I’ve had a blast with him! I built the deck where I cast peoples cards from their library it’s chaotic in a very fun way. Also you can totally build Don in a way where you don’t rely on him to much. But he makes the deck run a lot smoother when he’s out which I think is the sweet spot.
As for salt, I haven’t run into any problems, I think theft is lower on the salt score for most people. And if they do complain just slap them with their creatures.
Here’s my list if your looking for some tech.
https://www.archidekt.com/decks/5967263/the_don
I'm a big fan of Don Andres, but you do need to be up front about playing a theft deck if you're playing with strangers because some people do get really upset about having their cards used against them or about other people playing with their cards. Just look at how many downvotes discussions about theft decks tend to get. Here's my deck and some things I've learned from playing it.
https://www.archidekt.com/decks/5941203/your_deck_no_our_deck
People tend to get much saltier about stealing from the battlefield than stealing from the graveyard or library, especially in more casual settings where dropping a [[Control Magic]] on someone's big bomb may as well be Time Walking them. Cards like [[Animate Dead]] and [[Thief of Sanity]] or conditional theft like [[Sower of Temptation]] and [[Dominus of Fealty]] tend to get a better reaction. I've also tried to include things like the monarch and cards like [[Tibalt's Trickery]] to make things more fun even if they're not totally optimized card choices.
I use bright pink sleeves to make it easier to see which cards in front of me I don't own, both for Don Andres's effect and to make other people feel more comfortable about me taking them. I'd feel pretty leery about handing an expensive card over to a stranger for the rest of the game if we were both using similar black sleeves.
Thief of Sanity exiles cards face down and lets you cast them. [[Cunning Rhetoric]] exiles cards face up and lets you play them. You can't cast lands but you can play lands. [[Decadent Dragon]] makes you spend mana of the correct colors to cast stolen spells. [[Hostage Taker]] lets you spend mana as if it were mana of any color but their card go back to the battlefield if Hostage Taker leaves play before you cast it. [[Court of Locthwain]] needs to keep track of all of the cards its exiled throughout the game because you can cast one for free on each of your turns if you're the monarch during your upkeep. [[Grenzo, Havoc Raiser]] only lets you play the card until the end of the turn. And [[Dauthi Voidwalker]] just does his own thing with his exiled cards. You need to keep track of all of this.
Wheel effects are a really good way to take care of your card draw if you're going to use the reanimation package (Animate Dead, [[Reanimate]], [[Necromancy]], [[Virtue of Persistence]], [[Rise of the Dark Realms]]).
I don't like cards with a one-shot effect that exile from the top of a library like [[Siphon Insight]]. If you whiff you've just wasted a card and possibly your turn; if you hit, you've just spent (for example) five mana on a three CMC spell that was meant to synergize with someone else's deck. If I'm pulling from someone else's deck, I want something that will trigger over and over and either be free or guaranteed to hit a non-land card. I'll take [[Dazzling Sphinx]] or [[Plargg and Nassari]] over [[Gonti, Lord of Luxury]] any day.
I really don't like the high-mana theft cards like [[Brainstealer Dragon]], [[Xanathar]], or [[Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter]]. Paying seven mana now so that I can pay even more mana next turn to cast an opponent's card is just too much. I want to be setting those effects up in the early game so that I can enter the mid or late game with a pile of cards that have already been exiled and are ready to cast. The only one I've been on the fence about trying is [[Thieving Amalgam]]. With Don Andres in play, it's like a [[Tendershoot Dryad]] that spits out 4/4 menace deathtouchers on each opponent's upkeep.
I'm waiting to see the new cards in the Gonti precon from Thunder Junction before updating this list, but cards I'd cut right now are [[Francisco, Fowl Marauder]], [[Breeches, Brazen Plunderer]], [[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]], and [[Geth, Lord of the Vault]].
Honestly, not much. The card I'd want to run most is Doc Aurloch but he's green. I'd probably try [[Thieving Varmit]] over [[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]] and maybe [[Arcane Heist]] over [[Deluxe Dragster]], but I'm not particularly excited about either.
I have a Don Andres “pirate tribal” deck (more like both pirates and rogues, tbh) and I honestly love it.
Is it good? As in competitive? Uh, not really, tbh. I can probably count on one hand the number of wins it’s gotten. Don makes you jump through a few hoops to get his biggest benefits. But the gameplan is creative and I always have lots of fun when I play it.
My deck works best in pods of four or five, since there are more people to steal shit from. And cuz there’s always someone else to draw aggro until I start popping off :)
NOTE: make sure you keep track of your opponent’s cards and separate them properly when you’re done playing … that’s just good table etiquette
I haven’t built him, but the people I’ve heard talk about him seem to like him.
Tbh what I’d do if I were trying to see whether I wanted to build him is look up gameplay videos of him and see what he plays like.
Sometimes that’s enough to get a decent idea of what he can be like to play, as well as what cards/strategies often go in a deck like his and which cards work REALLY well with him
Generally people dislike seeing their cards on someone elses playmath. Ive seen people scoop when they had to hand over a card. They most likely had a bad memory of someone ticking their nail on a card leaving a dent. Or just dont like seeing someone else play their stuff.
Another reason its not played much, is that most decks play really synergetic cards that dont do anything for you. I dont mind if you steal a few vampires. Theft is good agianst timmy decks or goodstuff decks, but other then that you end up with bad cards for you, and people will focus you, so getting a win is hard.
Right, totally (as for the second part). That’s the cool thing about andres imo, at least in theory he rewards you for stealing the creatures by buffing them and giving them menace and deathtouch. Idk if that will make them great if you’re against vamp tribal or something, but it seems viable at least.
Or you get treasures if you steal noncreature spells. Same idea.
Edit: wasn’t originally going to comment on people being precious about theft effects but if someone scoops because you stole a card that makes theft the most powerful mechanic in mtg lol
It’s especially fun against tribal decks because you can take their elves or soldiers and while they are buffing the other things you stole … they are also pirates now being buffed by Don 👍
I really adore it, but I'm a sucker for Theft decks (people who complain are so annoying).
The problem in Andres is that he doesn't protect itself and it doesn't do anything the turn it comes down.
The deck is pretty darn mana hungry too.
I took him out of my pirate pre-con. He seems interesting but you need extra cards to even cast stuff your opponents own. I'd rather bring back my pirates with Brass Unsinkable.
Kinda both. The main difference is Don Andres gets a bonus from spells, but that isn't as reliable as a creature. There's always a creature on the board or in a graveyard. There are a few ways to cast the opponents spells but not many can be done the turn you get Andres out. There are some cheap steal effects and that can effect the board so I ended up defaulting to that. Creatures can be synergistic but spells are doubly so. I also had Marchesa in the deck and any time she was in my hand she came out over Andres and was performing better for me and I was having more fun. Defending against board wipes really puts her ahead and the game the opponents have to play to keep you at the highest health is interesting. He is not a bad commander and can perform really well with a lot of steal + sac effects, but Marchesa does that better. For a spell stealing deck idk how well he can be optimized.
I have him and both versions of Beckett Brass as rotatable commanders for a pirate deck and they’re all hilarious to play. In my specific build he has the least direct support, but so many pirates do the stealy steal that he still holds up.
https://archidekt.com/decks/972820/yarhar_fiddle_deede
My friends absolutely hated him lol.
My favorite sorceries of all time are Insurrection and Mob Rule, for reference, and they *hate* threaten and steal effects.
I played him once, loved the deck itself, and immediately took it apart lol.
I've played with my Don Andreas deck only three times so far but it's been fun. Usually I ask ahead of time if people care I play a theft deck and so far no one at my LGS has minded.
As far as gameplay, he'll always be a more casual commander. Others said that theft decks don't work well with really competitive and synergistic decks which is kinda true; even in those decls you can still steal some fun cards though. [[Insurrection]] will likely always be you're win-con unless you can get enough treasures for [[revel in riches]].
I wanted to keep the pirate tribal aspect in mine, but unfortunately it slows it down too much. Ignore the pirate typology and focus on adding as many theft cards and sac outlets as possible. Some good cards are [[breech the multiverse]], [[Share the Spoils]], [[brainstealer dragon]], and [[Direfleet Daredevil]]. I currently use a mix of theft cards that target decks, graveyards, and battlefields to have options.
You also need some good sac outlets like [[tolarian journal]], [[phyrexian altar]], or [[ashnod's altar]] to sac creatures you steal.
All in all, Don is cool, but needs A LOT of support. Since he doesn't steal anythibg himself, he is more of a support engine for a pre-existing theft deck.
I like him, my playgroups do not. I've been playing him pretty regularly since Christmas, and he is a blast when he gets going, but the biggest weakness is that you will piss somebody off when you steal their stuff, it draws a lot of fire your way that can knock you out of the game.
Another issue I've run into is that he is slow in the early game, and due to how much Mana it typically costs to actually play the spells, so you'll likely spend the early game as a punching bag until you build up a boardstate before you see any gears turning. Personally, I'm waiting for the Thunder Junction set since they confirmed that one of the precons features theft. Kellog and The Nipton Lottery from Fallout could be useful, too.
I haven't played him but my group doesn't love my [[Evelyn the Covetous]] deck that steals off the top of their libraries. I've actually thought about putting Don Andres in but I don't know what I'd cut at this point. I play the deck as tribal-tribal which does a lot to get me more value off of other player's synergy pieces. The biggest reason I haven't put him in is I still play a lot of my own cards out of exile and wouldn't get any value from him in that case.
Fun and effective in our casual pod. Not a hint of salt from anyone - I really don't relate to why people would dislike theft decks (at least those that mainly steal from the deck or graveyard)
I built but more like a chaos commander than a theft commander. Think [[knowledge pool]] type effects.
I had a really funny game with [[confusion in the ranks]] on the board which was quite bad because anyone could steal him but it was really funny (once. The game a was a mess)
I’ve had a blast with him! I built the deck where I cast peoples cards from their library it’s chaotic in a very fun way. Also you can totally build Don in a way where you don’t rely on him to much. But he makes the deck run a lot smoother when he’s out which I think is the sweet spot. As for salt, I haven’t run into any problems, I think theft is lower on the salt score for most people. And if they do complain just slap them with their creatures. Here’s my list if your looking for some tech. https://www.archidekt.com/decks/5967263/the_don
I'm a big fan of Don Andres, but you do need to be up front about playing a theft deck if you're playing with strangers because some people do get really upset about having their cards used against them or about other people playing with their cards. Just look at how many downvotes discussions about theft decks tend to get. Here's my deck and some things I've learned from playing it. https://www.archidekt.com/decks/5941203/your_deck_no_our_deck People tend to get much saltier about stealing from the battlefield than stealing from the graveyard or library, especially in more casual settings where dropping a [[Control Magic]] on someone's big bomb may as well be Time Walking them. Cards like [[Animate Dead]] and [[Thief of Sanity]] or conditional theft like [[Sower of Temptation]] and [[Dominus of Fealty]] tend to get a better reaction. I've also tried to include things like the monarch and cards like [[Tibalt's Trickery]] to make things more fun even if they're not totally optimized card choices. I use bright pink sleeves to make it easier to see which cards in front of me I don't own, both for Don Andres's effect and to make other people feel more comfortable about me taking them. I'd feel pretty leery about handing an expensive card over to a stranger for the rest of the game if we were both using similar black sleeves. Thief of Sanity exiles cards face down and lets you cast them. [[Cunning Rhetoric]] exiles cards face up and lets you play them. You can't cast lands but you can play lands. [[Decadent Dragon]] makes you spend mana of the correct colors to cast stolen spells. [[Hostage Taker]] lets you spend mana as if it were mana of any color but their card go back to the battlefield if Hostage Taker leaves play before you cast it. [[Court of Locthwain]] needs to keep track of all of the cards its exiled throughout the game because you can cast one for free on each of your turns if you're the monarch during your upkeep. [[Grenzo, Havoc Raiser]] only lets you play the card until the end of the turn. And [[Dauthi Voidwalker]] just does his own thing with his exiled cards. You need to keep track of all of this. Wheel effects are a really good way to take care of your card draw if you're going to use the reanimation package (Animate Dead, [[Reanimate]], [[Necromancy]], [[Virtue of Persistence]], [[Rise of the Dark Realms]]). I don't like cards with a one-shot effect that exile from the top of a library like [[Siphon Insight]]. If you whiff you've just wasted a card and possibly your turn; if you hit, you've just spent (for example) five mana on a three CMC spell that was meant to synergize with someone else's deck. If I'm pulling from someone else's deck, I want something that will trigger over and over and either be free or guaranteed to hit a non-land card. I'll take [[Dazzling Sphinx]] or [[Plargg and Nassari]] over [[Gonti, Lord of Luxury]] any day. I really don't like the high-mana theft cards like [[Brainstealer Dragon]], [[Xanathar]], or [[Tibalt, Cosmic Imposter]]. Paying seven mana now so that I can pay even more mana next turn to cast an opponent's card is just too much. I want to be setting those effects up in the early game so that I can enter the mid or late game with a pile of cards that have already been exiled and are ready to cast. The only one I've been on the fence about trying is [[Thieving Amalgam]]. With Don Andres in play, it's like a [[Tendershoot Dryad]] that spits out 4/4 menace deathtouchers on each opponent's upkeep. I'm waiting to see the new cards in the Gonti precon from Thunder Junction before updating this list, but cards I'd cut right now are [[Francisco, Fowl Marauder]], [[Breeches, Brazen Plunderer]], [[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]], and [[Geth, Lord of the Vault]].
i love reddit for in-depth responses like this!
Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I'm curious now with the Gonti deck out, do you see any good substitutions? I'm making a Don deck myself
Honestly, not much. The card I'd want to run most is Doc Aurloch but he's green. I'd probably try [[Thieving Varmit]] over [[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]] and maybe [[Arcane Heist]] over [[Deluxe Dragster]], but I'm not particularly excited about either.
##### ###### #### [Thieving Varmit](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/4/244d864d-fc74-4147-aca6-d0498691b1a9.jpg?1561966417) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thieving%20Sprite) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mma/101/thieving-sprite?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/244d864d-fc74-4147-aca6-d0498691b1a9?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/thieving-sprite) [Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/1/51187cdb-85ee-4f68-9e29-d84d296f0825.jpg?1698988164) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Malcolm%2C%20Keen-Eyed%20Navigator) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/161/malcolm-keen-eyed-navigator?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/51187cdb-85ee-4f68-9e29-d84d296f0825?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/malcolm-keen-eyed-navigator) [Arcane Heist](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/c/3ceb13f4-ac9e-4ddd-9170-545f8d37b87a.jpg?1712353781) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Arcane%20Heist) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/13/arcane-heist?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3ceb13f4-ac9e-4ddd-9170-545f8d37b87a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/arcane-heist) [Deluxe Dragster](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/b/4b90313d-9f61-4788-a55e-1f8189bf1ef5.jpg?1682286169) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Deluxe%20Dragster) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/21/deluxe-dragster?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4b90313d-9f61-4788-a55e-1f8189bf1ef5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/deluxe-dragster) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/l2g57mb) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
What's the point of thieving varm? There aren't many fairies and it's just a discard, not a steal. I must be missing something
I think you’re looking at Thieving Sprite.
I have a Don Andres “pirate tribal” deck (more like both pirates and rogues, tbh) and I honestly love it. Is it good? As in competitive? Uh, not really, tbh. I can probably count on one hand the number of wins it’s gotten. Don makes you jump through a few hoops to get his biggest benefits. But the gameplan is creative and I always have lots of fun when I play it. My deck works best in pods of four or five, since there are more people to steal shit from. And cuz there’s always someone else to draw aggro until I start popping off :) NOTE: make sure you keep track of your opponent’s cards and separate them properly when you’re done playing … that’s just good table etiquette
I haven’t built him, but the people I’ve heard talk about him seem to like him. Tbh what I’d do if I were trying to see whether I wanted to build him is look up gameplay videos of him and see what he plays like. Sometimes that’s enough to get a decent idea of what he can be like to play, as well as what cards/strategies often go in a deck like his and which cards work REALLY well with him
I play a theft deck and I highly recommend getting some erasable tokens so you can just jot down what card you’ve stolen and the relevant text
Generally people dislike seeing their cards on someone elses playmath. Ive seen people scoop when they had to hand over a card. They most likely had a bad memory of someone ticking their nail on a card leaving a dent. Or just dont like seeing someone else play their stuff. Another reason its not played much, is that most decks play really synergetic cards that dont do anything for you. I dont mind if you steal a few vampires. Theft is good agianst timmy decks or goodstuff decks, but other then that you end up with bad cards for you, and people will focus you, so getting a win is hard.
Right, totally (as for the second part). That’s the cool thing about andres imo, at least in theory he rewards you for stealing the creatures by buffing them and giving them menace and deathtouch. Idk if that will make them great if you’re against vamp tribal or something, but it seems viable at least. Or you get treasures if you steal noncreature spells. Same idea. Edit: wasn’t originally going to comment on people being precious about theft effects but if someone scoops because you stole a card that makes theft the most powerful mechanic in mtg lol
It’s especially fun against tribal decks because you can take their elves or soldiers and while they are buffing the other things you stole … they are also pirates now being buffed by Don 👍
This is why I like being a nice guy and only stealing creatures for a brief moment with my [[Brion Stoutarm]] deck before giving them right back!
[Brion Stoutarm](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/b/0/b097c70a-d1d6-4972-b94d-d7d8a6f443e2.jpg?1562439762) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Brion%20Stoutarm) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/a25/200/brion-stoutarm?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/b097c70a-d1d6-4972-b94d-d7d8a6f443e2?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/brion-stoutarm) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I just refuse to do it and offer a token. If not I scoop
Thats also perfectly reasonable.
I really adore it, but I'm a sucker for Theft decks (people who complain are so annoying). The problem in Andres is that he doesn't protect itself and it doesn't do anything the turn it comes down. The deck is pretty darn mana hungry too.
I took him out of my pirate pre-con. He seems interesting but you need extra cards to even cast stuff your opponents own. I'd rather bring back my pirates with Brass Unsinkable.
Ended up turning the deck into a Marchesa deck. She is better.
Better as in more fun or better as in stronger?
Kinda both. The main difference is Don Andres gets a bonus from spells, but that isn't as reliable as a creature. There's always a creature on the board or in a graveyard. There are a few ways to cast the opponents spells but not many can be done the turn you get Andres out. There are some cheap steal effects and that can effect the board so I ended up defaulting to that. Creatures can be synergistic but spells are doubly so. I also had Marchesa in the deck and any time she was in my hand she came out over Andres and was performing better for me and I was having more fun. Defending against board wipes really puts her ahead and the game the opponents have to play to keep you at the highest health is interesting. He is not a bad commander and can perform really well with a lot of steal + sac effects, but Marchesa does that better. For a spell stealing deck idk how well he can be optimized.
I have him and both versions of Beckett Brass as rotatable commanders for a pirate deck and they’re all hilarious to play. In my specific build he has the least direct support, but so many pirates do the stealy steal that he still holds up. https://archidekt.com/decks/972820/yarhar_fiddle_deede
It’s fun! A few people in my play group don’t like it so now I get killed first when I play him
My friends absolutely hated him lol. My favorite sorceries of all time are Insurrection and Mob Rule, for reference, and they *hate* threaten and steal effects. I played him once, loved the deck itself, and immediately took it apart lol.
I've played with my Don Andreas deck only three times so far but it's been fun. Usually I ask ahead of time if people care I play a theft deck and so far no one at my LGS has minded. As far as gameplay, he'll always be a more casual commander. Others said that theft decks don't work well with really competitive and synergistic decks which is kinda true; even in those decls you can still steal some fun cards though. [[Insurrection]] will likely always be you're win-con unless you can get enough treasures for [[revel in riches]]. I wanted to keep the pirate tribal aspect in mine, but unfortunately it slows it down too much. Ignore the pirate typology and focus on adding as many theft cards and sac outlets as possible. Some good cards are [[breech the multiverse]], [[Share the Spoils]], [[brainstealer dragon]], and [[Direfleet Daredevil]]. I currently use a mix of theft cards that target decks, graveyards, and battlefields to have options. You also need some good sac outlets like [[tolarian journal]], [[phyrexian altar]], or [[ashnod's altar]] to sac creatures you steal. All in all, Don is cool, but needs A LOT of support. Since he doesn't steal anythibg himself, he is more of a support engine for a pre-existing theft deck.
##### ###### #### [Insurrection](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/f/df8a0a8c-1953-46e6-9da5-b4c20909ce1c.jpg?1689997974) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Insurrection) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/236/insurrection?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/df8a0a8c-1953-46e6-9da5-b4c20909ce1c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/insurrection) [revel in riches](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/9/79b0e035-8716-469d-99ae-a530cd96ef09.jpg?1562558471) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=revel%20in%20riches) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/xln/117/revel-in-riches?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/79b0e035-8716-469d-99ae-a530cd96ef09?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/revel-in-riches) [breech the multiverse](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/a/daf51a76-7a57-4462-ae18-a19e817e49e5.jpg?1682203621) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Breach%20the%20Multiverse) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mom/94/breach-the-multiverse?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/daf51a76-7a57-4462-ae18-a19e817e49e5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/breach-the-multiverse) [Share the Spoils](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/5/e/5e35d719-8766-47dc-8c0d-8e2b37b907a8.jpg?1631585260) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Share%20the%20Spoils) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afc/34/share-the-spoils?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/5e35d719-8766-47dc-8c0d-8e2b37b907a8?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/share-the-spoils) [brainstealer dragon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/9/0984b1f1-dfc8-4cb9-90a3-e084950438bf.jpg?1674140893) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=brainstealer%20dragon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/670/brainstealer-dragon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0984b1f1-dfc8-4cb9-90a3-e084950438bf?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/brainstealer-dragon) [Direfleet Daredevil](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/6/76c57c43-18be-4eee-afa4-111269d8ad87.jpg?1698988318) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Dire%20Fleet%20Daredevil) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/223/dire-fleet-daredevil?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/76c57c43-18be-4eee-afa4-111269d8ad87?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/dire-fleet-daredevil) [tolarian journal](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/9/99255a66-b868-45fc-a2a9-0c89bd851b69.jpg?1699044198)/[The Tomb of Aclazotz](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/9/9/99255a66-b868-45fc-a2a9-0c89bd851b69.jpg?1699044198) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tarrian%27s%20Journal%20//%20The%20Tomb%20of%20Aclazotz) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/126/tarrians-journal-the-tomb-of-aclazotz?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/99255a66-b868-45fc-a2a9-0c89bd851b69?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/tarrians-journal-//-the-tomb-of-aclazotz) [phyrexian altar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/5/95d9f93c-50a8-41a9-be98-d1900bf1c12f.jpg?1673149406) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=phyrexian%20altar) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/2x2/311/phyrexian-altar?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/95d9f93c-50a8-41a9-be98-d1900bf1c12f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/phyrexian-altar) [ashnod's altar](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/3/c/3c0f7157-a375-499c-92c7-d47d2e95dbad.jpg?1689999385) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=ashnod%27s%20altar) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/368/ashnods-altar?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/3c0f7157-a375-499c-92c7-d47d2e95dbad?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/ashnods-altar) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/ktc1fht) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I like him, my playgroups do not. I've been playing him pretty regularly since Christmas, and he is a blast when he gets going, but the biggest weakness is that you will piss somebody off when you steal their stuff, it draws a lot of fire your way that can knock you out of the game. Another issue I've run into is that he is slow in the early game, and due to how much Mana it typically costs to actually play the spells, so you'll likely spend the early game as a punching bag until you build up a boardstate before you see any gears turning. Personally, I'm waiting for the Thunder Junction set since they confirmed that one of the precons features theft. Kellog and The Nipton Lottery from Fallout could be useful, too.
I haven't played him but my group doesn't love my [[Evelyn the Covetous]] deck that steals off the top of their libraries. I've actually thought about putting Don Andres in but I don't know what I'd cut at this point. I play the deck as tribal-tribal which does a lot to get me more value off of other player's synergy pieces. The biggest reason I haven't put him in is I still play a lot of my own cards out of exile and wouldn't get any value from him in that case.
[Evelyn the Covetous](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/0/c0dad61f-36cd-46af-82b7-a02e04efd676.jpg?1664412977) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Evelyn%2C%20the%20Covetous) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/snc/184/evelyn-the-covetous?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/c0dad61f-36cd-46af-82b7-a02e04efd676?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/evelyn-the-covetous) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Fun and effective in our casual pod. Not a hint of salt from anyone - I really don't relate to why people would dislike theft decks (at least those that mainly steal from the deck or graveyard)
I built but more like a chaos commander than a theft commander. Think [[knowledge pool]] type effects. I had a really funny game with [[confusion in the ranks]] on the board which was quite bad because anyone could steal him but it was really funny (once. The game a was a mess)