MTG: cEDH Deck Guide - Kefka, Court Mage

The first cEDH tournaments with Final Fantasy are now past us! Though all eyes were set on Vivi Ornitier, the commander who initially stole the spotlight was Kefka, Court Mage!

Yeah, the most chaotic court jester in the franchise is now a real option for competitive matches. Unlike what many players thought, he won't combo on turn 1 or see play in a Grixis Ad Nauseam shell. Kefka is actually quite unique: he is part of a grindy Midrange list that leans on value, clones, and good old control tools. And, surprisingly, Kefka is actually at the very center of the entire strategy.

Before I built the list we'll work with today, I studied recent tournaments and adjusted it according to my current meta. Then, I played 10 matches with it. I left with 4 wins, that is, I won over 25% of them, and, to be fair, in two of these matches, I was the one playing first. Furthermore, my opponents didn't know what to expect, so that put them slightly ahead. Still, I believe it performed really well, and was quite consistent too.

Here's the list I tested and, below, the best cards in it and the main strategies:

Kefka might seem harmless at first, and, indeed, he is a fool. All he can really do is draw a few cards and make everyone laugh, right? Don't be fooled: he is a powerful value engine that wins the game slowly but inevitably if your opponent lets him stay on the board.

Your goal is not exactly winning on turn 1. Actually, you'll hardly win that fast with this deck. With this commander, you want to crush your opponents while you draw card after card. They'll be left empty-handed, and you'll still have countless cards to play.

This is a respectful midrange deck that interacts with discards, leans on card draw engines and opportunistic combos that are easy to play and can end the game at any moment.

Let's split our game plan into three phases:

Early Game: Setting Up the Punchline

This is a midrange list. At the beginning, your priority is finding card draw engines like Mystic Remora, Rhystic Study, or The One Ring. You should also accelerate your mana with cheap, efficient cards, like Mox Diamond, Chrome Mox, Dark Ritual, and even the good old red mana dork, Ragavan Nimble Pilferer. Despite being a creature, Ragavan actually accelerates mana in this list, and should help us with Mox Opal's metalcraft.

The goal is to put Kefka, Court Mage in play as early as possible. Even if you can only activate his ability once or twice straight away, that's already enough to kickstart his value engine. If you do this twice, that'll already draw 8 new cards for you, potentially. But that's just it: this is not exactly a novel idea. Just look for mana and ways to draw cards in your opening hand.

Mid-Game: Laugh, Don't Cry

After Kefka enters play, you're online. Now, just try to get the most out of this fool. Cloning effects, like Molten Duplication, really stand out in this phase. Besides activating Kefka's ETB again, they combo with Dualcaster Mage. However, you'll need more than clones and card draw to make this fool work. You'll also play Opposition Agent, Cursed Totem, and Orcish Bowmasters. Hilarious, isn't it? Your opponents will think so, too.

This phase is all about scaling bit by bit, and getting ready to either win or prevent your opponents from winning. Lean on your commander, that is, either clone him or blink him with Displacer Kitten.

End-Game: A Round of Applause, Please

You can win with this list in many ways. The main one involves Underworld Breach, Brain Freeze, and Lion's Eye Diamond, which is quite famous, resilient, and easy to set up. Another classic strategy is the iconic Thassa's Oracle + Tainted Pact or Demonic Consultation, which also needs no introduction.

Another opportunistic option is Dualcaster Mage, which wins through cloning effects and is another reason to use Yawgmoth's Will. This card, in turn, is basically a nerfed Underworld Breach, but it's good enough.

If you want to win with style, you can even cast Kefka, Court Mage infinite times (with infinite mana) and force your opponents to discard their hands while you'll draw your entire deck.

How Does the Hullbreaker Horror Combo Work?

If you're not familiar with it, the Hullbreaker Horror combo (and, by extension, Displacer Kitten), is one of the most traditional combos in modern cEDH. The main idea behind it is quite straightforward: you play Horror and start casting cheap artifacts that create more mana than they cost. Whenever you cast one of these, Horror's triggered ability will return another to your hand. You'll recast it, return another, and repeat this process until you create infinite mana.

With infinite mana, you can cast Kefka, Court Mage as many times as you want and force each player to discard all the cards in their hand repeatedly. Meanwhile, you'll draw your entire deck, which should win you the game on the spot.

Kefka, Court Mage might seem like a joke at first, but it is much deeper than it seems. Behind his painted smile, there is a well-defined game plan: wear your opponents down while you scale up with discards, card draw engines, and versatile win conditions.

It is a powerful midrange list that creates an equally powerful board, particularly if your matches aren't ending on turn 2. If you enjoy strategies that force the whole table to lose control bit by bit while you just watch and laugh... maybe you're just a fool, too. And that's okay.

So, did you like this deck? The idea behind it? The fool at the center of it? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!