Stumped By Twigs On A Stick

Commander / EDH BGW (Abzan, Junk) Casual Lifegain Multiplayer

NV_1980

Creature (30)

• 1x Abzan Beastmaster
• 1x Archangel of Thune
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Black Poplar Shaman
• 1x Courser of Kruphix
• 1x Dauntless Dourbark
• 1x Disowned Ancestor
• 1x Dragonlord Dromoka
• 1x Fendeep Summoner
• 1x Great Oak Guardian
• 1x Grizzled Leotau
• 1x Heartwood Storyteller
• 1x Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper
• 1x Indomitable Ancients
• 1x Leaf-Crowned Elder
• 1x Nyx-Fleece Ram
• 1x Oathsworn Giant
• 1x Oketra the True
• 1x Orchard Warden
• 1x Rhox Faithmender
• 1x Sapling of Colfenor
• 1x Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
• 1x Silklash Spider
• 1x Skinshifter
• 1x Sylvan Caryatid
• 1x Timber Protector
• 1x Tree of Perdition
• 1x Tree of Redemption
• 1x Treefolk Harbinger
• 1x Wakestone Gargoyle

Sorcery (6)

• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Fell the Mighty
• 1x Kodama's Reach
• 1x Wave of Reckoning

Land (36)

• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fetid Heath
• 7x Forest
• 1x Hissing Quagmire
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Murmuring Bosk
• 6x Plains
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Sandsteppe Citadel
• 1x Shambling Vent
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Temple of Malady
• 1x Temple of Plenty
• 1x Temple of Silence
• 1x Vault of the Archangel
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Artifact (9)

• 1x Akroma's Memorial
• 1x Golgari Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Meekstone
• 1x Orzhov Signet
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Selesnya Signet
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring

Commander (1)

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Always Watching
• 1x Assault Formation
• 1x Aura Shards
• 1x Behind the Scenes
• 1x Exploration
• 1x Land Tax
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Privileged Position
• 1x Spidersilk Armor
• 1x Sylvan Library

Instant (8)

• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Bar the Door
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Putrefy
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Tower Defense
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

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Welcome to Stumped by twigs on a stick !

We know. Really, we do. Arcades, the Strategist is in every way a better creature, and thus many would argue, a better commander. Yet, we have a soft spot for that gnarly, old tree-man: Doran, the Siege Tower. It's easy to take him to tribal-town and black gives us some nice tutoring options that blue cannot offer. Messing with opposing attack plans and turning otherwise harmless looking creatures into massive powerhouses is just great fun overall. Especially against red and their passion for boosting only power.

Feedback to this deck is more than welcome, but before you give any, please take note of the following:

1. Members of our playgroup feel that the primary goal of playing a game of EDH/Commander is that all players participating have a fun time. This means most of our EDH/Commander decks are not meant to be competitive. We enjoy the occasional infinite combo (mostly because they can be hilarious), but none of us feel the need to build decks that are exclusively about them.
2. We have not bought any new cards since June 2016. We still trade cards though, but only when we feel the trade adds something to our collection without significant loss to it. This means that whenever you are suggesting a new card that we do not own, chances are pretty slim it is going to end up in our deck. Please do not take this personally. Also, please do not let this stop you from making suggestions. Suggestions that do not make it into this deck, will still be mentioned on this page and might be used by others.
3. Please do not forget to include the card(s) you would remove to make room for your recommended card(s).
4. Please do not recommend any cards with infect or cards whose sole purpose is to destroy basic lands (non-basic lands are fair game). Our playgroup has banned them.

With that being said, thank you for all your support and if you should decide to use our ideas, have lots of fun with them.

Some tactics

This deck is as straightforward as can be. It tries to make use of the fact that we get plenty of bang for our buck, and at a reasonable pace and price too. Doran, the Siege Tower and Assault Formation are obviously the key cards in our strategy, as their abilities are what makes this deck strong. Then there's the opportunities for some decent life gaining, some ways of disrupting our opponents and some ways to clear the field should things get too dicey. We'd use the following order of casting priority:

1. Ramp; we want Doran and some nice fatties with a high toughness on the field asap, to bring the pain onto our opponents nice and quick. So focus on ramping creatures (like Treefolk Harbinger), mana rocks (like Sol Ring and the Signets) handy land-fetching/cheating enchantments (like Land Tax and Exploration) or like-minded sorceries (like Kodama's Reach). We give this priority until we can generate at least 4 mana. As a side note, if we can get one of our filters on early (cards like Sylvan Library, Sensei's Divining Top or Scroll Rack), do so!

2. Time to summon Doran and some early fatties like Disowned Ancestor or Yoked Ox. Some twiggy support, like Timber Protector, some extra card draw capabilities (like Abzan Beastmaster or Phyrexian Arena) and some opportunities for enemy disruption such as Aura Shards or Tree of Perdition won't hurt either.

3. By turn 4-6, it's time to churn out the heavy support. First off there are some excellent, high toughness creatures you can summon for a relatively low cost; Skinshifter and Indomitable Ancients are good examples. Then there's some fantastic ways that help us gain some life, like Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper or Sapling of Colfenor. Another great way to get an advantage is by summoning some boosters. Our favorites are Assault Formation and Oathsworn Giant.

4. By turn 7, some of the really cool stuff should be cast to help us finish the game. Akroma's Memorial will greatly increase the capabilities of all our creatures. An excellent way to make things a lot harder for our opponents at this point, is by casting one-sided boardwipes like Austere Command, Fell the Mighty and Wave of Reckoning.

Card choices

Mana/Ramp

Birds of Paradise, Courser of Kruphix, Cultivate, Exploration, Golgari Signet, Kodama's Reach, Land Tax, Orzhov Signet, Selesnya Signet, Sol Ring, Sylvan Caryatid and Treefolk Harbinger.

Scry/Draw/Tutors

Abzan Beastmaster, Demonic Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Heartwood Storyteller, Leaf-Crowned Elder, Phyrexian Arena, Scroll Rack, Sensei's Divining Top, Sylvan Library, Temple of Malady, Temple of Malice, Temple of Plenty and Vampiric Tutor.

Bruisers

Dauntless Dourbark, Disowned Ancestor, Dragonlord Dromoka, Fendeep Summoner, Great Oak Guardian, Grizzled Leotau, Indomitable Ancients, Oketra the True, Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa, Skinshifter, Tree of Perdition and Tree of Redemption.

Lifegain

Archangel of Thune, Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper, Nyx-Fleece Ram, Orchard Warden, Rhox Faithmender and Sapling of Colfenor.

Disruption

Anguished Unmaking, Aura Shards, Austere Command, Fell the Mighty, Meekstone, Path to Exile, Putrefy, Silklash Spider, Swords to Plowshares and Wave of Reckoning.

Boosters/Utility

Akroma's Memorial, Always Watching , Assault Formation, Bar the Door, Behind the Scenes, Black Poplar Shaman, Lightning Greaves, Oathsworn Giant, Privileged Position, Spidersilk Armor, Tower Defense and Wakestone Gargoyle.

Combo's

• Orchard Warden + Fendeep Summoner; repeatable way of gaining at least 10 life per turn without attacking.
• Vault of the Archangel + Akroma's Memorial; all our creatures insta-kill everything that blocks them due to first strike, trample and deathtouch combo (as long as there is still damage to deal).

Date added	6 years
Last updated	5 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	17 - 0 Mythic Rares 36 - 0 Rares 19 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.14
Tokens	Warrior 1/1 W w/ Vigilance
Folders	Doran EDH