Commander Deck Tech: Quandrix, the Proof

Guild leaders and characters that represent color combinations are always popular in MTG. They often inspire players to build decks around the colors they like the most. That's what happened with the Guilds of Ravnica, Paruns and Elder Dragons, as well as all the Khans of Tarkir.

In today's article, we'll explore one of these boss monsters. Someone from the Arcavios school of magic, Quandrix, the Proof! This legendary creature from the blue/green magic school has returned in Secrets of Strixhaven.

Quandrix, the Proof is a 6/6 commander with flying, trample, and cascade. What really makes it stand out is its effect, which gives cascade to the instants and sorceries you cast from your hand. This means that, after Quandrix enters play, each Cultivate, Mystic Confluence, and Rishkar's Expertise will reveal a second spell and create a lot of value for you.

It's that simple. Its text is extremely straightforward but makes it stupidly strong. It's the type of commander that must be killed on the spot. The only thing I must say to you regarding Quandrix is that, as it costs 6 mana, you need to respect this curve. You can't fill your list with expensive cards and expect Quandrix to solve everything by itself. Your list needs ways to get to this curve fast and consistently, even if this commander ends up removed, and ways to protect it. This is how you'll be able to use cascade and find relevant spells.

The deck we'll see today is a pretty standard Simic Spellslinger that leans towards Big Mana when it comes to cascade. It won't resort to pure Storm strategies, like the red interaction this archetype usually plays, or linear combos. The main game plan is to speed up at first, put the commander in play, and turn card draw, ramp, and interaction into consecutive cascades.

It also plays a relevant number of permanents that reward you for casting instants and sorceries, such as Archmage Emeritus, Deekah, Fractal Theorist, Metallurgic Summonings, Talrand, Sky Summoner, and Shark Typhoon. As such, even if you can't get value back from your commander, you'll still have bodies and will be able to refill your hand.

Here it is:

Ramp

As this commander costs 6 mana, you want lots of ramp. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Simic Signet, Talisman of Curiosity, and Thought Vessel are the obvious mana rocks in this list. They'll put Quandrix in play earlier and also give you enough mana to play your big spells after you play it. Thought Vessel is also relevant because this list draws lots of cards.

This second group is more traditional, as it is green. It includes Cultivate and Kodama's Reach, which give you more lands, and Explosive Vegetation, Skyshroud Claim, and Entish Restoration, which help you play your expensive spells earlier. Furthermore, with Quandrix in play, these sorceries are more than ramp. Each of them will pull another spell through cascade and will keep this deck going even with smaller, simpler cards.

Card Advantage and Selection

As this list is all about cascade, manipulating the top cards in your deck will be pretty fun. Brainstorm and Ponder will set up your early game and help organize your cascades just as you want them. They're also great by themselves, as they are in any format they see play. Furthermore, they're great when you cascade other small spells.

Ancestral Vision is particularly interesting. You usually have to wait a few turns to use it because of its suspend, but, with cascade, you can cast it for free and set up one of the best strategies for this deck. Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time are ways to turn your graveyard into new cards, which is natural considering this list plays a lot of spells.

Archmage Emeritus is one of the best creatures in this deck. Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery, you'll draw a card, which will stretch out your turn. With Quandrix in play, a single spell can end up on a cascade and, as a result, feed Archmage even more.

Rhystic Study needs no introduction. It's one of my favorite MTG spells, but in this list it is even better. It will keep your hand full until Quandrix can come in. Rishkar's Expertise also fits Quandrix really well because a 6/6 commander turns this card into a lot of new cards and also lets you cast another spell from your hand for free.

Pay-Offs

The pay-offs in this deck fit the main game plan, that is, casting spells that will leave something behind after they resolve. Talrand, Sky Summoner is the most famous version of this, as it creates 2/2 Drakes with flying whenever you cast an instant or sorcery. Deekah, Fractal Theorist does something similar, but it creates tokens according to how much mana the spell you cast costs.

Metallurgic Summonings is one of the best cards for this type of list because it turns each spell into a fitting body and can also return instants and sorceries from your graveyard in the late game. Shark Typhoon is similar, but it gives you flying tokens. You can also cycle it in emergencies.

Quandrix Apprentice finds relevant spells and lands for you and gets a lot better as the game goes on. Rashmi, Eternities Crafter works with the same value-based philosophy. It reveals cards and lets you cast some of them for free, so it's almost like cascade.

Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty is almost a second copy of your commander in this deck, as it gives cascade to spells with a mana value of 6 or higher. So, it interacts with cards like Apex Devastator and Omniscience. You don't need every spell to be big, but when they are, cascade makes this deck much harder to keep up with.

Interaction

This list centers around value, but it needs to interact as well. Counterspell is the most classic counter in the game. It's simple and straightforward. Meanwhile, Mystic Confluence and Sublime Epiphany cost more but are more flexible, which is relevant in Commander pods. They're also modal, so you can pick between countering spells, returning permanents, and creating copies. All of these options fit this deck really well.

Beast Within is a universal answer. It deals with problematic permanents that blue can't always remove for good that easily, and the 3/3 token it gives your opponent is rarely a problem considering what this card removes.

Pongify and Rapid Hybridization are cheap, efficient removals that deal with creatures. Snap is also interesting because it returns a creature and untaps lands. It's almost like a free interaction. Hullbreaker Horror is a late-game piece that turns your spells into more interaction, returning permanents and protecting your game plan. It's not exactly discreet because it puts a big target on your board, but it stabilizes complicated games really well.

Simic Plays Big Spells

This is the heaviest part of this list. Apex Devastator exemplifies really well why you should play cascade, as it does it 4 times all by itself. This will speed up your game in ridiculous ways because it will create an absurd amount of value. Your opponents will hate to see you playing this card. Mnemonic Deluge lets you reuse an important spell from your graveyard 3 times. It's absurd in a deck full of card draw and ramp. As for Ezuri's Predation, it's an asymmetrical global removal and a win condition, particularly against boards full of average-sized creatures.

Nexus of Fate gives you extra turns, which is always dangerous in a list that draws a lot of cards. As for Omniscience, it makes sense for the same reasons. It will let you play your spells for free as well.

Sea Gate Restoration will rebuild your hand, and you can use it as a land if you need to. Jadzi, Oracle of Arcavios is pretty "in-theme" for Strixhaven and also rewards you for casting instants and sorceries. Finally, it lets you play cards from the top of your deck too.

The most common way to win with a list that creates so much value is by hoarding it. Deekah, Fractal Theorist, Talrand, Sky Summoner, Metallurgic Summonings, and Shark Typhoon will build a large board for you while you do what this deck is already supposed to do. You'll become a threat really fast.

The second way to win is through your big spells. Apex Devastator, Aminatou's Augury, Mnemonic Deluge, and Ezuri's Predation won't necessarily win by themselves, but they'll create such a big advantage for you that the opponent will hardly be able to come back into the match. Oftentimes, the match will end because you got ahead in cards, mana, and board presence all at once.

Finally, you can win in the late game with Omniscience, Nexus of Fate, and Hullbreaker Horror. You don't need to play these three cards in a combo for them to be strong. They just need to enter play when you have a full hand and enough mana to protect your line.

Going back to Strixhaven made me like this plane. I used to think it was quite boring and uninteresting, as well as totally commercial and, consequently, not that unique. But now that we went back, I believe WotC found what they wanted it to be. It's not my favorite place, but I can see a lot of good things in it that I didn't see before, and I can really identify with the whole magic schools thing, which I didn't before.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!