Introduction
This deck is part of the Two-Headed Giant Commander decks, these are designed to be played 2v2 or 3v3 in the Commander format, but can also be played 1v1.
Certain decks have certain themes, and will pair better with other decks, which decks work best have been listed below. These decks are on a higher skill level than most of the other decks in the club, with a lot of interacting mechanics. This can be overwhelming to learn and master but it is a whole lot of fun when you do.
In the untamed wilderness beyond the kingdom’s borders, the Wild Outlanders thrive. These warriors, elves, and goblins live in harmony with the forest, their lives deeply connected to the natural world. Their leader Kresh, the exiled brother of King Kenrith, has forged a life of freedom and strength among these outlanders. As the kingdom faces the threat of the Villains, the Wild Outlanders must decide whether to join the fight for glory or remain hidden in their remote villages, untouched by the turmoil of the outside world.The theme of the Wild Outlanders box is a . The main theme for the Wild Outlander decks are +1/+1 counters, Warriors, Elves and Goblins.
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan was a legendary human warrior from Tarkir. A stout woman, armed and armored, Reyhan was the joint commander of three Abzan Houses, and the only military leader to achieve any consistent success in the war against the dragons. She was also the most vocal supporter of a last all-out effort against Dromoka's dragons: as such, she was shocked when the khan of the Abzan, Daghatar, surrendered to the Dragonlord. That act of supplication was meant to end the Abzan clan, but Reyhan refused to kneel to a dragon. The woman rallied the remnants of her shattered clan and became its final khan. Even if she had only the tenth of the other khans' forces, she was summoned by Shu Yun at a summit between all the khans. During the khanfall, the last battle against the dragons, Reyhan was felled by Silumgar himself while she was protecting her fellow khans Yasova Dragonclaw and Alesha.
Yoshimaru is a dog and companion of the Emperor in Kamigawa. The Imperials have long kept dogs on the palace grounds for safety and companionship. The current emperor is no exception. On her first day of training, her mentor Light-Paws gave her a puppy, telling her to raise it by hand: care for this dog now, so you can care for the kingdom in the future. The young Emperor took these words to heart, and Yoshimaru became the most intelligent, most loyal dog the court had ever seen. She loved having a friend with whom she could share her Imperial secrets and relieve the burden of responsibility. The day the emperor disappeared, Yoshimaru was devastated. He searched high and low but could not find her, so he went to the favorite place they shared. For years, he guarded her throne, awaiting her return. After the Desparkening, the emperor was freed from her burden of uncontrollable planeswalking and returned home to Kamigawa, reuniting with Yoshimaru. He accompanied her on a tour of Kamigawa, seeing alongside her all that their home had to offer. He was later brought to Ravnica and left in the care of Aminatou while his master braved the plane of Duskmourn. After her journey, he returned to Kamigawa with her.
Key Strategy
This deck revolves around the synergy between +1/+1 counters and legendary creatures, with Reyhan, Last of the Abzan capitalizing on creatures' counters when they die, and Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful growing each time you cast a legendary permanent. The goal is to leverage these abilities to grow your creatures into massive threats, continuously moving counters around and outvaluing your opponents with resilient, ever-growing threats.
With a focus on legendary creatures, +1/+1 counter doubling effects, and recursion, this deck offers a powerful and resilient midrange strategy that can dominate the battlefield through sheer size and value.
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan: Reyhan allows you to move +1/+1 counters from any creature that dies onto another creature, making it difficult for your opponents to permanently weaken your board. When combined with other +1/+1 counter synergies, Reyhan keeps your threats big and ensures you don’t lose value when a creature dies.
Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful: Yoshimaru grows with every legendary permanent you cast, turning it into an early-game threat that continues to scale as the game progresses. With many legendary creatures and lands in this deck, Yoshimaru will quickly become a massive powerhouse.
Winding Constrictor and Corpsejack Menace: These creatures double the number of +1/+1 counters placed on your creatures, dramatically increasing the power of Reyhan and other cards that distribute counters. This can lead to exponential growth on your board.
Hardened Scales and Branching Evolution: Both cards are critical to the deck’s strategy of amplifying +1/+1 counters. Hardened Scales increases each counter placed on a creature by one, while Branching Evolution doubles them, making your creatures far more potent and difficult to deal with.
The Ozolith and Resourceful Defense: These cards store +1/+1 counters from creatures that leave the battlefield and then redistribute them onto new creatures. This creates strong synergy with Reyhan’s ability and ensures that no counters go to waste, even when your creatures die or leave the battlefield.
Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider: Doubling all counters placed on your creatures and halving your opponents' counters, Vorinclex is a major power multiplier for the deck. It makes every counter-generating effect far more potent, while also disrupting any opposing counter strategies.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty and Shaile, Dean of Radiance: Shalai provides protection for your key creatures, ensuring your opponent can’t easily disrupt your board, while Shaile helps distribute +1/+1 counters to further boost your creatures.
Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle and Primevals’ Glorious Rebirth: These recursion pieces allow you to bring back legendary permanents and creatures, extending your game plan and recovering from board wipes or targeted removal.
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan + The Ozolith: Whenever one of your creatures with +1/+1 counters dies, you can move the counters to another creature with Reyhan. Any additional counters can go to The Ozolith, ensuring no counters are lost.
Corpsejack Menace + Renata, Called to the Hunt: Renata places +1/+1 counters on each creature as they enter the battlefield, and Corpsejack Menace doubles those counters, allowing even small creatures to enter as massive threats.
Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider + Branching Evolution: Vorinclex doubles all counters placed on creatures, and with Branching Evolution, this results in quadruple the counters being added, making your creatures immensely powerful in a single turn.
Early Game: In the early game, focus on developing your mana base and establishing small, growing threats. Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful can come down on turn one and start growing quickly as you cast legendary lands or low-cost legendary creatures like Renata, Called to the Hunt or Shaile, Dean of Radiance.
You’ll want to ramp using cards like Farseek, Three Visits, and Cultivate to hit your mid-game threats faster. Playing Hardened Scales early is also crucial, as it amplifies all your counter-based abilities. Early ramp and +1/+1 counter support cards set you up for an explosive mid-game.
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan should come out early to ensure you can start moving counters if any creatures die, especially with legendary threats like Kethis, the Hidden Hand or Hamza, Guardian of Arashin.
Mid Game: By the mid game, your plan is to expand your board, take advantage of counter-doubling effects, and start generating massive value with your commanders. Cards like Conclave Mentor, Corpsejack Menace, and Winding Constrictor all contribute to making your creatures significantly larger with each +1/+1 counter.
Legendary creatures like Drana, Liberator of Malakir or Felisa, Fang of Silverquill can begin to take over the board, helping to spread counters across your creatures and create additional tokens. The Ozolith ensures that even if your creatures die, their counters will be preserved and added to your next threat.
You should aim to play Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider in the mid game to begin doubling your counter generation while severely hindering your opponents’ ability to keep pace with you.
Late Game: In the late game, your creatures should be huge, and your board will likely have an overwhelming number of counters. Primevals’ Glorious Rebirth and Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle provide powerful recursion, allowing you to bring back key legendary creatures and keep your momentum.
Cards like Heroes' Podium allow you to pump your legendary creatures to enormous proportions while providing additional card draw. Reyhan and The Ozolith should ensure that even in the face of removal, you can recover quickly by redistributing counters and maintaining pressure on your opponents.
Gavony Township and Karn’s Bastion further enhance your strategy by allowing you to proliferate or pump your creatures with additional +1/+1 counters, making them unstoppable threats.
In your opening hand, prioritize ramp spells like Farseek, Cultivate, and Arcane Signet to ensure you can get your commanders out quickly and start growing your creatures. Early +1/+1 counter support like Hardened Scales, Conclave Mentor, and Winding Constrictor are also excellent keeps, as they help you snowball quickly.
If you have Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful in your hand, look for hands that include early legendary permanents such as Eiganjo Castle or Renata, Called to the Hunt to begin building his power right away. Removal like Assassin’s Trophy or Path to Exile is also valuable in certain matchups to deal with early threats.
This Reyhan and Yoshimaru deck takes full advantage of +1/+1 counter synergies and legendary creatures, creating a deck that scales exponentially as the game progresses. By leveraging powerful counter-doubling effects and resilient creatures, the deck can dominate the mid-to-late game with overwhelming board presence. With strong recursion, protection, and value engines, this deck ensures that even after setbacks, you can rebuild and continue to grow your creatures into unstoppable threats.
Deck Theme and Pairings
Themes:
+1 / +1 Counters
Support
Counters Cards
Removal Cards