Tawnos, the Toymaker
CommanderTawnos, the Toymaker turns every Beast or Bird you cast into a two-for-one by making an extra artifact copy, letting you snowball a board of duplicated threats.
Public decks: 2Bracket: 4
Card text
Legendary Creature — Human Artificer
Whenever you cast a Beast or Bird creature spell, you may copy it, except the copy is an artifact in addition to its other types. (The copy becomes a token.)
Overview
- Game plan is straightforward: resolve Tawnos, then keep casting Beasts and Birds to double your creature throughput.
- The copies being artifact tokens can matter for decks that care about artifacts or simply for going wider than a typical creature curve.
- Early turns often focus on accelerating mana so you can land Tawnos and immediately follow up with a creature to get value before removal.
- Midgame tends to be about chaining creatures and leveraging attack/ETB pressure plus incidental card draw to stay ahead.
- Most wins come from overwhelming combat steps, either with a wide board of tokens or a couple of doubled haymakers.
Common lines
- Ramp into Tawnos, then cast a Beast or Bird the same turn or on the next turn to ensure you get at least one copy trigger.
- Use token scaling to turn “cast one creature” turns into “add multiple bodies” turns, then pivot to attacks once you can pressure multiple players.
- Hold up interaction when you’re ahead on board to protect the commander or stop a reset, then rebuild quickly after spot removal.
- Set up a single big swing by stacking multiple bodies plus an overrun-style finisher (for example, Craterhoof Behemoth) when the table shields are down.
Strengths
- Consistent, repeatable value from the command zone as long as you keep casting Beasts and Birds.
- Builds board presence quickly without needing to overextend individual cards.
- Can play a solid Simic “ramp + interaction” shell while your creature casts generate the pressure.
- Scales well with token multipliers (for example, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters or Doubling Season) when you choose to run them.
- Copies being artifacts can incidentally increase resilience to some creature-type-specific hate while enabling artifact-count payoffs if included.
Weaknesses
- Heavily commander-dependent: if Tawnos is answered repeatedly, the deck can feel like fair Simic creatures.
- Board wipes can undo a lot of work, especially when you’ve committed multiple tokens to the table.
- The restriction to Beast/Bird creature spells narrows your payoff window; noncreature turns can feel low-impact.
- Artifact-token copies can be collateral damage to artifact sweepers and artifact hate effects.
- Can draw attention quickly once opponents see you doubling every creature and going wide.
Rule zero notes
- Flag whether your build is primarily combat-based tokens or if it includes big one-shot finishers (for example, Craterhoof Behemoth).
- Mention if you’re running strong token-doubling effects (for example, Doubling Season) that can dramatically accelerate board development.
- Call out if you’re using haste-enablers (for example, Concordant Crossroads) to enable sudden lethal swings.
- Be clear about how much countermagic and instant-speed interaction you’re packing (for example, Arcane Denial and Beast Within as examples).
- If you include tribal anthem blowouts (for example, Coat of Arms), note that it can create swingy combat math for the whole table.
Matchups
Best into
- Creature-midrange pods where combat and board presence matter and you can outscale the battlefield.
- Removal-light tables that can’t efficiently answer the commander plus a steady stream of threats.
- Slower value decks that give you time to set up a decisive combat turn.
Struggles against
- Heavy-wrath metas that repeatedly reset the board before you can convert bodies into a win.
- Fast combo tables where combat pressure arrives too late without dedicated disruption.
- High-interaction pods that can keep Tawnos off the table and trade efficiently for your key turns.
FAQ
Does Tawnos copy a creature spell even if it gets countered?
Tawnos triggers when you cast the spell, so the trigger still goes on the stack. If the original creature spell is countered, the copy effect will still try to resolve as normal.
What exactly is the copied creature?
You get a token copy of the creature, and that token is an artifact in addition to its other types. It otherwise copies the creature’s characteristics as a normal copy would.
Do the tokens enter at the same time as the original creature?
No, the copy is created as the trigger resolves, so it will enter after the original spell resolves (assuming the creature spell resolves). This can matter for certain timing and triggers.
Is this deck more “go wide” or “go tall”?
It can play either way, but Tawnos naturally pushes you toward going wide by doubling bodies. Many builds still close with a tall-style combat finisher once the board is established.
How do I keep from overextending into a wipe?
Try to stop committing every creature to the board once you’re ahead, and shift into holding interaction or protection. If you’re running protection (for example, Heroic Intervention), saving it for a critical turn often matters more than protecting a small advantage.