MTG Commander of the Week: Jugan, the Rising Star
Check out a new featured Commander to add to your build list! This week is Jugan, the Rising Star, a Dragon Spirit that wants to buff your creatures.
Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our new series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander. For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering. You use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, aka, your Commander.
Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory. EDHRec.com is an excellent source for Commander info and can give you ideas to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one.
The Commander
Jugan is one of the OG Dragon Spirit creatures from the Kamigawa block. Each one had a powerful effect, but only when they died. Jugan handed out +1/+1 counters, which obviously makes him good in buff decks. However, having to die to do it did slow him down a bit, especially for a six-mana investment. In Commander, however, he really found his stride. There are so many ways to not only bring creatures back but also pump out excessive amounts of Green mana.
A deck with Jugan at the helm will not only have creatures that care about big power but also effects that can easily chuck him in the bin. Evolutionary Leap, Hardened Scales, Marwyn the Nurter, and Inspiring Call are all basically auto-includes in his deck. For the big finisher, Triumph of the Hordes and Finale of Devastation will turn your already large creatures into game-enders.
Featured Cards
Marwyn is an obvious include since her mana ability triggers off of her power. Once she’s up to six, you can play Jugan in an endless loop with a Thornbite Staff. All you need is a sacrifice outlet like…
Evolutionary Leap is a great way to not only get Jugan to the ‘yard but also dig out your big hitters. Since it isn’t a tap ability, having Marwyn with an untap of any kind means you can do this over and over as much as you want. Dig out your big creatures, then slam them down with all the mana you’re making with Marwyn. Once you’re ready to take out your opponent, play a finisher like Finale of Devastation, Triumph of the Hordes, or my personal favorite Craterhoof Behemoth.
MTG is ever-changing, with new busted and broken cards rising to the top. Check back in next week for another featured Commander.
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