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COMMANDER(S)
Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage
QR Code
U W
- Azorius
Created by  eroc
Bracket
5.0 - 5.5
Bracket 2
Average CMC Average CMC
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ANALYSIS

Overview:

This Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage deck focuses on artifact/legendary synergy with flash-enabled threats and graveyard recursion. While it has strong value engines and midrange artifact payoffs, it lacks explosive combos, free interaction, and consistent win acceleration, positioning it as a focused casual build.

Primer:

Core Strategy: Leverage Raff's historic flash ability to deploy sagas/artifacts/legends at instant speed while using recursion engines (Emry, Hanna, Dance of the Manse) to grind value. Win through artifact beaters (Triplicate Titan, Wurmcoil Engine), saga-driven tempo (Kiora Bests the Sea God), or token swarms (Thopter Shop, The Antiquities War).

Key Lines:

  1. Flash Sagas: Cast The Antiquities War or Kiora Bests the Sea God during opponents' turns to maximize impact.
  2. Artifact Loops: Sacrifice Myr Retriever to Scrap Trawler/Oswald Fiddlebender for recursive value.
  3. Reanimation Payoff: Cast Dance of the Manse X=6+ to turn artifacts into 4/4 beaters.

Mulligan Priorities:

  • Keep hands with 3 lands + artifact ramp (Sol Ring, Talisman of Progress).
  • Prioritize early enablers like Emry or Oswald Fiddlebender.
  • Avoid hands without blue sources or graveyard setup.

Critical Interactions:

  • Unwinding Clock + Empowered Autogenerator for exponential mana.
  • Voltaic Servant untapping Thran Dynamo/Shorikai.
  • Teshar reviving small creatures from historic spell casts.

Weak Matchups:

  • Fast combo decks outpacing midrange value.
  • Graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void).
  • Stax pieces limiting artifact recursion (Null Rod).

Weaknesses:

Critical:

  • No infinite combos or deterministic finishers
  • Graveyard dependency with limited protection

Moderate:

  • Slow board development (avg. 6+ mana threats)
  • Minimal free interaction for combo disruption

Minor:

  • Weak to flying swarms (only Dispatch for fliers)

Most Important Cards:

  • Dance of the Manse
  • Emry, Lurker of the Loch
  • Scrap Trawler
  • The Antiquities War
  • Mechanized Production
  • Oswald Fiddlebender
  • Unwinding Clock
  • Kiora Bests the Sea God
  • Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle
  • Shorikai, Genesis Engine

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 5/10

  • Earliest impactful plays T3-4 (Emry/Oswald), win attempts T8-10
  • No mana-positive rocks or fast combo enablers

Resilience: 6/10

  • Multiple recursion engines (3+ graveyard retrievers)
  • Vulnerable to graveyard exile and counter-heavy metas

Consistency: 6/10

  • 8 tutors for artifacts/recursion
  • Redundant historic payoffs but no combo redundancy

Interaction: 5/10

  • 7 targeted removal spells (Swords, Path)
  • Minimal counterspells/stax beyond Reidane

Rating Justification:

This deck exceeds precon power (rubric 4.0) with synergistic recursion and flash threats but lacks the speed (T8-10 wins vs T7-8 expected at 6.0) and protection of optimized builds. Its artifact value engine aligns with 5.0-5.5 ("Optimized Casual"), but the absence of infinite mana/damage loops and reliance on combat damage prevent higher tiers.

Power level: 5.0 - 5.5

DECK LIST
Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage
Creature: 35
($58.01)
1
Abdel Adrian, Gorion's Ward
4 W
1
Academy Wall
2 U
1
Bronze Guardian
4 W
1
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
2 U
1
Faramir, Prince of Ithilien
2 W U
1
Hanna, Ship's Navigator
1 W U
1
Hope of Ghirapur
1
1
Illustrious Wanderglyph
4 W
1
Ingenious Smith
1 W
1
Jhoira's Familiar
4
1
Lita, Mechanical Engineer
2 W
1
Loran of the Third Path
2 W
1
Losheel, Clockwork Scholar
2 W
1
Medomai the Ageless
4 W U
1
Myr Retriever
2
1
Odric, Lunarch Marshal
3 W
1
Ornithopter of Paradise
2
1
Oswald Fiddlebender
1 W
1
Padeem, Consul of Innovation
3 U
1
Palladium Myr
3
1
Raff, Weatherlight Stalwart
W U
1
Reidane, God of the Worthy // Valkmira, Protector's Shield
2 W
1
Scrap Trawler
3
1
Solemn Simulacrum
4
1
Stinging Lionfish
1 U
1
Tameshi, Reality Architect
2 U
1
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle
3 W
1
Triplicate Titan
9
1
Urza, Powerstone Prodigy
2 U
1
Urza, Prince of Kroog
2 W U
1
Venser, Shaper Savant
2 U U
1
Voltaic Servant
2
1
Wavebreak Hippocamp
2 U
1
Welcoming Vampire
2 W
1
Wurmcoil Engine
6
Artifact: 13
($31.68)
1
Andúril, Flame of the West
3
1
Arcane Signet
2
1
Bident of Thassa
2 U U
1
Cloud Key
3
1
Empowered Autogenerator
4
1
Lost Jitte
1
1
Shorikai, Genesis Engine
2 W U
1
Sol Ring
1
1
Talisman of Progress
2
1
Thopter Shop
3
1
Thousand Moons Smithy // Barracks of the Thousand
2 W W
1
Thran Dynamo
4
1
Unwinding Clock
4
Enchantment: 9
($14.98)
1
Clan Crafter
1 U
1
Folk Hero
1 W
1
Kiora Bests the Sea God
5 U U
1
Mechanized Production
2 U U
1
The Antiquities War
3 U
1
The Bath Song
3 U
1
Tocasia's Welcome
2 W
1
Veteran Soldier
1 W
1
War of the Last Alliance
3 W
Instant: 4
($3.0)
1
Disenchant
1 W
1
Dispatch
W
1
Path to Exile
W
1
Swords to Plowshares
W
Sorcery: 2
($0.94)
1
Dance of the Manse
X W U
1
Urza's Ruinous Blast
4 W
Land: 36
($1.8)
18
Island
18
Plains

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