Combo Elves has been one of the most complex, elaborate, fast, and consistent decks in the History of the Modern Format. It all began in the format prior to Modern...Extended. Both Luis Scott Vargas (LSV) and Matt Nass piloted different versions of "Combo Elves" to major victories (Pro Tour Berlin for LSV and GP Oakland for Matt Nass's 2010) in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Both extended decks utilized the Heritage Druid + Nettle Sentinel + Cloudstone Curio combo to pilot a deck with lightning speed and ridiculous efficiency. Where LSV utilized Grapeshot as his win-con of choice; Nass utilized the Eternal Witness/Primal Command Lock. Both, however, had essentially the same game plan. Build the combo and "go infinite" Since then, cards like Primal Command, Eternal Witenss, and Craterhoof Behemoth have also been used as viable win-conditions for a deck with infinite green mana and [[Cloudstone Curio]].
The deck back then had many tools not available in Modern including most importantly Glimpse of Nature and Wirewood Symbiote...but the "core" of the deck still exists today. Many of us enthusiasts have been playing the deck in many forms despite the banning of many of the more "broken" cards of the past. Combo Elves stayed on the "fringe" of the format for quite some time; although it saw a major resurgence with the the printings of Intruder Alarm and Beck(especially when brewer Travis Woo posted some impressive results with his own Intruder Alarm build). An extremely similar build to Nass's can currently be built with Beck in place of Glimpse of Nature and Arbor Elf or Elvish Mystic in place of Boreal Druid...while there are debates to the power of Beck...there have also been numerous useful and powerful cards that can be added to Combo Elves to bring it back to prominence.
For the last several years, however, the deck has not seen ample competitive play and has not been considered a "Tier" deck...however this all appears to have changed with the Elves of Magic Origins. Origins have given Combo Elves new life in the form of Shaman of the Pack, Dqynen's Elite, and Sylvan Messenger. It can't be a coincidence that all three elves have a powerful Enter the Battlefield Effects. All three cards perform amazingly powerful functions in the deck; and fill holes bringing the deck together into one cohesive and powerful 60-card main deck. This primer will explore the new cards, the numerous directions Combo Elves can take, and how to develop the most competitive Combo Elves deck possible.
Before seeing the decklists, it is important to understand how each potential Elf Combo can work. There are numerous combos one can utilize in Combo Elves that will provide the pilot infinite mana, infinite card draw, infinite Elves, infinite damage, infinite life loss, or any combination of these. This section will outline the combos seen in the above Elf Combo lists; as well as few that are not in the above lists so that each reader can decide which combos they would like to use in their own builds.
There are both Intruder Alarm specific combos and Cloudstone Curio specific combos. All Cloudstone Curio combos revolve around the synergy between Cloudstone Curio and Heritage Druid and Enter the Battlefield Triggers....because Heritage Druid's ability can be triggered at instant speed in response to the Cloudstone Trigger; you can do many things in between your elves entering and leaving the battlefield. Below is a picture breakdown of each combo along with a small description as to how each combo works:
Re-cast the elf you returned. This will trigger BOTH Cloudstone Curio and Nettle Sentinel. Nettle Sentinel will untap himself and you will have GG remaining.
Use the Cloudstone Trigger to return the tapped elf remaining on the board to your hand. You will now have an untapped Nettle Sentinel, a second untapped elf, and GG.
Re-cast the elf you just returned to your hand. This again will trigger both Nettle Sentinel as well as Cloudstone Curio. You are left with G.
You now have all three elves untapped on the board and a Cloudstone Trigger on the stack. Just as you did at the start, tap all three elves for GGG via Heritage Druid.
You now have. GGGG.
You then continue this loop over and over, netting G each time. Via the Shortcut Rules, once you have established your "loop"; you should be able to simply name an arbitrary number of mana (1 trillion, etc.) and go from there!
Infinite Card Draw
Replacing the 1-drop Elf with Elvish Visionary, while leaving you with net 0 mana, will allow you to keep "looping" Visionaries and triggering his ETB trigger over and over until you've drawn out your entire deck. Of course from here you can chain into any combo you'd like (infinite mana, life loss, damage, etc.) as you can have your whole deck in your hand!
Infinite 1/1 Elf Warrior Tokens (Infinite Elves)
Dwynen's Elite allowed for a new 3-card combo in a Curio Combo deck. With Heritage Driud and Cloudstone Curio on board, casting a Dwynen's Elite will put a second (Elite) and third (Warrior Token) onto the battlefield. The token actually triggers after the Elite, so you can use it's own trigger to bounce the Elite...although you can just as easily bounce the Heritage Druid. Before you bounce, however, make sure to tap all three elves to generate GGG. Since the sum of the three elves costs GGG to cast; while you are left with no net mana; you can continue to "loop" the Elites and Druids to create an infinite number of 1/1 Elf Warrior Tokens.
From here, it is as simple as casting a Shaman of the Pack to cause infinite life loss, or utilize an un-summoning-sick Elvish Archdruid to create infinite mana (see below)....and worst case scenario; you can wait a turn and attack with all of your infinite elves!!
Once you've built the "Infinite Elves" combo above, playing a Shaman of the Pack means your opponent loses infinite life!
Infinite Mana via Archdruid
If you have an Elvish Archdruid in play, building the "Infinite Elves" combo means you also have access to infinite mana (as he taps to add G for each elf you control). This is a big deal as the opponent is rarely ready for this.
Infinite Elf Tokens via Intruder Alarm
If you have an Intruder Alarm on board and an un-summoning-sick creature as well, if you enchant the creature (can be any creature) with Presence of Gond; each time you tap the creature triggering the ability to create a 1/1 Elf Token, Intruder Alarm will trigger untapping the creature. This allows it to be tapped again to continue the loop!
** Of course, the same applies to this "Infinite Token Combo" as it does the "Infinite Token" combo via Dwynen's Elite...if you play a Shaman of the Pack you generate infinite life loss and/or if you have an un-summoning-sick Elvish Archdruid you may tap it for infinite mana due to the tokens on board. **
STRINGING ELVES
Beyond the infinite combos; each deck has the ability to "string" elves due to the way Nettle Sentinel and Heritage Druid work together. Nettle Sentinel will continue to untap for each green spell played; and if you have multiple in play with a single Heritage Druid; often times you are effectively casting elves for "free" (as the 2-4 Nettle Sentinels untap and you can immediately re-tap them for mana via Heritage Druid's activated ability).
"Stringing" elves becomes even more powerful with Beck due to the fact that after you have cast Beck you can then draw a card for each elf you cast while "stringing" them. This is a huge part of what made the card Glimpse of Nature so amazingly powerful. Beck may not be nearly as fast as Glimpse of Nature; but once on line it can lead to some very large turns.
Thanks to our Community Member Irmo; we also have this tidbit about "Shortcut Rules" for those of us playing combos..."Also if you are performing a combo like this it would be good to brush up on the Magic shortcut rules. The short version is your opponent cannot refuse a shortcut. So you won't have to go through the loop 15 or 15,000 times. You only need describe it and then list how many times you will go through the loop. I've put the rules here too."
Win Conditions
Once you've chose your core combos and the amount of mana dorks and lands you find create the "smoothest" deck; the next choice is the appropriate Win Condition(s) for your Elf Combo Deck. There are many different ways to win with an elf combo deck (attacking for damage, looping triggers, milling the opponent, etc.) and the win-cons fall into three distinct categories.
There are many options for win-cons in Elf Combo builds; however a few cards have proven to be the best choices in specific scenarios. The top choices include:
The Same-Turn / Single Turn Trigger
These are the cards you play AFTER you've hit the infinite combo to end the game on the very same turn you've hit the combo. You can:
Create infinite Elves (or tokens) and play Shaman of the Pack for infinite life loss.
Cast a Craterhoof after you've created infinite elves for one infinitely large hastey creature (and any other un-summoning sick creatures become infinitely large).
Use the Eternal Witness + Primal Command "lock" to bounce all of the opponent's non-creature permanents (most importantly their lands) back on top of their library and gain infinite life while also tutoring up any creatures you want.
While technically the Witness/Command lock doesn't end the game that turn, it effectively does as the opponent is left with no lands and you have infinite life. They also cannot mill you because Primal Command allows you to shuffle your graveyard back in your library.
Garruk Wildspeaker technically cannot "overrun" your infinite elves the same turn you've hit them; however he is a win-condition via his ability to quickly get to his Overrun ability...and generally when you trigger the overrun, the game normally ends.
All of the above win conditions are great means of ending the game once you've hit the combo; however each can be played without the combo which makes them extremely appealing for anyone building an Elf Combo deck.
The Mana-Sinks
Creating infinite mana only matters if you have something to do with it; and these are the best options to using the mana to win the game. There are mana-sinks that make all of your elves infinitely large at once like Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Mirror Entity and Joraga Warcaller and those that pump each elf individually like Kessig Wolf Run and Nylea, God of the Hunt. Fortunately, all of the above save Warcaller also give your elves trample!
Each mana sink has it's own pros (Nylea is indestructible, Kessig Wolf Run is also a land and doesn't take up a non-land "slot", Ezuri is a great 3-drop Elf, Mirror Entity can be used defensively and to "make" elves out of other creatures, Joraga Wacaller is a 1-drop elf that can be played until you have infinite mana, bounced, and re-played kicked....) and cons (Nylea is not an elf, Wolf Run requires red mana, Ezuri is easily killed, Joraga doesn't provide trample...) so the choice of mana sink will depend on the deck and the meta. Having said this, it's almost always the beneficial to run at least one mana sink win=condition in your 75 (in most cases you should run multiple) simply because they can be played without infinite mana; but once you have it they are a very tough to answer win.
The Multi-Trigger Win-Cons
One thing that occurs regardless of which infinite combo you generate is that you generate multiple "Enter the Battlefield" and "Leave the Battlfield" triggers. You also technically "cast" infinite elves. This can be taken advantage of in many ways. LSV did it with Grapeshot (taking advantage of storm via the infinite "casting" of elves); however there are new cards that also reward the Elf Combo player for casting creatures.
While they technically all serve a similar purpose (dealing infinite damage of ETB or LTB triggers), cards like Purphoros, God of the Forge, Impact Tremors, and even Outpost Siege all have their own additional pros/cons. Tremors is cheap, Purphoros has an added mana-sink and is indestructible, and Outpost Siege can be played on "Khans" letting you effectively draw an additional card until you've hit the combo (and if you play any other enchantments you can then "bounce" the Siege and replay it under "Dragons".
Altar of the Brood was very recently printed; however it is a fan favorite for Cloudstone or "flicker" decks. For only 1-colorless mana; you can mill your opponent out with any permanents' ETB triggers (including enchantments).
All of these are great options for metas that have heavy creature-based answers and/or are ready for the more "standard" win-conditions; so we should always make sure we are considering these as viable options.
Support Cards and Tutors
The best way to "fill out" an Elf Combo deck is with three things
Elves
Ramp
Tutors
The below is a small description of the best options found by our community thus far and where they work best:
The Deck List(s)
Before you can discuss a specific list, one must first answer some core questions to determine exactly what "direction" you prefer to go with Combo Elves. These five questions Include
1. Should you play Cloudstone Curio or Intruder Alarm as your "engine" card?
2. Should you also play Beck?
3. Do you format the deck in a way that focuses purely on speed, or do you build it based on resiliency?
4. What is the best win-con(s) of choice for your build?
These are the "core" questions where these lists may differ. There are many ways you can take advantage of the "Elf Combo" from devotion, to "critical mass", playing a more "classic Nass" version with Beck and Serrum Visions, and even utilizing a past favorite of LSV's, Weird Harvest...
Several of the more devoted Combo Elf players have heavily tested builds of their own takes on the Elf Combo deck in Modern. Below are the most successful archetypes thus far and the architect of each lists's explanation of the pros, cons, intricacies, and synergies within the deck:
This version is built on Speed. Dstathis wanted a deck that reflected the speed and "consistent explosiveness" of past Elf Combo decks; and thus he provided this Pact/Beck version that allows for you to mold your hands quite quickly. The Summoner's Pact's also help build in consistency to obtaining the creatures you need. The deck is truly formatted after the classic Elf Combo deck with Beck replacing Glimpse of Nature. The one blue mana makes a big difference in terms of sequencing; however the deck can play very similar to the historic Elf Combo deck.
For an in-depth analysis of this deck; learn more here
This deck is built on card advantage and resiliency and takes advantage of the Origins Elves to the greatest extent. The deck is extremely complex (with it's own set of multiple intricacies and lines of play) and often draws multiple cards, digs for a permanent of choice, and deals with multiple triggers each turn. The deck is meant to "snowball" quickly and simply "out value" the opponent in a sea of elves. From there it's either hit the combo, play a Shaman of the Pack for 8+ damage and bounce it, or use Kessig Wolf Run to make for one or more large trampling elves.
For a more in-depth analysis about this deck; learn more here
This version takes advantage of the Devotion Mechanic to get to the Elves combo. Playing less elves, it doesn't "string" elves as much; but Garruk Wildspeaker and Genesis Wave make up for this. The deck also strings together Primal Commands to put the game out of the opponent's reach. The card actually works quite similar to Matt Nass's Extended Deck (even utilizing his famous Eternal Witness + Primal Command Lock.
For a more in-depth analysis of this deck; learn more here
And here is "Storm Elves" by Irmo. The big difference here is the use of Weird Harvest; a very powerful tutor for Combo Elves decks that saw play in some of the decks that won in Extended Elves. Wierd Harvest and Temur Sabertooth have their own synergies; and often act as an infinite combo all their own! The deck utilizes Weird Harvest, Temur Sabertooth, and Cloudstone Curio to both build up card advantage, keep the board safe, and develop multiple infinite combos. This deck has both a mix of speed (via the massive tutor) and resiliency (via Temur Sabertooth and Abundant Growth "loops") to reward those players who know how to take advantage of the powerful cards in the deck.
For a more in-depth analysis of this deck; learn more here
This "All Elves" example is a little more straight-forward; built for speed (Summoner's Pact makes for very fast and consistent decks...the downside is a little less resiliency to removal and board wipes.
Each of the lists may differ; however the goal is essentially the same...quickly flood the board with an army of elves to overwhelm the opponent with infinite combos/loops and/or "overrunning" the entire army.
Sideboarding in Combo Elves
Irmo was kind enough to develop a Sideboarding Guide which I have pasted here. Or course as the game grows, more and more cards will be added. Also, each of the "Decklists" above have a breif discussion of their sideboard (as boards tend to differ with the speed of each particular deck and/or where their strengths/weaknesses lie. For a general take on what cards fit best, however; here is Irmo's "Sideboarding Guide for Combo Elves"
Although the primer is not up...I have found Leyline of Vitality to be useful again in the current meta (filled with Night of Soul's Betrayal, Golgari Charm, Pyroclasm, and many other -1/-1 spells in tokens, control, etc.)....it's also spectacular against burn
Hey Irmo! Can you do me a favor? Can you post your list and/or PM me. I'm making the primer and want to provide at least a half dozen deck lists for people to see of differing combo builds....
the same goes for anyone viewing this. If you have a cool Elf Combo list; by all means post it and we will go from there!
I'm also disappointed that Nissa's Origin card ended up having a land theme and did not focus on elves. Hopefully some other elves in Origin's show up with her story, or just waiting for Zendikar.
The card is only used when I'm in the combo. I'm able to cast Abundant Growth on any of my lands to generate U. If all my lands are tapped I'll cast Garruk untap lands.
I've been playing with Research since my first combo elves build.
In this build research is used to win on a turn you combo, but don't have an unsick creature to pump with Ezuri. Instead you grab Yeva, Nature's Herald, Eternal Witness, and Beast Within. Then draw enough to have those cards in your hand. Destroy all of your opponent's permanents leaving them with 3/3 beasts. Then on their upkeep destroy the beasts again since you can do the combo at instant speed with Yeva. Now they have a bunch of summoning sick 3/3 beasts and nothing else. Next turn you have unsick elves so you can trample over them with 500/500 creatures.
I've never had to go through all that. Every opponent I just show the Beast Within, Yeva, and Eternal Witness then explain what you are going to do.
Primer Version 1.0 will be up tonight! I'm hoping this thread can act as several "mini-primers" for multiple Combo Elf decks so that any reader can choose the route they feel best (Intruder Alarm, Cloudstone, Weird Harvest, Devotion, etc.) while still playing what is most certainly a "Combo Elves" deck. I will let you know the second it is up and of course will take any and all criticisms to make it better.
We got ourselves a potential sideboard option in the spoiler this evening to go along with the new Nissa:
I've also thought about playing the new Nissa as a 1-of for Grindy match ups. It's nice to be able to bouncer her to grab Forests out of the deck (both to avoid land screw and to leave only gas in the deck) and often times I have 7 lands quite quickly due to Coiling Oracle and Genesis Wave...I always try to force new cards though
Still working on formatting Primer correctly. Had some issues with the Collected Elves primer; so I'm trying to make sure this goes up without any hiccups.
Hey All! The Primer will be up TODAY!!! I've put a good amount of work into it and tried to make it so it can grow and encompass several decks....I've still got a good amount of work to do on it; but I will have the first draft up today.
1. Tolaria West - This card was added because I felt like between Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Kessig Wolf Run, Cavern of Souls, and Boseiju, Who Shelters All that I had enough utility lands to warrant playing a land tutor. Also, Blue is one of the colors of the deck (Temur) so it isn't awful just to have. Given Cloudstone Curio I also can play it early, bounce it later when I want to transmute for something and do so. It's actually worked out quite well thus far. I went up to 19 lands (was only running 18) because (a) I didn't want to cut any more green mana and (b) Kessig Wolf Run is essentially a win-condition so it acts just as much like "gas" as many of the spells do :). Coiling Oracle and Nissa, Sage Animist have also helped me play multiple lands in one turn (as of course Genesis Wave also does.
2. Dywnen, Gilt-Leaf Daen - Good against Grixis, Affinity, Delver, Infect, Burn, and Control...just a ton of value so I added one to the sideboard. It also helps against all of the -1/-1 spells in the format (Golgari Charm, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Orzhov Pontif, Zealous Persecution, etc.) and when combined with Leyline of Vitality pushes my elves outside of Pyroclasm range (and sometimes even Anger range. Haven't tested it a ton yet, but it has been promising...just a lot of value.
3. Nissa, Vastwood Seer - This was more of a wishful testing She is AMAZING is grindy matches...Cloudstone lets me bounce her to keep grabbing Forests; and she flips quite quickly (especially off a wave). Just not sure if it is worth having in the main (or even the board) for grindy matches (which I am already quite strong against). Most likely won't make the cut; but it really is quite good with Genesis Wave, Cloudstone Curio, and Coiling Oracle...hopefully testing will prove me wrong
4. Kessig Wolf Run - Simply to good not to have in the deck. Amazing win con. With Abundant Growth and Utopia Sprawl there was no reason not to splash red for it. It has won countless matches since it was added. There is nothing better in a big mana deck than mana sinks!
Everything else is close to the same as it was. The deck has been honed quite a bit. Although it's quite complex, my win percentage has been very strong (especially now that I have a really good understanding of how all of the interactions work).
** The sideboard is still a work in process. I have three different sideboards I've been testing (i.e. a different "set" of 15, although some cards are in 2 or 3 of the boards....) I'm trying to see if things like Worship, Pact of Negation, and even Boomerang to have a land-hate board work out...the white based on is good and I just have to decide if I want to splash white...obviously some of the cards in the current sideboard stay in anyways...I'm just trying to see which "type" of board works best (transformational, reactive, hate-based, etc.) **
Day of Undoing is absolutely going in my deck! Hopefully it's as good as it sounds to me. For any combo deck that spits out its hand the card seems nuts.
ABSOLUTELY!!! I've never been so excited about the potential a card could have I already bought my Gilt-Leaf Palace, Thoughtseize, and other black cards to move to Sultai
I've already printed a few proxies and am going to try it out based on what I hope it says ("ETB target opponent loses life equal to the amount of Elves you control..."); but if that is the case; it is stellar off of a Genesis Wave and amazing with Cloudstone Curio....I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it says what people think it says and that it is not like a 7-drop (I'll be very happy with 4-CMC and probably even still play it at 5-CMC...although that will greatly hinder it...). Let's keep our fingers crossed guys! This could be big for combo elves!
I may still add in the Eternal Witness + Primal Command package back in (just take out one Oracle and Summoners Pact) because they are very strong in manyaych ups including burn snd really and attrition-based match. Wanted to start with a more "streamlined" version first). I will miss Kessig Wolf Run but I love what black does to the board.
This is actually a really interesting point...I had thought in the past to run Alchemist's Refuge as it could act as a targeted removal "counter" if I had Cloudstone Curio and a creature in my hand (opponent bolt's my elf...I then trigger the Refuge, cast another elf, triggering Cloudstone, bouncing the elf the bolt targets, etc.). At the time it seemed too cute; but if I had enough multiple uses it could make it worth it.
My brother started brewing a blue deck with Leyline of Anticipation and Days Undoing...it's just a fun card to think about
I'm excited for it too. Seems potentially huge especially in the Genesis Wave build. I'm struggling how to get B into my deck as I like playing Root Maze. But this may be the card to get me to stop.
I'm excited for it too. Seems potentially huge especially in the Genesis Wave build. I'm struggling how to get B into my deck as I like playing Root Maze. But this may be the card to get me to stop.
You could always play 4x Gilt-Leaf Palace. Cavern's can also go a long way to small splashes for elves (learned this with Oracle )
Btw...I love your use of root maze...it's so crazily powerful against so many decks...it grinds them to a halt. I may meed to look into playing it again with all of the 3-color decks in the meta now (and due to what it does to twin).
You could always play 4x Gilt-Leaf Palace. Cavern's can also go a long way to small splashes for elves (learned this with Oracle )
Btw...I love your use of root maze...it's so crazily powerful against so many decks...it grinds them to a halt. I may meed to look into playing it again with all of the 3-color decks in the meta now (and due to what it does to twin).
Forgot about Cavern. I keep only counting it a green source. Thank you for the advice =).
Those extra turns off of root maze really do seem to help. And it + Choke is a great way to win games. No using islands even once.
The most recent cards I've been testing with (again this is in a Cloudstone Version) are:
1. Genesis Hydra - Crazy good mana sink. If you are stalled and have a Curio it acts as a repeatable tutor. It can be a big body if needed, can grab the missing piece of the infinite combo, and even if countered you still get the card it digs to/reveals.
2. Magistrate of the Pack - Some people are now saying it is "Magistrate" It's pretty sick. Even without the infinite combo; bouncing it once often causes 10+ life loss. Still can't believe this card could be real.
3. Alchemist's Refuge + Days Undoing - If the deck goes 100% simic (U/G); I have a build that plays this ocmbo to see how well it works. It it refills my hand consistently it may be worth it.
3. Door of Destinies - I'm sure it's been done before and I'm fairly certain it's too cute; but it sounds fun to loop 1-drops to give elves huge buffs...this is more of a "casual idea" for those wanting to make a fun casual deck (allows the opponent to side in artifact removal as they have multiple targets with this and curio, its a little slow, etc.)...but it can be a crazy way to make all your elves big quickly.
My deck is pretty darn close to "set". There are literally a total of 3-4 main deck slots and 3-4 "utility land" slots (that can changed depending on the colors splashed); but about 54 cards are shared by all of the decks I'm testing. Ff the Magistrate of the Pack actually reads the way it states (and is 3-5 CMC); most likely it is a must add (just too powerful of an effect that fits too well with the synergies of the deck). Of course, who knows what other elves they will print!
I do think I will play a 1-of Genesis Hydra (I'm really enjoying it); but we'll see...Prior to testing results, however, the Primer is going up. Right now I have the historical decks, will provide my deck list, have Irmo's "Weird Harvest" list...but I would love other lists to add to the primer. Please feel free to post or IM me so I can put them in before I post the Primer (on Saturday).
Irmo, I'll run the primer by you (in PDF form) prior to posting for proofreading
So what do we think? I am very excited about Shaman of the Pack being 3CMC, hitting two with CoCo can be lethal.
And while Visionaries draw is pretty powerful, Dwynen's Elite will most of the time give us the token if we play a dork on T1. Messenger with Cavern out is a not-so-reliable Chord.
Oh my god...it's a 3-drop and they printed amazing ETB effects all on elves!!!
Yes. I think the build of combo elves is wide open right now. So many new avenues to explore. Curio build will be best served by these new Elves, but they add something for everyone.
You are exactly right...I literalyy don't know what to use. There are now too many options :). Looks like Lots of testing in our future :). You're right that everyone got something though...looks like black is the first choice of splash now.
This deck is built for goldfishing, so there's no SB, or random 1-of maindeck cards like Essence Warden/Reclamation Sage.
There's no actual combo in this deck other than Ezuri + Archdruid, but since you get to draw a ton of cards with Lead the Stampede and Sylvan Messenger I thought it'd fit here.
Both of the new cards feel really powerful. Dwynen's Elite gives you crazy hands like T1 dork, T2 Druid + dork into Elite + dork into lord and all of a sudden you're attacking for 10 on turn 3. Sylvan Messenger is basically Lead the Stampede; get a 2/2 and look at the top 4 is about the same as look at the top 5.
Combo Elves has been one of the most complex, elaborate, fast, and consistent decks in the History of the Modern Format. It all began in the format prior to Modern...Extended. Both Luis Scott Vargas (LSV) and Matt Nass piloted different versions of "Combo Elves" to major victories (Pro Tour Berlin for LSV and GP Oakland for Matt Nass's 2010) in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Both extended decks utilized the Heritage Druid + Nettle Sentinel + Cloudstone Curio combo to pilot a deck with lightning speed and ridiculous efficiency. Where LSV utilized Grapeshot as his win-con of choice; Nass utilized the Eternal Witness/Primal Command Lock. Both, however, had essentially the same game plan. Build the combo and "go infinite" Since then, cards like Primal Command, Eternal Witenss, and Craterhoof Behemoth have also been used as viable win-conditions for a deck with infinite green mana and [[Cloudstone Curio]].
The deck back then had many tools not available in Modern including most importantly Glimpse of Nature and Wirewood Symbiote...but the "core" of the deck still exists today. Many of us enthusiasts have been playing the deck in many forms despite the banning of many of the more "broken" cards of the past. Combo Elves stayed on the "fringe" of the format for quite some time; although it saw a major resurgence with the the printings of Intruder Alarm and Beck(especially when brewer Travis Woo posted some impressive results with his own Intruder Alarm build). An extremely similar build to Nass's can currently be built with Beck in place of Glimpse of Nature and Arbor Elf or Elvish Mystic in place of Boreal Druid...while there are debates to the power of Beck...there have also been numerous useful and powerful cards that can be added to Combo Elves to bring it back to prominence.
For the last several years, however, the deck has not seen ample competitive play and has not been considered a "Tier" deck...however this all appears to have changed with the Elves of Magic Origins. Origins have given Combo Elves new life in the form of Shaman of the Pack, Dqynen's Elite, and Sylvan Messenger. It can't be a coincidence that all three elves have a powerful Enter the Battlefield Effects. All three cards perform amazingly powerful functions in the deck; and fill holes bringing the deck together into one cohesive and powerful 60-card main deck. This primer will explore the new cards, the numerous directions Combo Elves can take, and how to develop the most competitive Combo Elves deck possible.
How the Combos Work
Before seeing the decklists, it is important to understand how each potential Elf Combo can work. There are numerous combos one can utilize in Combo Elves that will provide the pilot infinite mana, infinite card draw, infinite Elves, infinite damage, infinite life loss, or any combination of these. This section will outline the combos seen in the above Elf Combo lists; as well as few that are not in the above lists so that each reader can decide which combos they would like to use in their own builds.
There are both Intruder Alarm specific combos and Cloudstone Curio specific combos. All Cloudstone Curio combos revolve around the synergy between Cloudstone Curio and Heritage Druid and Enter the Battlefield Triggers....because Heritage Druid's ability can be triggered at instant speed in response to the Cloudstone Trigger; you can do many things in between your elves entering and leaving the battlefield. Below is a picture breakdown of each combo along with a small description as to how each combo works:
With Heritage Druid, Nettle Sentinel, and Cloudstone Curio on the board, and 1-drop Elf will allow you to generate infinite mana. Here is how:
You then continue this loop over and over, netting G each time. Via the Shortcut Rules, once you have established your "loop"; you should be able to simply name an arbitrary number of mana (1 trillion, etc.) and go from there!
Replacing the 1-drop Elf with Elvish Visionary, while leaving you with net 0 mana, will allow you to keep "looping" Visionaries and triggering his ETB trigger over and over until you've drawn out your entire deck. Of course from here you can chain into any combo you'd like (infinite mana, life loss, damage, etc.) as you can have your whole deck in your hand!
Dwynen's Elite allowed for a new 3-card combo in a Curio Combo deck. With Heritage Driud and Cloudstone Curio on board, casting a Dwynen's Elite will put a second (Elite) and third (Warrior Token) onto the battlefield. The token actually triggers after the Elite, so you can use it's own trigger to bounce the Elite...although you can just as easily bounce the Heritage Druid. Before you bounce, however, make sure to tap all three elves to generate GGG. Since the sum of the three elves costs GGG to cast; while you are left with no net mana; you can continue to "loop" the Elites and Druids to create an infinite number of 1/1 Elf Warrior Tokens.
From here, it is as simple as casting a Shaman of the Pack to cause infinite life loss, or utilize an un-summoning-sick Elvish Archdruid to create infinite mana (see below)....and worst case scenario; you can wait a turn and attack with all of your infinite elves!!
While you technically could find some crazy way to untap all of your elves (Ready // Willing, Roar of the Kha, Call to Glory, To Arms!, etc.) and then utilize a haste enabler (Sarkhan Vol, Fervor, Hammer of Purphoros, Mass Hysteria, etc.) to attack on the same turn...that's pretty darn far down the rabbit hole But it's an option!
Once you've built the "Infinite Elves" combo above, playing a Shaman of the Pack means your opponent loses infinite life!
If you have an Elvish Archdruid in play, building the "Infinite Elves" combo means you also have access to infinite mana (as he taps to add G for each elf you control). This is a big deal as the opponent is rarely ready for this.
If you have an Intruder Alarm on board and an un-summoning-sick creature as well, if you enchant the creature (can be any creature) with Presence of Gond; each time you tap the creature triggering the ability to create a 1/1 Elf Token, Intruder Alarm will trigger untapping the creature. This allows it to be tapped again to continue the loop!
STRINGING ELVES
Win Conditions
Once you've chose your core combos and the amount of mana dorks and lands you find create the "smoothest" deck; the next choice is the appropriate Win Condition(s) for your Elf Combo Deck. There are many different ways to win with an elf combo deck (attacking for damage, looping triggers, milling the opponent, etc.) and the win-cons fall into three distinct categories.
There are many options for win-cons in Elf Combo builds; however a few cards have proven to be the best choices in specific scenarios. The top choices include:
These are the cards you play AFTER you've hit the infinite combo to end the game on the very same turn you've hit the combo. You can:
While technically the Witness/Command lock doesn't end the game that turn, it effectively does as the opponent is left with no lands and you have infinite life. They also cannot mill you because Primal Command allows you to shuffle your graveyard back in your library.
Garruk Wildspeaker technically cannot "overrun" your infinite elves the same turn you've hit them; however he is a win-condition via his ability to quickly get to his Overrun ability...and generally when you trigger the overrun, the game normally ends.
All of the above win conditions are great means of ending the game once you've hit the combo; however each can be played without the combo which makes them extremely appealing for anyone building an Elf Combo deck.
Creating infinite mana only matters if you have something to do with it; and these are the best options to using the mana to win the game. There are mana-sinks that make all of your elves infinitely large at once like Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Mirror Entity and Joraga Warcaller and those that pump each elf individually like Kessig Wolf Run and Nylea, God of the Hunt. Fortunately, all of the above save Warcaller also give your elves trample!
Each mana sink has it's own pros (Nylea is indestructible, Kessig Wolf Run is also a land and doesn't take up a non-land "slot", Ezuri is a great 3-drop Elf, Mirror Entity can be used defensively and to "make" elves out of other creatures, Joraga Wacaller is a 1-drop elf that can be played until you have infinite mana, bounced, and re-played kicked....) and cons (Nylea is not an elf, Wolf Run requires red mana, Ezuri is easily killed, Joraga doesn't provide trample...) so the choice of mana sink will depend on the deck and the meta. Having said this, it's almost always the beneficial to run at least one mana sink win=condition in your 75 (in most cases you should run multiple) simply because they can be played without infinite mana; but once you have it they are a very tough to answer win.
One thing that occurs regardless of which infinite combo you generate is that you generate multiple "Enter the Battlefield" and "Leave the Battlfield" triggers. You also technically "cast" infinite elves. This can be taken advantage of in many ways. LSV did it with Grapeshot (taking advantage of storm via the infinite "casting" of elves); however there are new cards that also reward the Elf Combo player for casting creatures.
While they technically all serve a similar purpose (dealing infinite damage of ETB or LTB triggers), cards like Purphoros, God of the Forge, Impact Tremors, and even Outpost Siege all have their own additional pros/cons. Tremors is cheap, Purphoros has an added mana-sink and is indestructible, and Outpost Siege can be played on "Khans" letting you effectively draw an additional card until you've hit the combo (and if you play any other enchantments you can then "bounce" the Siege and replay it under "Dragons".
Altar of the Brood was very recently printed; however it is a fan favorite for Cloudstone or "flicker" decks. For only 1-colorless mana; you can mill your opponent out with any permanents' ETB triggers (including enchantments).
All of these are great options for metas that have heavy creature-based answers and/or are ready for the more "standard" win-conditions; so we should always make sure we are considering these as viable options.
Support Cards and Tutors
The best way to "fill out" an Elf Combo deck is with three things
The below is a small description of the best options found by our community thus far and where they work best:
The Deck List(s)
Before you can discuss a specific list, one must first answer some core questions to determine exactly what "direction" you prefer to go with Combo Elves. These five questions Include
1. Should you play Cloudstone Curio or Intruder Alarm as your "engine" card?
2. Should you also play Beck?
3. Do you format the deck in a way that focuses purely on speed, or do you build it based on resiliency?
4. What is the best win-con(s) of choice for your build?
These are the "core" questions where these lists may differ. There are many ways you can take advantage of the "Elf Combo" from devotion, to "critical mass", playing a more "classic Nass" version with Beck and Serrum Visions, and even utilizing a past favorite of LSV's, Weird Harvest...
Several of the more devoted Combo Elf players have heavily tested builds of their own takes on the Elf Combo deck in Modern. Below are the most successful archetypes thus far and the architect of each lists's explanation of the pros, cons, intricacies, and synergies within the deck:
CLASSIC ELF COMBO
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
4x Elvish Visionary
4x Arbor Elf
4x Llanowar Elves
3x Elvish Mystic
4x Dwynen's Elite
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1x Regal Force
4x Cloudstone Curio
Instants/Sorceries
4x Beck // Call
4x Summoner's Pact
Lands
2x Breeding Pool
1x Temple Garden
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
2x Cavern of Souls
3x Forest
2x Reclamation Sage
2x Weird Harvest
4x Essence Warden
4x Evolutionary Leap
2x Choke
1x Kataki, war's Wage
ELF GENESIS COMBO
4x Arbor Elf
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
3x Elvish Mystic
4x Elvish Visionary
3x Dwynen's Elite
2x Elvish Archdruid
1x Shaman of the Pack
2x Genesis Hydra
Enchantments
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Abundant Growth
4x Cloudstone Curio
Sorcery/Instants
4x Genesis Wave
Land
4x Forest
1x Stomping Ground
3x Overgrown Tomb
2x Wooded Foothills
2x Verdant Catacombs
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Kessig Wolf Run
4x Thoughtseize
3x Abrupt Decay
4x Leyline of Vitality
1x Reclamation Sage
2x Cavern of Souls
1x Stain the Mind
GREEN DEVOTION ELF COMBO
4x Arbor Elf
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
4x Elvish Visionary
2x Dwynen's Elite
3x Coiling Oracle
1x Eternal Witness
Enchantments
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Abundant Growth
Other Permanents
4x Cloudstone Curio
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Genesis Wave
1x Primal Command
Lands
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1x Kessig Wolf Run
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4x Misty Rainforest
2x Breeding Pool
2x Stomping Ground
4x Forest
4x Leyline of Vitality
3x Beast Within
2x Evolutionary Leap
1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Temur Sabertooth
3x Cavern of Souls
STORM ELVES COMBO
4x Dwynen's Elite
4x Elvish Visionary
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
4x Llanowar Elves
2x Elvish Mystic
4x Elvish Archdruid
1x Temur Sabertooth
4x Abundant Growth
Artifacts
4x Cloudstone Curio
Planeswalkers
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
Sorceries
4x Weird Harvest
Lands
3x Cavern of Souls
3x Gilt-Leaf Palace
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
9x Forest
OTHER VERSIONS
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
4x Elvish Visionary
3x Dwynen's Elite
2x Coiling Oracle
4x Sylvan Messenger
4x Shaman of the Pack
1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4x Cloudstone Curio
Sorcery/Instants
4x Summoner's Pact
Lands
4x Cavern of Souls
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Misty Rainforest
2x Verdant Catacombs
1x Breeding Pool
1x Overgrown Tomb
2x Gilt-Leaf Palace
4x Forest
4x Thoughtseize
4x Leyline of Vitality
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Evolutionary Leap
1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Cyclonic Rift
This "All Elves" example is a little more straight-forward; built for speed (Summoner's Pact makes for very fast and consistent decks...the downside is a little less resiliency to removal and board wipes.
Each of the lists may differ; however the goal is essentially the same...quickly flood the board with an army of elves to overwhelm the opponent with infinite combos/loops and/or "overrunning" the entire army.
Sideboarding in Combo Elves
Irmo was kind enough to develop a Sideboarding Guide which I have pasted here. Or course as the game grows, more and more cards will be added. Also, each of the "Decklists" above have a breif discussion of their sideboard (as boards tend to differ with the speed of each particular deck and/or where their strengths/weaknesses lie. For a general take on what cards fit best, however; here is Irmo's "Sideboarding Guide for Combo Elves"
Additional Articles, Videos, Links, etc.
Coming Soon!
the same goes for anyone viewing this. If you have a cool Elf Combo list; by all means post it and we will go from there!
4 Llanowar Elves
2 Elvish Mystic
4 Heritage Druid
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Elvish Archdruid
1 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Essence Warden
1 Temur Sabertooth
3 Cloudstone Curio
1 Bow of Nylea
Enchantments
4 Abundant Growth
3 Root Maze
Sorceries
4 Weird Harvest
Instants
1 Research // Development
Planeswalkers
3 Garruk Wildspeaker
Lands
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2 Cavern of Souls
11 Forest
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Beast Within
3 Vines of Vastwood
2 Choke
1 Creeping Corrosion
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Nullmage Shepherd
2 Reclamation Sage
1 Eternal Witness
1 Yeva, Nature's Herald
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
I'm also disappointed that Nissa's Origin card ended up having a land theme and did not focus on elves. Hopefully some other elves in Origin's show up with her story, or just waiting for Zendikar.
I've been playing with Research since my first combo elves build.
In this build research is used to win on a turn you combo, but don't have an unsick creature to pump with Ezuri. Instead you grab Yeva, Nature's Herald, Eternal Witness, and Beast Within. Then draw enough to have those cards in your hand. Destroy all of your opponent's permanents leaving them with 3/3 beasts. Then on their upkeep destroy the beasts again since you can do the combo at instant speed with Yeva. Now they have a bunch of summoning sick 3/3 beasts and nothing else. Next turn you have unsick elves so you can trample over them with 500/500 creatures.
I've never had to go through all that. Every opponent I just show the Beast Within, Yeva, and Eternal Witness then explain what you are going to do.
I've also thought about playing the new Nissa as a 1-of for Grindy match ups. It's nice to be able to bouncer her to grab Forests out of the deck (both to avoid land screw and to leave only gas in the deck) and often times I have 7 lands quite quickly due to Coiling Oracle and Genesis Wave...I always try to force new cards though
Still working on formatting Primer correctly. Had some issues with the Collected Elves primer; so I'm trying to make sure this goes up without any hiccups.
Here is the current devotion list:
4x Arbor Elf
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
4x Elvish Visionary
2x Coiling Oracle
2x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1x Eternal Witness
Other Permanents
4x Cloudstone Curio
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Abundant Growth
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Genesis Wave
1x Primal Command
Land
5x Forest
4x Misty Rainforest
3x Breeding Pool
1x Stomping Ground
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Tolaria West
3x Cavern of Souls
1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
4x Leyline of Vitality
3x Beast Within
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Dywenen, Gilt-Leaf Daen
1x Primal Command
1x Flex Spot
Recent Changes/Cards being Tested:
1. Tolaria West - This card was added because I felt like between Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Kessig Wolf Run, Cavern of Souls, and Boseiju, Who Shelters All that I had enough utility lands to warrant playing a land tutor. Also, Blue is one of the colors of the deck (Temur) so it isn't awful just to have. Given Cloudstone Curio I also can play it early, bounce it later when I want to transmute for something and do so. It's actually worked out quite well thus far. I went up to 19 lands (was only running 18) because (a) I didn't want to cut any more green mana and (b) Kessig Wolf Run is essentially a win-condition so it acts just as much like "gas" as many of the spells do :). Coiling Oracle and Nissa, Sage Animist have also helped me play multiple lands in one turn (as of course Genesis Wave also does.
2. Dywnen, Gilt-Leaf Daen - Good against Grixis, Affinity, Delver, Infect, Burn, and Control...just a ton of value so I added one to the sideboard. It also helps against all of the -1/-1 spells in the format (Golgari Charm, Night of Souls' Betrayal, Orzhov Pontif, Zealous Persecution, etc.) and when combined with Leyline of Vitality pushes my elves outside of Pyroclasm range (and sometimes even Anger range. Haven't tested it a ton yet, but it has been promising...just a lot of value.
3. Nissa, Vastwood Seer - This was more of a wishful testing She is AMAZING is grindy matches...Cloudstone lets me bounce her to keep grabbing Forests; and she flips quite quickly (especially off a wave). Just not sure if it is worth having in the main (or even the board) for grindy matches (which I am already quite strong against). Most likely won't make the cut; but it really is quite good with Genesis Wave, Cloudstone Curio, and Coiling Oracle...hopefully testing will prove me wrong
4. Kessig Wolf Run - Simply to good not to have in the deck. Amazing win con. With Abundant Growth and Utopia Sprawl there was no reason not to splash red for it. It has won countless matches since it was added. There is nothing better in a big mana deck than mana sinks!
Everything else is close to the same as it was. The deck has been honed quite a bit. Although it's quite complex, my win percentage has been very strong (especially now that I have a really good understanding of how all of the interactions work).
** The sideboard is still a work in process. I have three different sideboards I've been testing (i.e. a different "set" of 15, although some cards are in 2 or 3 of the boards....) I'm trying to see if things like Worship, Pact of Negation, and even Boomerang to have a land-hate board work out...the white based on is good and I just have to decide if I want to splash white...obviously some of the cards in the current sideboard stay in anyways...I'm just trying to see which "type" of board works best (transformational, reactive, hate-based, etc.) **
Ultimate finisher?
ABSOLUTELY!!! I've never been so excited about the potential a card could have I already bought my Gilt-Leaf Palace, Thoughtseize, and other black cards to move to Sultai
4x Arbor Elf
4x Heritage Druid
4x Nettle Sentinel
4x Elvish Visionary
3x Coiling Oracle
2x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
2x Magister of the Pack
Other Permanents
4x Cloudstone Curio
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Abundant Growth
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Genesis Wave
Land
5x Forest
4x Misty Rainforest
2x Breeding Pool
2x Overgrown Tomb
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Cavern of Souls
2x Cavern of Souls
4x Thoughtseize
2x Abrupt Decay
4x Leyline of Vitality
2x Beast Within
1x Temur Sabertooth
I've already printed a few proxies and am going to try it out based on what I hope it says ("ETB target opponent loses life equal to the amount of Elves you control..."); but if that is the case; it is stellar off of a Genesis Wave and amazing with Cloudstone Curio....I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it says what people think it says and that it is not like a 7-drop (I'll be very happy with 4-CMC and probably even still play it at 5-CMC...although that will greatly hinder it...). Let's keep our fingers crossed guys! This could be big for combo elves!
I may still add in the Eternal Witness + Primal Command package back in (just take out one Oracle and Summoners Pact) because they are very strong in manyaych ups including burn snd really and attrition-based match. Wanted to start with a more "streamlined" version first). I will miss Kessig Wolf Run but I love what black does to the board.
This is actually a really interesting point...I had thought in the past to run Alchemist's Refuge as it could act as a targeted removal "counter" if I had Cloudstone Curio and a creature in my hand (opponent bolt's my elf...I then trigger the Refuge, cast another elf, triggering Cloudstone, bouncing the elf the bolt targets, etc.). At the time it seemed too cute; but if I had enough multiple uses it could make it worth it.
My brother started brewing a blue deck with Leyline of Anticipation and Days Undoing...it's just a fun card to think about
You could always play 4x Gilt-Leaf Palace. Cavern's can also go a long way to small splashes for elves (learned this with Oracle )
Btw...I love your use of root maze...it's so crazily powerful against so many decks...it grinds them to a halt. I may meed to look into playing it again with all of the 3-color decks in the meta now (and due to what it does to twin).
Those extra turns off of root maze really do seem to help. And it + Choke is a great way to win games. No using islands even once.
1. Genesis Hydra - Crazy good mana sink. If you are stalled and have a Curio it acts as a repeatable tutor. It can be a big body if needed, can grab the missing piece of the infinite combo, and even if countered you still get the card it digs to/reveals.
2. Magistrate of the Pack - Some people are now saying it is "Magistrate" It's pretty sick. Even without the infinite combo; bouncing it once often causes 10+ life loss. Still can't believe this card could be real.
3. Alchemist's Refuge + Days Undoing - If the deck goes 100% simic (U/G); I have a build that plays this ocmbo to see how well it works. It it refills my hand consistently it may be worth it.
3. Door of Destinies - I'm sure it's been done before and I'm fairly certain it's too cute; but it sounds fun to loop 1-drops to give elves huge buffs...this is more of a "casual idea" for those wanting to make a fun casual deck (allows the opponent to side in artifact removal as they have multiple targets with this and curio, its a little slow, etc.)...but it can be a crazy way to make all your elves big quickly.
My deck is pretty darn close to "set". There are literally a total of 3-4 main deck slots and 3-4 "utility land" slots (that can changed depending on the colors splashed); but about 54 cards are shared by all of the decks I'm testing. Ff the Magistrate of the Pack actually reads the way it states (and is 3-5 CMC); most likely it is a must add (just too powerful of an effect that fits too well with the synergies of the deck). Of course, who knows what other elves they will print!
I do think I will play a 1-of Genesis Hydra (I'm really enjoying it); but we'll see...Prior to testing results, however, the Primer is going up. Right now I have the historical decks, will provide my deck list, have Irmo's "Weird Harvest" list...but I would love other lists to add to the primer. Please feel free to post or IM me so I can put them in before I post the Primer (on Saturday).
Irmo, I'll run the primer by you (in PDF form) prior to posting for proofreading
Turn 1: Heritage Druid
Turn 2: Dwyen's Elite + 1/1 = 3 more mana.
P.S. Finally ordered my Gilt-Leaf Palaces and will seriously consider adding fetches and shocks.
4 Heritage Druid
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Arbor Elf
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Nest Invader
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Lead the Stampede
2 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Elvish Champion
4 Bloodbraid Elf
(Nest Invader = Dwynen's Elite, Bloodbraid Elf = Sylvan Messenger)
This deck is built for goldfishing, so there's no SB, or random 1-of maindeck cards like Essence Warden/Reclamation Sage.
There's no actual combo in this deck other than Ezuri + Archdruid, but since you get to draw a ton of cards with Lead the Stampede and Sylvan Messenger I thought it'd fit here.
Both of the new cards feel really powerful. Dwynen's Elite gives you crazy hands like T1 dork, T2 Druid + dork into Elite + dork into lord and all of a sudden you're attacking for 10 on turn 3. Sylvan Messenger is basically Lead the Stampede; get a 2/2 and look at the top 4 is about the same as look at the top 5.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.