Talrand, Sky Summoner is a Legendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard (mana cost {2}{U}{U}; Legendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard; 2/2; rarity: rare;...
Talrand, Sky Summoner is a Legendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard (mana cost {2}{U}{U}; Legendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard; 2/2; rarity: rare; most recent printing listed by Scryfall: Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander). Its colour identity is blue, and its Commander legality on Scryfall is listed as legal. This guide explains what the card actually does, how a deck built around it wins, and which decisions matter most when you build your own version.
What Talrand, Sky Summoner does
The card's exact text is where every honest build starts:
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, create a 2/2 blue Drake creature token with flying.
Read that text literally. Every line of it is a building instruction: the abilities tell you which supporting cards multiply the commander, which weaknesses opponents will attack, and which turns of the game the deck is designed to own. Brewers get into trouble when they build the deck they wish the commander were; build the one this text describes.
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How the deck wins
Ask what the deck looks like when it is merely fine. A resilient build still develops its board, still draws extra cards, and still threatens something through an average opening hand. The spectacular draws will take care of themselves; your card choices should be spent making the average draw functional, because you will see far more average draws than perfect ones.
If this topic is on your bench, keep going with Godo, Bandit Warlord Commander Spotlight: What This Legend Brings to the Command Zone — it covers the neighbouring decisions from a different angle, and the two pieces together give you a fuller picture than either one alone.
Keep reading
Keep reading: Godo, Bandit Warlord Commander Spotlight: What This Legend Brings to the Command Zone and Prosper, Tome-Bound Commander Guide: How the Deck Actually Wins.
Building and tuning tips
Mind the curve before you mind the highlights. Count how many plays the deck has on each of the first four turns, and be honest about hands that do nothing until turn five. One cheaper role-player often improves a deck more than one expensive splash, because games are decided by who starts playing first as often as by who plays biggest.
Keep the mana honest, too. A commander in blue colours needs a mana base built for those colours in the proportions the deck actually casts — a lesson that applies to every list you will ever build, and one the MTGBrew Learn guides return to often.
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