MTG Salvation

Could a 42 Lands Style EDH deck actually be made to work. Im curious more then anything, and it would be an amusing use for the foil progenitus I have.

Is this a good idea? Is this a terrible idea. Am I insane?

You haven't given us enough imformation to go on. Yes, there are decks that can run large numbers of lands and still be successful. The question(s) is: What general? Colors? Purpose for a bunch of lands.

Basically, what do you have in mind? We need more to go on.

I've seen a couple fairly successful Child of Alara lands builds, but that has more to do with the constant board wipes than anything else, which Proggy can't pull off. You can definitely do it, but it's probably not going to be a dominating strategy.

Quote from Wildfire393

Many Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant decks run a large number of lands, often 60+.

I think he's referring to converting the Legacy deck to EDH, where you run a ton of utility lands (that often become your win con) and things like Manabond, Exploration, Crucible, etc., not high-Forest-count Azusa or 99 Mountains Ashling, etc.

I'm just not sure you could pull it off. It seems similar to trying to run enchantress in EDH, you just can't get that critical mass of card-types to successfully transfer the deck to EDH.

There are quite a few Child of Alara 60-ish land decks that compete quite well. They often utilize a Life from the Loam + Glacial Chasm + sac outlet engine to stay alive.

Add tutors, Crucible of Worlds, Worm Harvest, Knight of the Reliquary, Exploration, and other cards in that vein, and you should be good to go!

It can be done! Child of Alara gives you access to a lot of sweet stuff, but I think the best general for this strategy is Xira Airen due to her instant-speed draw. Lands decks get a TON of millage out of Life from the Loam, and being able to get it from your yard at instant speed is critical to playing around hate. The only U/W cards I missed were Intuition, Mystical Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Knight of the Reliquary, and Sun Titan. In the end I decided 5 cards weren't enough to keep me in the colors.

I'd go 5 color, focusing on GWU.

Exploration and Manabond are a must. Burgeoning is decent, as are the other permanent extra land plays.

Life from the Loam is a shoe in.

Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Insidious Dreams, Diabolic Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Personal Tutor, and possibly Enlightened Tutor are all includes. Running a small count of all important cards means tutors are a necessity.

Treasure Hunt can get massive card advantage quickly. Excavation and Trade Routes let you cycle through the unnecessary lands quickly. Horn of Greed is broken advantage.

Zuran Orb is massive life advantage. Overgrown Estate is a decent backup.

Lands have great options, even when singleton'd.

Kill has a multitude of possibilities. Tons of manlands to run. God's Eye with Crucible/Loam and a sac outlet.

Run Academy Ruins just to be able to recur your Crucible and/or Zuran Orb, post Child. Also a Volrath's Stronghold to recur Azusa. Very important if they Obliterate or kill the field and 'Geddon. Now you get your crucible back, play it in a turn or two, and bounce back before anyone else.

The deck has great potential late game. With extra life, Child of Alara, and Maze effects, you can get there, too. Think of mid-late game, when you have your crucible and several extra lands a turn: use God's Eye with a zuran orb. Gain 10, and put 5 1/1s out, in addition to manland beats. Oh, and draw 5 extra cards if you have your Horn of Greed out. Or just Stripmine your opponents into oblivion. Got a Moat or something in the way? Shock your opponents every turn with a Minamo and Shivan Gorge, or use Tolaria West to get Urborg + Cabal Coffers so that you can Dark Depths in two turns.

Something like this could do well:




Without a budget, things get even worse.
Tabernacle with a recurring strip mine destroys your opponents, while your manlands go all the way. Not to mention extra tutors...

My Rith deck in my sig is built on a Life From the Loam strategy. It is definitely more difficult to fine-tune a lands deck than in regular constructed, but Loam and Crucible of Worlds are fantastic engines that will win you the long game. Just make sure to include the onslaught cycling lands and/or Horizon Canopy for the continual card advantage they provide along with an instant speed way to protect the Life from the Loam.

My recommendation is to definitely include a Glacial Chasm (as previously mentioned), and find room for a Hermit Druid. He was a late addition to my deck, but I have been incredibly impressed with him. He'll fill up the graveyard with lots of goodies for recursion, and it will find you your Loam quickly. It's really a fantastic tutor and MVP candidate in the lands strategy.

Phyrexian Arena type cards are your best friend here, as they'll refill your hand after then initial dump. Dark Confidant, Dark Tutelage, and Ad Nauseam get all sorts of miles out of your deck for little to no cost due to the high land density. The CA in a lands deck is absurd, I was could easily draw 3+ cards a turn without trying (before Life From the Loam + cycle land shenanigans)

I have a friend that plays land EDH. It angers me to no end, and I have since refused to play a game if he's in it.

Burgeoning and Manabond get his lands out fast. He uses prismatic omen to make everything fetchable with Knight of the Reliquary and Flagstones of Trokair and then he uses Sun Titan to return the sac'ed lands. Academy Rector helps find a needed enchantment, and he makes sure it dies by using his mint condition The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. Vesuva copying Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle are his main form of damage, and he prevents getting damaged with Glacial Chasm.

Like I said it makes me rage all the time, but i have to say it is a well built deck.

A buddy of mine got us to let him bend the deck construction rules a little bit by allowing him to use Genju of the Realm as his general. The restrictions? He can't play any other spells or play any basic lands.

So it's a 99 nonbasic lands deck with Genju of the Realm leading it. He has some very interesting interactions in the deck and can be considered "in the game" in a casual setting.

Primeval Titan seems a definite auto-include here. I'm also all for going 5cc Child of Alara at the helm.

I was working on a deck list for EDH lands awhile back. Child of Alara is needed as the general because it’s board wipe ability gives the deck a fighting chance.

The list is not complete, but hopefully it provides some assistance.