We love playing the jankiest decks and going off-meta, so with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty’s release, five brand new pseudo-shrines (they’re legendary enchantment creatures too) and the Go-Shintai of Life’s Origin (available only in set and collector’s boxes), we knew it was time for shrines to shine.
We set out to build this deck on a budget, using whatever we had in the studio, and fortunately for us, we’ve managed to stockpile plenty of cards in the past two decades or so, including some from as far back as Champions of Kamigawa (where shrines were first introduced).
Like our other brews, there are plenty of alternatives and replacements for newer players simply hoping to try out this fun archetype (it’s low salt, unlike some of the crazier Commander brews out there), and we’ll touch on some of them in our bonus section below.
Commander (1)
1x Go-Shintai of Life’s Origin
Go-Shintai of Life’s Origin just grows on you. Those 1/1 tokens it spawns makes the triggered abilities of your shrines snowball, and it’s ability to bring your shrines (and other enchantments) back from the graveyard can be pretty powerful once you’re able to pay the cost. That 3/4 body also means it’s got some longevity.
Shrines (16)
1x Go-Shintai of Ancient Wars
1x Go-Shintai of Boundless Vigor
1x Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty
1x Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom
1x Go-Shintai of Shared Purpose
1x Honden of Cleansing Fire
1x Honden of Infinite Rage
1x Honden of Life’s Web
1x Honden of Night’s Reach
1x Honden of Seeing Winds
1x Sanctum of All
1x Sanctum of Calm Waters
1x Sanctum of Fruitful Harvest
1x Sanctum of Shattered Heights
1x Sanctum of Stone Fangs
1x Sanctum of Tranquil Light
Since this is a Shrine tribal, the Hondens (from Champions of Kamigawa), Sanctums (M21) and Go-Shintai (Neon Dynasty) form the core of the deck. One thing to note while playing this deck is that each type of shrine triggers during different phases, which means you’ve got to get creative when you’re dropping them left, right and center!
Enchantments (19)
1x Abundant Growth
1x Banishing Light
1x Binding the Old Gods
1x Darksteel Mutation
1x Day of the Dragons
1x Elspeth Conquers Death
1x Enchantress’s Presence
1x Fertile Ground
1x Ghostly Prison
1x Hallowed Haunting
1x Imprisoned in the Moon
1x Minimus Containment
1x Propaganda
1x Sigil of the Empty Throne
1x Sphere of Safety
1x Starfield of Nyx
1x Sterling Grove
1x The Eldest Reborn
1x Trace of Abundance
Other enchantments in this section include those that help fix your mana and make it easier for you to cast your spells (like Abundant Growth and Trace of Abundance), keep you safe while you build your board state (like Ghostly Prison and Propaganda), or to help you draw cards and create tokens to block or swing with.
There’s also some enchantment based removal to deal with pesky permanents, and Sagas that accomplish the same thing, ensuring that you’re reasonably well protected against major threats.
It’s also worth noting that Day of the Dragons, Starfield of Nyx and one of our creatures (the Grim Guardian) are the key pieces for an infinite combo that can help close the game when shrines don’t quite cut it (it’s like insurance!).
Shrine Tenders/Creatures (11)
1x Destiny Spinner
1x Doomwake Giant
1x Eidolon of Blossoms
1x Grim Guardian
1x Herald of the Pantheon
1x Jukai Naturalist
1x Satyr Enchanter
1x Setessan Champion
1x Starfield Mystic
1x Sythis, Harvest’s Hand
1x Weaver of Harmony
These creatures either help you draw more cards, reduce the cost of your enchantments, and/or come with some extra effects. That makes them super effective in this deck! They also all count as enchantments, and that means they synergize off each other! They’re a little squishy side though, so be careful with them!
Artifacts (5)
1x Altar of the Pantheon
1x Arcane Signet
1x Commander’s Sphere
1x Skyclave Relic
1x Sol Ring
These are pretty standard Commander artifacts, and they’re there to help fix your mana and accelerate your deck. The sooner you drop your first shrine, the better!
Shrine Rituals/Instants & Sorceries (13)
1x Beast Within
1x Brilliant Restoration
1x Circuitous Route
1x Cultivate
1x Dance of the Manse
1x Dig Up
1x Extinguish All Hope
1x Generous Gift
1x Idyllic Tutor
1x Kodama’s Reach
1x Search for Glory
1x Season of Renewal
1x You Happen On a Glade
You’ll want some green mana to get things started, and the ramp spells here can help you search for the right lands to cast your other shrines and spells. Circuitous Route can help locate gates for our super secret surprise win-con (see Lands below), and both Season of Renewal and You Happen On a Glade can bring something valuable back from your graveyard.
There’s also some removal, enchantment search and even a sneaky board wipe here, and several ways for you to return your enchantments to the battlefield en masse.
Lands (35)
1x Azorius Guildgate
1x Boros Guildgate
1x Command Tower
1x Dimir Guildgate
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Exotic Orchard
1x Field of Ruin
1x Gateway Plaza
1x Golgari Guildgate
1x Gruul Guildgate
1x Izzet Guildgate
1x Maze’s End
1x Orzhov Guildgate
1x Path of Ancestry
1x Rakdos Guildgate
1x Selesnya Guildgate
1x Simic Guildgate
5x Snow-Covered Forest
3x Snow-Covered Island
2x Snow-Covered Mountain
3x Snow-Covered Plains
2x Snow-Covered Swamp
1x Temple of the False God
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x The World Tree
Having enough sources that provide multiple types of mana is essential in a five colored deck like this one. Path of Ancestry and The World Tree are great for this (and also if you decide to upgrade this deck by adding God cards). The Guildgates are a budget solution for our land base, but they also proc Maze’s End, so it’s great! It’s so jank nobody expects it!
Shrine Maintenance (Deck Upgrades & Variants)
1x Anointed Procession
1x Authority of the Consuls
1x Blind Obedience
1x Captain Sisay
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Chromatic Orrery
1x Copy Enchantment
1x Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Exploration
1x Farewell
1x Heroic Intervention
1x Karmic Justice
1x Kiora Bests the Sea God
1x Mirrormade
1x Nyxbloom Ancient
1x Replenish
1x Rhystic Study
1x Smothering Tithe
1x Strionic Resonator
1x Teferi’s Protection
The best part about playing with shrines is that you have five different colors to play with. That means your options are near limitless, and you’re constrained only by your card pool and budget.
Some of our suggestions here add utility to your deck, protect your board state, punish other players, or make you win more (and win faster).
You can also consider some of the God cards (since they’re usually enchantment creatures), extra board wipes (Urza’s Ruinous Blast is surprisingly good since shrines are legendary) and cards that produce tokens when an enchantment enters the battlefield (such as Ajani’s Chosen or Archon of Sun’s Grace). You may also want to consider some counter magic, if that’s your jam.
Keeping it Current
If you’ve only just started playing the world’s greatest trading card game, and have a limited card pool, consider using the Sagas from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and utility enchantments like Twisted Embrace. We’ve also seen some great enchantments printed (and reprinted) in Theros Beyond Death, Kaldheim, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and their associated Commander decks, and they’re all viable!
And there you have it! We hope you enjoyed this deck idea as much as we did brewing it for you. If you decide to build this deck, be sure to let us know how you fare at the card table!
The Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set set for Magic: The Gathering is currently available at your favorite local game store! If you’re an anime fan who always wanted to get into spell slinging, now’s the best time!
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