Akros is the city of champions on the plane of Theros. Watched over by Iroas, the God of Victory; Akroans are bound by honor, glory, and courage. They’ll be the first to step up and eradicate a horde of Minotaur just to defend their city. They’re the MTG equivalent of Spartans. When Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas was spoiled for the 2015 Commander set earlier this year, I set my sights on returning to Theros and raising hell as I charged into battle with the giant commander who personifies the spirit of victory. This last week, I had the opportunity to play the “Wade Into Battle” deck from the new Commander set straight out of the box. My opponents? Other fresh-out-of-the-box 2015 Commander decks including everyone but the blue/green deck. My hubris was large as I lost. Every. Single. Time. No matter what I did, I could never ramp, build, or get a permanent on my field. There was no synergy between the cards. The mana curve was too high. Even the coveted Blade of Selves didn’t last more than a round before my opponents destroyed it with glee. Kalemne failed me. Where did I go wrong?     I thought long and hard about this. It wasn’t the deck-building on my part. I leave that blame with the deck’s designer with incredible respect for taking a shot at this strange combination of colors. I can see that it has the potential for tribal effects but again, there is no clear direction to grow the deck. Giants is the obvious choice but it tempts you with angels and dragons. That’s not helping anyone. I wanted to rage at the world. I wanted to rage at myself. We agreed that in one week, we would come back together and try these same decks out with our new commanders and see who will be crowned “King or Queen of the Magic Table”. With the deadline for my new battle-ready deck approaching quickly, I began to stress as if I were in college again with a looming due date for a term paper. No player should ever feel that way when making a deck. Whenever I am met with a deckbuilding riddle, such as how to effectively use Kalemne, I use my one simple rule: Just use the flavor! Take Advantage of Janky Cards Consider...