Ikoria Commander Showdown Mardu Vs Jeskai

Welcome to another Ikoria Commander Showdown from CommandBeacon.com. We have our last pairing of the secondary commanders and it's a human against monsters matchup with Kelsien, the Plague against Akim, the Soaring Wind. It's a deck of a human hunter destroying creatures and gaining experience versus a bird dinosaur with its little bird tokens friends, let's take a look.

Kelsien, the Plague

Kelsien is a low-cost Commander with utility, keywords, and a fun theme. Mark your targets and make sure they die that turn for more experience to grow his power and toughness. If you can untap Kelsien and hit the same target multiple times you'll get that the same amount of experience counters as long as it dies at the end of turn. This is probably one of the most entertaining Commanders of the 2020 set to play with in my opinion, and not just because I'm running Acorn Catapult.

It's a great theme and really suiting for the Mardu colours though, lots of aggro and answers with some big bombs. Getting to run Ruinous Ultimatum  is a big plus as well and Kelsien in conjunction with deathtouch racks up the experience counters pretty quickly. The deck has more threats than tricks and aims to keep your opponents down as you build you your board. There is a substantial amount of synergy here and I hope you can find all the neat plays.

Kelsien, the Plague

()

Commander (1)

1 Kelsien, the Plague

Creatures (20)

1 Mother of Runes

1 Serra Ascendant

1 Bloodghast

1 Imperial Recruiter

1 Murderous Rider

1 Plaguecrafter

1 Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder

1 Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas

1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal

1 Queen Marchesa

1 Solemn Simulacrum

1 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell

1 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier

1 Stonehewer Giant

1 Aurelia, the Warleader

1 Harvester of Souls

1 Inferno Titan

1 Noxious Gearhulk

1 Sun Titan

Artifacts (17)

1 Basilisk Collar

1 Shadowspear

1 Skullclamp

1 Sol Ring

1 Arcane Signet

1 Boros Signet

1 Lightning Greaves

1 Orzhov Signet

1 Rakdos Signet

1 Thornbite Staff

1 Chromatic Lantern

1 Coalition Relic

1 Commander's Sphere

1 Sword of Feast and Famine

1 Sword of Fire and Ice

1 Acorn Catapult

1 Whip of Erebos

Enchantments (5)

1 Animate Dead

1 Necromancy

1 Oath of Liliana

1 Death Pits of Rath

1 Gift of Doom

Instants (10)

1 Enlightened Tutor

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Vampiric Tutor

1 Liliana's Triumph

1 Terminate

1 Bedevil

1 Crackling Doom

1 Generous Gift

1 Hero's Downfall

1 Kaya's Guile

Sorceries (5)

1 Steelshaper's Gift

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Damnation

1 Wrath of God

1 Ruinous Ultimatum

Planeswalkers (4)

1 Liliana of the Veil

1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

1 Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord

1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General

Lands (38)

1 Arid Mesa

1 Badlands

1 Blood Crypt

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Cavern of Souls

1 Clifftop Retreat

1 Command Tower

1 Dragonskull Summit

1 Fetid Heath

1 Flooded Strand

1 Godless Shrine

1 Graven Cairns

1 Isolated Chapel

1 Karn's Bastion

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mountain

1 Path of Ancestry

3 Plains

1 Plateau

1 Polluted Delta

1 Reflecting Pool

1 Rugged Prairie

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Savai Triome

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Scrubland

1 Strip Mine

3 Swamp

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Vault of the Archangel

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Windswept Heath

1 Wooded Foothills

Akim, the Soaring Wind

Our Jeskai flying bird dinosaur Commander is all about the tokens. From the triggered ability to make extra bird tokens and the activated ability to give your creature token double strike, there is no other way to go than all in with tokens. Akim doesn't even care if it's not a creature token, just make a token each turn and a bird will pop out. The double strike is pretty mana intensive but keeps a looming threat when attacking your opponents.

This build ended up going the artifact supported route for tokens. The mana intensive nature of Akim's ability and the support for artifact token creation was much higher than the enchantment or creature options. Akim synergizes with most pieces in the deck even if it's just for additional value. It's more of a mid ranged overwhelm strategy than an explosive token swarm, but constant two for one value plays can get you ahead and then keep you there.

Akim, the Soaring Wind

()

Commander (1)

1 Akim, the Soaring Wind

Creatures (13)

1 Solemn Simulacrum

1 Faerie Formation

1 Sun Titan

1 Dockside Extortionist

1 Serra Ascendant

1 Trinket Mage

1 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Kykar, Wind's Fury

1 Sai, Master Thopterist

1 Urza, Lord High Artificer

1 Geist of Saint Traft

1 Ephara, God of the Polis

1 Purphoros, God of the Forge

Artifacts (22)

1 Arcane Signet

1 Azorius Signet

1 Boros Signet

1 Chromatic Lantern

1 Coalition Relic

1 Commander's Sphere

1 Expedition Map

1 Idol of Oblivion

1 Izzet Signet

1 Mana Crypt

1 Mana Vault

1 Midnight Clock

1 Retrofitter Foundry

1 Sensei's Divining Top

1 Sol Ring

1 Talisman of Conviction

1 Talisman of Creativity

1 Talisman of Progress

1 Batterskull

1 Lightning Greaves

1 Skullclamp

1 Sword of Feast and Famine

Enchantments (7)

1 Anointed Procession

1 Blind Obedience

1 Detention Sphere

1 Goblin Bombardment

1 Smothering Tithe

1 Whirlwind of Thought

1 Legion's Landing

Instants (7)

1 Brainstorm

1 Commence the Endgame

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Enlightened Tutor

1 Mana Drain

1 Mystic Confluence

1 Pull from Tomorrow

Sorceries (3)

1 Ponder

1 Preordain

1 Supreme Verdict

Planeswalkers (11)

1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

1 Karn, Scion of Urza

1 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer

1 Serra the Benevolent

1 Tezzeret the Seeker

1 Tezzeret, Artifice Master

1 Ugin, the Ineffable

Lands (36)

1 Island

1 Mountain

1 Plains

1 Snow-Covered Island

1 Snow-Covered Mountain

1 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Arid Mesa

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Cascade Bluffs

1 Castle Ardenvale

1 Cavern of Souls

1 Celestial Colonnade

1 Clifftop Retreat

1 Command Tower

1 Field of the Dead

1 Flooded Strand

1 Glacial Fortress

1 Marsh Flats

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Mystic Gate

1 Mystic Monastery

1 Path of Ancestry

1 Polluted Delta

1 Rugged Prairie

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Windswept Heath

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Steam Vents

1 Volcanic Island

1 Raugrin Triome

1 Plateau

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Tundra

1 Kher Keep

1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge

Well, that's our Commander 2020 showdowns with humans against monsters. Who would win overall is the question? Whether between Kelsien and Akim or any of the other decks. Take a look at their respective articles on Command Beacon and let us know. Next up, we're going to see what happens when humans and beasts work together.