Squall: Completing the SeeD Mercenary Commander Deck for MTG

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Squall, SeeD Mercenary is one of the iconic commanders available in Magic: The Gathering, introduced through its collaboration with the Final Fantasy series. As the lead character of Final Fantasy VIII, Squall is known for his solitary demeanor and the catchphrase “whatever.”

Reflecting his independent nature, Squall’s Magic card emphasizes the desire to attack solo. A deck built around Squall combines elements of a Voltron strategy—focusing on a single powerful creature—with control tactics leveraging Squall’s abilities.

Decklist

Commander: Squall, SeeD Mercenary
Accursed Marauder ADVERTISEMENT	Akrassan Squire	Aven Squire	Battlegrace Angel	Blood Artist	Boromir, Warden of the Tower
Bounty Agent ADVERTISEMENT	Braids, Arisen Nightmare	Burnished Heart	Cathar Commando	Dauthi Voidwalker	Demon’s Disciple
Duty-Bound Dead	Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim	Exsanguinator Cavalry	Fang, Fearless l’Cie	Fleshbag Marauder	Gravelighter
Jirina, Dauntless General	Kami of False Hope	Knight of Glory	Loran of the Third Path	Lurrus of the Dream-Den	Merciless Executioner
Peacekeeper	Plaguecrafter	Scorn-Blade Berserker	Selfless Savior	Selfless Spirit	Sigiled Paladin
Psychic Paper	Sublime Archangel	Westfold Rider	Zulaport Cutthroat	Toxic Deluge	Deadly Dispute
Generous Gift	Path to Exile	Swords to Plowshares	Village Rites	Arcane Signet	Brotherhood Regalia
Commander’s Sphere	Fellwar Stone	Grim Bauble	Key to the City	Lightning Greaves	Mind Stone
Orzhov Signet	Robe of Stars	Sol Ring	Swiftfoot Boots	Sword of the Animist	Talisman of Hierarchy
Thought Vessel	Trailblazer’s Boots	Vorrac Battlehorns	Angelic Benediction	Angelic Exaltation	Hour of Victory
Idolized	Momentum Breaker	Seal of Doom	Teval’s Judgment	Underhanded Designs	Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway
Castle Locthwain	Cathedral of War	Caves of Koilos	Command Tower	Concealed Courtyard	Desolate Mire
Exotic Orchard	Fetid Heath	Isolated Chapel	x8 Plains	Rogue’s Passage	Shattered Sanctum
Shizo, Death’s Shadow	Silent Clearing	x8 Swamp	Tainted Field	The Black Gate	Vault of the Archangel
Witch’s Clinic

This deck consists of 33 creatures, one sorcery, five instants, 18 artifacts, and 34 lands. Squall serves as your main offensive force, while other creatures help control the battlefield or enhance Squall’s power.

Key Cards

Squall, SeeD Mercenary

As the leader of the deck, Squall, SeeD Mercenary is pivotal. He grants double strike to any creature attacking alone, which is essential because each strike activates Squall’s other ability twice instead of once.

When Squall successfully deals damage (which is easy to achieve if you equip him with items that grant unblockability), you can return a permanent from your graveyard to the battlefield. This allows for repeated use of permanents that sacrifice themselves for value, forming the heart of the strategy.

Squall’s ability to grant double strike applies to any creature, but he can only return a permanent from the graveyard if he’s the one dealing combat damage.

Idolized

It’s crucial to attach Idolized to Squall as quickly as possible for a significant stat boost each time he attacks alone. At minimum, Idolized provides a +2/+2 enhancement, growing stronger as the game progresses.

One drawback of Auras in Voltron decks is that if the creature is removed, the Aura is lost. However, with Squall, you can retrieve Idolized from the graveyard and reattach it to him once you start attacking again.

Lurrus of the Dream-Den

Lurrus of the Dream-Den serves as a backup commander, providing a similar function to Squall but without needing to attack. Lurrus allows you to cast any permanent spell that costs two or less mana from your graveyard.

Cards cast with Lurrus aren’t exiled, so you can easily recast any spells used with him on your next turn, as long as they remain in the graveyard.

Lurrus is invaluable for recycling useful cards, especially those that let you search your library for additional cards. Although you can only use Lurrus’ ability once each turn, it pairs beautifully with Squall’s ability to reuse a card multiple times in a single turn.

Sublime Archangel

Exalted is a crucial keyword for this deck. It provides a creature that attacks alone with a +1/+1 boost for each instance of exalted on the battlefield. For example, if four permanents have exalted, attacking alone grants +4/+4 to that creature’s stats.

Sublime Archangel is the premier card for granting exalted, as it distributes this ability to every creature. Notably, if a creature possesses multiple exalted instances, they all trigger as if they were separate cards, significantly enhancing your lone attacker and sometimes enabling a single attack to eliminate an opponent.

How to Play the Deck

MTG Seal of Doom card with the art in the background.

A Squall, SeeD Mercenary Commander deck seeks to attack with just Squall, triggering exalted abilities and dealing damage to recycle your best permanents from the graveyard. This provides the freedom to sacrifice creatures without worry, as Squall can bring them back.

The main strategy for controlling the battlefield involves using creatures that force opponents to sacrifice permanents upon entering the battlefield. Cards like Accursed Marauder, Fleshbag Marauder, and Merciless Executioner achieve this and have a mana cost of three or less, allowing Squall to return them to the battlefield for repeated sacrifice effects.

When you bring in creatures that force sacrifice, it’s often best to sacrifice them immediately. Once their effects resolve, they typically don’t contribute much on the battlefield and are better off in the graveyard for Squall to reanimate.

Instead of traditional removal spells, this deck focuses on permanents that can eliminate troublesome permanents. Thanks to Squall’s recursion ability, Seal of Doom and Grim Bauble become particularly potent, providing targeted removal while your forced sacrifice creatures clear out lesser threats.

It’s essential to equip Squall with items that make him unblockable, such as Brotherhood Regalia and Psychic Paper. This makes it easier to connect for damage and reduces the likelihood of losing Squall during combat.

For commander damage to eliminate an opponent, a commander must deal 21 or more damage to them. This is easily achieved with Squall due to his double strike ability combined with all the exalted triggers.

The primary victory condition of the deck is combat-based. Although you typically attack with just one creature, Squall poses a significant threat with his abilities. You’re likely to reduce opponents’ life totals through commander damage rather than bringing them to zero health.

The deck’s main weakness lies in its dependence on Squall. If he’s removed, your effectiveness significantly diminishes. This is an inherent risk of building a Voltron deck. Fortunately, there are many Equipment options available that enhance Squall’s durability, making him harder to eliminate. If you find yourself without access to Squall, rely on your suite of control cards to stall your opponents until you can get him into play.