Check out my video explaining the deck list and the game plan!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r78A5pnkuFU
Thank you for checking out my Prime Speaker Zegana EDH deck! This deck is by far my favorite EDH deck. It is tons of fun to play, has a unique playstyle, and effectively utilizes many cards that I have never seen played in any other EDH deck.
THE HISTORY
While most EDH ideas probably start with the general, the inception of this deck came from the Overbeing of Myth and the subsequent realization that blue/green has the majority of the
Maro
s. I sought out to build a deck that draws tons of cards, makes it hand size infinite, and beats down people with gigantic maros. Unfortunately, blue/green only had three legendaries back then, and the default choice was Edric, Spymaster of Trest because he helped me draw cards.
So, the deck was born, and through a lot of playtesting I gradually learned more about it and refined it. I learned that the best way for it to ramp is to add cards that let you play additional lands, since it draws a ton of cards. While looking for different ways to utilize my huge hands, I found the counterspells that can be cast for free by discarding cards. These free counterspells were a very potent addition (thankfully I had an oppressive will that I opened when I was a kid), and they lead me to
Thwart
, which taught me that this deck enjoys bouncing its own lands, since it increases my hand size, and they can be replayed quickly. One problem I found early was that it was difficult to connect with my giant maros, so I added some cards to help them sneak by blockers.
Gradually, the amount of sneaky 1/1s that drew cards through Edric decreased, and I found myself playing many games where I did not want to play Edric because he would have benefited my opponents more than me. Also, as I used this deck more, I learned that people do not take kindly to Edric decks. In almost every game with new people, when I brought out my Edric deck, people snarled at it, and I had to convince them that it wasn't the cliche Edric's legion with tons of 1/1s and overrun effects. I began to despise Edric as my general, and would often not play him at all out of spite.
When I learned that a new blue/green legendary was coming in Gatecrash, I had my fingers anxiously crossed. But when the evolve mechanic was leaked, and I grew doubtful that the legendary would work with my theme. The other four guild leaders were leaked one by one, but Zegana remained suspiciously absent for weeks. Finally, one night, Prime Speaker Zegana dropped, and she was everything I wanted and more.
Im still learning more about her as a commander, and the deck has changed a lot since I switched generals. But its way more fun that it was with Edric, and it often surprises people with the things it can do.
THE GAME PLAN
The first pieces of the puzzle are the rampers, like Azusa, Lost but Seeking, which help it start quicker, and intensify it once it gets going. I can easily be in a position when I can drop 3+ lands a turn, which is especially potent when I'm going through my deck so fast, and when I bounce my own lands to cast spells.
Next, and most essential, is a card that makes my hand size infinite, Spellbook being the stable. I have the majority of these cards in the deck, and thus I usually draw into ones when I go through the first 4th of the deck (which happens quickly).
The bulk of this deck are the maros, like
Sturmgeist
, Soramaro, First to Dream, and
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
. Multani was actually out of the deck for a while, since its shroud limited what I could do with it. But I put him back in when I get Zegana: they're perfect together. I wait to play Zegana until I have a Maro in play and draw a gigantic hand. And, since this deck is designed to operate with a gigantic hand, this is when it really starts rolling. Sometimes I have to wait till I have 8 mana so I can cast Zegana and have a Simic Charm or Vines of Vastwood or
Spell Rupture
in case someone tries to kill my maro in response to Zegana hitting the field.
The deck usually wins by beating people down with giant maros sneaking by blockers. It often wins by flipping Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant (which is pretty easy when you have a huge hand and ways to bounce your lands) and then dominating with more mana than I know what to do with. Sometimes it snipes people with
Inner Calm, Outer Strength
. And, it always has the potential to win with Laboratory Maniac, by say using a Momentous Fall or Zegana with Masumaro, First to Live or
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
. You might think Laboratory Maniac this is a dangerous win condition, since people can can just pop the Maniac before I draw my deck. But remember the free counterspells? If I'm in the process of drawing my whole deck, I will have them in my hand.
THE BEST CARDS / MY FAVORITE CARDS
Overbeing of Myth
- As the inspiration for this deck, this card deserves to be mentioned first. If she was legendary, she would be the general.
Jushi Apprentice
- If I have this guy in my opening hand, this deck can get rolling much quicker than normal.
Praetor's Counsel
- This card is probably good in any green EDH deck, but in my deck its just ridiculous.
Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant - I guess the common way to flip her is for a green deck to fix its hand to have 7 lands. But, this deck flips her by just having gigantic hands that naturally have 7+ lands in them. If I don't have 7, I can bounce my own lands with
Thwart
/ Gush /
Soratami Mirror-Mage
.
Summer Bloom
- This is an amazing card to draw into while drawing a bunch of cards. Its also an amazing card to play right after flipping Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant.
Thwart
- This card has saved my butt so many times. Lets say I have a
Sturmgeist
in play and use a
Soul's Majesty
. Someone might decide to Go to the Throat
Sturmgeist
in response. I respond by bouncing three islands and countering it with
Thwart
. So now, the spell goes off, I draw 2 more cards because my hand size has increased by 2, and Surmgeist ends the ordeal being +4/+4 stronger than he would have been if someone didn't try to kill him.
Inner Calm, Outer Strength
- This card has won me many games, and it often shocks people when it does. I won one drawn out game by copying it ~6 times with Uyo, Silent Profit who bounces lands to do so, and thus increases the potency of ICOS when it resolves! I've never seen another EDH deck that runs this card.
Gush / Fathom Seer - These are probably my favorite. For 0 mana, I can increase my hand size by four. These cards can really help this deck explode, since if I double my hand size and then respond with one of these, I can find myself with a 20+ card hand and a dominant "board" position.
Riptide Laboratory - This card is amazing with Zegana. It lets you save her if shes about to die, and more importantly, replay her on your next turn!
Vines of Vastwood - One weakness of this deck is if people kill my
Maro
or
Sturmgeist
or whatnot in response to me casting Zegana. Ive learned that if I want to be safe, I wait to cast Zegana until I have 8 mana, and Ill usually have a two mana response in case someone tries to kill the Maro. Vines of the vastwood is probably the best because it not only gives the Maro shroud, it pumps it up and Zegana draws 4 more cards!
HOW TO BEAT IT
Since I will probably never play anyone who reads this, I'll tell you how to beat this deck, besides simply overpowering it. The most effective way to stop it is to try to kill my
Maro
s in response to me casting Zegana. If I dont have an answer in my hand, or if I took the risk and played Zegana when I only have 6 mana and no free counter spells, Zegana might only draw me one card, and might get stuck on the battlefield, and this can really set me back.
One key to beating it is to kill my Reliquary Tower / Spellbook /
Graceful Adept
at the beginning of my end step. This will at a minimum burn my counterspells, which make me much more vulnerable. If I can't stop it, this will make me discard down to 7 cards and set me back significantly.
The Achilles Heel of this deck are cards that make me discard my hand, like Mindslicer or
Identity Crisis
. If I cant counter these, its pretty much game over. Thankfully theyre not that commonly run in EDH, but my little brother does have a Mindslicer in his Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck.... and Ive lost a few games solely because of that card.
Thanks for checking out my deck!
