Quick Links
Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is the face commander forMagic: The Gathering’sLimit Break preconstructed Commander deck. While that deck is solid out of the box, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is better utilized as its own dedicated Commander deck without the constraints of the precon.
Cloud is all about Equipment, with every Cloud card in the Final Fantasy set revolving around Equipment in some capacity. A Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER Commander deck focuses heavily on Equipment, putting them on creatures to gain powerful, potentially game-ending effects. If you like Equipment decks or Final Fantasy 7, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is one of the best commanders you can be playing.
Sword of the Animist
x4 Forest
x4 Mountain
x5 Plains
Sundown Pass
Sunpetal Grove
The decklistcontains 24 creatures, six sorceries, five instants, 26 artifacts, four enchantments,and34 lands. There is only slightly more creatures than Equipment, as Equipment is necessary for the deck to run optimally.
Key Cards
Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER
Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER acts as both a target to put all your Equipment on, as well as draw power and ramp. Youwant Cloud to hit the threshold of seven or more power, as that way you get to have all of Cloud’s effect trigger when it attacks.
Cloud draws you a card foreach creaturethat is equipped, so you want to spread your Equipment around to all your creatures. You want to verify Cloud’s power is getting boosted to at least seven so you may create Treasure tokens.
Some Equipment have high equip cost, something that Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER can get around with its enter the battlefield ability. SinceCloud has haste, with the right combo, you can trigger all of Cloud’s effects the turn it enters. It’s a good idea tomake Cloud unblockable so you can attack with it safely.
Codsworth, Handy Helper
Codsworth, Handy Helper is one of the best support cards for any Equipment strategy. Itacts as a mana dork capable of tapping for two mana instead of the normal one, and cancheat around equip costs by tapping itself.
Codsworthis either rampor utility, depending on what you need it for given the game state. It also gives your commander ward two, giving it an extra layer of protection to make it safer to put Equipment onto it since the chance of removal is much lower.
Inspiring Statuary
There is a balance between Equipment and non-Equipment spells, and Inspiring Statuaryturns all your Equipment into mana rocks. Improviselets you tap your artifactsto pay for generic mana costs, making it so youonly need to use colored mana from permanents to cast spells.
Thereis no downside for an Equipment being tapped. As such, using them for improvise with Inspiring Statuary essentially makes them generate “free” mana. Improvise is a great way to use your Equipment to cast creatures so you can hold up lands for interaction on your opponents' turns.
Gilgamesh, Master-At-Arms
Gilgamesh, Master-at-Arms is one of thebest ways to get a ton of Equipment onto the battlefield at once. It happens on both Gilgamesh entering or attacking, so you guarantee the effect goes off if Gilgamesh hits the battlefield at least once.
There are a few Equipment creatures with reconfigure, which Gilgamesh can get out from the deck. This can provide some extra battlefield presence if you don’t use them as Equipment.
Gilgamesh is the only Samurai in the deck, so Gilgameshis the only target for the free equip. However, there are plenty of other ways to cheat Equipment onto your creatures, so just getting them on the battlefield is more than enough to make Gilgamesh a star in the deck.
How To Play The Deck
General Gameplan
A Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER deckis all about putting Equipment on all your creatures, with many of them wanting to have at least seven power. Many Equipment provide stat boosts, such as Behemoth Sledge, Blackblade Reforged, and Hexplate Wallbreaker, making hitting the seven threshold easier
Some Equipment puts +1/+1 counters on the equipped creature, such as Power Fist and Pip-Boy 300, which makes it easier for creatures to permanently have seven power, with or without Equipment.
Youwant to make sure all your creatures are equipped, not just one. Unlike many Equipment decks, Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER isnot a Voltron strategy. Instead, you gain more benefits the more different creatures are equipped. Red XIII, Proud Warrior gives your equipped creatures vigilance and trample, and Barret, Avalanche Leader creates tokens that automatically equip themselves.
There is a ton of Equipment in the deck, soyou want to make sure your best pieces of Equipment go on your best creatures. Generally, you shouldprioritize putting the best Equipment on Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER, as it makes it easier to rack up commander damage on your opponents.
Win Conditions And Flaws
Theprimary win condition of the deck is winning through combat. This can be done traditionally, with your creatures boosted up by Equipment capable of dealing large amounts of damage in one swing. Alternatively, you canwin through commander damage.
Equipment decks make it easy to turn your commander into a creature with 21 power, allowing them to take someone out of the game with just one damage connection. Some permanents like Tifa, Martial Artist and Hexplate Wallbreakergive extra combat steps, making achieving victory even easier.
Thebiggest downside of the deck is its heavy reliance on Equipment. Equipment is very mana-intensive, because you need the mana to cast them and more mana to actually put them on a creature. Certain permanents, such as Sigarda’s Aid, Forge Anew, and Blacksmith’s Talent help to put Equipment on your creatures for free, but that requires them to stay on the battlefield.
If you don’t have any ways to cheat around equip costs,your turns are going to be very slow,allowing your opponents to interact with your battlefield and remove threats before you can even take advantage of them. However,once you have creatures equipped, you can start running away with the game with giant outbursts of damage.
