Pia, Aether Ascetic: Instant Staple
Enchantress decks aren't the only ones eating good with this new legendary creature.
Commander players are well-served with the upcoming release of Reality Fracture. Known characters (aka legendary creatures) of Magic's universe meet their doppelgängers in Jace Beleren’s questionable attempt to save the Multiverse. Since every booster pack of the set comes with a guaranteed mirrored pair, we'll have a lot of commanders to choose from.
One of the most interesting, and that's been stirring the EDH community is Pia, Aether Ascetic — she is a three-mana commander that tutors enchantments upon entering the battlefield, at the additional cost of discarding a card. Believe it or not, until now the only way to specifically tutor for enchantments without restrictions was in white, through cards like Enlightened Tutor and Idyllic Tutor, or Sterling Grove if we're stretching the options.
Tutors in the command zone often mean trouble for our opponents. Everyone has a story of dealing with Zur, the Enchanter, the moment he fetches a Stasis or Rhystic Study, or now more commonly, seeing Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice paired with Brilliant Wings. Personally, I think Pia is not quite as strong in comparison, but she's definitely close. After all, she can grab Doubling Season and Food Chain — some of the best, game warping enchantments of the format.
An Instant Staple in the 99
Pia, Aether Ascetic will find a home in a lot of decks though, and in a lot of archetypes. Starting with the obvious, she's an auto-include in Enchantress decks. Anikthea, Hand of Erebos and Go-Shintai of Life's Origin are the clear winners, as Pia can put an enchantment in the yard while she fetches you another one. Also, Bello, Bard of the Brambles will be a faster deck now that we can find Berserker's Onslaught on turn three.
But the truth is that enchantments are everywhere in Commander these days. They're the hardest-to-remove permanent type that can often put us ahead or at least offer stability (ahem, Propaganda) due to the fact that they stick around longer than creatures. Pia is a new card that increases the level of optimization possible in the average game of EDH — and a reminder that we need to include more enchantment removal.
Blink & Bounce
White and blue decks have access to flickering spells which can turn Pia into a toolbox strategy enabler. Make her find an engine like Teleportation Circle or The Hobbit's Roll-Roll-Roll-Roll and start assembling your game-winning puzzle.
By now, everybody knows how annoying broken Displacer Kitten is, but Pia is friends with dogs too, now that Flickering Hound is out in the streets. They can play fetch in Rin and Seri, Inseparable, for example — casting creatures with both Pia and the Dog in the battlefield can give us access to synergistic pieces, like Impact Tremors, Parallel Lives or Aura Shards for starters.
Legend Matters
By being legendary, Pia can earn a spot in Jodah, the Unifier or Sisay, Weatherlight Captain decks, tutoring for key synergy pieces like Annie Joins Up and Bard Class. None of these decks needed more support, but who is going to say “No” when Pia is right there?
Graveyard Goodstuff
The discard effect really shouldn't be overlooked. Pia serves as two-for-one when paired with Tortured Existence and Animate Dead, easily casting them — and reanimating the discarded card — on the same turn she enters the battlefield due to their low mana cost. Henzie “Toolbox” Torre and Teval, the Balanced Scale can consider her, especially if Greater Good or Teval's Judgment are also in the 99. She herself is also a great target for Saw in Half, triggering her enter ability two more times at instant speed.
A Human who's also a Druid
Kindred decks can make good use of Pia, increasing the support for creature-heavy decks. Kindred Discovery and Reflections of Littjara are the first ones that come to mind if the commander is also in blue, like Chulane, Teller of Tales, or the new Homer, the Hermit. Guardian Project and Growing Rites of Itlimoc are other great targets for Pia if she's in a Kyler, Sigardian Emissary or Seton, Krosan Protector decks.
Pia as the Commander
Tutors in the command zone often fall into the “Secret Commander” category. While Food Chain can be the go-to choice for high-power/combo decks, Pia can finally turn Helix Pinnacle, Overlord of the Hauntwoods or even Summon: Bahamut into viable build-around options. Also, don't forget we now have Omniscience in green; everyone, meet Omnipresence.
On the somewhat janky side, I would try and test with Springheart Nantuko, enchanting Pia herself. We get to choose if her or her token copy dies to the Legend Rule when the Insect triggers, but the enter effect from Pia still applies. I'd embrace it by looking for more sacrifice-to-tutor enchantments like Evolutionary Leap and Birthing Ritual, and reanimation support like Eternal Witness and Regrowth. Chat, help me figure out how to make this work!
Where Else?
I'm considering Pia, Aether Ascetic in some of my own decks. I have a weird Enchantress deck helmed by Loot, the Pathfinder in which I want to abuse the power of big mana enchantments like Thousand-Year Storm. I have several blink effects in the deck, so Pia is a natural addition there. My Winter, Cynical Opportunist deck will benefit from her as well, as she can find an early game value piece like Ripples of Undeath while also putting Zendikar Resurgent in the yard for Winter to bring back at no cost.
Which decks are you considering including Pia in, or how are you building her as a commander? Leave a comment to let us know, and test out your build on EDHLAB to see her in action before the set hits the store shelves.
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