Bearametra, God of Harvests GW "Hibernation has ended, this time it's personal..."
Introduction
It's been many years since "Legacy Bears" took the world by storm, swept into the Legacy format and turned the world upside down with over 10,000+ top 8 finishes. (note: has not been proven)
However, with the rise of Commander many have wondered if BEARS can really hold its weight in such a powercreep driven format? Short answer, yes it most certainly can. Due to its history and Memes, many player have mistaken BEARS as some kind of joke deck... well, jokes on all of you: Bears are not born with any known sense of humor, it's about to get real.
Ever since Karametra, God of Harvests was released, "G/W Bears" have been popping up all over the country with impressive showings at local tournaments. Considering my background and expertise piloting G/W Bears over the last decade, Sheldon contacted me to write a Primer for "G/W Bearametra" (note: may or may not have ever happened).
My first response was a bold "No, sry" and I hung up in his face... but after considering the impact this deck will have in Commander I reconsidered. And now I present to you, G/W Bearametra...
All right, so how the deck plays out is Early-Mid Game you basically just want to turtle and play defensive. The ideal start would be keeping a slightly mana heavy hand and/or hand with Sylvan Library, or some ramp with Kodama's Reach, Krosan Verge, or Skyshroud Claim. Your goal is to try establish any helpful Enchantments/Artifacts like Lifecrafter's Bestiary or Survival then get to 5 mana to get Karametra out ASAP. Then you can start dropping some creatures to proliferate your land drops.
Outside the "bear" creatures and a few utility creatures you probably notice there are not a lot of creatures in the deck. This is intentional, because then we get to the main synergy of the deck which is Drop of Honey/Porphyry Nodes + Karametra. These enchantments along with Smokestack's intention are to keep the board clear, along with Wrath of God and Fumigate. As long as Karametra's devotion is 7, which isn't too difficult with the number enchantments we run, she's indestructible which allows us to sit under Drop of Honey effect for as long as it can be maintained. Note: Drop and Porphyry Nodes affects destroy and do not target, which works to our benefit.
The deck doesn't need a ton of card draw, outside Harmonize since it has so much build in CA from cantrip spells, cantrip bears, and a mini-Enchantress package that I couldn't pass up. Argothian Enchantress is friend of all bears despite not being a bear-- her and Witness are good candidates to get with Woodland Bellower early on if you need some card draw, we play 16 Enchantments and you can get a lot of potential value with her and cards like Rancor. Speaking of which, Razorclaw Bear + Rancor has excellent synergy as well, especially later on when you can get some ticks on Door of Destinies, it can take something seemingly harmless into something players just don't want to block (ie. Lets say a 8/6 Razorclaw that's been overrun by Garruk attacks a player with 10x 1/1 Soldier tokens, if that player blocks with all of them, BAM, it's become a massive 28/26 beast of a Bear and tramples over the top of his soldiers crushing his hopes and dreams. Yeah, I know).
Angel of Flight Alabaster seems like an odd choice in a Bear deck, but her ability is very useful, she works as another Genesis in this deck. Along with the 3 changeling creatures in the deck that act as Spirits as well as Bears, there's also Crib Swap as removal to recur, and Spectral Bear/Ursine Fylgia that act as 'Bear Spirits'... yeah, I know.
Late Game Finishers
The game plan is pretty straightforward, no surprise, trample over and kill your opponent. This requires generating Bears, Beasts, etc and pumping them up. This can be accomplished in several ways:
Sylvan Library + Words of Wilding is one way to generate cheap numbers once you have enough card advantage. Grizzly Fate is probably my favorite, 'cause it can generate up to 8 Bears very quick after a board sweep late game with its Flashback ability. Hybernation's End works as a steady birthing pod that can let you get out your MOM, Enchantress and some of the utility stuff to setup your combos. Primeval Bounty is an amazing enchantment and pumping out beasts, that and Zendikar Resurgence together are like the "swiss army knife" for your deck, you get card advantage, creatures, life, lands, etc. it's an amazing feeling. Once you have a good 8+ Bears on board then cards like Overrun, Garruk, and Mirror Entity can come down as finishers, especially if you can flash in Mirror Entity in at the end of someone's turn to alpha strike players with a bunch of 15/15 bears out of nowhere.
One of my favorite changelings and bears of all time is Chameleon Colossus, as a finisher. I love him because with enough lands he turns into an absolute monster: Throw down Rancor on him and he's a seemingly innocent 6/4 trampler-- till you have 16 mana free and he quickly becomes a 96/94 trampler!! DAAAMN SON.
The other way of finishing the game comes from just locking down the board. Ritual of Subdual is one of those diamonds in the ruff, most players aren't going to see a card like this coming, especially in a deck like this. It works a lot like a "Contamination" lockdown, if you get a large enough amount of lands and can create a strong board state, catch everyone off guard with this card and it essentially will lock many decks out playing buying you a few turns to end it. If they have answers it can backfire, but it works strong under your stacks affects too, allowing them to work the board for a bit.
Anyways, that's it for the guide. Let me know what you think about the build, and give some feedback if you have any other cool synergies or finishers I'm missing that'd work well with this style of G/W control deck.
Of course, none of this could've happened if it weren't for the help of a lot of individuals who helped me through the years, so I'd like to thank the following below:
I'm going to try to dig up Idyllic Tutor if I can save up enough aluminum cans and pennies to get one soon. I agree 'cause Plea sat in my hand almost all game when I tried it, you'd think 6 mana should be cake but it pretty much takes up most my turn. I feel like I can never seem to play fast enough even with all the lands.
YES, Bear Umbra NEEDS a spot! Actually remember considering that a while back and totally forgot about that, I'm thinking of throwing in Woodland Guidance in for the exact kind of reason, I think the untap ability is just so powerful, especially if I can keep Garruk out a couple turns. Like I said, always so much to play so little time
Oh yeah, the other 2 lands I'd really love to fit in are Emeria & Sejeri Steppes (good with Crop Rotation)... I'm not sure what to cut or where, but I'll give it some thought. I might just play with 102 cards at this point, I literally don't care lol I'm loving the deck so far, the more the merrier.
GW
"Hibernation has ended, this time it's personal..."
Introduction
It's been many years since "Legacy Bears" took the world by storm, swept into the Legacy format and turned the world upside down with over 10,000+ top 8 finishes. (note: has not been proven)
However, with the rise of Commander many have wondered if BEARS can really hold its weight in such a powercreep driven format? Short answer, yes it most certainly can. Due to its history and Memes, many player have mistaken BEARS as some kind of joke deck... well, jokes on all of you: Bears are not born with any known sense of humor, it's about to get real.
Ever since Karametra, God of Harvests was released, "G/W Bears" have been popping up all over the country with impressive showings at local tournaments. Considering my background and expertise piloting G/W Bears over the last decade, Sheldon contacted me to write a Primer for "G/W Bearametra" (note: may or may not have ever happened).
My first response was a bold "No, sry" and I hung up in his face... but after considering the impact this deck will have in Commander I reconsidered. And now I present to you, G/W Bearametra...
1 Karametra, God of Harvests
1 Werebear
1 Spectral Bears
1 Pale Bear
1 Caller of the Claw
1 Mirror Entity
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Striped Bear
1 Razorclaw Bear
1 Changeling Titan
1 Ursine Fylgja
1 Mother of Runes
1 Argothian Enchantress
1 Fierce Empath
1 Eternal Witness
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Fleetfoot Panther
1 Academy Rector
1 Angel of Flight Alabaster
1 Genesis
1 Sun Titan
1 Woodland Bellower
Planeswalkers (2)
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Ajani Unyielding
Sorceries/Instants (22)
1 Insist
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Crib Swap
1 Crop Rotation
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Plea for Guidance
1 Heroic Intervention
1 Krosan Reclamation
1 Life from the Loam
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Argivian Find
1 Regrowth
1 Replenish
1 Harmonize
1 Rending Vines
1 Krosan Grip
1 Sylvan Reclamation
1 Grizzly Fate
1 Overrun
1 Wrath of God
1 Fumigate
1 Rancor
1 Drop of Honey
1 Porphyry Nodes
1 Inheritance
1 Evolutionary Leap
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Words of Wilding
1 Steely Resolve
1 Hibernation's End
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Aura of Silence
1 Nature's Wrath
1 Ritual of Subdual
1 Primeval Bounty
1 Zendikar Resurgent
Artifacts (5)
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1 Smokestack
1 Door of Destinies
Lands (34)
1 Safe Haven
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Winding Canyon
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Kor Haven
1 Krosan Verge
1 Blighted Woodland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Savannah
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Serra's Sanctum
1 Mutavault
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Treetop Village
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Mistveil Plains
9 Forest
7 Plains
Gameplay & Synergies
All right, so how the deck plays out is Early-Mid Game you basically just want to turtle and play defensive. The ideal start would be keeping a slightly mana heavy hand and/or hand with Sylvan Library, or some ramp with Kodama's Reach, Krosan Verge, or Skyshroud Claim. Your goal is to try establish any helpful Enchantments/Artifacts like Lifecrafter's Bestiary or Survival then get to 5 mana to get Karametra out ASAP. Then you can start dropping some creatures to proliferate your land drops.
Outside the "bear" creatures and a few utility creatures you probably notice there are not a lot of creatures in the deck. This is intentional, because then we get to the main synergy of the deck which is Drop of Honey/Porphyry Nodes + Karametra. These enchantments along with Smokestack's intention are to keep the board clear, along with Wrath of God and Fumigate. As long as Karametra's devotion is 7, which isn't too difficult with the number enchantments we run, she's indestructible which allows us to sit under Drop of Honey effect for as long as it can be maintained. Note: Drop and Porphyry Nodes affects destroy and do not target, which works to our benefit.
The deck doesn't need a ton of card draw, outside Harmonize since it has so much build in CA from cantrip spells, cantrip bears, and a mini-Enchantress package that I couldn't pass up. Argothian Enchantress is friend of all bears despite not being a bear-- her and Witness are good candidates to get with Woodland Bellower early on if you need some card draw, we play 16 Enchantments and you can get a lot of potential value with her and cards like Rancor. Speaking of which, Razorclaw Bear + Rancor has excellent synergy as well, especially later on when you can get some ticks on Door of Destinies, it can take something seemingly harmless into something players just don't want to block (ie. Lets say a 8/6 Razorclaw that's been overrun by Garruk attacks a player with 10x 1/1 Soldier tokens, if that player blocks with all of them, BAM, it's become a massive 28/26 beast of a Bear and tramples over the top of his soldiers crushing his hopes and dreams. Yeah, I know).
Angel of Flight Alabaster seems like an odd choice in a Bear deck, but her ability is very useful, she works as another Genesis in this deck. Along with the 3 changeling creatures in the deck that act as Spirits as well as Bears, there's also Crib Swap as removal to recur, and Spectral Bear/Ursine Fylgia that act as 'Bear Spirits'... yeah, I know.
Late Game Finishers
The game plan is pretty straightforward, no surprise, trample over and kill your opponent. This requires generating Bears, Beasts, etc and pumping them up. This can be accomplished in several ways:
Sylvan Library + Words of Wilding is one way to generate cheap numbers once you have enough card advantage. Grizzly Fate is probably my favorite, 'cause it can generate up to 8 Bears very quick after a board sweep late game with its Flashback ability. Hybernation's End works as a steady birthing pod that can let you get out your MOM, Enchantress and some of the utility stuff to setup your combos. Primeval Bounty is an amazing enchantment and pumping out beasts, that and Zendikar Resurgence together are like the "swiss army knife" for your deck, you get card advantage, creatures, life, lands, etc. it's an amazing feeling. Once you have a good 8+ Bears on board then cards like Overrun, Garruk, and Mirror Entity can come down as finishers, especially if you can flash in Mirror Entity in at the end of someone's turn to alpha strike players with a bunch of 15/15 bears out of nowhere.
One of my favorite changelings and bears of all time is Chameleon Colossus, as a finisher. I love him because with enough lands he turns into an absolute monster: Throw down Rancor on him and he's a seemingly innocent 6/4 trampler-- till you have 16 mana free and he quickly becomes a 96/94 trampler!! DAAAMN SON.
The other way of finishing the game comes from just locking down the board. Ritual of Subdual is one of those diamonds in the ruff, most players aren't going to see a card like this coming, especially in a deck like this. It works a lot like a "Contamination" lockdown, if you get a large enough amount of lands and can create a strong board state, catch everyone off guard with this card and it essentially will lock many decks out playing buying you a few turns to end it. If they have answers it can backfire, but it works strong under your stacks affects too, allowing them to work the board for a bit.
Anyways, that's it for the guide. Let me know what you think about the build, and give some feedback if you have any other cool synergies or finishers I'm missing that'd work well with this style of G/W control deck.
Of course, none of this could've happened if it weren't for the help of a lot of individuals who helped me through the years, so I'd like to thank the following below:
Thanks,
JARY
GWRUB[EDH] Reaper KingGWRUB
GW[Legacy] BEARS (#1 Threat in America)GW
UR[Legacy] Arcane MeleeUR
I agree. It's not only thematic, but useful.
GB [Primer][Competitive][Stax][Combo] Meren of Clan Nel Toth 95% RETIRED
UW [Primer][Competitive][Combo][Stax] Brago, King Eternal RETIRED
BR Rakdos, Lord of Riots (75%)
G Titania - 75%
W SRAM - Welcome to the cheeri0s jam 95%
U Teferi - stax 100%
R Neheb - janky mono red eggs combo 90%
B Gonti - 50% valuetown
I'm going to try to dig up Idyllic Tutor if I can save up enough aluminum cans and pennies to get one soon. I agree 'cause Plea sat in my hand almost all game when I tried it, you'd think 6 mana should be cake but it pretty much takes up most my turn. I feel like I can never seem to play fast enough even with all the lands.
YES, Bear Umbra NEEDS a spot! Actually remember considering that a while back and totally forgot about that, I'm thinking of throwing in Woodland Guidance in for the exact kind of reason, I think the untap ability is just so powerful, especially if I can keep Garruk out a couple turns. Like I said, always so much to play so little time
Oh yeah, the other 2 lands I'd really love to fit in are Emeria & Sejeri Steppes (good with Crop Rotation)... I'm not sure what to cut or where, but I'll give it some thought. I might just play with 102 cards at this point, I literally don't care lol I'm loving the deck so far, the more the merrier.
GWRUB[EDH] Reaper KingGWRUB
GW[Legacy] BEARS (#1 Threat in America)GW
UR[Legacy] Arcane MeleeUR