commander · Saskia the Unyielding
Open Hostility (C16).
A four-color aggro deck from Commander 2016, led by Saskia the Unyielding — nominate a second opponent to take combat damage whenever any opponent takes damage from your creatures, and attack wide for double damage output.
The Commander
Open Hostility is Commander 2016's aggro deck, and Saskia is one of the most threatening combat commanders ever printed. When she enters, you choose a player. Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to any player, it also deals that much damage to the chosen player. Every attack deals damage twice — to the defender and to your nominated target simultaneously. A ten-point alpha strike deals ten damage to two players at once.
Saskia the Unyielding is a 3/4 with vigilance, haste, and indestructible — she attacks the turn she lands, blocks without tapping, and ignores destroy effects. The deck supports her with a wide creature package in four colors and Partner commanders: Tana, the Bloodsower generates Saproling tokens on combat damage, while Tymna the Weaver draws cards for each opponent damaged in combat. Both reward the aggressive strategy Saskia incentivizes.
Key Cards
Tana, the Bloodsower
A 2/2 with trample that creates a 1/1 Saproling token for each combat damage dealt to a player. Tana with trample frequently hits for several damage each swing, generating three or four Saprolings per attack. With Saskia duplicating damage to the chosen player, Tana generates Saprolings based on each separate damage instance. In a deck built to attack wide, Tana becomes an endless token factory that turns combat damage into board presence — more tokens means more attackers means more Saprolings.
Beastmaster Ascension
Gets a quest counter when you attack with three or more creatures. Once it has seven counters, all your creatures get +5/+5. With Saskia enabling you to attack aggressively every turn and Tana generating tokens, Beastmaster Ascension reaches seven counters in two to three turns. A board of twelve Saprolings all getting +5/+5 is a lethal alpha strike from nowhere. Opponents who fail to answer this enchantment in the first few turns after it resolves lose to the pump.
Iroas, God of Victory
Creatures you control have menace and can't be blocked if your devotion to red and white is less than seven — Iroas is indestructible at that point. Menace means every attacker requires two blockers. In a wide board with fifteen creatures all requiring two blockers, opponents face math they can't solve. Iroas also prevents combat damage to your attacking creatures if the attack can't be declared. This turns attacks into risk-free pressure that opponents absorb or don't — there's no clean blocking solution.
Sunforger
Equip for four mana. Gives the equipped creature +4/+0. Pay two red and white and unattach Sunforger to search for an instant with mana value four or less and cast it for free. In a four-color deck running instants from all colors, Sunforger finds removal, protection, counterspells, or combat tricks at the right moment. Equip it to Saskia for a 7/4 indestructible threat that can tutor interaction on demand. The toolbox value from Sunforger keeps the aggro deck from being answered by a single piece of targeted removal.
Tymna the Weaver
Pay life equal to the number of opponents dealt combat damage this turn — draw that many cards. In a deck attacking all three opponents each turn through Saskia's double-damage mechanic, Tymna draws three cards for three life. That's premium card draw stapled to a two-mana body. As a Partner commander, Tymna pairs perfectly with Saskia's multi-player attack strategy. The life investment is trivial in a deck that regularly attacks for twenty-plus damage.
How to Play
Attack every turn from turn one. Saskia needs to be in play early to designate the "Saskia target" — choose the opponent with the lowest life total or the strongest board position and let every attack deal double damage to them. Tana in the command zone generates Saprolings as the attacks connect, building the token army for Beastmaster Ascension. Sunforger handles the interaction — tutor the right instant when opponents try to stabilize. Close the game with a Beastmaster Ascension pump on a board of twenty tokens, or keep attacking with Saskia's double damage until the math becomes impossible for opponents to race.