Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Jund in Commander: Archetypes That Shine at the Table
In the multiverse of Magic: The Gathering, some themes feel like a splash of hot sauce—bold, a little chaotic, and absolutely memorable. When you drop a Plane — Alara card into a Planechase-style table, you’re inviting a level of unpredictability that casual games adore. The Jund plane from March of the Machine Commander isn’t here to play it safe; it turns every creature spell that’s black, red, or green into a potential shove toward the board, thanks to devour 5. And when chaos erupts, two red Goblin tokens skitter onto the battlefield. That combination—feral power plus goblin chaos—creates archetypes that players keep coming back to in commander circles. 🧙♂️🔥💎⚔️🎲
Devour-Driven Behemoths: Sacrifice to Grow Spindles of Power
One of the defining hooks of this plane is devour 5, triggered as you cast a creature spell with the right colors. In practical terms, you’re not just casting a big threat—you’re rewarding the board state you already control with a colossal delivery. This archetype leans into a creature-centric rhythm: you stack ways to generate creatures, then leverage sacrifice outlets to feed the devour engine. The more you’re willing to feed the stall, the bigger your behemoths become, often swinging for game-altering damage or locking down the field with an enormous body. 🧙♂️
What you’ll emphasize in the deck-building phase:
- Token generation that’s easy to sac—so you can fuel devour quickly without losing your ramp engine.
- Sacrifice outlets that are reliable in multi-player games, so you can keep the pressure up even when your opponents disrupt your stack.
- Protective measures around your commander of choice and any big threat you deploy, since the payoff rests on you resolving multiple creatures and keeping the table from looping you out.
In terms of the play pattern, expect a crescendo moment: you tap out to plant a crucial creature, your opponents respond, and you sac a handful of creatures to push a hulking threat into play with enough counters to flip the board state in your favor. The joy is in the lead-up—the tempo shifts as you convert spare creatures into unstoppable momentum. 🎨⚔️
Chaos and Goblin Tokens: When the Table Goes Boom
The other half of the Jund package is the delightful chaos fuel: whenever chaos ensues, you create two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens. That trigger isn’t just flavor—it’s a mechanical engine that invites you to lean into swarm tactics. Goblin tokens can serve as a sacrificial fodder for devour, a leggier army that pressures life totals, or a nuisance that demands instant removal. The presence of Goblins also nudges your opponents toward sweeping responses, which can open spaces for you to line up another big play on the following turns. 🧙♂️🔥💎
In practice, this means your deck can weave a thread between explosive big plays and a steady drumbeat of little threats. A handful of efficient token producers, plus a few chaos-driven outbursts, keeps everyone honest and adds the signature “lucky or cursed” vibe that Plane — Alara brings to the table. The result is a Commander experience that feels both classic and gloriously unpredictable. 🎲
Synergy Without Color Identity: How a Colorless Plane Feels in a World of Color
Even though Jund’s effect text reads as a creature- and chaos-oriented engine, it’s interesting to talk about the flavor and design implications in a colorless, Planar context. The plane’s identity—Alara’s Jund, a feral nexus of black, red, and green power—presents a design space where ramp, token generation, and big-game planning converge in a vivid, chaotic tapestry. From a card-design perspective, the devour mechanic represented a clever way to reward creature density and aggressive play patterns, while the chaos trigger ties the entire table into a single dramatic crescendo. The result is a card that’s more about mood and tabletop storytelling than pure numeric efficiency, and that’s part of what makes it resonate with Commander players. 🧙♂️🎨
For collectors and lore hikers alike, the card’s art by Aleksi Briclot—paired with the March of the Machine Commander set’s thematic ambitions—offers a tasteful balance of ferocity and wonder. The card’s rarity is common, a nice reminder that some of the most engaging experiences in MTG don’t always demand a high price tag. The printed, oversized nature of this Plane card makes it a standout in any Planechase sleeve collection, a tactile reminder that the multiverse still loves a wild ride. 💎
Deck-building Snippets: Practical Tips for a Jund Commander Kernel
When you’re assembling a Jund-themed commander deck in a Planechase-friendly environment, keep these guiding principles in mind:
- Prioritize density: you want enough bodies to feed devour reliably, which means favoring creatures that you don’t mind sacrificing when the moment calls.
- Balance your chaos triggers: the Goblin tokens are a blessing and a test—don’t overcommit to chaos to the point your own plan derails.
- Include token multipliers and token creators that synergize with your creature count, giving you additional routes to leverage the devour mechanic.
- Include sturdy defense and “remove on sight” tools to manage opponents’ big plays while you’re assembling your own plan.
Budget-minded players will find that this archetype can be built with affordable staples and a few splashy rares, especially given the card’s common rarity and the broad compatibility of the plane’s triggers with a variety of token and sacrifice strategies. The joy comes from watching a table of friends chase their own goals while your engine quietly grows into something spectacular. 🧙♂️🔥
As you plot your next session, consider how a thematic centerpiece like this Jund plane can elevate both the social and strategic layers of the game. It’s not just about overpowering the board; it’s about crafting a narrative moment at the table—one where chaos blooms, goblins scamper, and a devoured giant looms over the field. If you’re looking to level up tabletop style while keeping your gear fresh, this is the kind of setup that rewards both planning and a little-friendly chaos. 🎲⚔️