MTG Salvation

This deck, like all the greatest ideas, came about late at night in a haze of vague ideas. There's a core here that I think will work halfway decently at what I would want, which is a way to use creatures to effect a non-combat-phase victory in mono-green. It was inspired in large part by two new cards from Amonkhet, Throne of the God-Pharaoh and Harvest Season, both of which encouraging tapping creatures. Attacking is, of course, the traditional way to do that in green, but the attack phase is not always reliable.

Fortunately, green does have a few other ways to tap its creatures for benefit, with Symbiotic Deployment being one that I've always longed to build around. Skipping out on draw phases leads to Recycle and Elfhame Sanctuary, two of my other pet cards. I added Squall Line and Primal Order as backups, and of course there's always attacking as a last (or first?) resort.

I'm worried that the list might be a bit too unfocused at the moment. I couldn't quite decide if I wanted to go a more controlling route or a more combo route with the deck, and I think that shows in a lot of the cards (the Saproling/Thallid subtheme, the +1/+1 counter subtheme, the Crop Rotation protection package, the convoke subtheme).

I chose Rishkar, Peema Renegade as the commander of this motley lot because he's more likely to show up in a game than Earthcraft or Cryptolith Rite, and I hate relying on enchantments in mono-green*, even with the amount of draw that I think this deck will be able to generate. He turns most of the other creatures into mana dorks without having to worry about creature type like Seton, Krosan Protector.

* - yes, I am aware the "win condition" of this deck is a non-tutorable artifact. That's a delicious hypocrisy that I will have to embrace.

At any rate, I think that the deck will likely end up being a 75% build compared to my Yeva deck or most traditionally competitive mono-green builds. I already own most of the expensive pieces for other projects but I haven't had a chance to test this build out yet. While I don't want to transform it away from its theme of winning by tapping creatures outside of the combat phase, I am eager to hear any suggestions people have for streamlining or focusing the deck to accomplish that goal. Stretching green's color pie is one of my favorite hobbies, and I appreciate all help I can get in pursuing that.

Finally, before I post the decklist I want to give a shout-out to aslidsiksoraksi and his excellent Nissa, Vastwood Seer enchantress control build found here, which went a long way towards encouraging a lot of the ideas in this deck.

At long last:





Thanks again!

Genesis Wave is cliche, but given the amount of mana you can generate should be included. For a large enough X, it will throw down enough cards to be very nearly a tutor. Genesis Hydra only grabs one of the X, but it helps as well. Since you are already dropping lots of creatures, Cream of the Crop will cycle through your library very effectively, letting you find your wincons.

Those are great suggestions, thanks! I own a pretty diverse array of green staples and am working on a plan to share them in the various Gx commander decks I want to build, so budget isn't much of an issue.

Genesis Wave may be a cliche, but it's a solid suggestion and an immediate add. I'm putting it into Benefactor's Draught's slot, as that card seemed to gimmicky to me at the time and seems even more so now.

Genesis Hydra, given that it comes in with counters on it naturally, is also a great idea. I'm replacing Eldrazi Monument with it, as I don't think I'll really end up needing it all that much.

I think Cream of the Crop is my favorite suggestion. Churning through my library faster is always a great idea in a semi-combo deck, and I'm slotting it into the Crucible of Worlds slot. (on a related note, I'm also cutting Strip Mine for a forest because I enjoy having friends, and I don't want them thinking that my silly Rishkar deck will drop Crucible/Strip Mine)

The main change I've had of my own is replacing Gleeful Sabotage with Nullmage Shepherd, which seems like a straight upgrade in almost all circumstances.

What about paradox engine? Cast a spell, untap your creature, cast another spell, untap your creatures.

Heh, that's a neat suggestion. With Recycle or Symbiotic Deployment, that could turn this into me vomiting almost the entire deck onto the field at once. I'll have to give that some thought, but for now I need sleep. Thanks!

Am I crazy for wanting to put in an Ivy Lane Denizen?

Re: Paradox Engine - I don't think the card will be as broken in this shell as it is in other builds, but I do think it will be an interesting addition. I've added it in place of Garruk Wildspeaker, who didn't really have any synergy with the deck and I don't think I'd need his help ramping.

Re: Ivy Lane Denizen - I don't think you're crazy at all! This deck wants to be playing creature spells, and it wants to be placing +1/+1 counters on things. For now, I'm not sold but if I do need to up the creature count later it's a prime candidate.

For my own changes, I've added a Spike Weaver for its ridiculous synergy with most of the deck and high power level. It took Constant Mists' place, as without the Crucible that card is less powerful. I also think this deck will appreciate a higher creature density.

I really like this deck. Its really cool, a nice alternative to typical mono G antics.