Alela, Art of War by Imposhibible

Format: Commander

Commander: Alela, Cunning Conqueror

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 51

Deck overview

This deck is a high-power Dimir flash control strategy led by Alela, Cunning Conqueror. It plays almost entirely on opponents' turns, converting instant-speed interaction and cantrips into an evasive Faerie token army. Combat damage from these Faeries triggers Alela's ability to goad threatening opposing creatures, forcing opponents to attack each other while leaving you untouched. The deck sustains deep card velocity through engines like Rhystic Study, Talion, the Kindly Lord, and Enduring Curiosity, while defending its board with zero-mana counterspells and flash protection pieces. Games close out around turn 6 to 8 by turning wide token swarms lethal with Coat of Arms, chaining an extra turn with Notorious Throng, or locking the battlefield under Hullbreaker Horror and Dictate of Erebos.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Alela, Cunning Conqueror
  • 1 Ancient Tomb
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Bitterbloom Bearer
  • 1 Bitterblossom
  • 1 Black Market Connections
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft
  • 1 Cavern of Souls
  • 1 Coat of Arms
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Consider
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Cyclonic Rift
  • 1 Dark Ritual
  • 1 Deadly Dispute
  • 1 Deadly Rollick
  • 1 Demonic Tutor
  • 1 Dictate of Erebos
  • 1 Dimir Signet
  • 1 Drowned Catacomb
  • 1 Eclipsed Realms
  • 1 Enduring Curiosity
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Fabled Passage
  • 1 Faerie Mastermind
  • 1 Fellwar Stone
  • 1 Fierce Guardianship
  • 1 Flusterstorm
  • 1 Force of Despair
  • 1 Force of Negation
  • 1 Force of Will
  • 1 Frantic Search
  • 1 Glen Elendra's Answer
  • 1 Gloomlake Verge
  • 1 Grim Hireling
  • 1 Harmonized Trio // Brainstorm
  • 1 High Fae Trickster
  • 1 Hullbreaker Horror
  • 1 Hydroelectric Specimen // Hydroelectric Laboratory
  • 8 Island
  • 1 Kindred Discovery
  • 1 Malleable Impostor
  • 1 Mana Drain
  • 1 Mindbreak Trap
  • 1 Mithril Coat
  • 1 Morphic Pool
  • 1 Mystic Remora
  • 1 Mystical Tutor
  • 1 Narset's Reversal
  • 1 Necropotence
  • 1 Notion Thief
  • 1 Notorious Throng
  • 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
  • 1 Obyra, Dreaming Duelist
  • 1 Opt
  • 1 Orcish Bowmasters
  • 1 Otawara, Soaring City
  • 1 Phyrexian Tower
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Raise the Palisade
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Rhystic Study
  • 1 Scion of Oona
  • 1 Secluded Glen
  • 1 Shipwreck Marsh
  • 1 Silver Shroud Costume
  • 1 Sink into Stupor // Soporific Springs
  • 1 Skullclamp
  • 1 Slitherwisp
  • 1 Snap
  • 1 Snuff Out
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Spell Stutter
  • 1 Spellstutter Sprite
  • 1 Sunken Ruins
  • 5 Swamp
  • 1 Tainted Isle
  • 1 Talion, the Kindly Lord
  • 1 Talisman of Dominance
  • 1 Tegwyll, Duke of Splendor
  • 1 Three Tree City
  • 1 Underground River
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Vampiric Tutor
  • 1 Village Rites
  • 1 Voracious Tome-Skimmer
  • 1 Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
  • 1 Watery Grave