Rootborn Defenses

Instant

Populate. Creatures you control are indestructible this turn. (To populate, create a token that's a copy of a creature token you control.)

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Pauper Duel Commander	Legal
Pauper EDH	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Casual	Legal
Custom	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal

Discussion (51)

lhetrick13 on For Honor and Glory!!!

1 week ago

Thanks for the love KBK7101 & Yogei!

@ Yogei - The deck plays pretty quick with Collected Company being the only 3+ CMC card in the deck. It is a shame Thalia's Lieutenant is not a knight as it actually does work in this deck with the strong human presence and Worthy Knight.

I have looked at the Populate mechanic but never really considered it for this deck. With only Worthy Knight and Selesnya Charm being the only token creation, I feel like the Populate would wiff the majority of the time. The deck I actually considered using the cards you suggest is my cat token deck Feline Feelings, which is a cat tribal built around cats and their ability to make kittens. That deck does not have a SB, which I need to fix, but this is where you would see at lot of these cards at. Rootborn Defenses could be swapped out for Heroic Intervention but losing Hexproof is a large tradeoff...Nothing worse than casting Leonin Warleader the turn prior, then casting Anointed Procession to gear up for an attack only to have Warleader get exiled or destroyed by an instant spell :(

Yogei on For Honor and Glory!!!

1 week ago

I really like the look of this deck, it seems thoughtfully put together with strong synergies and a clear strategy. Plenty of lords rarely go wrong and I can imagine the deck having a strong board presence. The Thalia's Lieutenant + Worthy Knight combo seems particularly strong. It’s also interesting to see Knight Exemplar and Dauntless Bodyguard used in a different way from how I play them myself.

I have one suggestion for you. Since you seem unsure about Selesnya Charm have you looked at the populate mechanic? Rootborn Defenses or Growing Ranks come to mind, but there are other cards too. You would loose some utility yes, but in the case of Rootborn Defences protection via indestructibility is powerful, and populate could work well together with your creature tokens. Best case scenario you’d populate a Human Token which triggers Thalia's Lieutenant.

Good luck with the deck, I’ll have a look at your other knight decks when I’m able ;)

Slashdance on Mugen no kōgeki ("Infinite Attack")

1 week ago

So, in order to get copies of our addtional attack phase-creating creatures, via Duke Ulder Ravengard or other myriad source, we're going to have to also fit in cards like: Rootborn Defenses and Trostani's Judgment

We'll try some builds and see if it's all worth it. Not sure yet.

Quartzrockz on The Boss's Therapist (~$100)

1 week ago

Thank you for the comment, yib (and sorry for the later reply!)

I've never been very good at balancing mono colour decks XD My only one is very artifact heavy. But I appreciate seeing yours Etali Deck RL.

I like your suggestion and incorporated Mirror Entity (I cant believe I missed this one), Moraug, Fury of Akoum, Relentless Assault, and Make a Stand (to go with the Rootborn Defenses in the deck currently). I think I like Secure the Wastes as well but I'm going to have to think what I want to give up for that.

ThisIsMyAccount on Abzan Tokens

1 month ago

I would play Rootborn Defenses in the sideboard for board sweepers. Then, +1 Aryel, Knight of Windgrace -1 Path to Exile could be good for the main.

abbatromebone on Jeskai Poppet

3 months ago

• What makes the ratio the hardest is its meta dependent the slower the games are the more 3 drops you can have, but its faster than you really need to pump tokens. The most consistent way is probably having a control shell and using tokens to win, but its also a really boring play style.
• I have a similar deck to yours in a way Merica' Enchant it pillow forts until it can cast assemble the legion and then I go wide and tall. You dont have to go that way but its a cheaper version of what you have and is really fun.
• Looking back Raise the Alarm is good in your deck and Rootborn Defenses can also help with your deck but is very reactive. Sundering Growth is also a good SB card if your playing against artifact and enchantment decks.

DrakeTheDuelist on Sythis

3 months ago

What's the intended wincon here? I see flying tokens to the dome, and that's about it. One of my favorite things to do in token spam is to stack cumulative anthems until each one can hit like a mack truck. Other options include the Heliod, Sun-Crowned + Walking Ballista combo, or going stealth Voltron with All That Glitters and / or Michiko's Reign of Truth  ^Flip, many of which play well in Enchantress strategies.

While I'm sure you could crank out a ton of advantage like this (I run a Siona, Captain of the Pyleas Aura Voltron that operates on a similar principle), the kind of advantage you're generating can really scare people into knocking you out of the pod before you can slap down a Craterhoof Behemoth when all you had were advantage pieces. Teferi's Protection is the go-to panic button in White, though even a simple Rootborn Defenses, Unbreakable Formation, or Tamiyo's Safekeeping could go a long way.

legendofa on Boros Legion

3 months ago

EDH evaluation isn't really my strong point, but here's what I got.

Daru Warchief is reliable Soldier tribal support, and Cenn's Tactician offers another 1-drop creature.

I'm not really seeing the purpose of Eldrazi Conscription. It's a good card, but it doesn't offer much to the go-wide, strength in numbers approach that Soldier tribal decks usually take. I also don't see a way to get it out quickly and reliably, so it's just kind of there.

Related to this, any effect that pumps a single creature probably isn't worth it. Sanctuary Blade, Angelic Gift, Eternal Thirst, and Gift of Orzhova in particular don't seem right for this deck.

I see a lifegain subtheme, which is fine as long as it works. How often does Angelic Accord trigger? Unless it's going off every turn, that's another one that can be taken out. Outside of that, I don't see any other payoffs for the lifegain. If you don't have any reason to include it other than "not losing," I would also drop Take Heart; there are better combat tricks.

Duress seems out of place, and doesn't really contribute anything to your soldiers. Champion of the Parish would be better served in a more Human-focused deck, since many of your creatures and almost of your tokens don't have the Human subtype.

Makeshift Battalion and Skymarch Bloodletter are generally pretty weak creatures.

For upgrades and replacements, you have some budget room, so I'm going to try to use that up. Rootborn Defenses should be Heroic Intervention, to save mana and get hexproof for your stuff instead of another 1/1 token. Switch Navigator's Compass for another mana rock that can provide mana instead of just changing it, like Fellwar Stone. Unless you regularly see regeneration, like multiple times every match, Dreadbore is better than Terminate.

Your lands are generally pretty slow, and I don't recommend the bounce lands (Rakdos Carnarium and friends) without a specific purpose beyond simply mana fixing. If you can, get the shocklands (Blood Crypt and friends) in their place. There are other land cycles as well for every level of budget. Look for ones that give the option to enter untapped. Clifftop Retreat is a good start. The Luxury Suite cycle (I forget what the nickname is) can get expensive, but if you can afford the investment are definitely worth it.

When looking for cuts, keep one question in mind: "How does this help advance my strategy?" If the answer is only "Because it's a Soldier" or "Because it gains me life," it's probably cuttable. Soldiers in particular are a very synergistic tribe, and ideally every card should help support every other card.

Hope this helps!