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Lady Octopus: Inspired Inventor Deck Guide
- 6 min reading time
Unleash Your Evil Genius: A Lady Octopus Commander Deck Guide
Bide your time, mastermind your strategy, and prepare to unleash a torrent of metal upon your unsuspecting foes with Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor! This card, hailing from Marvel's Spider-Man, brings the brilliance and villainy of Dr. Olivia Octavius to your Magic: The Gathering table. A fan-favorite character from the films, she's ready to lead your blue artifact commander deck to victory. This commander deck guide dives into the best ways to build an effective and thematic Inspired Inventor deck, ensuring Lady Octopus's intricate schemes come to fruition.
Who is Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor in Magic: The Gathering?
While the mantle of Lady Octopus has been worn by several characters, this card embodies Dr. Olivia Octavius, the brilliant, albeit twisted, scientist first seen in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Possessing genius-level intellect and wielding four formidable robotic arms, she's a force to be reckoned with. Beginning as an eccentric researcher, she quickly reveals her true colors as a ruthless and sadistic villain. In Magic: The Gathering, this translates into a commander who rewards cunning and strategic artifact deployment.
Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor's Strengths: The Power of Ingenuity
Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor enters the battlefield for a mere single blue mana, becoming a crucial early play. While her 0/2 stats might not seem intimidating, her true power lies in her unique ability. Each time you draw your first or second card each turn, you place an ingenuity counter on her. These mtg ingenuity counters are the key to unlocking her potential. By tapping Lady Octopus, you can cast any artifact spell with a mana value equal to or less than the number of ingenuity counters she has, without paying its mana cost! The best part? This can be done at instant speed, letting you surprise your opponents with a well-timed artifact deployment on their turn.
Drawing cards is already a cornerstone of successful Commander decks, and Lady Octopus amplifies this advantage. This deck is naturally artifact-centric, emphasizing card draw to rapidly accumulate ingenuity counters and unleash devastating free artifact spells.
Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor's Weaknesses: Balancing Genius with Frailty
Her low mana cost comes at a price: Lady Octopus's 0/2 stats leave her vulnerable in combat. She's clearly more focused on invention than brawling. Therefore, the artifacts she enables must compensate for her physical limitations. Furthermore, Lady Octopus requires time to reach her full potential. Building up ingenuity counters takes time, making her susceptible to early commander removal. As a blue deck, counterspells offer protection, and the deck should be built to rapidly replenish ingenuity counters if needed.
The Best MTG Commander Archetypes for Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor
Unsurprisingly, Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor thrives in an mtg artifact deck. While this encompasses a broad range of strategies, the core principle involves leveraging high-mana artifacts that Lady Octopus can cast for free. Many of the most potent high-mana artifacts are creatures, making artifact creature beatdown a viable path to victory. Alternatively, you can focus on artifact token generation, utilizing high-cost token producers that Lady Octopus can bring into play without mana investment.
The idea of Lady Octopus commanding an army of minions, similar to a Flying Octobot, is compelling, suggesting a hybrid deck with tokens for defense and overwhelming attacks, alongside colossal artifacts for late-game dominance. No matter your chosen path, your artifact deck will greatly benefit from affinity for artifacts, making cards like Thought Monitor exceptionally powerful, whether cast normally or brought in with Lady Octopus's ability. The newly revealed Krang, Master Mind fits perfectly within this strategy, offering immense value once it hits the battlefield.
The Best MTG Cards You Should Play with Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor
When constructing your Inspired Inventor deck, prioritize these key cards:
- Mishra's Bauble
- Uthros Research Craft
- Mirran Spy
- Master Transmuter
- The Ozolith
How to Play Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor in Commander: A Step-by-Step Guide
Your initial play will almost always be casting your commander on turn one. This allows you to start accumulating ingenuity counters from your next draw step. Remember, only your first and second draw each turn grant you ingenuity counters, so it's more efficient to spread your card draw effects across multiple turns. Cantrips, like Consider and Brainstorm, are excellent for drawing cards on an opponent's turn at a low mana cost, accelerating your ingenuity growth.
Mishra's Bauble and Urza's Bauble synergize well with your artifact support cards and can be strategically timed to draw a card when Lady Octopus needs to trigger. Cerulean Wisps provides both card draw and a way to double-dip on Lady Octopus's effect. With a turn-one Lady Octopus, followed by your initial draw, a single cantrip gets you to two ingenuity counters, enough to deploy low-cost mana rocks. You reap the benefits of card draw while deploying mana acceleration like Arcane Signet or even Sol Talisman, bypassing its suspend cost entirely. Remember, since Lady Octopus still requires you to cast your artifacts, you'll still trigger abilities that activate upon casting spells.
Uthros Research Craft will fuel even more card draw (and therefore more ingenuity), Sai, Master Thopterist will create Thopter tokens, and Forensic Gadgeteer will generate Clue tokens (again, more ingenuity!). The sooner these cards hit the board, the better.
The Mirran Spy combo is especially potent, repeatedly untapping Lady Octopus as long as you can continue casting artifacts with her ability. Combine the Spy with Uthros Research Craft for an explosive turn!
Once Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor accumulates sufficient counters, she will inevitably attract attention. Expect your commander to be targeted for removal, necessitating backup plans. Master Transmuter offers an alternative method for cheating out massive artifacts – simply bounce a Mishra's Bauble or a low-cost mana rock. It also provides a way to evade removal by bouncing an artifact and redeploying it. The Ozolith serves as a repository for your ingenuity counters if Lady Octopus is removed, allowing you to transfer them back onto her upon her return. It also interacts favorably with Threefold Thunderhulk and other +1/+1 counter effects. While mana ramp isn't typically a backup plan, Lady Octopus facilitates this as well. You can cheat out high-cost cards like Gilded Lotus and The Eternity Elevator mtg, assisting you in casting your bigger spells through conventional means. Even if Lady Octopus is neutralized, you can continue playing a regular game with ample mana.
In the late game, begin deploying imposing threats like Kappa Cannoneer mtg and Cityscape Leveler mtg (remembering that it triggers on being cast!). Jin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant will amplify your spells cast through Lady Octopus, while also safeguarding her from removal. To seal the victory, employ cards like Cyberdrive Awakener mtg and Cybermen Squadron to unleash massive damage unexpectedly. Or, you can grind your opponents into oblivion with Portal to Phyrexia mtg, reanimating their fallen creatures to fight for you turn after turn.
Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor presents a distinctive twist on the classic "cheat artifact spells" strategy, featuring a gradual buildup that truly embodies the feeling of executing a nefarious scheme. This artifact ramp commander is a blast to play.
Lady Octopus is a unique take on the classic "cheat out big artifacts" gameplan, with a slow buildup that really feels like enacting an evil scheme. You can read about even more Marvel spider-man mtg Commanders in the mtg commander bestiary, or sign up for our newsletter to get those updates directly in your inbox!
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