deck chart

Nylea, God of the Big Stuff

Commander / EDH Kovukono

SCORE: 13 | 16 COMMENTS | 6350 VIEWS | IN 6 FOLDERS

Sept. 19, 2022

I just couldn't stay away from it. Nylea, Keen-Eyed is now Nylea, God of the Hunt again. However, there's more than a few changes made:

Out:

  • Bane of Progress: He has the downside of destroying my things, even if he does act as a board wipe. Its replacement, Silverback Elder, triggers off the myriad of creatures we have and doesn't have much of a downside.
  • Hall of Gemstone: This card still makes sense in a more competitive pod, but Nylea v2.0 was intended to be that kind of deck. This one firmly wants answers to problems, but isn't going to try to shut people out. Cutting this allows more space for more versatile cards.
  • Thunderfoot Baloth: The trample for Nylea is nice, but by and large its replacement with Unnatural Growth will do the same if not better, for a lower cost and being harder to remove.
  • Mana Reflection: On the other hand, we're removing Mana Reflection for something that is much easier to remove and higher cost--but with higher potential upside.
  • Surrak, the Hunt Caller: Being able to either hit when I came down, or being able to make someone have haste immediately so they could tap for mana is nice, but overall likely not necessary.
  • Llanowar Tribe: He gave three green pips and generated three mana, and was splendid in his role. However, Circle of Dreams Druid just scales better.
  • Vizier of the Menagerie: Augur of Autumn has the same effect for a small requirement in this deck, and also lets me play lands.
  • Runic Armasaur: Over time, he's been netting me less and less card draw. Your meta may vary, but mine has moved more toward treasures.
  • Rampant Growth: Nature's Lore should have been in the deck some time ago, or Three Visits. Both cost the same and allow an untapped Forest as opposed to tapped.
  • Whisperer of the Wilds: This is easily the weakest mana dork in the deck, and I was more than happy to upgrade it to something that scaled.
  • Nissa's Pilgrimage: This is still a good card, but it's been swapped for a lower-CMC card.
  • Garruk, Caller of Beasts: He's definitely not a bad planeswalker, and his ability to cheat in creatures was what made him most valuable, but I've gone for more card draw than just the single burst he gives.
  • Yeva, Nature's Herald: Probably the hardest cut to make this update. Yeva's been part of making a build-your-own Prophet of Kruphix between her and Seedborn Muse since I think the deck began. She's going to be missed--but I believe there's a better upgrade.
  • Two Forests.

In:

  • Silverback Elder: This deck wants to repeatedly cast creatures, and it plays right into his wheelhouse. We have removal, land tutoring, and if we're really hard-up, life gain as well.
  • Saryth, the Viper's Fang: Bow of Nylea was in the deck for a grand total of one update, just over two months. The big appeal of it was the ability to give deathtouch, where one damage is all that needs to be dealt before trampling over. None of the other abilities were really viable, however. Saryth gives not only deathtouch, but untaps mana dorks, and gives hexproof for combo pieces as well.
  • Unnatural Growth: A grand total of eight creatures won't have their power reach the same amount as with Thunderfoot Baloth. However, none of those eight creatures were expected to be attackers or blockers. Overall, this makes my big guys bigger with no real downside.
  • Nyxbloom Ancient: He dies to both enchantment and creature removal, and costs more than Mana Reflection, but he also gives more mana and can be tutored or cheated out more easily.
  • Ashaya, Soul of the Wild: Not only is Ashaya another big beater, she helps ramp if I really need it. There's also the hilarious interaction of her negating Cyclonic Rifts.
  • Circle of Dreams Druid: See Llanowar Tribe.
  • Augur of Autumn: See Vizier of the Menagerie.
  • Viridian Revel: I've traded one highly-situational card draw engine for another, with the exception that Wizards seems to really be leaning into treasures, and this will likely only get more use.
  • Nature's Lore: See Rampant Growth.
  • Sanctum Weaver: With the amount of enchantments I have, she won't ever be incredibly huge, but she has the good fortune of tapping for two with my commander out, which Whisperer of the Wilds didn't always do.
  • Nissa's Triumph: There's only one Nissa planeswalker in the deck, but even so, the reduced CMC along with the larger potential upside makes this a better choice over Nissa's Pilgrimage.
  • Beast Whisperer: The deck likes to cast creatures and draw cards. Guardian Project also does what he does, but redundancy is nice.
  • Vivien, Champion of the Wilds: The vigilance makes this a nice upside over Yeva, but the fact that she's impossible to tutor might prove problematic.
  • Boseiju, Who Conquers All: Removal stapled onto what's basically a Forest. What's not to love?
  • Scavenger Grounds: I don't expect to use it often, but it's nice to have some graveyard hate on demand.