This started out as an elf beatdown deck. It became a little more nauaunced and it took on an elfball like build. Then M12 came out and we got Yeva, Nature's Herald and it became draw go. This is a versitile deck with many was to beat your opponents down, get beaten back but, is resilient then get up and beat face again. I love playing this deck! There are many paths to victory and it's a great toolbox for many problems. Also, my local store has banned all infinite combos because we had a tourniement and the only way people won was Exsanguinate on turn six or seven. That's why aren't Umbral Mantle or Sword of Paruns.
I've just un-retired this deck so I'll be updating it over the next day, October 23rd, or so. I'll also be adding some explainations of the stratigies.
Concordant Crossroads: You want to get this in a Genesis Wave to finish someone your opponent. Its what you want to play when you want to win or set up the win. Other than that it's a little situational. Sylvan Library: Senei's Divining Top is good and can self protect, but the Sylvan Library will help keep your hand full. Let's face it paying four life for an extra card in EDH is not that big a deal. Elvish Guidance: This is the best budget alternative for Gaea's Cradle. I have both so I play both. More mana = more fun
Glimpse of Nature: this is elfball after all. Green loves creatures and drawing and this does both. Green Sun’s Zenith: Do I really need to explain this one? It searches out exactly what you want right now and there's a good possibility you can draw it again. Genesis Wave: This is a wincon. It's really hard to lose when you Genesis Wave for ten plus especially when you hit a Concordant Crossroads. Just a tip, if your opponent has a lot of creatures out you may want to hold back 2GGG so you can trample over when you're ready to attack. Primal Command: If I use it to help me more often than not I'm going to gain seven life and get a creature. If I want to hurt an opponent then I'll put the best creature on top then shuffle his graveyard into his library. Triumph of the Hordes: No mater how high your opponent's life goes this changes it to 10. Make it count! Desert Twister: It can destroy any type of permenant, even those that haven't come out yet...think about it. Praetor's Council & Creeping Renaissance: I'm going to put these together because they do much of the thing. One of the main weaknesses of this deck is mass removal. You NEED to be able to pull a lot things back from the graveyard and these are two of the best ways to do this. I've only ever used Creeping Renaissance for creatures. By the way why wasn't there an emblem for Praetor's Council
Kaysa: She's another druid for the Gilt-Leaf Archdruid. She pumps green creatures, not just elves. Plus she also helps with Birthing Pod. Moldgraf Monstrosity: Just a little extra reanimation. It makes for an excellent Birthing Pod target. The only thing that bothers men is that word 'random.' Primal Surge: There are very few cards that aren't permanents. I didn't think I'd like having both Creeping Renisance and Praetor's Council in the deck, but it been great! Maybe having an extra Genesis Wave will be an advantage as well. Stunted Growth: A bit of an older card in the same vein of Plow Under except it's three cards from the opponent's hand. There's a smaller loss of tempo but, again, it makes your opponent think twice about searching. Or maybe force them to search for one of the cards they just put on top of their library and they REALLY need it right now. Wrap in Vigor: Nice anti-wrath card. But it is limited. It'll probably stay in the 'Want to Try' catagory.
I don't typically Necro Threads...but this one was updated just a few months ago. So...it isn't as old of a necro as the last post would have you believe.
This is a great take on an Elf deck VoodooGremlin. After whittling away at all the choices for a deck...yours seems to make the most sense. There are only two cards that I think need to be considered.
Cavern of Souls - This card seems like an obvious choice. Very little downside.
Primal Surge - You mentioned this as a want to try type card...I think you should. The reward is far greater than the risk.
Either way...I wanted to give this deck a bump so hopefully we can get some discussion on it.
I've been working on Ezuri recently as well, so this bump is helpful. I like the deck, but I think there are some big-mana spells in the deck that just won't work in 1v1: Woodfall Primus, Terastodon, Triumph of the Hordes, Desert Twister and Praetor's Counsel at the least, and some of the other big creatures and spells possibly as well.
There are some low-mana Elves I think are missing that could be good replacements. Boreal Druid is an obvious choice, as are the excellent utility of Elvish Lyrist and Elvish Scrapper. Seeker of Skybreak is another obvious missing choice.
Just like Cuivienen, I think that the average CC of the OP's deck is too high for competitive play (which is, obviously, not a problem if the OP only aims at casual gaming).
More specifically, the number of spells with a CC > 3 should be kept as low as possible (1 or 2), and all of them should fulfill a very precise function in the gameplan to justify their inclusion in the deck (e.g. Natural Order target(s), tutorable game-breakers - which excludes most noncreature spells).
Also, more tutors would be welcome, as you want to see key cards such as Gaea's Cradle and Priest of Titania during every game.
The Druid subtheme, which I would have loved to be efficient, is just subpar and generally irrelevant as you will never have (nor want to have) so many Druids on the board. Moreover, when you're able to cast Gilt-Leaf Archdruid, you will often be in topdeck mode and so you will not be able to take enough advantage of its ability. If the Commander was a Druid, it may have been (barely) playable, but in this deck if really looks like an empty sleeve.
As an illustration, here is my list (1v1, french banlist), which is a (supposedly) competitive agro-combo build :
I've been working on Ezuri recently as well, so this bump is helpful. I like the deck, but I think there are some big-mana spells in the deck that just won't work in 1v1: Woodfall Primus, Terastodon, Triumph of the Hordes, Desert Twister and Praetor's Counsel at the least, and some of the other big creatures and spells possibly as well.
Curiosity more than anything here but...why exactly won't these spells work? This deck spits out mana like crazy.
Wow. I have never seen Hall of Gemstone. What a fantastic FU card. Good find Wild.
Curiosity more than anything here but...why exactly won't these spells work? This deck spits out mana like crazy.
Mainly because you want to use this mana to power Ezuri's Overrun ability as soon and as frequently as you can.
And if you get wrathed (which will happen at least once or twice per game), you will want to play / topdeck elves to restart the engine, not 8CC spells that you will not be able to cast without elves on your board.
Curiosity more than anything here but...why exactly won't these spells work? This deck spits out mana like crazy.
Wow. I have never seen Hall of Gemstone. What a fantastic FU card. Good find Wild.
Like crazy, but not crazy enough. Eight mana on turn 5/6 is totally reasonable, but it's at that point you'd rather use Ezuri's overrun ability than play Woodfall Primus, which may not even have much impact on the game. Also, they're totally dead in your opening hand, which is terrible when you want to be fast. Even one overcosted fatty in your opening hand will cripple you for the entire game.
Hall of Gemstone is excellent tech. Not quite as good in 1v1 as in multiplayer since three-color isn't as common in 1v1 as it is in multiplayer, but on the other hand it gives you complete immunity from countermagic and utterly destroys decks like Zur and Ruhan.
Hall of Gemstone is excellent tech. Not quite as good in 1v1 as in multiplayer since three-color isn't as common in 1v1 as it is in multiplayer, but on the other hand it gives you complete immunity from countermagic and utterly destroys decks like Zur and Ruhan.
The only bad news being that you have no way to tutor for it in mono-G.
Last year's Commander Top 4 Coupe de France Commander 2012 is Ezuri. That deck use Terastodon which destroys their resources. Doesn't matter if they have creatures if you can pump the elves like crazy with remaining mana.
Also, that deck has 50 creatures, 32 lands, 10 instants and sorceries, 2 PW, 3 other spells, and a Winter Orb (and a missing card).
I see Primus as a simplified version of Terrastadon... It can only messed up someone once (or twice in the same turn) whereas Mastadon can messed up to 3 times.
I personnaly don't like Terastodon (or any other creature with a CC > 6) : if you draw Natural Order within the first 3 turns, and provided it's not countered, Terastodon is a game-winner. But if you draw Terastodon first (even if you draw Natural Order the turn after), you're stuck with an empty sleeve in your hand, which is terrible for an aggro-(combo) deck without any way to recycle useless cards or to create CA. So, basically and statistically, Terastodon is fantastic 50% of the time, and terrible the other 50%. Such a card is not good enough, for me, to be considered as an auto-include.
That's why I only use Primeval Titan as a high CC creature : it's always good (castable T4), and is an acceptable (=sufficiently game-breaking) target for a T3 Natural Order, IMHO. Indeed, a turn 3 Natural Order into Primeval Titan means "good game " almost as much as into Terastodon, and hardcasting the Titan is both possible and a win condition by itself in this deck.
That is true of Mastodon. However, early turns (late game) on competitive players have also anticipate for massive swarm (the only card that I could think right now is Solitary Confinement from Zur). I think (and also experienced from it) that Terastodon can be beneficial to those pesky noncreature removals. I've seen it pop Greaves, PW and etc before swinging it with its own greaves...
However, each person has their own strategy on including or excluding a single card.
Hall of Gemstone is an extreme cheese indeed, I've seen the card in another frenchman's list and I'm a fan ever since.
This card wins games by itself, especially against tricolored decks and/or when you play it on turn 2 thanks to a mana elf. It's as close as a Blood Moon as you can fin in mono-G.
- you run too much tutors. Sylvan Tutor is suboptimal IMO, as is Primal Command and especially Reap and sow. Even without them, you'll still have 13 tutors ffs
Agreed for Sylvan Tutor. I wanted to playtest it, as getting your Priest of Titania / Rofellos / Channeler is very important for our gameplan. But sorcery + card on top on library makes us lose too much tempo.
Primal Command and Reap and Sow are not only tutors : PC is here to gain tempo by "bouncing" annoying permanents, and the land destruction of Reap & Sow is often useful (I almost always play this card for its Entwine cost). None of them are auto-includes however, so I will continue to playtest them and they may be taken out (or not) at some point.
True, but an additional turn 1 mana dork is always appreciated despite its lack of elvish synergies.
I also run Eternal witness back in the day, and I always wanted it to be something more aggressive when I got it in my starting hand... Too few good targets for her, I guess.
Eternal Witness' main function it to get back key cards (Priest, Rofellos, Cradle...). Bringing back such cards is a good way to maintain pressure post-wrath. So, even if EW is not direct agression, it gives the deck more resilience.
Masticore is.. ...just a bad card nowdays, and it doesn't kill nothing relevant.
Masticore is a silver bullet against token decks and pesky X/1s and X/2s. I hate to lose a game because my opponent played a Royal Assassin or a Meddling Mage... But, depending on the meta, it may be replaced with something more useful. It's still here because I mainly play in small tournaments for the time being, where random decks and cards usually not played in competitive decks pop-up every week. May become a Viridian Zealot.
An uncounterable 4/4 hexproof regenerator is never off IMHO. I'm always happy to draw / play it, which is the sign of a good card for me.
And I also stopped playing Acidic Slime. Too slow at 5CC, although I'll admit it's incredibly versatile. Hmph, maybe I'll try it once again.
It's never useless, and 5 CC is not so much in this deck. It nevers stays in my hand for long, so I guess I'll keep it in, as it gives me options, something that is always a good thing in competitive play.
Matchups you mention are hard indeed. GAA IV is non-existent in my meta (GoST is played in those colours, but he's easy) but I've played against Griselbrand and it a total garbage of a matchup. Maelstrom Wanderer is also hard, but nowhere near Griselbrand in terms of unfavorability, if such word even exist. Which part of Wanderer's game gives you the most trouble? Sweeping or extra turns + ass pounding?
Griselbrand is unwinnable unless they choose to get out some of their wraths to adapt to a more controllish meta.
GAA is a real pain : counters / removals on your key cards + wraths + Humility + Gideon Jura and friends = you lose unless you're able to win within the first 5 turns. Most of the time, you will be able to beatdown them to 4-5 life, then they stabilize and you lose. Same thing for Geist Control decks.
Wanderer depends on their decklist, but if they pack a lot of Volcanic Fallout effects, you're the underdog. You can bring them to 4-5 life, then they play Wanderer and, if you're unlucky, they wrath your board and Wanderer beats you down in a couple of turns. Anyway, this match-up remains the less unfavorable of the three, because we're much faster and they don't have as much cheap removal as GAA and Griselbrand.
How's your matchup against Zur? I see you don't run two of my key anti-Zur techs; Mouth of Ronom (a must play in mono-G, imo) and Elvish Skysweeper...
The match-up is not favorable against a good Zur player. He will go for Nevermore or Moat or Humility and you're in a very bad position.
I'm not convinced that Mouth of Ronom is such a good tech against Zur, as it's both one-shot and expansive (=you'll be able to use it most of the time after Zur as attacked and game is over)..
Regarding Skysweeper, the activation cost is pretty high too, but, as a 1CC elf, it could nevertheless make the cut. I will give it a try.
I've still to find a good tech against Zur, actually. For it to work, it must be tutorable (= land or creature) and, ideally, reusable. The problem is that you don't want to block Zur, you want want to prevent it from attacking and to keep it in play to solve the problem durably...
With lack of removal, you're not planning to include Nature's Claim or you need to rely on speed? In addition, where's Cavern of Soul? That card is auto include of tribal decks.
Not really. 4 life isn't that much and it's cheaper than Naturalize.
@Wild: (For Cavern of Soul- I was reading the 1st post update before I realize that it's not the same as yours) I'm curious on how you deal with early turn Jite? Or is Jitte isn't really helpful with your deck especially in a mirror match.
With lack of removal, you're not planning to include Nature's Claim or you need to rely on speed?
Nature's Claim frequently goes in and out. The thing is that you have to keep your non-aggressive card count the lowest possible. Another option (or possible addition) is Viridian Zealot, but it's useless against Humility, so...
In addition, where's Cavern of Soul? That card is auto include of tribal decks.
I don't know if you're talking about my deck or the OP's, but Cavern of Souls obviously is in my list.
I don't agree on Mouth of Ronom. It's a one-time shot, sure, but it kills a bunch of important stuff. It saved me from very tough spots... Tutorable creature killer is a rare treat in mono-G.
I guess I will have to playtest, but I'm not sold, as you have to spend a full turn (and a land drop before that) to use it.
3 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Elves:
1 Arbor Elf
1 Birchlore Rangers
1 Copperhorn Scout
1 Elvish Skysweeper
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Heritage Druid
1 Jorga Treespeaker
1 Jorga Warcaller
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Nettle Sentinel
1 Taunting Elf
2 Devoted Druid
2 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves
2 Elvish Visionary
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Priest of Titania
2 Riftsweeper
2 Wirewood Herald
2 Wirewood Hivemaster
2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
3 Civic Wayfiner
3 Elvish Harbinger
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Fierce Empath
3 Imperious Perfect
3 Elvish Archdruid
3 Elvish Champion
3 Jagged-Scar Archers
3 Mul-Daya Channelers
3 Silhana Starfletcher
4 Argothian Elder
4 Wirewood Channeler
4 Chameleon Colossus
4 Lys Alana Huntmaster
4 Yeva, Nature's Herald
5 Gilt-Leaf Archdruid
1 Wirewood Symbiote
3 Eternal Witness
4 Skyshroud Poacher
4 Willow Saytr
6 Primordial Sage
6 Soul of the Harvest
6 Steel Hellkite
7 Regal Force
8 Woodfall Primus
8 Terastadon
Artifacts:
1 Skullclamp
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
2 Winter Orb
4 Birthing Pod
Enchantments:
1 Concordant Crossroads
2 Sylvan Library
3 Elvish Guidance
Instants:
1 Crop Rotation
1 Worldly Tutor
3 Beast Within
3 Chord of Calling
3 Krosan Grip
Sorceries:
1 Glimpse of Nature
1 Green Sun’s Zenith
3 Genesis Wave
5 Creeping Renaissance
5 Primal Command
5 Triumph of the Hordes
6 Desert Twister
8 Praetor's Council
0 Deserted Temple
0 Dryad Arbor
0 Gaea’s Cradle
0 Mosswort Bridge
0 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
0 Wirewood Lodge
0 Yavimaya Hollow
26 Forest
I've just un-retired this deck so I'll be updating it over the next day, October 23rd, or so. I'll also be adding some explainations of the stratigies.
Mana-Dorks:
Lords:
Other Elves:
Other Creatures:
Eternal Witness: What's better than a Regrowth? A Regrowth that can deal damage too.
Skyshroud Poacher:
Willow Saytr: One of my favourite pieces of tech in the deck. It's just so unexpected for green to steal anything. In 1v1 you want to steal you're opponent's general. In multi you'll want to steal a general that the deck needs to function.
Primordial Sage & Soul of the Harvest: Much like Eternal Witness, what's better than a Glimpse of Nature? Walking Glimpse of Nature.
Steel Hellkite
Regal Force
Woodfall Primus
Terastadon: A great way to clear away problems. Much like Beast Within your getting rid of one problem in exchange for a 3/3 beast. If your opponent has only one or two threats don't forget you can destroy one of your own lands and gets your own 3/3 beast.
Artifacts:
Thousand-Year Elixir:
Winter Orb:
Birthing Pod:
Enchantments:
Sylvan Library: Senei's Divining Top is good and can self protect, but the Sylvan Library will help keep your hand full. Let's face it paying four life for an extra card in EDH is not that big a deal.
Elvish Guidance: This is the best budget alternative for Gaea's Cradle. I have both so I play both. More mana = more fun
Instants:
Worldly Tutor:
Beast Within:
Chord of Calling:
Krosan Grip:
Sorceries:
Green Sun’s Zenith: Do I really need to explain this one? It searches out exactly what you want right now and there's a good possibility you can draw it again.
Genesis Wave: This is a wincon. It's really hard to lose when you Genesis Wave for ten plus especially when you hit a Concordant Crossroads. Just a tip, if your opponent has a lot of creatures out you may want to hold back 2GGG so you can trample over when you're ready to attack.
Primal Command: If I use it to help me more often than not I'm going to gain seven life and get a creature. If I want to hurt an opponent then I'll put the best creature on top then shuffle his graveyard into his library.
Triumph of the Hordes: No mater how high your opponent's life goes this changes it to 10. Make it count!
Desert Twister: It can destroy any type of permenant, even those that haven't come out yet...think about it.
Praetor's Council & Creeping Renaissance: I'm going to put these together because they do much of the thing. One of the main weaknesses of this deck is mass removal. You NEED to be able to pull a lot things back from the graveyard and these are two of the best ways to do this. I've only ever used Creeping Renaissance for creatures. By the way why wasn't there an emblem for Praetor's Council
Land:
Dryad Arbor: Green Sun's Zenith in your opening hand is mana ramp. If you can search for it on the first turn DO IT!
Gaea’s Cradle: Can't recommend it enough. If you can afford it, get it.
Mosswort Bridge: More often than not you're going to be able to play one of you're top four cards in your next turn. It's either early in the game or a strange situation when you don't have ten power on the board.
Oran-Rief, the Vastwood: Easily cutable but there are situations when having this gives you an advantage.
Wirewood Lodge: You know what's fun in this deck? Tapping Fauna Shaman, Imperious Perfect, Priest of Titania, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary & Wirewood Channeler. You know what's more fun? Doing it again. You know what's even more fun? Having a Deserted Temple in play too.
Yavimaya Hollow: Ezuri, Renegade Leader isn't always on the table so you may want to regeneragte. You may also want to regenerate some of your non-elf creatures.
28 Forest
Gilt-Leaf Archdruid Sub-theme:
Gilt-Leaf Archdruid is mainly in the deck because he can draw me two or three extra cards and it's also a stepping stone on the Birthing Pod chain.
Just remember:Birchlore Rangers, Fyndhorn Elves, Llanowar Elves, Priest of Titania, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary & Chameleon Colossus are all druids.
In addition there are also these guys: Arbor Elf, Civic Wayfiner, Devoted Druid, Elvish Archdruid, Elvish Harbinger, Farhaven Elf , Heritage Druid, Jorga Treespeaker, Mul-Daya Channelers, Silhana Starfletcher & Wirewood Channeler.
Want to Try:
Moldgraf Monstrosity: Just a little extra reanimation. It makes for an excellent Birthing Pod target. The only thing that bothers men is that word 'random.'
Primal Surge: There are very few cards that aren't permanents. I didn't think I'd like having both Creeping Renisance and Praetor's Council in the deck, but it been great! Maybe having an extra Genesis Wave will be an advantage as well.
Stunted Growth: A bit of an older card in the same vein of Plow Under except it's three cards from the opponent's hand. There's a smaller loss of tempo but, again, it makes your opponent think twice about searching. Or maybe force them to search for one of the cards they just put on top of their library and they REALLY need it right now.
Wrap in Vigor: Nice anti-wrath card. But it is limited. It'll probably stay in the 'Want to Try' catagory.
Notable Exclusions:
Nissa Riveen & Nissa's Choosen: It just doesn't do enough in the deck. Congratulations, You just paid four mana for a Nissa's Choosen. The extra life doesn't save you from an unblockable general. The ultimate is really risky unless you have a Concordent Crossroads. Plus, not all of the creatures in this deck are elves. Genesis Wave does it better.
Craterhoof Behemoth: Ezuri, Renegade Leader can pump my army just as well if not better than Craterhoof Behemoth. Also, many times I've been able to search for a creature( Birthing Pod, Chord of Calling or Green Sun's Zenith) and Craterhoof Behemoth was nothing I ever wanted to get.
Wellwisher: First off, if you want to play this be my guest. I've found that it more often than not makes you the target, even after its dead. Also, it doesn't protect you from General Damage or Poison Damage.
CommanderEDH Decks:CommanderEDH DecksWULavinia of the Blinking TenthUW RGURiku the Epic Experimenter’s StormUGR UBRThrax and his Super FriendsRBU RWUZedruu the Hard HeartedUWR
WBU Zur the UnstoppableUBW
also, to get deck tags to show, put a 1 in front of each card
My Current EDH Decks
WUBRG Lorwyn Block Horde of Notions WUBRG
UG Momir Vig Glimpse Combo UG
UW "Rasputin Dreamcrusher" Control UW
CommanderEDH Decks:CommanderEDH DecksWULavinia of the Blinking TenthUW RGURiku the Epic Experimenter’s StormUGR UBRThrax and his Super FriendsRBU RWUZedruu the Hard HeartedUWR
WBU Zur the UnstoppableUBW
This is a great take on an Elf deck VoodooGremlin. After whittling away at all the choices for a deck...yours seems to make the most sense. There are only two cards that I think need to be considered.
Cavern of Souls - This card seems like an obvious choice. Very little downside.
Primal Surge - You mentioned this as a want to try type card...I think you should. The reward is far greater than the risk.
Either way...I wanted to give this deck a bump so hopefully we can get some discussion on it.
[EDH] Ob Nixilis the Fallen
There are some low-mana Elves I think are missing that could be good replacements. Boreal Druid is an obvious choice, as are the excellent utility of Elvish Lyrist and Elvish Scrapper. Seeker of Skybreak is another obvious missing choice.
I've used Llanowar Mentor before with some success, but it's more debatable. Bloom Tender, Gaea's Herald, Heart Warden, Leaf Gilder, Llanowar Druid, Quirion Elves, Quirion Sentinel, Viridian Emissary and Wirewood Elf are also marginally playable if you need more Elves. All are probably better than Civic Wayfinder, at least.
More specifically, the number of spells with a CC > 3 should be kept as low as possible (1 or 2), and all of them should fulfill a very precise function in the gameplan to justify their inclusion in the deck (e.g. Natural Order target(s), tutorable game-breakers - which excludes most noncreature spells).
Also, more tutors would be welcome, as you want to see key cards such as Gaea's Cradle and Priest of Titania during every game.
The Druid subtheme, which I would have loved to be efficient, is just subpar and generally irrelevant as you will never have (nor want to have) so many Druids on the board. Moreover, when you're able to cast Gilt-Leaf Archdruid, you will often be in topdeck mode and so you will not be able to take enough advantage of its ability. If the Commander was a Druid, it may have been (barely) playable, but in this deck if really looks like an empty sleeve.
As an illustration, here is my list (1v1, french banlist), which is a (supposedly) competitive agro-combo build :
22 Forest
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Wirewood Lodge
1 Deserted Temple
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Wasteland
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Homeward Path
1 Mutavault
1 Maze of Ith
1 Beast Within
1 Krosan Grip
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Karn Liberated
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Sylvan Library
1 Winter Orb
1 Hall of Gemstone
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Sylvan Tutor
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Primal Command
1 Summoner's Pact
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Chord of Calling
1 Natural Order
1 Reap and Sow
1 Sylvan Scrying
1 Crop Rotation
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Wirewood Symbiote
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Scryb Ranger
1 Eternal Witness
1 Masticore
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
1 Vengevine
1 Acidic Slime
1 Primeval Titan
1 Boreal Druid
1 Heritage Druid
1 Copperhorn Scout
1 Arbor Elf
1 Taunting Elf
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Skyshroud Ranger
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Birchlore Rangers
1 Nettle Sentinel
1 Wirewood Herald
1 Priest of Titania
1 Seeker of Skybreak
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Heart Warden
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Sylvan Ranger
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Wirewood Elf
1 Quirion Elves
1 Leaf Gilder
1 Timberwatch Elf
1 Elvish Archdruid
1 Viridian Joiner
1 Viridian Corrupter
1 Viridian Shaman
1 Elvish Harbinger
1 Joraga Warcaller
1 Imperious Perfect
1 Elvish Champion
1 Fyndhorn Elder
1 Greenweaver Druid
1 Wirewood Channeler
1 Chameleon Colossus
Any advice, especially regarding the (painful) match-ups against Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Griselbrand and Maelstrom Wanderer decks would be greatly appreciated
Wow. I have never seen Hall of Gemstone. What a fantastic FU card. Good find Wild.
[EDH] Ob Nixilis the Fallen
Mainly because you want to use this mana to power Ezuri's Overrun ability as soon and as frequently as you can.
And if you get wrathed (which will happen at least once or twice per game), you will want to play / topdeck elves to restart the engine, not 8CC spells that you will not be able to cast without elves on your board.
Like crazy, but not crazy enough. Eight mana on turn 5/6 is totally reasonable, but it's at that point you'd rather use Ezuri's overrun ability than play Woodfall Primus, which may not even have much impact on the game. Also, they're totally dead in your opening hand, which is terrible when you want to be fast. Even one overcosted fatty in your opening hand will cripple you for the entire game.
Hall of Gemstone is excellent tech. Not quite as good in 1v1 as in multiplayer since three-color isn't as common in 1v1 as it is in multiplayer, but on the other hand it gives you complete immunity from countermagic and utterly destroys decks like Zur and Ruhan.
The only bad news being that you have no way to tutor for it in mono-G.
Also, that deck has 50 creatures, 32 lands, 10 instants and sorceries, 2 PW, 3 other spells, and a Winter Orb (and a missing card).
I see Primus as a simplified version of Terrastadon... It can only messed up someone once (or twice in the same turn) whereas Mastadon can messed up to 3 times.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
That's why I only use Primeval Titan as a high CC creature : it's always good (castable T4), and is an acceptable (=sufficiently game-breaking) target for a T3 Natural Order, IMHO. Indeed, a turn 3 Natural Order into Primeval Titan means "good game " almost as much as into Terastodon, and hardcasting the Titan is both possible and a win condition by itself in this deck.
However, each person has their own strategy on including or excluding a single card.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
This card wins games by itself, especially against tricolored decks and/or when you play it on turn 2 thanks to a mana elf. It's as close as a Blood Moon as you can fin in mono-G.
Agreed for Sylvan Tutor. I wanted to playtest it, as getting your Priest of Titania / Rofellos / Channeler is very important for our gameplan. But sorcery + card on top on library makes us lose too much tempo.
Primal Command and Reap and Sow are not only tutors : PC is here to gain tempo by "bouncing" annoying permanents, and the land destruction of Reap & Sow is often useful (I almost always play this card for its Entwine cost). None of them are auto-includes however, so I will continue to playtest them and they may be taken out (or not) at some point.
True, but an additional turn 1 mana dork is always appreciated despite its lack of elvish synergies.
Eternal Witness' main function it to get back key cards (Priest, Rofellos, Cradle...). Bringing back such cards is a good way to maintain pressure post-wrath. So, even if EW is not direct agression, it gives the deck more resilience.
Masticore is a silver bullet against token decks and pesky X/1s and X/2s. I hate to lose a game because my opponent played a Royal Assassin or a Meddling Mage... But, depending on the meta, it may be replaced with something more useful. It's still here because I mainly play in small tournaments for the time being, where random decks and cards usually not played in competitive decks pop-up every week. May become a Viridian Zealot.
An uncounterable 4/4 hexproof regenerator is never off IMHO. I'm always happy to draw / play it, which is the sign of a good card for me.
It's never useless, and 5 CC is not so much in this deck. It nevers stays in my hand for long, so I guess I'll keep it in, as it gives me options, something that is always a good thing in competitive play.
Griselbrand is unwinnable unless they choose to get out some of their wraths to adapt to a more controllish meta.
GAA is a real pain : counters / removals on your key cards + wraths + Humility + Gideon Jura and friends = you lose unless you're able to win within the first 5 turns. Most of the time, you will be able to beatdown them to 4-5 life, then they stabilize and you lose. Same thing for Geist Control decks.
Wanderer depends on their decklist, but if they pack a lot of Volcanic Fallout effects, you're the underdog. You can bring them to 4-5 life, then they play Wanderer and, if you're unlucky, they wrath your board and Wanderer beats you down in a couple of turns. Anyway, this match-up remains the less unfavorable of the three, because we're much faster and they don't have as much cheap removal as GAA and Griselbrand.
The match-up is not favorable against a good Zur player. He will go for Nevermore or Moat or Humility and you're in a very bad position.
I'm not convinced that Mouth of Ronom is such a good tech against Zur, as it's both one-shot and expansive (=you'll be able to use it most of the time after Zur as attacked and game is over)..
Regarding Skysweeper, the activation cost is pretty high too, but, as a 1CC elf, it could nevertheless make the cut. I will give it a try.
I've still to find a good tech against Zur, actually. For it to work, it must be tutorable (= land or creature) and, ideally, reusable. The problem is that you don't want to block Zur, you want want to prevent it from attacking and to keep it in play to solve the problem durably...
Oh, is Nullmage Shepherd too mana extensive?
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
@Wild: (For Cavern of Soul- I was reading the 1st post update before I realize that it's not the same as yours) I'm curious on how you deal with early turn Jite? Or is Jitte isn't really helpful with your deck especially in a mirror match.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
Nature's Claim frequently goes in and out. The thing is that you have to keep your non-aggressive card count the lowest possible. Another option (or possible addition) is Viridian Zealot, but it's useless against Humility, so...
I don't know if you're talking about my deck or the OP's, but Cavern of Souls obviously is in my list.
Expansive conditional removal, so, for me, it's no thanks.
I guess I will have to playtest, but I'm not sold, as you have to spend a full turn (and a land drop before that) to use it.
@Acardus : We've got many solutions (most of them tutorable) against artifacts, such as Viridian Corrupter, Viridian Shaman, Acidic Slime, Krosan Grip.
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier