Plagon, Walls, and the Cards That Make Them Attack

Why would a commander that draws cards be built around defence?

Because Plagon, Lord of the Beach does two things, and almost everyone stops at the first. When it enters, it draws a card for each creature you control with toughness greater than its power, itself included: a nice effect, but a one-shot. The second ability, the one costing , is the idea that holds the deck together: target creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power for the turn.

Think of it as a brick wall to which you can, for a handful of mana, hand a hammer as big as the wall itself. A blocking 0/6 deals six damage instead of zero. Careful, though: the ability only changes the damage, it doesn't let you attack. A wall with defender stays put until you play a card like High Alert or Ghalta, which let creatures attack as though they didn't have defender. With one of these on the battlefield the deck's centre of gravity shifts, and the best cards become the ones players usually dismiss as "too defensive".

That's why we look for creatures with high toughness and low power: Plagon counts them when it enters, and they hit harder when toughness decides the damage.

Three Cards to Put in the Deck

Ghalta the Immovable is the card that makes explicit what Plagon only hints at. It costs , but costs less, where X is the greatest toughness among creatures you control: with a single sturdy wall on the battlefield it drops to a fraction of the price. Then it does two things, in the same direction. Your creatures can attack as though they didn't have defender, so your walls stop being inert. And each creature you control with toughness greater than its power assigns combat damage equal to its toughness, for free. Plagon's activation stops being a cost you pay every turn: for those creatures the effect stays on permanently. If Plagon is the engine, Ghalta is the transmission.

Orysa, Tide Choreographer is the draw you want in this deck. It costs , but less if the creatures you control have total toughness 10 or greater, a condition a roster of defenders reaches without effort. When it enters, draw two cards. The discount rewards exactly the style of build the commander demands: you're already playing creatures skewed toward resilience.

High Alert is the piece that ties the plan together. It's a enchantment that does three things: each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power, your creatures can attack as though they didn't have defender, and for you untap target creature. Compared to Ghalta, it applies to all your creatures, not just those with toughness greater than power, and its cost doesn't depend on what you have on the battlefield. The untap has a precise use: you attack with a wall, then untap it and find it ready to block again.

Useful Supporting Cast and Targets for Plagon

Beyond the three pillars, a few cards deserve a spot as support.

Wall of Omens is the budget wall to have: it costs , it's a 0/4 with defender, and when it enters, draw a card. Plagon counts it, and with High Alert or Ghalta on the battlefield it attacks for 4.

Sanctum Plowbeast costs and is a 3/6 with defender, with plainscycling and islandcycling : for you discard it and search your library for a Plains or an Island, depending on the cycling you use. In your opening hands it fixes your mana base; later on it's a body with 6 toughness that Plagon counts and that, with High Alert or Ghalta, hits for 6.

Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate costs and has flying. You can sacrifice it to give hexproof or indestructible to creatures you control until end of turn. In a deck built on a few key pieces to protect, that umbrella against board wipes (indestructible) and targeted removal (hexproof) is worth more than it seems.

Ray Fillet, Wave Warrior costs and has flying and Evolve: whenever a creature you control enters with greater power or toughness than its own, it gets a +1/+1 counter. Whenever a creature you control with a counter deals combat damage to a player, you draw a card. The counters only go on Ray Fillet, though, so it's mostly the one doing the drawing: it starts as a 0/2, grows to 1/3, 2/4 and so on, and with Plagon or Ghalta it strikes from the air with its toughness.

The Ocean-Themed Traps

Caution is needed here. Plagon is a starfish, the theme is marine, and the candidates closest in text are almost all sea creatures. But they're decoys.

Sea Monster, Giant Shark, Manta Ray, and Sealock Monster all share the same restriction: they can't attack unless the defending player controls an Island. In Commander, against multicolour tables, that limit is a padlock. And none of them has toughness greater than power: Plagon doesn't count them when it enters, and toughness-based damage adds nothing. The restriction almost always depends on your opponents: only Sealock Monster can turn a land into an Island by itself, and only after paying to become monstrous. Giant Shark and Manta Ray even have to be sacrificed when you don't control Islands.

The atmosphere is right, the synergy isn't. Leave them in the binder.

Putting the Pieces Together

The order of play follows the deck's logic. First the cheap walls like Wall of Omens, because they're what Plagon will count when it enters. Then Plagon itself, which draws a card for each creature you control with toughness greater than power: waiting a turn to have one more wall on the table is worth an extra card. Sanctum Plowbeast comes later, or you cycle it in the early turns to find a land. Then comes the moment for activations: with you make a creature hit with its toughness. To make the walls attack you need High Alert or Ghalta, which also apply the same effect for free: High Alert to all your creatures, Ghalta to those with toughness greater than power.

If you're taking home just one idea: in this deck, toughness is your power. Build walls, draw with Plagon, and, with High Alert or Ghalta on the battlefield, let them hit.