Reidane, God of the Worthy // Valkmira, Protector's Shield (Reidane, God of the Worthy)

Legendary Creature — God // Legendary Artifact

Reidane, God of the Worthy // Valkmira, Protector's Shield

Mana value3EDHREC#6,267

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The Commander

Flying, vigilance

Snow lands your opponents control enter tapped.

Noncreature spells your opponents cast with mana value 4 or greater cost {2} more to cast.

If a source an opponent controls would deal damage to you or a permanent you control, prevent 1 of that damage.

Whenever you or another permanent you control becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays {1} .

Guide

Gameplan

Reidane is a mono-white prison/stax commander that taxes opponents' big noncreature spells and protects your board while you grind ahead on value. Cast Reidane early as a 3-mana 4/4 flyer, layer in additional taxes and resource denial (Stax pieces, mass land disruption), then close with efficient threats or token swarms while opponents struggle to interact. Valkmira on the flip side adds protection and a soft counter that punishes targeted interaction.

Strengths

Disrupts ramp and noncreature spell-heavy decks, hitting most of Commander's powerful payoffs (board wipes, big X spells, expensive interaction)
A 4/4 flyer with vigilance for 3 is a genuinely good body that pressures life totals while playing defense
The 'soft counter' on targeting plus 1-damage prevention makes Reidane and your permanents resilient and annoying to remove
Mono-white gives access to the format's best stax, hatebears, and taxation pieces

Weaknesses

Mono-white's classic weaknesses: weak card draw and ramp compared to other colors
Reidane is a stax piece that puts a target on your head—you become the table's enemy
Taxes are symmetrical in part and don't stop creature-based or cheap-spell strategies
Lacks a built-in win condition; you must include a closer or risk running out of gas
Vulnerable to creature removal and sacrifice effects that ignore the targeting counter

Key Cards

Smothering Tithe — Premier mono-white ramp and a tax that synergizes with Reidane's whole denial gameplan.
Archon of Emeria — Limits opponents to one spell per turn and makes their nonbasics enter tapped, stacking with Reidane's snow-land tax.
Thalia, Heretic Cathar — All opponents' nonbasic lands and creatures enter tapped, slowing the table to a crawl.
Esper Sentinel — Punishes the noncreature spells Reidane already taxes, refilling your hand in a card-starved color.
Land Tax — Smooths draws and fuels mass land destruction or fixing in a deck that wants to deny resources.
Armageddon — After deploying Reidane and threats, blowing up lands locks opponents out under your taxes.

Upgrade Path

Add the best mono-white fast mana and taxes—Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Smothering Tithe, Esper Sentinel—to power out Reidane ahead of the table. Layer in more lock pieces (Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Static Orb, Winter Orb, Magus of the Moon-style taps) and a clean win like Armageddon followed by Elspeth, Sun's Champion or an equipment finisher. Improve card advantage with Mistveil Plains loops, Land Tax, and Welcoming Vampire so the deck doesn't run dry while it strangles opponents.

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

▸Beating down with Reidane and a stable of efficient creatures while opponents are taxed out of comebacks
▸Locking the table with stax plus mass land destruction, then closing with any threat
▸Token swarms (Elspeth, anthem effects) overwhelming a disrupted board
▸An equipment or finisher like Sword effects turning a wide or tall board lethal

Archetypes

Stax / Prison — Reidane's spell taxes and land disruption anchor a resource-denial shell that keeps opponents off their game plan.
Hatebears — Mono-white floods the board with disruptive creatures while Reidane's body and counter protect them.
Mono-White Aggro/Midrange — The 4/4 flyer pressures life totals while taxes buy time for an efficient creature curve to close.
Mass Land Destruction — Pairing Reidane's snow-land tap and spell taxes with Armageddon effects creates a hard lock with a board lead.