Legendary Creature — Human Soldier

Baird, Argivian Recruiter

Mana value2EDHREC#8,221

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The Commander

At the beginning of your end step, if you control a creature with power greater than its base power, create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.

Guide

Gameplan

Baird turns any kind of power-boosting into a steady stream of 1/1 Soldiers: pump a creature above its base power before your end step and you make a token every turn. Build a go-wide Boros tokens deck that snowballs with +1/+1 counters, auras, and anthem-style pumps, then overrun the table with combat damage. You want cheap creatures and repeatable pump so Baird's trigger fires reliably each turn.

Strengths

Cheap two-mana commander that generates incremental token advantage every end step
Slots naturally into go-wide Boros aggro with strong anthem and overrun payoffs
Synergizes with +1/+1 counters, auras, and equipment that raise power above base
Token engine is hard to fully shut off without removing every pump source

Weaknesses

Only one token per turn — slow without other token producers
Trigger requires a pumped creature, so it's dead with an empty or unboosted board
Boros lacks card draw and recursion, leading to running out of gas
Vulnerable to board wipes that erase both your team and your pump sources
No built-in evasion or protection for the commander or your tokens

Key Cards

Hardened Scales — Amplifies every +1/+1 counter so it's trivial to keep a creature above base power for Baird.
Anointed Procession — Doubles every Soldier token Baird makes, accelerating your go-wide plan.
Cathars' Crusade — Each token entering pumps your whole board with counters, reliably satisfying Baird's condition and snowballing fast.
Intangible Virtue — Anthem that boosts your tokens and gives them vigilance for safer alpha strikes.
Skullclamp — Equip a token, sacrifice it, and refuel — crucial card advantage in token-light Boros.
Impact Tremors — Turns each Soldier token Baird creates into direct damage to every opponent.

Upgrade Path

Prioritize cheap counter and anthem enablers (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Intangible Virtue) plus token doublers (Anointed Procession, Mondrak) so each Baird trigger does more. Add card advantage Boros normally lacks via Skullclamp, Welcoming Vampire, and Mentor of the Meek, then top with a finisher like Craterhoof Behemoth or a wide-board overrun. Improve consistency with a strong rock and rock-light mana base, Heroic Intervention for protection, and efficient removal like Swords to Plowshares and Wear // Tear.

Core Cards

The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.

Win Conditions

▸Alpha strike with an anthem-buffed wide board of Soldiers
▸Overrun effects like Craterhoof Behemoth or Cathars' Crusade pumping for lethal
▸Aristocrat drains via Impact Tremors, Blood Artist, or Zulaport Cutthroat sacrificing tokens
▸Equipment-based commander damage off a heavily pumped Baird

Archetypes

Tokens — Baird's end-step trigger is a built-in token generator that scales with doublers and anthems.
+1/+1 Counters — Counters are the cleanest way to keep a creature above its base power for the trigger.
Aggro/Go-Wide — Cheap creatures plus pump and Baird's tokens flood the board for overwhelming combat damage.
Aristocrats — A constant supply of free tokens fuels sacrifice outlets and drain effects.