Hello all,
This is my first attempt at a Ghave, Guru of Spores commander deck. I've been playing Magic for quite a while now and though Ghave was a great replacement after my Anafenza the Foremost EDH did not perform as expected.
Ghave has a lot going for him in terms of combos. Just after adding him as commander to my Anafenza the Foremost, he quickly proved his worth with cards like Cathar's Crusade, Doubling Season, Parallel Lives. The comboablility is impressive, especially if you have a way to turn creatures into mana.
This deck has several wincons with Mikaeus or Ghave. Cards like Earthcraft and Ashnod’s Altar combo with any one of the token doubling enchantments such as Primal Vigor to get us infinite mana and/or tokens. From there, we either use Triskelion or Geralf’s Messenger and do infinite damage, use Altar of Dementia or Extractor Demon for infinite mill, or play Avacyn, allowing us to swing for lethal damage next turn.
Here I will discuss some of the key cards and their function in this deck.
Lands:
Krosan Verge: This land allows us to fix our colors and ramp at the same time. It grabs both our Overgrown Tomb and Temple Garden for two mana of any color. The cheap activation cost and benefits from this land make it an auto-include.
Urborg: This land makes Sheoldred unblockable and fixes our mana. In a tricolor deck, the fixing provided by Urborg is invaluable, and since it doesn’t enter tapped, there is no downside. The fixing afforded by this land with no drawback makes it an auto-include.
Homeward Path: This land taps to return all creatures to their owner’s control. My playgroup has several red players who like to use cards such as Mass Mutiny or Mob Rule so I like this ability to protect me from those kinds of cards. In another meta with less red, however, this card can be cut for Godless Shrine.
Removal/Protection:
Vraska the Unseen: It has recurrable removal that probably won’t be targeted because of its +1 ability. Definitely an auto-include.
Beast Within: 3 mana to remove any permanent, instant speed. Even though the opponent gets a 3/3 beast, the speed and versatility of this card make it an auto-include.
Dictate of Erebos: I wasn’t sure whether to run this card or Grave Pact. This card may cost 1 more mana, but it only costs 2 black versus 3 for Grave Pact and it has flash. This card with Ghave allows us to wipe board by making and sacing tokens repeatedly. It has no target, allowing removal of hexproof and it makes all of your opponents sac, not just 1. Because of their great interactions with our general, Dictate of Erebos or Grave Pact are necessary to this deck.
Draw/Tutor:
Jarad’s Orders: This card lets us tutor twice for 4 mana, allowing us to grab one of our combo pieces and dump Extractor Demon in grave. We can unearth Extractor Demon once we combo out, allowing us an instant win by milling everyone to death. Jarad’s Orders can be omitted if you don’t want to run Extractor Demon.
Liliana Vess: There isn’t much planeswalker hate in my group, and Ghave pumps out tokens easily enough to keep Liliana safe while we tutor for whatever we need to combo out and win. If you play in a group with more hate, you might want to switch her out for Increasing Ambition or a similar tutor.
Genesis Hydra: This card allows us to grab whatever we need and dump it directly onto the battlefield, and since its effect triggers when the hydra is cast, the effect and whatever it fetches can’t be countered. The value of this card for its mana cost makes it an auto-include.
Wincons:
Avacyn, Angel of Hope: This is great protection from wraths, which my group uses a lot, and will almost certainly be played once you combo out if you don’t win on the same turn. I like the protection this card affords, but you can replace it with a card like Altar of the Brood if you want a stronger wincon.
Mycoloth: This card synergizes amazingly with Ghave, and is a great backup plan in case we can’t combo fast enough. This card is an auto-include for any Ghave deck.
Twighlight Shepard: With our combo, we can return anything that dies to our hand, and gives us insane card advantage. I personally like this card, but it can be replaced.
Combo Pieces:
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed: He combos with our persist creatures and Triskelion on his own. With a sac outlet, he combos with Geralf’s Messenger and since he is a creature, we can grab him with Worldly Tutor, Jarad’s Orders, and Eladamri’s Call His great comboablility makes him an auto-include in this deck.
Ashnod’s Altar: By turning creatures into mana, it allows us to combo with Ghave and either a token doubler or Cathar’s Crusade. In this deck, it is an auto-include.
Ramp:
Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury: This card makes 1/1s that tap for a green and can destroy artifacts and enchantments. It’s versatility makes it an auto-include in this deck.
Omnath, Locus of Mana: This card is great for storing mana, but in a tricolored deck it can be switched out. I personally like to use it because my manabase has a lot of green in it, but others may not like it as much.
Thank you for taking a look at this deck, any feedback is welcome.
This is my first attempt at a Ghave, Guru of Spores commander deck. I've been playing Magic for quite a while now and though Ghave was a great replacement after my Anafenza the Foremost EDH did not perform as expected.
Ghave has a lot going for him in terms of combos. Just after adding him as commander to my Anafenza the Foremost, he quickly proved his worth with cards like Cathar's Crusade, Doubling Season, Parallel Lives. The comboablility is impressive, especially if you have a way to turn creatures into mana.
1 Ghave, Guru of Spores
Lands
7 Forest
6 Plains
6 Swamp
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Homeward Path
1 Temple Garden
1 Tainted Wood
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Canopy Vista
1 Scoured Barrens
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Blossoming Sands
1 Temple of Plenty
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Orzhov Guildgate
1 Krosan Verge
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Command Tower
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Golgari Guildgate
Removal/Protection
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 In Garruk’s Wake
1 Beast Within
1 Vraska the Unseen
1 Aura Shards
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Dromoka’s Command
1 Hero’s Downfall
1 Putrefy
1 Jarad's Orders
1 Eladamri’s Call
1 Underworld Connections
1 Liliana Vess
1 Skullclamp
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
1 Fecundity
1 Genesis Hydra
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Beseech the Queen
1 Sidisi, Undead Visier
1 Sterling Grove
Wincons
1 Extractor Demon
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Mycoloth
1 Primordial Hydra
1 Enduring Scalelord
1 Twighlight Shepard
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Triskelion
1 Altar of Dementia
1 Abzan Battle Priest
1 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
1 Geralf’s Messenger
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Earthcraft
1 Utopia Mycon
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Corpsejack Menace
1 Hardened Scales
1 Primal Vigor
1 Parallel Lives
1 Cathar’s Crusade
Ramp
1 Kodoma’s Reach
1 Omnath, Locus of Mana
1 Sol Ring
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Ranger’s Path
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Cultivate
This deck has several wincons with Mikaeus or Ghave. Cards like Earthcraft and Ashnod’s Altar combo with any one of the token doubling enchantments such as Primal Vigor to get us infinite mana and/or tokens. From there, we either use Triskelion or Geralf’s Messenger and do infinite damage, use Altar of Dementia or Extractor Demon for infinite mill, or play Avacyn, allowing us to swing for lethal damage next turn.
Here I will discuss some of the key cards and their function in this deck.
Lands:
Krosan Verge: This land allows us to fix our colors and ramp at the same time. It grabs both our Overgrown Tomb and Temple Garden for two mana of any color. The cheap activation cost and benefits from this land make it an auto-include.
Urborg: This land makes Sheoldred unblockable and fixes our mana. In a tricolor deck, the fixing provided by Urborg is invaluable, and since it doesn’t enter tapped, there is no downside. The fixing afforded by this land with no drawback makes it an auto-include.
Homeward Path: This land taps to return all creatures to their owner’s control. My playgroup has several red players who like to use cards such as Mass Mutiny or Mob Rule so I like this ability to protect me from those kinds of cards. In another meta with less red, however, this card can be cut for Godless Shrine.
Removal/Protection:
Vraska the Unseen: It has recurrable removal that probably won’t be targeted because of its +1 ability. Definitely an auto-include.
Beast Within: 3 mana to remove any permanent, instant speed. Even though the opponent gets a 3/3 beast, the speed and versatility of this card make it an auto-include.
Dictate of Erebos: I wasn’t sure whether to run this card or Grave Pact. This card may cost 1 more mana, but it only costs 2 black versus 3 for Grave Pact and it has flash. This card with Ghave allows us to wipe board by making and sacing tokens repeatedly. It has no target, allowing removal of hexproof and it makes all of your opponents sac, not just 1. Because of their great interactions with our general, Dictate of Erebos or Grave Pact are necessary to this deck.
Draw/Tutor:
Jarad’s Orders: This card lets us tutor twice for 4 mana, allowing us to grab one of our combo pieces and dump Extractor Demon in grave. We can unearth Extractor Demon once we combo out, allowing us an instant win by milling everyone to death. Jarad’s Orders can be omitted if you don’t want to run Extractor Demon.
Liliana Vess: There isn’t much planeswalker hate in my group, and Ghave pumps out tokens easily enough to keep Liliana safe while we tutor for whatever we need to combo out and win. If you play in a group with more hate, you might want to switch her out for Increasing Ambition or a similar tutor.
Genesis Hydra: This card allows us to grab whatever we need and dump it directly onto the battlefield, and since its effect triggers when the hydra is cast, the effect and whatever it fetches can’t be countered. The value of this card for its mana cost makes it an auto-include.
Wincons:
Avacyn, Angel of Hope: This is great protection from wraths, which my group uses a lot, and will almost certainly be played once you combo out if you don’t win on the same turn. I like the protection this card affords, but you can replace it with a card like Altar of the Brood if you want a stronger wincon.
Mycoloth: This card synergizes amazingly with Ghave, and is a great backup plan in case we can’t combo fast enough. This card is an auto-include for any Ghave deck.
Twighlight Shepard: With our combo, we can return anything that dies to our hand, and gives us insane card advantage. I personally like this card, but it can be replaced.
Combo Pieces:
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed: He combos with our persist creatures and Triskelion on his own. With a sac outlet, he combos with Geralf’s Messenger and since he is a creature, we can grab him with Worldly Tutor, Jarad’s Orders, and Eladamri’s Call His great comboablility makes him an auto-include in this deck.
Ashnod’s Altar: By turning creatures into mana, it allows us to combo with Ghave and either a token doubler or Cathar’s Crusade. In this deck, it is an auto-include.
Ramp:
Freyalise, Llanowar’s Fury: This card makes 1/1s that tap for a green and can destroy artifacts and enchantments. It’s versatility makes it an auto-include in this deck.
Omnath, Locus of Mana: This card is great for storing mana, but in a tricolored deck it can be switched out. I personally like to use it because my manabase has a lot of green in it, but others may not like it as much.
Thank you for taking a look at this deck, any feedback is welcome.
WGB[Budget]Ghave, Guru of SporesBGW
0[Budget]Urzatron Tribal Myrs0
WGB[Budget]Ghave, Guru of SporesBGW
0[Budget]Urzatron Tribal Myrs0