Siona, Captain of the Pyleas EDH Deck Tech

Auras in Magic don’t get the same respect as Equipment cards. They cannot swap between creatures, while Equipment can. Killing the creature an Aura is targeting will remove both, unlike with Equipment. Despite this, Auras fill a role, especially in Commander.

Siona is an Auras-matter style commander that puts an Aura into your hand when entering play. More importantly, whenever an Aura is attached to a creature you control, you create a 1/1 white human soldier token. As expected, this deck uses many enchantments to get the most out of this, as well as cards to help recycle Auras. You can find the full deck list on Moxfield.

While the creature count seems high for a deck of this type, keep in mind many have the Bestow ability. While they don’t count as Auras for any card that looks for that type, they become Auras when cast for the Bestow cost. Of the rest, cards like Dawnhart Geist, Satyr Enchanter, and Transcendent Envoy interact with Enchantments. Likewise, Crusader of Odric, Ironroot Warlord, and Woodland Champion are great for token decks. The other creatures either add extra utility or interact with Auras in some way.

Most of the Auras are simply decent value. Most of them can be swapped out for Auras that would be more useful for your local meta. However, Shielded by Faith must appear in the deck. As for the other spells, most is small ramp and utility. Pennon Blade is very useful for this deck, given the focus on tokens. One land of note is Emergence Zone, which can help win the game if everything lines up perfectly.

The deck really seeks to do the following: Play Siona, find Shielded by Faith, then put out an infinite number of tokens. This is useful in and of itself, but combined with creatures mentioned above or Pennon Blade, you can create a monster that demands an answer. Combine such a creature with flight and trample and you will be in a great position to take the lead.

The ideal play is to have Siona, Emergence Zone, and Court Street Denizen in play, with Shielded by Faith in your hand. At the end step just before your turn, activate Emergence Zone. Play Shielded by Faith on one of your creatures and create your token. This will let you tap a creature an opponent controls. Move Shielded by Faith to the new token to start the chain over. Repeat as much as you like, tapping all of your opponents creatures and playing enough tokens to win the game in one massive attack. When you have enough tokens, just opt to not move Shielded by Faith.

There are several cards that would improve the deck. Sigarda’s Aid can take the place of Emergence Zone, letting you cast Auras at instant speed. Similarly, anything that effects tokens could make a good inclusion in case you’re unable to go infinite. You may want to add more ramp or more removal, depending on your style.

Overall, this is a simple combo deck that is very budget friendly, freeing funds for more cards or accessories. It can be improved in several ways, and even broken down to its basic components and used as an alternate win condition in another deck featuring white and green. Also, the combo is fairly straight forward and uses as few as 2 cards, making it a good option for newer players. Ultimately, players can take the deck in many directions, all of which should be useful.