Magic Monday: Flip a Coin

Magic: The Gathering offers a plethora of strategies, but few are as thrilling and unpredictable as a coin flip deck. If you’re looking to add a bit of chaos and excitement to your games, a red and blue (Izzet) commander deck led by Breeches, The Blastmaker is a fantastic choice. THis was highlighted to me recently when a friend started looking into building such a deck. Breeches not only embodies the spirit of randomness but also rewards you for embracing it. Let’s dive into some coin flip cards that you might include in your deck and how they synergise with Breeches.

Breeches, The Blastmaker is a unique commander that leverages the randomness of coin flips to your advantage. Whenever you cast your second spell in a given turn, you flip a coin. If you win the flip, you copy that spell and can choose new targets for the copy. If you lose, Breeches deals damage equal to the spell’s mana value to any target. This mechanic is a win-win. There’s no question that copying the spell is usually the better option, but at least you’re still causing damage, even if you ‘lose’ the flip.

Let’s take a little look at some great cards that fit into our theme, and into Breeches’ colour profile.

Key Cards

1. Krark’s Thumb: This artifact is a must-have for any coin flip deck. It allows you to flip two coins instead of one and choose which result to use. This significantly increases your chances of winning flips and maximizing Breeches’ abilities.
2. Fiery Gambit: This spell lets you flip a coin up to three times, with escalating rewards for each successful flip. It’s a high-risk, high-reward card that can draw you cards, deal damage, and untap lands. Of course, your chances are much improved if you have Krark’s Thumb on the table.
3. Stitch in Time: For just three mana, you get a 50% chance to take an extra turn. With Krark’s Thumb on the battlefield, your odds improve, making this a powerful addition to your deck.
4. Molten Birth: This card creates two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens and gives you a chance to return it to your hand if you win a coin flip. It’s a great way to generate value and keep the pressure on your opponents.
5. Chance Encounter: This enchantment is a win condition in itself. Whenever you win a coin flip, you put a luck counter on it. If you have ten or more luck counters on Chance Encounter, you win the game. With Breeches and other coin flip cards, reaching ten counters is a very real possibility.

Supporting Cards

1. Goblin Engineer and Goblin Welder: These goblins can help you fetch and recur key artifacts like Krark’s Thumb, ensuring you always have the tools you need to win your flips.
2. Ponder and Preordain: Consistency is key in any deck, even one built around randomness. These blue spells help you dig through your deck to find your essential pieces.
3. Lightning Bolt and Counterspell: Classic red and blue spells that provide control and removal, helping you manage the board while you set up your coin flip shenanigans.
4. Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom and Okaun, Eye of Chaos: These partner commanders are excellent additions to your deck. They could also act as alternative commanders if you feel like shaking things up. Zndrsplt draws you cards for winning coin flips, while Okaun grows in power, making them formidable threats.

Building a coin flip deck with Breeches, The Blastmaker as your commander looks like a thrilling and unpredictable journey. By including key coin flip cards and supporting spells, you can create a deck that’s not only fun to play but also capable of surprising your opponents with explosive plays. Are you going to win a lot of games? Probably not. Will you have fun? I think so.

There are a whole bunch of other coin flip cards in Magic: The Gathering, but I’ve only just started looking. This might be worth returning to at some point!

In the meantime, embrace the chaos, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

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