Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant

Gameplan

Suit up Tadeas (or another reach creature) with Auras and Equipment, swing in for big evasive damage, and refill with a card every combat. Tadeas untaps when reach creatures attack, enabling vigilance-like attacks and combat tricks, while its hexproof keeps your investment safe outside combat. You grind value through unblockable-by-bigger-power attacks and win by going tall or wide with reach creatures.

Key Cards

• Shadowspear — Grants trample and lifelink while stripping opponents' hexproof/indestructible to push damage through.
• Snake Umbra — Adds power and totem armor protection while doubling down on card draw when Tadeas connects.
• Battle Mammoth — A reach creature that also protects your spells, fitting both the tribal synergy and resilience plan.
• Skullclamp — Turns the deck's go-wide reach tokens into a card-advantage engine alongside Tadeas's draw.
• Hydra's Growth — Exponentially scales a reach creature's power for explosive, often-lethal connecting hits.

Upgrade Path

Lean into resilient buffs—prioritize totem armor Umbras, hexproof-granting gear like Champion's Helm and Hexdrinker-style protection, and trample sources so damage isn't wasted. Add reach beaters that carry their own value (Battle Mammoth, Walker of the Grove) and efficient ramp like Wood Elves and Three Visits to deploy and protect Tadeas faster. Tighten the curve, add a few flexible interaction pieces (Heroic Intervention, Teferi's Protection) to dodge wraths, and the deck climbs into a focused, high-mid-power voltron build.