Blueprints:
Radha, Heir to Keld

by ancestral

Welcome to another deckbuilding article on Dollar Commander! With each new article, I’ll be featuring blueprints for brewing a new commander, on a budget. For this deck, we’ll be brewing Radha, Heir to Keld.

Attacking and Untapping

I participated most recently in the r/BudgetBrews Secret Santa: Spacegodzilla Edition™ (referencing the poorly named Godzilla card) the goal is to make a full, budget Commander deck to send to a stranger with a request.

My gift recipient had a few requests: something off‐the‐wall, a deck that has many janky cards, and gameplay that features weird and cool synergies. Basically something that no one has seen before. Which is great, because it just so turns out, I love brewing those exact kinds of decks.


  • Radha, Heir to Keld
    CBP
    $1.02

I started looking up weird things I could do with old Magic cards, when looked at an old Fallen Empires card I have in my collection, Elvish Scout, and wondered if there was something there. Untap target attacking creature and prevent it from getting damaged… perhaps there are some good attack triggers I can take advantage of that don’t win with commander damage. There are some good options, like Anafenza the Foremost or Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen, but my recipient already had +1/+1 counter decks and also wanted to avoid common Elf tribal. Other potential commanders like Grunn, Vaevictus, and Krond are good enough with trample or flying that you really do want to continue attacking.

And that’s when I found Radha. No, not Grand Warlord Radha (who is an admittedly quite strong go‐wide commander) or the new Radha, Heart of Keld. I mean the quick, inexpensive to cast Radha, Heir to Keld. Radha is not unlike much any other mana producing‐Elf, except she can also make Red mana on attack. Tap for Green, but attack for double Red mana. Makes sense, right? But what if we don’t have to choose between the two? What if we could have them both?

Quickly, I checked EDHREC. This must have been done before, right? 131 Radha decks (ranked #524), mostly occupied with Elf and Warrior tribal themes. Elvish Scout, by the way, appears in just 42 decks at 0.02% of the total deck population (which is honestly not terribly surprising). And despite them both being Elves, zero decks have them together! Still, this seems intriguing. There must be something here… right?

Challenge accepted. Time to show the world!

Game Plan

  • Get Radha out early
  • Ramp, get creatures out with tap abilities
  • Control the board
  • Cast your dragons and swing

Attack Triggers

Radha gets us mana when we attack, so let’s attack!


  • Champion of Rhonas
    CBP
    $0.38

  • Tilonalli's Summoner
    CBP
    $0.45

  • Fires of Yavimaya
    CBP
    $0.41

Attacking should always feel good. Champion of Rhonas lets us cheat out a creature, and if we can untap them later, we can maybe do it every turn. Tilonalli's Summoner is a fine attack trigger that would benefit from some protection, perhaps from Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner, utilizing Radha’s mana and lets us draw cards when we need it. Fires of Yavimaya is a budget version of Rhythm of the Wild, allowing us to attack right away, and maybe save a creature through the buff.

Untap Shenanigans


  • Copperhorn Scout
    CBP
    $0.09

  • Elvish Scout
    CBP
    $0.15

  • Emerald Charm
    CBP
    $0.20

  • Foxfire
    CBP
    $0.04

  • Seeker of Skybreak
    CBP
    $0.56

  • Stony Strength
    CBP
    $0.05

  • Vitalize
    CBP
    $0.34

  • Wirewood Symbiote
    CBP
    $0.65

I already talked about the lieutenant of this deck, Elvish Scout. Yes, it’s pretty much only useful Radha and the Summoner, but it can work as a fog for a creature when there suddenly becomes a bad attack. Seeker of Skybreak will untap a creature at any time. Wirewood Symbiote lets us return an Elf you control to its owner’s hand to untap a creature (and we’re almost always guaranteed to have an Elf on the board). Copperhorn Scout untaps everything, allowing us to double down on attack triggers and activating tap abilities on other creatures. Then we have the “instant‐speed” spells: Emerald Charm, a utility spell which notably also has an enchantment destruction mode, Foxfire untaps a creature, fogs it, and draws a card, which works out for our stuff and on our opponents’ attacking creatures, Stony Strength puts a +1/+1 counter as well as untaps. And then there’s Vitalize, which untaps all our creatures at any time.


  • Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
    CBP
    $0.24

  • Dwarven Miner
    CBP
    $0.82

  • Glissa Sunseeker
    CBP
    $1.54

  • Matsu-Tribe Sniper
    CBP
    $0.16

  • Silverglade Pathfinder
    CBP
    $0.30

  • Viashino Heretic
    CBP
    $1.84

  • Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
    CBP
    $1.12

With all these untapping effects, we need some creatures with good tapping abilities. Dwarven Miner, Viashino Heretic and Glissa Sunseeker help blow up non‐basic lands and artifacts. The spellshaper Silverglade Pathfinder ramps us some lands. Yisan, the Wandering Bard cheats out creatures; with luck, we may be able to use his ability more than once in a turn. Matsu-Tribe Sniper freezes flying creatures, while Brash Taunter functions as a blocker and a fighter. Finally, Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter allows us to create tokens with Radha’s mana.

Tap Outlets

I never thought I would need to have tap outlets for a deck, but since we have many different ways to untap creatures, let’s take advantage of that! Heart of Kiran and Mobile Garrison both serve as ways to tap any number of creatures, with the Garrison also letting us untap creatures if we attack with it. Root-Kin Ally not only has convoke, but also lets us pump his power and toughness by tapping a pair of creatures. And Symbiotic Deployment is excellent in turning our creature tapping into card draw.

Unknown Old Cards

Maybe it’s a faux pas to try to sneak weird, old cards in. But if it fits into the theme, and it honors the request, how can I say no?


  • Eternal Warrior
    CBP
    $0.10

  • False Orders
    CBP
    $1.00

  • Freyalise's Winds
    CBP
    $0.39

  • Mudslide
    CBPRL
    $1.38

Mudslide taxes non‐flying creatures to untap, which is fine in this deck since we have ways to untap, and mana at our disposal. Eternal Warrior sounds like it should be a creature… but nope! It’s totally a Red aura that… wait, it gives vigilance? That’s perfect for Radha, sign me up! Freyalise Winds is a quirky spell that shuts down creatures so they don’t untap normally, which is just fine for us with all of our support. And False Orders? What is this ancient nonsense? Make a creature unblockable as an instant? Get this old card into this deck right now!

Instant Speed Activated Abilities

Radha gives us mana when we attack, so how else can we spend it? Fortunately, we have some cards that love to eat up mana.


  • Boldwyr Intimidator
    CBP
    $0.08

  • Entrancing Lyre
    CBP
    $0.06

  • Flameblast Dragon
    CBP
    $0.35

  • Hellkite Charger
    CBP
    $0.93

  • Kessig Wolf Run
    CBP
    $3.75

  • Rogue's Passage
    CBP
    $1.08

  • War Cadence
    CBP
    $0.24

  • Warmonger Hellkite
    CBP
    $0.46

Our dragon package helps eat up yummy red mana! Flameblast Dragon, Warmonger Hellkite and Hellkite Charger deal damage, buffs your team, or gives you an extra combat phase. Boldwyr Intimidator plays with your opponents’ creatures by making them not be able to block. War Cadence taxes your opponents when blocking, and Rogue’s Passage lets you sneak a creature through. Kessig Wolf Run buffs an attacing creature and gives it trample, and Entrancing Lyre locks down a creature.

Card Draw

Every deck needs card draw. We’ve got some options here.


  • Hunter's Insight
    CBP
    $2.77

  • Symbiotic Deployment
    CBP
    $0.22

  • Warriors' Lesson
    CBP
    $0.10

  • Yavimaya Elder
    CBP
    $0.74
Hunter’s Insight and Warriors’ Lesson bot give us card draw from our attackers. Yavimaya Elder is a ramp and draw all‐star. Symbiotic Deployment is a great way to draw repeated cards, burning some mana and tapping creatures, which we are always hopeful to do.

Final Thoughts

I think I accomplished what I set out to do. Certainly, there’s room for upgrades. There are also different directions the deck could drift. It could go tribal with Warriors, or Elves. It could go more to direct damage spells or flashback and buyback. Or go all-in on dragons. But hopefully this is proof that there are new ways to build decks that aren’t out there.

Decklist

Commander (1)


  • Radha, Heir to Keld
    CBP
    $1.02

Creatures (26)

  • 1 Copperhorn Scout
  • 1 Elvish Scout
  • 1 Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
  • 1 Wirewood Symbiote
  • 1 Dwarven Miner
  • 1 Ilysian Caryatid
  • 1 Matsu-Tribe Sniper
  • 1 Seeker of Skybreak
  • 1 Silverglade Pathfinder
  • 1 Tilonalli’s Summoner
  • 1 Llanowar Visionary
  • 1 Oak Street Innkeeper
  • 1 Subira, Tulzidi Caravanner
  • 1 Viashino Heretic
  • 1 Yavimaya Elder
  • 1 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
  • 1 Champion of Rhonas
  • 1 Felhide Spiritbinder
  • 1 Glissa Sunseeker
  • 1 Brash Taunter
  • 1 Flameblast Dragon
  • 1 Hellkite Charger
  • 1 Root-Kin Ally
  • 1 Savage Ventmaw
  • 1 Warmonger Hellkite
  • 1 Boldwyr Intimidator

Planeswalkers (1)

  • 1 Domri, Anarch of Bolas
  • 1 Rowan Kenrith

Artifacts (9)

  • 1 Gruul Signet
  • 1 Heart of Kiran
  • 1 Throne of the God-Pharaoh
  • 1 Angel’s Trumpet
  • 1 Entrancing Lyre
  • 1 Haunted Cloak
  • 1 Mobile Garrison
  • 1 Puppet Strings
  • 1 Icy Manipulator

Enchantments (11)

  • 1 Eternal Warrior
  • 1 Instill Energy
  • 1 Kenrith’s Transformation
  • 1 Quest for Renewal
  • 1 Druids’ Repository
  • 1 Fires of Yavimaya
  • 1 Mudslide
  • 1 Symbiotic Deployment
  • 1 War Cadence
  • 1 Freyalise’s Winds
  • 1 The Akroan War

Instants (14)

  • 1 Emerald Charm
  • 1 Fall of the Titans
  • 1 False Orders
  • 1 Stony Strength
  • 1 Vitalize
  • 1 Warriors’ Lesson
  • 1 Comet Storm
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Chaos Warp
  • 1 Foxfire
  • 1 Harrow
  • 1 Hunter’s Insight
  • 1 Spore Cloud
  • 1 Sundering Vitae

Sorceries (3)

  • 1 Harvest Season
  • 1 Bramblecrush
  • 1 Burn at the Stake

Lands (34)

  • 1 Ash Barrens
  • 1 Blighted Woodland
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Evolving Wilds
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 9 Forest
  • 1 Gruul Guildgate
  • 1 Gruul Turf
  • 1 Kazandu Refuge
  • 1 Kessig Wolf Run
  • 1 Labyrinth of Skophos
  • 1 Mossfire Valley
  • 6 Mountain
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Rogue’s Passage
  • 1 Rugged Highlands
  • 1 Shivan Oasis
  • 1 Skarrg, the Rage Pits
  • 1 Temple of Abandon
  • 1 Terramorphic Expanse
  • 1 Timber Gorge