Completing a Commander Deck with Tarkir’s Felothar the Steadfast

Felothar the Steadfast serves as the commander for the Magic: The Gathering Abzan Armor preconstructed Commander deck. While this preconstructed deck is solid right out of the box, customizing it specifically for Felothar makes it even better.

This deck emphasizes creatures with defender and high toughness, creating a robust defensive line that makes it tough for opponents to attack while using little mana. If you enjoy establishing a sizable force of creatures that can withstand aggressive plays, or if you like the idea of attacking with defenders, then a Felothar the Steadfast Commander deck is an excellent choice.

Decklist

This deck includes one planeswalker, 38 creatures, 11 sorceries, four instants, six artifacts, five enchantments, and 34 lands. Most of the creatures rely on their defender ability, or allow others to deal damage based on toughness instead of power.

Key Cards

Felothar the Steadfast

Felothar is crucial for the deck’s strategy. It enables your defender creatures to attack, filling a significant need in a deck filled with defenders. Felothar makes it so that the creatures’ power matches their toughness, enhancing their effectiveness.

A creature with defender typically can only block and might not have power. While all Wall creatures are defenders, cards like Felothar allow them to attack, changing the dynamic of play.

Felothar also serves as the deck’s primary card draw engine. You can sacrifice a creature to draw cards, needing to discard as many cards as its power. However, since many creatures have low or no power, this cost is often minimal.

Betor, Kin to All

Betor acts as a secondary commander, encouraging you to maximize your collective toughness. Aim for a total of 40 toughness to trigger effects that let you draw cards, gain life, or deal significant damage to an opponent.

With a solid stat line, Betor can be threatening in combat. You can choose to keep it back if attacking would compromise its utility, allowing its benefits to trigger without risk.

Assault Formation

This is a standout enchantment in the deck. You want to get Assault Formation into play early. While your defenders can stand strong, they don’t threaten opponents. With this enchantment, you can start dealing damage through your defenders.

In the late game, if Felothar is unavailable, Assault Formation offers a way for your defenders to attack. It can also increase their toughness to help them survive combat or maximize damage output.

Tree of Perdition

As the strongest defender in a Felothar deck, Tree of Perdition boasts a significant 13 toughness, allowing it to become a formidable 13/13 with the right cards in play. It’s a powerful asset, especially when paired with effects that allow creatures to deal damage based on toughness.

Tree of Perdition also has a potent activated ability: you can tap it to reduce any opponent’s life total to 13. This ability can significantly speed up your chances of winning by requiring less damage to close out games.

How To Play The Deck

In a Felothar the Steadfast Commander deck, the goal is to fill the battlefield with defenders, maintaining a solid defense until you summon Felothar. From there, you can switch to an offensive strategy. Using cards that let defenders deal damage equal to their toughness is essential.

This deck plays a defensive game initially, creating a board state that discourages opponents from attacking, as they may be unable to deal damage. In the late game, you can turn up the aggression, especially with cards like MacCready, Lamplight Mayor and Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa that make it harder for your opponents to block effectively.

It’s crucial to remember that patience is key. Felothar the Steadfast doesn’t offer instant wins; instead, it goes for a gradual build-up leading to key plays with unblockable creatures.

The deck mainly wins through combat. Once you have either Felothar or Assault Formation in play, you can swing with your defenders for huge damage. If the situation allows, there are also options for direct burn damage through cards like Betor, Kin to All and Jaws of Defeat, which can eliminate opponents directly.

The biggest challenge for this deck lies in its need for key permanents to remain on the battlefield. Without the ability to allow defenders to attack or deal damage, the deck simply acts as a defensive wall. Once your key cards are in play, however, you can start gaining momentum, but it’s essential to ensure those cards stay effective.