Bringing Magic to Life - Celebrating with a Bang!
July 3, 2018 by
Kya Vess 
Hey everyone! Kya here once again. Happy Almost 4th of July!
I'm super excited for a day off this week. It's a little strange getting a single day off on a Wednesday though, isn't it? Don't party too hard, as the recovery period will be short! I hope everyone has some plans to enjoy their holiday. I have future in-laws coming to visit, so I'm going to need extra big fireworks and a rope to tie them to the rocket - er, nevermind.
Anyways, I wasn't too sure what I wanted to do for today's article. It was really rough on deciding how to kick off the eve of such an explosive holiday. I was very tempted to make a Vial Smasher the Fierce to help shoot fireworks into the faces of my enemies! However, the color scheme wasn't quite right. No, on 4th of July we need the good ol' Red, White and Blue. So who will represent us in these American colors?
Aunt Sam
Isn't she perfect? This old goat even looks like Uncle Sam if you give her a hat. She's here to help spread the holiday cheer! Sure, she may not be explosive as Vial, but she isn't as vile by any means! Ha... see what I did there? What I love about Zedruu the Greathearted is that she provides a good reminder of what everyone should remember tomorrow: neighborly love. The 4th of July might have many different meanings to various Americans, but the end result is always us going outside and watching lovely fireworks! I can't express the sadness of watching neighbors outside their homes at the same time, yet refusing to interact with one another. I'd take a bet that most people today don't even know the names of their neighbors despite crossing their paths countless times. Well tomorrow I'm making some cookies and breaking bread (or perhaps a tray over someone's head if they don't know how to carry a proper conversation).
Anyways... back to my loving goat. Zedruu is a commander I've had for a while and have always wanted an excuse to share with everyone. When I first started writing for EDHREC, I made a lot of silly decks and had to pull the punches a bit. But now it's time to let chaos shine once more! Zedruu was a Commander specifically designed for group hug, a fact I like to point out to people when they believe such an archetype shouldn't exist in the game. Her ability? The more you give, the more you receive!
The Grand Marshals
Now Zedruu will head the parade of cheer and fear, but who will help us run it until she gets out? These little goodies! I actually have a cat named Clementine who looks strangely like Harmless Offering. If the card is anything like my little kitty, the offering isn't as harmless as it seems. Humble Defector gets very political, very fast. If you make a friend, bouncing the card back and forth is a great way to continue the drawfest! These are our sparkler fireworks, handed out to everyone.
The Second Line
Some people, like some of our lovely neighbors, might not like participating in our parade. You could be mature and respect their opinions, or you could just slap one of these on their field! Some mean answers wrapped up in neat little bows! If only they had more cards like Steel Golem to give away to our enemies. I like to think of these cards as the bottle rockets.
The Show Goes On
Okay, so this is my favorite trick of this deck. I know it's not foolproof, but it's a lot of fun when it happens. Giving everyone a Platinum Angel means the game doesn't end! Now we can all sit together and talk without any hope of escape! That is, until someone blows up the board. These are definitely our Catherine Wheel fireworks!
The Finale
Now although Zedruu can be fun, sometimes a girl has to end the game quick. These little beauties will shut down or end someone immediately. Nothing I love more then getting 20 life for 4 mana with Illusions of Grandeur and then watching someone else lose half their life! There's also the risky Transcendence when things start getting ugly! These right here are the Roman Candles.
The Final Finale
What? I like to win, okay? You honestly think I'm going to draw a silly amount of cards and not somehow pull some sort of insert-generic-win-here combo into the deck? Yeah I know, I should write a two-paragraph explanation on why I included such an un-thematic and degenerate combination of cards that can either destroy everyone else's battlefield or else steal it all for myself. I should explain myself, but not today. I sold out, people. I sold out hard. And that's okay, because I have a garage full of fireworks and a questionable temperament.
These cards are the classic closers, the aerial shells. And of course, since this is one of my decks, you'll see the occasional chaos theme in here as well. Can't survive without my Eye of the Storm!
Aunt Sam
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Closing Thoughts
And that's my deck of love! A nice combination of group hug and my signature chaos style. To be honest, I shelved it for a long time, as I have too many shenanigan decks and was getting very heavy into competitive for a while. However, I think it's time I bring back my more zany, casually enjoyable decks for those in need of some truly explosive holiday cheer. So now I put it to you - what is everyone planning for 4th of July? Anything Magic related?
Happy 4th, everyone!
- Kya
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