Commander:


This deck focuses on making it impossible for opponents to attack it and follows up with value enchantments.

You will have fun with this deck if...
- ... you prefer linear strategies instead of simply playing all the good stuff.
- ... you like sitting back and letting your opponents kill each other.
- ... you like doing something off the beaten path (which, in this case, would be artifact recursion).

You will not enjoy this deck if...
- ... you want to be the aggro deck.
- ... you want your commander to deal out the punches.
- ... you prefer to play a well-rounded deck to a strongly linear one.

No budget: I've gathered quite an extensive singleton collection over the years, so I was able to include all the cards I wanted.


Preamble:

When I first discovered the Commander format, I wanted to build a Hanna deck. However, since I was new, I didn't want to pass up on playing some powerful cards that really didn't fit into the deck, which is why I ultimately ended up discarding the deck and building Sisay instead.

After having played a number of fun decks, I built a pesky Oloro control deck, similar to what Brian Weissman and Nathaniel Prawdzik have come up with (if you're interested in a competitive EDH playstyle or you want to learn about the finer arts of Magic, I highly recommend checking out their respective Youtube Channels: https://www.youtube.com/user/bekele2617/videos and https://www.youtube.com/user/NatePrawdzik/videos). After winning a few games, I figured my friends had suffered enough, and so I decided to build a bit of a weaker deck, which might be more fun for the whole group.

This would be an enchantment-based, pillowfort-style Hanna deck. I figured that, due to its strong focus on enchantments and the lack of Counterspells, it would be a 'fair' deck to play. However, it has turned out to still be a powerhouse, particularly due to its non-threatening posture, which frequently wins political games.

My playgroup has grown more and more competitive over time, but we are trying to get away a little from mono cheap disruption decks, since those games just aren't fun for anyone at the table. If your group isn't playing budget decks, but isn't running mono counterspells, this list should fit in nicely.

Currently, I am working on a Daxos deck for 2HG purposes, which is why I figure this is the perfect time to post this list


Playstyle:

This deck tries to be inconspicuous, while ramping up mana and building up pillowfort defences:



As mentioned previously, this is primarily an enchantment based deck, which means that most artifact synergies have been disregarded in its construction. However, a few cards like Commander's Sphere are still in the deck. The requirement is that they must be good without the recursion as well.

Speaking of recursion: There certainly are a lot of sweet recursion themes (Solitary Confinement, Decree of Silence) going on in the deck. However, this usually occurs after a board presence has been built up. Hanna typically comes down fairly late, and her first one or two activations are to counteract earlier removal. I will get back to specific strategies later in this thread. Generally, the deck's focus is on building up its pillow fort, in which Hanna can then safely tinker with her sweet enchantments.

We're walking a fine line in terms of disruption. As mentioned above, the deck's intention is not to be prohibitive early with counterspells and the like. Neither does it want to steal all of the opponents' creatures, though there certainly are theft elements in the deck, which double up as defensive measures and win conditions. We are running Strip Mine and Wasteland, but only to deal with troublesome lands like Gaea's Cradle or Volrath's Stronghold. There is no Crucible of Worlds. Until the later stages of the game, the deck is almost exclusively relying on making an attack as difficult as possible:




Decklist:

I've tried to sort cards by function, and then alphabetically.

Disclaimer: I frequently let friends borrow cards, so there might be some cards missing. Also, I haven't gotten around to update the list with certain cards from Battle for Zendikar and Commander 2015!

Lands (32, should be 33):



We are running quite a few basics to support land tax, and to combat the occasional Bloodmoon.
I'm pretty sure I've taken out a couple of lands and forgotten to replace them. Just use your imagination to fill up the slots.

Adarkar Wastes
Ancient Tomb
Arid Mesa
Command Tower (this is one of the cards I temporarily removed, which means 1 less card is missing)
Flooded Strand
Glacial Fortress
Hallowed Fountain
Island (8x)
Kor Haven
Mana Confluence
Marsh Flats
Misty Rainforest
Mystic Gate
Plains (5x)
Prairie Stream
Scalding Tarn
Serra's Sanctum (by far the best land, possibly the best card here!)
Strip Mine
Tundra
Wasteland
Windswept Heath


Ramp (12):



We need a lot of mana, not only to cast our spells, but also to have enough mana to recur things if necessary!

Chromatic Lantern
Commander's Sphere (also value with Hanna)
Expedition Map (usually gets Serra's Sanctum, but can get Wasteland or Kor Haven in a pinch)
Gilded Lotus (this is a frequent copy target for Phyrexian Metamorph)
Land Tax (doubles up for Tax-Rack combo)
Mana Crypt
Mana Drain (Yes, this is a ramp spell in this deck! It's the only counter I run!)
Mind Stone (also value with Hanna)
Sol Ring
Talisman of Progress
Thran Dynamo
Worn Powerstone


Pillowfort cards (11):



This is the most important part of the deck. Remarkably, these cards are also the most frequent regrowth targets (after removal) - even more so, than the actual recursion cards! They are also the most frequent targets of copy effects!

Delaying Shield (also combos with Faith Healer)
Ghostly Prison
Humility (not having the commander available doesn't hurt this deck overly much)
In the Eye of Chaos (there are still a bunch of counterspells floating around)
Moat
Propaganda
Story Circle
Solitary Confinement
Sphere of Safety
Teferi's Moat
War Tax


Disruption (18):



Banishing Light
Curse of Exhaustion (also combos with Decree of Silence)
Cyclonic Rift
Detention Sphere
Dismantling Blow
Legacy's Allure
Oblivion Ring
Parallax Wave (Insane regrowth target. I used to run Parallax Tide, too, but it was too unfair)
Planar Collapse
Prison Term
Reality Acid (combos with Hanna plus Faith Healer)
Seal of Cleansing
Soul Snare
Supreme Verdict
Swords to Plowshares (I don't run Path to Exile, because it's not necessary, along with the other cards, and it has a real drawback against fast decks in my meta)
Take Possession (I used to run more of this effect, but it tends to draw a lot of fire, which we want to avoid. It's still a nice removal spell that doubles up as a wincon)
Treachery (see Take Possession. This also doubles as a mana accelerator with Serra's Sanctum and Ancient Tomb)
Vedalken Shackles (see above)


Utility (16):



Auramancer (I've come to really like the redundancy to Hanna, especially since I tend to wait until I can protect her. I'm considering adding the monk from Urza block.)
Clever Impersonator (Usually copies pillowfort cards, but wincons and acceleration work, too)
Copy enchantment (see above, minus acceleration)
Enlightened Tutor
Future Sight (you'd be surprised how often you end up hellbent with this deck, particularly when someone is locking out your general)
Greater Auramancy
Idyllic Tutor
Lightning Greaves (I tend to wait with my general until I have this, particularly when she's died before)
Mesa Enchantress
Rhystic Study (same purpose as Future Sight, but while that is underrated in my playgroup, Study frequently serves as bait)
Rings of Brighthearth
Scroll Rack (you play the Tax, you play the Rack )
Sensei's Divining Top (I hate playing this card in EDH, but when you're playing Future Sight and Omniscience, you might as well...)
Swiftfoot Boots (see Lightning Greaves)
Tezzeret, the Seeker (there isn't a lot of artifact recursion here, but the toolbox plus ramp makes him worth it. Frequently gets Shackles or Greaves.)
Trinket Mage (An extra tutor for Serra's Sanctum? Sign me up! Also gets Top for Future Sight)


Combo Pieces (5):



Academy Rector (usually serves as a bait spell, or an extra pillowfort element, but boy is it nice when you do get that Omniscience!)
Decree of Silence (probably the most unfair synergy with Hanna in the deck, particularly when you add Curse of Exhaustion)
Faith Healer (combos with Reality Acid, gets new targets for Oblivion Ring effects, and generally has good synergy with the deck)
Omniscience
Replenish (even more broken in this deck than Omniscience)


Finishers (4):



Jace, the Mind Sculptor (ironically, the weakest one in terms of ending the game. The utility makes him worth it, particularly with all the pillowfort cards)
Opalescence (make sure not to cast this too early. I've been blown out by Wraths once or twice...)
Sigil of the Empty Throne (the best of the finishers and a frequent copy and tutor target)
Starfield of Nyx (boy, I wish the second part of the text didn't exist... That makes this card quite risky. However, it's too good not to run it...)


Cards that didn't make it:



Just ask me about specific cards, and I'll add an explanation why they aren't in, or I'll add them.

Aurification: Simply unnecessary. This is a lot less effective than, say, Moat, in my experience.
Crucible of Worlds: Trying to stay away from things that make people want to target you. Cards like Humility and Omniscience are enough! I also want the games to be as fun an experience as (still) possible for everyone...
Eldrazi Conscription: This is a placeholder for all aura cards (though I did consider a few utility cards). I had Nomad Mythmaker, one of my casual favorites, in here for a while, but auras are generally prone to card disadvantage, and Voltron finishers simply aren't necessary in this deck. I'd rather stick with the consistancy I currently have...
Terminus: I used to run this, but it was a dead card too often. You don't need a lot of wraths if people usually won't attack you, and you've got theft and Humility as backup plans!


Strategy:

OK, I'm pretty tired, so I'll keep this short for now. Just tell me which points you want me to elaborate on! Hopefully, I'll get around to adding specific card interactions at some points, though you'll find a lot of those in the comments section.

As already mentioned, your typical game starts by ramping, and then, you spend as many turns as possible off the radar, while 'subtly' discouraging people from attacking you.

During the mid- to late game, people will figure out rather quickly that you're a lot more of a threat than they've previously assumed, or - at the very least - that, if they don't deal with you, it will soon become impossible for them to kill you by conventional means. The best way to combat this is to overwhelm their spot removal. I've had games where people focused all their removal on my defensive enchantments, and people still didn't manage to finish me off, even with things like infinite tokens!

Once you've established your defenses and Hanna is protected, you start getting value out of your various recursion options, which includes Faith Healer synergies. She is also a great way to make sure your enchantments won't get exiled!

Of course, you do get games where people will just scoop to an early Omniscience, but otherwise, this is the point in the game where you start working on the finish, preferrably with Sigil of the Empty Throne.

Strengths:

- Very passive approach, along with defensive cards, discourages opponents from focusing on you.
- Interaction with the massive amount of enchantments is almost impossible. I have one friend who runs Aura Thief, but apart from that, there isn't a lot to blow you out. You can even recover from Austere Command, and your opponents usually can't afford to choose Enchantment anyway, since there will be more proactive decks at the table.
- Redundancy concerning the pillowfort approach means Hanna isn't vital for you to have a good game, though she certainly helps.

Weaknesses:

- Graveyard hate can be quite frustrating, though it is possible to beat it with redundancy and card advantage like Future Sight.
- Decks with a lot of efficient counterspells, if they can afford to focus on you.
- Alternate win conditions like infinite mill.
- Highly agressive decks can be a problem, but I've found them to be a lot less threatening than I first expected. Even decks like Geist of Saint Traft can be managed, though that is at least in part because they don't want to focus on the guy who taxes them for attacking...


OK, that's it for now. I hope I could give some of you a few ideas. Please let me know what you think and what you would change. If you have any questions or feedback (this is the first deck I've posted here), feel free to message me. I will also try to read through the comment section.


Have fun!

Forcefield is always a shoe in for these kind of lists, I don't see Sun Titan either.

To be brutally honest, your formatting didn't do you any favors in terms of me being able to read, understand and see what you are doing. The pictures just get in the way. I understand you are posting this primer style, which is popular over at mtgsalvation, but posts like that just don't get far here at all, different kettle of fish. A simple list organised by type and/or effect (I prefer effect, others prefer type) is just as easy to dissect and understand. You obviously put a lot of time and thought into your post and I can always appreciate someone passionate about their list however.

You've made some different choices from my own version (I need to get it posted, it's been several weeks since it was finished) Some are card pool related (I couldn't afford a Moat in '95, and I still can't), but I like them. Decree of Silence is so going in my deck!

No Maze of Ith, Silent Arbitor, Crawlspace, or Arcane Lighthouse? I find that sometimes Propaganda discouragement fails. Maze lock sends a far stronger statement. I tend to include the Lighthouse to allow mazing Narset or Boots/Greaves wearers.

Have you considered Arenson's Aura or Teferi's Care? Both play well with Hanna and provide a backup to Faith Healer, though of course you really only need one of the two.

Sorry to be reviving an old thread.

Just wanted to say I really like your primer. You have some sweet synergies!

You can see my latest build here: https://deckstats.net/decks/81596/673276-hanna-pillowfort-s-navigator.

Our list are similar but I have a few variations:

Pilows

• Energy field: a cheap pillow that I can recur
• Island sanctuary: acts like a second solitary confinement

Win

• Enchanted Evening + Opalescence : state-based land destruction
• Enchanted Evening + Aura thief : steal everything
• Opalescence + Parallax Wave : exile every creature

Protection
I also add to bring in more protection for my Hanna as my group is well aware that Hanna cannot be let alive for too long. Alongside the usual boots, I have

• Angelic renewal
• Nim Deathmantl

Draw

My draw suite is a bit different too.

• Attunement: recurrable, goes 3 deep, I choose what I want in my graveyard
• Hatching plans: obscene with a sacrifice outlet and Hanna on the battlefield
• Standstill: such a fun card to play

What do you think of Enduring Ideal? I played it with Paradox Haze and Dovescape and it was so good I felt bad for playing it.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on my list!

Nice list ravel.