Deathsprout

Instant

Destroy target creature. Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.

Discussion (32)

Epicurus on Ramos Cascade Ramp

4 months ago

abby315 Tome of the Guildpact is actually a lot more useful in here than you might think. Besides the one combo of Dust Elemental and Apex Devastator (with which I can literally cast the entire deck in one turn), the deck sometimes manages to stagnate if I don't get some card draw, and the Tome is one of the best cards for that in here. Likewise, Cryptolith Rite is amazing ramp if I get it early, though it is lackluster later in the game.

You're right about Shard Convergence being too slow to do what I want it for, and Lotus Bloom has its problems, so I dropped those two and the Deathsprout to fit in my protection package. Thanks again!

Epicurus on Yarok, Landlubber

4 months ago

HELLcaster19, thank you for the in depth comment! I'll do my best to respond in full:

You're probably right about Deathsprout, mostly because of the 4 CMC. I originally figured that it would come in handy as an added bonus to fetching a land, but I'm generally disappointed when I draw it.

Ghirapur Orrery also seemed better on paper than in practice, because the second ability helps my opponents way more often than it helps me. I'd hate to lose one of the cards that allow additional land drops, though, because that has become the deck's most powerful feature, from my experience of playing the deck.

Oh, my, God, Storm Cauldron. I have won every single game that I get that beauty onto the board. Given even just a couple of cards that allow multiple land drops, and my opponents are f'd, whilst I get everything back into place, setting off landfall abilities left and right. It's awesome. Never cutting that one. Ever.

Path of Discovery could go, but only if I were replacing it with more multi-land fetching spells.

Rites of Flourishing is important. If I'm able to drop multiple lands, and have a landfall trigger or two, then the extra draw each turn helps me more than the opposition more often than not. Again, that's from my experience from playing the deck. Maybe it's just my meta. But it's also the reason I added in Howling Mine, which I'm yet to draw in a game.

A lot of your suggestions care about creatures entering the battlefield, which make a lot of sense for a Yarok deck. However, this deck is fundamentally a landfall deck. So, for instance, Panharmonicon is out.

And I've considered adding Beast Whisperer, but decided against it so far because he only counts creature spells, not tokens. And Elemental Bond has very limited upside in this deck because most of the creatures are small. Sure, it would rock face with Rampaging Baloths, but the Baloths are really mostly just there as hate bait.

Drownyard Temple is probably a definite include. It does exactly what I want land to do in this deck. Field of the Dead is worth playtesting, though 7 lands with different names might prove difficult with all of the basics I'm running.

Ashaya, Soul of the Wild interests me. Maybe that's what I should replace the Orrery with. I just don't own one, so I haven't tried very hard to find a way to add it into the deck.

The Great Henge is one of my favorite cards ever, but I hadn't really ever even thought about it for this deck. Actually, it might be even better for the Yarok Ninjutsu deck I have. Most of my creatures are small in here, though, but I'm down for trying it out.

Thanks again! Cheers!

HELLcaster19 on Yarok, Landlubber

4 months ago

Epicurus Greetings! It is shaping up to a great start, so far!

Some cards that I would definitely consider cutting:

Deathsprout due to it being your only removal piece. With no recursion for anything other than lands, 1 piece of removal isnt worth running.

Storm Cauldron Considering that a lot of your big value pieces are upwards of 3 mana, you may find that that you end up with less lands in the end, and not accelerating your mana base, as most Landfall decks want to do. This card is typically a combo piece, and not worth the inclusion.

Path of Discovery This one is a choice based on personal preference. I prefer not to run cards that will allow opponents to know what I have coming up. That, and the cards value comes only from flipping a land off the top.

Ghirapur Orrery, Howling Mine and Rites of Flourishing Again, based on personal preference. Granting opponents the ability to draw additional cards per turn and play additional lands will not put the deck ahead of everyone else.

Some worthwhile additions that I believe will help develop and accelerate your board:

Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip will allow you to add creatures into your hand (I know, I dont like providing knowledge to opponents). With its ability to flip into a Gaea's Cradle it will ramp up your mana base.

Panharmonicon It is a great value engine in a deck that contains a commander that does the same thing, but better!

Ashaya, Soul of the Wild This one is already in your Maybe board. I urge you to consider adding it, as it causes your non-token creatures to enter as Forest creatures, which will trigger your Landfall stuff!

Alchemist's Refuge Allows you to play at instant speed.

Drownyard Temple A great utility land that you can offer up to Harrow, Crop Rotation, Elvish Reclaimer, etc. Then, you can always bring it back to your field and trigger your Landfall, and doesn't count towards your land limit per turn :)

Field of the Dead Beautiful utility land that generates bodies when lands enter as long as you meet its requirements!

Traverse the Ulvenwald Just a nice fetch piece. Worst case scenario; you go and find a basic land. Otherwise, you can find ANY land or put a value creature into your hand.

The Great Henge is a noteworthy inclusion. Based on the creatures in your deck, you will most likely be casting this for 3-4 mana, easily, by the time you reach mid-game. With your commander, it just screams value as you draw 2 cards and gain two +1/+1 counters with non-token creatures that enter your field.

Guardian Project and Elemental Bond are two strong Enchantments that will garner you some massive draw with your creatures.

Hopefully some of this information will add some spice to your deck. :) +1 from me.

Optimator on Giant's Deck

5 months ago

Potential Non-Boros Commanders: Show

If you did want to use a different commander for more colors, here are the ones I would recommend:

Five-Color:

I love the idea of being able to include any Giant that you want. Budget five-color mana bases are easy.

Morophon, the Boundless - probably the best pick? It gives a substantial discount and is technically a Giant itself. The anthem tacked on is just gravy. I have one for trade!

Golos, Tireless Pilgrim - a bit of ramp, plus his ability is just fucking nuts. Absolutely outrageous. Spewing out giants! An outstanding commander through-and-through.

Kenrith, the Returned King - Grants haste, can bring back dead giants, can grow your army, draws cards. He does everything except be a giant himself. Another outstanding general.

Jodah, Archmage Eternal - Most Jodah decks focus on extremely expensive creatures and spells, so his ability might not be too hot for Giant Tribal. He would work though. Outclassed for sure.

Jegantha, the Wellspring - A bit of ramp in the command zone. Outclassed by the rest, but it IS a giant elk...

Naya:

Naya colors get you Green, which will add some very good giants and significantly improve your options for ramp, utility, and card-draw. By like, a ton.

Samut, Voice of Dissent - grants Haste, which is dope. The untapping ability can surprise opponents maybe. Not a giant though.

Mayael the Anima - A pretty excellent choice for Giant Tribal. Her ability would be great for when you run out of cards, which is awesome to have in the command zone. Mayael's Aria is hilarious.

Gahiji, Honored One - Looks like a giant beast, for what it's worth. Boosts your attacks and may even take some heat off of you. A mediocre choice, but not awful.

Marisi, Breaker of the Coil - some good general value. Would make attacking easier due to taking away blockers. Nothing outstanding though.

Atla Palani, Nest Tender - Hatch giants out of eggs!

Other color combinations:

Saskia the Unyielding - Not sure why you'd want to run four colors when you could do all five, but her ability is no joke. Personally I prefer the Blue giants to the Black ones, but Black has some of the best utility and card-draw in the game.

Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder + Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper - want to run most of the giants and have M A X I M U M life-gain? This pair would make for a profoundly distinct Giant Tribal. A truly unique take. Might be lots of fun! You could even try to squeeze in Felidar Sovereign and Test of Endurance for a laugh; certainly not necessary though.

Ruhan of the Fomori - No Green, but he's a giant himself and Blue utility is as good as any. A decent choice, but if you're stepping out of Boros you may as well run Green cards.

---

The stand-outs to me are Golos, Tireless Pilgrim - Morophon, the Boundless - Kenrith, the Returned King - Mayael the Anima - Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder + Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper. These are all extremely strong choices.

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Here's some of the fantastic Utility cards that you would gain by stepping into other colors (I'll try to list budget cards):

Rhythm of the Wild - Garruk's Uprising! - Elemental Bond - Colossal Majesty - Beast Within - Temur Ascendancy - Nylea, Keen-Eyed - Nylea, God of the Hunt - Primal Rage - Brawn - Heroic Intervention - Golgari Charm - Wrap in Vigor - Return of the Wildspeaker - Soul's Majesty - Rishkar's Expertise - Sylvan Reclamation - Decimate - Genesis Ultimatum - Eerie Ultimatum - Ruinous Ultimatum - Despark - Descendants' Path - Clever Impersonator - Cyclonic Rift - Call to the Kindred - Swan Song - Greed - Casualties of War

Then there is Green's superior mana ramp. Cultivate - Kodama's Reach - Migration Path - Vastwood Surge - Ranger's Path - Nature's Lore - Rampant Growth - Deathsprout -Traverse the Outlands - Boundless Realms... the list goes on.

As you can see, there's a lot there that Red and White just can't even touch. Green is basically the best color in EDH, especially for big-creature decks. Very much worth considering, even if you're trying to keep the deck casual.

LordBlackblade on Favorite Mtg Art?

6 months ago

Seb McKinnon is my guy! His art is always so hauntingly beautiful, and I'm especially a fan of his more surreal pieces. Here are some of my favorites:

• Bankrupt in Blood
• Bedevil
• Deathsprout
• Dirge of Dread
• Mind Rot
• Rite of the Serpent
• Soulherder

DemMeowsephs on Double Trouble! Yarok, The Land Junkie

7 months ago

Well one thing to keep in mind-Yavimaya Dryad can search for a land like Breeding Pool, or something similar because it has the subtype of forest. So it depends on how many cards you are running that ONLY search for basics, like Ondu Giant. Looking at your board I see 11 cards (including lands) that revolve around basics. The lands, (Terramorphic Expanse, Evolving Wilds, Myriad Landscape, and Blighted Woodland) could all be cut for some of the lands I recommended earlier. In my decks I like to keep around 2 or three of each basic land type, that way if you do chance upon the cards like Cultivate etc you can search for what you need, but you don't overwhelm yourself. I think you could cut Deathsprout for something cheaper like Pongify or Assassin's Trophy, and Ondu Giant, Explosive Vegetation, etc could be cut for some of the ramp cards I mentioned, though I would keep in Kodama's Reach, Cultivate, and two others. FOUR mana for a ramp spell is just a bit much in my opinion, and if your going to be playing that much I think an Oracle of Mul Daya could work way better. Hope this helps

Azeworai on Korvold's Feast

8 months ago

Ah, yes. I have a Jund sacrifice deck myself with Mr. Oakenshield at the helm, though Korvold is quite the powerful engine.

I see a few things problematic with the decklist. First, a distinct lack of ramp. Two, a lack of early game, which can be fixed by ramp. Three, there are a lot of places to fit creatures to die.

So, what I would recommend:

Mana dorks are fantastic in aristocrat decks, for they can be sacrificed if they must. Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves, Elvish Mystic, Fyndhorn Elves, Elves of Deep Shadow, and Boreal Druid each fill the best role at one mana. I've enjoyed Skull Prophet greatly, for it fills the graveyard with fodder.

Other than that, two mana ramp is best. But you're in Green! Get those Arcane signets out of here. Rampant Growth, Nature's Lore, Into the North (try a few snow basics), Cultivate, and Kodama's Reach are all lovely.

Then, of course, there are some includes that should go in most aristocrat lists:

1. So, Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is the single greatest card for this style of deck. It offers draw, murder, sacrifice, and cannot be tapped by Aphetto Grifter. Run it despite the ten-dollar price limit.

2. Midnight Reaper and Grim Haruspex each fill a smiliar role, though Liliana's Standard Bearer is one I have much enjoyed. Dark Prophecy does much.

3. More sacrifice outlets! Goblin Bombardment is fantastic, Carrion Feeder is cheap whiles growing massive, New Erebos draws some cards, Rankle is an engine by itself, and Yawgmoth is the best.

4. There are some things that offer much to die. Goblin Rabblemaster and Legion Warboss each fill the board apace.

5. So, let's add far more creatures than is deemed sanely necessary. Satyr Wayfinder, Gatecreeper Vine, and Sylvan Ranger can fill the slot of a land. Reclamation Sage can be a removal spell.

6. Liliana, Heretical Healer  ^Flip transforms far too eath in strategies such as this. Grisly Salvage can fuel graveyard chicanery. And Once Upon a Time is something I put in literally every green deck I own, for it is most potent.

7. Living Death ends games. It gets back all from the bin, then murdering all opponents withal Blood Artist.

Alright, now upon what I would ablate:

Chittering Witch is too slow for fodder and the sacrfice ability is not gratis. Thrashing Brontodon is too much mana. Mazirek just doesn't do enow; she wishes to put counters upon creatures that are meant to die. Deathsprout is too much mana. Deflecting Swat seems lacking. Find / Finality is just too much to cast. Taste of Death is actually just useless. Witch's Oven is too limited.

Okay then. That shall be all from me! You may peer upon my list here if you care.

Happy snuffing!

Azeworai on Undying gift of Nel Toth

9 months ago

Alright. I am not too fond of graveyard strategies myself, though I have tinkered vehemently with Alesha , Muldrotha Adun Oakenshield , so I'll see where that gets me.

I see a strong value engine in the command zone, but far too much late-game in the ninety-nine. I would highly recommend cutting much of the seven drops, lest the deck be too slow betime on, thusly being trampled.

Furthermore, the deck needs more sacrifice outlets. With many death triggers comes a dire need to control when they go off, thence you should probably have at least seven.

Ideally, the gameplan is turn one or two ramp and cheap creature, then turn three Meren to return it to your hand.

Now, onto my suggestions.

Upon what I would ablate:

1. Korozda Guildmage is too slow. Four mana to sacrifice something is awful.

2. Overseer of the Damned is the same. Seven mana to kill something with a menial deathrattle.

3. terrastodon is eight mana. I have a deck with seventeen cards of ramp and it's still too much.

4. Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder may be an exquisitely perfidious character within the lore, hereon he is rather slow. Egregious stats and only lives so long.

5. I've never quite understood the draw to Yavimaya Elder . Three mana, then requires extra work to find two basics to the hand, whereat even further toiling is required to draw the card. I never liked it, but I suppose.

6. Phyrexian Rager is too slow, no matter how mad it gets.

7. Deathsprout is cute, but four mana to remove something whiles providing no value by being a creature.

8. Acidic Slime has always seemed lacking to me. You have Sage and Caterpillar to foredo artifacts or enchantments. A five-mana 2/2 seems lacking.

9. Sever the Bloodline is a four mana sorcery to kill one thing. If someone plays Kiki-Jiki or Mr. Gitaxias , whereupon their effects are immediate, this won't solve anything. Sure it flashbacks for seven mana, but the additional upside of the card isn't worth it in a singleton format.

10. Aid from the Cowl is a card I have tested withal. It's effect is slow, capricious, and ineffective. When it does work, it's five mana to maybe get something off of the top. I don't like it.

11. Diabolic Tutor and Final Parting are five mana to find one card. In a deck without infinite combos these are a lot less appealing. I'd put in cantrips instead.

12. So, Pathbreaker Ibex and Overwhelming Stampede . Each possess much dint, but I wouldn't play multiple. Pick one, move on. (I prefer the Ibex , though I'm biased.)

13. Thrashy is fine, but is four mana to kill something. Given the foison of similar effects the deck has, just remove it.

Okay, now unto thee I provide sacrifice outlets.

Altar of Dementia is literally perfect for a deck like this. Mill and death, all in one! Viscera Seer is a classic, Carrion Feeder can become massive, Goat Thing comes back by itself and offers caprine fodder, Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is oft the best card in my aristocrats deck though is expensive, and High Market or Phyrexian Tower are always fine.

Blood Artist or Bastion of Remembrance are fine in strategies such as this.

Fauna Shaman seems absolutely great; Discard a dork, fetch a monstrosity, return aforesaid dork with Meren , celebrate.

Victimize is never lacking as it cheats out giants whilst providing sacrifice, Dread Return fills a very similar role, Eternal Witness is always great, Blood for Bones loops with the Witness , and Animate Dead is always great.

Now, cantrips: Grisly Salvage , Winding Way , Grapple with the Past , Ransack the Lab , and Once Upon a Time all filter through the deck, fill the graveyard, save for Once Upon a Time , and find lands or creatures. Furthermore, they are great with Meren , as creatures are to be disinterred.

For ramp, mana dorks are great. Birds of Paradise , Llanowar Elves , Elvish Mystic , Fyndhorn Elves , and Elves of Deep Shadow offer fodder and acceleration. The best is probably Skull Prophet . Mill, fodder, and ramp in one.

Reassembling Skeleton just seems great, Bloodghast grants much, and Bitterblossom can be sacrificed a meiny of times.

Importantly, I add some more draw. Phyrexian Arena , Underworld Connections , Liliana's Standard Bearer , Erebos, Bleak-Hearted , Dark Prophecy , Moldervine Reclamation , and Rankle, Master of Pranks do this deed.

That shall be all from me. Good luck!