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Kotis, the Fangkeeper

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Kotis, the Fangkeeper

At a glance

  • Format: cEDH (Commander)
  • Commander: Kotis, the Fangkeeper
  • Colors: Black / Green / Blue (BGU)
  • Archetype: Sultai exile-cast / evasion tempo-value
  • Power tier: high-power (bracket 4)

Strategy

Gameplan: Sultai Kotis combat-exile-voltron

The one plan, executed hard: Deploy Kotis fast (T2-3 off Sol Ring / Mox Diamond / Mana Vault / Lotus Petal / Chrome Mox + dorks), then make an evasive, pumped, indestructible commander connect. Kotis is indestructible, so its combat-damage trigger (exile top X, free-cast MV⇐X spells) is bonus value/tempo every swing — but the actual win is 21 commander damage, accelerated by double strike and hard pumps, plus a compact infect backup.

Sequencing:

  1. Ramp out Kotis turn 2-3 holding up a free counter (Fierce Guardianship / Force of Negation / Pact / Force of Will / Mental Misstep).
  2. Bolt on evasion — Aqueous Form, Trailblazer’s Boots, Rogue’s Passage, Distortion Strike, Slip Through Space, or Spectral Flight — so the swing is unblockable/flying.
  3. Multiply — Fireshrieker (double strike) doubles both the damage clock AND the exile X; stack Berserk (its “destroy” whiffs on indestructible Kotis = pure power double), Rancor, Vines of Vastwood, Spectral Flight, Sword of Feast and Famine.
  4. Protect the connect turn with Heroic Intervention / Blossoming Defense / Snakeskin Veil / Malakir Rebirth / Swiftfoot Boots / Lightning Greaves, plus Sword of Feast and Famine’s protection-from-B/G and Force of Will/Mental Misstep to beat the removal or bounce.

Key win lines

  • Primary (21 commander damage): Unblockable Kotis + Fireshrieker (double strike) + one pump (Berserk / Rancor / Sword) = 20+ in a single combat, often a two-turn or one-turn kill on a table.
  • Compact poison backup: Unblockable Kotis + Tainted Strike ({B} instant, grants infect) + double strike OR any pump = 10 poison in one connect — a full 11 “damage” cheaper than the commander-damage clock, and fetchable with Mystical Tutor. Every existing evasion/pump/double-strike card feeds this line without changing the gameplan.
  • Free-cast pile as tempo, not a win: Shadowspear strips indestructible/hexproof off would-be blockers to force the connect; the exiled-card free-casts are gravy (extra ramp/interaction/threats), explicitly NOT relied on as a second wincon.
  • Plan B carrier: if Kotis is repeatedly answered, reload the same recoverable equipment suit (Fireshrieker/Sword/Shadowspear + boots) onto Toski (indestructible, uncounterable) or Ohran Frostfang.

Protection & disruption

16+ interaction pieces with a free-counter backbone (Fierce Guardianship, Force of Negation, Pact of Negation, Force of Will, Mental Misstep) to defend the swing and answer fast Consultation/Breach turns; Endurance provides the previously-missing graveyard hate vs reanimator/Underworld Breach; Toxic Deluge / Cyclonic Rift clear blockers and reset a board that’s outracing you.

Cards

Decklist

Paste straight into MTG Arena (or Moxfield/Archidekt):

Commander
1 Kotis, the Fangkeeper

Deck
1 Command Tower
1 City of Brass
1 Mana Confluence
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Zagoth Triome
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Prismatic Vista
1 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
1 Tropical Island
1 Watery Grave
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Breeding Pool
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Botanical Sanctum
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Underground River
1 Nurturing Peatland
1 Waterlogged Grove
1 Rogue's Passage
3 Forest
3 Island
3 Swamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Arcane Signet
1 Golgari Signet
1 Simic Signet
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mana Vault
1 Lotus Petal
1 Chrome Mox
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Bloom Tender
1 Growth Spiral
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Farseek
1 Aqueous Form
1 Trailblazer's Boots
1 Distortion Strike
1 Slip Through Space
1 Spectral Flight
1 Fireshrieker
1 Rancor
1 Berserk
1 Vines of Vastwood
1 Snakeskin Veil
1 Heroic Intervention
1 Blossoming Defense
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Malakir Rebirth
1 Tainted Strike
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Shadowspear
1 Rhystic Study
1 Mystic Remora
1 Sylvan Library
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Toski, Bearer of Secrets
1 Guardian Project
1 Ohran Frostfang
1 Fierce Guardianship
1 Force of Negation
1 Pact of Negation
1 Swan Song
1 Counterspell
1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
1 Deadly Rollick
1 Snuff Out
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Go for the Throat
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Beast Within
1 Into the Flood Maw
1 Delay
1 Mental Misstep
1 Force of Will
1 Endurance
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Sylvan Tutor
1 Diabolic Intent

Card images & data via Scryfall.

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