The old bait n switch by user7062798

Format: Commander

Commander: Satoru Umezawa

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 38

Deck overview

This Dimir combat-tempo deck leverages Satoru Umezawa to bypass high mana costs, cheating massive game-ending creatures into play directly from hand. The early game focuses on deploying low-cost, unblockable 1-drops such as Slither Blade, Mist-Cloaked Herald, and Gudul Lurker, followed by casting Satoru on Turn 3. On Turn 4, an unblocked attack triggers ninjutsu for four mana, dropping devastating behemoths like Archon of Cruelty, Darksteel Colossus, Lord of Change, or Ancient Stone Idol directly into combat. Satoru's triggered ability provides continuous card selection by digging three cards deep on every ninjutsu activation. A lean suite of cheap counterspells and targeted protection spells shields Satoru and the cheated attackers from spot removal. While the deck lacks infinite combos or hard stax locks, its compounding board presence, high-power beaters, and persistent card advantage enable it to close out 4-player games around Turn 7.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Ancient Stone Idol
  • 1 Arcane Denial
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Archon of Cruelty
  • 1 Armaggon, Future Shark
  • 1 Artisan of Kozilek
  • 1 Avacyn, Angel of Horror
  • 1 Bident of Thassa
  • 1 Bilbo, Luckwearer // Burglar's Plot
  • 1 Choked Estuary
  • 1 Chromatic Lantern
  • 1 Cloud of Faeries
  • 1 Coastal Piracy
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Confound
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Darkslick Shores
  • 1 Darksteel Angel
  • 1 Darksteel Colossus
  • 1 Darkwater Catacombs
  • 1 Desolation Twin
  • 1 Dimir Infiltrator
  • 1 Dimir Signet
  • 1 Donatello's Technique
  • 1 Drowned Catacomb
  • 1 Escape Tunnel
  • 1 Evolving Wilds
  • 1 Faerie Seer
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar
  • 1 Gudul Lurker
  • 1 Heartstone
  • 1 Inkfathom Infiltrator
  • 10 Island
  • 1 Kaito Shizuki
  • 1 Keep Safe
  • 1 Long River's Pull
  • 1 Lord of Change
  • 1 Mindleech Mass
  • 1 Mist-Cloaked Herald
  • 1 Negate
  • 1 Noxious Gearhulk
  • 1 Ornithopter
  • 1 Ornithopter of Paradise
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Peregrine Drake
  • 1 Reconnaissance Mission
  • 1 Rite of Replication
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Rune-Scarred Demon
  • 1 Satoru Umezawa
  • 1 Sepulchral Primordial
  • 1 Serum Visions
  • 1 Shadowmage Infiltrator
  • 1 Shark Shredder, Killer Clone
  • 1 Shipwreck Marsh
  • 1 Shore Up
  • 1 Shoreline Looter
  • 1 Silver-Fur Master
  • 1 Siren Stormtamer
  • 1 Slither Blade
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Starwinder
  • 1 Sunken Hollow
  • 1 Sunken Ruins
  • 1 Supernatural Stamina
  • 10 Swamp
  • 1 Tainted Isle
  • 1 Talisman of Dominance
  • 1 Temple of Deceit
  • 1 Terramorphic Expanse
  • 1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
  • 1 Thalakos Seer
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Thousand-Faced Shadow
  • 1 Triton Shorestalker
  • 1 Turn Aside
  • 1 Twins of Discord
  • 1 Underground River
  • 1 Undying Malice
  • 1 Vela the Night-Clad
  • 1 Zareth San, the Trickster