Storm, Windrider may not look like the most intimidating commander at first glance. A four-mana flyer with no obvious card draw, ramp, or combat keywords beyond evasion doesn’t exactly scream “build around me.” But hidden within her deceptively simple text is one of the most unusual combat abilities in the format.
Storm completely rewrites the rules of aerial combat. As long as she’s on the battlefield, creatures with flying can’t attack you or block creatures you control. Suddenly, every Dragon, Angel, Bird, and Spirit on the table becomes grounded when it comes to interacting with your game plan. Your opponents’ evasive threats lose much of their value, while your own flying creatures become incredibly difficult to stop.
While her second ability can be just as powerful, Storm’s ability to shut down opposing flyers is what immediately stood out to me. In a format full of flying threats, turning them into glorified spectators can be surprisingly effective.
Rather than focusing on a traditional flying tribal strategy, Storm rewards a different approach: filling your deck with efficient spells that target your creatures and generate value along the way. Every protection spell becomes an evasion spell. Every combat trick becomes a potential finisher. Every targeted effect becomes another opportunity to turn a crowded battlefield into an open runway for lethal damage.
Let’s take a look at some cards that can help Storm take control of the skies and turn a simple targeting effect into a game-winning attack.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty
One of the first things I looked for when building Storm was protection. If we’re going to lock down our opponents’ combat options, we need to make sure the creatures enabling that plan stay on the battlefield.
Shalai does exactly that. Giving all your other creatures hexproof makes it much harder for opponents to pick apart your board with targeted removal. As long as you can keep Shalai around, the rest of your army becomes significantly more difficult to answer.
The Sentry, Golden Guardian
The Sentry, Golden Guardian, might not seem particularly impressive at first glance, but I think it’s much stronger than its price tag suggests.
Creating a black copy known as The Void and forcing its controller to attack each combat phase can create some hilarious situations. Thanks to Storm’s ability to prevent flying creatures from attacking you, The Void is forced to look elsewhere for a target.
As long as another opponent doesn’t have a creature large enough to deal with it, The Void can become a recurring problem that helps soften up the table while you prepare your own winning attack.
Magus of the Moat
What’s more fun than preventing flying creatures from attacking you?
Preventing non-flying creatures from attacking at all.
Magus of the Moat creates an incredibly frustrating battlefield for your opponents. While it does affect your own creatures, a deck built around flying creatures won’t have much trouble ignoring the restriction. Your opponents, on the other hand, may find themselves completely grounded.
Aurification
This is a golden oldie and one of my favorite white cards to play.
If an opponent manages to connect with combat damage, they better make it count. Every creature that damages you gets turned into a Wall, slowly building a fortress of useless creatures on their side of the battlefield.
In a deck already designed to discourage combat, Aurification adds another layer of punishment that can make opponents think twice before sending creatures your way.
Hydra’s Growth
Why Hydra’s Growth?
Partly because it’s one of the cards I enjoyed most when I first started playing Magic. Theros Beyond Death was my first booster box, so this enchantment has always held a special place in my collection.
But nostalgia isn’t the only reason it’s here.
Imagine having Storm, Shalai, The Sentry, and The Void all on the battlefield. Your opponent is already forced to attack another player each turn with The Void. Now cast Hydra’s Growth on it and watch the chaos unfold as its power and toughness double every upkeep.
Insane? Chaotic? Maybe.
Pure evil? Absolutely.
While there are plenty of other cards worth considering, these five are a great place to start when building Storm, Windrider into a force that can completely control combat and dominate the skies.
What would you play with Storm Windrider?
