Commander Deck Tech: Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender

The Throne of Eldraine set brought cards that conquered the heart of players and, consequently, also conquered a slot in their decks forever, such as The Great Henge. However, it is only now with Wilds of Eldraine that we've had the very exciting and desired card of the character who really won the community's love and affection: Syr Ginger.

If you don't remember who that is or aren't familiar with this character, don't worry. We'll help you out:

Yes, the survivor of the unfortunate couple from the Throne of Eldraine's set trailer is now a Food/Knight legendary creature, and she is ready to "end" all meals in her saga looking for revenge!

In this article, you'll be able to check out two lists focused on our favorite gingerbread cookie commander who doesn't show any mercy to your opponent's planeswalkers. Let's go!

Before we delve deep into this deck's list of cards, let's briefly discuss Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender's effects - yes, that is plural.

The first is fully thematic, as she gets valuable keywords if your opponent controls a planeswalker. However, this is also this ability's weakness: it depends on your opponent's board.

Obviously, when we discuss "for fun" and "kitchen table" games with friends, each group's power level is different and that even creates staples which are only part of that particular playgroup. As a result, we can't expect every deck to have a planeswalker in order for our creature to get these keywords.

Her second ability is more fun and challenges you to reflect on creative strategies with artifacts that sacrifice themselves to activate an interesting effect which will benefit your game.

Her last ability resembles a Swords to Plowshares without the Exile part, mixed up with the classic mechanic of sacrificing Food cards to gain life. It interacts really well with this creature's second ability. However, it's worth pointing out that, if by any chance something ends up bringing your Syr Ginger's power to zero, you can sacrifice her, but you won't gain any life points.

With those observations in mind, the first list we'll present in this article brings a classic Voltron deck focused on our favorite knight.

Deck and Strategy

This list is heavily based on Ginger's last ability, the one which you can sacrifice her to gain life points equal to her power; for that reason, this list has several artifacts to grant this card various buffs and increase Syr Ginger's power, so you can sacrifice her if you need to.

Something interesting in this deck is that, on turn 1, you don't want to play a land, cast a Sol Ring and with its mana cast a Signet. On turn 1, a good play is playing a land > Sol Ring > Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender.

And, of course, if you want or can invest in a list focused on fun, you can even do more, adding 0-cost mana rocks.

Voltron's strategy is simple: increasing our commander's power to pressure the board and deal as much damage as possible with her to each opponent to eliminate them.

Even if this is a colorless deck, it benefits from cards that help this strategy and have the same colors stated in the commander's identity.

Let's Look for Lands!

A positive side to this list is that it has a low mana curve which helps you cast several spells per turn. Even then, cards such as Solemn Simulacrum and Burnished Hart are essential to help you get to your lands faster.

Besides these, staple equipment cards, such as Bitterthorn, Nissa's Animus and Sword of the Animist, are here to help you look for lost lands in your deck.

Sol Ring and Patriar's Seal are two mana rocks which really make a difference to your game plan, as well as Forsaken Monument with its three very welcomed effects. We can't forget Karn, Legacy Reforged, which is simply an incredible machine which can potentially grow considerably and add numerous mana based on the number of artifacts you control.

Equipment which End Meals

As said previously, a negative side to Syr Ginger's first ability is that it's dependent on your opponent's board, as, besides the use of planeswalkers varying according to each player's preferences and decks, there is still a great chance your opponent will hold on to their planeswalker as much as possible, so they don't benefit you indirectly.

Therefore, the equipment we chose also bring keywords which, in theory, Syr Ginger would be able to have, such as Trample, Hexproof and Haste.

As Syr Ginger is a colorless commander, it makes sense to have almost the entire cycle of swords to protect her. After all, it isn't as if you were going to use a colorful spell to save her from the opponent's card effect.

We have Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of War and Peace to have access to Burn, Sword of Feast and Famine to force your opponent to discard something, Sword of Light and Shadow to return an important creature card from your graveyard to your hand, Sword of Body and Mind to force your opponent to mill cards, Sword of Forge and Frontier to help you with card draws, Sword of Once and Future to Surveil your top deck, Sword of Sinew and Steel to destroy opponent's artifacts or planeswalkers and Sword of Truth and Justice to Proliferate.

By the way, if Commander's Plate is equipped on our tough cookie, she will be protected against all colors with just one equipment piece.

Trailblazer's Boots is another equipment which deserves the spotlight, as non-basic lands have already conquered their space even in Commander, and it is much easier to find them on your opponent's boards than counting on planeswalkers.

Obviously, that can be affected by each player's personal taste, but one quick look at the precon lists which are being released shows that non-basic lands are part of Commander decks nowadays.

Golem- Skin Gauntlets is the classic common card which players see and think "it's so conditional, I don't know if I'll use it", and when they do use it, they think "wow, how did I not use this card for so long?". Its +1/+0 bonus is based on the number of equipment pieces equipped to the creature. In a Voltron deck, this number can vary from one to "how many can I fit in here", and the best of all: it is a common card that costs only a few cents.

Basilisk Collar is a classic card that gives you plenty of advantage and helps with the equipped creature's evasion, increasing the odds of you dealing damage with our commander. If Fireshrieker is equipped, this combination gets very threatening, and your opponents will surely feel pressured.

A card that isn't an equipment piece, but will certainly help you end games is Eldrazi Conscription. Imagine a gingerbread cookie knight full of equipment and enchanted with +10/+10, Trample and Annihilator 2 coming in your direction.

And, to make matters worse, she is a commander, so even without that many equipment pieces, if she has Double Strike and if whoever is attacked can't block the damage... Well, it seems something to fear at the kitchen table.

Removals

In general, the best removal is removing the player themselves, but as Commander is a format full of plot twists, it is good to have a few standard removals in your deck. For instance:

Rise of the Eldrazi is the highest-cost card in the deck, and its mana cost makes sense when we see it is a removal, brings a draw and guarantees you an extra turn which can't be countered.

Besides destroying the target permanent, Ugin, the Ineffable helps you reduce the cost of colorless spells in the deck by 2 , and that can be a great advantage to help you cast equipment.

Finally, we have All Is Dust: a board wipe which ignores effects such as Indestructible and forces your opponent to sacrifice their colorful permanents.

Of course, we have a counterspell as a safeguard. Not of This World has the advantage of costing zero if the creature which is being targeted by the spell or ability has 7 or more power - with a 3/1 commander and several equipment cards, that won't be hard to see on your board.

Did you think we would ignore Syr Ginger's second ability? But of course not!

This list is focused on the effect that says, "every time another artifact you control is placed on a graveyard from the battlefield, place a +1/+1 counter on Syr Ginger and Scry 1"; for that reason, it is full of artifacts which have effects when they're sacrificed.

We have cards that are similar to the ones in the Voltron list, but most are different because, while in one you'll have value through keeping good artifacts on the board, while playing this one you'll want to get rid of them to grow your commander.

Artifacts are very synergistic, so, accidentally, when creating this list, two combos were discovered when we were testing it out. Let's discuss these combos a bit, so you aren't caught off guard during a match.

- With Ugin on board, your colorless spells' cost will be reduced by 2 .

- Cast Myr Retriever and sacrifice it to Ashnod's Altar.

- Cast Junk Diver and sacrifice it to Altar.

- With Junk Diver's ability, return Myr Retriever to your hand.

- Once again, cast Myr Retriever and sacrifice it with Ashnod's Altar. Next, return Junk Diver to your hand.

- You can repeat this process as much as you want to stack Syr Ginger with +1/+1 counters, Scry infinitely and create infinite mana.

Ashnod's Altar can be replaced by Krark-Clan Ironworks.

- Have all permanents on board and at least one more artifact creature.

- Sacrifice the extra creature to Ashnod's Altar, creating 2 .

- That will trigger Syr Ginger's effect, and you should place a +1/+1 counter on her and Scry 1.

- Then, you'll be able to pay 1 to make Animation Module create a 1/1 Servo artifact creature.

- Just like before, you'll be able to repeat this process as many times as you want to stack your commander with +1/+1 counters, create infinite mana and Scry infinitely.

Again, our goal is to increase Syr Ginger's power to kill someone with the commander's damage or gain a lot of life in a desperate situation. However, the way to get to this result is different, and requires a lot more creativity.

In the story, Syr Ginger can be looking for revenge against Garruk for devouring her beloved partner, but here she is fighting alongside different artifacts to help you achieve victory against opponents in a "for fun" match.

This commander can come down on turn 1 to "end meals", regardless of the list you choose to build your deck.

Did you miss a card or have suggestions for these lists? Leave your opinion in the comment section!