Keeper of the Six Keys

Commander / EDH BGW (Abzan, Junk) Combo Counters Infinite Combo Tokens

JaysomeDecks

Creature (23)

• 1x Avenger of Zendikar
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Bloodspore Thrinax
• 1x Butcher of Malakir
• 1x Champion of Lambholt
• 1x Corpsejack Menace
• 1x Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1x Crystalline Crawler
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Geralf's Messenger
• 1x Ivy Lane Denizen
• 1x Juniper Order Ranger
• 1x Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest
• 1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• 1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1x Sigil Captain
• 1x Smothering Abomination
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Triskelion
• 1x Woodfall Primus
• 1x Young Wolf
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Artifact (7)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Eldrazi Monument
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Land (36)

• 1x Canopy Vista
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 5x Forest
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Isolated Chapel
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 5x Plains
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 2x Snow-Covered Forest
• 2x Snow-Covered Plains
• 2x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Sunpetal Grove
• 5x Swamp
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip
• 1x Woodland Cemetery
• 1x Yavimaya Hollow

Enchantment (14)

• 1x Anointed Procession
• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Cathars' Crusade
• 1x Deathreap Ritual
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Doubling Season
• 1x Earthcraft
• 1x Font of Fertility
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Hardened Scales
• 1x Martyr's Bond
• 1x Parallel Lives
• 1x Primal Vigor
• 1x Privileged Position

Commander (1)

Sorcery (14)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Explosive Vegetation
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Into the North
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Nature's Lore
• 1x Obzedat's Aid
• 1x Open the Vaults
• 1x Rampant Growth
• 1x Tooth and Nail
• 1x Vindicate
• 1x Wrath of God

Instant (5)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Inspiring Call
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

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Maybeboard

Creature (3)

• 1x Devoted Druid
• 1x Karmic Guide
• 1x Reveillark

Artifact (1)

• 1x Illusionist's Bracers

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GHAVE, GURU OF COMBOS

Ghave has often been referred to as the "Combo Master" or "Combo King," not because he is the strongest, fastest, or best, (though he is certainly in the running), but because he is by far the easiest. A card designed specifically to be a commander back before they realized just how far the format would go, it is now almost impossible to not find new and powerful interactions just waiting to fuel his engine.

There are many ways to go about building a Ghave deck. Some focus on his ability to gift +1/+1 counters, exploiting abilities like persist and undying, while others prioritize his generation of tokens. Some focus on him as a sac outlet and play a graveyard deck, perfectly supported by access to white, black, and green. Most decks include a little bit of it all, but ultimately each deck will wind up with an attribute it favors.

As for this deck, I went with a focus on tokens, seconded by death triggers. While it can, this deck is not meant to amass counters and create wildly powerful creatures. It does not make much use of +1/+1 based buffs, such as Abzan Battle Priest, Abzan Falconer, Mer-Ek Nightblade, etc. Ultimately, its goal is a complete, infinite victory. If it even has to swing, it shouldn't be more than once.

ABZAN

Abzan is a powerful combination of colors, and its themes of life, death, and growth are exemplified in this commander. Green offers, among other things, the ever-important ramp. Black gives access to tutors, as well as death exploits, and back and white provide some of the best removal in the game. Green and white account for anything you could ever need regarding tokens. And all three colors enjoy graveyard play. In all honesty, I have never had a harder time narrowing down from all the pure value this color matching allows. There are many simply good cards that are not in this deck, and some may phase in and out the more it plays. But ultimately, with all the options available, the cards that make the cut are the ones that work with the commander. And on that topic, let us look at:

THE SIX KEYS

These are the six cards that essentially form 1-card combo with Ghave. While not yet infinite, any one of these six pieces allows you to directly convert mana into creature tokens at a =1 ratio. They are:

• Champion of Lambholt

• Bloodspore Thrinax

• Ivy Lane Denizen

• Sigil Captain

• Juniper Order Ranger

• Cathars' Crusade

Each of these pieces creates a +1/+1 counter when a creature enters the battlefield, and Ghave's ability lets him remove a +1/+1 counter from any creature to create another creature token, which will again trigger one of the above keys. Simply repeat as many times as you have mana.

While this ability alone is exceedingly powerful, it increases exponentially with many of the other cards in the deck. Token doublers, such as Parallel Lives and White Parallel Lives, counter enhancers like Hardened Scales and Corpsejack Menace, and Doubling Season and Primal Vigor, which do both, can bring your board state out of control very quickly.

But while these are all good, what you ultimately wish to aim for are the infinites.

THE INFINITES

The two most important cards in the deck:

• Ashnod's Altar

• Earthcraft

Either of these two pieces with one of the six keys instantly generates infinite creature tokens. And with Ashnod's Altar you also generate infinite mana as well.

• Phyrexian Altar technically does go infinite with any one key as well, though it will only produce infinite death triggers, not growing your ranks. This is still game with either Zulaport Cutthroat or Blood Artist on the field, and can be combined with any of the token doublers for infinite mana/tokens again.

MAIN COMBOS

• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion: Infinite Damage

• Ghave + Ashnod's Altar + Geralf's Messenger : Infinite Damage

• Ghave + Ashnod's Altar + Six Key: Infinite Tokens & Infinite Colorless Mana

• Ghave + Ashnod's Altar + Doubling Season/Primal Vigor: Infinite Tokens & Infinite Colorless Mana

• Ghave + Earthcraft + Six Key: Infinite Tokens

KEY CARDS

These are the cards that tie the deck together, that make it a threat before you go for the combo, and keep it viable if the combo gets interrupted.

• Aura Shards: The best removal you could ever ask for. With Ghave on the field, no one but you will have artifacts or enchantments.

• Zulaport Cutthroat/Blood Artist: These allow you to win via infinite death triggers, which is fairly easy to do in this deck.

• Craterhoof Behemoth: Fairly self explanatory. Solid wincon with a dozen or so tokens.

• Dictate of Erebos/Grave Pact/Butcher of Malakir/Martyr's Bond: With Ghave's ability to create and sac tokens, any one of these easily allows you to keep your opponents fields free of creatures, and at instant speed, onetheless.

• Tooth and Nail: One-card wincon with Mike and Trike

Top Ranked	Achieved #41 position overall 6 years ago
Date added	7 years
Last updated	6 years
Exclude colors	UR
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 0 Mythic Rares 42 - 0 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 11 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.67
Tokens	Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Plant 0/1 G, Saproling 1/1 G
Folders	I Like, check out, EDH?!?!?!, Saved Decks from Others, Intresse, Wishlist, commander, ghave, EDH Fun, Ghave