Ertha Jo, Frontier Mentor

Ertha Jo is all about turning activated abilities into value engines. Her first ability creates a Mercenary token with a pump effect, but the real payoff is her second ability: whenever you activate any ability that targets a creature or player, you copy it. This means that ability on the Mercenary? You're doing it twice. Add in cards with tap abilities like Boros Charm, Embercleave effects, or even mana dorks with relevant abilities, and you're suddenly doubling your impact each turn.

The deck wants to lean into activated abilities as a resource. Cards that pump creatures, draw cards, or deal damage when activated become exponentially better. You're not trying to go wide with tokens necessarily—you're using those tokens and other creatures as a vehicle to copy powerful effects over and over. The Mercenary token itself is your repeatable target, so early on it's your main outlet, but as the game develops, you'll have multiple creatures and ways to activate their abilities.

Wins come through a mix of commander damage (Ertha Jo pumped up repeatedly), creature damage from pumped tokens and creatures, or pure value from copying card draw and removal abilities. The deck can pivot between aggro pressure and value grinding depending on what's at the table.

Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.