Voltron: With Powers Combined Dominate Commander

Voltron decks are one of the most common flavors of commander. These decks are ones that focus primarily on just your commander and little else in the way of creatures. They’re usually fast and aggressive, tending to win the game quickly. Another Voltron benefit is that they’re usually cheap if you want a strong budget deck.

What Is Voltron?

Voltron decks are EDH decks that are built around putting all your resources onto one creature. The name comes from the franchise of the same name, about various robots coming together to form one big robot.

In Magic, Voltron decks have three traits. You have a commander with a very good effect, you have a ton of Auras and Equipment, and you have ways to make your commander unblockable.

What Colors Are Voltron Cards In?

You can make a Voltron Commander deck in any color combination. Some are stronger than others, depending on what you’re trying to do. Decks utilizing more Auras tend to want White as you have access to the best Aura cards in that color. If you want extra layers of protection, including Green in your commander is a good choice too.

Voltron Staples

In Voltron decks, you have a variety of different kinds of staples. Some decks lean more into Auras, while others will lean more into Equipment. Since Voltron decks put a lot of resources onto one creature, staples are extra important to make sure you never lose the creature you’re powering up (usually your commander).

Aura Staples

A common card type for Voltron decks to use is Auras. If you’re going all-in on Auras, All That Glitters is one of the best, giving your creature a giant stat boost that is constantly increasing. Rancor helps to negate the downside of Auras as it returns to your hand instead of going to the graveyard, allowing you to keep using it. If available in your colors, Steel of the Godhead is a great way to make a creature unblockable while boosting its stats. Permanents with umbra armor (formerly known as totem armor), such as Bear Umbra are great too, as they give your enchanted creature an extra layer of protection. Umbra armor makes it so you destroy the Aura instead of the creature it’s enchanting if the creature would be destroyed.

Equipment Staples

Many Voltron decks run various pieces of Equipment. While Auras are sent to the graveyard when the creature is destroyed, Equipment sticks around. Swiftfoot Boots is included in just about every Voltron deck, as giving a creature hexproof makes it safe from most forms of removal. The haste can come in handy, too. Lightning Greaves is very similar, but the shroud ability makes it so you can’t target the equipped creature with any spells or abilities, either (including other equip abilities). If your deck can’t ramp well, Sword of the Animist is a great way to do that. If you’re playing a mono-colored commander, Commander's Plate is especially useful in mono-colored decks, as it’ll gain protection from every color but the one your commander is.

Aura Support

If you’re going the Aura route, you should dedicate slots in your deck to support cards for Auras. Jukai Naturalist will discount them all by mana. Sanctum Weaver can become a mana dork that produces a ton of mana when you have a lot of Auras on the battlefield. Sterling Grove gives all your Auras shroud so they can’t be removed, and can be used for an enchantment tutor in a pinch.

Equipment Support

Unlike Auras, there are a lot more specific support cards for Equipment. The best ones are the ones that make equip costs free, as these are the biggest downside to playing Equipment. Puresteel Paladin just needs three artifacts on the battlefield (which all Equipment are). Sigarda's Aid lets you attach Equipment as soon as they enter without paying mana costs. Bruenor Battlehammer makes all equip costs free the first time you do it, while also giving your creatures an extra stat boost.

Tutors

In Voltron decks, you have access to many cheap tutors for both Auras and Equipment. Open the Armory and Kellan, the Fae-Blooded can both tutor for either. You have more options for Equipment tutors, with cards like Stoneforge Mystic, Steelshaper's Gift, and Cloud, Midgar Mercenary.

Complimentary Voltron Cards

Voltron decks can take advantage of various cards that don’t entirely support the strategy, but the cards surrounding them. For example, cards that care about just one creature attacking are great, as this will be the case for most of your combat steps.

Cards with exalted are very useful, as they provide a +1/+1 stat boost when a creature attacks alone. All instances of exalted stack, so if there are three instances on the battlefield, that’s a +3/+3 stat boost. The best exalted cards include Finest Hour, Ignoble Hierarch, and Sublime Archangel. If you’re playing heavily into Auras, Rashel, Fist of Torm is another great inclusion.

A downside of Voltron decks is that you can easily run out of steam and cards to play. As such, cards that provide draw power are especially good in Voltron decks. Sram, Senior Edificer is included in most, as it draws you a card whenever you cast an Aura or Equipment. Sythis, Harvest's Hand draws you cards and gains you life for an enchantment being cast. If you’re attacking a lot, Akiri, Fearless Voyager can draw multiple cards if different equipped creatures attack different players.

You have mana dorks that can provide you with more than one mana, that are restricted to Auras or Equipment. Codsworth, Handy Helper is one such card, giving you two mana to spend on Auras and Equipment, along with the ability to attach those permanents directly to creatures (and is one of the few ways to move Auras to other permanents. Dalakos, Crafter of Wonders is a way to generate colorless mana to pay for Equipment or equip costs (while providing flying and haste to your equipped creatures).

General Game Play

A Voltron deck is generally built around your commander. As such, you want to get your commander on the battlefield as quickly as possible and start loading it up with Auras and Equipment. This gives them stat boosts, protection, and the ability to guarantee they get in for damage.

Since your strategy relies so heavily on one creature, cards that give it protection are vital to make sure it sticks around (especially if you’re utilizing Auras). Heroic Intervention protects all your permanents from being targeted or destroyed for a turn. Mother of Runes can give a creature protection from a color, just be careful, as if it’s enchanted by an Aura of that color, it’ll automatically detach and be sent to the graveyard. Tyvar's Stand can give a big stat boost, along with giving a creature hexproof and indestructible.

You need ways to get in for damage, so cards that make a creature unblockable are necessary to push yourself toward victory. Rogue's Passage is among the best since it’s attached to a land. Brotherhood Regalia provides both protection with ward and makes the equipped creature unblockable. If available, Aqueous Form is a great way to make a creature unblockable while allowing you to scry whenever it attacks.

A problem with Voltron decks is that they are often very low on defenses. Since they tend to have a low creature count, you are usually open to attacks. You only have one creature to block with, after all. Cards such as Silent Arbiter and Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist both significantly slow down your opponents’ ability to attack you with a ton of creatures (and help your commander get in for damage).

How Voltron Decks Win

Voltron decks generally win by taking opponents out with commander damage. In EDH, any player who takes 21 or more damage from a commander automatically loses the game. Since Voltron decks stack so many stat boosts, it’s not uncommon for you to take someone out of the game with just one swing.

Cards that grant double strike are especially good, as they make reaching that 21 damage threshold even easier. You have various options such as Embercleave, Fireshrieker, and Leyline Axe. All you need is a commander with 11 power to take whoever you want out of the game.

It does take a bit of time to take everyone out of the game, so you’ll quickly get a target on your back. Permanents that let you deal damage to all opponents are a great way to counteract this, letting you take everyone out at once. Kediss, Emberclaw Familiar makes your commander deal damage to all opponents. Super State gives multiple keyword abilities, makes a creature a 9/9, and makes it so the enchanted creature deals damage to all opponents. Amarant Coral can be used as a Voltron commander that does this effect all on its own.

Voltron Commanders

There is no shortage of available Voltron commanders in every color combination you can think of. While there are a very large number of options, this article will only examine three different choices, complete with decklists.

Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice

Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice is the best choice for a Voltron commander if you want to play with Auras. It is a very aggressive strategy, winning the game by tutoring your best Auras directly from the battlefield. It’s hard for your opponents to fend off cards like Ethereal Armor, Idolized, and All That Glitters when you can get access to them so quickly. Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice makes all your Auras into 2-for-1s.

A unique aspect of Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice is that you can use Auras that harm your opponents and use Light-Paws’ effect to put a beneficial Aura onto Light-Paws. So you can utilize Auras such as Darksteel Mutation, Reprobation, and Ossification to get rid of problem creatures while boosting up your commander’s stats.

What you want to make top priority is enchanting Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice with cards that make it protected from creatures. This allows you to block freely with it, but also lets you attack without having to worry about it being blocked. You have various options, such as Spirit Mantle and Unquestioned Authority.

A sample decklist is provided below. The deck is a bracket 4 deck with how fast and aggressive it is. While it can hang in weaker bracket 5 games, it can struggle against faster combo decks due to its over-reliance on Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice.

Nashi, Moon Sage’s Scion

Another mono-colored Voltron commander, Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion is part Voltron, part Theft. The idea of the deck is to counteract the natural downside of Voltron (only having a small amount of creatures) by stealing creatures and powerful cards from your opponents. Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion does need you to pay life, so cards that grant lifelink, such as Vampiric Link, Basilisk Collar, and Eternal Thirst are all vital.

You need to make sure Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion can get in for damage, as otherwise it’s just a 3/2. Cards that make it unblockable are especially important compared to other Voltron decks, as without your opponents’ cards, it’s naturally weaker. Key to the City can turn a card in your hand into an unblockable attack that can later turn into draw power. Walls are very rare in Commander, so Prowler's Helm usually translates to your commander being unblockable. Likewise, nearly every EDH deck runs nonbasic lands, giving Trailblazer's Boots a big boost.

Thanks to being Mono Black , you can take advantage of cards that care about Swamps. Ring of Xathrid gives Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion constant stat boosts and the ability to regenerate. Dread Presence either deals damage and gains life or draws you cards. Mutilate can be a one-sided board wipe in most cases since Nashi usually gains a lot of stat boosts.

A sample decklist can be viewed below. This deck sits comfortably in the bracket 3 tier, and can hold its own in lower-powered bracket 4 games.

Ms. Bumbleflower

Now, for an untraditional Voltron commander to show off just about any commander can be Voltron. Ms. Bumbleflower is usually played as a Wheels or Group Hug commander, but with its ability to give itself +1/+1 counters, you can raise its stats surprisingly fast. This is especially true with counter support cards you can play like Branching Evolution and Hardened Scales

Ms. Bumbleflower acts as its own stat booster, as every time you cast a spell, you can put a +1/+1 counter on it. As such, you have more room for counterspells and cantrips to make sure you can trigger Ms. Bumbleflower‘s effect every turn. Cards that use Phyrexian mana, like Gitaxian Probe and Noxious Revival are especially useful for free spells. Cantrips are great too such as Brainstorm and Opt

Ms. Bumbleflower can be a bit costly in mana, so you want to make sure it never gets removed, or else you’ll lose all your counters on it. Protection Equipment like Mithril Coat and Swiftfoot Boots is vital. You also have one-mana protection spells like Snakeskin Veil and Slip Out the Back, which also helps to trigger Ms. Bumbleflower to keep it on the battlefield.

A sample decklist can be viewed below. This is a comfortable bracket 3 EDH deck, utilizing a more unorthodox commander instead of a more “obvious” choice of Voltron commander.

In Conclusion

Voltron is a very powerful archetype that plays a very aggressive strategy. Voltron decks tend to win the game quickly while relying heavily on commander damage to close out games. Due to this, games with Voltron decks can sometimes feel “samey,” especially with consistent commanders such as Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice.

If you’re wanting to play quick games of Commander while ignoring battlefields, Voltron decks are the perfect archetype for you. Voltron decks tend to be “all or nothing,” and when things go your way, you win big.