Karametra is not only a formidable indestructible creature once you hit devotion, she’s also one of the very few commanders that can ramp (actually is there another one?), producing huge cardadvantage in the process. And since her ability isn’t restricted to basics, she can consistently get Mistveil Plains which essentially means that she has another ability stuck to her.
Now the ability to tuck stuff from your graveyard doesn’t look like too much but if you have consistent access to it, it means that you can build your deck in a way you normally wouldn’t. This particular ability essentially makes every tutor double up as recursion.
The first thing I want to do is getting Karametra out, ideally on turn 3. Sol Ring, Joraga Treespeaker or Devoted Druid can achieve this on their own but there are plenty of combinations of other cards that can also do it. If a opening hand can't produce a turn 4 Karametra I almost always mulligan. Note that many of the tutors can help to get at least a turn 4 Karametra and many of the acceleration pieces can also serve other purposes, so they don't become dead draws later. I also focused heavily on creature ramp (with Sol Ring being the only exception) as they can trigger Karametra later.
After I got her out, I want to cast some creatures to considerably bump up my mana. I usually get Mistveil Plains first, then Scatterd Groves,Temple Garden and Canopy Vista and then Plains until I hit seven for Emeria, the Sky Ruin. The deck runs nearly 50 creatures, many of which cost 1-3 mana, so I can trigger Karametra 2-3 times in the turn after she hits the battlefield. The deck really starts humming the second turn after I hit Krametra. This is when I usually can set up some kind of card advantage and start to contain the opposing board.
Don't play this deck if you don't like to search your library. Not only because of Karametra's ability, but also because tutoring is this decks bread and butter. The most important toolbox are of course the creatures. You will find an answer to almost any problem among the creatures and if not, there is probably a land that can help you out. The deck is very good at keeping it's threats on board, either by protecting them via Gaddock Teeg, Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Archetype of Endurance or by recurring them. Winning can sometimes be hard, as this deck hasn't any infinite combo. I win either by grinding my opponents down while hitting them with large creatures or use Craterhoof Behemoth to just finish them in one fell swoop.
Card by Card Walkthrough
The Commander: Karametra, God of the Harvest is really the lynchpin of this deck. We want to get her out as fast as possible (ideally on turn 3) and the cast a bunch of small(ish) creatures in order to significantly ramp up (an in turn generate card advantage). Only with the mana boost from Karametra the deck really starts to hum.
And this is also the major weakness of the deck: Karametra getting removed early in the game (it’s not so bad if it happens a bit later when I already have 10+ lands in play). Luckily Karametra is a sturdy one.
This deck runs over 40 creatures because once Karametra is out they just outvalue every other cardtype.
Joraga Treespeaker: This is the green Sol Ring. It allows a turn three Karametra and is really a bit underated in this format. Beyond that it gets me a land for G.
Birds of Paradise, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Llanowar Elves: While not enabling a turn three Karametra by themselves, they combine with a lot of other acceleration options to achieve it. Surprisingly they also often aren't bad draws later in the game as they can be pitched to Survival of the Fittest or Fauna Shaman or fed into Skullclamp. Also just getting an extra land for just one mana is really not to be underestimated and a reason why this deck has so many one drops.
Beyond mana dorks the deck has a small 1cmc creature toolbox wich is enabled by Ranger of Eos.
Planar Guide:I came about this card in my search to protect my board from cards like Cyclonic Rift and Merciless Eviction but it turned out to have a lot of utility beyond that. As a one drop it gets me a land for W with Karametra, it's a solid fog which often buys me the time to stabilize and it can retrigger ETB effects (altough also those of your opponents) and deconstructs opposing token armies and clones. The only downside is that it exiles itself.
Ulvenwald Tracker: He can really help to control the board and has to be dealt with by anyone who wants to win with creatures. Especially since we usually have a 6-power indestructible god to fight with.
Caustic Caterpillar: Easily tutorable artifact/enchant hate. This substituted Qasali Pridemage when I included Ranger of Eos. What also makes Caterpillar slightly better is that I get an extra land for half the mana
Devoted Druid: Besides Joraga Treespeaker it's the only green accelerator that enables a five drop on turn 3 on it's own. Considering how much more potent the deck is if Karametra comes out earlier, it's very much worth the inclusion.
Sakura-Tribe Elder: This is just as great as in any other green deck only that he get two lands once Karametra is out. He also allows for instant landfall with Admonition Angel.
Fauna Shaman: At worst it is a rampant growth but it probably does a lot more Is great to do some shenanigens with Mistveil Plains and can also throw something big in the GY to be brought back with Emeria and by getting Sakura-Tribe Elder on turn three she can set up Karametra turn four.
Gaddock Teeg: A little further down you'll find a list of all the cards I can think of that get around the protection of Avacyn, Angel of Hope+Archetype of Endurance and what you'll see is that all but three of those cards are shut down by this grumpy kithkin. Even just him and the Archetype alone are a pretty solid defense because almost all of the boardwipes cost four mana or more.
I myself run only 8 spells that are locked by him. He slows down most decks considerably and elicits lots of groans of frustration as long as he is out there.
Duskwatch Recruiter: One of those cheap creatures that stay useful as the game progresses. With nearly 50 creatures I rarely miss with him and he can also help to get Karametra on turn four. Also: Who doesn't like werewolves?
Knight of the Reliquary: A really awesome card altogether. He not only accelerates but finds all the utility lands (more about those in the land section) and thus answers until he becomes a really dangerous attacker. When I use him I avoid to sac plains because we need seven for Emeria to get active. He is definitely one of the best engines this deck has to offer.
Eternal Witness: Theres almost no green deck that doesn’t want her. Her strongest point is definitely that she can get back non-creature spells, because those are hard to tutor for and thus hard to recur.
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard: I think Yisan is potentially a really powerful card but I also think that a deck featuring him need relevant one-drops, i.e. other stuff than just some dorks. With Sylvan Ranger and Planar Guide, this deck has two very reactive options and tons of additional utility as the curve continues. Yisan has additional synergy with Seedborn Muse to a point where he can start to dictate the game.
Tireless Tracker: A cheap creature to get a land of Karametra and then a very powerful CA-engine that becomes a huge beatstick.
Eldrazi Displacer: Similar to Duskwatch Recruiter and Tireless Tracker as cheap creature that retains relevance as the game progresses. With a little extra mana the ability is very usefull, with a lot, it can dictate the game.
Stonecloaker: One of the best cards to combine with Karametra. At the very worst it repeatedly gets me a land for 2W at instant speed. The repeatable targeted graveyard hate means that a lot of strategies run into a brick wall, the flash and selfbounce makes it very hard to interact with and of course he can save an important creature like Avacyn from exile or get another trigger from an ETB creature .
Aven Mindcensor: This deck has a bit of a theme of rendering opposing cards useless and this is one more way. People like to tutor a lot and I guess whatever they find can’t be to my benefit. Beware of clones though as this card is very potent against this deck.
Selvala, Heart of the Wilds: I don't necessarily want her for the drawing ability, though I figure that I'm probably more likely to trigger it, than most other deck. What I'm really after here is the very powerful mana ability, which not ony casts Karametra a turn earlier, but will also put me very far ahead, if I get to untap with it. She also fixes any colored mana problems I might encounter.
Trostani, Voice of Selesnya: This deck sometimes has issues establishing an early defense. Trostani helps as he's able to get my life to a reasonable number again and also makes Karametra into a creature almost all by himself and she's very good at blocking. The populating ability isn't at it's absolute best in this deck, though it can combine with Mirrorpool for a powerful engine.
Deadeye Harpooner: This is a fairly unique upgrade to white's cardpool being reasonably cheap and easily tutorable targeted creature removal.
Captain Sisay: While fragile she's an amazing card advantage engine. I have about 10 targets for her which offer a very wide range of utility and with Mistveil Plains she can even get them back from my GY.
Seedborn Muse: This brings a lot of tempo to the deck. There are quite a few creatures with flash in this deck, she has great synergy with cards like Captain Sisay and Knight of the Reliquary and if I get Winding Canyons she does a great impression of Prophet of Kruphix (which was so powerful, it had to be banned). She also grants pseudo vigilance which is great because you don't need to choose if you want your fatties to attack or to block.
Reveillark: About a quarter of the whole deck can be brought back by Lark. That's just super efficient.
Cataclysmic Gearhulk: While the ETB effect is far weaker than Tragic Arrogance, I found that there frequently are situations where I fell behind on the board and struggled to regain my footing. This thing can be found with tutors and is easy to reanimate (compared to other sweepers). I previously had Myojin of Cleansing Fire in this spot but found it a bit too clunky.
Titania, Protector of Argoth: MLD is a bit of a weakness this deck has and the Protector is a nice deterrent. There are multiple ways of getting lands in the GY for her to get back and amass endless ranks of 5/3s.
Sun Titan: One of my favourite cards ever. A lot of value for six mana because a lot of my small guys have some ETB ability or are very impactfull in some other way. He becomes an amazing cardadvantage engine with a way to protect him (the deck has plenty) and a sac outlet (for the small stuff to be brought back).
Admonition Angel: She is a tricky one but also very potent. First of all she’s a 6/6 flyer that adds three devotion, which is nothing to scoff at. Obviously the landfall ability gets triggered a lot but we have to be careful when using her because otherwise our opponents will be very thankful that you have protected all their stuff from a wrath . You should be aware of the fact that her ability isn’t limited to only creatures and you should understand that in most circumstances she isn’t a permanent solution but more of a stalling engine. So how to best use her: Ideally I have some way to protect her like Lightening Greaves or Sylvan Safekeeper. Either way you should always use a few of the triggers to exile some of your own stuff that you don’t need at the moment, ideally something with ETB triggers. Also keep in mind that there are quite a few ways to get landfall at instant speed which is great to save your stuff from removal. If she can't be answered she will take over the game in short order.
Angel of Serenity: In many ways she's very similar to Admonition Angel but works slightly different. Another very impactful, yet flexible effect that can swing the game hugely in my favor.
Bane of Progress: On some rare occasions this one might hurt me as well but other than that it's an aweome large scale answer for a lot of difficult board states.
Ulvenwald Hydra: Lands are a huge part of the utility in this deck and being able to just get anyone onto the battlefield is a very powerful ability. In addition I get a HUGE body and reach is also relevant as this deck can sometimes struggle with flyers.
Angel of the Dire Hour: That's a really fantastically powerful new tool white got with the Commander2014 Precons. She's like a superfog, that even deals with indestructible boards and gives us a big body on the top. She can just swing games completely around.
Novablast Wurm: Another one of those cards I never could find a home for. Here it is an absolute beast (or rather a wurm). With only one more permanent that doesn't get killed by it's trigger, Karametra starts to attack as well. There are many decks that just can't deal with a boardwipe every turn while getting attacked for huge chunks of damage. Add Avacyn for complete oppression.
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite: The demise of tokens and utility creatures. Besides killing everything on my opponents side with two or less toughness, she makes my attacks lethal very soon.
Emeria Shepherd: There's over 50 nonland permanents in this deck and finding even multiple plains a turn is not very difficult with this deck. You can use your plains to get back the really big expensive stuff and other lands for cheaper utility (which you can cast to get another plains ). If I ever run out of plains, I can use Dust Bowl, Sylvan Safekeeper or Knight of the Reliquary and Mistveil Plains to just recycle them.
Avacyn, Angel of Hope: One of the most important cards in the deck because apart from being a huge flying beater she suddenly makes all my sweeps entirely one sided (which is particularly devastating if that sweep is Worldslayer ) and off course she protects my board from a wide range of removal my opponents could have. Be aware though that once you lay her down you will be enemy no1.
Archetype of Endurance: Avacyns Sidekick. With both on board there’s only a select few boardwipes that can still get to you:
This looks like quite a lot now, but most decks play one or two of those at most and opponents will be hard pressed to find those cards in their deck when they get beaten by at least three big creatures of which one deals commander damage. Start targeting those who have the highest chance of finding these cards first. It also should be noted that this is an enchantment so it can be found with Academy Rector. Sometimes it's also better to have Gaddock Teeg as the partner of archetype, as he locks down most sweeps.
Craterhoof Behemoth: This is just one of the strongest creatures in the format. You don’t have to have 20 creatures to make him lethal, 4-6 will usually suffice, especially when they already are rather big. In a very "fair" deck like this it's just great to have a one-shot kill option.
Sol Ring: As long as this is legal, I can’t think of any deck that shouldn’t play this.
Skullclamp: This is banned in all other constructed formats for a reason. A very potent carddraw engine which is relatively easy to get. In this deck the +1 power is also fairly relevant because it makes Karametra a triple hit kill with commander damage. Utilizing Dryad Arbor and Mistveil Plains it is also possible to turn Karametra triggers into Skullclamp Fodder.
Lightening Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots: Many players seem to see this as an auto include in a wide range of decks. I don’t share that belief but in here they are really good, enabling T abilities and attack triggers (Sun Titan, Novablast Wurm) to get online the turn a creature come into play and also to protect important creatures like Avacyn or Elesh Norn.
Birthing Pod: This is an awesome engine which will quickly allow you to take control of the board. Most of the time it doesn’t work like in other decks where you Pod through a chain of creatures with ETB and LTB triggers to generate value because there’s a distinct shortage of favorable targets at and five cmc.
What it lets you do is morph around your board in any way you like, replacing a card that is worse in the current situation with something better from your library and thanks to Mistveil Plains also from your graveyard. And because this deck has a considerable number of ETB creatures you get a lot of value out of it too. It makes it also relatively easy to get the Avacyn+Archetype shield up.
Survival of the Fittest: Obviously very powerful in a deck that's half creatures but even more so because I run so much recursion.
Aura Shards: One of the best answer cards GW has to offer, especially when you have a lot of creatures entering the battlefield under your control. It can severely disrupt some decks and will considerably slow down some more. Red and black have almost no way to answer it and blue can only counter and bounce it.
True Conviction: I wanted to have something that gives me massive lifegain because this deck often has slow starts and also promotes long attritiony games were the life can get so low that we can just randomly get killed. Atop of easily getting you 20+ life per turn it also helps us to kill really fast because many of our creatures are really big.
Zendikar Resurgent: Getting a mana-doubler via Academy Rector just before untapping can get me back into a losing game. On top of that now I not only get a land but also an extra card off each creature.
Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares: Simply the best creature spot removal in this format and an auto include for any white deck. I advise to be very conservative in using it. Only pull the trigger if something really bothers you and then at the last possible moment because maybe someone else will do the dirty work for you.
Crop Rotation: Maybe the most versatile spell in the deck. Just take look at the lands section to see what it can do.
Eladamri’s Call: I already explained that tutors do double duty as recursion with Mistveil Plains and this one is cheap, an instant and gets a wide range of cards.
Eldritch Evolution: This is a fantastic tutor for any deck with a reasonable creature density and in many situations I think it's better than Birthing Pod as it's much more flexible. The most important piece of text to remember when using the card is "or less", as it can be tempting to look among the most expensive creatures you are "allowed" to get, not realizing that something cheaper might be what you really need.
Tragic Arrogance: Definitely a new contender for the title of "best seep in EDH". It can completely wreck opposing boards while leaving my own largely intact. It also doesn't care at all about indestructibility or hexproof.
Austere Command: Because of the amazing versatility one of the best sweeps in EDH. Can just deal with most boardstates (except my own ).
Green Sun’s Zenith: Another very good tutor and extremely cheap. Keep in mind that an opponent has to decide if he wants to counter it before he knows what you will get, so sometimes it might be better to set X to a higher value to keep them confused.
Chord of Calling: Imo the best creature tutor in commander. Giving them flash makes so many creatures just ridiculous and the higher base cost is often offset by the convoke ability.
Lands provide a good amount of the utility and tricks this deck has to offer. The fact that a lot of lands do very relevant stuff is another important way in which this deck generates card advantage. Knight of the Reliquary, Ulvenwald Hydra and Crop Rotation are all very important cards in this because they can get lands from the library into play at instant speed.
Since we only have two colors we can play a bit more utility lands than other decks but we also have to be careful not to overdo it because Karametra needs a lot of Forests and Plains.
Glacial Chasm: This only counts half for a land because it doesn't produce mana, but it is very potent. Of course it has a lot of drawbacks but I feel that there are few other decks that can deal with them so well. Obviously I can produce large numbers of lands so the ETB cost shouldn't be a problem most of the times and can even be beneficial with Titania out. The cumulative upkeep is the most problematic but when you consider that you "only" have to pay 12 life for four rounds of protection it's actually not that bad. I also have plenty of ways to recur lands so I can just "reset" it if the damage starts to rack up.
Mistveil Plains: If you read through this walkthrough you probably comprehended how important this card is and what it can do. It’s usually the first land I get off Karametra (unless I’m really light on G).
What I haven’t mentioned yet is that it is also a blowout for decks that like to meddle with your GY via Sepulchral Primordial or other reanimation. If possible I always try to keep those two mana up.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin: Another very important land. I guess there are very few (even monowhite) decks that can get this online so consistently and so fast, usually 3-4 turns after Karametra came online. It became a lot better ever since Sylvan Primordial got banned because there’s one fewer way to destroy it in every green deck and most decks don’t run that much land destruction so it’s very hard to deal with. Beware Strip Mines and Tectonic Edges lying around before you get it out though. If possible don’t play it until the last moment (ideally you get it off Crop Rotation or Knight of the Relqiuary at the end of your opponents turn ).
Mosswort Bridge: One of my favourite cards in the deck, It’s not only card and tempo advantage from a land, it also allows for tricks because it lets you cast creatures, artifacts, enchantments and even sorceries at instant speed. Oh and don’t worry about the condition of having 10 or more power on board: If Karametra is a creature (and she is most of the time) Mosswort Bridge is also online (at least 99% of the time).
If you play this early be careful not to exile something key like Archetype of Endurance or Avacyn because some people are very trigger happy when they have a Strip Mine.
Mirrorpool: This deck has so many creatures that are great even in multiples and with Trostani you can have some extra fun
Krosan Verge, Myriad Landscape: Ramp on a land. While a bit slow it allows for a turn four Karametra without giving up a slot to an actual ramp spell. You can also get it on turn one via Crop Rotation.
Selesnya Sanctuary: This just synergizes very well with the deck. It helps with landlight draws, protects my lands against land destruction and resets Mosswort Bridge.
High Market: Sometimes you need some of your stuff to die. Either to get triggers like Archon of Justice, Woodfall Primus or really any other ETB creature when you have Emeria online or just to save something from exile.
Dust Bowl: Other people have utility lands too and since we have more lands than anyone else we can afford to lose some. It’s also a sac outlet for lands which means it lets us recycle our used Mosswort Bridges and Sejiri Steppe.
Homeward Path: I have a lot of high profile targets that can be stolen or reanimated by other players and this is an easy to find counter.
Thespian Stage: Well one Emeria is pretty good, two are even nicer. High Market and Dustbowl are also nice target and Selesnya Sanctuary can be copied for acceleration.
Changelog
-Elspeth, Knight Errant: I really like her, but everytime I drew her she just did too little.
-Genesis Wave: This card is as powerful as it is boring. While it often wins when it resolves, it can be pretty bad when I use a full turn to cast it and then have it get counterd.
+Wall of Omens: I already explained how those 2 drop cantrips are a lot of value and just help the deck to run smoothly.
+Gaddock Teeg: A little further down you'll find a list of all the cards I can think of that get around the protection of Avacyn, Angel of Hope+Archetype of Endurance and what you'll see is that all but three of those cards are shut down by this grumpy kithkin. Even just him and the Archetype alone are a pretty solid defense because almost all of the boardwipes cost four mana or more.
I myself run 13 spells that are locked by him. Now that might seem a lot but it just means you have to be careful not to get him out when you are behind on the board. Also two of those spells are equipments which are cheated into play by Stonforge Mystic or Stonehewer Giant anyway. I'm certain he will do some very good work in the deck not only because I can make my postion almost airthight but also because he shuts down many ways that allow my opponets to get their own wincons online.
24.6.2014
-Twilight Shepherd: Alas, this one just never works out. I had to cut it yet again from one of my lists.
-Sunblast Angel: I didn't do too much testing with him but it was one of the easier cuts. I might put it back in at some point for more testing.
-Avenger of Zendikar: I don't know if cutting this one is right but I never seemed to need the extra mussle he brings to the board. I'd rather have big creatures that can also answer threats.
-Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: I really didn't want to make this cut, but an eightdrop had to go and this one was the least significant for my gameplan.
-Gavony Township: I had to cut a land and this one was the most expendable.
+Sylvan Library: Gives me something to play the turns before I cast Karametra, digs for answers and has awesome synergy with the shuffling my general provides.
+Bane of Progress: On some rare occasions this one might hurt me as well but other than that it's an aweome large scale answer for a lot of difficult board states.
+Realm Seekers: This deck has a lot of utility in its landbase and this helps me to get to it. It's also a HUGE creature in multiplayer (10/10 at least).
+Luminate Primordial: The most frowned upon of the primordials but there are not a lot of options for targeted removal on a creature in GW and against multiple opponents it's still very strong.
+Selesnya Sanctuary: This just synergizes very well with the deck. It helps with landlight draws and resets Mosswort Bridge.
+Aven Mindcensor: This deck has a bit of a theme of rendering opposing cards useless and this is one more way. People like to tutor a lot and I guess whatever they find can’t be to my benefit.
+Oblivion Stone: Can be played with Gaddock Teeg out, can be brought back by Sun Titan and blows up everything at instant speed.
+Priveliged Position: More protection for my permanents plus a lot of devotion. Together with Sterling Grove only an enchantment sweeper will make my permanents targetable again.
+Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: He was in and out of deck but in the end is just to strong not to include. The biggest issue with him in other decks is that he is often killed too fast to matter, but with the protction this deck offters he can unfold his full potential.
+Gavony Township
10.12.2014
- Harmonic Sliver
- Oracle of Mul Daya
- Stonehewer Giant
- Enlisted Wurm
- Luminate Primordial
- Craterhoof Behemoth
- Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
- Pariah's Shield
- Worldslayer
- Martial Coup
- Garruk, Primal Hunter
- Gavony Township
- Temple of the False God
- Forest
+ Planar Guide
+ Genesis Hydra
+ Hushwing Gryff
+ Lifeblood Hydra
+ Academy Rector
+ Thunderfoot Baloth
+ Siege Behemoth
+ Angel of the Dire Hour
+ True Conviction
+ Fell the Mighty
+ Sylvan Scrying
+ Ancient Tomb
+ Windswept Heath
19.10.2015
+Planar Guide
+Devoted Druid
+Temur Sabertooth
+Captain Sisay
+Seedborn Muse
+Woodland Bellower
+Craterhoof Behemoth
+Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
+Day of Judgement
+Sungrass Prairie
+Winding Canyons
+Emeria Shepherd
+Canopy Vista
-Archon of Justice
-Thunderfoot Baloth
-Regal Force
-Siege Behemoth
-Lifeblood Hydra
-Blightsteel Colossus
-Sylvan Scrying
-Fell the Mighty
-Sword of Feast an Famine
-Sunpetal Grove
-Saltcrusted Steppe
-Forest
I'm considering making a Karametra deck myself as I love the idea of being able to give my army Hexproof and Indestructible. Add Sigarda and you're protected from sacrifice effects, too. There's still two things that can get you, though, and that's mass Exile like Final Judgment and Merciless Eviction and then there's mass negative counters like Toxic Deluge , Black Sun's Zenith , Mutilate , ect. One way I thought of for avoiding that is by using Lifeforce since almost all of those cards are black. That won't stop a Final Judgement , but it'll stop almost everything else.
I'm considering making a Karametra deck myself as I love the idea of being able to give my army Hexproof and Indestructible. Add Sigarda and you're protected from sacrifice effects, too. There's still two things that can get you, though, and that's mass Exile like Final Judgment and Merciless Eviction and then there's mass negative counters like Toxic Deluge , Black Sun's Zenith , Mutilate , ect. One way I thought of for avoiding that is by using Lifeforce since almost all of those cards are black. That won't stop a Final Judgement , but it'll stop almost everything else.
Here is the list of cards that can still ruin your day with Avacyn+Archetype out:
As I wrote in the description, those cards are annoying but most decks run one or two of them at best and they really don't have much time to find them because you'll hit them around the head with BIG creatures.
If you really want to have answers, I guess Ghostway and Planar Guide could be what you are looking for ;). They both have some uses outside of protecting your board from this kind of effect but Ghostway is impossible to tutor for and Planar Guide exiles himself, which I'm not a fan of. I might try Planar Guide if I find a slot just for the look on the faces on my opponents when they triumphantly cast their Terminus and I respond with Chord of Calling this into play :D.
-Elspeth, Knight Errant: I really like her, but everytime I drew her she just did too little.
-Genesis Wave: This card is as powerful as it is boring. While it often wins when it resolves, it can be pretty bad when I use a full turn to cast it and then have it get counterd.
+Wall of Omens: I already explained how those 2 drop cantrips are a lot of value and just help the deck to run smoothly.
+Gaddock Teeg: A little further down you'll find a list of all the cards I can think of that get around the protection of Avacyn, Angel of Hope+Archetype of Endurance and what you'll see is that all but three of those cards are shut down by this grumpy kithkin. Even just him and the Archetype alone are a pretty solid defense because almost all of the boardwipes cost four mana or more.
I myself run 13 spells that are locked by him. Now that might seem a lot but it just means you have to be careful not to get him out when you are behind on the board. Also two of those spells are equipments which are cheated into play by Stonforge Mystic or Stonehewer Giant anyway. I'm certain he will do some very good work in the deck not only because I can make my postion almost airthight but also because he shuts down many ways that allow my opponets to get their own wincons online.
I'm also contemplating Luminate Primordial since it's an easily tutorable permanent answer for a lot of problems and Bane of Progress which can often be a complete blowout. The question is, as allways: What to cut? I guess now Twilight Shepherd is seriously on the chopping block.
And the newly spoiled Realm Seekers from Conspiracy will also soon join the contention for a slot...
I play something similar (which is in pieces ATM in favor of an animar list but I'm toying with building it again) and in my list I played luminate primordial and as long as its a 4 man pod or more the value and ease of tutoring makes it pretty amazing just as you'd think. Haven't got my hands on gaddock yet but I imagine he is great as well, I'm thinking of putting nulstone golem in the next incarnation which should serve as similiar protection. Bane of progress I'm a bit shy about as I run privileged position and acsetetism, not to mention my utility card draw stuff top, sylvan library and the like.
If I find a cut, I guess I'll give Luminate Primordial a try. I currently also try to fit in Sylvan Library and once it's been released in a week also Realm Seekers.
I actually run 23 non creature spells which is nearly a quarter of my deck, so I guess I won't be able to include Nullstone Golem but if you are lighter on lands, I guess it's a fine addition.
Lately there's been a rise in enchantment heavy decks in my meta, so I'll also include Bane of Progess. Sure ther's a possibilty of losing some of your own things to it, but often enough there's just more than one or two artifacts or enchantments I have to handle and in these situations Bane is priceless (and if you have Avacyn out he leaves your stuff alone ).
Genesis Wave (and in the right build Primal Surge too) are really powerful but for me it's just a very boring way to win
Don't mean to nitpick, but her name is Karametra, God of Harvests, not God of the Harvest I was confused why the card link wasn't working when I moused over it.
In a timmy-style deck with a lot of green creatures, Garruk, Caller of Beasts should be considered and may be the best Garruk for this deck. Also, if Natural Order is in your budget, that would make a solid addition here.
Don't mean to nitpick, but her name is Karametra, God of Harvests, not God of the Harvest I was confused why the card link wasn't working when I moused over it.
Yes, I noticed that too, and then I noticed all of the following cards should be corrected:
Don't mean to nitpick, but her name is Karametra, God of Harvests, not God of the Harvest I was confused why the card link wasn't working when I moused over it.
In a timmy-style deck with a lot of green creatures, Garruk, Caller of Beasts should be considered and may be the best Garruk for this deck. Also, if Natural Order is in your budget, that would make a solid addition here.
Don't mean to nitpick, but her name is Karametra, God of Harvests, not God of the Harvest I was confused why the card link wasn't working when I moused over it.
Yes, I noticed that too, and then I noticed all of the following cards should be corrected:
That just makes it easier for people to review your deck and offer suggestions.
Haha, thanks for the corrections, should have checked that myself. English can be hard...
I think you are right on Garruk, altough Garruk, Primal Hunter is also great in this deck. I'll probably soon be picking up a Caller of Beasts, I just didn't want to get one when the price was so unreasonably high (it's the same reason why I don't have a Ajani, Mentor of Heros yet). Anyhow I'll add him to the Missing Cards section.
It's also hard to figure out cuts for those cards since I shouldn't run to many because of Gaddock Teeg. Any Ideas?
I have a Karametra deck myself and have recently noticed the shear value in being able to stick things from your graveyard to the bottom of your library. My deck goes an entirely different direction from yours, however, but I've been considering doing some things you have done here.
Anyway, I, unfortunately, do not have a Mistveil Plains yet, but I'm going to get my hands on one. What I discovered that tactic with was instead the Bow of Nylea, which I'm very surprised not to see here. Bow of Nylea has such a shear amount of utility, it's ridiculous. With any amount of trample (best with Nylea herself), it turns on the magic combo of Deathtouch + Trample. Aside from that, a Karametra deck will probably have enough mana to guarantee a tap activation every turn, at which point it can:
Stick any four cards back into your library.
Bring Karametra up to the magic power value of 7.
Pick off Kaalia of the Vast if she gets too uppity at you (relevant in my meta).
Gain you a small amount of life that won't always be relevant, but can help in some circumstances.
In any case, thanks for the ideas/inspiration! This thread has helped me make a few decisions I'd been debating with my own build and given me new cards to look at and try out.
I know you aren't running a ton of enchantments, but with all your creatures Cathars' Crusade seems like it would be a house in this deck.
I think Cathar's Crusade is more a card for token strategies (where it's abolutely insane). In this deck most of my creatures are already pretty big and for five mana I'd rather have another big creature or at least something that creates massive card advantage.
Anyway thanks for teh suggestion
I have a Karametra deck myself and have recently noticed the shear value in being able to stick things from your graveyard to the bottom of your library. My deck goes an entirely different direction from yours, however, but I've been considering doing some things you have done here.
Anyway, I, unfortunately, do not have a Mistveil Plains yet, but I'm going to get my hands on one. What I discovered that tactic with was instead the Bow of Nylea, which I'm very surprised not to see here. Bow of Nylea has such a shear amount of utility, it's ridiculous. With any amount of trample (best with Nylea herself), it turns on the magic combo of Deathtouch + Trample. Aside from that, a Karametra deck will probably have enough mana to guarantee a tap activation every turn, at which point it can:
Stick any four cards back into your library.
Bring Karametra up to the magic power value of 7.
Pick off Kaalia of the Vast if she gets too uppity at you (relevant in my meta).
Gain you a small amount of life that won't always be relevant, but can help in some circumstances.
In any case, thanks for the ideas/inspiration! This thread has helped me make a few decisions I'd been debating with my own build and given me new cards to look at and try out.
Hey, I'm glad that I helped Bow of Nylea is one of those cards that were in for consideration when the deck had still about 30 cards too many and somehow I never reconsidered it. In the next round of changes (which I hope I have some time for soon)it will definitely be on my mind and I hope I can find a place for it The only problem I have is that the static ability really doesn't do very much without trample because all my creatures are already so big.
Love the Deck. Quick Question. Is this your go to list? Or do you not have specific cards included like Horizon Canopy, Sylvan Library because of the price tag? I see the 3 cards that you are currently missing. But are those all the cards that you would want to include!? What cards would you replace with them? A small section for that would be sick! The only thing that has me a little off edge with this commander.... should I be waiting to play my 1-4 drops and such until after the general is out on the field for the mana? I find testing this deck that I have to do that a lot. I'm not entirely sure if that's the correct way to go about it.
Love the Deck. Quick Question. Is this your go to list? Or do you not have specific cards included like Horizon Canopy, Sylvan Library because of the price tag? I see the 3 cards that you are currently missing. But are those all the cards that you would want to include!? What cards would you replace with them? A small section for that would be sick! The only thing that has me a little off edge with this commander.... should I be waiting to play my 1-4 drops and such until after the general is out on the field for the mana? I find testing this deck that I have to do that a lot. I'm not entirely sure if that's the correct way to go about it.
Been playing/changing my build quite a bit lately, I find getting atleast one or two early drops for mana ramp and or chump blocking is pretty essential. I run things like wood elves, farhaven elf, yavimaya dryad etc to make sure I'm hitting the 4th turn Kara. Turn 5 is usually mega ramping so turn 6-7 can drop huge threats.
Game plan is to get a 1, 2 punch with things like avenger of zendikar into craterhoof behemoth(or regal force) my other 2 man teams are khamahl & Elesh norn for the land destruction lock and Avacyn + novablast wurm. This strategy helps exploit tooth and nail and defense of the heart quite effectively and I run quite a few tutors as contingency (ie fauna shaman, b pod, green sun's zenith, eladamari's call etc...)
Touching on the subject of things like sylvan library, my build runs them the card advantage is just too good to ignore and there's no reason not too if you have access to them.
One more tid bit, with the tooth and nail/defense of the heart/genesis wave plan I find haste enabling amazing. It's a bit harder to come by in our colors but I'm currently running Concordant cross roads and Akroma's memorial and they're game ending when you tooth and nail into something like avenger/behemoth, memorial can double as a pseudo shroud for your army against the right meta as well.
Love the Deck. Quick Question. Is this your go to list? Or do you not have specific cards included like Horizon Canopy, Sylvan Library because of the price tag? I see the 3 cards that you are currently missing. But are those all the cards that you would want to include!? What cards would you replace with them? A small section for that would be sick! The only thing that has me a little off edge with this commander.... should I be waiting to play my 1-4 drops and such until after the general is out on the field for the mana? I find testing this deck that I have to do that a lot. I'm not entirely sure if that's the correct way to go about it.
I'm glad you like it Thanks for the suggestion I'll add such a section along with the latest changes in the next few days. To answer your question: Of course I'd play cards like Savannah and Windswept Heath if I had them. I do happen to own a Sylvan Library which might go from my Karador deck to this one. Unfortunately this means that I'd have to make a few cuts and that is difficult, i'll probably try to make them on the upper end of the curve.
You definitely want to play something before you cast Karametra, otherwise you lose just too much tempo. Ideally this involves a way to have Karametra out a turn earlier (which my list does rather consistently but it would be nice to have one or two more ways). I also like to use those first few turns to set something up like Aura Shards or Bithing Pod. After she is out I usually still have more than enough gas left to let her go off, considering that you can also use five and sixdrops for this.
Been playing/changing my build quite a bit lately, I find getting atleast one or two early drops for mana ramp and or chump blocking is pretty essential. I run things like wood elves, farhaven elf, yavimaya dryad etc to make sure I'm hitting the 4th turn Kara. Turn 5 is usually mega ramping so turn 6-7 can drop huge threats.
Game plan is to get a 1, 2 punch with things like avenger of zendikar into craterhoof behemoth(or regal force) my other 2 man teams are khamahl & Elesh norn for the land destruction lock and Avacyn + novablast wurm. This strategy helps exploit tooth and nail and defense of the heart quite effectively and I run quite a few tutors as contingency (ie fauna shaman, b pod, green sun's zenith, eladamari's call etc...)
Touching on the subject of things like sylvan library, my build runs them the card advantage is just too good to ignore and there's no reason not too if you have access to them.
One more tid bit, with the tooth and nail/defense of the heart/genesis wave plan I find haste enabling amazing. It's a bit harder to come by in our colors but I'm currently running Concordant cross roads and Akroma's memorial and they're game ending when you tooth and nail into something like avenger/behemoth, memorial can double as a pseudo shroud for your army against the right meta as well.
I agree that haste enabling is strong but what I like best for that is Lightening Greaves. I recently cut Avenger of Zendikar because I never seemed to really need it. This deck has so much fatties that more power on the BF is often redundant. When using Tooth and Nail I almost always go for Avacyn+Archetype. Then again I like to durdle around a bit when playing this deck, so if you are looking to wrap things up quickly as often as possible Avenger is a fine choice ;).
I just realized that the formating in my last post was really messed up and fixed it. Anyway I'm back with an update :
-Twilight Shepherd: Alas, this one just never works out. I had to cut it yet again from one of my lists.
-Sunblast Angel: I didn't do too much testing with him but it was one of the easier cuts. I might put it back in at some point for more testing.
-Avenger of Zendikar: I don't know if cutting this one is right but I never seemed to need the extra mussle he brings to the board. I'd rather have big creatures that can also answer threats.
-Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: I really didn't want to make this cut, but an eightdrop had to go and this one was the least significant for my gameplan.
-Gavony Township: I had to cut a land and this one was the most expendable.
+Sylvan Library: Gives me something to play the turns before I cast Karametra, digs for answers and has awesome synergy with the shuffling my general provides.
+Bane of Progress: On some rare occasions this one might hurt me as well but other than that it's an aweome large scale answer for a lot of difficult board states.
+Realm Seekers: This deck has a lot of utility in its landbase and this helps me to get to it. It's also a HUGE creature in multiplayer (10/10 at least).
+Luminate Primordial: The most frowned upon of the primordials but there are not a lot of options for targeted removal on a creature in GW and against multiple opponents it's still very strong.
+Selesnya Sanctuary: This just synergizes very well with the deck. It helps with landlight draws and resets Mosswort Bridge.
Let me know what you think of those changes.
I also added the promised "cards out of pricerange section"
Also: What do you think of Genesis Hydra from M15 for this deck?
I generally agree with all these changes. I had put them all in myself. Besides taking out Vorinclex that is. I love him. He's so amazing. I would never take him out. I dont like Skullclamp in the deck though. How do you take advantage of the card draw in this deck?
I like Selesnya Sanctuary too. For a while, those lands fell out of favor with me because they seemed to get blown up by Sylvan Primordial when I played them. But with this deck, it can do some very useful things such as, as you've mentioned, resetting Mosswort Bridge, or even just triggering landfall an extra time for a couple of turns. I also run Amulet of Vigor in my list, and those lands are just downright amazing with it on the field.
Not sure I'd agree about cutting Avenger of Zendikar, but then, you're on a slightly different plan than the millions of bounce creatures I have in my list. To me, the dream is to cast Avenger on 10-15 lands, let the tokens survive for a turn, then cast Whitemane Lion 5-8 times (7-12 if Amulet of Vigor is out) and swing with my large leafy army. Not necessarily in that order, as Whitemane Lion has flash and can be used as a combat trick.
Love this list I have a list that is a little different than yours but would love to show as I want this deck to improve to the best it could be...I also noticed your missing 3 cards :S
I generally agree with all these changes. I had put them all in myself. Besides taking out Vorinclex that is. I love him. He's so amazing. I would never take him out. I dont like Skullclamp in the deck though. How do you take advantage of the card draw in this deck?
I think in the long run you are right about Vorinclex, it's just a matter of time until I find a cut to put him back in.
In the beginning I also didn't think that Skullclamp would be too great but it turned out to be very solid. Sure it's not as completely busted as in token decks but, there is a decent amount of clampables and I also very often have High Market out. Other factors are that Skullclamp is rather easily tutorable, cheap to deploy and the +1/-1 puts Karametra to 7 power which makes triple hit kills possible. And in the late game I can cycle Dryad Arbor via Karametra and Mistveil Plains which is a nice draw engine.
I like Selesnya Sanctuary too. For a while, those lands fell out of favor with me because they seemed to get blown up by Sylvan Primordial when I played them. But with this deck, it can do some very useful things such as, as you've mentioned, resetting Mosswort Bridge, or even just triggering landfall an extra time for a couple of turns. I also run Amulet of Vigor in my list, and those lands are just downright amazing with it on the field.
Not sure I'd agree about cutting Avenger of Zendikar, but then, you're on a slightly different plan than the millions of bounce creatures I have in my list. To me, the dream is to cast Avenger on 10-15 lands, let the tokens survive for a turn, then cast Whitemane Lion 5-8 times (7-12 if Amulet of Vigor is out) and swing with my large leafy army. Not necessarily in that order, as Whitemane Lion has flash and can be used as a combat trick.
I guess Whitemane Lion is another card I should try to squeeze in somewhere
Love this list I have a list that is a little different than yours but would love to show as I want this deck to improve to the best it could be...I also noticed your missing 3 cards :S
This looks like too many mana creatures and too little action to ramp into. How does the deck play out?
Thanks for noticing the missing cards which are: Martial Coup Green Sun's Zenith Chord of Calling
The deck is REALLY fast I can kill about turn 5ish... at times I can stall but all the mana dorks help get your lands out so you draw gas and I really do have a decent amount of card draw...
+Aven Mindcensor: This deck has a bit of a theme of rendering opposing cards useless and this is one more way. People like to tutor a lot and I guess whatever they find can’t be to my benefit.
+Oblivion Stone: Can be played with Gaddock Teeg out, can be brought back by Sun Titan and blows up everything at instant speed.
+Priveliged Position: More protection for my permanents plus a lot of devotion. Together with Sterling Grove only an enchantment sweeper will make my permanents targetable again.
+Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: He was in and out of deck but in the end is just to strong not to include. The biggest issue with him in other decks is that he is often killed too fast to matter, but with the protction this deck offters he can unfold his full potential.
+Gavony Township
Here is my very latest batch of changes. Feel free to comment and if you have any questions just ask them
Flagstones of Trokair should be an auto include in any deck with white in my opinion. Works great with DustBowl. Sure its one less plains that you can search for if you were to take out a plains for it, but it shouldn't make a difference. Ancient Tomb is just another way to get Karametra out earlier. A great card as well.
That's a very tough question. I really don't know. Currently I'm trying to figure out a cut for Genesis Hydra myself. Somehow finding cuts in this deck is extremely difficult for me. Not only because some cards are real pet cards for me, but also because the deck is very synergy based and it's hard to gauge which cards are indispensable pillars and which are absolutely necessary for the deck. As it is now every card either provides some potent disruptive (mostly removal or prison, like i.e.Aven Mindcensor)), protective (hexproof or indestrucrability) or enabeling (mainly tutors and some carddraw) effect. There is no strict beatdown in the list (except for Blightsteel Colossus). I currently have a very decent win percentage with the deck and I feel the balance between disruption and wincon is very good.
Bottomline: I currently can't figure out any cuts and would be very appreciative of input in that regard myself
Karametra is not only a formidable indestructible creature once you hit devotion, she’s also one of the very few commanders that can ramp (actually is there another one?), producing huge cardadvantage in the process. And since her ability isn’t restricted to basics, she can consistently get Mistveil Plains which essentially means that she has another ability stuck to her.
Now the ability to tuck stuff from your graveyard doesn’t look like too much but if you have consistent access to it, it means that you can build your deck in a way you normally wouldn’t. This particular ability essentially makes every tutor double up as recursion.
So let’s take a look at the decklist:
5 Karametra, God of Harvests
Creatures
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Planar Guide
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Caustic Caterpillar
2 Devoted Druid
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Duskwatch Recruiter
3 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Eternal Witness
3 Stonecloaker
3 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Tireless Tracker
3 Edrazi Displacer
3 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
3 Deadeye Harpooner
3 Renegade Rallier
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4 Ranger of Eos
4 Academy Rector
4 Captain Sisay
4 Trostani, Voice od Selesnya
5 Seedborn Muse
5 Reveillark
5 Karmic Guide
5 Titania, Protector of Argoth
5 Cataclymic Gearhulk
6 Sun Titan
6 Woodland Bellower
6 Admonition Angel
6 Ulvenwald Hydra
6 Bane of Progress
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
7 Angel of the Dire Hour
7 Angel of Serenity
7 Emeria Shepherd
7 Protean Hulk
8 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
8 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Sol Ring
2 Lightning Greaves
4 Birthing Pod
Enchantments
2 Survival of the Fittest
3 Aura Shards
6 Martyr's Bond
7 Zendikar Resurgent
Instants/Sorceries
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Crop Rotation
3 Eldritch Evolution
4 Dusk//Dawn
5 Tragic Arrogance
6 Austere Command
3 Chord of Calling
1 Green Sun's Zenith
Lands
0 Glacial Chasm
0 Command Tower
0 Sungrass Prairie
0 Brushland
0 Wooded Bastion
0 Krosan Verge
0 Myriad Landscape
0 Mirrorpool
0 Selesnya Sanctuary
0 Mosswort Bridge
0 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
0 High Market
0 Dust Bowl
0 Homeward Path
0 Thespian Stage
0 Ancient Tomb
0 Windswept Heath
0 Winding Canyons
0 Temple Garden
0 Canopy Vista
0 Scattered Groves
0 Mistveil Plains
0 Dryad Arbor
8 Forest
7 Plains
Strategy
Card by Card Walkthrough
Changelog
-Elspeth, Knight Errant: I really like her, but everytime I drew her she just did too little.
-Genesis Wave: This card is as powerful as it is boring. While it often wins when it resolves, it can be pretty bad when I use a full turn to cast it and then have it get counterd.
+Wall of Omens: I already explained how those 2 drop cantrips are a lot of value and just help the deck to run smoothly.
+Gaddock Teeg: A little further down you'll find a list of all the cards I can think of that get around the protection of Avacyn, Angel of Hope+Archetype of Endurance and what you'll see is that all but three of those cards are shut down by this grumpy kithkin. Even just him and the Archetype alone are a pretty solid defense because almost all of the boardwipes cost four mana or more.
I myself run 13 spells that are locked by him. Now that might seem a lot but it just means you have to be careful not to get him out when you are behind on the board. Also two of those spells are equipments which are cheated into play by Stonforge Mystic or Stonehewer Giant anyway. I'm certain he will do some very good work in the deck not only because I can make my postion almost airthight but also because he shuts down many ways that allow my opponets to get their own wincons online.
24.6.2014
-Twilight Shepherd: Alas, this one just never works out. I had to cut it yet again from one of my lists.
-Sunblast Angel: I didn't do too much testing with him but it was one of the easier cuts. I might put it back in at some point for more testing.
-Avenger of Zendikar: I don't know if cutting this one is right but I never seemed to need the extra mussle he brings to the board. I'd rather have big creatures that can also answer threats.
-Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: I really didn't want to make this cut, but an eightdrop had to go and this one was the least significant for my gameplan.
-Gavony Township: I had to cut a land and this one was the most expendable.
+Sylvan Library: Gives me something to play the turns before I cast Karametra, digs for answers and has awesome synergy with the shuffling my general provides.
+Bane of Progress: On some rare occasions this one might hurt me as well but other than that it's an aweome large scale answer for a lot of difficult board states.
+Realm Seekers: This deck has a lot of utility in its landbase and this helps me to get to it. It's also a HUGE creature in multiplayer (10/10 at least).
+Luminate Primordial: The most frowned upon of the primordials but there are not a lot of options for targeted removal on a creature in GW and against multiple opponents it's still very strong.
+Selesnya Sanctuary: This just synergizes very well with the deck. It helps with landlight draws and resets Mosswort Bridge.
15.07.2014
-Woodfall Primus
-Garruk Wildspeaker
-Wild Pair
-Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
-Day of Judgement
+Aven Mindcensor: This deck has a bit of a theme of rendering opposing cards useless and this is one more way. People like to tutor a lot and I guess whatever they find can’t be to my benefit.
+Oblivion Stone: Can be played with Gaddock Teeg out, can be brought back by Sun Titan and blows up everything at instant speed.
+Priveliged Position: More protection for my permanents plus a lot of devotion. Together with Sterling Grove only an enchantment sweeper will make my permanents targetable again.
+Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: He was in and out of deck but in the end is just to strong not to include. The biggest issue with him in other decks is that he is often killed too fast to matter, but with the protction this deck offters he can unfold his full potential.
+Gavony Township
10.12.2014
- Harmonic Sliver
- Oracle of Mul Daya
- Stonehewer Giant
- Enlisted Wurm
- Luminate Primordial
- Craterhoof Behemoth
- Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
- Pariah's Shield
- Worldslayer
- Martial Coup
- Garruk, Primal Hunter
- Gavony Township
- Temple of the False God
- Forest
+ Planar Guide
+ Genesis Hydra
+ Hushwing Gryff
+ Lifeblood Hydra
+ Academy Rector
+ Thunderfoot Baloth
+ Siege Behemoth
+ Angel of the Dire Hour
+ True Conviction
+ Fell the Mighty
+ Sylvan Scrying
+ Ancient Tomb
+ Windswept Heath
19.10.2015
+Planar Guide
+Devoted Druid
+Temur Sabertooth
+Captain Sisay
+Seedborn Muse
+Woodland Bellower
+Craterhoof Behemoth
+Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
+Day of Judgement
+Sungrass Prairie
+Winding Canyons
+Emeria Shepherd
+Canopy Vista
-Archon of Justice
-Thunderfoot Baloth
-Regal Force
-Siege Behemoth
-Lifeblood Hydra
-Blightsteel Colossus
-Sylvan Scrying
-Fell the Mighty
-Sword of Feast an Famine
-Sunpetal Grove
-Saltcrusted Steppe
-Forest
10.3.2016
+ Birds of Paradise
+ Sylvan Safekeeper
+ Saffi Eriksdotter
+ Oracle of Mul-Daya
+ Reveillark
+ Karmic Guide
+ Titania, Protector of Argoth
+ Adarkar Valkyrie
+ Swiftfoot Boots
+ Evolutionary Leap
+ Tragic Arrogance
- Heliod, God of the Sun
- Temur Sabertooth
- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
- Genesis Hydra
- Spearbreaker Behemoth
- Angel of Serenity
- Myojin of Cleansing Fire
- Priveliged Position
- Sterling Grove
- Tooth and Nail
- Wrath of God
- Day of Judgement
03.04.2016
-Realm Seekers
-Flickerwisp
-Grand Abolisher
-Fierce Empath
-Oracle of Mul Daya
-Sylvan Library
+Ulvenwald Hydra
+Silent Arbiter
+Glacial Chasm
+Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
+Trostani, Voice of Selesnya
+Survival of the Fittest
05.06.2016
+Avacyn's Pigrim
+Elvish Mystic
+Duskwatch Recruiter
+Tireless Tracker
+Edrazi Displacer
+Seleva, Explorer Returned
+Angel of Serenity
+Myojin of Cleansing Fire
+Survival of the Fittest
+Zendikar Resurgent
+Rout
+Mirrorpool
+Brushland
-Wall of Omens
-Wall of Blossoms
-Elvish Visionary
-Saffi Eriksdotter
-Fierce Empath
-Nylea, God of the Hunt
-Silent Arbiter
-Sigarda, Host of Herons
-Ardakar Valkyrie
-Swiftfoot Boots
-Oblivion Stone
-Evolutionary Leap
-Sylvan Library
-Sejiri Steppe
03.10.2016
-Myojin of Cleansing Fire
-Myojin of Life's Web
-Rout
-Plains
+Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
+Cataclymic Gearhulk
+Eldritch Evolution
+Pendlehaven
19.05.2017
-Stoneforge Mystic
-Qasali Pridemage
-Hushwing Gryff
-Selvala, Explorer Returned
-Novablast Wurm
-Archetype of Endurance
-Skullclamp
-True Conviction
-Eladamri's Call
-Pendlehaven
+Ulvenwald Tracker
+Caustic Caterpillar
+Deadeye Harpooner
+Renegade Rallier
+Nissa, Vastwood Seer
+Ranger of Eos
+Protean Hulk
+Martyr's Bond
+Dusk//Dawn
+Scattered Groves
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Here is the list of cards that can still ruin your day with Avacyn+Archetype out:
As I wrote in the description, those cards are annoying but most decks run one or two of them at best and they really don't have much time to find them because you'll hit them around the head with BIG creatures.
If you really want to have answers, I guess Ghostway and Planar Guide could be what you are looking for ;). They both have some uses outside of protecting your board from this kind of effect but Ghostway is impossible to tutor for and Planar Guide exiles himself, which I'm not a fan of. I might try Planar Guide if I find a slot just for the look on the faces on my opponents when they triumphantly cast their Terminus and I respond with Chord of Calling this into play :D.
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
-Elspeth, Knight Errant: I really like her, but everytime I drew her she just did too little.
-Genesis Wave: This card is as powerful as it is boring. While it often wins when it resolves, it can be pretty bad when I use a full turn to cast it and then have it get counterd.
+Wall of Omens: I already explained how those 2 drop cantrips are a lot of value and just help the deck to run smoothly.
+Gaddock Teeg: A little further down you'll find a list of all the cards I can think of that get around the protection of Avacyn, Angel of Hope+Archetype of Endurance and what you'll see is that all but three of those cards are shut down by this grumpy kithkin. Even just him and the Archetype alone are a pretty solid defense because almost all of the boardwipes cost four mana or more.
I myself run 13 spells that are locked by him. Now that might seem a lot but it just means you have to be careful not to get him out when you are behind on the board. Also two of those spells are equipments which are cheated into play by Stonforge Mystic or Stonehewer Giant anyway. I'm certain he will do some very good work in the deck not only because I can make my postion almost airthight but also because he shuts down many ways that allow my opponets to get their own wincons online.
I'm also contemplating Luminate Primordial since it's an easily tutorable permanent answer for a lot of problems and Bane of Progress which can often be a complete blowout. The question is, as allways: What to cut? I guess now Twilight Shepherd is seriously on the chopping block.
And the newly spoiled Realm Seekers from Conspiracy will also soon join the contention for a slot...
Thoughts??
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
My group is also pretty competetive, in my last build I played genesis wave, this time around I'm thinking I'll go for a mostly permanent build and run genesis wave and primal surgeas the only nonpermanents. With grand abolisher and dosan the falling leaf as extra protection and haste enablers like concordant crossroads and akroma's memorial surge instantly ends the game.
I actually run 23 non creature spells which is nearly a quarter of my deck, so I guess I won't be able to include Nullstone Golem but if you are lighter on lands, I guess it's a fine addition.
Lately there's been a rise in enchantment heavy decks in my meta, so I'll also include Bane of Progess. Sure ther's a possibilty of losing some of your own things to it, but often enough there's just more than one or two artifacts or enchantments I have to handle and in these situations Bane is priceless (and if you have Avacyn out he leaves your stuff alone ).
Genesis Wave (and in the right build Primal Surge too) are really powerful but for me it's just a very boring way to win
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Yes, I noticed that too, and then I noticed all of the following cards should be corrected:
That just makes it easier for people to review your deck and offer suggestions.
Haha, thanks for the corrections, should have checked that myself. English can be hard...
I think you are right on Garruk, altough Garruk, Primal Hunter is also great in this deck. I'll probably soon be picking up a Caller of Beasts, I just didn't want to get one when the price was so unreasonably high (it's the same reason why I don't have a Ajani, Mentor of Heros yet). Anyhow I'll add him to the Missing Cards section.
It's also hard to figure out cuts for those cards since I shouldn't run to many because of Gaddock Teeg. Any Ideas?
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Anyway, I, unfortunately, do not have a Mistveil Plains yet, but I'm going to get my hands on one. What I discovered that tactic with was instead the Bow of Nylea, which I'm very surprised not to see here. Bow of Nylea has such a shear amount of utility, it's ridiculous. With any amount of trample (best with Nylea herself), it turns on the magic combo of Deathtouch + Trample. Aside from that, a Karametra deck will probably have enough mana to guarantee a tap activation every turn, at which point it can:
I think Cathar's Crusade is more a card for token strategies (where it's abolutely insane). In this deck most of my creatures are already pretty big and for five mana I'd rather have another big creature or at least something that creates massive card advantage.
Anyway thanks for teh suggestion
Hey, I'm glad that I helped
Bow of Nylea is one of those cards that were in for consideration when the deck had still about 30 cards too many and somehow I never reconsidered it. In the next round of changes (which I hope I have some time for soon)it will definitely be on my mind and I hope I can find a place for it The only problem I have is that the static ability really doesn't do very much without trample because all my creatures are already so big.
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Been playing/changing my build quite a bit lately, I find getting atleast one or two early drops for mana ramp and or chump blocking is pretty essential. I run things like wood elves, farhaven elf, yavimaya dryad etc to make sure I'm hitting the 4th turn Kara. Turn 5 is usually mega ramping so turn 6-7 can drop huge threats.
Game plan is to get a 1, 2 punch with things like avenger of zendikar into craterhoof behemoth(or regal force) my other 2 man teams are khamahl & Elesh norn for the land destruction lock and Avacyn + novablast wurm. This strategy helps exploit tooth and nail and defense of the heart quite effectively and I run quite a few tutors as contingency (ie fauna shaman, b pod, green sun's zenith, eladamari's call etc...)
Touching on the subject of things like sylvan library, my build runs them the card advantage is just too good to ignore and there's no reason not too if you have access to them.
One more tid bit, with the tooth and nail/defense of the heart/genesis wave plan I find haste enabling amazing. It's a bit harder to come by in our colors but I'm currently running Concordant cross roads and Akroma's memorial and they're game ending when you tooth and nail into something like avenger/behemoth, memorial can double as a pseudo shroud for your army against the right meta as well.
I'm glad you like it Thanks for the suggestion I'll add such a section along with the latest changes in the next few days. To answer your question: Of course I'd play cards like Savannah and Windswept Heath if I had them. I do happen to own a Sylvan Library which might go from my Karador deck to this one. Unfortunately this means that I'd have to make a few cuts and that is difficult, i'll probably try to make them on the upper end of the curve.
You definitely want to play something before you cast Karametra, otherwise you lose just too much tempo. Ideally this involves a way to have Karametra out a turn earlier (which my list does rather consistently but it would be nice to have one or two more ways). I also like to use those first few turns to set something up like Aura Shards or Bithing Pod. After she is out I usually still have more than enough gas left to let her go off, considering that you can also use five and sixdrops for this.
I agree that haste enabling is strong but what I like best for that is Lightening Greaves. I recently cut Avenger of Zendikar because I never seemed to really need it. This deck has so much fatties that more power on the BF is often redundant. When using Tooth and Nail I almost always go for Avacyn+Archetype. Then again I like to durdle around a bit when playing this deck, so if you are looking to wrap things up quickly as often as possible Avenger is a fine choice ;).
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
-Twilight Shepherd: Alas, this one just never works out. I had to cut it yet again from one of my lists.
-Sunblast Angel: I didn't do too much testing with him but it was one of the easier cuts. I might put it back in at some point for more testing.
-Avenger of Zendikar: I don't know if cutting this one is right but I never seemed to need the extra mussle he brings to the board. I'd rather have big creatures that can also answer threats.
-Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: I really didn't want to make this cut, but an eightdrop had to go and this one was the least significant for my gameplan.
-Gavony Township: I had to cut a land and this one was the most expendable.
+Sylvan Library: Gives me something to play the turns before I cast Karametra, digs for answers and has awesome synergy with the shuffling my general provides.
+Bane of Progress: On some rare occasions this one might hurt me as well but other than that it's an aweome large scale answer for a lot of difficult board states.
+Realm Seekers: This deck has a lot of utility in its landbase and this helps me to get to it. It's also a HUGE creature in multiplayer (10/10 at least).
+Luminate Primordial: The most frowned upon of the primordials but there are not a lot of options for targeted removal on a creature in GW and against multiple opponents it's still very strong.
+Selesnya Sanctuary: This just synergizes very well with the deck. It helps with landlight draws and resets Mosswort Bridge.
Let me know what you think of those changes.
I also added the promised "cards out of pricerange section"
Also: What do you think of Genesis Hydra from M15 for this deck?
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Not sure I'd agree about cutting Avenger of Zendikar, but then, you're on a slightly different plan than the millions of bounce creatures I have in my list. To me, the dream is to cast Avenger on 10-15 lands, let the tokens survive for a turn, then cast Whitemane Lion 5-8 times (7-12 if Amulet of Vigor is out) and swing with my large leafy army. Not necessarily in that order, as Whitemane Lion has flash and can be used as a combat trick.
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Arbor Elf
1 Archetype of Courage
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloom Tender
1 Boreal Druid
1 Copper Myr
1 Dauntless Escort
1 Devoted Druid
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fierce Empath
1 Flickerwisp
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Gold Myr
1 Golden Hind
1 Harabaz Druid
1 Harvester Druid
1 Heart Warden
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Leaf Gilder
1 Loaming Shaman
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Manaweft Sliver
1 Mentor of the Meek
1 Mirror Entity
1 Orochi Sustainer
1 Overgrown Battlement
1 Priest of Titania
1 Quirion Elves
1 Riftsweeper
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Steward of Valeron
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Utopia Tree
1 Vine Trellis
1 Voyaging Satyr
1 Wall of Roots
1 Werebear
1 Wirewood Elf
1 Gemhide Sliver
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1 Genesis
1 Twilight Shepherd
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Stonecloaker
1 Archetype of Endurance
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Wall of Omens
1 Carven Caryatid
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Regal Force
1 Champion of Lambholt
1 Heartwood Storyteller
15 Forest
15 Plains
Enchantments
1 Recycle
1 Aluren
1 Concordant Crossroads
1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Sigil of the New Dawn
1 Cathars' Crusade
Artifacts
1 Amulet of Vigor
1 Cloudstone Curio
Planeswalkers
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
I think in the long run you are right about Vorinclex, it's just a matter of time until I find a cut to put him back in.
In the beginning I also didn't think that Skullclamp would be too great but it turned out to be very solid. Sure it's not as completely busted as in token decks but, there is a decent amount of clampables and I also very often have High Market out. Other factors are that Skullclamp is rather easily tutorable, cheap to deploy and the +1/-1 puts Karametra to 7 power which makes triple hit kills possible. And in the late game I can cycle Dryad Arbor via Karametra and Mistveil Plains which is a nice draw engine.
I guess Whitemane Lion is another card I should try to squeeze in somewhere
This looks like too many mana creatures and too little action to ramp into. How does the deck play out?
Thanks for noticing the missing cards which are:
Martial Coup
Green Sun's Zenith
Chord of Calling
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
-Garruk Wildspeaker
-Wild Pair
-Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
-Day of Judgement
+Aven Mindcensor: This deck has a bit of a theme of rendering opposing cards useless and this is one more way. People like to tutor a lot and I guess whatever they find can’t be to my benefit.
+Oblivion Stone: Can be played with Gaddock Teeg out, can be brought back by Sun Titan and blows up everything at instant speed.
+Priveliged Position: More protection for my permanents plus a lot of devotion. Together with Sterling Grove only an enchantment sweeper will make my permanents targetable again.
+Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger: He was in and out of deck but in the end is just to strong not to include. The biggest issue with him in other decks is that he is often killed too fast to matter, but with the protction this deck offters he can unfold his full potential.
+Gavony Township
Here is my very latest batch of changes. Feel free to comment and if you have any questions just ask them
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer
Bottomline: I currently can't figure out any cuts and would be very appreciative of input in that regard myself
GWKarametra - The MistveiledGW
GWR Marath - The Egg-laying Wool-Milk-Pig GWR
RBGrenzo - Restrained RakdosRB
UWRGBHorde of NotionsUWRGB
Retired: Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Rafiq of the Many | Animar, Soul of Elements | Maelstrom Wanderer