commander · Jirina Kudro
Ruthless Regiment (C20).
A Mardu humans tribal deck led by Jirina Kudro, create Human soldier tokens scaled to how many times you've cast Jirina, give all your Humans +2/+0, and overrun opponents with a wide aggressive army.
The Commanders
Ruthless Regiment is a Mardu Commander deck built around Humans tribal. Jirina Kudro rewards recurring commander casts with a growing army of tokens and buffs the entire tribe to punch above their stat line. This is a fast, combat-focused deck that wants to end games before opponents set up their engines.
Jirina Kudro costs {1}{R}{W}{B} and is a 3/3 Human Soldier. When she enters, create a 1/1 white Human Soldier token for each time you've cast a commander from the command zone this game. Other Humans you control get +2/+0. The token scaling is the deck's key snowball mechanic: the first cast makes one token, the second cast makes two, the third makes three, and so on. With Jirina's +2/+0 anthem, even first-cast Jirina gives you 1 token with 3 power and all existing Humans buffed. The secondary commanders are Kelsien, the Plague (a ping commander) and the Partner pair Trynn, Champion of Freedom plus Silvar, Devourer of the Free.
Key Cards
Hanweir Militia Captain
Token generation that scales with board width. Hanweir Militia Captain triggers at the beginning of each upkeep. If you control four or more creatures, it transforms into Westvale Cult Leader, a 2/2 that creates a 1/1 Human token every upkeep and gives all your other Humans +1/+1. In a Humans tribal deck that wants to go wide, Hanweir Militia Captain consistently transforms by turn four or five and becomes a permanent token generator. The combined anthem effect with Jirina's existing +2/+0 makes each Human token a 4/3 instead of a 1/1.
Trynn, Champion of Freedom
A Partner commander who generates a Human token on each end step where you attacked with the most creatures. Trynn is a 2/3 Human Soldier who pairs with Silvar, Devourer of the Free, a 4/2 Cat Nightmare that sacrifices Humans to gain indestructible and grow. Trynn generates the fodder, Silvar converts Humans into an unkillable threat. As an alternative command zone to Jirina, the Trynn/Silvar pair plays faster and more aggressively, with Silvar threatening a permanent indestructible presence by mid game.
Thalia's Lancers
A tutor for your best legendary cards. When Thalia's Lancers enter, search your library for a legendary card and put it into your hand. In a deck full of legendary Humans including Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Odric, Lunarch Marshal, Thalia's Lancers finds the legendary you need for the current game state. Against counterspell-heavy opponents, find Thalia herself to shut down non-creature spells. Against token decks, find Odric to spread keywords across your army. First strike makes them a solid combat piece beyond the tutor.
Odric, Lunarch Marshal
Keyword distribution across your entire army. At the beginning of combat, Odric looks at all keywords your creatures have (flying, first strike, double strike, deathtouch, haste, hexproof, indestructible, lifelink, menace, reach, trample, vigilance) and gives them all to every creature until end of turn. In a Humans tribal deck where individual creatures naturally have a mix of keywords, Odric turns every attack step into a fully powered team strike. One creature with deathtouch and another with first strike means your whole army gets first strike deathtouch simultaneously.
Kelsien, the Plague
A secondary commander that functions as efficient targeted removal. Kelsien is a 1/3 Human Assassin with deathtouch and haste that taps to deal 1 damage to any target. When a creature dealt damage by Kelsien this turn dies, put an experience counter on Kelsien's controller and Kelsien gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Against creature-heavy pods, Kelsien generates experience counters each turn cycle, quickly becoming a 5/7 or larger deathtouch threat that pings down any creature one at a time. He's the best anti-creature answer in the command zone.
How to Play
The deck is aggressive and should be played as such. Mulligan for two or three Humans plus Jirina or a way to find her. Attack early and often. Jirina's token scaling rewards recurring her, so budget for commander tax. Get Odric into play by turn five to maximize the combat step. The mid game is about applying enough pressure through the tribe that opponents can't set up their own engines without dealing with your board first. Win by attacking wide: a board of eight Humans all swinging with Odric's keywords is lethal through almost any blocking configuration.
