Who here’s fast with the MTG iron? You? Let’s dance….
At Thunder Junction, you face off with the best of the best, quick on the draw, spinning back into your holster. Now you may have heard of this rootin’, tootin’ gunslinger before from the last four expansions.
But he also may sound familiar with Western history, because he bears the same nickname: Kid. Kellan the Kid, to be exact. But he’s not just any kid. Hailing from Eldraine originally, this faerie rogue gets around!
He’s a 3-mana Bant flying lifelinker, a human faerie rogue. He’s fit. He’s also the son of the infamous Oko, for those who dig elks. He’s the outlaw known as….
Kellan the Kid
Now the mechanic plot has definitely received some interesting praise for good reason, bolstering strategies like the Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival exile focus if you’re splashing red, going wide with thopters, among others. You might even find some interesting strategies with Ob Nixilis, Captive Kingpin if you’re willing to add black, as long as you can ping your opponents with some anvils.
But pay close attention to the text of Kellan the Kid:
“Whenever you cast a spell from anywhere other than your hand, you may cast a permanent spell with equal or lesser mana value from your hand without paying its mana cost. If you don’t, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.
That’s not just cards you’ve exiled, folks. That means anywhere. Kellan the Kid gets you a free spell from your hand out of it, too. And if you don’t have anything to cast for free, no worries—drop another land card onto the battlefield.
Flexibility. Fast spells. And ramp. From just one card. It’s obscene. Expect Kellan, for three easy mana, to operate quite well in just about any deck, but here’s what I think would work extremely well….
You Have Options—Like Errant and Giada
Getting to play your cards from the top of the library truly can get sick, particularly if you’ve built a flash deck.
Your ability to hijack your opponent’s turn with those kinds of spells goes from insult to injury with Kellan the Kid on the battlefield! Not to mention Kellan fits right in with this female duo:
Pack your deck with flash spells and other flying creatures, and you’ll trigger Kellan’s itchy trigger finger in ways you never thought possible. Theme this deck as faeries, too, and you just might add more fuel to the fire.
Other cards that’ll blow this over the top include:
- Faerie Mastermind
- Sleep-Cursed Faerie
- Spell Stutter
- Talion’s Messenger
- Faerie Vandal
- Picklock Prankster
- Crimestopper Sprite
- Threadbind Clique
- Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy
And much more! Adventure spells would also break this format wide open as you can cast one from the top of your library, and then cast the main permanent that same turn (provided you have the mana) or on your next turn.
Why’s that a good thing? Simple. You get two Kellan the Kid triggers off of it!
And Speaking of Flash…
As far as Standard goes, a typical flash deck just can’t go without an Academy Loremaster or two. Why? What Kellan needs is cards in hand. You want to cast them for free, right?
With enablers like Errant and Giada making it easy to cast from your deck and maybe some adventure cards to piggyback off of, you’re never lacking on gas in your deck to cast cards either via exile, top of the deck, or from your hand (a lot of them for free, most likely on your opponent’s turn).
Entice and tax your opponents, too, with the Loremaster. Keep drawing cards. Flex with some great instants and sorceries to draw even more cards, and with just one flash permanent either in exile or on the top of your deck, you’ve got two casts for one.
Oh, and again—if you don’t have anything to cast, that’s all right… You have a land in your hand? Go ahead and drop it thanks to Kellan the Kid. Doesn’t even count as part of your land drop. Sweet.
Last But Not Least… Flashback
Remember that keyword? We saw a lot of it in Midnight Hunt. And wouldn’t you know it? We’re thinking that mechanic just got majorly relevant in a very nasty way!
Lier, Disciple of the Drowned may not be a flash or flying creature, but it might not matter: because this wet witch just may give Kellan the Kid so much ammunition that you’ll never be thirsting for value.
You probably already know—flashback allows you to cast any spell, instants, and sorceries in the case of Lier, from your graveyard. What does Kellan the Kid want? You casting spells from anywhere other than your hand.
Some sick instants in your deck to synergize well with Errant and Giada will probably give you a deck that never seems to quit. Imagine casting:
- Flow of Knowledge
- Discover the Impossible
- Even the Score
- Exotic Pets
- Faithful Mending
- Farsight Ritual
- Fertilid’s Favor
Who knows what other instants you could “flash back” thanks to Lier! Throw in some Haughty Djinns, too, and you’ll reduce the cost of them (and those djinns have flying, so you’ll see them on the top of your deck thanks to Errant and Giada).
A Couple Tweaks Here and There…
…and your deck might just annoy the most hardcore MTG gamer. That’s saying something. Of course, what would you expect with a crack shot like Kellan the Kid? These are faeries, flash permanents, and flashback instant spells we’re talking about, too. We think their sole purpose is to absolutely annoy mono-red and mono-black until they scoop.
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