<p style="text-align: right;"><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kastral, the Windcrested" href="#" target="_blank">Kastral, the Windcrested</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://jesperejsing.com/">Jesper Ejsing</a></p>
<p>Welcome back to <em>Best At, Worst At</em>. In this series, we look at some of Commander's most popular strategies, see which legendary creatures lead the most decks for them, and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of those cards. Then, noting those weaknesses, we'll examine another legendary creature that excels where the first commander falters.</p>
<p>In today's edition, we'll be looking at <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/birds">Bird decks</a>. These flying phenoms are the 21st most popular creature type to build a deck around on EDHREC, with 5,130 decks to their name as of the time of writing. They're primarily centered in <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> and <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, but there are a few cards that branch out into <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-g" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, too.</p>
<h2>Why Play Birds?</h2>
<p>Birds offer several advantages. First, they're extremely evasive. Because (<a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=t%3Abird+%28-fo%3Aflying+-otag%3Agains-flying+-kw%3Aflying%29+game%3Apaper+legal%3Aedh&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">almost</a>) every Bird has flying, we're guaranteed to rule the skies in a deck built around this creature type. Plus, Birds have been around since <em>Magic</em>'s beginning. There's a deep card pool of cards to play with, and some great synergy packages available too.</p>
<p>Among the most popular Birds in Commander are <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Birds of Paradise" href="#" target="_blank">Birds of Paradise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (in 73% of eligible typal decks), <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mockingbird" href="#" target="_blank">Mockingbird</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (in 63% of those lists), and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Baleful Strix" href="#" target="_blank">Baleful Strix</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> (in 58% of eligible 99s). These three creatures paint a good picture of this subtype. Birds can do everything! Whether we want to make mana, imitate another powerful permanent, or just draw some cards, our feathered friends have got us covered.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Birds of Paradise"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mockingbird"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Baleful Strix"></div></div>
<h2>Who's The Most Popular Bird Commander?</h2>
<p>By far the most popular commander for this creature type is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kastral, the Windcrested" href="#" target="_blank">Kastral, the Windcrested</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This five-drop leads more than 2000 decks tagged as "Bird Typal," and more than 10,000 decks overall. Kastral's currently the 218th most popular commander in the whole format!</p>
<p>For <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-3" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>, we get a 4/5 Bird Scout with flying. Additionally, whenever one or more Birds we control hit an opponent, we get to choose one of three powerful abilities. We can either put a Bird from our graveyard or hand onto the field with a finality counter on it, put a +1/+1 counter on each Bird we control, or draw a card.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kastral, the Windcrested"></div></div>
<h3>What Makes Kastral So Powerful?</h3>
<p>All three of the choices that Kastral offers during combat are useful at some point, and the flexibility offered by this commander is hard to beat.</p>
<p>Kastral's first ability can help us snowball into a super powerful board state, or rebuild after an opposing removal spell. While it does stink to place a finality counter on the Bird that we cheat onto the board, that'll hardly matter. We can extract a good amount of value from those creatures before we're forced to exile them, and there are even <a href="https://scryfall.com/search?q=otag%3Acounter-fuel-other+legal%3Aedh+game%3Apaper+order%3Aedhrec+commander%3Aazorius+-otag%3Acounter-fuel-pp+-fo%3Astun+-fo%3Aloyalty&amp;unique=cards&amp;as=grid&amp;order=name">a few ways to remove those finality counters in Kastral's color identity</a>.</p>
<p>Then, placing +1/+1 counters on our creatures can speed up our clock. Due to the built-in evasion that so many Birds have, placing +1/+1 counters on them can make our opponents' life totals dwindle fast.</p>
<p>Finally, "draw a card" may be the best three-word sequence in Commander. Having access to that powerful sentence fragment in the command zone is quite powerful, and can ensure consistency in our game plan.</p>
<p>If we've got a bunch of Birds on the battlefield, Kastral lets us choose between these options up to three times per turn (even more if those Birds have first strike or double strike). Putting that many creatures directly onto the board, placing that many +1/+1 counters on our creatures, and drawing that many cards can end games fast. This commander rocks!</p>
<h3>What's in a Kastral Deck?</h3>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Watcher of the Spheres" href="#" target="_blank">Watcher of the Spheres</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is in tons of lists, both as a cheap Bird to cast before Kastral and as a cost reducer to make the rest of our gameplay smoother. This Bird Wizard can even become a huge attacker under the right conditions. We can also protect our flying family with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Jubilant Skybonder" href="#" target="_blank">Jubilant Skybonder</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or throw down <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Steel-Plume Marshal" href="#" target="_blank">Steel-Plume Marshal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as a game-ending anthem.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Watcher of the Spheres"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Jubilant Skybonder"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Steel-Plume Marshal"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Perch Protection" href="#" target="_blank">Perch Protection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can save our butt from a big attack or board wipe while also making some flying attackers for us to use later. Many lists also run creature-type-based card draw spells, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Distant Melody" href="#" target="_blank">Distant Melody</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Airborne Aid" href="#" target="_blank">Airborne Aid</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Finally, as a researcher studying animals that move across borders, I've got to shout out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Migratory Route" href="#" target="_blank">Migratory Route</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It may not be the flashiest card, but creating four evasive creatures for five mana (with the option to fix our mana instead) ain't bad at all.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Perch Protection"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Distant Melody"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Migratory Route"></div></div>
<p>For the mean-spirited among you, there are a few "hatebears" that just so happen to be Birds. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aven Interrupter" href="#" target="_blank">Aven Interrupter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a pseudo-counterspell that can bog down graveyard decks. It's also a low-cost evasive threat. Similarly, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aven Mindcensor" href="#" target="_blank">Aven Mindcensor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can shut off tutors while being a neat attacker. Finally, for those of you interested in drawing oodles of cards, there's <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aerial Extortionist" href="#" target="_blank">Aerial Extortionist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wan Shi Tong, Librarian" href="#" target="_blank">Wan Shi Tong, Librarian</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aven Interrupter"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aven Mindcensor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Aerial Extortionist"></div></div>
<p>To give a bit more context to those inclusions, here's Kastral's average deck list according to EDHREC:</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Bird is the Word" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Kastral, the Windcrested
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Azorius Signet
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Herald&#039;s Horn
*1 Patchwork Banner
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Talisman of Progress
*1 Thought Vessel
*1 Vanquisher&#039;s Banner
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Aerial Extortionist
*1 Aven Interrupter
*1 Aven Mindcensor
*1 Battlefield Raptor
*1 Cartographer&#039;s Hawk
*1 Empyrean Eagle
*1 Esior, Wardwing Familiar
*1 Gwaihir the Windlord
*1 Harrier Strix
*1 Healer&#039;s Hawk
*1 Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
*1 Jackdaw Savior
*1 Jubilant Skybonder
*1 Judge&#039;s Familiar
*1 Kangee&#039;s Lieutenant
*1 Kangee, Sky Warden
*1 Knightfisher
*1 Ledger Shredder
*1 Lifecreed Duo
*1 Mockingbird
*1 Plumecreed Escort
*1 Scouting Hawk
*1 Senu, Keen-Eyed Protector
*1 Sephara, Sky&#039;s Blade
*1 Shrike Force
*1 Skycat Sovereign
*1 Steel-Plume Marshal
*1 Stormscape Familiar
*1 Thrummingbird
*1 Warden of Evos Isle
*1 Watcher of the Spheres
*1 Wingmate Roc
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Favorable Winds
*1 Gravitational Shift
*1 Kindred Discovery
*1 Murmuration
*1 Reconnaissance Mission
*1 Reflections of Littjara
*1 Soulcatchers&#039; Aerie
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Counterspell
*1 Dawn&#039;s Truce
*1 Dazzling Denial
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Lofty Denial
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Perch Protection
*1 Rally of Wings
*1 Strix Serenade
*1 Swan Song
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Airborne Aid
*1 Battle Screech
*1 Distant Melody
*1 Migratory Route
*1 Raise the Palisade
*1 Winged Words
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Adarkar Wastes
*1 Azorius Chancery
*1 Command Tower
*1 Deserted Beach
*1 Glacial Fortress
*1 Hallowed Fountain
*9 Island
*1 Lilypad Village
*1 Lupinflower Village
*1 Path of Ancestry
*10 Plains
*1 Port Town
*1 Prairie Stream
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Restless Anchorage
*1 Skycloud Expanse
*1 Temple of Enlightenment
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h3>What Are Kastral's Shortcomings?</h3>
<p>Kastral does a bit of everything a typal deck wants. Its biggest problem isn't from its abilities; it's the mana cost. Kastral costs five mana to get on the board initially, and costs a whopping <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-5" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-w" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-u" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span> to recast after it's inevitably targeted by opposing removal. That high cost only grows over the course of a Commander game.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hurricane"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Broken Wings"></div></div>
<p>Spending a whole turn's worth of mana just to recast our commander is risky and can put us out of the game entirely if we're not careful. Kastral has no ward cost to keep opponents' interaction at bay, and will frequently find itself back in the command zone if we don't have any protection spells in our hand.</p>
<h2>How Can We Shore Up Kastral's Weaknesses?</h2>
<p>For the first time in this series, I'll be taking a look at a partner pair to replace our article's focus. In this case I'm talking about <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker" href="#" target="_blank">Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Esior, Wardwing Familiar" href="#" target="_blank">Esior, Wardwing Familiar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>These commanders don't provide the same level of value that Kastral does, but they do have several advantages. First, Esior gives a relatively steep quasi-ward cost to both itself and Ishai. That makes them harder for our opponents to interact with starting as early as turn two. Second, Ishai provides a definitive win condition. This Bird Monk will get really big, really fast. It can present a must-answer threat that Esior makes harder to answer.</p>
<p>These commanders also benefit from being... two commanders. Having two Birds at different mana costs in the command zone can allow some of our synergy pieces to perform even better. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kingfisher" href="#" target="_blank">Kingfisher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Door of Destinies" href="#" target="_blank">Door of Destinies</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, will shine in a 99 led by this partner pairing.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Esior, Wardwing Familiar"></div></div>
<p>This deck will look a little different, even if we are still theming it around Birds. Cost reducers like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Warden of Evos Isle" href="#" target="_blank">Warden of Evos Isle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will become more important, as they'll make both of our commanders cheaper. Birds that protect our stuff, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Judge&#039;s Familiar" href="#" target="_blank">Judge&#039;s Familiar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Plumecreed Escort" href="#" target="_blank">Plumecreed Escort</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are also great to slot in here. These Birds are actually among my favorite cards, and I think they deserve a bit more love from the Commander community. They protect our important permanents, while also being evasive attackers when we need them!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Warden of Evos Isle"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Judge&#039;s Familiar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Plumecreed Escort"></div></div>
<p>Looking outside of Birds for a moment, though, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gold-Forged Thopteryx" href="#" target="_blank">Gold-Forged Thopteryx</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can bump our commanders' ward costs up to <span class="mana-container-container"><span class="mana-container"><i class="ms ms-cost ms-5" style="margin-left: inherit !important;"></i></span></span>. That might as well be hexproof! We may also look to further beef up Ishai, using <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Norn&#039;s Choirmaster" href="#" target="_blank">Norn&#039;s Choirmaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This Phyrexian Angel can provide a steady stream of +1/+1 counters to Ishai, incrementing its power twice per combat if we attack with both of our commanders.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Gold-Forged Thopteryx"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Norn&#039;s Choirmaster"></div></div>
<p>Here's the average EDHREC deck list for Ishai and Esior. It's themed pretty heavily around Birds, but there are tons of ways to build this pairing.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="The Birds are the Wards" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Esior, Wardwing Familiar
*1 Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Arcane Signet
*1 Azorius Signet
*1 Bident of Thassa
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Talisman of Progress
*1 Thought Vessel
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Aven Interrupter
*1 Aven Mindcensor
*1 Cartographer&#039;s Hawk
*1 Emeria Angel
*1 Empyrean Eagle
*1 Gold-Forged Thopteryx
*1 Gwaihir the Windlord
*1 Jackdaw Savior
*1 Jubilant Skybonder
*1 Judge&#039;s Familiar
*1 Kangee&#039;s Lieutenant
*1 Kangee, Sky Warden
*1 Kastral, the Windcrested
*1 Ledger Shredder
*1 Loyal Drake
*1 Magus of the Moat
*1 Mockingbird
*1 Plumecreed Escort
*1 Sephara, Sky&#039;s Blade
*1 Skycat Sovereign
*1 Soulcatcher
*1 Steel-Plume Marshal
*1 Warden of Evos Isle
*1 Watcher of the Spheres
[/Creatures]
[Enchantments]
*1 Combat Research
*1 Favorable Winds
*1 Ghostly Prison
*1 Gravitational Shift
*1 Murmuration
*1 Propaganda
*1 Reconnaissance Mission
*1 Rhystic Study
*1 Soulcatchers&#039; Aerie
*1 Staggering Insight
[/Enchantments]
[Instants]
*1 Aetherize
*1 An Offer You Can&#039;t Refuse
*1 Arcane Denial
*1 Counterspell
*1 Dazzling Denial
*1 Disenchant
*1 Dovin&#039;s Veto
*1 Generous Gift
*1 Lofty Denial
*1 Negate
*1 Path to Exile
*1 Rally of Wings
*1 Swan Song
*1 Swords to Plowshares
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Airborne Aid
*1 Distant Melody
*1 Migratory Route
*1 Supreme Verdict
*1 Winged Words
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Adarkar Wastes
*1 Azorius Chancery
*1 Command Tower
*1 Deserted Beach
*1 Glacial Fortress
*1 Hallowed Fountain
*11 Island
*1 Nimbus Maze
*1 Path of Ancestry
*11 Plains
*1 Port Town
*1 Prairie Stream
*1 Reliquary Tower
*1 Sea of Clouds
*1 Skycloud Expanse
*1 Temple of Enlightenment
[/Lands]"></span></div>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>It's time for this series to fly away for another week! But, before I go, tell me your thoughts on Birds! Do you have a favorite? I'm partial to the American Goldfinch, but I think any migratory bird is cool. Let me know in the comments below, and I'll be back next Monday with another <em>Best At, Worst At</em>.</p>


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