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River Song is one of the most unique commanders you’re able to be playing, originally released inMagic: The Gathering’s Doctor Who set. River Song’s character in the show plays out in reverse thanks to time travel shenanigans. In her card, this translates to drawing from your library from the bottom rather than the top.
River Song is a unique Izzet (blue/red) commander that also punishes your opponent for looking at their library in the most popular ways (especially in the Commander format). A River Song deck is one with a distinct playstyle, with a lot of options for cards you’d likely never be playing if it weren’t for River’s effect.
x9 Island
x7 Mountain
Volatile Fault
War Room
The decklist consists of15 creatures, 11 sorceries, 19 instants, 18 artifacts, two enchantments,and34 lands. River Song is thekey card and source of damage for the deck, while many of the other cards support River Song, hence the lower number of creatures.
Key Cards
River Song
Thecommander of the deck,River Songis what everything is built around. It allows you toconstantly re-use cardsthat end up in the graveyard with permanents thatmove cards from the graveyard to the bottom of the library. Since River Song makes you draw from the bottom of the library, you will always be able to re-draw it right away.
River Song alsopunishes your opponent for searching their library, turning into +1/+1 counters and progressive burn damage. You canforce your opponent to search their librarieswith various land destruction cards found in Izzet colors.
If you are playing a game with opponents that use fetch lands, River Song’s effect will trigger, causing a fetch land to lead to even bigger burn damage than their usual one damage.
Neera, Wild Mage
Neera, Wild Mageplays very wellwith River Song. Since Neera’s effect puts the spell you cast on the bottom of your library, thislets River Song draw it the next turnsince it makes you draw from the bottom of the library.
Thespell you cast for free from Neera’s effect is (mostly) random, so you may wind up casting a weaker spell. However, you can just as easily roll the slot machine again the next turn. With cards with low mana values, it’s easier toturn that into a much more impactful spellandcheat around expensive mana costs.
Timestream Navigator
Normally,Timestream Navigatortakes a lot of moving parts to get going, but with River Song, it’s very easy to get it back into your hand immediately. Since it goes to thebottom of your library when you use the extra turn effect, River Song lets you draw it immediately during the extra turn you just created.
While thisdoesn’t create infinite extra turns, it does come very close to it. You do need totap Timestream Navigator for its effect, so it can’t have summoning sickness. You also needthe city’s blessing to use the extra turn effect, so late-game is when you can start looping Timestream Navigator.
Flux Channeler
The majority of the cards in the deck are noncreature cards, meaning most spells willtrigger Flux Channeler’s ability. It causes you to proliferate anytime you cast a noncreature spell, whichgrows River Song’s stats by adding more +1/+1 counters,making River do more burn damage when its effect triggers.
Flux Channeler has a low mana cost, allowing you to get it on the battlefield very early to gain advantages from its effect.River Songis the only card that takes full advantage of it, but it supports River so well it’sworth including it despite its narrow application.
Junktroller
There are multiple cards in the deck that put cards from the graveyard on the bottom of your library. WhileJunktrollercan only do one card a turn, it’s the only permanent that can do it for free. Theother cards,while good,require you to pay mana for their effects.
Junktroller is colorless, making it easy to cast since you don’t have to worry about any specific mana colors. It’s possible tocast it as early as turn twowith the right openings, letting you start setting up River Song loops early in the game.
If you have Time Walk in your hand and River Song and Junktroller on the battlefield, you’re able to create infinite turns. Cast Time Walk, then use Junktroller’s ability to put Time Walk on the bottom of your library. River Song will cause you to draw Time Walk again and simply repeat for infinite extra turns.
How To Play The Deck
A River Song Commander deck is all aboutpunishing your opponents for searching their libraries and forcing that punishment with various cards. There is a sub land destruction theme because of it, with cards likeCleansing Wildfire, From the Ashes,andGeomancer’s Gambitall destroying a land(s) to then have the opponent search their library for another one.
Since youplay from the bottom of your library, there are a lot of cards thathelp enable this strategy, be it putting cards from the graveyard to the bottom of the library and cards that look at the top cards and put some into your hand, and others to the bottom of the library. Thishelps you consistently control what cards are going into your hand.
River Song’s burn damage isbased on what its power is. As such, there is a large proliferate package to verify you can keep putting +1/+1 counters on River Song.Contagion ClaspandContagion Engineboth offer a constant source of proliferation on a permanent, withInexorable TideandFlux Channelerproliferating on spells being cast.
SinceRiver Song is your mainsource of damage, there is a large control shell in the deck. There are a ton of counterspells to keep it safe from any form of removal. Protective permanents likeWhispersilk CloakandLightning Greavesare in the deck as well to prevent River Song from being targeted.
The biggestweakness of the deck is the heavy reliance on River Song. The whole deck is built around River Song being on the battlefield and struggles when it’s not there. Often, your defenses are wide open, leading to you having to rely on countering the right spells to prevent anyone else from getting too far ahead.
The deck’swin condition is winning through burn and combat damage. Once River Song’s stats are high, it becomes a lot easier to burn your opponents. In addition, the stat boosts improve River Song in combat, helping you win through commander damage. This becomes even easier once you getextra turn loops going with Time Warp and a way to put it on the bottom of your library.
