MTG Salvation

This deck was really difficult for me to develop. As I checked decklists, one thing stood out - Not a single one revolved around Jenara! They were all made around other mechanics and chose Jenara out of convenience, ie. Proliferate, Doubling Season/tokens, Exalted, ETB effects, etc. While these strategies may be strong by themselves, I think there are better generals for them, simply because Jenara isn't equipped to abuse them properly.

So in building this Jenara deck, I ended up scrapping a lot of other strategies. Jenara does not work well with Exalted - why give her the small boost from the ability when I can easily just pump her for fast, permanent boosts? Also, Rafiq is simply better in abusing Exalted. And while Jenara benefits from Doubling Season, she gains nothing, nor does she help token producers.

What Jenara DOES have is an efficient body, evasion, and the ability to kill very fast, all without the help from any other cards. In other words, she requires no support! Therefore, I can build a strong, synergistic and versatile deck that has the option of killing really fast if I wanted to, never having to rely on any specific strategy.

Decklist:


There are a couple of subthemes that I used here. While I didn't concentrate heavily on +1/+1 counters, I took advantage of them when they were too good to pass up. Forgotten Ancient is insane, and when left unchecked for a few turns he can pretty much win the game or give me such an overwhelming advantage that the game's pretty much over anyway. Vigean Hydropon was the next best counter producer that fits into the deck, and I'm thinking of replacing/including Spike Weaver and/or Plaxcaster Frogling which has better utility. These abilities can get nasty with Glen Elendra Archmage and Cauldron of Souls.

The ETB creatures give me a ton of utility and possible abuse with Cloudstone Curio. All of them are strong on their own so that I don't need to repeatedly abuse their ETB effects, but I have that option.

The rest of the deck is pretty much protection/recursion for Jenara and my other creatures, while including some removal and counters for anything extremely threatening.

Some noteable exclusions: Survival of the Fittest is out for price reasons, I'm hoping it gets banned so that the price drops. Many other obvious choices for inclusion (Fauna Shaman, Venser, the Sojourner, Gilded Drake, Elspeth Tirel, Mirari's Wake, Knight of the Reliquary) I don't have at the moment so I can't include them yet.

This deck is still a work in progress, as there are just so many cards that I want to fit in somewhere and so many directions that I can take it. Testing has proven to be very strong though - Jenara and other creatures have proven to be very difficult to deal with, and I can control the board enough to get through with Jenara. Lategame, Jenara is beastly - After a board sweeper, drop her and she becomes a 1-2 turn clock.

As always, thoughts/comments are appreciated.

Changelog:

You may want to try Heartmender. This plus Cauldron of Souls is not bad. It may be a little clunky though. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

And at our last EDH meeting, I totally forgot Glen Elendra Archmage only countered non-creature spells. For some reason, I thought she countered all spells! (I still would have lost that game though).

Quote from Magique

You may want to try Heartmender. This plus Cauldron of Souls is not bad. It may be a little clunky though. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

And at our last EDH meeting, I totally forgot Glen Elendra Archmage only countered non-creature spells. For some reason, I thought she countered all spells! (I still would have lost that game though).

Yeah it's definitely too narrow. It affects about three cards in my deck and the random infect/wither creatures that might come up which isn't that useful when +1/+1 counters do the same thing.

Yeah it was definitely close, I don't think Sharuum could outrace my 12/12 Sun Titan, 8/8 Coiling Oracle with more Forgotten Ancient counters coming on its way, counter backup and Cauldron of Souls though

Currently thinking of removing Woodfall Primus (Really expensive), Sigil of the New Dawn (I seem to have too much recursion), and Vanishing (Might not be necessary and it's a bit clunky). Also might be replacing Clodstone Curio with Equilibrium. Nimbus Maze has got to go, it's a terrible mana fixer.

You definitely want to keep Woodfall Primus. He's an excellent creature, well worth the cost. If you have a problem with the cost, run some more acceleration (you are playing green, should be easy).

I would also recommend Mistmeadow Witch. That card is pretty sick with most of your other creatures (try resetting a Woodfall Primus for example).

EDIT: Gaddock Teeg seems pretty awful for you, as it shuts off quite a few of your non-creature spells. I would either cut Teeg or lower the number of spells that he shuts off.

Quote from OCPunisher

You definitely want to keep Woodfall Primus. He's an excellent creature, well worth the cost. If you have a problem with the cost, run some more acceleration (you are playing green, should be easy).

I would also recommend Mistmeadow Witch. That card is pretty sick with most of your other creatures (try resetting a Woodfall Primus for example).

EDIT: Gaddock Teeg seems pretty awful for you, as it shuts off quite a few of your non-creature spells. I would either cut Teeg or lower the number of spells that he shuts off.

Mistmeadow Witch could definitely fit in. I only have a few slots for bouncing/resetting effects though so I need to decide between Cloudstone Curio, Equilibrium, Crystal Shard, and the Witch (Any I'm missing?). Any ideas? Times like this I really wish I had a Venser.

I was hesitant to add Teeg, but I think he's too good not to run. He shuts down some of my spells, but it tends to hurt other players more. Since I control when he comes out I obviously don't play it if it's going to hurt me, and I can always just bounce him, play stuff, then play him again. His most important function though is he protects me and my stuff from so many things, and it's scary facing down Jenara with Teeg on the board.

Quote from Telekinesis

Mistmeadow Witch could definitely fit in. I only have a few slots for bouncing/resetting effects though so I need to decide between Cloudstone Curio, Equilibrium, Crystal Shard, and the Witch (Any I'm missing?). Any ideas? Times like this I really wish I had a Venser.

There's also Erratic Portal which is almost identical to Crystal Shard. Not bad though if you want more of these bounce/blink effects in your deck.

Just curious though why you prefer Sword of Light and Shadow over Fire and Ice. Isn't Fire and Ice better? Or is it because pro-black/white is more relevant in EDH?

Oh and you totally have to add the cutest creature ever... Gilder Bairn!!!!

Yeah, Erratic Portal's another good option, thanks. Still not sure which ones to use though, I'm probably going to use Equilibrium since it can disrupt other players too, and maybe one more...

SoFI is better than SoLS no doubt... unfortunately it's in another deck right now. Both should definitely be in.

I really want to add Gilder Bairn but my deck lacks tap effects outside of attacking making it hard to trigger him. He's pretty nasty though with Planeswalkers.

Made a few quick changes...

The mana base just wasn't cutting it. Too many lands that produce colorless mana, and not enough accel. I'll still have to further tweak it since it still seems subpar. The other cards just weren't doing a whole lot, so I cut them for more control/disruption. Negate's probably a bad choice for a counter, I'll probably eventually replace it with a better one.

Was curious about how your Doubling Season was with your Planeswalkers? Seems like that could be pretty sick really fast. Instant Emblems or Avatars.

Quote from Tantarus

Was curious about how your Doubling Season was with your Planeswalkers? Seems like that could be pretty sick really fast. Instant Emblems or Avatars.

To be honest Doubling Season hasn't been all that impressive so far. There's a lot of targets for it but it only helps me win when I'm ahead, and there usually are better things to do with my mana.

One question:

Any advice on the counter suite that I'm running? I'm relucant to add Cryptic Command, Dismiss, and Rewind since they're shut down by my Teeg. I'm thinking of adding Dissipate, Faerie Trickery and Dream Fracture.

Quote from Telekinesis

To be honest Doubling Season hasn't been all that impressive so far. There's a lot of targets for it but it only helps me win when I'm ahead, and there usually are better things to do with my mana.

Perhaps replace it with a Mana Reflection or Mirari's Wake? (Or add both:P)

One question:

Any advice on the counter suite that I'm running? I'm relucant to add Cryptic Command, Dismiss, and Rewind since they're shut down by my Teeg. I'm thinking of adding Dissipate, Faerie Trickery and Dream Fracture.

Those 3 are all very solid counters. any or all of them should work well. I really like the Exile from Dissipate myself, nice against recursion. Though without Teeg as a general is it really that much of an issue, seems like he would not survive long or be out enough to really worry about building around him? Or do you mean Other peoples Teegs?

Also why no Spin into Myth?

And why did you decide against Proliferate stuff, seems like a solid strat with your general and planeswalkers. Mix in a few more token making stuff like Avenger of Zendikar, Wurmcalling, Gelatinous Genesis. I am thinking of building a deck with Jenara along these lines but not sure how viable it is.

Quote from Tantarus

Perhaps replace it with a Mana Reflection or Mirari's Wake? (Or add both:P)

Possibly. I'm leaving in Doubling Season for now though, if only for its potential.

Those 3 are all very solid counters. any or all of them should work well. I really like the Exile from Dissipate myself, nice against recursion. Though without Teeg as a general is it really that much of an issue, seems like he would not survive long or be out enough to really worry about building around him? Or do you mean Other peoples Teegs?

Also why no Spin into Myth?

Mainly because Jenara + Teeg and counter backup is a nightmare to deal with for other players, and I'd hate to shut down my own counters that would be protecting this. Right now the only cards I'm running that are shut down by Teeg are those that are too good not to run.

And why did you decide against Proliferate stuff, seems like a solid strat with your general and planeswalkers. Mix in a few more token making stuff like Avenger of Zendikar, Wurmcalling, Gelatinous Genesis.

Avenger is one of those cards that would go in for sure but I don't really want to pay that much for it, especially when it's going to drop once it rotates out. Wurmcalling and Gelatinous Genesis isn't that impressive to me, I'd rather run Genesis Wave which I currently don't have included.

As for Proliferate, it's a solid strategy for sure, but I figure going Bant control is a better strategy in general, and considering how fast Jenara can kill a lot of the proliferate strategy just becomes redundant. Jenara benefits from Proliferate, but when counters cost all of two mana it really won't help that much. Also, Jenara herself doesn't help the Proliferate strategy that much, so filling the deck with counter producers isn't a very good strategy. The counter producers/users I run are good cards by themselves, so benefiting from proliferate/doubling season is merely incidental.

That said, I'm thinking of adding Inexorable Tide since it can get pretty nuts.

I am thinking of building a deck with Jenara along these lines but not sure how viable it is.

So far, my testing is very positive. While my list still needs a lot of tweaking (Particularly the mana base) it runs very smoothly. It can control the game when needed, it can gain huge advantages through ETB effects, recursion, and protection, and all the while Jenara is a huge threat to end the game for someone quickly. What I love is how versatile it is - I can go General beatdown, I can go control, or I can build my other forces and win through that. Even if opponents deal with Jenara, they still need to deal with Bant Good Stuff Control, which is no easy task. If they deal with Bant Good Stuff by sweeping the board, then they might be facing down a really large Jenara next turn.

Not to mention, there's a ton of combos, one of my favorites being Glen Elendra Archmage + Plaxcaster Frogling/Spike Weaver + Cauldron of Souls. The deck has been a ton of fun to play and thus far has been very strong, so I'd definitely recommend giving it a try.

Yeah I am probably going to split my Scion deck into a Bant and Grixis deck when I get tired of it. Jenara looks pretty solid, though I may go more of a green mana accel with wake/reflection to boost her up fast when she is out. Mixed in with some doubling season/prolif token love. My playgroup gets kinda emo when you control the board too much. So will focus more on creature beats.

Quote from Tantarus

Yeah I am probably going to split my Scion deck into a Bant and Grixis deck when I get tired of it. Jenara looks pretty solid, though I may go more of a green mana accel with wake/reflection to boost her up fast when she is out. Mixed in with some doubling season/prolif token love. My playgroup gets kinda emo when you control the board too much. So will focus more on creature beats.

Instead of control elements what you can do is just run a ton of protection for your creatures and recursion. I originally tried this and while it's effective, I ended up replacing a lot of it with counters and other support, only saving the strongest ones. Cauldron of Souls is a must, making Jenara pretty much unkillable, Privileged Position lets you build up without worry, and there are a lot of anti-wrath cards out there (Twilight Sheperd, Sigil of the New Dawn, Dauntless Escort).

Yeah Cauldron of souls is pretty sick for her. Though after looking at Weresquirrel's List I am thinking of trying her out in that method. Though sadly she is more about using the colors then actually as a beat sick.

The ETB effects seem like it could be pretty fun. I kinda used his and your list a bit for ideas. I will post the list when I finish. I am not use to not playing with a hint of black though the lack of good tutors is interesting when trying to Ghostway focused Strat.

I've made quite a few changes to my list. I believe this is all of them, I might be forgetting something though.

Basically took out a lot of cards that were too situational/underwhelming. Stil working on the mana base, which occasionally just completely screws me over. With the interactions this deck now has, I may soon call it an aggro-control-combo deck

Quote from Tantarus

Yeah Cauldron of souls is pretty sick for her. Though after looking at Weresquirrel's List I am thinking of trying her out in that method. Though sadly she is more about using the colors then actually as a beat sick.

The ETB effects seem like it could be pretty fun. I kinda used his and your list a bit for ideas. I will post the list when I finish. I am not use to not playing with a hint of black though the lack of good tutors is interesting when trying to Ghostway focused Strat.

Using ETB effects is a really strong strategy for sure, but I decided to limit the amount I put in the deck because it interferes with Jenara and I actually wanted to use her.

Yeah I kinda made the mistake of showing my playgroup the power of tucking a general, now everyone plays spins/condemns/etc. So making a general centered deck can get hairy. They are very much Big creatures and swing with some creature control. So I try and keep is low key with non infinity combos. Have not run a bant deck before and she seems pretty solid. Raf you need to focus too much on I feel. Jenara can be a beater just unto herself. Especially with Mana reflection/Mirari's Wake and maybe a doubling season.

Quote from Tantarus

Yeah I kinda made the mistake of showing my playgroup the power of tucking a general, now everyone plays spins/condemns/etc. So making a general centered deck can get hairy. They are very much Big creatures and swing with some creature control. So I try and keep is low key with non infinity combos. Have not run a bant deck before and she seems pretty solid. Raf you need to focus too much on I feel. Jenara can be a beater just unto herself. Especially with Mana reflection/Mirari's Wake and maybe a doubling season.

I recently put in Spike Weaver as stall, while having the added bonus of giving things +1/+1 counters if needed and it has worked really well against creature based decks. Paired with any form of bounce or recursion and he's especially good. To deal with tucking, just make sure you have a sac outlet handy. I always try to leave my High Market available, which is always a good idea not only to prevent tucking, but also to prevent Exiling important cards and stealing effects.

Yeah, Jenara being good without any kind of buildaround is why I chose her too. I'm really loving how versatile the deck is.

A few small changes. I finally picked up a Gilded Drake, so that goes in for Cloudstone Curio. I don't know why I never put in Oran-Rief, the Vastwood, so that goes in for Primal Command, which I was never happy with since it usually just acted as a five mana creature tutor.

I'm looking to fit in Fact or Fiction andCapsize but the decklist is so tight right now that I'm not sure what to cut. Maybe Aven Mindcensor since I never even seem to draw it, but I love the card too much.

Other than that, I'm extremely happy with the deck. Nearly every single card is a must-deal with threat on its own, and they can get out of hand with its synergy with other cards. The only times I've done poorly was when I've been mana screwed or when one person has it completely out for me and targets nearly every counter, removal spell, and disruption my way (Which happened yesterday, I was kinda pissed about that since it just took the fun out of it... his excuse was he didn't like decks that did "shenanagins").

I'm now calling this deck aggro-control-combo. Aggro route --> Jenara. Control route --> the main deck focus. When I say combo I don't mean assembling combo pieces and comboing out, but instead, gaining incremental advantages that have synergy with each other to the point of building overwhelming board advantage. Every control piece works towards this goal, and there are a ton of nasty combos hidden within the deck.