Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Zaffai and the Tempests
Zaffai and the Tempests
Legendary Creature — Human Bard Sorcerer · {5}{U}{R} · Red/Blue commander
Once during each of your turns, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand without paying its mana cost.
Build a Zaffai and the Tempests deck →
What Zaffai and the Tempests actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- AbilityOnce during each of your turns, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand without paying its mana cost.
What a Zaffai and the Tempests deck needs
Plays as spellslinger. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- big spells worth casting free (it casts them without paying their mana cost)
- cheap instants and sorceries (every one you cast feeds it)
The Zaffai and the Tempests deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 12× Mana value at or above the floor — for a cascade commander a cheap card is a DEFECT, not a bargain
- 24× Instants and sorceries — for a magecraft/prowess commander the spell COUNT is the engine
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- 11× Get ahead on mana
Best cards for Zaffai and the Tempests
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
Mana value at or above the floor — for a cascade commander a cheap card is a DEFECT, not a bargain
- Excalibur, Sword of Eden12 mana
- Ancient Stone Idol10 mana
- Blightsteel Colossus12 mana
- Charred Foyer // Warped Space10 mana
- Darksteel Colossus11 mana
- Emrakul, the Promised End13 mana
- Emrakul, the World Anew12 mana
- Flayer of Loyalties10 mana
Instants and sorceries — for a magecraft/prowess commander the spell COUNT is the engine
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- An Offer You Can't Refuse1 mana
- Brainstorm1 mana
- Faithless Looting1 mana
- Gamble1 mana
- Lightning Bolt1 mana
- Mystical Tutor1 mana
- Opt1 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Reality Shift2 mana
- Wild Magic Surge2 mana
- Pongify1 mana
- Rapid Hybridization1 mana
- Resculpt2 mana
- Suspend1 mana
- Snap2 mana
- Into the Flood Maw1 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Reshape2 mana
- Mask of the Mimic1 mana
- Long-Term Plans3 mana
- Whir of Invention3 mana
- Merchant Scroll2 mana
- Mystical Tutor1 mana
- Muddle the Mixture2 mana
- Personal Tutor1 mana
Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- Mindbreak Trap4 mana
- Fierce Guardianship3 mana
- Force of Negation3 mana
- Force of Will5 mana
- Flare of Denial3 mana
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- An Offer You Can't Refuse1 mana
- Arcane Denial2 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Blasphemous Act9 mana
- Chain Reaction4 mana
- Street Spasm1 mana
- Desynchronization4 mana
- Wave Goodbye4 mana
- Whelming Wave4 mana
- Consuming Tide4 mana
- Selective Obliteration5 mana
Refill your hand
- Mystic Remora1 mana
- Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Curiosity1 mana
- Wizard Class1 mana
- Professional Face-Breaker3 mana
- Rhystic Study3 mana
- Faerie Mastermind2 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Hexing Squelcher2 mana
- Lost in the Maze2 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Eldrazi Monument5 mana
- Commander's Plate1 mana
- Mithril Coat3 mana
- Akroma's Memorial7 mana
Get ahead on mana
- Sol Ring1 mana
- Izzet Signet2 mana
- Palladium Myr3 mana
- Worn Powerstone3 mana
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mana Vault1 mana