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Friday, June, 14, 2024

Lathril, Blade of the Elves Commander Deck Guide

Last updated on June 14, 2024

Lathril, Blade of the Elves | Illustration by Caroline Gariba

The precon Commander decks aren’t usually very strong. As products designed for new players, they usually feature simple commanders with straightforward strategies. Kaldheim came with two such precons. The first was Ranar the Ever-Watchful, who was sadly unpopular. But the second flew off the shelves like nobody’s business.

Lathril, Blade of the Elves’s precon made a surprisingly effective starter for an elf deck, and Lathril’s Golgari () color identity means you have access to nearly every elf in Magic.

Let’s take a look at what an upgraded Lathril deck looks like!

The Deck

Wirewood Symbiote | Illustration by Yohann Schepacz

The preconstructed Lathril deck, Elven Empire, is hard to beat for an all-around budget elf tribal deck. It’s a great start, but it's not nearly focused on any one strategy since it’s meant to function with the alternate commanders as well.

For a deck specifically tuned to Lathril, Blade of the Elves you’re focused less on buffing your elf creatures and more on getting as many elves as possible. Ideally, you’ll have enough elves on the battlefield to activate Lathril multiple times, skipping the combat required for most “go wide” decks.

The Commander: Lathril, Blade of the Elves

Lathril, Blade of the Elves

Lathril, Blade of the Elves is one of many Golgari-aligned legendary elves, and it stands out as one of the best. There’s a poetic rhythm to Lathril’s abilities: menace makes it hard to block and rewards you with tokens, that count for when you directly drain your opponents.

I find Lathril’s abilities most relevant to an elf tribal Commander deck compared to other legendary Golgari elves. Nath of the Gilt-Leaf pushes the deck into a discard theme while the remaining Golgari elf commanders lean towards sacrifice themes that aren’t as thematically linked as Lathril, even if they’re not necessarily bad for an elf tribal deck.

For this deck, your Lathril uses a two-pronged attack. First, you buff its power with spells, lords, and artifacts to maximize the number of tokens it creates when it deals damage. Then you use its second ability to simultaneously drain every opponent, repeating this effect with untap effects.

Elf Lords

Every good tribal deck includes a lord or two to grant an anthem effect to your battlefield full of creatures. The lords pull double duty in this deck, buffing Lathril for more elf tokens when it connects and then buffing those elves once you have them.

Elvish Champion

Elvish Archdruid

Canopy Tactician

Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen

Galadhrim Brigade

Imperious Perfect

Elves have more lords than any other tribe (except for slivers, who are all lords), and this makes them a real threat. Elvish Champion, Elvish Archdruid, Canopy Tactician, Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen, [cardGaladhrim Brigade[/card] and Imperious Perfect all include anthem effects for your elves.

Icon of Ancestry

Sylvan Anthem

Icon of Ancestry and Sylvan Anthem also give +1/+1 and help sculpt your hand.

Elf Generating Machines

Keeping Lathril, Blade of the Elves beefy isn’t enough for you. You need 20 or more elves available if you want to activate its ability multiple times per turn. And not just any green token generator will do, you need to produce plenty of pointy-eared humanoid ones per card to make this work.

Elvish Promenade

Galadhrim Ambush

Second Harvest

Some great ways to double up on Elves in a pinch are Elvish Promenade, Galadhrim Ambush, and Second Harvest.

Parallel Lives

Parallel Lives is your splurge card for this deck. It’s a very powerful token doubler that benefits a lot of cards in this deck and is a rare that is well worth its price.

Ambush Commander

A neat synergy in the list is Ambush Commander. Turning each Forest you control into an elf basically means you’ll be tapping forests to ping an opponent 10 at a time. With a board already full of elves this is often the final push you need to go over the edge to victory.

Wolverine Riders

You also have what might be the best elf tribal card to date, Wolverine Riders. Creating an elf warrior token during each upkeep is already great, but gaining life off each one entering the battlefield as well? That’s value right there.

Elvish Warmaster

Lys Alana Huntmaster

Leaf-Crowned Visionary

Last but not least you’ve got Elvish Warmaster, Lys Alana Huntmaster and Leaf-Crowned Visionary to stretch each other elf you cast into more creatures.

Untappers and Double Drainers

Once you amass your 20+ elves you use Lathril, Blade of the Elves to start draining every player at once. You’re running various Vitalize effects to capitalize on this and get as many activations as you can.

Wirewood Symbiote

Quirion Ranger

Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler

The classic Wirewood Symbiote makes an appearance, as well as Quirion Ranger and Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler. Tyvar’s +1 loyalty ability should mostly target Lathril, but it’s also useful on a mana dork.

Copperhorn Scout

Copperhorn Scout helps guarantee you can activate Lathril after it hits an opponent.

Magewright's StoneWirewood Lodge

Stacking Magewright's Stone and Wirewood Lodge just feels like overkill.

Illusionist's Bracers

Top all that off with Illusionist's Bracers and shoot for the moon, just don't waste mana equipping it to one of your dorks.

Utility Elves

A lot of the usual utility and interaction spells can be replaced with, you guessed it, more elves.

Reclamation SageReclamation Sage

Reclamation Sage is your stand-in for Naturalize.

Elvish Harbinger

Wirewood Herald

Elvish Harbinger and Wirewood Herald can both stand in for Worldly Tutor.

Mirkwood Channeler

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth provides a host of excellent elves, though many are blue and have to be skipped for this deck, one that is a great addition to this deck's cause is Mirkwood Channeler as a no-mana way to pound a lot of damage through with Lathril. A Pauper player, Timberwatch Elf is another similar effect that can make Lathril beefy.

Elvish Dreadlord

Elvish Dreadlord makes a good board wipe that can kill indestructible creatures.

Wellwisher

Rhys, the Exiled

Saryth, the Viper's Fang

A few of your elves stabilize your game. Wellwisher and Rhys, the Exiled can mitigate some of the counterattacks you’ll get. Saryth, the Viper's Fang might be a non-elf, but synergizes nicely and conditionally protects your creatures.

Wood Elves

Springbloom Druid

Wood Elves and Springbloom Druid thin out your library by pulling out those basic lands.

Skemfar Shadowsage

Shaman of the Pack

Tyvar the Bellicose

The remaining elf creatures in the list are made up of alternate threats besides Lathril. Skemfar Shadowsage and Shaman of the Pack can both turn your elven army into direct damage, but I also like to use Tyvar the Bellicose to add some kill power and grow your mana producers into beaters.

Lathril's Weapons and Armor

Crown of Skemfar

The quickest way to pump Lathril up is via powerful equipment, or auras and Crown of Skemfar was tailor-made for it. As long as you hit home for damage, this exponentially increases your elf generation each turn and is easily an auto-include in any elf Commander deck.

Sword of the Animist

Sword of the Animist’s buff isn’t as strong, but it's always a great inclusion for any deck that plans to attack each turn.

Swiftfoot Boots

Sword of the Paruns

Access Tunnel

Protect Lathril with Swiftfoot Boots and make sure it connects with Sword of the Paruns or Access Tunnel.

Interaction Package

Krosan Grip

Putrefy

Wrap in Vigor

You can’t sit down for Commander night without an interaction package. First, you’ve got Krosan Grip and Putrefy for some extra permanent removal. Wrap in Vigor saves you from an instant-speed board wipe with my favorite defunct mechanic, regenerate.

Poison-Tip Archer

Squall Line

Speaking of board wipes, why not run Poison-Tip Archer to punish those Wrath of Gods and Damnations? And while Poison-Tip has reach and helps deter flying creatures Squall Line kills them outright.

Harald Unites the Elves

Haunting Voyage

Evolution Witness

But maybe you’ve already lost those key elf components for your engine. Harald Unites the Elves, and Haunting Voyage can all get your elves back while Evolution Witness grabs everything else.

The Mana Base

Since you’re only running two colors you’re mostly concerned with ramping quickly instead of fixing your available colors. To your favor and your opponents’ chagrin, this deck runs a ton of mana dorks. It’s hard not to given that elves have access to so many of the best ones.

Llanowar Elves

Elvish Mystic

Arbor Elf

You have the usual suspects to start in Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, and Arbor Elf.

Elves of Deep Shadow

Deathrite Shaman

Priest of Titania

Elves of Deep Shadow and Deathrite Shaman help fix your mana with black and Priest of Titania can skyrocket your available green mana.

Llanowar Tribe

Canopy Tactician

Marwyn, the Nurturer

Llanowar Tribe, Canopy Tactician, and Marwyn, the Nurturer will push you even further ahead on mana.

The Strategy

Timberwatch Elf | Illustration by Yohann Schepacz

Lathril, Blade of the Elves is a fun take on the typical “go wide” deck since it bypasses the need to do combat by draining your opponents directly. It’s the Golgari elfball deck. It looks to play as many rlves as possible and then quickly drain your opponents with direct damage.

In the early game, you want to ramp, and hard. Try to keep a hand with multiple mana dorks and at least three lands. Ideally, you play Lathril on turn 3 to start attacking as soon as possible.

Your army of elves should start to rally in the midgame. Turns 5 to 7 can see your board with 10 or more elves already, but be careful when you start draining with Lathril’s ability. Once your opponents see the threat it becomes significantly harder to keep your commander on the field long enough to activate its ability.

Once you’re comfortably set up with a Vitalize in your hand or Quirion Ranger on the field, start draining your opponents. Hopefully, they all already took some damage and you only need one or two activations to finish them off. Just two hits from Lathril’s ability can send your life total way above the rest of the pod’s even if you can’t kill them immediately, the extra life gives you some breathing room to survive the inevitable counterattacks and removal coming your way.

If Lathril’s been removed one too many times or you just can’t seem to stay above 10 Elves, I recommend going in with good ol’ combat damage and swinging for the fences with Overrun or the similar effects on Elvish Warmaster and Ambush Commander. Or tap out for a huge Squall Line and take the table out with you.

Combos and Interactions

This deck isn’t running any infinite combos but it does have some fun synergies that are worth mentioning.

Quirion Ranger

Wirewood Symbiote

Ambush Commander

Quirion Ranger and Wirewood Symbiote combined with Ambush Commander make a sweet way to get lots of activations off Lathril since neither requires a mana investment to untap. They also both combo well with your mana dorks, helping accelerate your early game ramp.

Pact of the Serpent

I’ve really enjoyed the freedom to Pact of the Serpent with reckless abandon since so many elves can gain you that life right back (Wellwisher, Marwyn, the Nurturer, and Rhys the Exiled).

Rule 0 Violations Check

I’m confident in saying this deck is a fair and balanced matchup against most other Commander decks. It doesn’t go infinite, doesn’t run any of the ridiculously powerful green ramp, and sticks to the elf tribal theme. Rule 0 should be a short discussion from your end, go ahead and tell everyone it’s a seven out of ten.

Budget Options

Marwyn, the Nurturer | Illustration by Chris Rahn

The singles for this decklist run about $200 or more for the cheapest played printings. That’s not too bad for a typical Commander deck, and you could get most of this list if you buy the Elven Empire precon.

Less Expensive

But there are some easy replacements you can make if you don’t feel like spending that much on a new Commander deck. Trade Elvish Champion for your favorite cheap elf (I like Cloakwood Swarmkeeper) and toss Deathrite Shaman in favor of Fyndhorn Elves.

It hurts to cut Parallel Lives but it is the most expensive card on the list. Primal Vigor is a fraction of the price and comes with the drawback of being a symmetrical effect.

Parallel Lives can be traded for a budget green black dual land, if you can spring for a rare, Blooming Marsh is good for fast starts.

Finally, pitch Sword of the Animist for Explorer's Scope. It’s significantly worse but it at least clears away those dead basic land draws.

More Expensive

You could go with popular cards like Arwen, Weaver of Hope and Aftermath Analyst but those don't feel maximized with Lathril. Eladamri, Korvecdal is busted no matter how you can play it.

Maybe you’ve been collecting elves for a while now and are looking to punch up your deck. I’d recommend Ezuri, Renegade Leader if you don’t already have one. It can easily replace any of the cheaper lords, or even Overrun.

Next, go infinite with your mana. Slip an Umbral Mantle in instead of Icon of Ancestry. The Mantle combos with Elvish Archdruid as well!

Finally, if you’re a real one, slot in Eladamri, Lord of Leaves. It’s not necessarily stellar in this deck, but boy is it a sick flex when you sit down at your local game store and bust this sucker out.

Other Builds

Copperhorn Scout | Illustration by Shelly Wan

Focusing on Lathril, Blade of the Elves’ second ability isn’t the only way to go.

Other decks can make use of its first two abilities to double down on token generation for a more classic elf tokens deck. With access to black, these tokens can be exchanged for value in a semi-aristocrats build. Miara, Thorn of the Glade and Nadier, Agent of the Duskenel can help enable this strategy, and Prowess of the Fair is essential for any deck that plans to sacrifice elves. This also leans into more reanimation or regrowth angles like Return Upon the Tide.

Commanding Conclusion

Return Upon the Tide | Illustration by Martina Fackova

Lathril, Blade of the Elves is one of the most rewarding Elf tribal commanders to build around. It’s the missing link to Golgari Elves that unites the tribe in a simple and synergistic way with a variety of strategies available.

What do you think? Are there any glaringly obvious Elf cards I’ve omitted? How would you build a unique Lathril deck? Let me know in the comments or over on Draftsim’s Twitter.

Thanks for reading, and have fun turning those little cardboard squares sideways!

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