Commander Deck Tech: Oswald Fiddlebender - Artifact Pod!

Oswald Fiddlebender is a proactive card that wants to win the game quickly with combos your opponent will find hard to interact with, like Marvin, Murderous Mimic, usually on turn 3 or 4. Furthermore, this deck also wants to control the rhythm of the match with heavy Stax effects, like Trinisphere, all while it hoards the value it creates from cards like The One Ring and Manifold Key.

This list was created by Dalton, an expert in Stax strategies in Commander, as well as one of my closest friends. I have him to thank, as he helped me understand this commander thoroughly. At the end of this article, I added a budget list I created myself, but please note that its power level is considerably lower than the power level of the original list. In particular, I wrote this article with Marvin, Murderous Mimic in mind, as this card gave this deck new combos and made it even more powerful and versatile.

Furthermore, please note that this deck includes many different combos, even more than the ones we'll mention in this article. However, because of our limited time and words, we'll only focus on the most important and consistent combos. If you enjoy exploring complex, adaptable paths to victory, this list is a gold mine. My brain practically melted while I was studying it!

If you also enjoy having an arsenal of cards to interact with your opponents, considering complex paths to victory from common situations, or if you simply get excited about playing a Trinisphere on turn 1 (besides practically having it in your command zone), this strategy is perfect for you. On the other side, if you prefer interaction at instant speed, playing reactively, or if you simply don't enjoy relying on your commander this much, this deck might not be the best pick.

Oswald Fiddlebender lets you sacrifice artifacts so you can get other artifacts that cost 1 more than the artifact you sacrificed. This ability enables powerful combos and complex interactions, particularly when you combine it with low-cost artifacts and untap effects.

This deck is full of artifacts that are both combo pieces and control tools. You'll always have an answer or explosive play.

This strategy centers around getting the most out of Oswald Fiddlebender's ability so you can find your combo pieces as fast as possible. With a variety of low-cost artifacts, like Sol Ring, Mana Vault, and Chrome Mox, you'll be able to accelerate your mana curve and activate Oswald already in the first few turns. Furthermore, this deck also plays several Stax pieces, like Trinisphere and Thorn of Amethyst, so you can delay your opponents as you progress your game plan.

Main Combos

Marvin, Murderous Mimic Combo

The Marvin, Murderous Mimic combo is your main win condition. It creates infinite mana and lets you activate Oswald Fiddlebender constantly to get the pieces you need to win.

Pre-requisites:

- 5 mana.

- Any 2 cmc artifact.

- Two 1 cmc artifacts or 6 mana, one 1 cmc artifact, and one 0 cmc artifact.

- Oswald Fiddlebender in play.

Steps

1. Sacrifice a 2 cmc artifact to find Thousand-Year Elixir. Activate the Elixir to untap Oswald Fiddlebender.

2. Sacrifice a 1 cmc artifact to find Marvin, Murderous Mimic.

3. Sacrifice another 1cmc artifact with Marvin using Oswald's ability to find Pili-Pala.

4. Use Pili-Pala to untap Marvin and create 2 mana.

5. Keep this tutor chain going until you find Palladium Myr or Metalworker.

6. With Metalworker or Palladium Myr, create infinite mana by untaping and taping Marving constantly.

7. As Oswald activates over and over, sacrifice Pili-Pala to find Staff of Domination, and, next, use Canoptek Scarab Swarm to set up one of your win conditions.

To actually kill your opponents, you'll use Codex Shredder and destroy their decks, or Immovable Rod, so you can venture into dungeons infinite times.

P.S.: Use scarab tokens to get the other cards you need.

Tips

Keep fast hands: prioritize hands that can cast Oswald and start the combo until turn 4. 2 or 3 ramp cards in the first few turns are essential.

Keep track of your opponent's mana: before you start your combo, check if your opponents have mana for counterspells or removals.

Protect your life points: this strategy might be aggressive, but don't neglect your life points entirely.

Manage your resources: don't spend all your protections or removals at once. Save a few so you can deal with unexpected threats.

Read the table: keep an eye on your opponents' strategies. If someone is playing control, or Stax, try to remove their key pieces.

Adapt: if your main combo was interrupted, look for another way in. Study this deck, as there are many ways you can win with it - it is a toolbox deck, after all.

Budget Version

The original list was already quite refined, but we know not everyone can get rare cards like Mox Diamond, Mishra's Workshop, or Lion's Eye Diamond. So, here are a few swaps that will make this build cheaper, but still keep it quite functional:

Swaps:

1. Mox Diamond → Mind Stone.

This is a simple mana rock that will accelerate your game plan, and you can sacrifice it to draw a card.

2. Mishra's Workshop → Plains.

3. Lion's Eye Diamond → Everflowing Chalice

This is a more accessible way to create a lot of mana at once, though it isn't as powerful as the original.

4. Metalworker → Foundry Inspector.

Foundry Inspector is less efficient, but can still accelerate a lot of mana.

5. Enlightened Tutor → Soulless Jailer.

We added another Stax piece to make up for how much speed the original version lost.

6. The One Ring → Ichor Wellspring

This change hurts a lot. But it's just the price we pay to not go bankrupt.

7. Grim Monolith → Worn Powerstone

This mana rock is slower, but it is still functional and will accelerate your curve.

There are many other swaps that make this list even cheaper. Nonetheless, take a look at one version with the suggestions above. It became quite cheap and still remained very functional. The original list has a lot of synergies: as long as you don't remove the main combo pieces and keep some 1, 2, and 3-cost artifacts, it will work!

Oswald Fiddlebender is a powerful, versatile strategy that can win quickly with combos that are difficult to interact with, or control the game entirely with Stax effects. Marvin, Murderous Mimic added new combos to the entire strategy, and made it even more efficient and unpredictable. It is a great choice if you consider yourself a great player and enjoy complex decks!

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!