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There’s something special about a group of friends sitting down to a nice, breezy game ofMagic: The Gathering’s Commander format. Even better when the table agrees not immediately to go for the throat to make the game last. The best is when the table communicates. Alliances are forms, truces declared and broken, and negotiations on who deserves to have their commander killed.
Sergeant John Benton thrives at such a table. With the good Sergeant at the helm, you’ll be everyone’s best friend until it’s time to stab them all in the back to win the game. If you’re a devious Magic player, then Sergeant John Benton is your new favorite commander.
The Commander: Sergeant John Benton
From theDoctor Who Universes Beyond Commander deck Blast from the Past, at first glance, Sergeant John Benton looks likea helpful Selesnyagroup-hugger, sort of like Selvala, Explorer Returned. Butlooks can be deceiving.
While John does allow both you and your victim to draw cards—sometimes alotof cards—it’s only your opponent who’s taking damage. This makes John less of a Selvala and more like a roaming Necropotence,allowing opponents to exchange their life points for cards.
Most Magic players (and certainly those who specialize in black magic) would take that exchange, andthat’s precisely the incentive you can exploit. At first, John roams the table, gently needling players in exchange for cards all around.
But later in the game,after that commander damage has had time to build up, you surprise your unfortunate victim with a bunch ofpump spells that turn John from a soldier to an assassin. John’s trample keyword ensures the damage gets through, while protective spells keep him from harm.
Most multiplayer Commander decks can’t afford to waste a whole card on a temporary effect, but since John is constantly drawing cards,you’ll always have a full hand of spells to wield. Many of those spells will be pump spells you can bank to eventually kill your opponents, while others will be answer cards.
John is a very political commander. Play passively and communicate with other players to see who is willing to trade some life for cards to stay on everyone’s good side.
Building Your Sergeant John Benton Commander Deck
Sergeant John Benton is not a competitive commander. You can have a lot of fun with John, but it’s the kind of fun you have in a casual multiplayer game. As such, we’re going to limit the price point of the deck and keep a multiplayer focus in mind.
That out of the way, the first step to building John out is toget an arsenal of instant-speed buff spells. These are the cards you’ll use to surprise opponents and eventually kill them. You’ll also want to keep John alive once your opponents catch on to your game plan, so protective spells are also a priority.
Beyond that, you’ll want theusual assortment of green/white ramp spells, someremoval spells,andafew board sweepers. You’re not going to be too focused on building an army, so you’ll want to have a reset button available if someone else creates one and starts eyeing your life total.
Finally,some supportive enchantments and artifacts, as well as a few cards to expand your hand size, give you a Sergeant John Benton deck.
Buff Spells
The gold standard here is Giant Growth, followed by Titanic Growth and then Might of Oaks. Stonewood Invocation is a really good buff for coming with the split-second keyword, and both Exponential Growth and Tyvar’s Stand provide X-spells to get as big as you have mana.
Protective Spells
Eventually, your opponents are going to get wise and start aiming their removal spells at John. To keep him safe,run cards that give him indestructible and/or hexproof. Blossoming Defense, Snakeskin Veil, and Royal Treatment provide the latter, while Crumb and Get It, Flare of Faith, and Take Up the Shield provide the former. Tamiyo’s Safekeeping provides both!
A lot of these spells also provide smaller buffs, so feel free to use them as part of a kill plan and not just to keep John alive.
Removal And Board Sweepers
It’s vitally importantfor any Commander deck, casual or not,to respond to threats as they arise. Swords to Plowshares, Valorous Stance (which also doubles as a protective spell), and Stroke of Midnight are excellent removal in white, while green provides Broken Bond and the Wax side of Wax / Wane.
For sweepers, Austere Command is the usual gold standard. Divine Reckoning lets you retain John (at the cost of letting everyone else retain something potentially more threatening), and Sublime Exhalation is potentially cheaper than Wrath of God with four opponents at the table.
Ramp
John is going to draw a lot of cards, so you’re going to want a lot of mana to play those cards.Green provides the bulk of the ramphere with the likes of Elvish Mystic, Avacyn’s Pilgrim, and Birds of Paradise. You’ve also got Sakura-Tribe Elder and Cultivate in the usual spots.
Sol Ring and Arcane Signet are staples for any Commander deck, butThought Vessel and Decanter of Endless Water provide something very useful: unlimited hand size. John draws alotof cards, and not having to toss them at the end of your turn is going to be a huge boon.
Drawing lots of cards means drawing lots of land, sobeing able to play more than one land per turn can also help keep your hand manageable. Sakura-Tribe Scout, Explore, Summer Bloom, and Swell of Growth all help you play more lands to keep from discarding them.
Alternate Wins And Support Cards
A few more cards worth mentioning. Bastion Protector and Guardian Augmenter both keep John safe and provide a useful buff.Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar mostly ensures that you’re the only one playing combat tricks on your turnsince you really don’t need the extra card draw.
Leela, Sevateem Warrior and Psychosis Crawler are potential game-ending threats. Both can become stupendously large thanks to John’s card draw, butbe careful with Psychosis Crawler as it’ll be sure to anger the tableand paint a target on you.
Ajani and Duelist’s Heritage provide double strike to John (although Ajani can also do a few other useful things).Wild Defiance pairs well with all the buff spells you’ll be playing, and Indomitable Might can be both a buff spell and a path to victory in the face of large blockers.
Sergeant John Benton Commander Deck List
With all that in mind,here’s a sample decklistof what a Sergeant John Benton Commander deck might look like.
Crumb and Get It
Plains (6)
Non-Budget Upgrades
The above decklist assumes that you’re either playing on a budget and/or trying to avoid attention. Butif the gloves are off and your table spends a lot of cash on Magic,consider these expensive upgrades.
