This is my rhys deck. I built it in december 2012. I've been playing since December 2008, and I've always liked token decks. Unfortunately, I traded the Rhys I opened in a pack away back when I had just started playing, and it took me years to find another. When I did, I scrapped my other commander decks right away and built this. The deck can play as an aggro deck, spitting out a turn five terastadon and destroying the opponents mana base, or as a combo deck, casting tooth and nail for reveillark and karmic guide. It's usually the most competitive deck at the table, since my meta is fairly casual.
Rhys, the redeemed
I chose Rhys for several reasons. The first was nostalgia. I remember opening rhys in one of my first packs, and using him in my first deck, a modified naya intro deck. The second reason is that he's a very good card. He only costs one mana, but with enough time he can take over a game. I couldn't ask for more. The third reason is simple. Look at the other green white options:Asmira, Holy Avenger: Could be useful in a token deck, but I think she's too slow and easily disrupted. Captain sisay: A powerful general who could definitely be good in a token deck, I didn't like how much of a build-around she was. I don't like commander decks that fall apart if they lose their commander. Emmara Tandris: Even in a token deck, she's worse than a lot of the legends from legends, even some of the common ones. Gabriel angelfire:Though not completely useless, she's completely outclassed by sigarda, who I'll get to later. Also, no synergy with tokens. Gaddock Teeg: He could make for a very interesting token deck, but it wasn't one I was willing to make. I'd love to see someone try it, though. Kei takahashi: Useless. I wanted a commander who did something. Krond the Dawn-clad: Auras and tokens don't exactly go well together, and this guy isn't even the best GW commander for auras. Lady Caleria: Kind of cool, and pretty useful, the mana cost ruins her. Lord Magnus: The nonbo with Great wall was a dealbreaker for me. Saffi Eriksdotter: Not a bad general at all, but she fits better in a combo or blink shell, seeing as she's useless with tokens. Sigarda, Host of Herons: She's a very good general, but she isn't really a token general at all. In fact, she's actively unhelpful in a token deck, since it's usually more practical to beat face with her than to try and win with tokens. Sir shandlar of Eberyn: Nope. Tolsimir Wolfblood: Looks good at first for a token deck, but he's way too expensive to be worth it. Chorus of the Conclave: There are lots of cool shenanigans with her, but she doesn't work well with tokens and she costs eight. Torsten Von Ursus: Nope. Trostani, Selesnya's Voice: Great If you're making big tokens, and she isn't overcosted at all. This was the other main GW token option, but I chose Rhys because I decided it was cooler to have 40 1/1's than 4 10/10's.
Now, every General including GW that's good with tokens: Arcades SabbothG: Global pump and access to blue are both great, but he's way too expensive at eight mana. Ghave, guru of spores: This was Rhys's biggest competition by far, and I still might switch the deck to him at some point. Access to black is great, he's combotastic, and he's powerful. I was turned of by the cost and the hate he can draw. Hazezon Tamar: Another good option, since he's relevant at all stages of the game, unfortunately red doesn't add much and he's a little too tempting of a target for spot removal. Jacques le Vert: Pretty solid, not ovecosted, and good with tokens, I just don't like that he only affects green creatures and I wish he did more. Karona, False God: Seems good, but I didn't want to go to deep into one tribe. Sliver Queen: Pretty good, but I'm not fornd of spending 50.00$ on a magic card. Rith, the Awakener Pretty good, since he can double your tokens, but he has to connect and pay the cost and he costs 6, so I felt he was too slow and fragile.
Skullclamp: Insane card advantage, super low price. This is uncuttable. Sylvan Library: How would you like your draw steps to be brainstorms? For only two mana? How about with even more upside? It isn't very difficult to figure out why this is a good card. Fecundity: This card is symmetrical. At first this seems like a bad thing, but it actually makes the card better. You know why? Everyone at the table will assume that, naturally, they are the smart one and that they will be the one to abuse fecundity. Because of this, no one ever destroys it. But you know what? They never draw nearly as many cards off it as you do. After all, if they can abuse it so well, why don't they play it? Mentor of the meek: In this deck, this card basically reads:1: Draw a card. Notable Omissions Mind's Eye: I think this card is too slow and expensive to be worth it in any decks aside from Mono-White, Mono-Red, and Red-White, which don't have access to powerful draw. Skullmulcher: This guy's really good, and could replace mentor of the meek, but I prefer mentor a little. Greater Good and Momentous Fall: I don't have enough big creatures to make these worth it.
Reveillark: This card has a ton of targets in this deck, too many for me not to run it, and it goes infinite with the next card on this list. Karmic Guide: A very powerful card that can also be easily abused. Replenish: A very, very powerful card for any enchantment-heavy build like this one. Regrowth: Really good. This card is basically a tutor late in the game, and it's one of the best at what it does. Eternal WitnessLike regrowth, but better. Notable Omissions Praetor's council I used to run it, but it was too slow. Almost always wins you the game if it resolves. Genesis: My gut tells me it's too slow, but the main reason it's not in here is because I don't have one.
Mirari's Wake and Mana Reflection: These two enchantments let the deck be really explosive. Very powerful enchantments that win a lot of games. Oracle Of Mul Daya: Ramps and gives you better draws. The quintessential utility creature. Sol Ring: The one and only. Land Tax: Turn one land tax on the draw is one of the best plays the deck can make your graveyard will be full of lands in no time. This is one of the most powerful cards in the deck. Priest of titania and elvish archdruid: These will usually tap for at least 3 in the first few turns of the game. My early game ramp of choice, and the cards that speed up this deck the most. Earthcraft: This is almost always the best tutor target. Without this, the deck might be fair, and you don't want that. Knight of the reliquary: He loses some utility without Gaea's cradle, but he's still very useful and well worth the slot. Notable Omissions Cultivate and Kodama's reach: I wish I could run these, but the list is too tight. Yavimaya Grangers and Druid's repository: These are both very solid choices, but I found them too slow.
Mana Rocks: This is green!
Alright, updated my deck.
Out:
High Market > Forest (Just built kresh, which wanted it much more. It's been in this deck from the beginning and got used maybe one time.)
Ashnod's altar > Martyr's cause (I keep switching between these two, so they probably both go when something really cool comes out. Right now I favor the martyr's cause, because I've been seeing more aggro.)
Woodfall Primus > Avenger of zendikar (Running this, primordial, and terastadon was too much with the number of tutors I run, and this also always felt like the weakest of the bunch.)
Druid's repository > Mana reflection (Druid's repository was basically just earthcraft #2, but significantly worse. Mana reflection is already an all star i the few games I've played with it.)
Selesnya Signet > Karmic guide (I wanted to have the combo in here, and selesnya signet wasn't as good as I had hoped. I might try to fit cultivate in the deck if it needs more ramp, but the signet was really lame. Funny I say that since I added two more signets to my nicol bolas deck at the same time.)
The List
1 Rhys the Redeemed
Draw
1 Skulclamp
2 Sylvan Library
3 Fecundity
3 Mentor of the meek
Recursion
5 Reveillark
5 Karmic Guide
4 Replenish
2 Regrowth
3 Eternal Witness
Ramp
5 Mirari's Wake
4 Oracle of mul daya
1 Sol Ring
1 Land tax
2 priest of titania
2 earthcraft
3 Knight of the reliquary
3 Elvish archdruid
6 Mana reflection
Token Engines
5 Mycoloth
5 Ant Queen
2 Spawning Pit
2 Luminarch ascension
3 Sacred Mesa
Tutors
3 Chord of Calling
1 Green sun's zenith
9 Tooth and nail
4 Academy rector
4 Defense of the heart
1 Worldly tutor
1 Enlightened tutor
2 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Sterling grove
3 Idyllic tutor
3 congregation at dawn
2 eladamri's call
8 Terastadon
6 Austere Command
7 Martial Coup
5 Elspeth Tirel
7 Sylvan Primordial
5 Acidic Slime
1 Path to exile
1 Swords to plowshares
3 Beast within
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Aura Shards
Pump
5 eldrazi monument
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
8 Craterhoof Behemoth
3 Mirror Entity
3 Beastmaster Ascension
Other
3 Genesis Wave
7 Avenger of Zendikar
3 Martyr's Cause
2 illusionist's bracers
6 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
5 Seedborn Muse
5 Doubling season
4 Parallel lives
3 Dauntless Escort
3 Sword of Feast and Famine
Land
0 Selesnya Sanctuary
0 City of Shadows
0 Sunpetal Grove
0 Stirring Wildwood
0 Graypelt Refuge
0 Razorverge Thicket
0 Terramorphic esxpanse
0 Evolving Wilds
0 Grasslands
0 Grove of the Guardian
0 Temple Garden
0 Brushland
0 Selesnya Guildgate
0 Buried Ruin
0 Gavony Township
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Dryad Arbor
0 Oran-Rief, The Vastwood
0 Tranquil Thicket
0 Khalni Garden
9 forest
8 plains
Card Choices
I chose Rhys for several reasons. The first was nostalgia. I remember opening rhys in one of my first packs, and using him in my first deck, a modified naya intro deck. The second reason is that he's a very good card. He only costs one mana, but with enough time he can take over a game. I couldn't ask for more. The third reason is simple. Look at the other green white options:Asmira, Holy Avenger: Could be useful in a token deck, but I think she's too slow and easily disrupted.
Captain sisay: A powerful general who could definitely be good in a token deck, I didn't like how much of a build-around she was. I don't like commander decks that fall apart if they lose their commander.
Emmara Tandris: Even in a token deck, she's worse than a lot of the legends from legends, even some of the common ones.
Gabriel angelfire:Though not completely useless, she's completely outclassed by sigarda, who I'll get to later. Also, no synergy with tokens.
Gaddock Teeg: He could make for a very interesting token deck, but it wasn't one I was willing to make. I'd love to see someone try it, though.
Kei takahashi: Useless. I wanted a commander who did something.
Krond the Dawn-clad: Auras and tokens don't exactly go well together, and this guy isn't even the best GW commander for auras.
Lady Caleria: Kind of cool, and pretty useful, the mana cost ruins her.
Lord Magnus: The nonbo with Great wall was a dealbreaker for me.
Saffi Eriksdotter: Not a bad general at all, but she fits better in a combo or blink shell, seeing as she's useless with tokens.
Sigarda, Host of Herons: She's a very good general, but she isn't really a token general at all. In fact, she's actively unhelpful in a token deck, since it's usually more practical to beat face with her than to try and win with tokens.
Sir shandlar of Eberyn: Nope.
Tolsimir Wolfblood: Looks good at first for a token deck, but he's way too expensive to be worth it.
Chorus of the Conclave: There are lots of cool shenanigans with her, but she doesn't work well with tokens and she costs eight.
Torsten Von Ursus: Nope.
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice: Great If you're making big tokens, and she isn't overcosted at all. This was the other main GW token option, but I chose Rhys because I decided it was cooler to have 40 1/1's than 4 10/10's.
Now, every General including GW that's good with tokens:
Arcades SabbothG: Global pump and access to blue are both great, but he's way too expensive at eight mana.
Ghave, guru of spores: This was Rhys's biggest competition by far, and I still might switch the deck to him at some point. Access to black is great, he's combotastic, and he's powerful. I was turned of by the cost and the hate he can draw.
Hazezon Tamar: Another good option, since he's relevant at all stages of the game, unfortunately red doesn't add much and he's a little too tempting of a target for spot removal.
Jacques le Vert: Pretty solid, not ovecosted, and good with tokens, I just don't like that he only affects green creatures and I wish he did more.
Karona, False God: Seems good, but I didn't want to go to deep into one tribe.
Sliver Queen: Pretty good, but I'm not fornd of spending 50.00$ on a magic card.
Rith, the Awakener Pretty good, since he can double your tokens, but he has to connect and pay the cost and he costs 6, so I felt he was too slow and fragile.
Sylvan Library: How would you like your draw steps to be brainstorms? For only two mana? How about with even more upside? It isn't very difficult to figure out why this is a good card.
Fecundity: This card is symmetrical. At first this seems like a bad thing, but it actually makes the card better. You know why? Everyone at the table will assume that, naturally, they are the smart one and that they will be the one to abuse fecundity. Because of this, no one ever destroys it. But you know what? They never draw nearly as many cards off it as you do. After all, if they can abuse it so well, why don't they play it?
Mentor of the meek: In this deck, this card basically reads:1: Draw a card.
Notable Omissions
Mind's Eye: I think this card is too slow and expensive to be worth it in any decks aside from Mono-White, Mono-Red, and Red-White, which don't have access to powerful draw.
Skullmulcher: This guy's really good, and could replace mentor of the meek, but I prefer mentor a little.
Greater Good and Momentous Fall: I don't have enough big creatures to make these worth it.
Karmic Guide: A very powerful card that can also be easily abused.
Replenish: A very, very powerful card for any enchantment-heavy build like this one.
Regrowth: Really good. This card is basically a tutor late in the game, and it's one of the best at what it does.
Eternal WitnessLike regrowth, but better.
Notable Omissions
Praetor's council I used to run it, but it was too slow. Almost always wins you the game if it resolves.
Genesis: My gut tells me it's too slow, but the main reason it's not in here is because I don't have one.
Oracle Of Mul Daya: Ramps and gives you better draws. The quintessential utility creature.
Sol Ring: The one and only.
Land Tax: Turn one land tax on the draw is one of the best plays the deck can make your graveyard will be full of lands in no time. This is one of the most powerful cards in the deck.
Priest of titania and elvish archdruid: These will usually tap for at least 3 in the first few turns of the game. My early game ramp of choice, and the cards that speed up this deck the most.
Earthcraft: This is almost always the best tutor target. Without this, the deck might be fair, and you don't want that.
Knight of the reliquary: He loses some utility without Gaea's cradle, but he's still very useful and well worth the slot.
Notable Omissions
Cultivate and Kodama's reach: I wish I could run these, but the list is too tight.
Yavimaya Grangers and Druid's repository: These are both very solid choices, but I found them too slow.
Mana Rocks: This is green!
Out:
High Market > Forest (Just built kresh, which wanted it much more. It's been in this deck from the beginning and got used maybe one time.)
Ashnod's altar > Martyr's cause (I keep switching between these two, so they probably both go when something really cool comes out. Right now I favor the martyr's cause, because I've been seeing more aggro.)
Woodfall Primus > Avenger of zendikar (Running this, primordial, and terastadon was too much with the number of tutors I run, and this also always felt like the weakest of the bunch.)
Druid's repository > Mana reflection (Druid's repository was basically just earthcraft #2, but significantly worse. Mana reflection is already an all star i the few games I've played with it.)
Selesnya Signet > Karmic guide (I wanted to have the combo in here, and selesnya signet wasn't as good as I had hoped. I might try to fit cultivate in the deck if it needs more ramp, but the signet was really lame. Funny I say that since I added two more signets to my nicol bolas deck at the same time.)