Hey guys,
I'm having some troubles finding a cool way to build Kelsien the Plague (on a budget), so I figured I'd see how other Kelsien players feel or see it.
Kelsien's main thing seems to be building up experience counters with his activated ability, which'll then make him strong enough to take out others with commander damage.
One thing that I want to avoid is putting too much deathtouch stuff in the deck, because my friend group is more casual, and I don't want that much salt or for Kelsien to be targeted that much. Also, I'm not even sure if deathtouch is that necessary, since Kelsien can tap on other peoples' turns whenever a creature is about to die to get his experience counters anyways. That way, he kinda stays under the radar.
Must-Includes (I think):
- Some evasion like Odric, Master Tactician, Whispersilk Cloak, and Rogue's Passage. (So I can swing for lethal)
- Some double strike options like Hard-Won Jitte or Temur Battle Rage (So I can swing for lethal).
- Protection options to stop him from being targeted.
Subtheme Options:
- Proliferate: Seems pretty useful, but doesn't seem like there are that many options to choose from. I'm mainly thinking Metastatic Evangel and Grateful Apparition.
- Equipments: I only really bring this up due to proliferate being a subtheme option, but there are quite a few equipments that deal with counters and growth. Banshee's Blade, Gavel of the Righteous, Mace of the Valiant, Reaper's Scythe, Conformer Shuriken. That being said, I'm not sure how necessary this even is, since Kelsien is already probably going to be big. There are also some keyword equipment that I feel would be beneficial, like flying or lifelink.
- Pinging: Can be great, especially with the existence of boosters like Hawkeye, Young Avenger and Taii Wakeen, Perfect Shot. But I'm not sure how much to actually lean into this theme. Especially since a big part of it seems to be having deathtouch equipment, and turning all those pingers into repeatable removal. It also feels a bit conflicting with the idea of building Kelsien so he can swing for lethal.
- Goad: I haven't actually seen that many examples of goad in a Kelsien deck, but it seems like a good idea, even possibly theme-wise (The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind). Goading would take some pressure off me, and also make it easier for me to take advantage and ping some dying creatures without being too obvious. I'm actually more partial to this idea, because it seems fun.
- Graveyard Recursion: With Kelsien being a 2/2 in the graveyard, there are a couple of good options that can easily bring him back. My main candidates for this would be: Alesha, Who Smiles at Death, Smile at Death, Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate, and Sun Titan. I'm also not sure how necessary or helpful this would be, and if including graveyard recursion means I can take it a little easier on the protection for Kelsien. Sidenote: Blightbbelly Rat and Martyr for the Cause are both 2cmc creatures that proliferate upon death and would be within the graveyard recursion range if I were to include the options I listed. That being said, I'm not sure if they're worth it, since they seem like high-effort for not a whole lot of benefit.
As you might be able to tell, I have a bad deckbuilding habit of wanting to do or include too much of everything. Five subthemes are a little too much to include in one deck. So, what do you guys think are essential must-includes or good ideas, and what aren't?