Scare your Opponents with Dolls on a Budget!

That doll is just sitting there, or is she?

The New Toy in Town, Arabella

Duskmourn gave us a lot of amazing new commander toys to play with upon release, you would think it’s Christmas. However, with the spooky season just around the corner, what better way to add some Halloween spirit and celebrate the new commanders from Duskmourn, rather than building on a budget around the scariest doll of them all, Arabella! Let’s take a deep close look at this new murderous doll and see what is so terrifying about this commander, and how much damage this doll can do for our dollars.

The Inconspicuous Doll No One Sees Coming

Let’s look at Arabella. On the surface, our killer doll is not that scary. A stat block of 1/3 is not bad for the 2 mana you need to cast her. However, a quick glance will tell you there is more to this doll than meets the eye. When Arabella attacks, she damages each opponent, while gaining you the same amount of life for each creature you control with power 2 or less, including herself!

With this in mind, there are a few ways to build out our new doll friend. My first thought was to build her around her synergy with smaller creatures. Being in Boros colors, this makes it fairly easy to do, as there is plenty of token generation available in both of her colors. We will utilize some key cards highlighted below to create creatures, and we will strike when the time is right, all the while protecting our dear doll as she brings us to victory.

The Doll and Her Friends

As you can see, our Doll has some ferocious friends. Key cards like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Sky Knight Vanguard, Otharri, Suns’ Glory, Siege-Gang Lieutenant, and Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon ensure we have a steady supply of small creatures to fuel our commander. Amongst her friends are also Krenko, Mob Boss, and Tin Street Kingpin to create tokens to keep ourselves and our playing field healthy.

Next, we are running a few instants and sorceries to protect us, all the while creating more creatures for the late game. I’d like to highlight Austere Command, Dusk // Dawn, Expel the Interlopers, Fell the Mighty, Finale of Glory, The Battle of Bywater, and Increasing Devotion. Our toys won’t be able to put up much of a fight, but we can make up for that with frequent modular and selective board wipes to keep our opponents from depleting our life total before we are ready to swing with Arabella.

Consequently, we will also need some draw power if we are to make it to the late game. I’ve included a few cards that will ensure we have enough gas in the tank to finish the game, refilling our hands while churning out creatures to protect us in the meantime. A few good examples include Grab the Prize to hurt our opponents while we draw, Welcoming Vampire to draw us plenty of cards when we play our tiny creatures, Demand Answers, and Thrill of Possibility being good cards that let us draw into cards we like while discarding cards we will not need. Skullclamp is also an amazing card here, perfect for the small creatures we like to play to turn them into more cards later in the game if needed.

You can check out the Moxfield Deck List Here

Dressing Up and Protecting Our Doll

Unfortunately, our opponents will often see what we are trying to do with our malicious doll. And since no one likes broken toys, we must ensure Arabella survives until the late game where we can keep swinging with her for lethal damage. I’ve included a few cards to do this. Firstly, you cannot go wrong with some shoes and clothes for our doll, namely the classic Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, Lavaspur Boots, and Whispersilk Cloak. Cards like these ensure our doll is that much more of a nuisance to destroy; while giving her haste and protection should she enter the field later in the game, allowing us for swift KOs without the opponents being able to do much about it. Cards such as Break Through the Line, Ragged Playmate, and Selfless Spirit let Arabella swing as often as she wants, without the fear of getting hurt in the process. Both Rogue’s Passage and Access Tunnel let Arabella swing indiscriminately without the fear of getting hurt as well, giving us more options to freely swing at our opponents.

The Final Act

As all good movies must come to an end, so too must our commander games. With Arabella, we are looking to take out multiple opponents at once with a few swings, and there are cards in the deck that support that notion. With cards such as Impact Tremors, Cavalcade of Calamity, City on Fire, Relentless Assault, and Great Train-Heist, our swings will have enough force behind them to send our opponents reeling as their life total plummets to 0. Bide your time until you can swing with Arabella safely, summon creatures to protect and build our board, and when you have an opening, swing with Arabella and watch as your opponents scramble to survive the horror experience.

In Review

To summarize, Arabella is a fantastic new budget commander from Duskmourn. She offers a unique playstyle that I have not seen much of from Boros commanders of the past. While most Boros commanders are known for aggressive playstyles, Arabella offers a new way to play the colors. She sits patiently, waiting along with you and biding her time, as you create a wide board of small creatures, and when the time is right, she springs into action and strikes your opponents all the while being protected with a variety of cards. I've built this deck on a budget of around 55 USD, trying to be as close as I could to the prices of the commander precons released alongside Duskmourn. I’ve also included some great cards to add to the deck if you have them or want to add some more firepower to Arabella. So if you want to make the demonic doll more deadly than she is, there are plenty of powerful upgrades you can easily add to the deck.

With the spooky season just around the corner, as we enter October, there is plenty of fun to be had with Duskmourn. Whether you build Arabella, or any of the other commanders from Duskmourn, there is something super cool about terrifying your opponents with any of the powerful commanders from the new set. It makes me happy to see such an interesting take on a Boros commander, and hopefully, we will continue to see more spooky cards like this in the future!