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Ayesha Tanaka
Legendary Creature — Human Artificer
Banding (Any creatures with banding, and up to one without, can attack in a band. Bands are blocked as a group. If any creatures with banding you control are blocking or being blocked by a creature, you divide that creature's combat damage, not its controller, among any of the creatures it's being blocked by or is blocking.) {T}: Counter target activated ability from an artifact source unless that ability's controller pays {W}. (Mana abilities can't be targeted.)
2 / 2
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“Tax-based artifact control with banding synergy—stall and disrupt your way to victory.”
Control
Intermediate
Combat damage, Attrition
Control, Tokens, Artifact Synergy
Strategy
Ayesha Tanaka is a quirky control deck built around banding and artifact-hate. Your main gameplan is to use her activated ability to tax and counter activated abilities from opponent artifacts—especially mana rocks, planeswalkers, and equipment. Since banding is clunky in multiplayer, you'll lean harder into her artifact-disruption role while running a defensive shell of board wipes, counterspells, and creature tokens to block and survive. You win through attrition and incremental damage, eventually swinging through with evasive creatures or forcing opponents to run out of resources.
The deck's core is efficient small creatures (especially tokens from White) that work well with banding but aren't the main focus. Instead, you load up on artifact removal and counterspells to keep the table's rocks and threats under control. Cards like Blind Obedience, Stasis effects, and tax effects amplify Ayesha's role as a stalling engine. You'll include mana denial, artifact tutors to find opposing targets, and a few utility creatures that synergize with the banding mechanic (creatures with evasion or that ping when blocked).
Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.
Key Synergies
Budget Build
Skip expensive counterspells like Force of Will; use Counterspell, Ionize, or Archmage's Charm instead. Replace pricey control staples with Recluse effects and budget wraths like Wrath of the Fallen.
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Inclusion = % of Ayesha Tanaka decks running this card. +lift = percentage-point boost over the format average.
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Art Variants
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