In the competitive and high-power history of Commander, very few creatures have drawn as much mechanical dread as the master of tactical disruption: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician. Within the Bant (Green-White-Blue) color identity, Derevi is the definitive engine for oppressive prison systems, resource denial, and evolutionary birthing pod lines.
Derevi’s competitive reputation is built on two rule-breaking mechanics. First, she completely bypasses the Commander tax rule. By paying a flat four mana, you can activate her ability to put her directly onto the battlefield from the command zone at instant speed, completely bypassing traditional countermagic and timing restrictions. Second, whenever Derevi or another creature you control enters the battlefield or deals combat damage to a player, you can tap or untap any target permanent. This allows you to constantly lock down your opponents‘ mana resources while keeping your own operational grid fully untapped under restrictive global tax cards.
Here is the strategic operational blueprint of Moxfield’s premier Derevi engine, detailing how to establish a flawless resource lock on the table.
1. Core Mechanics & Strategic Phases
Succeeding with Derevi requires establishing aggressive early taxing creatures, then using Derevi’s combat triggers to break symmetry under global lock pieces.
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Early Game (Turns 1–2): Deploy fast mana dorks like Birds of Paradise and low-cost evasive creatures. Prepare your hand with early tax pieces such as Drannith Magistrate or Collector Ouphe to slow down your opponents‘ development.
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Mid Game (Turns 3–4): Introduce your global resource-denial engines like Winter Orb. Cast or flash in Derevi to untap your own choked lands after combat, keeping your counterspells and interactive safety nets open while your opponents remain locked out of their mana.
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Late Game (Turns 4+): Execute your pod evolution sequences. Use Birthing Pod or similar tutors to sacrifice Derevi, transforming her into game-ending utility threats. Because you can always buy her back for a flat four mana, she acts as infinite fuel for sacrifice chains.
2. Moxfield Highlights: The Tactical Locksmiths
The highest-rated community lists on Moxfield optimize Derevi by pairing her with symmetrical resource constraints that her combat triggers easily bypass.
Winter Orb / Hokori, Dust Drinker
The absolute core engines of the lock strategy. Symmetrical cards like Winter Orb restrict players to untapping only one land during their untap steps. However, because Derevi’s triggers allow you to untap a permanent whenever your creatures connect in combat, you can untap all of your lands manually during your combat phase, rendering the resource restriction entirely one-sided.
Birthing Pod / Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
The primary evolutionary search engines. Because Derevi costs exactly 3 mana and can be repeatedly re-entered into play for a flat activation cost, she is the perfect sacrifice target for Birthing Pod. You can pod Derevi away to fetch powerful 4-mana utility options like Grand Abolisher or Linvala, Keeper of Silence, then put Derevi right back into play to untap the Pod for another activation.
Tymna the Weaver (via hatebear suites)
By filling your deck with small, evasive utility creatures like Esper Sentinel and flyer units, you ensure multiple combat triggers every turn. This not only allows you to tap down your opponents‘ blockers and lands but also lets you draw an abundance of cards to maintain your grip on the match.
Deadeye Navigator
An outstanding high-tier combo piece. Soulbonding Deadeye Navigator with Derevi allows you to flicker her for a mere 2 mana. Each time she re-enters, you target a land that produces multiple mana, such as Gaea’s Cradle or Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, generating infinite mana at instant speed.
3. Copy & Paste Derevi, Empyrial Tactician 100-Card Decklist
Use the text box below to copy the complete highly-optimized community list. It features exactly 1 Commander and 99 mainboard cards, calibrated perfectly for an error-free import into Moxfield.
1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
1 Ancient Tomb
1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
1 Arcane Signet
1 Archon of Emeria
1 Arid Mesa
1 Aura of Silence
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Birthing Pod
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloom Tender
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Bountiful Promenade
1 Breeding Pool
1 Chord of Calling
1 Chrome Mox
1 City of Brass
1 Collector Ouphe
1 Command Tower
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Deafening Silence
1 Delighted Halfling
1 Drannith Magistrate
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Eldritch Evolution
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Esper Sentinel
1 Eternal Witness
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Faeburrow Elder
1 Fallow Earth
1 Finale of Devastation
1 Flooded Strand
1 Flusterstorm
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Haywire Mite
1 Heroic Intervention
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Confluence
1 Manglehorn
1 Marsh Flats
1 Mental Misstep
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mystic Remora
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Otawara, Soaring City
1 Path to Exile
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Plaza of Heroes
1 Polluted Delta
1 Ranger-Captain of Eos
1 Reactive Shielding
1 Rejuvenating Springs
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Rhystic Study
1 Root Maze
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Sea of Clouds
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Sol Ring
1 Solitude
1 Stasis
1 Static Orb
1 Swan Song
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sylvan Library
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Teferi's Protection
1 Temple Garden
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Three Visits
1 Toski, Bearer of Secrets
1 Trinisphere
1 Veil of Summer
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wash Away
1 Windswept Heath
1 Winter Orb
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
3 Forest
2 Island
2 Plains
Summary: The Tactical Grip of Bant
Moxfield’s top deck builders prioritize Derevi, Empyrial Tactician because she completely bends the resource rules of the game. By bypassing commander tax, rendering targeted counters useless, and breaking the symmetry of the most oppressive stax cards printed in Magic, you command total operational dominance. Copy the flawless 100-card decklist above, establish your tax grid, and lock down your next Commander pod.
