01 / The diagnosis
Ekthi, Contaminator Priest is an announced four-mana mono-white Phyrexian Cleric. She gives your other Phyrexians +1/+1, then grants living weapon to each Equipment you control. That is far more than a tribal anthem: every Equipment that enters while Ekthi is on the battlefield creates a 0/0 black Phyrexian Germ token and attaches itself to it.
Here's the twist. The Germ counts as a Phyrexian. While Ekthi stays in play, her +1/+1 effect lets it start as a 1/1 before its new Equipment is even attached. Low-cost Equipment become both spells and bodies; your inventory of swords turns into an army.
02 / The prescription
Instead of pairing Equipment with a separate creature-heavy package, make the Equipment themselves the token engine. Cheap, useful Equipment keep the cost down. Card-draw effects and free-attach tools let each new Germ matter. Your removal and protection must keep Ekthi on the battlefield, because without her your next Equipment won't create Germs.
One of the most striking interactions is Colossus Hammer: it normally costs eight to attach to a creature, but living weapon attaches it automatically to the new Germ when the Equipment enters. That creates an immediate giant creature without paying the equip cost. Skullclamp takes the opposite approach: the +1/-1 from the Clamp makes Ekthi's 1/1 Germ a 2/0, so it dies and the Clamp draws two cards.
What if your Equipment never had to wait for someone to hold it?
03 / The game plan
Cast inexpensive ramp, draw engines like Sram and Puresteel Paladin, and protection. Keep one or two Equipment for after Ekthi rather than emptying your hand before she arrives.
Resolve Ekthi, then cast Equipment one at a time. Living weapon creates a Germ and immediately attaches the new piece. Colossus Hammer creates an enormous carrier; Sword of the Animist creates an attacker that can ramp on its next attack.
Use Ardenn or Brass Squire to move Equipment to your best creature, or keep generating a broad army. If Ekthi dies, Germs without sufficient toughness from their Equipment die as state-based actions, so preserve important bodies or recast the commander.
04 / Six pieces worth rescuing
These aren't the most expensive staples in the format. They're the cards that demonstrate why this particular commander works.
The showcase exploit: living weapon skips the enormous equip cost when the Hammer enters and attaches to a newly created Germ.
With Ekthi's +1/+1, a Germ carrying Skullclamp becomes 2/0 and dies immediately; the Clamp's death trigger draws two cards.
Its combat-damage trigger makes Equipment token copies. While Ekthi is present, each fresh Equipment token can bring another Germ along.
Draws when you cast an Equipment spell—exactly the spells the deck wants to play repeatedly.
Equipment entering draws cards, and metalcraft can make your reattachment costs zero.
At the start of your combat, redistributes Equipment without paying regular equip costs and keeps good weapons on relevant attackers.
05 / Rules that matter
06 / What kills this plan?
- This is a preview, not a currently legal Commander decklist. Prices, released legality and available printings can change before November 9.
- Don't try to play Orzhov cards. Ekthi's actual printed color identity is white, even though the Germs are black.
- The commander is a single point of failure. Your lightweight Germs may die when she leaves, and any future Equipment that enters without Ekthi won't produce tokens.
- Most Equipment isn't naturally a creature. Board wipes that hit creatures do not destroy the gear, so save mana and ways to reattach it to the next wave.
07 / The $100 build challenge
This is a 29-card starter package for the commander, not a verified $100 list or a full, playtested 100-card deck. Prices vary by printing and over time. Try inexpensive functional reprints first; prioritize a consistent mana base, protection, and whatever effect the commander uniquely rewards.
Ekthi itself isn't released yet. Use the core to plan and compare card interactions, not as a currently legal Commander list.
View all 29 starter cards and roles
| Role | Card — opens Scryfall |
|---|
Each listed card appears once unless it is a commander. This incomplete package needs lands and additional spells before it is a valid 100-card deck.
Our verdict
Ekthi doesn't need 30 generic Phyrexians to be interesting. The weird part is weaponizing ordinary Equipment enters-the-battlefield events. It's a promising rescue preview, with the important caveat that we can't judge actual playability, card price, or meta performance until release.
Deep Cuts EDH is fan commentary, not official Wizards guidance. Deck strategies and power estimates are editorial, not independently playtested.