her stats a lot better and makes her overall more resilient to certain answers. Furthermore, turning a Flying 3/3 into an even bigger problem for the opponents will often end games when you've already gotten enough value from her ability.Aqueous Form, Combat Research, and Security Bypass come in with evasion. This commander already has Flying, but the Commander format is home to many Flying tokens, Dragons, and creatures with Reach, so you can still find problems on your way. Aqueous Form, in particular, also lets you rearrange the top of your deck, so it's nearly perfect in this game plan.Big, Free SpellsThese are the cards that make this entire setup worth it. Omniscience is probably the best target possible because it turns the rest of the match into a giant problem to the opponents. Though it only comes in for one turn, it lets you dump your hand and make each card you draw next a lot more dangerous. Aminatou's Augury is also perfect in this type of list. Once you cast it for free, you'll have access to a lot more resources for free, and the rest of the pod will have to find answers immediately.Mnemonic Deluge and Mizzix's Mastery make the graveyard an extension of your hand. As this deck naturally casts cantrips, interaction, and value-based spells throughout the game, these two options get better as the turns go on. You don't need to set up a neat combo with them. All you have to do is get to the mid-game with a decent graveyard so that these cards can improve or even change your standing in the match completely.Extra Combat Steps and Extra TurnsThis is what makes this deck go from a healthy amount of advantage (created after playing decently) into an amount that is really difficult to deal with. If Scarlet Witch deals damage once and finds a spell that gives you an extra combat step, she can attack again and trigger her ability again. This seems simple, but with this commander, each extra combat step will exile more cards, give you more chances to cast free spells, and deal even more damage.Seize the Day, World at War, Relentless Assault, and Great Train Heist are the main tools in this strategy. Some of them are better when you already put another relevant creature in play, but the main goal is to always find a way to trigger your commander's ability another time.The extra turns work in a similar way but are a bit safer. Time Warp, Temporal Mastery, and Beacon of Tomorrows let you attack again, untap mana, and keep progressing your main game plan. Temporal Mastery is also great when you rearrange the top cards in your deck. You can cast it for its Miracle cost when the Scarlet Witch doesn't exile it.Support CreaturesRoaming Throne is one of the best creatures in this list because it doubles each of Scarlet Witch's triggers. When this happens, each attack exiles four cards and increases your chances of finding a spell that can change the game completely. Strionic Resonator does something similar and is also an artifact. It copies her ability when you have some leftover mana.Professional Face-Breaker will turn combat damage into Treasures and more cards in the future, which really fits this aggressive, controlled game plan. Storm-Kiln Artist sits at the other side of this strategy. It creates mana as you cast and copy spells. Meanwhile, Archmage Emeritus makes sure your instants and sorceries keep refilling your hand.Laelia, the Blade Reforged interacts when cards are exiled and grows naturally throughout the game. Plargg and Nassari is part of the Chaos archetype, but it is similar to the Scarlet Witch. It lets you cast cards for free and creates different board states each game.Final WordsAs I always say, I'm not that into Marvel, but I really like the tricks a well-tuned Izzet list can do. Scarlet Witch, Chaotic Avenger fits this idea well and can do lots of tricks throughout the game. You could build her with a bunch of huge cards and just wait to get them from the top, and it could work well, but the build we saw today will allow you to get as much out of Wanda as possible and as consistently as possible. It's also a lot of fun.What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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