MTG Salvation

Here's my review for Theros Beyond Death:

• Ilysian Caryatid - Great in the deck since it will almost always tap for GG. Even if it can't, it'll still tap down for G.
• Nyxbloom Ancient - This card might seem winmore in most decks, but not in decks where its commander is a mana sink. Tripling the mana I can produce - are you insane?! Do you know how much Gaea's Cradle is going to give with a field full of mana dorks? Definitely going in the deck!
• Nyx Lotus - It might enter the battlefield tapped but it can add a crazy amount of G in this deck just like Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx can.
• Shadowspear - This equipment feels made for this deck. It only costs 1 to cast and 2 to equip. It gives a boon plus trample and lifelink. If that weren't enough, you can pay 1 to remove hexproof and indestructible from opponents' creatures so it's a second Bonds of Mortality.

Can you post your most recent decklist? The one on the front page doesn't have llanowar tribe, or any of the most recent items you list as good cards.

Quote from natesroom »

Can you post your most recent decklist? The one on the front page doesn't have llanowar tribe, or any of the most recent items you list as good cards.

Yes, I do have to get around to updating the main post with the recent changes (I have mentioned what changes I've done to the deck; I just haven't updated it yet). However, the only changes I've made is when I literally post about changes; commenting on a card being good for the deck doesn't mean I included it in the deck. I'll try and update it later on today. Updated.

Updated the OP to reflect the recent changes in the Main Deck



You can also see a video version of the deck tech for the Main Build here on my YouTube channel.

Here's my review for Commander 2020:

• Manascape Refractor - Has the abilities of lands like Gaea's Cradle, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Ancient Tomb, Jungle Basin, Sanctum of Eternity, etc. Definitely worth a slot in the deck.
• Slippery Bogbonder - Is able to put a hexproof counter on Polukranos as well as all other counters on the rest of our creatures which isn't that often, but a hexproof counter is very helpful in protecting Polukranos from spot removal.
• Sawtusk Demolisher - Mutating this onto Polukranos makes it a bit bigger while also giving trample. Also, when it mutates, it's a Beast Within. So it's amazing for 4 mana. Definitely worth a slot in the deck.

Here's my review for Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths:

• Barrier Breach - Being able to exile 3 enchantments is no joke - especially when up against a pillowfort deck and wanting to get through with Polukranos.
• Colossification - This is just hilarious in any commander deck. It turns any commander into a one-shot player eliminator. It taps down the creature, but if Polukranos is protected, then next turn it might definitely start eliminating players from the game.
• Gemrazer - For just 3 mana you can mutate this under Polukranos to give it trample and reach. Oh, and when it mutates it naturalizes. It's definitely worth testing since Polukranos loves having trample.
• The Ozolith - 100% going in the deck. Resetting Polukranos means we lose its +1/+1 counters. With this artifact we can store those counters and then put them back on Polukranos afterwards. Definitely going in the deck.
• Titanoth Rex - For just 2 mana we draw a card and give Polukranos a trample counter at instant speed. The combat tricks alone are worth testing this card. It's also an 11/11 with trample if we need to send a message.

Here's my review for Core Set 2021:

• Invigorating Surge - A great way to make Polukranos potentially one-shot someone at instant speed.

Here's my review for Jumpstart:

• Allosaurus Shepherd - It makes practially of all of my spells uncounterable as well as being uncounterable itself. The deck doesn't have that many elves (6) with Freyalise being the only other source of elf production. That being said, it's still amazing for a monogreen deck.

Here's my review for Zendikar Rising:

• Ancient Greenwarden - Landfall is definitely a subtheme in the deck so being able to double those triggers is amazing. The deck isn't running any fetchlands but it is running Thawing Glaciers and Ghost Town so we are able to get landfall triggers each turn.
• Ashaya, Soul of the Wild - The deck has a ton of mana dorks but Ashaya makes all nontoken creatures into mana dorks which can go a long way. Not only that but since our nontoken creatures are now lands, they'll survive boardwipes that specify nonland permanents (Planar Cleansing, Cyclonic Rift, etc.) which is definitely a plus.
• Scute Swarm - As mentioned earlier, while landfall is not a core aspect of the deck, this is an amazing green card that can get out of hand very quickly, especially since this deck is ramping like crazy. It can get out of hand very quickly.

Here's my review for Commander Legends:

• Court of Bounty - Becoming the monarch is great at drawing a card at the end of the turn but even if not the monarch, you can drop a land during your upkeep. If you are the monarch, you'll be able to drop a creature. The deck doesn't have so many fatties but being able to cheat one early enough can do a lot.
• Kamahl's Will - Turning our lands into indestructible 1/1's is amazing at overwhelming the board This also goes amazing with Gaea's Cradle and/or Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun.
• Kodama of the East Tree - Amazing with cheating things from our hand or dropping more lands since playing a land will allow us to drop on from our hand.
• Reshape the Earth - Grabs 10 lands that aren't necessarily basic which is amazing. The deck can generate a ton of of mana which will allow casting this very early on. Since players refuse to run mass land destruction spells, you can take over the game very early on thanks to it.
• Jeweled Lotus - Not as overhyped as all the naysayers make it out to be, it is very useful here not only because it can get Polukranos out on turn 1, but it can also help afterwards since we're constantly wanting to reset it. So it's useful in the deck throughout the entire match.
• Guildless Commons - A bounceland for any deck, especially monocolored ones, it can give a burst of mana after that initial set back similarly to Jungle Basin.

Here's my review for Kaldheim:

• Fynn, the Fangbearer - With so many equipment in the deck that gives creatures deathtouch, it's very possible to win via poison counters as another wincon. It might be a bit slow, but Fynn himself has deathtouch.
• Toski, Bearer of Secrets - A green Coastal Piracy on a body is pretty tempting for this deck. However, this deck doesn't really go wide; it goes tall. That being said, if you do wipe the board with Polukranos, you can swing in with your mana dorks and draw some cards.
• Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider - The deck isn't running other effects that double the amount of +1/+1 placed on creatures so it's not that good in this deck.

Thoughts on Apex Devastator?

Such a fun deck, thanks for the share!

Thanks! Glad you like the deck!

Apex Devastator is definitely a fun card but I don't think it'd really fit here considering that a lot of the deck is very low on CMC. So you're not going to cascade into anything too crazy.

Here's my review for Strixhaven:

• Wandering Archaic - Could be used either to get a land and/or instant or sorcery when in a pinch or can be used as a 4/4 for 5 mana that makes counterspells cost 2 more. It can also be used to copy any spell and opponent doesn't care that you do. This can provide a ton of value in a mono-colored deck like this one.
• Exponential Growth - Could be an amazing mana sink to ensure Polukranos gets that commander damage win in. Especially useful for when Polukranos has been reset and is just a 5/5.
• Master Symmetrist - It's a cheeky way to give Polukranos trample but there are much better cards for that already in the deck.
• Verdant Master - 6 mana to get 2 basics onto the battlefield and 2 into your hand doesn't seem that strong unless we're able to play multiple lands from our hand. In that case, it's 6 mana for 4 lands (two of which would be untapped). It might still be too many hoops to jump through, though to be worthwhile.

Here's a list of the most recent changes done to the deck. I'm unsure if I will make space for Wandering Archaic or not, since it's so good in mono-colored decks like this one, but for the moment these were the recent swaps:

Polukranos seems like a super fun commander, however the mana curve of your deck is way, way, WAY too high. You can basically hardly play anything for the first 3 turns and even after that you'll rarely be able to cast more than one spell each turn - and when that gets countered or removed, your entire turn was wasted. Most of the time you'll just sit there with a hand of expensive spells which you can't cast because you don't have enough mana.

You should add a lot more 1- and 2-drops while dropping at least half of the cmc 6+ cards of your deck. You'll notice that your deck runs a lot smoother with a lower curve - you can just play more Magic. This also means you can get rid of cards like City of Solitude, which don't advance your game plan, because countermagic won't hit you as hard any more - if you want protection against that, I'd go with Cavern of Souls and Boseiju, Who Shelters All. I'd also cut cards like Ashnod's Altar or Riftsweeper which don't contribute to your gameplan at all.
And especially your removal is too costly and most often sorcery speed. Take out Krosan Grip, Fade into Antiquity, Bramblecrush and Scour from Existance and replace them with Nature's Claim, Kenrith's Transformation, Song of the Dryads and the like. Reclamation Sage is also a good idea if you play tutors (which you currently don't, but totally should).

Other low cmc cards which would really help your deck are Crop Rotation (you're playing Cradle, so you absolutely want Crop Rotation), Elvish Reclaimer (search for utility lands, esp Cradle, more landfall triggers), Ulvenwald Tracker (repeatable removal on a stick is always great), Green Sun's Zenith (autoinclude in green, especially since you already run Dryad Arbor), Arbor Elf, Heroic Intervention, Three Visits, Nature's Lore, Worldly Tutor.
Finale of Devastation is another great creature tutor and also a win con later in the game when you have enough mana.
As far as lands go, I'd cut Jungle Basin which is a horrible card (even Guildless Commons would be better here) and Reliquary Tower (you don't have a lot of card draw, so this seems useless), Miren, the Moaning Well and High Market and in their place add War Room, Mouth of Ronom, Scrying Sheets and Snow Covered Forests as well as Strip Mine and Scavenger Grounds. Maybe also Field of the Dead, if you can reliably fulfill the requirement - you could play 1 or 2 non snow forests to search for so you get more different names ore maybe even add Gingerbread Cabin, which you can search for with forest tutors as well.

Another tutor which would work extremely well in here is Natural Order.

A lot these are great suggestions to really streamline the deck - thanks!

Here's my review for Commander 2021:

• Fractal Harness - Not only could we get an X/X beater out of it, but when equipped to Polukranos it can make it especially dangerous since it's going to get a ton of +1/+1 counters, which is never a bad thing.
• Witch's Clinic - There're plenty of equipment that give lifelink to Polukranos but this one doesn't take up a slot in the deck since it's a land that taps for mana without entering the battlefield tapped.

Here's my review for Modern Horizon 2:

• Tireless Provisioner - The deck's already running Tireless Tracker which synergizes amazingly well with all the land ramp effects while also providing us card draw (albeit via tokens that cost 2 to activate). This one creates treasures which is even better since they're free to crack and can accelerate us even further. 100% going in the deck.
• Urza's Saga - Doesn't take up a slot in a mono-colored deck like this one plus it helps get either Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, or Jeweled Lotus for when Polukranos gets to expensive to recast from the command zone.
• Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth - As a mono-green deck, this one's a no-brainer.

Here's my review for Adventures in the Forgotten Realms:

• Choose Your Weapon - Doubling the power of a voltron like PK is almost certainly an instantaneous win against that opponent.
• Circle of Dreams Druid - 100% going in the deck. Is that even a question?
• Druid Class - Gaining 1 life per landfall isn't bad but you'd have to pay 3GG over the course of 2 instances to get an Exploration.
• Old Gnawbone - 100% going in the deck. Not only does it itself create 7 treasure tokens, but a huge PK will get a ton more. And these treasures can then further fuel its monstrosity ability when we reset it. Simply busted here.

Here's my review for Adventures in the Forgotten Realms: Commander:

• Belt of Strength - By default, PK makes the equip cost cost 5 less to equip to it. If it were monstrous, it's going to be way less - and potentially free. So PK is going to get +5/+5 before then adding any p/t from its +1/+1 counters. Definitely worth considering.
• Indomitable Might - Being able to get through a blocker at instant speed is insane, especially when you're also gaining +3/+3 for just 4 mana. And it then stays on PK to make blocking it moot.

Here's my review for Innistrad Midnight Hunt:

• Saryth, the Viper's Fang - Another way to not only give Polukranos deathtouch but also hexproof when it's untapped (same for our other creatures). It can also be used to untap another creature or land which is crazy for cards like Circle of Dreams Druid, Gaea's Cradle, Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun, etc.
• Unnatural Growth - Polukranos says: "Lol". Even more effects to double Polukranos's power? Yes, please!

Here's my review for Midnight Hunt Commander:

• Kurbis, Harvest Celebrant - Not only is this an amazing mana sink and potential beater, but it can be used to protect Polukranos when it becomes monstrous since the creatures it deals damage to will also deal damage to it. It'll also protect Polukranos from any type of damage as well, so there's that to consider, too.
• Visions of Dominance - It can make Polukranos huge for just 3 mana and can then be flashbacked for 6 mana since Polukranos's mana value is 4. It seems decent enough to test out.

Here's my review for Innistrad Crimson Vow:

• Cultivator Colossus - With the amount of ramping the deck does this will get insanely huge. Not only that, but when it enters the battlefield we drop a land and then draw a card and potentially continue the process. Since the deck is capable of blinking and bouncing creatures, we can eventually reuse the ability if we wanted to after it whiffed. Definitely worth testing.
• Glorious Sunrise - More often than not this'll be used to give our creatures trample in order for PK to get through (plus the extra point of p/t) but it can also be used to have a land tap for triple green (which can be even more with the mana duplication effects) in order to have mana at the ready to make PK monstrous. Or just draw a card if we need it. Definitely worth testing.