When I first saw this commander, I didn't think much of it, because I hadn't realized the strategy it lends itself to would have the perfect niche in my metagame. I was actually considering building a Mathas, Fiend Seeker deck that would try to manipulate the game in a similar style before I decided 'hmm, if I ran green instead of white, I'd have access to better sources of mana and niche cards more suited to my metagame'. So I took a look at the Jund commanders and then realized that Thantis was the perfect commander to tackle my metagame, which is heavy on aggro strategies right now and has its greatest problems with several reanimator aggro decks all owned by the same player, where games often turn into archenemy against that player with them still winning 50% of the games anyway.
In a sense, I built Thantis as the answer to all of that, though I was already interested in making a combat manipulative deck concept in general before I even got that far. It also borrows inspiration from Gahiji, Honored One decks because I used to have one that just wasn't as good as I hoped, essentially backfiring on me in every way, though I still liked some of the cards it could run such as the Hunted creature variants and Oath of Druids. Bonus of running black is I can run some very amusing cards like Endless Whispers and Sower of Discord with great effect.
I built this deck for a casual to high-end but moderately strong multiplayer environment where we typically play a variant of kingdoms running 5-6 different players, so it's not meant to be fast or cutthroat. Decks in my group can often be pretty optimized and sharp in capabilities, but they typically aren't looking to combo out in the most efficient or earliest way possible. As such it's tuned up and balanced in most regards, and has a lot of strong interactions. It's politically oriented and packing lots of threats and ways to manipulate the game, without giving too much to my opponent's favor, unless if you count the few enchantments that could be regarded as group hug cards, which are risky but I think have a perfect home in this deck.
Notes on some card choices: Why the group hug cards?Mana Flare, Heartbeat of Spring, Rites of Flourishing, Oath of Druids
I'm running these because it frees up space in my deck I would need more for if I wanted to have only self-benefiting ramp, card draw, and tutoring. These are, as I well know, all double-edged swords, but given my multiplayer games are very politically oriented, and this deck is well suited to deterring backlash, I can get away with using them.
Why not more token generation? It's my expectation that my opponents will need no additional help being threatening to begin with, so I want to give them things sparingly. Rite of the Raging Storm as well as the trifecta of Hunted creatures are enough, I don't want to make it too easy for them to get through my defenses by giving them too much.
Why not more ways to force combat? I'm not worried about redundancy. Even without Thantis in play, i think the deck will still be able to manipulate the game in my favor. Fumiko the Lowblood can serve as backup, though. Disrupt Decorum is actually played around annoyingly often when I use it in my Zedruu deck. Thantis forces the issue of combat a bit more sternly.
Why no self-recursion? I'm not trying to play a reanimator strategy, so I have cards like Mikaeus, the Unhallowed because I want to keep my creatures in play. Endless Whispers hugely screws with my opponent's reanimator/sacrifice decks, but it also keeps my effects in play. I don't mind my opponents getting some of my creatures if they die, I've got fog effects and Homeward Path available to me. I think that if someone knows how my deck plays, they'll know they're better off attacking someone else even if they take my creatures. I've already got cards like Xantcha, Sleeper Agent that are meant precisely for this, too. Macabre Mockery is in my deck as a fun tricky card but also as a way to pull cards like Brawn and Wonder in particular out of an opponent's graveyard at instant speed because there is one deck where someone has won way too many games due to them.
Various other notes: Rakdos Charm and Trespasser's Curse - These two cards are in this deck because they are hard answers to the most threatening decks in my metagame. Those decks like to have big graveyards and produce many, many creature tokens, and these punish exactly that very effectively. Tree of Perdition is also in here on purpose because it not only fits well with Thantis as a defender that stays out of combat, but it also deals with lifegain strategies, which have been a problem for me in my metagame. Dragonlord Atarka and Furyborn Hellkite - These are costly to cast, but I'm running them mainly with the intent to drop after combat in my second main phase, to use defensively, but also offensively if needed. Triumph of the Hordes - It closes out the game if needed, and plays well with cards like Hornet Queen and Avenger of Zendikar.
When I first saw this commander, I didn't think much of it, because I hadn't realized the strategy it lends itself to would have the perfect niche in my metagame. I was actually considering building a Mathas, Fiend Seeker deck that would try to manipulate the game in a similar style before I decided 'hmm, if I ran green instead of white, I'd have access to better sources of mana and niche cards more suited to my metagame'. So I took a look at the Jund commanders and then realized that Thantis was the perfect commander to tackle my metagame, which is heavy on aggro strategies right now and has its greatest problems with several reanimator aggro decks all owned by the same player, where games often turn into archenemy against that player with them still winning 50% of the games anyway.
In a sense, I built Thantis as the answer to all of that, though I was already interested in making a combat manipulative deck concept in general before I even got that far. It also borrows inspiration from Gahiji, Honored One decks because I used to have one that just wasn't as good as I hoped, essentially backfiring on me in every way, though I still liked some of the cards it could run such as the Hunted creature variants and Oath of Druids. Bonus of running black is I can run some very amusing cards like Endless Whispers and Sower of Discord with great effect.
I built this deck for a casual to high-end but moderately strong multiplayer environment where we typically play a variant of kingdoms running 5-6 different players, so it's not meant to be fast or cutthroat. Decks in my group can often be pretty optimized and sharp in capabilities, but they typically aren't looking to combo out in the most efficient or earliest way possible. As such it's tuned up and balanced in most regards, and has a lot of strong interactions. It's politically oriented and packing lots of threats and ways to manipulate the game, without giving too much to my opponent's favor, unless if you count the few enchantments that could be regarded as group hug cards, which are risky but I think have a perfect home in this deck.
1 Thantis, the Warweaver
Creature (32)
1 AEther Membrane
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Dragonlair Spider
1 Dragonlord Atarka
1 Drana, Liberator of Malakir
1 Dread
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Fumiko the Lowblood
1 Furyborn Hellkite
1 God-Eternal Rhonas
1 Grand Warlord Radha
1 Grave Titan
1 Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
1 Grismold, the Dreadsower
1 Hornet Queen
1 Hunted Dragon
1 Hunted Horror
1 Hunted Troll
1 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Ogre Battledriver
1 Poison-Tip Archer
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Sower of Discord
1 Tree of Perdition
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor
1 Vorapede
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Xantcha, Sleeper Agent
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Blood Crypt
1 Command Tower
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
5 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Graven Cairns
1 Homeward Path
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Llanowar Wastes
5 Mountain
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sulfurous Springs
5 Swamp
1 Temple of the False God
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Woodland Cemetery
Artifact (6)
1 Crawlspace
1 Dolmen Gate
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Impulse
1 Talisman of Indulgence
1 Talisman of Resilience
1 Ashes to Ashes
1 Sign in Blood
1 Triumph of the Hordes
Enchantment (13)
1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Bitter Feud
1 Cryptolith Rite
1 Curse of Bounty
1 Elephant Grass
1 Endless Whispers
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Heartbeat of Spring
1 Mana Flare
1 Oath of Druids
1 Rite of the Raging Storm
1 Rites of Flourishing
1 Trespasser's Curse
Instant (9)
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Darkness
1 Fog
1 Golgari Charm
1 Macabre Mockery
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Savage Beating
1 Shared Summons
1 Tragic Slip
Notes on some card choices:
Why the group hug cards? Mana Flare, Heartbeat of Spring, Rites of Flourishing, Oath of Druids
I'm running these because it frees up space in my deck I would need more for if I wanted to have only self-benefiting ramp, card draw, and tutoring. These are, as I well know, all double-edged swords, but given my multiplayer games are very politically oriented, and this deck is well suited to deterring backlash, I can get away with using them.
Why not more token generation? It's my expectation that my opponents will need no additional help being threatening to begin with, so I want to give them things sparingly. Rite of the Raging Storm as well as the trifecta of Hunted creatures are enough, I don't want to make it too easy for them to get through my defenses by giving them too much.
Why not more ways to force combat? I'm not worried about redundancy. Even without Thantis in play, i think the deck will still be able to manipulate the game in my favor. Fumiko the Lowblood can serve as backup, though. Disrupt Decorum is actually played around annoyingly often when I use it in my Zedruu deck. Thantis forces the issue of combat a bit more sternly.
Why no self-recursion? I'm not trying to play a reanimator strategy, so I have cards like Mikaeus, the Unhallowed because I want to keep my creatures in play. Endless Whispers hugely screws with my opponent's reanimator/sacrifice decks, but it also keeps my effects in play. I don't mind my opponents getting some of my creatures if they die, I've got fog effects and Homeward Path available to me. I think that if someone knows how my deck plays, they'll know they're better off attacking someone else even if they take my creatures. I've already got cards like Xantcha, Sleeper Agent that are meant precisely for this, too. Macabre Mockery is in my deck as a fun tricky card but also as a way to pull cards like Brawn and Wonder in particular out of an opponent's graveyard at instant speed because there is one deck where someone has won way too many games due to them.
Various other notes:
Rakdos Charm and Trespasser's Curse - These two cards are in this deck because they are hard answers to the most threatening decks in my metagame. Those decks like to have big graveyards and produce many, many creature tokens, and these punish exactly that very effectively.
Tree of Perdition is also in here on purpose because it not only fits well with Thantis as a defender that stays out of combat, but it also deals with lifegain strategies, which have been a problem for me in my metagame.
Dragonlord Atarka and Furyborn Hellkite - These are costly to cast, but I'm running them mainly with the intent to drop after combat in my second main phase, to use defensively, but also offensively if needed.
Triumph of the Hordes - It closes out the game if needed, and plays well with cards like Hornet Queen and Avenger of Zendikar.
Hope you all like the deck!