commander · Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
Evasive Maneuvers (C13).
A Bant flicker and stax deck from Commander 2013, led by Derevi, Empyrial Tactician — tap and untap permanents with her ETB trigger, deploy her for one mana at instant speed from the command zone, and generate mana advantage through Superior permanent untaps.
The Commander
Evasive Maneuvers is Commander 2013's Bant deck and Derevi is one of the format's most unique commanders due to her special deployment cost. Instead of paying commander tax to recast from the command zone, Derevi can be put onto the battlefield from the command zone for four mana at any time you could cast a sorcery. No commander tax. No reprieve for opponents who remove her. She also has a powerful ETB and combat trigger: whenever Derevi enters or a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you tap or untap any permanent.
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician turns combat damage into permanent control and mana generation. Tap opponents' blockers before combat to push through damage, then untap your own mana rocks to reuse them. The deck runs a flicker package to abuse ETB creatures and a full suite of evasive fliers that reliably connect for the untap triggers.
Key Cards
Roon of the Hidden Realm
Pay two and tap Roon: exile another target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step. Free ETB trigger every turn for any creature in your deck. Roon is the alternate commander for the deck and functions as the primary flicker engine when Derevi is in play generating untap triggers. Blink Mulldrifter to draw two more cards. Blink Karmic Guide to reanimate another creature. Roon converts every ETB ability in the deck into a repeatable effect.
Conjurer's Closet
At the beginning of your end step, you may exile a creature you control and return it to the battlefield. Blink any creature every end step for free. In a deck built around ETB triggers, this is a free activation of every creature's ETB once per turn cycle without paying additional mana. Blink Mulldrifter for card draw, blink Sun Titan for recursion, blink Karmic Guide for another reanimate. Conjurer's Closet generates more value per turn than any other card in the deck.
Karmic Guide
A 2/2 white Spirit Angel with flying and protection from black that returns any creature from any graveyard to play on entry. Blink Karmic Guide with Roon to return a second creature. Blink it a third time to return a third. In a pod where opponents' graveyards are stocked with powerful creatures, Karmic Guide is also a theft engine — return an opponent's best creature. Its echo clause means you can let it die naturally for a death trigger if needed, then Conjurer's Closet refetches it next end step.
Mulldrifter
Draw two cards when it enters the battlefield. Evoke for two mana. In a blink deck, Mulldrifter is the most efficient card draw piece. Cast it for five mana for a 2/2 body plus two cards. Or evoke it for two mana (just the two cards), then flicker it before the sacrifice trigger resolves to keep the body and trigger the ETB draw again. Roon blinks Mulldrifter each turn to draw two cards per activation. One Mulldrifter with Roon draws two additional cards every turn cycle.
Mistmeadow Witch
Pay two and tap: exile target creature you control and return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step. Instant-speed ETB trigger activation. Unlike Roon or Conjurer's Closet, Mistmeadow Witch activates at any time — including during opponents' turns. Protect a creature from targeted removal by blinking it in response. Trigger Karmic Guide's ETB again on an opponent's end step. Generate Derevi's untap trigger by blinking creatures that deal combat damage before damage resolves.
How to Play
Deploy creatures with powerful ETB effects in the early turns and use Derevi's untap triggers from combat damage to keep mana available and tap down opponents' threats. The critical mid-game pieces are Conjurer's Closet and Roon — once either is in play alongside Mulldrifter or Karmic Guide, the deck generates massive value every turn without additional mana investment. Protect the flicker engines from removal using Mistmeadow Witch's instant-speed protection. Win through superior card advantage and board control — blink Karmic Guide to reanimate the most powerful creatures available, keep Derevi's untap triggers suppressing opponents' mana, and close with a wide attack through tapped-down defenders.