by Johnny Cycles, May 25th, 2025
Hello! Welcome to my first ever Commander video! If you’ve been reading my Commander articles, then you know that I mostly play French Commander, otherwise known as Duel Commander or 1-v-1. If you’re wondering what French Commander is and why you should play it, check out this video:
This match-up is part of a larger tournament I’m playing with my brother-in-law. We each picked three decks with older commanders (before this decade, at least) and three newer commanders (printed in this decade) to play each other. The idea is to see if the older commanders can keep up with the power creep of the new commanders being printed now.
First up is Zaxara, the Exemplary and Hydra Tribal versus Krenko, Mob Boss and Goblin Tribal.
I consider Krenko, Mob Boss a must-kill commander that will easily take over a game the turn you can use his ability. The deck is full of Goblin Lords and synergistic Goblin pieces. Any one of these is not super overwhelming, but when a few of them get together, it’s usually game over.
Zaxara, the Exemplary, meanwhile, can make giant Hydras that can win games, but oftentimes the Hydras we’re casting are big enough and powerful enough to get the job done. Our creatures are individually more powerful than the Goblins, but lack the kind of super-powered synergies of Krenko’s mob.
Here are the decklists:
Decklist – Sultai Hydra Tribal with Zaxara, the Exemplary
| Zaxara, the Exemplary |
Creatures (28)
| Goldvein Hydra | |
| Hungering Hydra | |
| Mistcutter Hydra | |
| Protean Hydra | |
| Genesis Hydra | |
| Hooded Hydra | |
| Hydroid Krasis | |
| Primordial Hydra | |
| Scavenging Ooze | |
| Steelbane Hydra | |
| The Goose Mother | |
| Vastwood Hydra |
| Voracious Hydra | |
| Endurance | |
| Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager | |
| Lifeblood Hydra | |
| Scourge of Skola Vale | |
| Spellseeker | |
| Nylea, God of the Hunt | |
| Polukranos, Unchained | |
| Polukranos, World Eater |
| Ironscale Hydra | |
| Kalonian Hydra | |
| Phyrexian Hydra | |
| Gargos, Vicious Watcher | |
| Hydra Broodmaster | |
| Ulvenwald Hydra | |
| Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider |
Artifacts (3)
| The Ozolith | |
| Elementalist’s Palette | |
| The Great Henge |
Enchantments (8)
| Hardened Scales | |
| Primal Rage | |
| Simic Ascendancy | |
| Branching Evolution | |
| Garruk’s Uprising | |
| Unbound Flourishing | |
| Parallel Lives | |
| Doubling Season |
Instants (9)
| Brainstorm | |
| Clash of Wills | |
| Condescend | |
| Erebos’s Intervention | |
| Syncopate | |
| Abrupt Decay | |
| Assassin’s Trophy | |
| Cyclonic Rift | |
| Logic Knot |
Sorceries (13)
| Ponder | |
| Serum Visions | |
| Farseek | |
| Finale of Devastation | |
| Sylvan Scrying | |
| Curse of the Swine | |
| Demonic Tutor | |
| Nylea’s Intervention | |
| Silver Scrutiny | |
| Cultivate | |
| Kodama’s Reach | |
| Villainous Wealth | |
| Damnation |
Lands (38)
Boseiju, Who Endures
Breeding Pool
Castle Vantress
Command Tower
Fabled Passage
Field of Ruin
Hinterland Harbor
Lair of the Hydra
Misty Rainforest
Nurturing Peatland
Overgrown Tomb
Polluted Delta
Prismatic Vista
Temple of Deceit
Temple of Mystery
Undercity Sewers
Underground Mortuary
Undergrowth Stadium
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Verdant Catacombs
Wasteland
Waterlogged Grove
Watery Grave
Zagoth Triome
Forest (5)
Island (5)
Swamp (4)
Changes from original decklist posted here:
Out:
| Genesis Hydra | |
| Endurance | |
| Spellseeker | |
| Simic Ascendancy | |
| Temple of Deceit |
In:
| Benevolent Hydra | |
| Neverwinter Hydra | |
| Managorger Hydra | |
| Herd Heirloom | |
| Temple of Malady |
You can see that the changes are mostly in favor of more Hydras at the cost of individually powerful non-Hydras. In a tribal deck like this one, I like to prioritize whatever tribe I’m playing over cards that increase the power level. There is, of course, a limit to this, as I also want the deck to perform well. Cards like Damnation, Assassin’s Trophy, and Demonic Tutor all serve important purposes, while not being on theme. Similarly, the cantrips in the deck aren’t on Hydra theme, but smooth out the deck.
However, when finding new (or old…looking at you Managorger Hydra) tribal or on-theme cards, I look first at my non-tribal cards as first out. Hence, Endurance, Spellseeker, and Simic Ascendancy, which did synergize with the deck’s concept, got the axe for some Hydras I purchased or found in my collection. Genesis Hydra, meanwhile, is a bit of nonbo with all of our spells and so also got cut.
Decklist – Goblin Tribal with Krenko, Mob Boss
| Krenko, Mob Boss |
Creatures (34)
| Goblin Chirurgeon | |
| Goblin Motivator | |
| Skirk Prospector | |
| Ardoz, Cobbler of War | |
| Battle Cry Goblin | |
| Conspicuous Snoop | |
| Dark-Dweller Oracle | |
| Generator Servant | |
| Goblin Cratermaker | |
| Goblin Recruiter |
| Pashalik Mons | |
| Beetleback Chief | |
| Enduring Courage | |
| Goblin Ringleader | |
| Goblin Trashmaster | |
| Goblin Wizard | |
| Moggcatcher | |
| Ogre Battledriver | |
| Goblin Assassin | |
| Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker | |
| Siege-Gang Commander |
Artifacts (11)
| Arcane Signet | |
| Ruby Medallion | |
| Sting, the Glinting Dagger | |
| Ashnod’s Altar | |
| Battlemage’s Bracers | |
| Herald’s Horn | |
| Heraldic Banner | |
| Patchwork Banner | |
| Patriar’s Seal | |
| Banner of Kinship |
| Coat of Arms |
Enchantments (6)
| Goblin Bombardment | |
| Impact Tremors | |
| Blood Moon | |
| Fable of the Mirror-Breaker | |
| Fervor | |
| Shared Animosity |
Instants (7)
| Brightstone Ritual | |
| Last-Ditch Effort | |
| Pyroblast | |
| Red Elemental Blast | |
| Chaos Warp | |
| Deflecting Swat | |
| Goblin Surprise |
Sorceries (6) + 2 mfdc
| Banefire | |
| Hordeling Outburst | |
| Jeska’s Will | |
| Sundering Eruption (mfdc) | |
| Burn at the Stake | |
| Song-Mad Treachery (mfdc) |
Lands (35)
Arena of Glory
Castle Embereth
Den of the Bugbear
Flamekin Village
Forgotten Cave
Mines of Moria
Path of Ancestry
Strip Mine
War Room
Mountain (24)
Snow-Covered Mountain (2)
This deck has a lot of explosive potential to flood the board, go wide, and attack with giant Goblins. It also has some reach with cards like Burn at the Stake and Last-Ditch Effort.
Hydras vs. Goblins
Conclusion
As you can see from this game, in French Commander you only have yourself to rely on to deal with must-answer commanders like Krenko, Mob Boss. In Sultai colors, this Hydra Tribal deck is built with answers and I was lucky enough to find them, starting with Demonic Tutor for Damnation, then Clash of Wills, Assassin’s Trophy, and Polukranos, Unchained. I needed every answer to keep the board clear enough not to die, while I was also lucky enough to find my lands and advance my own board while playing around Krenko.
Doubling Season was an all-star, as you can expect in a deck like ours, while my brother-in-law’s lack of haste with Krenko really limited his deck’s explosiveness. Having a turn to answer the mob boss (we did counter it the time it would’ve come down with haste) was essential to us staying ahead of the Goblin beats.
Thanks for reading and watching! Let me know in the comments what you think of the decks and game play. It’s my first recorded Commander match, so there are a few things that I could do better (like switching the camera more consistently). I’m also going to try and figure out a way to let viewers at least see my opening hand before starting the game. What else can I do to improve the quality of the video for you at home
