The Fastest Explorer in the West

Commander / EDH Competitive Elves GW (Selesnya) Infinite Combo Primer

Puffuel

Creature (28)

• 1x Allosaurus Shepherd
• 1x Arbor Elf
• 1x Ashaya, Soul of the Wild
• 1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 1x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Boreal Druid
• 1x Elvish Archdruid
• 1x Elvish Harbinger
• 1x Elvish Mystic
• 1x Emiel the Blessed
• 1x Eternal Witness
• 1x Fauna Shaman
• 1x Fyndhorn Elves
• 1x Grand Abolisher
• 1x Karametra's Acolyte
• 1x Llanowar Elves
• 1x Marwyn, the Nurturer
• 1x Mirror Entity
• 1x Priest of Titania
• 1x Quirion Ranger
• 1x Ranger-Captain of Eos
• 1x Reclamation Sage
• 1x Seeker of Skybreak
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic
• 1x Temur Sabertooth
• 1x Village Bell-Ringer
• 1x Wirewood Channeler
• 1x Wirewood Symbiote

Artifact (9)

• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Cloudstone Curio
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Staff of Domination
• 1x Thousand-Year Elixir
• 1x Umbral Mantle

Land (27)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Bountiful Promenade
• 1x Branchloft Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Brushland
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dryad Arbor
• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Horizon Canopy
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Savannah
• 3x Snow-Covered Forest
• 1x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wirewood Lodge
• 1x Wooded Bastion
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Carpet of Flowers
• 1x Concordant Crossroads
• 1x Instill Energy
• 1x Kenrith's Transformation
• 1x Leyline of Abundance
• 1x Nature's Chosen
• 1x Smothering Tithe
• 1x Utopia Sprawl
• 1x Wild Growth

Commander (1)

Instant (19)

• 1x Angelic Ascension
• 1x Autumn's Veil
• 1x Beast Within
• 1x Benefactor's Draught
• 1x Chord of Calling
• 1x Congregation at Dawn
• 1x Crop Rotation
• 1x Eladamri's Call
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Flawless Maneuver
• 1x Force of Vigor
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Noxious Revival
• 1x Silence
• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x To Arms!
• 1x Veil of Summer
• 1x Vitalize
• 1x Worldly Tutor

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Eldritch Evolution
• 1x Emeria's Call  ^Flip
• 1x Finale of Devastation
• 1x Green Sun's Zenith
• 1x Mobilize
• 1x Turntimber Symbiosis  ^Flip
• 1x Weird Harvest

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Introduction

This deck is a fast paced integrated combo which looks to make infinite mana by untapping mana positive dorks, while protecting ourselves with a variety of silence effects. It holds up well to interaction due to the amount of ways to bounce back from being interacted with. The most important thing to remember when playing this deck is that Selvala, Explorer Returned's ability is a mana ability and can not be responded to.

This deck differs from the original Selvala Twiddlestorm list in that it sacrifices more of its longer play options such as Sylvan Library and Drannith Magistrate in favor of more consistent tutors and more targeted removal. The philosophy is that you should be able to complete a turn 3 win more often so you don't have to grind in the late game against a midrange deck, which is an unfavorable scenario.

The Gameplan

Selvala

The most important tool we have at our disposal is our own commander, its a powerful net positive mana dork and draw engine. Many of the combos in this deck can be performed with her and she allows us to draw into combo pieces when going for the win. Ideally you want to cast Selvala turn 2 every game. This is enabled by a plethora of 1 mana dorks and 0 mana rocks.

People question the power of Selvala because it draws your opponents cards as well. You do need to be cautious about when you activate Selvala, if you think you can't win the game on any given turn, wait until the person to your right's end step before you activate. Although it is not ideal that your opponents draw cards, it can also work to your benefit, allowing them to draw into interaction for threats that you can't deal with, including counterspells for a person about to win. That person trying to win could be you, but that problem is offset by silence effects like Grand Abolisher and Allosaurus Shepherd.

Haste enablers such as Concordant Crossroads make it easier to combo off. If Selvala is destroyed or if you draw into an important creature that needs to tap, haste keeps you from having to wait an extra turn to win. They are not necessary for any given combo, but are sometimes just the thing you need to win.

How to Combo

This deck is what I like to call a "living deck", or a deck that has many overlapping combo lines that can be interchanged depending on what you draw. The actual combos in the deck involve making infinite mana and using it to net infinite untap effects. This will allow you to draw your entire deck, play every creature, give them haste, and pump them big enough to kill your opponents. Don't worry if anyone happens to have more creatures than you or an enchantment to stop attacks, as you can loop any spell in your deck by bouncing or flickering Eternal Witness, allowing you to Beast Within every permanent on the board and then Swords to Plowshares all of the beasts. An alternate way to win if you happen to perform this combo in your second main phase is to mill out all of your opponents with Selvala while preventing self mill with Green Sun's Zenith and Noxious Revival. This method also allows you to win in case someone casts Angel's Grace as they will just lose on their turn. Be sure to destroy their lands first, in case they have some trick.

List of Combos:

Umbral Mantle + any creature that taps for 4 (can also be used with Selvala for extra draws)

Staff of Domination + any creature that taps for 5

Mirror Entity + Wirewood Symbiote + any creature that taps for 3 (one of the easiest combos to use Selvala as the mana producer)

Ashaya, Soul of the Wild + Quirion Ranger + any creature that taps for 2 (the easiest combo to use Selvala as the mana producer)

Temur Sabertooth or Emiel the Blessed + Haste + any creature that costs X and taps for X2G (sabertooth) or 4 (Emeil)

Temur Sabertooth or Emiel the Blessed + Village Bell-Ringer + a board that taps for 4WG (sabertooth) or 4 (Emeil)

Temur Sabertooth or Emiel the Blessed + Wirewood Symbiote + a creature that costs X + a creature that taps for X1GG (sabertooth) or X4 (Emiel)

Cloudstone Curio + Haste + a creature that costs X and taps for X1 + a creature that costs X and taps for X

Cloudstone Curio + Wirewood Symbiote + a creature that costs X + any creature that taps for X1G

Cloudstone Curio + Village Bell-Ringer + a creature that costs X + a board that taps for X2W

Cloudstone Curio + Instill Energy or Nature's Chosen + an enchantment that costs X + a creature that taps for XG

Card Discussions

Notable Combo Pieces

Wirewood Symbiote- One of the most versatile cards in the deck, being a part of so many combos, doubles as a periodic untapper for Selvala, can be tutored off of almost everything and is part of the mirror entity combo which requires no creatures other than Selvala.

Ashaya, Soul of the Wild- Though it is not a part of multiple combos, the sheer power of the combo with Quirion Ranger justifies its inclusion in the deck, even with its high 5 mana initial price. A lot of times you find yourself without white mana, without a creature that taps for more than 4, or with only 6 mana to spare on creatures. Unlike the mirror symbiote combo, there is no cost to bounce quirion ranger and to make things better, if you have haste, the combo needs no additional creatures to make infinite mana outside of Ashaya and quirion ranger because ranger pays for itself by tapping for G, and can untap Ashaya to net G. You do need a draw outlet this way, but you want Selvala anyways. Ashaya also has utility outside of combo turns, allowing creatures like Village Bell-Ringer to make mana and protecting your board from Cyclonic Rift and other forms of "non-land" based removal.

Mirror Entity- Another combo piece that only has one real synergy in the deck. This is also one of the most powerful combos we can assemble with the entire cost only amounting to 3GW, which includes the cost to cast mirror entity, wirewood symbiote, and activating mirror entity for 1. There is extra utility in mirror entity by allowing you to dodge damage based removal by increasing the base stats of your creatures, but this usually never happens in a game. The real utility of this creature is its ability to perform a complete untap combo for only 5 mana and a creature that taps for 3, which is almost trivial for this deck to achieve.

Marwyn, the Nurturer- Easily goes infinite with Umbral Mantle due to the mantle increasing her power.

Excluded Combo Pieces:

Sword of the Paruns- Its mega expensive, costing 10 to perform the first untap. This deck makes a lot of mana, but you want to also be spending mana on silence effects and tutors, which puts the safe amount of mana to spend close to 7.

Devoted Druid Combos- They are niche 2 card combos that do not double in any other combos in the deck, nor do they allow you to do anything besides make infinite mana. Being unable to untap Selvala to ultimately win is a big issue for taking up upwards of 2 card slots for this.

Notable Tutors

Fauna Shaman- Strictly worse Survival of the Fittest, but it counts towards a mass of elves needed for many of our net positive dorks. Works best in a scenario where you want to go off turn 4 instead of turn 3, or you have haste, as it turns into a 2 creature tutor when utilizing an untap effect like Mobilize.

Elvish Harbinger- Strictly worse Worldly Tutor. Also contributes to the elf count, but also doubles as a dork that makes any color of mana. The restriction of elf creature type on this tutor is not as significant, as you can complete the majority of your combos by tutoring for Mirror Entity, Priest of Titania, or Quirion Ranger.

Ranger-Captain of Eos- A hugely powerful card that tutors for Wirewood Symbiote and Quirion Ranger, both of which are part of combos that utilize a cheap untap cost, allowing you to use Selvala as the mana generator. Its even better that this card doubles as a silence effect for the turn you decide to go off.

Weird Harvest- A tutor that can fetch multiple creatures is valuable for this deck, as it can turn any turn into an instant win, given you have enough mana. The best combo to fetch with this is Ashaya, Soul of the Wild + Quirion Ranger + Wirewood Symbiote. This nets you 2 untaps with Selvala, by playing quirion ranger bouncing a forest, and wirewood bouncing quirion ranger, before you need to play your 6 mana combo. This can all be done on an average turn 3 board with a single mana dork that taps for 1, Selvala, 1 forest, and 2 other lands.

Congregation at Dawn- Same as Weird Harvest but 2 less mana and asymmetrical. 1 card win conditions are especially powerful in this deck as they allow you to win on turn 3 more consistently. The pile you get is Quirion Ranger on top, then Wirewood Symbiote, and finally Ashaya, Soul of the Wild. As long as you have 1 Selvala activation to crack the pile, you can play quirion and bounce a forest, play wirewood and bounce quirion, then play ashaya and quirion.

Stoneforge Mystic- Fetches Umbral Mantle most of the time, but can also get Lightning Greaves making this one of the only ways to fetch haste in the deck.

Enlightened Tutor- Also fetches Umbral Mantle most of the time but can also get cheaper haste such as Concordant Crossroads or even removal in the form of Kenrith's Transformation

Green Sun's Zenith- Doubles as a tutor for Dryad Arbor making this a substitute for a dork on turn 1.

Excluded Tutors:

Open the Armory and Steelshaper's Gift- The deck doesn't need that many equipment tutors. Enlightened Tutor is better because it can fetch more things, and Stoneforge Mystic can be gotten through creature tutors, making Umbral Mantle more than accessible in the deck.

Interaction

Being a proactive deck, our goal is to run removal that allows us to continue are gameplan over interaction designed to slow down our opponents. We do have the option to use our removal to stop an opponent from winning the game, but make sure to hold your interaction until the time is right. Doing so allows you to 2 for 1 your opponents and lets them use up countermagic that might have been directed at you on your own combo turn. This is a philosophy to keep in mind when deciding what removal to slot into the deck.

Angelic Ascension- Despite it costing 1 more than Swords to Plowshares, it is included due to its versatility. Being able to hit planeswalkers is huge in this deck, as we are stopped by the likes of Narset, Parter of Veils, Ashiok, Dream Render, and Oko, Thief of Crowns, which all see enough play to make needing planeswalker removal relevant. Though it is not as relevant in the current meta, this can also hit a Jace, Wielder of Mysteries after your opponent exiles their library and upticks Jace, causing them to instantly lose the game. It also doubles as an extra swords, being able to hit Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Notion Thief.

Kenrith's Transformation- Though this is a sub-optimal piece of removal, it doubles as a cantrip to help you dig deeper on the turn you storm off. This is also a good way to shut down pesky creatures like Notion Thief or even enemy commanders in such a way to keep them from being recast.

Optional Pieces For Different Metas:

Generous Gift- A second copy of Beast Within. The downsides are that it requires white mana, which you don't always have, and it costs 3 cmc, which is pretty telegraphed if you are trying to remove a stax piece like Cursed Totem. It makes up for these downsides with its versatility, which is especially important in an era of threats spanning multiple card types.

Notable Exclusions:

Drannith Magistrate- I understand that this is a powerful piece of interaction, stopping your opponents from casting their commanders, performing LED breach combos, and from using the infamous Food Chain. The problem lies in its inability to be utilized to further our own gameplan. We don't need to answer every threat with a piece of broad static interaction, and this card slot is better utilized by instant speed single target removal, which can both stop a combo at the right time, and remove hate pieces that prevent us from winning. Another downside to drannith is that it draws hate from every player, and is likely to be removed in the next turn cycle. This is usually to the detriment of the person who removed it, as they allow the next person in turn order to be unaffected by drannith at all. The last downside is that it doesn't fit into our curve nicely. We want to ramp on turn 1, play Selvala on turn 2, and hopefully win or set up a win on turn 3. This leaves little room to play drannith, which drops in effectiveness the later in the game its played. It is valuable if played on turn 1 with a mana crypt and a plains, but realistically that scenario rarely happens.

Aven Mindcensor- A similar case to Drannith Magistrate, though not as bad. Aven's most important aspect is that it can be played at flash speed, allowing us to take better advantage of its effect by playing it in response to a tutor or a fetch. The main downside comes from the lack of versatility. Although slowing down our opponents can further our own agenda, the effect on aven does not double as a way to get out from certain stax pieces. As stated previously, the philosophy of the deck is to run interaction that is used to remove hate pieces, and that has the secondary benefit of being able to stop our opponents. Because slowing down our opponents isn't our primary goal, we do not run aven.

Other Notable Cards

Emeria's Call   and Turntimber Symbiosis  - They are untapped lands that don't count as lands when flipped with Selvala. With the amount of life you gain of Selvala and lack of things to use it on, taking a bolt to the face has no consequence, these lands are pure upside. You might also cast Turntimber if you are stuck and need to dig 7 cards down, but for the most part just think of it as a forest.

Emergence Zone- Though this land only taps for colorless, its utility can not be denied. There have been many turns where I have tried to go off with the Mirror Entity + Wirewood Symbiote combo, but I used symbiote's ability to get enough mana to play out mirror entity. Being able to win on the next upkeep, when siymbiote's ability is reset can be the difference between winning or losing before you get another turn. Most of our combos require the ability to play multiple creatures in a turn, and allowing us to do this at flash speed is a massive utility.

Crop Rotation- Another powerhouse card. The floor of this card, getting Gaea's Cradle as a ritual, is a huge bonus, but it can also be used in other scenarios. One such scenario is fetching Wirewood Lodge to use as an extra untap for Selvala. This lets you continue to storm off in a turn when you are trying to dig for a win. Another use is to get Emergence Zone if you happen to be in a situation where you used Wirewood Symbiote's ability before you played Mirror Entity, allowing you to win on the next upkeep. Another fringe scenario is fetching Wooded Bastion. This allows you to filter green mana into double white. This can be useful if you are short on white and need to cast a Grand Abolisher or Village Bell-Ringer in order to win the game. Fetching for Horizon Canopy to draw a card is nothing to sneeze at either.

Other Notable Exclusions:

Arcane Signet, BloomTender, and other 2 mana ramp cards- While these cards are helpful, the key aspect of our ramp is to help us play Selvala on turn 2. These cards only help us achieve this in tandem with other ramp cards like Mana Crypt, and thus provide little in terms of being able to power out our commander.

Mana Vault, Lotus Petal, and Elvish Spirit Guide- These are good budget options for the deck, but are held back by their single use nature. Banking on elvish spirit guide and lotus petal to cast Selvala leaves little mana for the next turn. We want to focus on reusable mana sources which have synergy with our untap cards and devotion effects.

Emerald Charm and other single target untap effects- Similar to single use mana, we have more synergy with cards that affect our entire board. we also do not need to load up on untap effects, as tutors work better than tapping Selvala to dig 1 card down.

Swiftfoot Boots- Strictly worse Lightning Greaves. We often play the boots dance, moving haste around to different creatures, so having a 0 equip cost is vital, as paying 1 each time adds up fast.

Sylvan Library- Kind of a questionable choice I'm sure, but this is one of the cards, along with Drannith Magistrate and Aven Mindcensor that I had a difference of opinion on. This deck sacrifices some of the longer play options in exchange for a more explosive and consistent early game. Because library doesn't do anything the turn it comes down, it has no use during your combo turn. It also has an awkward position in our curve, as the best time to play this card is turn 1 or 2. This can obviously happen, but it requires things like Carpet of Flowers or Mana Crypt to also be in your opening hand, which is unlikely. Even though it is an undeniably powerful card, it was cut in favor of Weird Harvest to make a turn 3 combo more likely.

This is the original list and primer, but the philosophy of the deck is slightly different from this one. https://www.moxfield.com/decks/4FAartw-BEKZq-5pONsN8A/primer

Date added	3 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 28 - 0 Uncommons 15 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.14
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Angel Warrior 4/4 W, Beast 3/3 G, Treasure