Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy – Full Cowling

Everyone has that one deck that they keep on the side. The one which you brought to the table just in case anyone gets a bit full of themselves. The deck which you pilot like a Maverick and everyone who’s faced it before knows to be ready for a potential Archenemy game. For me, that deck has Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy at the helm, a dangerous high-value, low-cost creature who extends mana generated by nonland permanents and has a built-in search for the win.

Going down the rabbit hole one night we decided to tune my Kinnan deck to be as fast and efficient as possible. No pulling punches, just constant value and threats. Of course with each new set and every new piece that comes out, I continue to look for tweaks here and there, but this is the current version.

Synergy

Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy turns all your mana dorks and rocks up a notch by having them produce an extra mana of any colour mana you are producing. This turns one Birds of Paradise into a turn two Kinnan into a potential game-ender. By playing out rock after rock with the acceleration in effect you can set up to activate Kinnan or be ready to go infinite at any time.

Once you’re ready to start using Kinnan’s 2nd ability and drop a haymaker from the top 5 cards of your deck you’re either digging for value or to end the game. Seedborn Muse is the best target in a multiplayer game as you can keep digging for more and more creatures to play on every opponent’s turn.

Kinnans Infinite Engine

Both Kinnan’s abilities go hand in hand, making mana, and having an outlet for it. There are a few cards that are game-ending if they can land on the board, particularly Basalt Monolith. Basalt Monolith creates infinite colourless mana with a Kinnan on the field by generating 4 mana and untapping for 3. This is a key piece and the reason for artifact tutors such as Trophy Mage, Fabricate, and Tezzeret, the Seeker.

Besides being able to cover any generic mana costs such as the 5 mana for Kinnans ability the infinite colourless allows us to cast the Eldrazi titans which have crept their way into the deck. Their effects are devastating and each is a threat of epic proportions. Making Kinnan’s 2nd ability only cost Blue/Green also makes it easier to activate and drop in sneaky creatures with held up mana on your opponent’s turns.

Now, what if you wanted to just create infinite coloured mana so that you can activate Kinnan to your heart’s content? Freed from the Real and Pemmin’s Aura on a creature which can produce any colour of mana with a Kinnan in play net you just that. Sylvan Caryatid and the aforementioned Birds of Paradise do just that with a Gyre Engineer in case your Kinnan is being removed too often, and you can do with just infinite green mana. With Cryptolith Rite though any creature becomes a multi-colour-mana dork, making everything from your Eldrazi to Kinnan himself tapping for infinite mana with these auras.

Winning

There are several lines of play for how to win in this deck. If you want to win by turning things sideways, you can always use the Eldrazi to lay waste to your opponent’s boards and decks. If instantaneously winning is your kind of style though after generating infinite mana you can dump it into a few sources to draw out your deck. If you’ve tutored for Staff of Domination with any of the artifact tutors or perhaps hit Thrassios, Triton Hero off of Kinnan or is still on the field and not dealt with for some odd reason, you can do just that. After drawing your deck the deadliest fish in the sea Thassa’s Oracle becomes an easy win condition.

Conclusion

This deck is incredibly fast while remaining interactive and reactive to what your opponents try and do to thwart your plans turn after turn. If you’ve cleared the way, you can win without breaking a sweat. Piloting this deck is quite fun, but as I enjoy deck building and trying out the new potential Commanders as they come out. It stays constructed and usually sits on the side of the table waiting for my sodium levels to get high enough to finally unleash it upon the Games-Night.

A lot of us have our so-called strongest decks at the ready. I want to know what decks are your powerhouse threats that you keep around in case you mean business? Leave a comment and share your decks and stories of its immeasurable power being used on friends and foes alike. Until next time, Tuxebro out!