Linden: The Unyielding Queen Commander Deck Blueprint

Life is a precious commodity, and that’s true both in everyday life and in the game of Magic: The Gathering. While having a lot of life points can keep you in the game longer, it doesn’t always translate to wins. Just because you have more life than your opponents doesn’t guarantee your victory.

However, that changes when you have Linden, the Steadfast Queen on your side. With Linden leading the charge, every attack not only boosts your life total but also diminishes that of your opponents. White mages have numerous strategies to gain both power and life simultaneously. Keep reading to see how Linden can become your next commander choice.

Introducing the Commander: Linden, the Steadfast Queen

Linden is an uncomplicated commander. For three white mana, you get a 3/3 creature that can attack without tapping and gives you one life whenever a white creature you control attacks.

So, the more creatures you have, the more life you can gain. Any deck built around Linden should focus on having a lot of creatures and ways to enhance your life gain while attacking.

To maximize the benefits of a Linden deck, consider including token generators. The best of these will create tokens whenever you gain life, establishing a cycle where gaining more life leads to more creatures, which then leads to even more life gained.

Many white cards can also trigger additional life gain or token generation upon creature entry, creating an exponential increase in life and creatures. Eventually, your life total can reach such heights that dealing 40 damage to your opponents becomes infeasible, while your many creatures can easily overrun their defenses.

Creating Your Linden, the Steadfast Queen Commander Deck

As we discussed earlier, a Linden life gain deck should focus on three major components: numerous creatures, effective ways to turn those creatures into life gain, and strategies to convert that life into offensive strength. It’s also beneficial to include cards that can transform life gain into additional life gain as well as alternative win conditions based on your life total.

Moreover, you won’t want to forget about essential white spells that can help manage threats, provide tactical advantages, and clear your board when necessary.

Life Gain

Linden already offers life gain when you attack, but the white color has plenty of ways to amplify that effect. Soul Warden stands out as one of the best options, but you can also include one-drop cards with a life gain trigger or lifelink, such as Ocelot Pride, Lunarch Veteran, Soul’s Attendant, Speaker of the Heavens, and Guide of Souls.

At the two-mana slot, consider options like Daxos, Blessed by the Sun, Suture Priest, Lifecreed Duo, and Impassioned Orator. You can also integrate cards such as Angel of Vitality, Rhox Faithmender, Leyline of Hope, and Cleric Class, which grant additional life for each life gained.

Transforming Life into Power

Simply gaining life won’t keep you safe; you need to convert that life into power. Include cards like Serra Ascendant, Essence Channeler, Ajani’s Pridemate, Elenda’s Hierophant, Heliod, Sun-Crowned, and Nykthos Paragon to convert every point of life gained into power for your creatures—typically represented as +1/+1 tokens.

Additionally, certain creatures and enchantments can turn life gained into card draws. Cards like Rumor Gatherer, Dawn of Hope, Sigarda’s Splendor, and Well of Lost Dreams leverage life gains and high life totals into additional spells.

Token Generators

Much of your life gain strategy relies on having or creating a mass of creatures, and token generators such as Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Mentor of the Meek, Defiler of Faith, Keeper of the Accord, Crested Sunmare, and Book of Exalted Deeds assist greatly. More creatures create more life and more power.

Alternative Win Conditions

Amassing life alone won’t secure victory. Some cards offer methods to win by reaching incredible life totals.

For instance, Angel of Destiny and Felidar Sovereign provide various paths to success. Felidar Sovereign is one of the simplest “you win” cards, requiring only that you have 40 or more life, while it’s relatively easy for Linden to gain 15 life more than your starting total.

Aetherflux Reservoir lets you convert your life points into damaging effects for opponents, and Halo Fountain can turn all your creatures into a victory without relying on life points or damage dealt.

Essential White Cards

Don’t hesitate to include staple white spells in a mono-white deck. Cards like Esper Sentinel, Welcoming Vampire, Mentor of the Meek, and Sun Titan will enhance your deck’s performance. Removal spells like Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Generous Gift, and Stroke of Midnight are essential.

Cards like Fumigate, Austere Command, and Martial Coup can clear the board, as can Ajani, Strength of the Pride (some even generate tokens). Storm Herd can often provide so many tokens that your opponents may only hope to clear the board themselves.

Finally, utilize Akroma’s Will and Unbreakable Formation to break stalemates, while cards like Sol Ring, Mind Stone, Pearl Medallion, Knight of White Orchid, and Oketra’s Monument can enhance your mana reserves or reduce casting costs.

Linden, the Steadfast Queen Commander Deck List

Here’s a sample deck list for Linden, the Steadfast Queen.

Budget Substitutions

Some of the cards above might be pricey for casual players, so here are some budget-friendly alternatives:

Playing Tips for Linden, the Steadfast Queen in Commander

• Although Linden encourages life gain through attacking, there’s no obligation to do so if it’s not strategic. You have many other paths to gain life and win.
• That said, don’t hesitate to attack. Often, your opponents’ counters won’t matter with your significant life total.
• Always monitor commander damage, as it can still take you out even with a high life total.
• Stay vigilant. There are cards like Phage the Untouchable and Etrata, the Silencer that can still eliminate you, regardless of your life total. Block potentially problematic creatures when you can, without losing too much of your board.
• Some cards can entirely shut down life gain, so make sure to prepare for life gain hate.