Counting on Life

Commander / EDH Budget Casual Counters Enchantment Lifegain Lifelink Proliferate RGW (Naya) Theme/Gimmick

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Creature (26)

• 1x Abzan Battle Priest
• 1x Ageless Entity
• 1x Ajani's Pridemate
• 1x Aragorn, Hornburg Hero
• 1x Arwen, Weaver of Hope
• 1x Ascendant Acolyte
• 1x Bright-Palm, Soul Awakener
• 1x Conclave Mentor
• 1x Forgotten Ancient
• 1x Halana and Alena, Partners
• 1x Kalonian Hydra
• 1x Kami of Whispered Hopes
• 1x Knickknack Ouphe
• 1x Lathiel, the Bounteous Dawn
• 1x Loyal Guardian
• 1x Managorger Hydra
• 1x Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 1x Nykthos Paragon
• 1x Phytohydra
• 1x Retaliator Griffin
• 1x Selfless Squire
• 1x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
• 1x Sovereign Okinec Ahau
• 1x Sunscorch Regent
• 1x Treebeard, Gracious Host
• 1x Vigor

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Farseek
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Migration Path
• 1x Thirsting Roots
• 1x Visions of Dominance

Land (37)

• 1x Bretagard Stronghold
• 1x Cabaretti Courtyard
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Escape Tunnel
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 8x Forest
• 1x Gavony Township
• 1x Guildmages' Forum
• 1x Jungle Shrine
• 1x Kabira Crossroads
• 1x Karn's Bastion
• 4x Mountain
• 1x Opal Palace
• 1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 8x Plains
• 1x Rith's Grove
• 1x Temple of Abandon
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of Triumph
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Artifact (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Behemoth Sledge
• 1x Fractal Harness
• 1x Loxodon Warhammer
• 1x Mask of Avacyn
• 1x Mirror Shield
• 1x Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
• 1x Resurrection Orb
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Ajani, Mentor of Heroes

Commander (1)

Enchantment (16)

• 1x Alpha Authority
• 1x Armadillo Cloak
• 1x Court of Garenbrig
• 1x Cradle of Vitality
• 1x Felidar Umbra
• 1x Glorious Sunrise
• 1x Keen Sense
• 1x Light of Promise
• 1x Mayael's Aria
• 1x Primeval Bounty
• 1x Resourceful Defense
• 1x Snake Umbra
• 1x Sunbond
• 1x True Conviction
• 1x Uncivil Unrest
• 1x Unflinching Courage

Instant (3)

• 1x Harrow
• 1x Invigorating Surge
• 1x Solidarity of Heroes

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Maybeboard

Creature (8)

• 1x Byrke, Long Ear of the Law
• 1x Gideon's Company
• 1x Heliod, Sun-Crowned
• 1x Heroes' Bane
• 1x Phantom Nishoba
• 1x Taurean Mauler
• 1x Trelasarra, Moon Dancer
• 1x Twinblade Paladin

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Annie Joins Up
• 1x Death's Presence
• 1x Spirit Link
• 1x Spirit Loop
• 1x Tribute to the World Tree

Artifact (2)

• 1x Basilisk Collar
• 1x Bow of Nylea

Instant (1)

• 1x Congregation at Dawn

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Damning Verdict

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Basic idea is to weaponise lifegain by turning it into a means with which to add lots of counters to creatures, Shalai and Hallar then turns that into damage. With the amount of life the deck can gain it hopefully ensures the deck regularly gets running by extending games due to constantly increasing your life total.

This was primarily inspired by my modern deck The Exponential Wurm Of Life

The ideal scenario is to have something with lifelink with the ability to gain counters when it deals damage. Thus when it deals damage, you gain the life, and then it gains the counters which then deals that much damage again (with S&H in play) to an opponent.

Creatures such as Ajani's Pridemate, Ageless Entity, and Treebeard, Gracious Host go infinite once S&H has lifelink with numerous options being provided to facilitate this with both equipment and enchantments (e.g. Behemoth Sledge). In addition Light of Promise and Sunbond allow the same infinite damage loop to be added to any other creature.

Due to the importance of S&H and the often 2 or 3 heavy hitters the deck creates multiple lasting protection options have been added (Swiftfoot Boots, Mask of Avacyn, Mirror Shield, Alpha Authority) to prevent spot removal.

Ramp and mana fixing are also a must so a mix of instant, sorcery and artifacts have been added to facilitate this along with dual/filter lands. This allows the deck to set up fast and get S&H on the board to get the game plan going.

Top Ranked	Achieved #24 position overall 10 months ago Achieved #22 position in Commander / EDH 10 months ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Lifelink 7 months ago
Date added	11 months
Last updated	2 weeks
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 36 - 0 Rares 24 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.37
Tokens	Beast 3/3 G, Food, Fractal 0/0 GU, The Monarch
Folders	edh, Commander Night, EDH Gauntlet, Cool Ideas, Budget first decks, Favorites, Other Peoples Dope Decks, maybe, Commander Decks, inventory decks