MTG Salvation

I swapped generals. Tymna the Weaver and Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper are in the chair, Teneb, the Harvester moves to the 99. I realized I misplayed Teneb by being greedy or not recognizing the best creature to Raise. Tymna and Ikra give me a lot Saboteur power in the chair and let me gain life and cards easily. With that change, I decided to get rid of Akroma Sword: Akroma Sword was useful to make Teneb a huge wall for people to fight through and the Trample lets me get in for a Raise. Without him in the chair, the Sword isn't as necessary. I've decided to put in a Bear Umbra to help me with playing before and after my combat steps. While I don't have too many Instants, I've got a bunch of activated abilities that I've been enjoying from Sword of Feast and Famine. It'll be fun when I use Bear Umbra and Fancy Feast to float a lot of mana in combat to take someone out with Suffer the Past which I have already done.

Synergy Changes: Without Teneb in the Chair, I didn't need to fill my Graveyard with random Creatures as of much. Druid was a fun run but he gets axed; Silverglade hasn't made an impact in a while due to all of my other ramp elements.

With both of my Commanders gaining life, I figured Vizkopa would be a great alternative and quick wincon. Her second Activated Ability stacks, so I can easily put a few Ikra's buttlinks on the stack and possibly fry the table. While the meta has moved away from fogs, I'm still keeping an eye open for ways to fight past pillowfort tactics. Scavenging Ooze is just such great utility. The size gain, life gain, efficient body and all on an easy to use Activaated Ability makes Scooze always a contender for a slot in any Green deck. I'm pretty happy with these changes.

More importantly, they're both two drops. This means that they can come down on Turn 2 and swing in on 3 after casting Tymna to draw a card.

Without a sleep dragon in the chair, Crux of Fate is less of a synergistic pick. A Toxic Deluge was freed up from the dissolution of my Vosk and Daxos decks. With the amount of life gain, the additional cost is no big deal. More importantly, Ikra has a big butt, it would be possible to deluge the board away and still keep her. This gets even more interesting with a Blackblade Reforged.

Some kind of error: When going through my paper copy today, I saw Avenging Druid was still in the deck. This begs the question of what the hell did I cut for Scavenging Ooze?

Anyway, my Ruric Thar, the Unbowed deck needs more draw and this deck is fairly healthy there. I am putting in a Saboteur-like Creature in the Tracker's place of Anafenza. She was on my radar before but was anti-synergestic when Teneb, the Harvester was in the chair. He isn't any more, so in she goes.

I bit the bullet and bought another Tracker: So, I cut Kheru-Mind Eater from my paper copy but wrote Avenging Druid on this online copy. So, I have now axed Mind-Eater and Avenging Druid for the powerhouses of Anafenza and now Tireless Tracker.

With the shift in generals, I want a tiny bit more white mana so a Forest got the axe as it was the most plentiful.

I really like this deck, so I keep splurging on it. I am even thinking of walking further away from Saboteurs, as that is already paper thin and go more in with Tymna and Ikra: Geode Golem didn't really impress me, the amount of effort I need to put in to cast one of my Commanders makes me just want to cast that Commander and then give them all the gear to get in.

Gavony Township is a low opportunity cost way to improving my board. I am trying to find more ways to keep mana open and do things, Township accomplishes that.

Moving away further from the Saboteur theme. Without a Sleepy Dragon at the helm, I feel less like I need Sleepy Saboteurs. I've also been putting this deck in higher tier games because of its versatility but it would then get squashed due to the reliance on turning sideways. So, I'm making it less about the dragon and more about the inherent synergy of gaining life: Hystrodon was an early beater, something that would help me get in and draw off of Tymna. The problem is that Hystrodon is the same cost; I'm putting Karlov instead as he has a much more powerful effect. Also, a lot of the life gain in this deck, combined with the two Commanders should make him grow quickly. Plus being able to remove Creatures on demand is amazing.

I have learned that the Commander Storm is a ridiculous mechanic, almost as much as normal Storm, if you have two Commanders. I can easily recast both of my Commanders twice in a game and then get 5 instances of Genesis Storm? Absurd. Demon of Wailing Agonies required too many hoops to jump through to go off, I'm certain I'll be up after resolving Genesis Storm. Hell, even if it gets countered, I still have Copies coming. Also, Genesis Storm is a may, so it's not like I'll accidentally die to Phage the Untouchable.

Half fulfilling a theme, half it's just good: Dromoka was the last piece of 'Don't mess with my combat step' and I wanted him (her?) because of life gain is good with Karlov of the Ghost Council, the deck already likes life gain and it increases my legend count. I did think of cutting Teneb, the Harvester but decided to keep the deck's progenitor; he also gives me something to do with all of my mana. I am sad that I cut Giant Adephage, it's a beastly Creature, but I rather keep Teneb over the Adephage.

Mana and Fixing Upgrade from Guilds of Ravnica: Edit: I realized I didn't make as much random fodder that wanted to die as my previous builds, so Skullclamp has been slightly less impressive. Perhaps I am crazy for cutting Skullclamp, but the Beast Whisperer has a big butt for Ikra's Buttlink, is a body for Tymna's drain for draw and carries the plethora of Equipment and Auras this deck has.

I feel bad to cut Teneb but that isn't going to stop me: Shalai protects my Commanders, which is vital when my wincon is mostly through the Red Zone. She also curves perfectly from Tymna to her to Ikra for maximum value. With the amount of untap lands effects the deck runs, I wouldn't mind randomly cheating in free +1/+1s which help me kill players either through Commander Damage or just old plain regular Damage. Teneb was unfortunately too awkward and made me greedy, I cut cards that make me play badly.

I had a discussion that Seedborn Muse should go in every green deck if you can abuse it. I thought about it and I'm willing to test it out, plus the card is the cheapest it is ever going to be. Cataclysmic Gearhulk isn't as impressive as it once was, as my go-to reanimation target with Teneb to continually keep the board clear so I could keep getting in. The same CMC helped with the decision.

Emeria Shepherd does the same thing as Journey to Eternity, except it also hits all of my nonlands. Plus with the amount of Ramp the deck uses, it can easily be returning multiple cards a turn, whether that is to play or not is up to me.

With the addition of Guildgates for Circuitous Route, I feel like I have enough colour fixing I can afford another colorless utility land. Kor Haven is what I settled on, as it is the best option in White. Swamp got the axe due to the deck favouring White and requiring Green for all of that Ramp.

Looks like I want more Wrath than Recursion, so I went with the juiciest option available:

A bunch of rejiggering to get what I want: I saw a Dawn of Hope in action and I knew I needed to get in on that. It helps my game plan of spending my excess mana, gains me life from all of the things that care about that (plus, y'know, helping me not die) and the attacking bodies that I can just toss away feed into Tymna's post-Combat trigger. I scoured through my list, trying to find the worst of my draw spells and I settled between Key to the City and Harvester of Souls. I really like Harvester, it helps me recover when someone Wraths my board. I also felt like Dawn of Hope was easier to compare, draw a card for two mana, and then it looked much better due to unlimited amount instead of once without a discard stipulation. Without Teneb at the helm, this isn't doing double duty.

I didn't want to lose a source of Unblockable and I realized the other day that I couldn't tutor up an Equipment with Stoneforge Mystic to get something Unblockable. I decided to put Whispersilk Cloak back in, especially how often Phage the Untouchable provides a win for me when I don't have the luxury or desire to chew through life totals. With this piece of Equipment going in, and protecting the Creature with Shroud, it made sense to cut Swiftfoot Boots. I didn't want to lose my only source of Haste, which is where I got an idea for my next cut.

I've had a copy of Hall of the Bandit Lord that hadn't felt appropriate in any of my decks, until now. With this, I don't need to wait a turn to swing in my pseudo-Saboteurs.

Adding more fun: Anafenza screws so many strategies that it causes me to get a lot of hate, even if I just want her for a beefy body. I've cut her for Serra Ascendant, who will be able to get in and help me gain life for all of my cards that care.

Haven't used in a while despite being good: Fauna Shaman really shined under Teneb but the goal is no longer to have goodies in my graveyard. I decided to go with Emeria Angel due to the Landfall being a quite frequent happening within this deck. The Angel's evasion along with its' Birds means that Tymna is more likely to proc to draw me cards, which also makes them more efficient at getting in with random Equipment or getting in the way from my opponent's Creatures.

The meta has shifted and I dislike the changes I am making, they're a necessary evil: I've been playing with a higher power group, so I frequently get finished off when I play midrange by the time I feel like the game has entered the midgame. With these mismatched expectations, I was trying to figure out solutions to all of these fast mana or crazy Enchantments which are recurable. The answer is Merciless Eviction to Exile the problems and Wave of Vitriol to punish the greedy manabases that have so few basics. I cut two of my winmores in the form of Loxodon Warhammer and True Conviction. I also got rid of lands that I couldn't fetch from all of my effects so that I'll have basics to grab when my Wave resolves. Mosswort Bridge can be hit or miss with this deck, so it goes too.

Need a few more aggressive options: Harvester is fine, a nice body but it gets axed as the least contributory to my strategies. I'm putting in Felidar Sovereign as another wincon, especially since I can sneak it in with Winding Canyons.

Blackblade does a lot of damage and some of the Legends in this deck can cause it to hit pretty damned hard, but I rather go with a one-shot option with Exoskeleton's Infect. With the amount of 'You can't cast during my turn', I feel confident even with Sacrifice clause that I could kill someone.

Emeria Angel was disappointing, a little too clunky. In her place I put one of the best ways to protect my board; there's been too many times where I get nuked or Xed out with some kind of spell.

While I like Tragic Arrogance's Sacrifice, I need an aggressive option to counteract a lot of the fast mana in the environment.

Utility: There are times when I have open mana but not much to do with it, Chord should fix that. It is also a utility to get whatever I need. This can include sneak wins with Felidar Sovereign or whatever the hell I need.

Adding more permanents: I don't like Suspicious Bookcase anymore; I think I've used it once in total to swing in. Otherwise, I look at it and wish it were something else. Selfless Spirit protects my board and has Evasion, which is great for the variety of Equipment the deck uses.

I'm trading one Wrath for another; Sunspeth doesn't hit my Commanders and is a permanent for Ajani Unyielding and Genesis Storm. I also like every ability on Sunspeth, including protecting herself and getting the Ult off.

Ravnica Allegiance: With Smothering Tithe becoming a thing, I decided to add Revel in Riches as an alternative wincon. I figure they'll make a great pair. I cut two pieces of Ramp for these Ramp pieces.

Felidar Sovereign made me play greedily and stupidly, so it got axed. In its stead, I placed Rout as a way to surprise the board with Wraths. Rout will also synergize with Revel for surprise wins.

This deck has a lot of legends that want to get in, so Shizo comes in. I'm being pretty greedy here by trying to sneak in an Emeria, so we'll see if the mana base can support it. The feels a little green heavy, so I'm axing a Forest for Emeria. Also, it would be poor form to axe a Plains for Emeria.

I'm playing Green/White, I can do better than a Solemn. I'm already running all of the other Creatures that bring lands into play, so I figure why not try Karametra to get a value engine going? Why get one land when I can get more? With the inclusion of Emeria, the Sky Ruin, I am definitely going to want to get more Plains into play.

Whispersilk Cloak is great if I'm going for the killing blow, otherwise it is clunky as all hell. With Shizo, Death's Storehouse and Rogue's Passage, I have two low opportunity cost ways to guarantee my way in and I have three effects to stop players from messing with my stuff: Grand Abolisher, Conqueror's Flail and Dragonlord Dromoka. Between all of this redundancy, I can easily get in a big man or Phage the Untouchable. In its place, I'm putting in Phyrexian Reclamation as a recursion piece, I've got plenty of nasty Creatures I would want to bring back. I've also been trying to find ways to use mana on Command when/if I get Seedborn Muse out and this seems to be one of them. It's also nice that Reclamation costs one, so I have more options when I Seasons Past.

Apparently I need to keep being a jerk: I didn't find a reason to use Chord of Calling, a lot of the time there really wasn't a need for it but it was nice to have the illusion of being able to respond to people. I put in the Felidar Sovereign because I could flash it in with Chord, but with the Sovereign cut I didn't have a real reason to abuse Chord. I didn't want to go back to Wave of Vitriol because it was mean, but damn, the meta is beginning to flood the board with Artifacts and Enchantments. This is where Bane comes in to wreck things and afterwards, he's a big guy, for you.

Did a recount: I realized I had 39 Lands in the deck. I figure I can use one less and put in Sol Ring, as that's bonkers.

Parts from Edgar: I tore Edgar apart and I decided to put the good stuff in this deck. Grafted Exoskeleon doesn't one shot any players with most of my Creatures, so it got the axe. I figure Leonin Warleader is one of the most synergistic Creatures I could run. Vampiric and Demonic Tutors are better draw than Dawn of Hope or Phyrexian Reclamation could ever hope to be. This also lets me set up the Seasons Past loop with Vampiric if I really want to be a dick.

Better suited: The little lifelinkers didn't really do much nor does curving out into the Warleader. It's not like this is an Aristocrats build with Skullclamp to take advantage of the bodies. I did think of putting Archangel of Thune into the deck but I have seen how other lifegain decks get collapsed on when they get her out. Instead, I'm going with a more insidious body. Kambal will slowly drain my opponents, inoffensively, while I position for advantage. I was wracking my head over some sort of Creature with an Activated Ability to take advantage if I land a Seedborn Muse, such as a Dark Impostor but I wanted to keep it simple. Kambal is also a 3 drop meaning he can be recurred with Sun Titan.

Mana upgrade: