Gates by FrostWolf79

Format: Commander

Creator: FrostWolf79

Commander: Nine-Fingers Keene

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 34

Deck overview

This Sultai deck focuses on assembling a critical mass of Gates to achieve an alternate win condition via Maze's End or to overwhelm opponents with high-power land combat. Helmed by Nine-Fingers Keene, the strategy deploys early acceleration such as Exploration, Burgeoning, and Growth Spiral to cast the commander ahead of curve. Once Keene attacks, its combat trigger digs nine cards deep to put Gates directly onto the battlefield. Reaching the threshold of nine Gates turns Keene into a recurring hand-refill engine while enabling lethal pump effects from Basilisk Gate or an outright win via Maze's End. Because the core combo relies heavily on nonbasic land interactions, it bypasses traditional creature and planeswalker removal. However, the reliance on tapped Gates creates early mana friction without untap enablers, and the interaction package is lean, leaving the deck vulnerable to fast combo strategies and targeted nonbasic land destruction.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Amulet of Vigor
  • 1 Aqueous Form
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Assassin's Trophy
  • 1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
  • 1 Baldur's Gate
  • 1 Barkchannel Pathway // Tidechannel Pathway
  • 1 Basilisk Gate
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Black Dragon Gate
  • 1 Bojuka Bog
  • 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Burgeoning
  • 1 Case of the Locked Hothouse
  • 1 Circuitous Route
  • 1 Clearwater Pathway // Murkwater Pathway
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Consider
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Courser of Kruphix
  • 1 Crucible of Worlds
  • 1 Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway
  • 1 Dimir Guildgate
  • 1 Druid Class
  • 1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
  • 1 Echoing Deeps
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Expedition Map
  • 1 Exploration
  • 1 Explore
  • 1 Explore the Underdark
  • 1 Eyes Everywhere
  • 1 Fabled Passage
  • 3 Forest
  • 1 Gale, Waterdeep Prodigy
  • 1 Gate Colossus
  • 1 Gatecreeper Vine
  • 1 Gateway Plaza
  • 1 Golgari Guildgate
  • 1 Gond Gate
  • 1 Growth Spiral
  • 1 Guild Summit
  • 1 Halsin, Emerald Archdruid
  • 1 Heap Gate
  • 1 In Search of Greatness
  • 3 Island
  • 1 Manor Gate
  • 1 Maze of Ith
  • 1 Maze's End
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 1 Morphic Pool
  • 1 Mosswort Bridge
  • 1 Mystic Sanctuary
  • 1 Navigation Orb
  • 1 Nine-Fingers Keene
  • 1 Omo, Queen of Vesuva
  • 1 Oracle of Mul Daya
  • 1 Planar Genesis
  • 1 Planar Nexus
  • 1 Plaza of Harmony
  • 1 Polluted Delta
  • 1 Ponder
  • 1 Preordain
  • 1 Reflecting Pool
  • 1 Rejuvenating Springs
  • 1 Retreat to Coralhelm
  • 1 Sage of the Maze
  • 1 Sea Gate
  • 1 Shadowheart, Dark Justiciar
  • 1 Shifting Woodland
  • 1 Simic Guildgate
  • 1 Sodden Verdure
  • 1 Spelunking
  • 3 Swamp
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Sylvan Scrying
  • 1 Talon Gates of Madara
  • 1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
  • 1 Tempt with Discovery
  • 1 The Black Gate
  • 1 The Gitrog Monster
  • 1 Thespian's Stage
  • 1 Thran Portal
  • 1 Tiller Engine
  • 1 Undergrowth Stadium
  • 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
  • 1 Urza's Cave
  • 1 Verdant Catacombs
  • 1 Vernal Fen
  • 1 Vesuva
  • 1 Walking Atlas
  • 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth